§70122 — Title 46 Shipping | U.S. Code

Summary

Creates America’s Waterway Watch Program inside the Coast Guard. The Secretary must run the program to encourage people to voluntarily report signs that someone may be planning or carrying out a threat or act of terrorism against a vessel, facility, port, or waterway. The Secretary may form a network of individuals and local groups to help the public and industry spot and report such activity, work with law enforcement, and provide training on watching, reporting, and coordinating responses. Joining is voluntary, won’t affect other services, and does not require giving the reporter’s name or, for business reasons, their location. The Secretary must coordinate with similar programs and send a yearly report with the President’s budget to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Congress authorized $3,000,000 for each fiscal year 2011 through 2016; funds remain available until spent.

Title 46, §70122

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(a)There is hereby established, within the Coast Guard, the America’s Waterway Watch Program.

(b)The Secretary shall administer the Program in a manner that promotes voluntary reporting of activities that may indicate that a person or persons may be preparing to engage or engaging in a violation of law relating to a threat or an act of terrorism (as that term is defined in section 3077 of title 18) against a vessel, facility, port, or waterway.

(c)(1)The Secretary may establish, as an element of the Program, a network of individuals and community-based organizations that encourage the public and industry to recognize activities referred to in subsection (b), promote voluntary reporting of such activity, and enhance the situational awareness within the Nation’s ports and waterways. Such network shall, to the extent practicable, be conducted in cooperation with Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.

(2)The Secretary may provide training in—

(A)observing and reporting on covered activities; and

(B)sharing such reports and coordinating the response by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.

(d)Participation in the Program—

(1)shall be wholly voluntary;

(2)shall not be a prerequisite to eligibility for, or receipt of, any other service or assistance from, or to participation in, any other program of any kind; and

(3)shall not require disclosure of information regarding the individual reporting covered activities or, for proprietary purposes, the location of such individual.

(e)The Secretary shall coordinate the Program with other like watch programs. The Secretary shall submit, concurrent with the President’s budget submission for each fiscal year, a report on coordination of the Program and like watch programs within the Department of Homeland Security to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.

(f)There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–120 substituted “Watch Program” for “watch program” in section catchline.

§70122 Waterway Watch Program

Summary

Title 46, §70122

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata