Gov. Kathy Hochul will introduce legislation that grants the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversight over the Lockport Cave boat tour, her office announced late Friday.
The proposed bill is a response to Monday’s fatal capsizing of a tour boat in the Lockport Cave and the subsequent discovery that no state, county or local agency had responsibility for inspecting the boat and the tour operation.
State Parks regulates commercial vessels but, Hochul’s office said, does not have the authority to oversee boats in non-navigable waters, such as in caves on private property.
The governor in a statement said the proposed legislation, which must gain State Senate and Assembly approval, would close this loophole.
“As we mourn the loss of life resulting from the boat crash in the Lockport Caves, my administration is proposing legislation to prevent future tragedies,” Hochul said. “The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has the tools to keep us safe and this legislation will ensure they have the legal authority to use these to keep passengers safe on boats in caves.”
A Niagara Falls man was killed and 11 others were injured in Monday morning’s incident, when a tour boat carrying 29 people flipped over in the manmade tunnel that branches off from the Erie Canal in Lockport.
City, Niagara County and state officials in the hours and days after the incident said they did not know who had responsibility for inspecting and regulating the boat tour. The U.S. Coast Guard does not have jurisdiction over this type of waterway and there is no record the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration had ever inspected the operation.
The question of jurisdiction grew more pointed after The Buffalo News reported on Tuesday that the boat had capsized at least once previously, in 2015, but neither city police nor state officials investigated this incident.
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