ROCK HILL — Officials who oversee Lake Wylie, enjoyed by boaters and fishermen across two states, will spend one more month honing the language of regulations for charter operators, board members said.
The Lake Wylie Marine Commission had previously planned to vote on the regulations at its April 22 meeting but postponed the decision to a May 20 public hearing at the commission's next meeting while Gaston County officials provide input to the proposal.
The May meeting will be held at the Red Fez Shrine Club in Charlotte.
Neil Brennan, the commission's executive director, made a series of presentations about the plans to each county council, including York County on Feb. 19.
The marine board has eight members, including three from York County: commissioners Ray Webber, Ray Williams and Quay Williford.
Commissioners and Lake Wylie staff are coming up with a way to certify charter boat operators, as well as those who rent out boats and jet skis who operate on Lake Wylie, which encompasses three counties and crosses the Carolinas state line. The draft of the regulations is not yet available, but the commission had the goal to get them in place for this year's boating season.
Lake officials want to make sure the charter businesses have insurance as part of the regulations.
Federal officials, such as the Coast Guard, can check boaters to see if they're meeting federal guidelines, but boat patrols by the Coast Guard aren't frequent. If the commission passes its regulations, marine units from local sheriff's offices, for example, would be authorized to check the charter operators, officials said.
The commission is a governing board established jointly in 1987 by the general assemblies in North and South Carolina to oversee Lake Wylie. York and two North Carolina counties — Mecklenburg and Gaston — pay for the commission's operations.
The commission meetings rotate through a few locations in the three counties. The next time the commission meets in York will be June 24 at the Clover School District Community YMCA, 5485 Charlotte Highway, Clover.
