Ohio § 1546.90

§ 1546.90.

That the compact or agreement mentioned below and every article, matter, and thing

therein is hereby ratified and approved and shall be and hereafter remain in force

agreeable to the true tenor and intent thereof. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE STATE OF OHIO RE PYMATUNING

LAKE This agreement made and concluded between the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting

by and through its lawfully authorized agency, namely, the water and power resources

board, as party of the first part, and the state of Ohio, acting by and through its

lawfully authorized agency, namely, its conservation commissioner, as party of the

second part, Witnesseth: Whereas, By act of assembly of Pennsylvania approved May 2, 1929, P. L. 1503, as amended

by acts of May 5, 1931, P. O. 84, April 24, 1933, P. L. 67, and July 9, 1935, P. L.

619, the department of forests and waters of Pennsylvania, acting through the water

and power resources board, was authorized, inter alia, to complete the work begun

and continued under an act approved July 25, 1913, P. L. 1270, entitled “An act providing

for the erection of a dam at the outlet of Pymatuning swamp, and the establishment

of a reservoir to conserve the waters thereof;  providing for the taking of land and

materials necessary thereto;  vesting certain powers and duties in the water supply

commission;  and making an appropriation”, and did duly complete said work, whereby

there was created a lake or reservoir, now known and hereinafter called Pymatuning

Lake, extending in part across the boundary line between said states of Ohio and Pennsylvania

into the state of Ohio, and Whereas, The primary purposes of the project by which said lake was created was to

conserve water draining said swamp, all of which has its source in Pennsylvania, as

well as control floods and regulate the flow of water in the Shenango and Beaver rivers,

and secondary thereto, permit the water and the land surrounding the same to be used

for fishing, hunting, recreation and park purposes, under such terms and conditions

as the water and power resources board might determine, in such way or ways as in

the opinion of the said board will not materially interfere with the primary purpose

in said acts of assembly and hereinbefore specifically referred to, and Whereas, In view of the fact that a certain part of the lake extends into the state

of Ohio, whereby it is necessary and desirable that the use of the lake for the secondary

purposes, namely, hunting, fishing, and recreational use, be uniformly provided for,

as well as to guard against inconvenience and mischiefs which might hereafter arise

from the uncertainty of jurisdiction within and on said lake, to the end that the

lake may be adequately policed and conflicts of jurisdiction for the arrest and punishment

of offenders be avoided. Now, then, therefore, in order that law and justice may in all such cases be executed

and take effect upon said lake from shore to shore in all parts and places thereof

where the lake is a boundary between said states, the said parties hereto do agree

for and in behalf of their respective states in the manner following: 1. General use.  It is hereby agreed that the entire Pymatuning lake or reservoir, subject to the

primary use thereof by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania for regulating the flow of

the water in the Shenango and Beaver rivers as in paragraph 9 hereinafter more specifically

mentioned, shall be open for recreational use equally to the citizens of both contracting

parties, save as restricted as to hunting, fishing, and boating in this agreement

set forth, or hereafter mutually agreed upon by both parties but no person shall be

permitted to hunt or fish therein or thereon unless the lawful holder of a fishing

or hunting license, authorizing the holder so to do, issued by the proper authorities

of Pennsylvania or of Ohio. 2. Arrest and prosecution of offenders.  That each state shall enjoy and exercise a concurrent jurisdiction upon the water

(but not upon the dry land), between the shores of said lake, including the islands

therein, with respect to the arrest and prosecution of offenders, but in such sort

that any boat or vessel fastened to or aground on the shore of either state shall

be considered exclusively within the jurisdiction of said state;  but that all capital

and other offenses, trespasses, or damages committed on or over said lake, the judicial

investigation and determination thereof shall be exclusively vested in the state wherein

the offender or person charged with such offense shall be first apprehended, arrested,

prosecuted, or first brought to trial;  it being the intent of this agreement that

an offender may be pursued and arrested anywhere on or over said lake or shores thereof

or islands therein, regardless of the boundary lines, by any peace officers or persons

of either state authorized to make arrests, whether the offenses be committed on or

over any part of the lake, on the shores or islands therein, regardless of the state

in which the place where the offense was committed lies. 3. Islands.  All islands within the lake shall be considered as part of the state of Pennsylvania. 4. Pollution of water.  The lake shall be forever protected against pollution of its waters by industrial

trade waste, individual, or municipal sewage from shore or boat, and the discharge

of any noxious or deleterious substance, liquid or solid, into the waters of the lake

which is or may become inimical, or injurious, to public health or to animal or aquatic

life is hereby expressly forbidden. No sewage may be discharged into the waters of the lake except after complete treatment

and then only upon permit first approved by the health department of both states. 5. Watercraft.  No person shall operate any watercraft propelled by a single motor, or any combination

of motors, that produces a horsepower rating in excess of twenty horsepower on Pymatuning

Lake, except police or administration watercraft, the number of which shall be mutually

agreed upon by the parties hereto. No person shall operate a watercraft without first obtaining a license from the respective

state of which the owner is a resident under such regulations as each party to this

agreement may now have or hereafter adopt.  Provided nevertheless that the use of any type of watercraft equipped with a motor

is expressly limited and restricted to that portion of the lake extending from the

main dam near Jamestown northwardly to the causeway at or near Linesville.  Watercraft equipped with a motor in excess of a twenty horsepower rating may be

operated on said lake so long as such motor is not used. No person shall ride or attempt to ride upon one or more water skis, surfboards, towed

inflatable devices, or similar devices or use or operate any watercraft to tow a person

thereon. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be interpreted to effect a change in the

level or flow of water as determined or fixed by the department of conservation and

natural resources. Any one who violates any of the provisions of this subdivision shall, upon conviction

thereof, be sentenced in accordance with the applicable laws for the same or similar

violations within the prosecuting jurisdiction, provided that the penalty for said

violation shall not exceed a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for thirty

days. 6. Fishing.  Any person possessing a duly issued fishing license by either state shall be permitted

to fish anywhere on the entire lake (except such portion thereof as is closed to fishing

by paragraph 8 hereof or such further portion as may hereafter by regulation be mutually

agreed to by the parties hereto), but no fisher shall be entitled to fish from the

shores of the state of which the fisher is a nonresident unless the fisher complies

with the nonresident fishing license law of said state. In order to permit the fish to fully propagate and develop, no part of the lake shall

be open for fishing until July 1, 1937, and thereafter shall be closed in each year

between December 10 and June 30. Unless otherwise mutually agreed to by both parties hereto, the creel, size, and season

limits for the respective kinds of fish caught shall be such as may hereafter be agreed

upon between the two states. 7. Reciprocal hunting rights.  Reciprocal hunting rights are hereby granted to the licensed hunters of each state

on the water of that portion of the lake, both in Pennsylvania and Ohio, over the

area bounded on the south by an east and west line crossing the state boundary 0.5

of a mile north of Simons, Ohio, and on the north by a line drawn between the point

at which the Padanaram road crosses the state boundary and a point formerly known

as the Polleck bridge, but such reciprocal hunting rights hereby granted shall extend

only to such wild migratory birds as are covered by the federal migratory bird treaty

and federal laws adopted thereunder. Hunting in such portions of the lake as are not included in the area above described

and designated shall be and remain under the jurisdiction of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No permanent blinds shall be erected anywhere on the lake and shores thereof, but

this provision shall not be interpreted as forbidding the use of a boat as a blind

temporarily moored to or grounded on the shore of the lake or islands thereof. 8. Wild game and fish sanctuaries.  A. The game commission of the state of Pennsylvania, having established a wild migratory

bird and game sanctuary or refuge in that part of the lake located southeast of the

Pennsylvania railroad crossing, it is expressly agreed that nothing herein contained

shall be interpreted as entitling the residents of either state, whether licensed

to fish or hunt, or otherwise, to fish in, hunt, trespass, or enter upon said sanctuary

for any purpose whatsoever.  Anyone so doing shall become amenable to prosecution therefor under the game laws

of the state of Pennsylvania applicable to game refuges. B. The conservation division of the department of agriculture of the state of Ohio,

having established a fish sanctuary and game refuge in the following portion of the

lake: Being the southerly parts of lots Nos. 79 and 80, Richmond township;  all of lot No.

41, and all of lot No. 42, except the westerly 1000 feet thereof, in Andover township,

Ashtabula county, Ohio: Beginning at a point in the west line of lot No. 79, that is 1523 feet south of the

north line of lot No. 79;  also being the center line of Padanaram road;  thence southerly

along the county highway along the westerly side of lot No. 79, 1869.5 feet to the

north line of Andover township;  thence westerly along the northerly line of Andover

township, 939.7 feet to the northwest corner of lot No. 41;  thence southerly along

the highway that marks the westerly line of lot No. 41, 2809.8 feet to the north line

of lot No. 42;  thence easterly along the north line of lot No. 42, 1000 feet to a

point;  thence in a southerly direction parallel to and 1000 feet easterly from the

westerly line of lot No. 42, 2734 feet, more or less, to the southerly line of lot

No. 42;  thence easterly along the said southerly line of lot No. 42, 5180.4 feet

to the Ohio and Pennsylvania state line;  thence northerly along the said Ohio and

Pennsylvania state line, 7297.6 feet, more or less, to a point that is 1523 feet southerly

from the north line of lot No. 80;  thence in a westerly direction, 1523 feet southerly

from and parallel to the north lines of lots Nos. 79 and 80, 5260 feet, more or less,

to the place of beginning. It is expressly agreed that nothing herein contained shall be interpreted as entitling

the residents of either state, whether licensed to fish or otherwise, to fish in,

hunt, trespass, or enter upon said sanctuary for any purpose whatsoever.  Anyone so doing shall become amenable to prosecution therefor under the laws of

the state of Ohio applicable thereto. 9. Reservation of Pennsylvania's right to the body of the water.  It is expressly agreed that nothing herein contained shall operate to deny, limit,

or restrict the right of the water and power resources board of Pennsylvania, or any

authority established hereafter by said state to exercise such power, to at any time

now or hereafter, raise or draw off so much of the waters of the lake as in its sole

judgment may be necessary to maintain or regulate the flow of the Shenango and Beaver

rivers in furtherance of the primary purpose for which said lake was established,

and said water and power resources board shall, without let or hindrance, have the

full right irrespective of other considerations, to release so much of the water as

they may deem proper to maintain the flow of the Shenango and Beaver rivers, irrespective

of its effect on the level of the lake or use thereof for other purposes.