42 U.S.C. § 9111 : US Code - Section 9111: License for ownership, construction, and operation of ocean thermal energy conversion facilities or plantships

Search 42 U.S.C. § 9111 : US Code - Section 9111: License for ownership, construction, and operation of ocean thermal energy conversion facilities or plantships

(a) License requirement
No person may engage in the ownership, construction, or operation
of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility which is documented
under the laws of the United States, which is located in whole or
in part between the highwater mark and the seaward boundary of the
territorial sea of the United States, or which is connected to the
United States by pipeline or cable, except in accordance with a
license issued pursuant to this chapter. No citizen of the United
States may engage in the ownership, construction or operation of an
ocean thermal energy conversion plantship except in accordance with
a license issued pursuant to this chapter, or in accordance with a
license issued by a foreign nation whose licenses are found by the
Administrator, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to
be compatible with licenses issued pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Documented plantships; documented facilities; facilities
located in territorial sea; facilities connected to United States
by pipeline or cable
The Administrator shall, upon application and in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter, issue, transfer, amend, or renew
licenses for the ownership, construction, and operation of -
(1) ocean thermal energy conversion plantships documented under
the laws of the United States, and
(2) ocean thermal energy conversion facilities documented under
the laws of the United States, located in whole or in part
between the highwater mark and the seaward boundary of the
territorial sea of the United States, or connected to the United
States by pipeline or cable.
(c) License issuance prerequisites
The Administrator may issue a license to a citizen of the United
States in accordance with the provisions of this chapter unless -
(1) he determines that the applicant cannot or will not comply
with applicable laws, regulations, and license conditions;
(2) he determines that the construction and operation of the
ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship will not be
in the national interest and consistent with national security
and other national policy goals and objectives, including energy
self-sufficiency and environmental quality;
(3) he determines, after consultation with the Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating, that the ocean
thermal energy conversion facility or plantship will not be
operated with reasonable regard to the freedom of navigation or
other reasonable uses of the high seas and authorized uses of the
Continental Shelf, as defined by United States law, treaty,
convention, or customary international law;
(4) he has been informed, within 45 days after the conclusion
of public hearings on that application, or on proposed licenses
for the designated application area, by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency that the ocean thermal energy
conversion facility or plantship will not conform with all
applicable provisions of any law for which he has regulatory
authority;
(5) he has received the opinion of the Attorney General,
pursuant to section 9114 of this title, stating that issuance of
the license would create a situation in violation of the
antitrust laws, or the 90-day period provided in section 9114 of
this title has not expired;
(6) he has consulted with the Secretary of Energy, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense, to
determine their views on the adequacy of the application, and its
effect on programs within their respective jurisdictions and
determines on the basis thereof, that the application for a
license is inadequate;
(7) the proposed ocean thermal energy conversion facility or
plantship will be documented under the laws of a foreign nation;
(8) the applicant has not agreed to the condition that no
vessel may be used for the transportation to the United States of
things produced, processed, refined, or manufactured at the ocean
thermal energy conversion facility or plantship unless such
vessel is documented under the laws of the United States;
(9) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion
facility, he determines that the facility, including any
submarine electric transmission cables and equipment or pipelines
which are components of the facility, will not be located and
designed so as to minimize interference with other uses of the
high seas or the Continental Shelf, including cables or pipelines
already in position on or in the seabed and the possibility of
their repair;
(10) the Governor of any adjacent coastal State with an
approved coastal zone management program in good standing
pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1451 et seq.) determines that, in his or her view, the
application is inadequate or inconsistent with respect to
programs within his or her jurisdiction;
(11) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion
facility, he determines that the thermal plume of the facility is
expected to impinge on so as to degrade the thermal gradient used
by any other ocean thermal energy conversion facility already
licensed or operating, without the consent of its owner;
(12) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion
facility, he determines that the thermal plume of the facility is
expected to impinge on so as to adversely affect the territorial
sea or area of national resource jurisdiction, as recognized by
the United States, of any other nation, unless the Secretary of
State approves such impingement after consultation with such
nation;
(13) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion
plantship, he determines that the applicant has not provided
adequate assurance that the plantship will be operated in such a
way as to prevent its thermal plume from impinging on so as to
degrade the thermal gradient used by any other ocean thermal
energy conversion facility or plantship without the consent of
its owner, and from impinging on so as to adversely affect the
territorial sea or area of national resource jurisdiction, as
recognized by the United States, of any other nation unless the
Secretary of State approves such impingement after consultation
with such nation; or
(14) if a regulation has been adopted which places an upper
limit on the number or total capacity of ocean thermal energy
conversion facilities or plantships to be licensed under this
chapter for simultaneous operation, either overall or within
specific geographic areas, pursuant to a determination under the
provisions of section 9117(b)(4) of this title, issuance of the
license will cause such upper limit to be exceeded.
(d) Issuance conditions; written agreement of compliance; disposal
or removal requirements
(1) In issuing a license for the ownership, construction, and
operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or
plantship, the Administrator shall prescribe conditions which he
deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, or
which are otherwise required by any Federal department or agency
pursuant to the terms of this chapter.
(2) No license shall be issued, transferred, or renewed under
this chapter unless the applicant, licensee or transferee first
agrees in writing that (A) there will be no substantial change from
the plans, operational systems, and methods, procedures, and
safeguards set forth in his application, as approved, without prior
approval in writing from the Administrator, and (B) he will comply
with conditions the Administrator may prescribe in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.
(3) The Administrator shall establish such bonding requirements
or other assurances as he deems necessary to assure that, upon the
revocation, termination, relinquishment, or surrender of a license,
the licensee will dispose of or remove all components of the ocean
thermal energy conversion facility or plantship as directed by the
Administrator. In the case of components which another applicant or
licensee desires to use, the Administrator may waive the disposal
or removal requirements until he has reached a decision on the
application. In the case of components lying on or below the
seabed, the Administrator may waive the disposal or removal
requirements if he finds that such removal is not otherwise
necessary and that the remaining components do not constitute any
threat to the environment, navigation, fishing, or other uses of
the seabed.
(e) License transfer
Upon application, a license issued under this chapter may be
transferred if the Administrator determines that such transfer is
in the public interest and that the transferee meets the
requirements of this chapter and the prerequisites to issuance
under subsection (c) of this section.
(f) License eligibility
Any United States citizen who otherwise qualifies under the terms
of this chapter shall be eligible to be issued a license for the
ownership, construction, and operation of an ocean thermal energy
conversion facility or plantship.
(g) License term and renewal
Licenses issued under this chapter shall be for a term of not to
exceed 25 years. Each licensee shall have a preferential right to
renew his license subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of
this section, upon such conditions and for such term, not to exceed
an additional 10 years upon each renewal, as the Administrator
determines to be reasonable and appropriate.