[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 15, Volume 3]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 15CFR922.111]



[Page 136-137]

 

                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

 

CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                               OF COMMERCE

 

PART 922_NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS--Table of Contents

 

            Subpart K_Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

 

Sec. 922.111  Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities.



    (a) Except as necessary for national defense or to respond to an 

emergency threatening life, property or the environment, or except as 

permitted in accordance with Sec. Sec. 922.48 and 922.112 or certified 

in accordance with Sec. 922.47, the following activities are prohibited 

and thus are unlawful for any person to conduct or to cause to be 

conducted:

    (1)(i) Depositing or discharging, from any location within the 

boundary of the Sanctuary, material or other matter of any kind except:

    (A) Fish, fish parts, chumming materials (bait) produced and 

discarded during routine fishing activities conducted in the Sanctuary; 

and

    (B) Water (including cooling water) and other biodegradable 

effluents incidental to use of a vessel in the Sanctuary and generated 

by: Marine sanitation devices approved by the United States Coast Guard; 

routine vessel maintenance, e.g., deck wash down; engine exhaust; or 

meals on board vessels.

    (ii) Depositing or discharging, from any location beyond the 

boundaries of the Sanctuary, material or other matter of any kind, 

except for the exclusions listed in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, 

which enter the Sanctuary and injure a Sanctuary resource.

    (2) Removing, taking, or injuring or attempting to remove, take, or 

injure benthic invertebrates or algae located on Cordell Bank or within 

the 50 fathom isobath surrounding the Bank. There is a rebuttable 

presumption that any such resource found in the possession of a person 

within the Sanctuary was taken or removed by that person. This 

prohibition does not apply to accidental removal, injury, or takings 

during normal fishing operations.

    (3) Exploring for, or developing or producing, oil, gas, or minerals 

in any area of the Sanctuary.



[[Page 137]]



    (b) All activities being carried out by the Department of Defense 

(DOD) within the Sanctuary on the effective date of designation that are 

necessary for national defense are exempt from the prohibitions 

contained in the regulations in this subpart. Additional DOD activities 

initiated after the effective date of designation that are necessary for 

national defense will be exempted by the Director after consultation 

between the Department of Commerce and DOD. DOD activities not necessary 

for national defense, such as routine exercises and vessel operations, 

are subject to all prohibitions contained in the regulations in this 

subpart.

    (c) Where necessary to prevent immediate, serious, and irreversible 

damage to a Sanctuary resource, any activity may be regulated within the 

limits of the Act on an emergency basis for no more than 120 days.