§1509 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must write and enforce safety and pollution rules for deepwater ports. These rules can be in federal regulations or in the port’s operations manual. They must cover ship movements, loading and unloading, anchoring and markings, upkeep, law enforcement, and required equipment and training. The rules must prevent marine pollution, make sure spills are cleaned up, and reduce harm from building and running the port. The process must follow international law and give the public a fair chance to take part. The Secretary must also set rules for lights, warning devices, and other safety gear for the port and nearby waters. If a licensee does not mark port parts as required, the Secretary will mark them and charge the licensee. After consulting the Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, State, and Defense, the Secretary must create a safety zone around the port to bar incompatible structures and define allowed activities. That zone must be set within 30 days after the required public notice is published. A safety zone can also be set during construction.

Title 33, §1509

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to recognized principles of international law and the provision of adequate opportunities for public involvement, the Secretary shall prescribe and enforce procedures, either by regulation (for basic standards and conditions) or by the licensee’s operations manual, with respect to rules governing vessel movement, loading and unloading procedures, designation and marking of anchorage areas, maintenance, law enforcement, and the equipment, training, and maintenance required (A) to prevent pollution of the marine environment, (B) to clean up any pollutants which may be discharged, and (C) to otherwise prevent or minimize any adverse impact from the construction and operation of such deepwater port.

(b)The Secretary shall issue and enforce regulations with respect to lights and other warning devices, safety equipment, and other matters relating to the promotion of safety of life and property in any deepwater port and the waters adjacent thereto.

(c)The Secretary shall mark, for the protection of navigation, any component of a deepwater port whenever the licensee fails to mark such component in accordance with applicable regulations. The licensee shall pay the cost of such marking.

(d)(1)Subject to recognized principles of international law and after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary shall designate a zone of appropriate size around and including any deepwater port for the purpose of navigational safety. In such zone, no installations, structures, or uses will be permitted that are incompatible with the operation of the deepwater port. The Secretary shall by regulation define permitted activities within such zone. The Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after publication of notice pursuant to section 1504(c) of this title, designate such safety zone with respect to any proposed deepwater port.

(2)In addition to any other regulations, the Secretary is authorized, in accordance with this subsection, to establish a safety zone to be effective during the period of construction of a deepwater port and to issue rules and regulations relating thereto.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–324, § 507(a), inserted “and the provision of adequate opportunities for public involvement” after “international law” and substituted “shall prescribe and enforce procedures, either by regulation (for basic standards and conditions) or by the licensee’s operations manual, with respect to” for “shall prescribe by regulation and enforce procedures with respect to any deepwater port, including, but not limited to,”.

§1509 Marine Environmental Protection and Navigational Safety

Summary

Title 33, §1509

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata