42 U.S.C. § 9118 : US Code - Section 9118: Marine environmental protection and safety of life and property at sea

Search 42 U.S.C. § 9118 : US Code - Section 9118: Marine environmental protection and safety of life and property at sea

(a) Coast Guard operations
The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating shall, subject to recognized principles of international
law, prescribe by regulation and enforce procedures with respect to
any ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship licensed
under this chapter, including, but not limited to, rules governing
vessel movement, procedures for transfer of materials between such
a facility or plantship and transport vessels, designation and
marking of anchorage areas, maintenance, law enforcement, and the
equipment, training, and maintenance required (1) to promote the
safety of life and property at sea, (2) to prevent pollution of the
marine environment, (3) to clean up any pollutants which may be
discharged, and (4) to otherwise prevent or minimize any adverse
impact from the construction and operation of such ocean thermal
energy conversion facility or plantship.
(b) Promotion of safety of life and property
The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating shall issue and enforce regulations, subject to
recognized principles of international law, with respect to lights
and other warning devices, safety equipment, and other matters
relating to the promotion of safety of life and property on any
ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship licensed
under this chapter.
(c) Marking components for protection of navigation
Whenever a licensee fails to mark any component of such an ocean
thermal energy conversion facility or plantship in accordance with
applicable regulations, the Secretary of the department in which
the Coast Guard is operating shall mark such components for the
protection of navigation, and the licensee shall pay the cost of
such marking.
(d) Safety zones
(1) Subject to recognized principles of international law and
after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
the Interior, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense,
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating shall designate a zone of appropriate size around and
including any ocean thermal energy conversion facility licensed
under this chapter and may designate such a zone around and
including any ocean thermal energy conversion plantship licensed
under this chapter for the purposes of navigational safety and
protection of the facility or plantship. The Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall by
regulation define permitted activities within such zone consistent
with the purpose for which it was designated. The Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall, not later
than 30 days after publication of notice pursuant to section
9112(d) of this title, designate such safety zone with respect to
any proposed ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship.
(2) In addition to any other regulations, the Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating is authorized, in
accordance with this subsection, to establish a safety zone to be
effective during the period of construction of an ocean thermal
energy conversion facility or plantship licensed under this
chapter, and to issue rules and regulations relating thereto.
(3) Except in a situation involving force majeure, a licensee of
an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship shall not
permit a vessel, registered in or flying the flag of a foreign
state, to call at, load or unload cargo at, or otherwise utilize
such a facility or plantship licensed under this chapter unless (A)
the foreign state involved has agreed, by specific agreement with
the United States, to recognize the jurisdiction of the United
States over the vessel and its personnel, in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter, while the vessel is located within the
safety zone, and (B) the vessel owner or operator has designated an
agent in the United States for receipt of service of process in the
event of any claim or legal proceeding resulting from activities of
the vessel or its personnel while located within such a safety
zone.
(e) Rules and regulations; vessels; "ocean thermal energy
conversion facility" defined
(1) The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating shall promulgate and enforce regulations specified in
paragraph (2) of this subsection and such other regulations as he
deems necessary concerning the documentation, design, construction,
alteration, equipment, maintenance, repair, inspection,
certification, and manning of ocean thermal energy conversion
facilities and plantships. In addition to other requirements
prescribed under those regulations, the Secretary of the department
in which the Coast Guard is operating may require compliance with
those vessel documentation, inspection, and manning laws which he
determines to be appropriate.
(2) Within 1 year after August 3, 1980, the Secretary of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall promulgate
regulations under paragraph (1) of this subsection which require
that any ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship -
(A) be documented;
(B) comply with minimum standards of design, construction,
alteration, and repair; and
(C) be manned or crewed by United States citizens or aliens
lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence,
unless -
(i) there is not a sufficient number of United States
citizens, or aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for
permanent residence, qualified and available for such work, or
(ii) the President makes a specific finding, with respect to
the particular vessel, platform, or moored, fixed or standing
structure, that application of this requirement would not be
consistent with the national interest.
(3) For the purposes of the documentation laws, for which
compliance is required under paragraph (1) of this subsection,
ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships shall be
deemed to be vessels and, if documented, vessels of the United
States for the purposes of chapters 301 and 313 of title 46.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection the term "ocean thermal
energy conversion facility" refers only to an ocean thermal energy
conversion facility which has major components other than water
intake or discharge pipes located seaward of the highwater mark
(!1)
(f) Protection of navigation
Subject to recognized principles of international law, the
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating
shall promulgate and enforce such regulations as he deems necessary
to protect navigation in the vicinity of a vessel engaged in the
installation, repair, or maintenance of any submarine electric
transmission cable or equipment, and to govern the markings and
signals used by such a vessel.