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grouchyturtle

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Where can I find the official regulations for diving, for different states, such as far as where you can dive, flag usage, etc.

Please don't just tell me "You need to be within this distance of a flag...blah, blah, blah, etc."

What I'm looking for is the real, official, written by some government official laws, verbatim, word for word.

Should look something like this:
http://www.scubanj.org/diverules.html

I'd think you'd be able to find this on a .gov website, but it just doesn't seem to exist on the web.

I'm looking for these laws for NJ, NY, and PA.

The only thing I found the looks even close to this was on a club website, so I'm not sure how accurate or up to date it is.
 
Don Burke:
I tried to bring something up for New Jersey, but it was too slow. Maybe it's the time of day.
Seems to be down at the moment. I tried both with FindLaw and direct from the NJ Legislature site. NY was working fine though and scuba brought up a couple of hits concerning dive flags and lobsters.
 
It will vary from state to state. In places such as California or Florida, there are more specific statutes. Here in Arizona, there isn't a single reference in the Revised Statutes to scuba, and only one reference to a dive flag. That's no great suprise, though, since Arizona has only two natural lakes, both of which are presently dry.

In New York, there are some regulations found in the Compilation of Codes, Rules, and Regulations (e.g 6 NYCRR 646-2.3). Depending upon the state and how it administers waterways, you may end up dealing with county or municipal regulations.

I haven't looked for PA regulations.
 
grunzster:
Where can I find the official regulations for diving, for different states, such as far as where you can dive, flag usage, etc.

Please don't just tell me "You need to be within this distance of a flag...blah, blah, blah, etc."

What I'm looking for is the real, official, written by some government official laws, verbatim, word for word.

Should look something like this:
http://www.scubanj.org/diverules.html

I'd think you'd be able to find this on a .gov website, but it just doesn't seem to exist on the web.

I'm looking for these laws for NJ, NY, and PA.

The only thing I found the looks even close to this was on a club website, so I'm not sure how accurate or up to date it is.

Here is the direct language from the New York Code of Rules and Regulations:

646-2.6 Miscellaneous provisions relating to certain recreational activities

(a) Scuba Diving. (1) No person shall scuba dive in a navigable channel or in any location in which it will interfere with free and safe navigation or free access to another person's property. For the purpose of these rules, navigable channels shall mean areas in which boats are restricted in operation due to passage between points of land or, areas in which navigation aids are located.

(2) No person shall scuba dive in the waters of Lake George so as to knowingly annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the health, comfort, repose or peace of another person.

(b) Towing. (1) A person being towed on the surface of Lake George shall wear a United States Coast Guard approved Type III personal flotation device.

(c) Artifacts. No person shall appropriate, excavate, remove, injure or destroy any historic shipwreck or artifact submerged in Lake George. This subdivision shall not apply to the State of New York or its authorized agents or representatives provided the excavation or removal is for the care and preservation of the shipwreck or artifact.
 
Here is some more from the Navigation Law:
§ 35-b. Markers for skin or scuba divers

1. The commissioner is hereby authorized to make rules and regulations requiring the use of a red flag with a diagonal white bar to be displayed on the water or from a boat by skin divers or scuba divers which would indicate underwater diving and significantly mark their position in such waters. The commissioner shall specify the size, shape, material of construction and manner of placing such markers.

2. A violation of such rules and regulations so established pursuant to subdivision one herein, shall constitute an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed fifty dollars.
 
Some other interesting reading for you legal eagles out there:

Julia Baschuk, Appellant, v. Diver's Way Scuba, Inc., Respondent. SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND DEPARTMENT, 209 A.D.2d 369; 618 N.Y.S.2d 428; 1994 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11014

October 17, 1994, Argued
November 7, 1994, Decided

PRIOR HISTORY: In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Gerard, J.), dated July 9, 1993, which, inter alia, granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

CASE SUMMARY

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff scuba diving student sought review of an order from the Supreme Court for Suffolk County (New York), which, in an action to recover damages for personal injuries, granted defendant scuba diving school's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint.

OVERVIEW: The student enrolled in scuba diving courses, and an independent certified diving instructor taught the course. The student filled out and read and signed several forms, including a statement of medical history and a liability release that exempted the school from all liability for personal injury to the student during the course that might have been cause by the school's negligence. The student discussed a history of ear problems with the instructor, who told the student to get a not from her doctor, but the instructor never followed up with that instruction. The student suffered an ear injury and filed suit, claiming that the release only applied to her actual participation in the class, and not to the negligent conduct that occurred during the prescreening process. The court rejected the student's arguments, holding that the record showed that the liability release signed by the student in clear and unequivocal language expressed the intent to relieve the school of all liability for personal injury. The court held that because of its clarity, precision, and specificity in absolving the school from the consequences of all negligence, the liability release was enforceable.

OUTCOME: The court affirmed the supreme court's grant of summary judgment dismissal of the complaint.

OPINION: Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

On April 23, 1991, the plaintiff paid a tuition fee to enroll in a scuba diving course sponsored by the defendant at its facilities, which included a private swimming pool. The course was taught by an independent certified scuba diving instructor. At the beginning of the first class on May 1, 1991, the plaintiff read, filled out, and signed several required forms, including a statement of medical history and a liability release that exempted the defendant from all liability for personal injury to her during the course, caused by the defendant's negligence.

After submitting these forms to the instructor, and thus completing the enrollment process for the course, the plaintiff for the first time discussed her history of ear problems with the instructor and informed him that her physician knew of her participation in the class. The instructor told the plaintiff to get a medical note to this effect, but he did not follow up on the request. During the fourth session of the class, the plaintiff experienced a sharp pain in her ears. She was diagnosed as suffering from a punctured left eardrum and thereafter commenced this negligence action against the defendant. The court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the basis of the liability release.

The plaintiff's argument that the liability release applies only to claims arising during her actual class participation, and not to any negligent conduct that occurred during the prescreening process, i.e., the defendant's failure to fully investigate the plaintiff's medical statement before allowing her to enroll in the course, is without merit for several reasons. First, the plaintiff's claim of a "pre-enrollment" time period during which the defendant's negligence allegedly occurred, is not supported by the record. Even more significant, the record shows that the liability release signed by the plaintiff in clear and unequivocal language expressed the intent to relieve the defendant of all liability for personal injuries to the plaintiff caused by the defendant's negligence. Because of its clarity, precision, and specificity in absolving the defendant from the consequences of all negligence, the liability release is enforceable (see, Lago v Krollage, 78 NY2d 95, 99-100; Gross v Sweet, 49 NY2d 102, 107).

The plaintiff's claim that General Obligations Law § 5-326 is applicable to her situation and thus voids the liability release as against public policy is also without merit. The defendant's private swimming pool was used for instructional, not recreational or amusement, purposes. Moreover, the tuition fee paid by the plaintiff for a course of instruction is not analogous to the use fee for recreational facilities contemplated by the statute (see, Lago v Krollage, supra, at 101).

Finally, the defendant's estoppel claim lacks merit.
 
grunzster:
Where can I find the official regulations for diving, for different states, such as far as where you can dive, flag usage, etc.....

Good luck. When you get done, why not make a website for all of us? But for now, it looks like you will have to do a state by state search with multiple sites in each state for the different areas of code and toss in County and City laws too.

Example, Laguna Beach CA has laws requiring a dive buddy and snorkle.

For CA State law a partial list is:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/Title8/6056.html
http://www.dir.ca.gov/Title8/6057.html
http://www.dfg.ca.gov

The above list is not complete and should not be relied upon for the final word.

Good luck.
 
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