Title 40—Protection of Environment--Volume 1
PART 229—GENERAL PERMITS
§ 229.1   Burial at sea.
(a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to transport human remains from the United States and all persons owning or operating a vessel or aircraft registered in the United States or flying the United States flag and all departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States are hereby granted a general permit to transport human remains from any location for the purpose of burial at sea and to bury such remains at sea subject to the following conditions:
(1) Except as herein otherwise provided, human remains shall be prepared for burial at sea and shall be buried in accordance with accepted practices and requirements as may be deemed appropriate and desirable by the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, or civil authority charged with the responsibility for making such arrangements;
(2) Burial at sea of human remains which are not cremated shall take place no closer than 3 nautical miles from land and in water no less than one hundred fathoms (six hundred feet) deep and in no less than three hundred fathoms (eighteen hundred feet) from (i) 27°30′00″ to 31°00′00″ North Latitude off St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral, Florida; (ii) 82°20′00″ to 84°00′00″ West Longitude off Dry Tortugas, Florida; and (iii) 87°15′00″ to 89°50′00″ West Longitude off the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana, to Pensacola, Florida. All necessary measures shall be taken to ensure that the remains sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently; and
(3) Cremated remains shall be buried in or on ocean waters without regard to the depth limitations specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section provided that such burial shall take place no closer than 3 nautical miles from land.
(b) For purposes of this section and §§ 229.2 and 229.3, land means that portion of the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured, as provided for in the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which is in closest proximity to the proposed disposal site.
(c) Flowers and wreaths consisting of materials which are readily decomposable in the marine environment may be disposed of under the general permit set forth in this section at the site at which disposal of human remains is authorized.
(d) All burials conducted under this general permit shall be reported within 30 days to the Regional Administrator of the Region from which the vessel carrying the remains departed.
§ 229.2   Transport of target vessels.
(a) The U.S. Navy is hereby granted a general permit to transport vessels from the United States or from any other location for the purpose of sinking such vessels in ocean waters in testing ordnance and providing related data subject to the following conditions:
(1) Such vessels may be sunk at times determined by the appropriate Navy official;
(2) Necessary measures shall be taken to insure that the vessel sinks to the bottom rapidly and permanently, and that marine navigation is not otherwise impaired by the sunk vessel;
(3) All such vessel sinkings shall be conducted in water at least 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) deep and at least 50 nautical miles from land, as defined in § 229.1(b); and
(4) Before sinking, appropriate measures shall be taken by qualified personnel at a Navy or other certified facility to remove to the maximum extent practicable all materials which may degrade the marine environment, including without limitation (i) emptying of all fuel tanks and fuel lines to the lowest point practicable, flushing of such tanks and lines with water, and again emptying such tanks and lines to the lowest point practicable so that such tanks and lines are essentially free of petroleum, and (ii) removing from the hulls other pollutants and all readily detachable material capable of creating debris or contributing to chemical pollution.
(b) An annual report will be made to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency setting forth the name of each vessel used as a target vessel, its approximate tonnage, and the location and date of sinking.
§ 229.3   Transportation and disposal of vessels.
(a) All persons subject to title I of the Act are hereby granted a general permit to transport vessels from the United States, and all departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States are hereby granted a general permit to transport vessels from any location for the purpose of disposal in the ocean subject to the following conditions:
(1) Except in emergency situations, as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the U.S. Coast Guard, the person desiring to dispose of a vessel under this general permit shall, no later than 1 month prior to the proposed disposal date, provide the following information in writing to the EPA Regional Administrator for the Region in which the proposed disposal will take place:
(i) A statement detailing the need for the disposal of the vessel;
(ii) Type and description of vessel to be disposed of and type of cargo normally carried;
(iii) Detailed description of the proposed disposal procedures;
(iv) Information on the potential effect of the vessel disposal on the marine environment; and
(v) Documentation of an adequate evaluation of alternatives to ocean disposal ( i.e. , scrap, salvage, and reclamation).
(2) Transportation for the purpose of ocean disposal may be accomplished under the supervision of the District Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard or his designee.
(3) Except in emergency situations, as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the District Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, appropriate measures shall be taken, prior to disposal, by qualified personnel to remove to the maximum extent practicable all materials which may degrade the marine environment, including without limitation (i) emptying of all fuel lines and fuel tanks to the lowest point practicable, flushing of such lines and tanks with water, and again emptying such lines and tanks to the lowest point practicable so that such lines and tanks are essentially free of petroleum, and (ii) removing from the hulls other pollutants and all readily detachable material capable of creating debris or contributing to chemical pollution.
(4) Except in emergency situations, as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the U.S. Coast Guard, the dumper shall, no later than 10 days prior to the proposed disposal date, notify the EPA Regional Administrator and the District Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard that the vessel has been cleaned and is available for inspection; the vessel may be transported for dumping only after EPA and the Coast Guard agree that the requirements of paragraph (a)(3) of this section have been met.
(5) Disposal of these vessels shall take place in a site designated on current nautical charts for the disposal of wrecks or no closer than 22 kilometers (12 miles) from the nearest land and in water no less than 50 fathoms (300 feet) deep, and all necessary measures shall be taken to insure that the vessels sink to the bottom rapidly and that marine navigation is not otherwise impaired.
(6) Disposal shall not take place in established shipping lanes unless at a designated wreck site, nor in a designated marine sanctuary, nor in a location where the hulk may present a hazard to commercial trawling or national defense (see 33 CFR part 205).
(7) Except in emergency situations, as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the U.S. Coast Guard, disposal of these vessels shall be performed during daylight hours only.
(8) Except in emergency situations, as determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the District Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Captain-of-the-Port (COTP), U.S. Coast Guard, and the EPA Regional Administrator shall be notified forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the proposed disposal. In addition, the COTP and the EPA Regional Administrator shall be notified by telephone at least twelve (12) hours in advance of the vessel's departure from port with such details as the proposed departure time and place, disposal site location, estimated time of arrival on site, and the name and communication capability of the towing vessel. Schedule changes are to be reported to the COTP as rapidly as possible.
(9) The National Ocean Service, NOAA, Nautical Data Branch, N/CS26, Station 7308, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, shall be notified in writing, within one week, of the exact coordinates of the disposal site so that it may be marked on appropriate charts.
(b) [Reserved]