South County Fire crews used the nice weather Wednesday to take BOAT 19 out on Lake Ballinger for some training. The 9-foot inflatable boat is equipped with an outboard motor for water rescues on the lake.
— Photo by Richard Chung
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Doesn’t this violate the “no gas powered engines” restriction for Lake Ballinger, as a pollution and contamination reduction requirement???
According to South County Fire, there are exceptions to motorized craft rules for emergency purposes. In order to respect the codes limiting motorized vessels, they limit their training on local lakes to one four-day session every two years. Here’s the revelant county ordinance:
Snohomish County Code 12.08.040
12.08.040
Motorboats prohibited on certain lakes.
Due to the inadequate flow and other factors including use of waters as a public water supply, wherein pollution is aggravated by internal combustion motor discharge or sedimentation from lake bottoms is unduly disturbed by motor-driven propellers, and a small size, shallow depth or configuration of the lake renders the use of motorboats hazardous, it is unlawful to operate motorboats on the following Snohomish county lakes:
Lake Serene, Martha Lake, Lake Ballinger, Halls Lake, Hilton Lake, Lake Stickney; RFA Lakes
City, County, State or other Government agencies may use motorboats on lakes where motor boats are otherwise prohibited for the purpose of search and rescue, law enforcement, or rehabilitation. (Added by Res. adopted June 30, 1975).