I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5352

To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2004

Ms. WOOLSEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones 

National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf of the Farallones 

5 and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary 

6 Modification and Protection Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The Gulf of the Farallones extends approxi10 mately 100 miles along the coast of Marin and 
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1 Sonoma counties of northern California. It includes 

2 approximately one-half of California’s nesting 

3 seabirds, rich benthic marine life on hard-rock sub4 strate, prolific fisheries, and substantial concentra5 tions of resident and seasonally migratory marine 

6 mammals. 

7 (2) Cordell Bank is adjacent to the Gulf of the 

8 Farallones and is a submerged island with spectac9 ular, unique, and nationally significant marine envi10 ronments. 

11 (3) These marine environments have national 

12 and international significance, exceed the biological 

13 productivity of tropical rain forests, and support 

14 high levels of biological diversity. 

15 (4) These biological communities are easily sus16 ceptible to damage from human activities, and must 

17 be properly conserved for themselves and to protect 

18 the economic viability of their contribution to na19 tional and regional economies. 

20 (5) The Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Bank 

21 include some of the Nation’s richest fishing grounds, 

22 supporting important commercial and recreational 

23 fisheries. These fisheries are regulated by State and 

24 Federal fishery agencies and are supported and fos25 tered through protection of the waters and habitats 
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1 of Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 

2 and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 

3 (6) The report of the Commission on Ocean 

4 Policy established by Public Law 106–256 calls for 

5 comprehensive protection for the most productive 

6 ocean environments and recommends that they be 

7 managed as ecosystems. 

8 (7) New scientific discoveries by the National 

9 Marine Sanctuary Program support comprehensive 

10 protection for these marine environments by broad11 ening the geographic scope of the existing Gulf of 

12 the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 

13 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 

14 (8) Cordell Bank is at the nexus of an ocean 

15 upwelling system, which produces the highest bio16 mass concentrations on the west coast of the United 

17 States. 

18 SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE. 

19 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States in 

20 this Act to protect and preserve living and other resources 

21 of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank marine 

22 environments. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the fol24 lowing: 
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1 (1) To extend the boundaries of the Gulf of the 

2 Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 

3 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary to the 

4 areas described in section 5. 

5 (2) To strengthen the protections that apply in 

6 the Sanctuaries. 

7 (3) To educate and interpret for the public re8 garding those marine environments. 

9 (4) To manage human uses of the Sanctuaries 

10 under this Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries 

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).

12 (c) EFFECT ON FISHING ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in 

13 this Act is intended to alter any existing authorities re14 garding the conduct of fishing activities in the Sanc15 tuaries. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘aquaculture’’ 

19 means the propagation or rearing of aquatic orga20 nisms in controlled or selected aquatic environments 

21 for any commercial, recreational, or public purpose. 

22 (2) CORDELL BANK NMS.—The term ‘‘Cordell 

23 Bank NMS’’ means the Cordell Bank National Ma24 rine Sanctuary. 
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1 (3) FARALLONES NMS.—The term ‘‘Farallones 

2 NMS’’ means the Gulf of the Farallones National 

3 Marine Sanctuary. 

4 (4) SANCTUARIES.—The term ‘‘Sanctuaries’’ 

5 means the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

6 Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine 

7 Sanctuary, as expanded by section 5. 

8 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Commerce. 

10 (6) MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MARK.—The 

11 term ‘‘Mean Higher High Water Mark’’ means the 

12 arithmetic average of the elevations of the higher of 

13 two high waters of a tidal day over a period of time 

14 as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration. 

16 (7) PERSON.—The term ‘‘Person’’ means any 

17 private or public individual, corporation, partnership, 

18 trust, institution, association, or any other public or 

19 private entity, whether foreign or domestic, or any 

20 officer, employee, agent, department, agency, or in21 strumentality of the Federal Government, of any 

22 State, tribal or local unit of government, or of any 

23 foreign government. 
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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY BOUNDARY AD2 JUSTMENTS. 

3 (a) GULF OF THE FARALLONES.—

4 (1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The area de5 scribed in paragraph (2) is added to the existing 

6 Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 

7 described in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations. 

9 (2) AREA INCLUDED.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The area referred to in 

11 paragraph (1) consists of all submerged lands 

12 and waters, including living marine and other 

13 resources within and on those lands and waters, 

14 from the mean higher high water mark to the 

15 boundaries described in subparagraph (B). 

16 (B) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries re17 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

18 (i) A boundary forming one polygon 

19 added under paragraph (1), that—

20 (I) begins at Bodega Head’s 

21 Southernmost Point located at 38 de22 grees 17 minutes 36 seconds north 

23 latitude, 123 degrees 3 minutes 29 

24 seconds west longitude; 

25 (II) then connects in succession 

26 the points at the coordinates—
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1 (aa) 38 degrees 15 minutes 

2 46 seconds north latitude, 123 

3 degrees 10 minutes 45 seconds 

4 west longitude; 

5 (bb) 38 degrees 17 minutes 

6 37 seconds north latitude, 123 

7 degrees 12 minutes 8 seconds 

8 west longitude; 

9 (cc) 38 degrees 16 minutes 

10 28 seconds north latitude, 123 

11 degrees 52 minutes 42 seconds 

12 west longitude; and 

13 (dd) 38 degrees 45 minutes 

14 23 seconds north latitude, 123 

15 degrees 54 minutes 22 seconds 

16 west longitude; and 

17 (III) then runs eastward to 38 

18 degrees 46 minutes 6 seconds north 

19 latitude, 123 degrees 31 minutes 53 

20 seconds west longitude. 

21 (ii) A boundary forming another pol22 ygon added under paragraph (1), that—

23 (I) begins approximately 107.55 

24 km south of the described in clause 

25 (i)(III) at 37 degrees 48 minutes 2 
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1 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

2 28 minutes 22 seconds west longitude; 

3 and 

4 (II) then connects in succession 

5 the points at the coordinates—

6 (aa) 37 degrees 48 minutes 

7 7 seconds north latitude, 123 de8 grees 25 minutes 31 seconds 

9 west longitude; 

10 (bb) 37 degrees 46 minutes 

11 2 seconds north latitude, 123 de12 grees 25 minutes 35 seconds 

13 west longitude; 

14 (cc) 37 degrees 46 minutes 

15 49 seconds north latitude, 123 

16 degrees 26 minutes 47 seconds 

17 west longitude; and 

18 (dd) 37 degrees 47 minutes 

19 00 seconds north latitude, 123 

20 degrees 27 minutes 16 seconds 

21 west longitude. 

22 (b) CORDELL BANK.—

23 (1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The area de24 scribed in paragraph (2) is added to the existing 

25 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary described 
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1 in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of Federal Regula2 tions. 

3 (2) AREA INCLUDED.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The area referred to in 

5 paragraph (1) consists of all submerged lands 

6 and waters, including living marine and other 

7 resources within those waters, within the 

8 boundary described in subparagraph (B).

9 (B) BOUNDARY.—The boundary referred 

10 to in paragraph (1)—

11 (i) begins approximately 55 km to the 

12 west of Bodega Head at 38 degrees 16 

13 minutes 49 seconds north latitude, 123 de14 grees 41 minutes 20 seconds west lon15 gitude; and 

16 (ii) then connects in succession the 

17 points at the coordinates—

18 (I) 38 degrees 17 minutes 41 

19 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

20 12 minutes 11 seconds west longitude; 

21 (II) 38 degrees 15 minutes 53 

22 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

23 10 minutes 46 seconds west longitude; 
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1 (III) 38 degrees 15 minutes 51 

2 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

3 10 minutes 52 seconds west longitude; 

4 (IV) 38 degrees 7 minutes 56 

5 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

6 38 minutes 33 seconds west longitude; 

7 (V) 38 degrees 6 minutes 45 sec8 onds north latitude, 123 degrees 38 

9 minutes 00 seconds west longitude; 

10 (VI) 38 degrees 4 minutes 58 

11 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

12 37 minutes 14 seconds west longitude; 

13 (VII) 38 degrees 4 minutes 28 

14 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

15 37 minutes 17 seconds west longitude; 

16 (VIII) 38 degrees 3 minutes 42 

17 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

18 36 minutes 55 seconds west longitude; 

19 (IX) 38 degrees 3 minutes 11 

20 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

21 36 minutes 19 seconds west longitude; 

22 (X) 38 degrees 2 minutes 46 sec23 onds north latitude, 123 degrees 36 

24 minutes 21 seconds west longitude; 
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1 (XI) 38 degrees 2 minutes 2 sec2 onds north latitude, 123 degrees 35 

3 minutes 56 seconds west longitude; 

4 (XII) 38 degrees 1 minute 27 

5 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

6 35 minutes 55 seconds west longitude; 

7 (XIII) 38 degrees 1 minute 22 

8 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

9 36 minutes 55 seconds west longitude; 

10 (XIV) 38 degrees 1 minute 11 

11 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

12 37 minutes 28 seconds west longitude; 

13 (XV) 38 degrees 00 minutes 49 

14 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

15 37 minutes 29 seconds west longitude; 

16 (XVI) 37 degrees 59 minutes 54 

17 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

18 38 minutes 47 seconds west longitude; 

19 (XVII) 37 degrees 59 minutes 12 

20 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

21 35 minutes 59 seconds west longitude; 

22 (XVIII) 37 degrees 58 minutes 

23 39 seconds north latitude, 123 de24 grees 35 minutes 14 seconds west lon25 gitude; 
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1 (XIX) 37 degrees 58 minutes 00 

2 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

3 34 minutes 42 seconds west longitude; 

4 (XX) 37 degrees 57 minutes 19 

5 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

6 33 minutes 43 seconds west longitude; 

7 (XXI) 37 degrees 56 minutes 56 

8 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

9 32 minutes 51 seconds west longitude; 

10 (XXII) 37 degrees 56 minutes 18 

11 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

12 32 minutes 49 seconds west longitude; 

13 (XXIII) 37 degrees 55 minutes 

14 22 seconds north latitude, 123 de15 grees 32 minutes 36 seconds west lon16 gitude; 

17 (XXIV) 37 degrees 54 minutes 

18 26 seconds north latitude, 123 de19 grees 32 minutes 26 seconds west lon20 gitude; 

21 (XXV) 37 degrees 53 minutes 7 

22 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

23 31 minutes 46 seconds west longitude; 

24 (XXVI) 37 degrees 52 minutes 

25 34 seconds north latitude, 123 de-
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1 grees 31 minutes 18 seconds west lon2 gitude; 

3 (XXVII) 37 degrees 51 minutes 

4 42 seconds north latitude, 123 de5 grees 31 minutes 19 seconds west lon6 gitude; 

7 (XXVIII) 37 degrees 50 minutes 

8 59 seconds north latitude, 123 de9 grees 31 minutes 2 seconds west lon10 gitude; 

11 (XXIX) 37 degrees 48 minutes 

12 49 seconds north latitude, 123 de13 grees 28 minutes 44 seconds west lon14 gitude; 

15 (XXX) 37 degrees 48 minutes 3 

16 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

17 28 minutes 23 seconds west longitude; 

18 (XXXI) 37 degrees 48 minutes 2 

19 seconds north latitude, 123 degrees 

20 28 minutes 22 seconds west longitude; 

21 and 

22 (XXXII) 37 degrees 47 minutes 

23 43 seconds north latitude, 123 de24 grees 39 minutes 54 seconds west lon25 gitude. 
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1 (c) INCLUSION IN THE SYSTEM.—The areas included 

2 in the Sanctuaries under subsections (a) and (b) of this 

3 section shall be managed as part of the National Marine 

4 Sanctuary System, established by section 301(c) of the 

5 National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431(c)), in 

6 accordance with that Act. 

7 (d) UPDATED NOAA CHARTS.—The Secretary of 

8 Commerce shall—

9 (1) produce updated National Oceanic and At10 mospheric Administration charts for the areas in 

11 which are located the Farallones NMS and Cordell 

12 Bank NMS; and 

13 (2) include on those charts the boundaries of 

14 such national marine sanctuaries, as revised by this 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES. 

17 (a) MINERAL AND HYDROCARBON LEASING, EXPLO18 RATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTION.—No leasing, 

19 exploration, development, production, or transporting by 

20 pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons shall be permitted 

21 within the Sanctuaries. 

22 (b) AQUACULTURE.—

23 (1) PROHIBITION.—It is unlawful for any per24 son to conduct aquaculture in any area of the Sanc25 tuaries. 
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1 (2) EXISTING BIVALVE FARMING ALLOWED.—

2 The prohibition in paragraph (1) shall not apply to 

3 persons conducting farming operations of bivalve 

4 species that are in existence on the date of enact5 ment of this Act. 

6 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue 

7 regulations that specify the operations referred to in 

8 paragraph (2). 

9 (c) DISCHARGE OF MATERIALS AND SUBSTANCES.—

10 (1) PROHIBITIONS.—No person shall—

11 (A) deposit or discharge any material or 

12 substance of any kind within the Sanctuaries, 

13 except those referred to in paragraph (4); 

14 (B) deposit or discharge any material or 

15 substance of any kind that enters or injures any 

16 sanctuary resource (as that term is defined in 

17 the National Marine Sanctuaries Act), except 

18 those referred to in paragraph (4); or 

19 (C) deposit or discharge any invasive spe20 cies from a vessel in the Sanctuaries. 

21 (2) CHANGES IN SALINITY.—No person shall 

22 cause a change of salinity in the Sanctuaries that is 

23 injurious to the marine ecosystem of the Sanc24 tuaries. 
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1 (3) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—Para2 graph (1) does not apply with respect to any dis3 charge—

4 (A) of fish, fish parts, and chumming ma5 terials resulting from, and while conducting 

6 otherwise lawful, fishing activity; 

7 (B) of food consumed onboard a vessel; 

8 (C) of biodegradable effluents incidental to 

9 vessel use and generated by an operable Type 

10 I or II marine sanitation device as classified by 

11 the United States Coast Guard, that is ap12 proved in accordance with section 1322 of title 

13 33 provided the vessel operator secures all ma14 rine sanitation devices in a manner that pre15 vents discharge of untreated sewage from a 

16 Type I or Type II Coast Guard-approved sani17 tation devices. This exception does not apply 

18 within State waters or from a cruise ship within 

19 the boundaries of either sanctuary; 

20 (D) of biodegradable material resulting 

21 from deck wash down and vessel engine cooling 

22 water (excluding ballast water and oily wastes 

23 from bilge pumping), from a vessel; 

24 (E) from vessel engine exhaust; or 
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1 (F) that is permitted under a National 

2 Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit 

3 that is in effect on the date of enactment of 

4 this Act, or under a new or renewed National 

5 Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit 

6 that does not increase pollution in the Sanc7 tuaries. 

8 (d) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT FOR CHANGES IN

9 WATER FLOW.—Any Federal, State or local government 

10 agency that is responsible for alteration of water flow re11 gimes that may affect the Sanctuaries must consult with 

12 the Secretary prior to initiating such change in order to 

13 ensure sanctuary resources are not injured. 

14 (e) SECRETARIAL AUTHORITY NOT LIMITED.—In 

15 addition to the prohibitions listed in paragraph (1) of this 

16 subsection, the Secretary may restrict or otherwise regu17 late other types of discharges or changes in water flow 

18 into or that may enter the Sanctuaries. 

19 (f) PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.—A violation of 

20 this section shall be treated as a violation of section 306 

21 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act 

22 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1436). 

23 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLANS AND REGULATIONS. 

24 (a) INTERIM PLAN.—The Secretary shall complete an 

25 interim supplemental management plan for each of the 
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1 Sanctuaries by not later than 30 months after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, that focuses on management in 

3 the areas added under this Act. These supplemental plans 

4 shall not weaken existing resource protections. 

5 (b) REVISED PLANS.—The Secretary shall issue a re6 vised comprehensive management plan for each of the 

7 Sanctuaries during the next management review process 

8 required by section 304 of the National Marine Sanc9 tuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(e)) for the Sanctuaries, and 

10 issue such final regulations as may be necessary.

11 (c) APPLICATION OF EXISTING REGULATIONS.—The 

12 regulations for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

13 Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 922, subpart H) and the Cordell 

14 Bank National Marine Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 922, subpart 

15 K) shall apply to the areas added to the Sanctuaries under 

16 section 5 until the Secretary modifies such regulations in 

17 accordance with this section. 

18 (d) PROCEDURES.—In developing the revisions under 

19 this section, the Secretary shall follow the procedures spec20 ified in sections 303 and 304 of the Marine Protection, 

21 Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1433 

22 and 1434), except those procedures requiring the delinea23 tion of national marine sanctuary boundaries and develop24 ment of a resource assessment report. 
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1 (e) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Revisions to each com2 prehensive management plan under this section shall, in 

3 addition to matters required under section 304(a)(2) of 

4 the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 

5 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1434(A)(2))—

6 (1) facilitate all public and private uses of each 

7 of the Sanctuaries consistent with the primary objec8 tive of sanctuary resource protection; 

9 (2) establish temporal and geographical zoning 

10 if necessary to ensure protection of sanctuary re11 sources; 

12 (3) identify priority needs for research which 

13 will—

14 (A) improve management of each of the 

15 Sanctuaries; 

16 (B) diminish threats to the health of the 

17 ecosystems in the Sanctuaries; or 

18 (C) fulfill both of subparagraphs (A) and 

19 (B); 

20 (4) establish a long-term ecological monitoring 

21 program and database, including the development 

22 and implementation of a resource information sys23 tem to disseminate information on the Sanctuaries’ 

24 ecosystem, history, culture and management; 
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1 (5) identify alternative sources of funding need2 ed to fully implement the plan’s provisions and sup3 plement appropriations under section 313 of the Ma4 rine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 

5 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1444); 

6 (6) ensure coordination and cooperation be7 tween Sanctuary managers and other Federal, State, 

8 and local authorities with jurisdiction within or adja9 cent to the Sanctuaries; 

10 (7) in the case of revisions to the plan for the 

11 Farallones NMS, promote cooperation with farmers 

12 and ranchers operating in the watersheds adjacent 

13 to the Gulf of the Farallones NMS and establish vol14 untary best practices programs for farming and 

15 ranching; 

16 (8) promote cooperative and educational pro17 grams with fishing vessel operators and crews oper18 ating in the waters of the Sanctuaries, and, when19 ever possible, include individuals who engage in fish20 ing and their vessels in cooperative research, assess21 ment, and monitoring programs of the education, 

22 among users of the Sanctuaries, about conservation 

23 and navigational safety and the conservation of 

24 those resources; and 
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1 (9) promote education, among users of the 

2 Sanctuaries, about conservation and navigation safe3 ty. 

4 (f) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 provide for participation by the general public in the revi6 sion of the comprehensive management plans and regula7 tions under this section. 

8 SEC. 8. FEASIBILITY OF A NEW SANCTUARY DESIGNATION. 

9 (a) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION.—As part of the 

10 first review, following the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 

12 Management Plan pursuant to section 304(e) of the Na13 tional Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(e)), the 

14 Secretary shall—

15 (1) conduct a review of the operations of the 

16 Farallones NMS; and 

17 (2) following not less than one public hearing 

18 held in the area added to the Farallones NMS by 

19 this Act and the receipt of public comment, deter20 mine whether that area shall be designated as a new 

21 and separate National Marine Sanctuary. 

22 (b) CONSIDERATIONS FOR DETERMINATION.—In 

23 making the determination under subsection (a)(2), the 

24 Secretary shall consider responsiveness to local needs, the 
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1 effectiveness of conservation, education and volunteer pro2 grams, and organizational efficiency. 

3 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF DETERMINATION.—If the 

4 Secretary determines under subsection (b) to designate a 

5 new national marine sanctuary, the Secretary shall imple6 ment measures to assure a smooth and effective transition 

7 to a separate national marine sanctuary.

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