II
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 543
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 28, 1996
Received
AN ACT
To reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Marine Sanc-
tuaries Preservation Act’’.
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES
ACT.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a
section or other provision of National Marine Sanctuaries
Act (16 U.S.C. 1431–1445a).
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL MARINE
SANCTUARIES ACT.
Section 313 (16 U.S.C. 1444) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘SEC. 313. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this title—
‘‘(1) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
‘‘(2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and
‘‘(3) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT, RECOVERY, AND PRESERVATION
PLAN FOR U.S.S. MONITOR.
The Secretary of Commerce shall, within 12 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, prepare and
submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a long-range,
comprehensive plan for the management, stabilization,
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preservation, and recovery of artifacts and materials of the
United States Ship Monitor. In preparing and implement-
ing the plan, the Secretary shall to the extent feasible uti-
lize the resources of other Federal and private entities
with expertise and capabilities that are helpful.
SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF CERTAIN ADVISORY
COUNCIL MEETINGS.
Section 315(e)(3) (16 U.S.C. 1445a(e)(3)) is amend-
ed by inserting before the period at the end the following:
‘‘, except that in the case of a meeting of an Advisory
Council established to provide assistance regarding any in-
dividual national marine sanctuary the notice is not re-
quired to be published in the Federal Register’’.
SEC. 6. ENHANCING SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL MARINE
SANCTUARIES.
(a) INCORPORATION OF EXISTING PROVISION.—Sec-
tion 316 (16 U.S.C. 1445 note) is redesignated as section
317, section 2204 of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Program Amendments Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 5049) is
moved so as to appear in the National Marine Sanctuaries
Act following section 315, and that moved section is des-
ignated as section 316 of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Act.
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(b) AMENDMENT OF INCORPORATED SECTION.—Sec-
tion 316, as moved and designated by subsection (a) of
this section, is amended as follows:
(1) Subsections (a), (g), and (h) are struck, and
subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) are redesig-
nated as subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), re-
spectively.
(2) In subsection (a), as so redesignated, the
matter preceding paragraph (1) is struck and the
following is inserted:
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may establish a
program consisting of—’’.
(3) In subsection (a)(5), as so redesignated—
(A) ‘‘establishment’’ is struck and ‘‘solici-
tation’’ is inserted; and
(B) ‘‘fees’’ is struck and ‘‘monetary or in-
kind contributions’’ is inserted.
(4) In subsection (a)(6), as so redesignated—
(A) ‘‘fees’’ is struck and ‘‘monetary or in-
kind contributions’’ is inserted;
(B) ‘‘paragraph (5)’’ is struck and ‘‘para-
graphs (5) and (6)’’ is inserted;
(C) ‘‘assessed’’ is struck and ‘‘collected’’ is
inserted; and
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(D) ‘‘in an interest-bearing revolving fund’’
is struck.
(5) In subsection (a)(7), as so redesignated—
(A) ‘‘and use’’ is inserted after ‘‘expendi-
ture’’;
(B) ‘‘fees’’ is struck and ‘‘monetary and
in-kind contributions’’ is inserted; and
(C) ‘‘and any interest in the fund estab-
lished under paragraph (6)’’ is struck.
(6) In subsection (a), as so redesignated, para-
graphs (5), (6), and (7) are redesignated in order as
paragraphs (6), (7), and (8), and the following new
paragraph is inserted after paragraph (4):
‘‘(5) the creation, marketing, and selling of
products to promote the national marine sanctuary
program, and entering into exclusive or nonexclusive
agreements authorizing entities to create, market or
sell on the Secretary’s behalf;’’.
(7) The following new sentence is added at the
end of subsection (a), as so redesignated:
‘‘Monetary and in-kind contributions raised through the
sale, marketing, or use of symbols and products related
to an individual national marine sanctuary shall be used
to support that sanctuary.’’.
(8) In subsection (e), as so redesignated—
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(A) paragraph (2) is struck;
(B) in paragraph (1), ‘‘(1)’’ is struck, and
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) are redes-
ignated as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4);
and
(C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated,
‘‘fee’’ is struck and ‘‘monetary or in-kind con-
tribution’’ is inserted.
(9) In each of subsections (b), (c), and (d), as
so redesignated, by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (a)’’.
SEC. 7. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL MARINE SANC-
TUARY.
(a) INCLUSION OF KAHOOLAWE ISLAND WATERS.—
Section 2305 of the Hawaiian Islands National Marine
Sanctuary Act (16 U.S.C. 1433 note) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)’’;
and
(B) by striking ‘‘the area described in sub-
section (b) is’’ and inserting ‘‘the area de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1) and any area in-
cluded under subsection (b)(2) are’’;
(2) by amending subsection (b)(2) to read as
follows:
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‘‘(2)(A) Within 6 months after the date of receipt of
a request in writing from the Kahoolawe Island Reserve
Commission for inclusion within the Sanctuary of the area
of the marine environment within 3 nautical miles of the
mean high tide line of Kahoolawe Island (in this section
referred to as the ‘Kahoolawe Island waters’), the Sec-
retary shall determine whether those waters may be suit-
able for inclusion in the Sanctuary.
‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines under subparagraph
(A) that the Kahoolawe Island waters may be suitable for
inclusion within the Sanctuary—
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide notice of that
determination to the Governor of Hawaii; and
‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall prepare a supplemental
environmental impact statement, management plan,
and implementing regulations for that inclusion in
accordance with this Act, the National Marine Sanc-
tuaries Act, and the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969.’’; and
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(c) EFFECT OF OBJECTION BY GOVERNOR.—(1)(A)
If, within 45 days after the date of issuance of the com-
prehensive management plan and implementing regula-
tions under section 2306, the Governor of Hawaii certifies
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to the Secretary that the management plan, the imple-
menting regulations, or any term of the plan or regula-
tions is unacceptable, the management plan, regulation,
or term, respectively, shall not take effect in the area of
the Sanctuary lying within the seaward boundary of the
State of Hawaii.
‘‘(B) If the Secretary considers that an action under
subparagraph (A) will affect the Sanctuary in such a man-
ner that the policy or purposes of this title cannot be ful-
filled, the Secretary may terminate the designation under
subsection (a). At least 30 days before that termination,
the Secretary shall submit written notice of the termi-
nation to the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
‘‘(2)(A) If, within 45 days after the Secretary issues
the documents required under subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii), the
Governor of Hawaii certifies to the Secretary that the in-
clusion of the Kahoolawe Island waters in the Sanctuary
or any term of that inclusion is unacceptable—
‘‘(i) the inclusion or the term shall not take ef-
fect; and
‘‘(ii) subsection (b)(2) shall not apply during
the 3-year period beginning on the date of that cer-
tification.
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‘‘(B) If the Secretary considers that an action under
subparagraph (A) regarding a term of the inclusion of the
Kahoolawe Island waters will affect the inclusion or the
administration of the Kahoolawe Island waters as part of
the Sanctuary in such a manner that the policy or pur-
poses of this title cannot be fulfilled, the Secretary may
terminate that inclusion.’’.
(b) LIMITATION ON USER FEES.—The Hawaiian Is-
lands National Marine Sanctuary Act (16 U.S.C. 1433
note) is further amended by redesignating section 2307
as section 2308, and by inserting after section 2306 the
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2307. LIMITATION ON USER FEES.
‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not institute
any user fee under this Act or the National Marine Sanc-
tuaries Act for any activity within the Hawaiian Islands
National Marine Sanctuary or any use of the Sanctuary
or its resources.
‘‘(b) USER FEE DEFINED.—In this section, the term
‘user fee’ does not include—
‘‘(1) any fee authorized by section 310 of the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act;
‘‘(2) any gift or donation received under section
311 of that Act; and
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‘‘(3) any monetary or in-kind contributions
under section 316 of that Act.’’.
SEC. 8. FLOWER GARDEN BANKS BOUNDARY MODIFICA-
TION.
(a) MODIFICATION.—Notwithstanding section 304 of
the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1434),
the boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Ma-
rine Sanctuary, as designated by Public Law 102–251, are
amended to include the area described in subsection (d),
popularly known as Stetson Bank. This area shall be part
of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
and shall be managed and regulated as though it had been
designated by the Secretary of Commerce under the Na-
tional Marine Sanctuaries Act.
(b) DEPICTION OF SANCTUARY BOUNDARIES.—The
Secretary of Commerce shall—
(1) prepare a chart depicting the boundaries of
the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanc-
tuary, as modified by this section; and
(2) submit copies of this chart to the Commit-
tee on Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
(c) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS.—Regulations is-
sued by the Secretary of Commerce to implement the des-
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ignation of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine
Sanctuary shall apply to the area described in subsection
(d), unless modified by the Secretary. This subsection
shall take effect 45 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(d) AREA DESCRIBED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the area referred to in subsections (a),
(b), and (c) is the area that is—
(A) generally depicted on the Department
of the Interior, Minerals Management Service
map titled ‘‘Western Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale
143, September 1993, Biologically Sensitive
Areas, Map 3 of 3, Final’’;
(B) labeled ‘‘Stetson’’ on the High Island
Area South Addition diagram on that map; and
(C) within the 52 meter isobath.
(2) MINOR
BOUNDARY
ADJUSTMENTS.—The
Secretary of Commerce may make minor adjust-
ments to the boundaries of the area described in
paragraph (1) as necessary to protect living coral re-
sources or to simplify administration of the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and to
establish precisely the geographic boundaries of
Stetson Bank. The adjustments shall not signifi-
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cantly enlarge or otherwise alter the size of the area
described in paragraph (1), and shall not result in
the restriction of oil and gas activities otherwise per-
mitted outside of the ‘‘no activity’’ zone designated
for Stetson Bank as that zone is depicted on the
Minerals Management Service map entitled ‘‘Final
Notice of Sale 161, Western Gulf Mexico, Biological
Stipulation Map Package’’.
(e) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce
shall, as soon as practicable after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register
a notice describing—
(A) the boundaries of the Flower Garden
Banks National Marine Sanctuary, as modified
by this section, and
(B) any modification of regulations appli-
cable to that Sanctuary that are necessary to
implement that modification of the boundaries
of the Sanctuary.
(2) TREATMENT AS NOTICE REQUIRED UNDER
NATIONAL
MARINE
SANCTUARIES
ACT.—A notice
published under paragraph (1) shall be considered to
be the notice required to be published under section