[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: 15CFR960.11]



[Page 301-302]

 

                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

 

CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                               OF COMMERCE

 

PART 960_LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS--Table of Contents

 

                           Subpart B_Licenses

 

Sec. 960.11  Conditions for operation.



    (a) Each license issued for the operation of a system shall require 

the licensee to comply with the Act and the regulations in this part. 

The licensee shall ensure that its license information is kept current 

and accurate. A licensee's failure to notify NOAA in a timely manner of 

any changes to that information on which the determination to issue the 

license or a subsequent licensing action was or will be made may result 

in penalties for noncompliance being levied, pursuant to Section 

203(a)(3) of Public Law 102-555.

    (b) The following conditions, as a minimum, shall be included in all 

licenses:

    (1) The licensee shall operate its system in a manner that preserves 

the national security and observes the foreign policy and international 

obligations of the United States. Specific limitations on operational 

performance, including, but not limited to, limitations on data 

collection and dissemination, as appropriate, will be specified in each 

license.

    (2) The licensee shall maintain operational control from a location 

within the United States at all times, including the ability to override 

all commands issued by any operations centers or stations.

    (3) The licensee will maintain and make available to the Assistant 

Administrator records of system tasking, operations and other data as 

specified in the license for the purposes of monitoring and compliance. 

Periodic reporting and record keeping requirements will be specified in 

the license. The licensee shall allow the Administrator access, at all 

reasonable times, to all facilities which comprise the remote sensing 

space system for the purpose of conducting license monitoring and 

compliance inspections.

    (4) The licensee may be required by the Secretary to limit data 

collection and/or distribution by the system as determined to be 

necessary to meet significant national security or significant foreign 

policy concerns, or international obligations of the United States, in 

accordance with the procedures set forth in the Interagency MOU Fact 

Sheet. During such limitations, the licensee shall, on request, provide 

unenhanced restricted images on a commercial basis exclusively to the 

U.S. Government using U.S. government-approved rekeyable encryption on 

the down-link and shall use a data down-link format that allows the U.S. 

Government access to these data during such periods.

    (5) A licensee shall notify the Administrator of its intent to enter 

into any significant or substantial foreign agreement, and shall submit 

this agreement for review in accordance with Sec. 960.8. The proposed 

agreement may not be implemented by the licensee until the licensee has 

been advised by the Administrator that the document's provisions are 

acceptable.

    (i) Notification of any agreement that provides for an on-going or a 

continuous relationship serves as notification of specific transactions 

carried out within the scope of that agreement for purposes of the 

regulations in this part and the Act. Such notification does not relieve 

a licensee of any obligation under any other laws including U.S. export 

laws or regulations to secure necessary USG authorizations and/or 

licenses, to provide notification, or to comply with other requirements.

    (ii) A licensee seeking to enter a foreign agreement that would 

require the modification of the terms of an existing license shall 

submit a license amendment, as provided in Sec. 960.7.

    (6) In accordance with Section 201 (e) of the Act and Sec. 960.12, 

a licensee shall make available on reasonable commercial terms and 

conditions, in accordance with the Act and Sec. 960.12, any unenhanced 

data designated by the Assistant Administrator.

    (7) A licensee shall provide to the U.S. Government, upon request, a 

complete list of all archived, unenhanced data which has been generated 

by its licensed system which is not already maintained in a public 

catalog. Any information on this list which is deemed proprietary by the 

licensee should be so noted by the licensee when the list is provided to 

the U.S. Government.



[[Page 302]]



    (8) A licensee shall make available unenhanced data requested by the 

National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive (``the Archive'') in 

the Department of the Interior on reasonable cost terms and conditions 

as agreed by the licensee and the Archive. After the expiration of any 

exclusive right to sell, or after a reasonable period of time, as agreed 

with the licensee, the Archive shall make these data available to the 

public at a price equivalent to the cost of fulfilling user requests.

    (9) Before purging any licensed data in its possession, the licensee 

shall offer such data to the Archive at the cost of reproduction and 

transmission. The Archive shall make these data available immediately to 

the public at a price equivalent to the cost of fulfilling user 

requests.

    (10) A licensee shall make available to the government of any 

country (including the United States) upon request by that government, 

unenhanced data collected by its system concerning the territory under 

the jurisdiction of such government. The data shall be provided as soon 

as the licensee is able to distribute the data commercially or as soon 

as the licensee has processed them into a format that the licensee uses 

for its own purposes, whichever occurs sooner, on reasonable terms and 

conditions. However, no data shall be provided to the sensed state if 

such release is contrary to U.S. national security concerns, foreign 

policy or international obligations or is otherwise prohibited by law, 

e.g. where transactions with the sensed state are prohibited by the laws 

of the United States. The USG may require, as a specific license 

condition, coordination with NOAA prior to fulfilling specific sensed 

state requests for unenhanced data.

    (11) A licensee shall inform the Assistant Administrator immediately 

of any operational deviation or proposed deviation of the system which 

would violate the conditions of the license. If advance notice is not 

possible because of an emergency posing an imminent and substantial 

threat to human life, property, the environment or the system itself, 

the licensee shall notify the Assistant Administrator of the deviation 

as soon as circumstances permit.

    (12) A licensee shall dispose of any satellites operated by the 

licensee upon termination of operations under the license in a manner 

satisfactory to the President. The licensee shall obtain approval from 

the Assistant Administrator of all plans and procedures for the 

disposition of satellites as part of the application process.