A recent report by CNET claimed that a Google (News - Alert) barge docked in San Francisco Bay had found a new home and would soon be moving to Stockton, Calif. Authorities at the Port of Stockton however, have denied knowledge of any plans for the barge to dock there.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) recently advised Google that it lacked the required permits to perform construction on the barge, currently docked near the Treasure Island pier. As a result, Google would either have to get the permits, relocate the barge or pay fines.

The barge consists of a floating platform with a stack of steel shipping containers about four stories high. Google has two of these barges, one in San Francisco and another in Portland, Maine, that it is building to showcase its new technology projects on an invite-only basis.

The Port of Stockton is located about 80 miles east of San Francisco. If the barge was to relocate there, it would travel north through San Francisco Bay along the San Joaquin River before arriving in Stockton.

Google has for the most part, been able to conceal the purpose of the barge from inquiring minds. Since the construction is technically the building of a vessel instead of a building, it is not subject to the strict permitting process the City of San Francisco would require. It also makes it harder for the public to know what is going on through public records requests.

Whatever it was that Google was up to, the BCDC wasn’t going to allow it to continue indefinitely without enforcing its regulations. Moving the project to Stockton would allow construction, which stopped last October, to resume in what would likely be a less regulatory environment.

The problem is, the Port of Stockton knows nothing about any plans of Google to move there.

"There would have to be an agreement negotiated in advance of any vessel arriving at the Port of Stockton and that hasn't happened," said Richard Aschieris, port director of the Port of Stockton, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "We have many potential users or representatives of users contacting us all the time. It's relatively easy to collect information on our facilities, but they will still have to eventually have to contact us and get an agreement in advance of arrival."

Whether Aschieris is keeping any arrangement with Google under wraps or not is open to speculation, but one thing is certain: Google must move the barge by March 7 or face the wrath of the BCDC.