§ 924.1

Authority.

The Sanctuary has been designated by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the authority of section 302(a) of the Act. The following regulations are issued pursuant to the authorities of sections 302(f), 302(g) and 303 of the Act. § 924.2 Description of the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary consists of a vertical water column in the Atlantic Ocean one mile in diameter extending from the surface to the seabed, the center of which is at 35°00'23" north latitude and 75°24'32" west longitude.

§ 924.3 Activities prohibited within the Sanctuary.

Except as may be permitted by the Administrator, no person subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States shall conduct, nor cause to be conducted, any of the following activities in the Sanctuary:

(a) anchoring in any manner, stopping, remaining, or drifting without power at any time;

(b) any type of subsurface salvage or recovery operation;

(c) any type of diving, whether by an individual or by a submersible;

(d) lowering below the surface of the water any grappling, suction, conveyor, dredging or wrecking device;

(e) detonation below the surface of the water of any explosive or explosive mechanism:

(f) seabed drilling or coring;

(g) lowering, laying, positioning or raising any type of seabed cable or cablelaying device;

of such activity; except that, no permit is required for the conduct of any activity immediately and urgently necessary for the protection of life, property or the environment.

§ 924.6 Permit procedures and criteria.

(a) Any person or entity who wishes to conduct in the Sanctuary an activity for which a permit is authorized by $924.5 (hereafter a permitted activity) may apply in writing to the Administrater for a permit to conduct such activity citing this section as the basis for the application. Such application should be made to the Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230. Upon receipt of such application, the Administrator shall request, and such person or entity shall supply to the Administrator, such information and in such form as the Administrator may require to enable him to act upon the application.

(b) In considering whether to grant a permit for the conduct of a permitted activity for the purpose of research related to the MONITOR, the Secretary shall evaluate such matters as (1) the general professional and financial responsibility of the applicant; (2) the appropriateness of the research method(s) envisioned to the purpose (s) of the research; (3) the extent to which the conduct of any permitted activity may diminish the value of the MONITOR as a source of historic, cultural, aesthetic and/or maritime information; (4) the end value of the research envisioned; and (5) such other matters as the Administrator deems appropriate.

(h) trawling; or (i) discharging waste material into the water in violation of any Federal statute or regulation.

available to the public. The Administrator may observe any activity permitted by this section; and/or may require the submission of one or more reports of the status or progress of such activity.

(f) A permit granted pursuant to this Scction is nontransferable.

(g) The Administrator may amend, suspend or revoke a permit granted pursuant to this section, in whole or in part, temporarily or indefinitely, if, in his view, the permit holder (hereafter the Holder) has acted in violation of the terms of the permit; or the Administrator may do so for other good cause shown. Any such action shall be in writing to the Holder, and shall set forth the reason(s) for the action taken. Any Holder in relation to whom such action has been taken

may appeal the action as provided in § 924.8 of this Part.

§ 924.7 Certification procedures.

Any Federal agency which, as of the effective date of these regulations, already has permitted, licensed or otherwise authorized any prohibited activity in the Sanctuary shall notify the Administrator of this fact in writing. The writing shall include a reasonably detailed description of such activity, the person(s) involved, the beginning and ending dates of such permission, the reason(s) and purpose(s) for same, and a description of the total area affected. The Administrator shall then decide whether the continuation of the permitted activity, in whole or in part, or subject to such condition(s) as he may deem appropriate, is consistent with the purposes of Title III of the Act and can be carried out within these regulations. He shall inform the Federal agency of his decision in these regards, and the reason(s) therefore, in writing. The decision of the Secretary made pursuant to this section shall be final action for the purpose of the Administrative Procedure

Act.

§ 924.8 Appeals of administrative action.

(a) In any instance in which the Administrator, as regards a permit authorized by, or issued pursuant to, this Part: (1) denies a permit; (2) issues a permit embodying less authority than was requested; (3) conditions a permit in a manner unacceptable to the applicant; or (4) amends, suspends, or revokes a permit for a reason other than the violaPart, the applicant or the permit holder, tion of regulations issued under this as the case may be (hereafter the Appellant), may appeal the Administrator's action to the Secretary. In order to be considered by the Secretary, such appeal shall be in writing, shall state the action (s) appealed and the reason(s) therefore; and shall be submitted within 30 days of the action (s) by the Administrator to which the appeal is directed. The Appellant may request a hearing on the appeal.

(b) Upon receipt of an appeal authorized by this Section, the Secretary may request, and if he does, the Appellant shall provide, such additional information and in such form as the Secretary