
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC9111]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
               CHAPTER 99--OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
 
 SUBCHAPTER I--REGULATION OF OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION FACILITIES 
                             AND PLANTSHIPS
 
Sec. 9111. License for ownership, construction, and operation of 
        ocean thermal energy conversion facilities or plantships
        

(a) License requirement

    No person may engage in the ownership, construction, or operation of 
an ocean thermal energy conversion facility which is documented under 
the laws of the United States, which is located in whole or in part 
between the highwater mark and the seaward boundary of the territorial 
sea of the United States, or which is connected to the United States by 
pipeline or cable, except in accordance with a license issued pursuant 
to this chapter. No citizen of the United States may engage in the 
ownership, construction or operation of an ocean thermal energy 
conversion plantship except in accordance with a license issued pursuant 
to this chapter, or in accordance with a license issued by a foreign 
nation whose licenses are found by the Administrator, after consultation 
with the Secretary of State, to be compatible with licenses issued 
pursuant to this chapter.

(b) Documented plantships; documented facilities; facilities located in 
        territorial sea; facilities connected to United States by 
        pipeline or cable

    The Administrator shall, upon application and in accordance with the 
provisions of this chapter, issue, transfer, amend, or renew licenses 
for the ownership, construction, and operation of--
        (1) ocean thermal energy conversion plantships documented under 
    the laws of the United States, and
        (2) ocean thermal energy conversion facilities documented under 
    the laws of the United States, located in whole or in part between 
    the highwater mark and the seaward boundary of the territorial sea 
    of the United States, or connected to the United States by pipeline 
    or cable.

(c) License issuance prerequisites

    The Administrator may issue a license to a citizen of the United 
States in accordance with the provisions of this chapter unless--
        (1) he determines that the applicant cannot or will not comply 
    with applicable laws, regulations, and license conditions;
        (2) he determines that the construction and operation of the 
    ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship will not be in 
    the national interest and consistent with national security and 
    other national policy goals and objectives, including energy self-
    sufficiency and environmental quality;
        (3) he determines, after consultation with the Secretary of the 
    department in which the Coast Guard is operating, that the ocean 
    thermal energy conversion facility or plantship will not be operated 
    with reasonable regard to the freedom of navigation or other 
    reasonable uses of the high seas and authorized uses of the 
    Continental Shelf, as defined by United States law, treaty, 
    convention, or customary international law;
        (4) he has been informed, within 45 days after the conclusion of 
    public hearings on that application, or on proposed licenses for the 
    designated application area, by the Administrator of the 
    Environmental Protection Agency that the ocean thermal energy 
    conversion facility or plantship will not conform with all 
    applicable provisions of any law for which he has regulatory 
    authority;
        (5) he has received the opinion of the Attorney General, 
    pursuant to section 9114 of this title, stating that issuance of the 
    license would create a situation in violation of the antitrust laws, 
    or the 90-day period provided in section 9114 of this title has not 
    expired;
        (6) he has consulted with the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary 
    of Transportation, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 
    Interior, and the Secretary of Defense, to determine their views on 
    the adequacy of the application, and its effect on programs within 
    their respective jurisdictions and determines on the basis thereof, 
    that the application for a license is inadequate;
        (7) the proposed ocean thermal energy conversion facility or 
    plantship will be documented under the laws of a foreign nation;
        (8) the applicant has not agreed to the condition that no vessel 
    may be used for the transportation to the United States of things 
    produced, processed, refined, or manufactured at the ocean thermal 
    energy conversion facility or plantship unless such vessel is 
    documented under the laws of the United States;
        (9) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion 
    facility, he determines that the facility, including any submarine 
    electric transmission cables and equipment or pipelines which are 
    components of the facility, will not be located and designed so as 
    to minimize interference with other uses of the high seas or the 
    Continental Shelf, including cables or pipelines already in position 
    on or in the seabed and the possibility of their repair;
        (10) the Governor of any adjacent coastal State with an approved 
    coastal zone management program in good standing pursuant to the 
    Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) 
    determines that, in his or her view, the application is inadequate 
    or inconsistent with respect to programs within his or her 
    jurisdiction;
        (11) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion 
    facility, he determines that the thermal plume of the facility is 
    expected to impinge on so as to degrade the thermal gradient used by 
    any other ocean thermal energy conversion facility already licensed 
    or operating, without the consent of its owner;
        (12) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion 
    facility, he determines that the thermal plume of the facility is 
    expected to impinge on so as to adversely affect the territorial sea 
    or area of national resource jurisdiction, as recognized by the 
    United States, of any other nation, unless the Secretary of State 
    approves such impingement after consultation with such nation;
        (13) when the license is for an ocean thermal energy conversion 
    plantship, he determines that the applicant has not provided 
    adequate assurance that the plantship will be operated in such a way 
    as to prevent its thermal plume from impinging on so as to degrade 
    the thermal gradient used by any other ocean thermal energy 
    conversion facility or plantship without the consent of its owner, 
    and from impinging on so as to adversely affect the territorial sea 
    or area of national resource jurisdiction, as recognized by the 
    United States, of any other nation unless the Secretary of State 
    approves such impingement after consultation with such nation; or
        (14) if a regulation has been adopted which places an upper 
    limit on the number or total capacity of ocean thermal energy 
    conversion facilities or plantships to be licensed under this 
    chapter for simultaneous operation, either overall or within 
    specific geographic areas, pursuant to a determination under the 
    provisions of section 9117(b)(4) of this title, issuance of the 
    license will cause such upper limit to be exceeded.

(d) Issuance conditions; written agreement of compliance; disposal or 
        removal requirements

    (1) In issuing a license for the ownership, construction, and 
operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship, 
the Administrator shall prescribe conditions which he deems necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this chapter, or which are otherwise 
required by any Federal department or agency pursuant to the terms of 
this chapter.
    (2) No license shall be issued, transferred, or renewed under this 
chapter unless the applicant, licensee or transferee first agrees in 
writing that (A) there will be no substantial change from the plans, 
operational systems, and methods, procedures, and safeguards set forth 
in his application, as approved, without prior approval in writing from 
the Administrator, and (B) he will comply with conditions the 
Administrator may prescribe in accordance with the provisions of this 
chapter.
    (3) The Administrator shall establish such bonding requirements or 
other assurances as he deems necessary to assure that, upon the 
revocation, termination, relinquishment, or surrender of a license, the 
licensee will dispose of or remove all components of the ocean thermal 
energy conversion facility or plantship as directed by the 
Administrator. In the case of components which another applicant or 
licensee desires to use, the Administrator may waive the disposal or 
removal requirements until he has reached a decision on the application. 
In the case of components lying on or below the seabed, the 
Administrator may waive the disposal or removal requirements if he finds 
that such removal is not otherwise necessary and that the remaining 
components do not constitute any threat to the environment, navigation, 
fishing, or other uses of the seabed.

(e) License transfer

    Upon application, a license issued under this chapter may be 
transferred if the Administrator determines that such transfer is in the 
public interest and that the transferee meets the requirements of this 
chapter and the prerequisites to issuance under subsection (c) of this 
section.

(f) License eligibility

    Any United States citizen who otherwise qualifies under the terms of 
this chapter shall be eligible to be issued a license for the ownership, 
construction, and operation of an ocean thermal energy conversion 
facility or plantship.

(g) License term and renewal

    Licenses issued under this chapter shall be for a term of not to 
exceed 25 years. Each licensee shall have a preferential right to renew 
his license subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this 
section, upon such conditions and for such term, not to exceed an 
additional 10 years upon each renewal, as the Administrator determines 
to be reasonable and appropriate.

(Pub. L. 96-320, title I, Sec. 101, Aug. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 976; Pub. L. 
98-623, title VI, Sec. 602(a)(3)-(5), (b), (e)(8)-(11), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 
Stat. 3410-3412.)

                       References in Text

    The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, referred to in subsec. 
(c)(10), is title III of Pub. L. 89-454 as added by Pub. L. 92-583, Oct. 
27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1280, and amended, which is classified generally to 
chapter 33 (Sec. 1451 et seq.) of Title 16, Conservation. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 1451 of Title 16 and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1984--Subsecs. (a), (b)(2). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(a)(3), (4), 
substituted ``located in whole or in part between the highwater mark and 
the seaward boundary of the territorial sea'' for ``located in the 
territorial sea''.
    Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(b)(1), substituted ``cannot 
or will not'' for ``cannot and will not''.
    Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(e)(8), substituted 
``regulatory authority'' for ``enforcement authority''.
    Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(b)(2), substituted ``has 
not expired'' for ``has expired''.
    Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(e)(9), substituted 
``application for a license'' for ``application for license''.
    Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(a)(5), substituted ``will 
be documented under the laws of a foreign nation'' for ``will not be 
documented under the laws of the United States''.
    Subsec. (c)(10). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(b)(3), (5), substituted 
``any adjacent'' for ``each adjacent'' and ``(16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.)'' 
for ``(33 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.)''.
    Subsec. (c)(13). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(b)(4), substituted ``or'' 
for ``and'' after the semicolon at the end.
    Subsec. (c)(14). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(e)(10), substituted ``if a 
regulation'' for ``when a regulation''.
    Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 98-623, Sec. 602(e)(11), substituted 
``applicant, licensee'' for ``licensee''.

                    Territorial Sea of United States

    For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No. 
5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

                    Contiguous Zone of United States

    For extension of contiguous zone of United States, see Proc. No. 
7219, Sept. 2, 1999, 64 F.R. 48701, set out as a note under section 1331 
of Title 43, Public Lands.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 9112 of this title.
