BECHVENNIK

BECHVENNIK (from the word becheva, i.e., rope, with which boats and rafts are pulled), the strip of land adjoining internal waterways, both natural (rivers, lakes) and artificial (canals), and made available for public use in the interests of navigation and timber floating; the width of the B. is determined as 20 meters from the water's edge. The use of banks of navigable rivers and lakes is carried out in accordance with procedures established in the USSR by legislation of the union republics, with a number of restrictions in the interests of transport. Within urban settlements, along the banks of navigable rivers and lakes, free rope towing is permitted, and special dock areas of free public use are allocated for the temporary mooring of vessels with their loading and unloading, but without the right to occupy the banks for cargo warehouses, and also without the right to use them for urban structures. Within urban settlements, the existence of sawmills, mills, dams, fishing and other buildings on the B. is permitted, if these structures do not interfere with the use of the B. for the needs of navigation and timber floating. Issues of general state improvement related to lands withdrawn from the jurisdiction of local economy bodies (fire prevention, sanitary measures, planning issues, construction of access roads, etc.) are coordinated by the authorities in whose jurisdiction these land areas are located with the executive committee bodies in charge of local economy. Outside the boundaries of urban settlements, along the banks of floating rivers, lakes and canals, on the space from the water's edge to the crest, as well as on a strip of land 20 meters wide beyond the crest, the following are permitted free of charge: temporary (during the floating season and preparation for it) stacking of timber subject to floating, lashing logs into rafts, preparation of timber for launching floating, loading and unloading of forest materials, rope towing, mooring of rafts and floating vessels, temporary storage and stacking of floating material, temporary storage of materials unloaded in case of accident to a raft or vessel, occasional wintering and construction of wintering quarters. In view of the fact that pollution of the B. coastal strip can, on the one hand, lead to pollution of rivers and lakes, the water of which is used for drinking, for household purposes, for swimming, etc., and on the other hand, silting of the fairway may occur, and thus obstacles to navigation may be created,--the People's Commissariat of Water Transport (NKPS) and the People's Commissariat of Health of the union republics have paid special attention to the protection of the B. coastal strip and have developed a number of preventive measures, concerning, in particular, timber depots, construction of floating units and vessels, loading and storage of forest materials, etc. According to the resolution of the NKPS 'On the protection of order and safety of movement on the internal waterways of the USSR', the following are prohibited: dumping on the B. and on the ice in winter; discharging without established permission from the shore into canals, lakes and rivers of sewage, refuse and all kinds of garbage; digging pits, driving out and organizing pastures for cattle on artificial B. and on slopes; dumping forest materials and other property without permission of the navigation supervision. According to sanitary rules for vessels and rafts floating on internal waterways, it is prohibited to pollute the B. by setting up dumps; dumps may be permitted not closer than three versts from the shore and moreover at places that are not flooded during high water and from which there would be no direct runoff into rivers; in addition, it is forbidden to transport sewage and garbage onto the ice of rivers and other bodies of public use, as well as to discharge into them waters that do not meet the requirements of current regulations. Supervision over the implementation of regulations for the protection of the B. in the line of the NKPS is entrusted to the navigation supervision; supervision over the sanitary condition of the B. and over the implementation of sanitary regulations is entrusted to the health departments of transport.

A. Metaksa.