Collapse to view only § 1521. Negotiations with Canada and Mexico; report to Congress
- § 1501. Congressional declaration of policy
- § 1502. Definitions
- § 1503. License for ownership, construction, and operation of deepwater port
- § 1504. Procedure
- § 1505. Environmental review criteria
- § 1506. Repealed.
- § 1507. Common carrier status
- § 1508. Adjacent coastal States
- § 1509. Marine environmental protection and navigational safety
- § 1510. International agreements
- § 1511. Suspension or termination of licenses
- § 1512. Recordkeeping and inspection
- § 1513. Public access to information
- § 1514. Remedies
- § 1515. Citizen civil action
- § 1516. Judicial review; persons aggrieved; jurisdiction of courts of appeal
- § 1517. Repealed.
- § 1517a. Omitted
- § 1518. Relationship to other laws
- § 1519. Repealed.
- § 1520. Pipeline safety and operation
- § 1521. Negotiations with Canada and Mexico; report to Congress
- § 1522. Limitations on export provisions of
- § 1523. General procedures; issuance and enforcement of orders; scope of authority; evidentiary matters
- § 1524. Authorization of appropriations
No person may engage in the ownership, construction, or operation of a deepwater port except in accordance with a license issued pursuant to this chapter. No person may transport or otherwise transfer any oil or natural gas between a deepwater port and the United States unless such port has been so licensed and the license is in force.
The Secretary may amend, transfer, or reinstate a license issued under this chapter if the Secretary finds that the amendment, transfer, or reinstatement is consistent with the requirements of this chapter.
Any citizen of the United States who otherwise qualifies under the terms of this chapter shall be eligible to be issued a license for the ownership, construction, and operation of a deepwater port.
A license issued under this chapter remains in effect unless suspended or revoked by the Secretary or until surrendered by the licensee.
To promote the security of the United States, the Secretary shall give top priority to the processing of a license under this chapter for liquefied natural gas facilities that will be supplied with or that will supply liquefied natural gas by United States flag vessels.
The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after January 3, 1975, and after consultation with other Federal agencies, issue regulations to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter in accordance with the provisions of section 553 of title 5, without regard to subsection (a) thereof. Such regulations shall pertain to, but need not be limited to, application, issuance, transfer, renewal, suspension, and termination of licenses. Such regulations shall provide for full consultation and cooperation with all other interested Federal agencies and departments and with any potentially affected coastal State, and for consideration of the views of any interested members of the general public. The Secretary is further authorized, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter, to amend or rescind any such regulation.
The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall, as soon as practicable after January 3, 1975, prescribe regulations relating to those activities involved in site evaluation and preconstruction testing at potential deepwater port locations that may (1) adversely affect the environment; (2) interfere with authorized uses of the Outer Continental Shelf; or (3) pose a threat to human health and welfare. Such activity may thenceforth not be undertaken except in accordance with regulations prescribed pursuant to this subsection. Such regulations shall be consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
On publication of a notice relating to an application under subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), the Secretary shall be subject to subsection (f).
For all applications, the Secretary, in cooperation with other involved Federal agencies and departments, shall comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.]. Such compliance shall fulfill the requirement of all Federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 pursuant to this chapter.
A license may be issued only after public notice and public hearings in accordance with this subsection. At least one such public hearing shall be held in each adjacent coastal State. Any interested person may present relevant material at any hearing. After hearings in each adjacent coastal State are concluded if the Secretary determines that there exists one or more specific and material factual issues which may be resolved by a formal evidentiary hearing, at least one adjudicatory hearing shall be held in accordance with the provisions of section 554 of title 5 in the District of Columbia. The record developed in any such adjudicatory hearing shall be basis for the Secretary’s decision to approve or deny a license. Hearings held pursuant to this subsection shall be consolidated insofar as practicable with hearings held by other agencies. All public hearings on all applications for any designated application area shall be consolidated and shall be concluded not later than 240 days after notice of the initial application has been published pursuant to subsection (c).
Each person applying for a license pursuant to this chapter shall remit to the Secretary at the time the application is filed a nonrefundable application fee established by regulation by the Secretary.
In addition to a fee under subparagraph (A), an applicant shall also reimburse the United States and the appropriate adjacent coastal State for any additional costs incurred in processing an application.
In this paragraph, the term “directly related land-based facility”, with respect to a deepwater port facility, means an onshore tank farm and any pipelines connecting the tank farm to the deepwater port facility.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and unless prohibited by law, an adjacent coastal State may fix reasonable fees for the use of a deepwater port facility, and such State and any other State in which land-based facilities directly related to a deepwater port facility are located may set reasonable fees for the use of such land-based facilities.
A fee may be established pursuant to this paragraph as compensation for any economic cost attributable to the construction and operation of the applicable deepwater port and the applicable land-based facilities, which cannot be recovered under other authority of the applicable State or political subdivision thereof, including, but not limited to, ad valorem taxes, and for environmental and administrative costs attributable to the construction and operation of the applicable deepwater port and the applicable land-based facilities.
The amount of a fee established under this paragraph shall not exceed the applicable economic, environmental, and administrative costs of the applicable State.
A fee established under this paragraph shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary.
A licensee shall pay annually in advance the fair market rental value (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf of the United States to be utilized by the deepwater port, including the fair market rental value of the right-of-way necessary for the pipeline segment of the port located on such subsoil and seabed.
The Secretary shall develop and implement a program to promote the transportation of liquefied natural gas to and from the United States on United States flag vessels.
When the Coast Guard is operating as a contributing agency in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s shoreside licensing process for a liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas terminal located on shore or within State seaward boundaries, the Coast Guard shall provide to the Commission the information described in subsection (c)(2)(K) with respect to vessels reasonably anticipated to be servicing that port.
An applicant that receives a statement under paragraph (2) may submit to the Secretary a request for a meeting with appropriate personnel of the Department of Transportation and representatives of each cooperating Federal agency, as appropriate, determined by the Secretary to be relevant with respect to the application, including such officials as are appropriate, who shall provide technical assistance, status, process, and timeline updates and additional information as necessary.
A meeting requested under clause (i) shall be held not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the request under that clause.
The Secretary shall periodically review and, whenever necessary, revise in the same manner as originally developed, criteria established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
The criteria established pursuant to this section shall be developed concurrently with the regulations promulgated pursuant to section 1504(a) of this title and in accordance with that section and in accordance with the provisions of that subsection.
A deepwater port and a storage facility serviced directly by that deepwater port shall operate as a common carrier under applicable provisions of part I of the Interstate Commerce Act and subtitle IV of title 49, and shall accept, transport, or convey without discrimination all oil delivered to the deepwater port with respect to which its license is issued, except as provided by subsection (b) of this section.
When the Secretary has reason to believe that a licensee is not in compliance with this section, the Secretary shall commence an appropriate proceeding before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or request the Attorney General to take appropriate steps to enforce compliance with this section and, when appropriate, to secure the imposition of appropriate sanctions. In addition, the Secretary may suspend or revoke the license of a licensee not complying with its obligations under this section.
Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to deepwater ports for natural gas. A licensee of a deepwater port for natural gas, or an affiliate thereof, may exclusively utilize the entire capacity of the deepwater port and storage facilities for the acceptance, transport, storage, regasification, or conveyance of natural gas produced, processed, marketed, or otherwise obtained by agreement by such licensee or its affiliates. The licensee may make unused capacity of the deepwater port and storage facilities available to other persons, pursuant to reasonable terms and conditions imposed by the licensee, if such use does not otherwise interfere in any way with the acceptance, transport, storage, regasification, or conveyance of natural gas produced, processed, marketed, or otherwise obtained by agreement by such licensee or its affiliates.
Notwithstanding any provision of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.), any regulation or rule issued thereunder, or section 1518 of this title as it pertains to such Act, this chapter shall apply with respect to the licensing, siting, construction, or operation of a deepwater natural gas port or the acceptance, transport, storage, regasification, or conveyance of natural gas at or through a deepwater port, to the exclusion of the Natural Gas Act or any regulation or rule issued thereunder.
Not later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary designates adjacent coastal States under subsection (a) with respect to a deepwater port proposed in an application, the Secretary shall transmit a complete copy of the application to the Governor of each adjacent coastal State.
The Secretary shall not issue a license without the approval of the Governor of each adjacent coastal State.
If the Governor of an adjacent coastal State fails to transmit a required approval or disapproval to the Secretary not later than 45 days after the last public hearing on applications for a particular application area, such approval shall be conclusively presumed.
If the Governor of an adjacent coastal State notifies the Secretary that an application, which would otherwise be approved pursuant to this paragraph, is inconsistent with State programs relating to environmental protection, land and water use, and coastal zone management, the Secretary shall condition the license granted so as to make it consistent with such State programs.
Any other State with an interest relating to a deepwater port proposed in an application shall have the opportunity to make its views known to, and shall be given full consideration by, the Secretary regarding the location, construction, and operation of the deepwater port.
The Secretary shall not issue a license unless the adjacent coastal State to which the deepwater port is to be directly connected by pipeline has developed, or is making, at the time the application is submitted, reasonable progress toward developing an approved coastal zone management program pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 [16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.] in the area to be directly and primarily impacted by land and water development in the coastal zone resulting from such deepwater port. For the purposes of this chapter, a State shall be considered to be making reasonable progress if it is receiving a planning grant pursuant to section 305 of the Coastal Zone Management Act [16 U.S.C. 1454].
The consent of Congress is given to two or more coastal States to negotiate and enter into agreements or compacts, not in conflict with any law or treaty of the United States, (1) to apply for a license for the ownership, construction, and operation of a deepwater port or for the transfer of such license, and (2) to establish such agencies, joint or otherwise, as are deemed necessary or appropriate for implementing and carrying out the provisions of any such agreement or compact. Such agreement or compact shall be binding and obligatory upon any State or party thereto without further approval by Congress.
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.
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.
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.
The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, shall seek effective international action and cooperation in support of the policy and purposes of this chapter and may formulate, present, or support specific proposals in the United Nations and other competent international organizations for the development of appropriate international rules and regulations relative to the construction, ownership, and operation of deepwater ports, with particular regard for measures that assure protection of such facilities as well as the promotion of navigational safety in the vicinity thereof.
If the Secretary determines that immediate suspension of the construction or operation of a deepwater port or any component thereof is necessary to protect public health or safety or to eliminate imminent and substantial danger to the environment, he shall order the licensee to cease or alter such construction or operation pending the completion of a judicial proceeding pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
Each licensee shall establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information as the Secretary, after consultation with other interested Federal departments and agencies, shall by regulation prescribe to carry out the provision of this chapter. Such regulations shall not amend, contradict or duplicate regulations established pursuant to part I of the Interstate Commerce Act or any other law. Each licensee shall submit such reports and shall make such records and information available as the Secretary may request.
All United States officials, including those officials responsible for the implementation and enforcement of United States laws applicable to a deepwater port, shall at all times be afforded reasonable access to a deepwater port licensed under this chapter for the purpose of enforcing laws under their jurisdiction or otherwise carrying out their responsibilities. Each such official may inspect, at reasonable times, records, files, papers, processes, controls, and facilities and may test any feature of a deep water port. Each inspection shall be conducted with reasonable promptness, and such licensee shall be notified of the results of such inspection.
Copies of any communication, document, report, or information transmitted between any official of the Federal Government and any person concerning a deepwater port (other than contracts referred to in section 1504(c)(2)(B) of this title) shall be made available to the public for inspection, and shall be available for the purpose of reproduction at a reasonable cost, to the public upon identifiable request, unless such information may not be publicly released under the terms of subsection (b) of this section. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require the release of any information of the kind described in subsection (b) of section 552 of title 5 or which is otherwise protected by law from disclosure to the public.
Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter or any rule, order, or regulation issued pursuant thereto commits a class A misdemeanor for each day of violation.
Upon a request by the Secretary, the Attorney General shall bring an action in an appropriate district court of the United States for equitable relief to redress a violation by any person of any provision of this chapter, any regulation under this chapter, or any license condition. The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction to grant such relief as is necessary or appropriate, including mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable relief, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
Any vessel, except a public vessel engaged in noncommercial activities, used in a violation of this chapter or of any rule or regulation issued pursuant to this chapter, shall be liable in rem for any civil penalty assessed or criminal fine imposed and may be proceeded against in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof; but no vessel shall be liable unless it shall appear that one or more of the owners, or bareboat charterers, was at the time of the violation, a consenting party or privy to such violation.
In any action under this section, the Secretary or the Attorney General, if not a party, may intervene as a matter of right.
The Court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to any party whenever the court determines that such an award is appropriate.
Nothing in this section shall restrict any right which any person (or class of persons) may have under any statute or common law to seek enforcement or to seek any other relief.
The law of the nearest adjacent coastal State, now in effect or hereafter adopted, amended, or repealed, is declared to be the law of the United States, and shall apply to any deepwater port licensed pursuant to this chapter, to the extent applicable and not inconsistent with any provision or regulation under this chapter or other Federal laws and regulations now in effect or hereafter adopted, amended, or repealed. All such applicable laws shall be administered and enforced by the appropriate officers and courts of the United States. For purposes of this subsection, the nearest adjacent coastal State shall be that State whose seaward boundaries, if extended beyond 3 miles, would encompass the site of the deepwater port.
The customs laws administered by the Secretary of the Treasury shall not apply to any deepwater port licensed under this chapter, but all foreign articles to be used in the construction of any such deepwater port, including any component thereof, shall first be made subject to all applicable duties and taxes which would be imposed upon or by reason of their importation if they were imported for consumption in the United States. Duties and taxes shall be paid thereon in accordance with laws applicable to merchandise imported into the customs territory of the United States.
The United States district courts shall have original jurisdiction of cases and controversies arising out of or in connection with the construction and operation of deepwater ports, and proceedings with respect to any such case or controversy may be instituted in the judicial district in which any defendant resides or may be found, or in the judicial district of the adjacent coastal State nearest the place where the cause of action arose.
The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish and enforce such standards and regulations as may be necessary to assure the safe construction and operation of oil or natural gas pipelines on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to amend, restrict, or otherwise limit the application of section 185(u) of title 30.
The Secretary or his delegate shall have the authority to issue and enforce orders during proceedings brought under this chapter. Such authority shall include the authority to issue subpenas, administer oaths, compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence, to take depositions before any designated individual competent to administer oaths, and to examine witnesses.
There is authorized to be appropriated for administration of this chapter, not to exceed $2,500,000 per fiscal year for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1975, June 30, 1976, September 30, 1977, September 30, 1978, September 30, 1979, and September 30, 1980.