DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.

SEC. 622. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.(a) In General.—Section 3316 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:124 STAT. 2979 “(d)(1) The Secretary may delegate to the American Bureau of Shipping or another classification society recognized by the Secretary as meeting acceptable standards for such a society, for a United States offshore facility, the authority to—“(A) review and approve plans required for issuing a certificate of inspection, a certificate of compliance, or any other certification and related documents issued by the Coast Guard pursuant to regulations issued under section 30 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356); and“(B) conduct inspections and examinations.“(2) The Secretary may make a delegation under paragraph (1) to a foreign classification society only if—“(A) the foreign society has offices and maintains records in the United States; and“(B)(i) the government of the foreign country in which the foreign society is headquartered delegates that authority to the American Bureau of Shipping; or“(ii) the Secretary has entered into an agreement with the government of the foreign country in which the foreign society is headquartered that—“(I) ensures the government of the foreign country will accept plan review, inspections, or examinations conducted by the American Bureau of Shipping and provide equivalent access to inspect, certify, and provide related services to offshore facilities located in that country or operating under the authority of that country; and“(II) is in full accord with principles of reciprocity in regards to any delegation contemplated by the Secretary under paragraph (1).“(3) If an inspection or examination is conducted under authority delegated under this subsection, the person to which the authority was delegated—“(A) shall maintain in the United States complete files of all information derived from or necessarily connected with the inspection or examination for at least 2 years after the United States offshore facility ceases to be certified; and“(B) shall permit access to those files at all reasonable times to any officer, employee, or member of the Coast Guard designated—“(i) as a marine inspector and serving in a position as a marine inspector; or“(ii) in writing by the Secretary to have access to those files.“(4) For purposes of this subsection—“(A) the term ‘offshore facility’ means any installation, structure, or other device (including any vessel not documented under chapter 121 of this title or the laws of another country), fixed or floating, that dynamically holds position or is temporarily or permanently attached to the seabed or subsoil under the sea; and“(B) the term ‘United States offshore facility’ means any offshore facility, fixed or floating, that dynamically holds position or is temporarily or permanently attached to the seabed or subsoil under the territorial sea of the United States or the outer Continental Shelf (as that term is defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331)), including any vessel, rig, platform, or other vehicle or structure 124 STAT. 2980 subject to regulation under section 30 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356).”.(b) Review and Approval of Classification Society Required.—Section 3316(c) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking so much as precedes paragraph (2) and inserting the following:“(c)(1) A classification society (including an employee or agent of that society) may not review, examine, survey, or certify the construction, repair, or alteration of a vessel in the United States unless the society has applied for approval under this subsection and the Secretary has reviewed and approved that society with respect to the conduct of that society under paragraph (2).”.