submerged land of the Outer Continental Shelf; 
and 
‘‘(B) a 5-nautical-mile buffer between the 
entry or exit of any traffic separation scheme 
and any offshore structure.’’. 
(b) NAVIGATION; CONFLICT MITIGATION.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating shall implement the recommendations of the 
Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study, docket number 
USCG–2011–0351, dated February 24, 2016, including 
any recommendations in the appendices thereto. 
(c) FAIRWAYS.—Not later than July 1, 2021, the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard shall conduct a review 
of navigation on the East Coast of the United States and 
submit recommendations for new fairways on such coast 
to facilitate commerce to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate. 
SEC. 4. SAFETY OF SPECIAL ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 46, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 70005 the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:18 Jun 07, 2019
Jkt 034408
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2926.IH
H2926
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘§ 70006. Safety of special activities 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish a 
safety zone to address special activities in the exclusive 
economic zone. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘safety zone’ has the meaning 
provided in section 165.20 of title 33, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘special activities’ includes— 
‘‘(A) space activities, including launch and 
reentry, as those terms are defined in section 
50902 of title 51, carried out by United States 
citizens; and 
‘‘(B) offshore energy development activi-
ties, as described in section 8(p)(1)(C) of the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1337(p)(1)(C)), on or near a fixed platform. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘United States citizen’ has the 
same meaning as the term ‘eligible owners’ in sec-
tion 12103. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘fixed platform’ means an artifi-
cial island, installation, or structure permanently at-
tached to the sea-bed for the purpose of exploration 
or exploitation of resources or for other economic 
purposes.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:18 Jun 07, 2019
Jkt 034408
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2926.IH
H2926
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 700 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 70005 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘70006. Safety of special activities.’’. 
(c) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper-
ating shall establish regulations to implement this 
section. 
(2) ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER REGULATIONS.— 
Such regulations shall align with subchapter C of 
chapter III of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. 
SEC. 5. TOWING VESSELS; OPERATION OUTSIDE THE 
BOUNDARY LINE. 
(a) INTERIM EXEMPTION.—A towing vessel to which 
this section applies is exempt from any additional require-
ments of subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, and 
chapter I of title 33 and chapter I of title 46, Code of 
Federal Regulations that would result solely from such 
vessel operating outside the Boundary Line (as such term 
is defined in section 103 of title 46, United States Code) 
if such vessel— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:18 Jun 07, 2019
Jkt 034408
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2926.IH
H2926
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(1) is listed as a response vessel on a vessel re-
sponse plan and is operating outside the Boundary 
Line solely to perform duties of a response vessel; or 
(2) is operating outside the Boundary Line 
solely to perform operations necessary to escort a 
vessel with limited maneuverability. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to a towing 
vessel— 
(1) that is subject to inspection under chapter 
33 of title 46, United States Code, and subchapter 
M of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations; 
(2) with only ‘‘Lakes, Bays, and Sounds’’ or 
‘‘Rivers’’ routes recorded on such vessel’s certificate 
of documentation under section 176.110 of title 46, 
Code of Federal Regulations; and 
(3)(A) that, with respect to a vessel that is de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1), is listed on a vessel re-
sponse plan under part 155 of title 33, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, on the date of the enactment of 
this Act; or 
(B) that, with respect to a vessel described in 
subsection (a)(2), is regularly engages in harbor as-
sist operations, including the docking, undocking, 
mooring, unmooring, and escorting of vessels with 
limited maneuverability. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:18 Jun 07, 2019
Jkt 034408
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2926.IH
H2926
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
(c) LIMITATIONS.—A vessel exempted under sub-
section (a) is subject to the following operating limitations: 
(1) RESPONSE VESSELS.—The voyage of a ves-
sel exempted under subsection (a)(1) shall— 
(A) be less than 12 hours in total duration; 
and 
(B) originate and end in the inspection 
zone of a single Officer In-Charge, Marine In-
spection, as defined in section 3305(d)(4) of 
title 46, United States Code. 
(2) ESCORT VESSELS.—The voyage of a vessel 
exempted under subsection (a)(2) shall— 
(A) be less than 12 hours in total duration; 
(B) originate and end in the inspection 
zone of a single Officer In-Charge, Marine In-
spection, as such term is defined in section 
3305(d)(4) of title 46, United States Code; and 
(C) occurs no further than 10 nautical 
miles from the Boundary Line. 
(d) TERMINATION.—The interim exemption provided 
under subsection (a) shall terminate on July 22, 2023. 
(e) RESTRICTION.—The Officer In-Charge, Marine 
Inspection, as defined in section 3305(d)(4) of title 46, 
United States Code, for an inspection zone may restrict 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:18 Jun 07, 2019
Jkt 034408
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2926.IH
H2926
pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS