24 1 "(b) There are also authorized to be appropriated to 2 the Secretary such sums, not to exceed $3,000,000 annually, 3 as may be necessary for administrative expenses incident 4 to the administration of this title." 5 6 "TITLE IV-MARINE SANCTUARIES "SHORT TITLE 7 "SEC. 401. This title may be cited as the 'Marine Sanc 8 9 tuary Act of 1971'. "SEC. 402. (a) The Secretary, after consultation with 10 the Secretaries of State, Defense, the Interior, and Trans 11 portation, may designate as marine sanctuaries those areas 12 of the high seas outside the coastal and estuarine zone and 13 14 15 superjacent to the subsoil and seabed of the Continental Shelf, as defined in the Convention on the Continental Shelf (15 U.S.T. 471; TIAS 5578), which he determines neces16 sary for the purpose of preserving or restoring such areas 17 for their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic 18 values. 19 "(b) Unless the action is concurred in by the coastal 20 State involved, no marine sanctuary designated under this 21 title may include waters superjacent to the subsoil and sea22 bed within the seaward boundary of a coastal State, as that 23 boundary is defined in section 2 of title I of the Act of May 24 22,1953 (67 Stat. 29). 25 "(c) When a marine sanctuary is designated pursuant to 25 1 this title, which includes an area more than twelve miles 2 from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial 3 sea is measured, the Secretary of State shall take action, 4 as appropriate, to enter into agreements with other Govern 5 ments, in order to protect such sanctuary and promote the 6 purposes for which it was established. 7 "(d) The Secretary shall make his initial designation 8 under this section within two years following the date of 9 enactment of this title. Thereafter, he shall periodically 10 designate such additional areas as he deems appropriate. 11 The Secretary shall submit a report annually to the Congress, setting forth a comprehensive review of his actions 13 under the authority under this section, together with ap14 propriate recommendations for legislation considered neces15 sary for the designation and protection of marine sanc16 tuaries. 12 17 "(e) Before a marine sanctuary is designated under 18 this section, the Secretary shall hold public hearings in the 19 coastal area which would be most directly affected by such 20 designation, for the purpose of receiving and giving proper 21 consideration to the views of any interested party. Such 22 hearings shall be held no earlier than thirty days after the 23 publication of a public notice thereof. 24 "(f) After a marine sanctuary has been designated un 25 der this section, the Secretary shall issue necessary and rea 26 1 sonable regulations to control any activities permitted within 2 the designated marine sanctuary, and no permit, license, or 3 other authorization issued pursuant to any other authority 4 shall be valid unless the Secretary shall certify that the per5 mitted activity is consistent with the purposes of this title 6 and can be carried out within the regulations promulgated 7 under this section. 8 "SEC. 403. (a) Whoever violates any regulations issued 9 pursuant to this title shall be liable to a civil penalty of not 10 more than $50,000 for each such violation, to be assessed by 11 the Secretary. Each day of a continuing violation shall con12 stitute a separate violation. 13 "(b) No penalty shall be assessed under this section 14 until the person charged has been given notice and an oppor15 tunity to be heard. Upon failure of the offending party to pay 16 an assessed penalty, the Attorney General, at the request of 17 the Secretary, shall commence action in the appropriate dis18 trict court of the United States to collect the penalty and to 19 seek such other relief as may be appropriate. 20 “(c) A vessel used in the violation of a regulation 21 issued pursuant to this title shall be liable in rem for any 22 civil penalty assessed for such violation and may be pro23 ceeded against in any district court of the United States 24 having jurisdiction thereof. 71-186 O 726 27 1 "(d) The district courts of the United States shall have 2 jurisdiction to restrain a violation of the regulations issued 3 pursuant to this title, and to grant such other relief as may 4 be appropriate. Actions shall be brought by the Attorney 5 General in the name of the United States, either on his own 6 initiative or at the request of the Secretary. 7 "SEC. 404. For the purposes of this title, the terms 8 'coastal and estuarine zone', 'coastal State', 'Secretary', 9 'estuary', and 'estuarine sanctuary' shall have the same mean10 ings as specified in section 304 of title III of this Act. H.R. 9229-ANALYSIS The bill is based on the language of H.R. 2493 with the following additions: Sec. 306. (b) The language after "Secretary" was added. (c) Paragraph (8) was added to be sure State plans must provide for procedures for establishing "Marine sanctuaries". Sec. 312.-Subsections (b) and (c) were added to authorize the Secretary to extend, as necessary, the areas of "estuarine sanctuaries" established in state jurisdictions, beyond state jurisdiction. Sec. 313.-New section provides for a Federal plan to complement State management plans. The Federal plan will cover the contiguous zone outside of state jurisdiction. Sec. 316.-Adds a penalty section. Title IV-New. It provides the mechanism to establish marine sanctuaries to preserve or restore certain areas beyond state jurisdiction for their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic values. Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: By letter of June 21, 1971, you requested our comments on H.R. 9229, 92d Congress, which would amend the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966, as amended, by adding titles III and IV which, if enacted, would be cited as the "National Coastal and Estuarine Zone Management Act of 1971” and the "Marine Sanctuary Act of 1971," respectively. We have no special information as to the advantages or disadvantages of the proposed legislation and, therefore, make no comments as to its merit. However, we have the following suggestions concerning specific provisions of the bill. Section 304 (b), page 5, defines coastal and estuarine zone as extending seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea. The International convention on the Continental Shelf recognizes the sovereign rights of the coastal nation to explore the shelf and exploit its natural resources. Therefore, the committee may wish to consider redefining the coastal and estuarine zone to include the continental shelf which the Convention defines as "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters, or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas" and "the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coast of islands." Section 304 (c), page 5, defines "Coastal State" as including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. We assume it is not intended to include the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the District of Columbia, and the Panama Canal Zone. Section 305 (a), page 6, of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make annual grants to any coastal State in the development of a management plan and program for the land and water resources of the coastal and estuarine zone, provided that no such grant shall be made under this subsection until the Secretary finds that the coastal State is adequately and expeditiously developing such management plan and program. This provision appears to preclude grants to States which have not yet started to develop a management plan and program. The committee may wish to consider language changes which would allow States which have not started to develop a management plan and program to receive grants for the purpose of developing a management plan and program. Section 306 (a), page 7, of the bill authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to any coastal State for not more than 66% per centum of the costs of administering the coastal State's management plan and program. Section 306 (c) (4), page 8, of this bill states that the Governor shall designate a single agency to receive and administer the grants for implementing the management plan and program. It is not clear whether the grants issued under this section are intended to cover the costs of administering the management plan and program or if these |