De La Hunt Media - KK Radio Network

Thinking about going out on the boat this weekend and tossing back a six-pack of beer? Better reconsider that.  Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officers and county sheriff’s water patrol deputies will be out in force June 22-24 for Operation Dry Water. It is part of a nationwide effort to give boating under the influence (BUI) enforcement high visibility prior to the Fourth of July holiday and peak summer boating season. Officers will be looking for boaters whose blood alcohol contents are at or exceed the 0.08 limit. BUI continues to be a major problem throughout the country. In Minnesota, alcohol was involved in 50 percent of 16 boating fatalities in 2011. A boat operator or even passengers with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit run a significantly increased risk of being involved in a fatal boating accident. When impaired by alcohol, boating accidents are more probable and more deadly for both passengers and boat operators, many of whom capsize their boat or simply fall overboard. If arrested, impaired boaters can expect penalties to be severe. In Minnesota, consequences for BUI include a $1,000 fine, possible jail time, and loss of boat operating privileges for 90 days. Conviction for BUI goes on a person’s automobile driver’s license record and it may affect their car insurance. With certain aggravating factors, the fine can be even higher; there can be mandatory jail time, loss of car license plates and automobile driver’s license, and even forfeiture of the boat being operated at the time of arrest. Operation Dry Water is a multi-agency education and enforcement initiative launched in 2009 in partnership with the Minnesota DNR, county sheriff’s offices and the U.S. Coast Guard.