Pub. L. 92-532, tit. III, sec. 302

Sec. 302. (a) The Secretary, after consultation with the Secretaries of State, Defense, the Interior, and Transportation, the Administrator, and the heads of other interested Federal agencies, and with the approval of the President, may designate as marine sanctuaries those areas of the ocean waters, as far seaward as the outer edge of the Continental Shelf, as defined in the Convention of the Continental Shelf (15 U.S.T. 74; TIAS 5578), of other coastal waters where the tide ebbs and flows, or of the Great Lakes and their connecting waters, which he determines necessary for the purpose of preserving or restoring such areas for their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic values. The consultation shall include an opportunity to review and comment on a specific proposed designation. (b) Prior to designating a marine sanctuary which includes waters lying within the territorial limits of any State or superjacent to the subsoil and seabed within the seaward boundary of a coastal State, as that boundary is defined in section 2 of title I of the Act of May 22, 1953 (67 Stat, 29), the Secretary shall consult with, and give due consideration to the views of, the responsible officials of the State involved. As to such waters, a designation under this section shall become effec-86 Stat. 1062five sixty days after it is published, unless the Governor of any State involved shall, before the expiration of the sixty-day period, certify to the Secretary that the designation, or a specified portion thereof, is unacceptable to his State, in which case the designated sanctuary shall not include the area certified as unacceptable until such time as the Governor withdraws his certification of unacceptability. (c) When a marine sanctuary is designated, pursuant to this section, which includes an area of ocean waters outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, the Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be appropriate to enter into negotiations with other Governments for the purpose of arriving at necessary agreements with those Governments, in order to protect such sanctuary and to promote the purposes for which it was established. (d) The Secretary shall submit an annual report to the Congress, on or before November 1 of each year, setting forth a comprehensive review of his actions during the previous fiscal year undertaken pursuant to the authority of this section, together with appropriate recommendation for legislation considered necessary for the designation and protection of marine sanctuaries. (e) Before a marine sanctuary is designated under this section, the Secretary shall hold public hearings in the coastal areas which would be most, directly affected by such designation, for the purpose of receiving and giving proper consideration to the views of any interested party. Such hearings shall be held no earlier than thirty days after the publication of a public notice thereof. (f) After a marine sanctuary has been designated under this section, the Secretary, after consultation with other interested Federal agencies, shall issue necessary and reasonable regulations to control any activities permitted within the designated marine sanctuary, and no permit, license, or other authorization issued pursuant to any other authority shall be valid unless the Secretary shall certify that the permitted activity is consistent with the purposes of this title and can be carried out within the regulations promulgated under this section. (g) The regulations issued pursuant to subsection (f) shall be applied in accordance with recognized principles of international law, including treaties, conventions, and other agreements to which the United States is signatory. Unless the application of the regulations is in accordance with such principles or is otherwise authorized by an agreement between the United States and the foreign State of which the affected person is a citizen or, in the case of the crew of a foreign vessel, between the United States and flag State of the vessel, no regulation applicable to ocean waters outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States shall be applied to a person not a citizen of the United States.