§9119 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

Licenses for ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships must include rules to make sure building and operating them do not unfairly interfere with ships, fishing, energy production, science work, or other lawful uses of the high seas by U.S. citizens or other nations. The Administrator must make rules saying when a facility’s hot or cold water plume counts as interfering with another facility’s temperature gradient or when it harms another nation’s territorial sea or resource zone as the United States recognizes. The Coast Guard’s Secretary, after talking with the Administrator, must make and enforce navigation rules for plantships so their plumes do not unreasonably harm other operations, except in cases of force majeure or with the other owner’s consent, and so they do not affect another nation’s sea or resource zone unless the Secretary of State approves after consulting that nation.

Title 42, §9119

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each license shall include such conditions as may be necessary and appropriate to ensure that construction and operation of the ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship are conducted with reasonable regard for navigation, fishing, energy production, scientific research, or other uses of the high seas, either by citizens of the United States or by other nations in their exercise of the freedoms of the high seas as recognized under the Convention of the High Seas and the general principles of international law.

(b)The Administrator shall promulgate regulations specifying under what conditions and in what circumstances the thermal plume of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship licensed under this chapter will be deemed—

(1)to impinge on so as to degrade the thermal gradient used by another ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship, or

(2)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.

(c)The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall promulgate, after consultation with the Administrator, and shall enforce, regulations governing the movement and navigation of ocean thermal energy conversion plantships licensed under this chapter to ensure that the thermal plume of such an ocean thermal energy conversion plantship does not unreasonably impinge on so as to degrade the thermal gradient used by the operation of any other ocean thermal energy conversion plantship or facility except in case of force majeure or with the consent of owner of the other such plantship or facility, and to ensure that the thermal plume of such an ocean thermal energy conversion plantship does not 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 has approved such impingement after consultation with such nation.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 96–320, Aug. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 974, known as the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 9101 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1984—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 98–623, § 602(e)(2), substituted “national resource jurisdiction” for “natural resource jurisdiction”. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 98–623, § 602(e)(15), struck out par. (3) which prohibited a licensee of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship under this chapter, except in the case of force majeure, from permitting foreign vessels to call at, or load or unload cargo at, or otherwise use such facility or plantship unless the foreign state involved had specifically agreed to recognize the jurisdiction of the United States over the vessel and its personnel while such vessel was located in the safety zone and the vessel owner or operator had designated an agent in the United States for receipt of service of process for legal claims or proceedings arising from activities of the vessel or its personnel while located in such zone. See section 9118(d)(3) of this title. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–623, § 602(e)(16), substituted “the thermal plume of such” for “the thermal plume such of” in second place appearing, and substituted “impingement” for “impingment”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§9119 Prevention of interference with other uses of high seas