16 USC 1434 - Procedures for designation and implementation

U.S Code last checked for updates: Nov 13, 2026

§ 1434.

Procedures for designation and implementation

(a)

Sanctuary proposal

(1)

Notice

In proposing to designate a national marine sanctuary, the Secretary shall—

(A)

issue, in the Federal Register, a notice of the proposal, proposed regulations that may be necessary and reasonable to implement the proposal, and a summary of the draft management plan;

(B)

provide notice of the proposal in newspapers of general circulation or electronic media in the communities that may be affected by the proposal; and

(C)

no later than the day on which the notice required under subparagraph (A) is submitted to the Office of the Federal Register, submit a copy of that notice and the draft sanctuary designation documents prepared pursuant to paragraph (2), including an executive summary, to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Governor of each State in which any part of the proposed sanctuary would be located.

(2)

Sanctuary designation documents

The Secretary shall prepare and make available to the public sanctuary designation documents on the proposal that include the following:

(A)

A draft environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(B)

A resource assessment that documents—

(i)

present and potential uses of the area, including commercial and recreational fishing, research and education, minerals and energy development, subsistence uses, and other commercial, governmental, or recreational uses;

(ii)

after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, any commercial, governmental, or recreational resource uses in the areas that are subject to the primary jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior; and

(iii)

information prepared in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, on any past, present, or proposed future disposal or discharge of materials in the vicinity of the proposed sanctuary.

Public disclosure by the Secretary of such information shall be consistent with national security regulations.

(C)

A draft management plan for the proposed national marine sanctuary that includes the following:

(i)

The terms of the proposed designation.

(ii)

Proposed mechanisms to coordinate existing regulatory and management authorities within the area.

(iii)

The proposed goals and objectives, management responsibilities, resource studies, and appropriate strategies for managing sanctuary resources of the proposed sanctuary, including interpretation and education, innovative management strategies, research, monitoring and assessment, resource protection, restoration, enforcement, and surveillance activities.

(iv)

An evaluation of the advantages of cooperative State and Federal management if all or part of the proposed sanctuary is within the territorial limits of any State or is superjacent to the subsoil and seabed within the seaward boundary of a State, as that boundary is established under the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.).

(v)

An estimate of the annual cost to the Federal Government of the proposed designation, including costs of personnel, equipment and facilities, enforcement, research, and public education.

(vi)

The proposed regulations referred to in paragraph (1)(A).

(D)

Maps depicting the boundaries of the proposed sanctuary.

(E)

The basis for the determinations made under section 1433(a) of this title with respect to the area.

(F)

An assessment of the considerations under section 1433(b)(1) of this title.

(3)

Public hearing

(4)

Terms of designation

(5)

Fishing regulations

(6)

Committee action

(b)

Taking effect of designations

(1)

Notice

(2)

Withdrawal of designation

(3)

Procedures

In computing the forty-five-day periods of continuous session of Congress pursuant to subsection (a)(6) and paragraph (1) of this subsection—

(A)

continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die; and

(B)

the days on which either House of Congress is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded.

(c)

Access and valid rights

(1)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as terminating or granting to the Secretary the right to terminate any valid lease, permit, license, or right of subsistence use or of access that is in existence on the date of designation of any national marine sanctuary.

(2)

The exercise of a lease, permit, license, or right is subject to regulation by the Secretary consistent with the purposes for which the sanctuary is designated.

(d)

Interagency cooperation

(1)

Review of agency actions

(A)

In general

(B)

Agency statements required

(2)

Secretary’s recommended alternatives

(3)

Response to recommendations

(4)

Failure to follow alternative

(e)

Review of management plans

(f)

Limitation on designation of new sanctuaries

(1)

Finding required

The Secretary may not publish in the Federal Register any sanctuary designation notice or regulations proposing to designate a new sanctuary, unless the Secretary has published a finding that—

(A)

the addition of a new sanctuary will not have a negative impact on the System; and

(B)

sufficient resources were available in the fiscal year in which the finding is made to—

(i)

effectively implement sanctuary management plans for each sanctuary in the System; and

(ii)

complete site characterization studies and inventory known sanctuary resources, including cultural resources, for each sanctuary in the System within 10 years after the date that the finding is made if the resources available for those activities are maintained at the same level for each fiscal year in that 10 year period.

(2)

Deadline

(3)

Limitation on application

Paragraph (1) does not apply to any sanctuary designation documents for—

(A)

a Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; or

(B)

a Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

(Pub. L. 92–532, title III, § 304, Oct. 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 1063; Pub. L. 94–62, § 4, July 25, 1975, 89 Stat. 303; Pub. L. 94–326, § 4, June 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 725; Pub. L. 95–153, § 3, Nov. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 1255; Pub. L. 96–332, § 3, Aug. 29, 1980, 94 Stat. 1059; Pub. L. 97–109, Dec. 26, 1981, 95 Stat. 1512; Pub. L. 98–498, title I, § 102, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2298; Pub. L. 100–627, title II, § 202, Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3214; Pub. L. 102–587, title II, § 2104, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5041; Pub. L. 104–283, § 9(h), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3368; Pub. L. 106–513

cite as: 16 USC 1434