§2403 — Title 16 Conservation | U.S. Code

Summary

People must not do many things in Antarctica. You cannot bring banned products onto the land, ice shelves, or into the water. You cannot dump waste on ice-free land or into fresh water, dump prohibited wastes, or burn waste out in the open. You may not use a seagoing vessel that is not covered by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to carry passengers to, from, or within Antarctica unless the vessel owner agrees to follow Annex IV. If you organize or run a private expedition and do business in the United States, you must tell all members about the environmental rules and what they must or must not do. You cannot harm or remove historic sites. You must allow authorized U.S. officers to board U.S. ships, vehicles, or aircraft for inspections. You may not assault or block officers, resist arrest, interfere with someone’s apprehension, break regulations or permit terms, or try to commit these banned acts. Without a permit you also may not dispose of waste in Antarctica (except as allowed under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships), including dumping land waste into the sea or incinerating waste on land, ice shelves, or at embarkation points (except portable incinerator toilets at remote field sites). You cannot bring in nonnative species, enter Antarctic Specially Protected Areas without permission, take or harm wildlife or plants, or buy, sell, transport, or possess native animals or plants you know (or should know) were taken illegally. Actions listed above are allowed only if the person reasonably believed they were needed in an emergency to protect human life, ships, aircraft, high-value equipment or facilities, or the environment.

Title 16, §2403

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)It is unlawful for any person—

(1)to introduce any prohibited product onto land or ice shelves or into water in Antarctica;

(2)to dispose of any waste onto ice-free land areas or into fresh water systems in Antarctica;

(3)to dispose of any prohibited waste in Antarctica;

(4)to engage in open burning of waste;

(5)to transport passengers to, from, or within Antarctica by any seagoing vessel not required to comply with the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), unless the person has an agreement with the vessel owner or operator under which the owner or operator is required to comply with Annex IV to the Protocol;

(6)who organizes, sponsors, operates, or promotes a nongovernmental expedition to Antarctica, and who does business in the United States, to fail to notify all members of the expedition of the environmental protection obligations of this chapter, and of actions which members must take, or not take, in order to comply with those obligations;

(7)to damage, remove, or destroy a historic site or monument;

(8)to refuse permission to any authorized officer or employee of the United States to board a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft of the United States, or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, for the purpose of conducting any search or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or any regulation promulgated or permit issued under this chapter;

(9)to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any authorized officer or employee of the United States in the conduct of any search or inspection described in paragraph (8);

(10)to resist a lawful arrest or detention for any act prohibited by this section;

(11)to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the apprehension, arrest, or detention of another person, knowing that such other person has committed any act prohibited by this section;

(12)to violate any regulation issued under this chapter, or any term or condition of any permit issued to that person under this chapter; or

(13)to attempt to commit or cause to be committed any act prohibited by this section.

(b)It is unlawful for any person, unless authorized by a permit issued under this chapter—

(1)to dispose of any waste in Antarctica (except as otherwise authorized by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships [33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.]) including—

(A)disposing of any waste from land into the sea in Antarctica; and

(B)incinerating any waste on land or ice shelves in Antarctica, or on board vessels at points of embarcation or debarcation, other than through the use at remote field sites of incinerator toilets for human waste;

(2)to introduce into Antarctica any member of a nonnative species;

(3)to enter or engage in activities within any Antarctic Specially Protected Area;

(4)to engage in any taking or harmful interference in Antarctica; or

(5)to receive, acquire, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession of, any native bird, native mammal, or native plant which the person knows, or in the exercise of due care should have known, was taken in violation of this chapter.

(c)No act described in subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), (12), or (13) or in subsection (b) shall be unlawful if the person committing the act reasonably believed that the act was committed under emergency circumstances involving the safety of human life or of ships, aircraft, or equipment or facilities of high value, or the protection of the environment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, referred to in subsecs. (a)(5) and (b)(1), is Pub. L. 96–478, Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2297, which is classified principally to chapter 33 (§ 1901 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1901 of Title 33 and Tables.

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–227 reenacted section catchline without change and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text consisted of subsec. (a) “In General”, which set forth unlawful acts in pars. (1) to (4) and provided that such acts would not be unlawful if committed under emergency circumstances to prevent the loss of human life, and subsec. (b) “Exception”, which provided that subsec. (a) would not apply with respect to any native mammal, native bird, or native plant held in captivity or to any offspring of such mammal, bird, or plant.

§2403 Prohibited Acts