§9163 Relationship to Other Laws

Summary

Ocean thermal energy conversion facilities and plantships licensed under this chapter and located seaward of the highwater mark must follow the U.S. Constitution, laws, and treaties. Activities tied to or that could interfere with those facilities are treated the same as if the facility were on federal land inside a State. Licensing does not excuse anyone from other federal rules. Licensed facilities are not islands and do not have their own territorial seas. The chapter does not change the roles of a State or the United States inside the territorial sea. If a licensed facility beyond the territorial sea is tied by cable or pipeline to the nearest coastal State, that State’s law — whether now in effect or later adopted, changed, or canceled — becomes U.S. law for that facility unless it conflicts with this chapter or other federal law. State tax laws do not extend beyond the State’s seaward boundary, and federal officers and courts enforce the applicable laws outside that boundary. For customs purposes administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, U.S.-documented and licensed facilities and plantships are treated as vessels. Except where customs rules already apply to U.S.-documented vessels, the customs laws in title 19 (including the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. 1202) do not apply to them. Any foreign parts used to build such a facility must first be made subject to the same duties and taxes that would apply if they were imported for use in the United States, and those duties must be paid under the usual import rules.