46 U.S.C. § 70003 — Port access routes
submitted 8 years ago by Pub. L. 115-282 to r/title-46-SHIPPING · 752 words · no verdicts yet
The Secretary must designate needed fairways and traffic-separation schemes for safe access to United States ports, subject to limits and study requirements. The Secretary may regulate and require use of those routes while considering other uses.
(a) Authority To Designate. Subject to (b) and (c), the Secretary must designate needed fairways and traffic-separation schemes for vessels going to or from United States ports or places. They cover the United States territorial sea and high-seas approaches outside it. In the designated area, navigation has priority over all other uses.
(b) Limitation. (1) The Secretary may not designate a route if its implementation would deprive someone of effectively exercising a right under a lease or permit, and that right became vested before the notice required by (c)(1) was published. (2) The Secretary must make that determination after consulting the agency* head responsible for the lease or permit.
(c) Consideration of Other Uses. Before designating a route, and following section 70004, the Secretary must: (1) study expected traffic density and the need for safe routes and publish notice of the study in the Federal Register; (2) consult, as their responsibilities require, the Secretaries of State*, the Interior, Commerce, and the Army and affected Governors, and consider other uses, including oil, gas, and mineral exploration or development; deepwater ports and structures on or above the seabed, subsoil, submerged lands, or Outer Continental Shelf; marine or estuarine sanctuaries; and recreational or commercial fishing; and (3) as far as practicable, reconcile safe-route needs with other reasonable uses.
(d) Study. The Secretary must finish the study promptly. Afterward, the Secretary must promptly issue a proposed-rule notice for the designation or publish in the Federal Register that no designation is planned and why.
(e) Implementation. For a designation, the Secretary: (1) must issue reasonable rules, including rules about International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea rules 9 and 10 on narrow channels and traffic-separation schemes; (2) may require specific types and sizes of foreign or domestic vessels in the territorial sea, and United States vessels on the high seas, to use the routes when reasonably necessary; (3) may adjust route locations or limits to accommodate other uses that cannot otherwise reasonably be accommodated, unless the adjustment unacceptably harms the designation’s continuing purpose; and (4) through proper channels, must notify relevant international organizations and seek foreign cooperation to require their vessels to use a designated high-seas route to the same extent as United States vessels.
Except as provided in subsection (b) and subject to the requirements of subsection (c), in order to provide safe access routes for the movement of vessel* traffic proceeding to or from ports or places subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, the Secretary shall designate necessary fairways and traffic separation schemes for vessels operating in the territorial sea of the United States and in high seas approaches, outside the territorial sea, to such ports or places. Such a designation shall recognize, within the designated area, the paramount right of navigation over all other uses.
No designation may be made by the Secretary under this section if—
the Secretary determines such a designation, as implemented, would deprive any person of the effective exercise of a right granted by a lease or permit executed or issued under other applicable provisions of law; and
such right has become vested before the time of publication of the notice required by paragraph (1) of subsection (c).
The Secretary shall make the determination under paragraph (1)(A) after consultation with the head of the agency* responsible for executing the lease or issuing the permit.
Before making a designation under subsection (a), and in accordance with the requirements of section 70004, the Secretary shall—
undertake a study of the potential traffic density and the need for safe access routes for vessels in any area for which fairways or traffic separation schemes are proposed or that may otherwise be considered and publish notice of such undertaking in the Federal Register;
in consultation with the Secretary of State*, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Army, and the Governors of affected States, as their responsibilities may require, take into account all other uses of the area under consideration, including, as appropriate, the exploration for, or exploitation of, oil, gas, or other mineral resources, the construction or operation of deepwater ports or other structures on or above the seabed or subsoil of the submerged lands or the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States, the establishment or operation of marine or estuarine sanctuaries, and activities involving recreational or commercial fishing; and
to the extent practicable, reconcile the need for safe access routes with the needs of all other reasonable uses of the area involved.
In carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under subsection (c), the Secretary shall—
proceed expeditiously to complete any study undertaken; and
after completion of such a study, promptly—
issue a notice of proposed rulemaking for the designation contemplated; or
publish in the Federal Register a notice that no designation is contemplated as a result of the study and the reason for such determination.
In connection with a designation made under this section, the Secretary—
shall issue reasonable rules and regulations governing the use of such designated areas, including rules and regulations regarding the applicability of rules 9 and 10 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, relating to narrow channels and traffic separation schemes, respectively, in waters where such regulations apply;
to the extent that the Secretary finds reasonable and necessary to effectuate the purposes of the designation, make the use of designated fairways and traffic separation schemes mandatory for specific types and sizes of vessels, foreign and domestic, operating in the territorial sea of the United States and for specific types and sizes of vessels of the United States operating on the high seas beyond the territorial sea of the United States;
may, from time to time, as necessary, adjust the location or limits of designated fairways or traffic separation schemes in order to accommodate the needs of other uses that cannot be reasonably accommodated otherwise, except that such an adjustment may not, in the judgment of the Secretary, unacceptably adversely affect the purpose for which the existing designation was made and the need for which continues; and
shall, through appropriate channels—
notify cognizant international organizations of any designation, or adjustment thereof; and
take action to seek the cooperation of foreign States in making it mandatory for vessels under their control to use, to the same extent as required by the Secretary for vessels of the United States, any fairway or traffic separation scheme designated under this section in any area of the high seas.
Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 115–282, title IV, § 401(a), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4255.)
- 2018Enacted · Pub. L. 115-282 · 132 Stat. 4255
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 115-282 on 2018-12-04.
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