33 U.S.C. § 1472 — Grave and imminent danger from oil pol-

Page 627 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1472 Sec. 1482. Consultation for nomination and nomination of experts, negotiators, etc.; proposal of amendments to list of substances other than convention oil; Presidential accept- ance of amendments. 1483. Foreign government ships; immunity. 1484. Interpretation and administration; other right, duty, privilege, or immunity and other remedy unaffected. 1485. Rules and regulations. 1486. Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. 1487. Effective date. § 1471. Definitions As used in this chapter— (1) ‘‘a substance other than convention oil’’ means those oils, noxious substances, liquefied gases, and radioactive substances— (A) enumerated in the protocol, or (B) otherwise determined to be hazardous under section 1473(a) of this title; (2) ‘‘convention’’ means the International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, including annexes thereto; (3) ‘‘convention oil’’ means crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, and lubricating oil; (4) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper- ating; (5) ‘‘ship’’ means— (A) a seagoing vessel of any type whatso- ever, and (B) any floating craft, except an installa- tion or device engaged in the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the sea- bed and the ocean floor and the subsoil thereof; (6) ‘‘protocol’’ means the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Marine Pollution by Substances Other Than Oil, 1973, including annexes thereto; and (7) ‘‘United States’’ means the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other commonwealth, territory, or posses- sion of the United States. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 2, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 8; Pub. L. 95–302, § 1(1), June 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 344.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in par. (7), see section 3602(b) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–302 in cl. (1) substituted definition of ‘‘a substance other than convention oil’’ for definition of ‘‘ship’’, in cl. (2) substituted definition of ‘‘conven- tion’’ for definition of ‘‘oil’’, in cl. (3) substituted defi- nition of ‘‘convention oil’’ for definition of ‘‘conven- tion’’, in cl. (5) substituted definition of ‘‘ship’’ for defi- nition of ‘‘United States’’, and added cls. (6) and (7). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 95–302, see section 2 of Pub. L. 95–302, set out as a note under section 1487 of this title. SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 93–248, § 1, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 8, provided: ‘‘That this Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Intervention on the High Seas Act’.’’ TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relat- ing thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Secu- rity, and the Department of Homeland Security Reor- ganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. Executive Documents TERMINATION OF TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Is- lands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. § 1472. Grave and imminent danger from oil pol- lution casualties to coastline or related inter- ests of United States; Federal nonliability for Federal preventive measures on the high seas Whenever a ship collision, stranding, or other incident of navigation or other occurrence on board a ship or external to it resulting in mate- rial damage or imminent threat of material damage to the ship or her cargo creates, as de- termined by the Secretary, a grave and immi- nent danger to the coastline or related interests of the United States from pollution or threat of pollution of the sea by convention oil or of the sea or atmosphere by a substance other than convention oil which may reasonably be ex- pected to result in major harmful consequences, the Secretary may, except as provided for in sec- tion 1479 of this title, without liability for any damage to the owners or operators of the ship, to her cargo or crew, to underwriters or other parties interested therein, take measures on the high seas, in accordance with the provisions of the convention, the protocol and this chapter, to prevent, mitigate, or eliminate that danger. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 3, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 8; Pub. L. 95–302, § 1(2), June 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 344.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–302 substituted ‘‘convention oil or of the sea or atmosphere by a substance other than con- vention oil’’ for ‘‘oil’’, and ‘‘convention, the protocol’’ for ‘‘Convention’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 95–302, see section 2 of Pub. L. 95–302, set out as a note under section 1487 of this title. Page 628 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1473 § 1473. Consultations and determinations re- specting creation of hazards to human health, etc.; criteria for determinations re- specting grave and imminent dangers of major harmful consequences to United States coastline or related interests (a) The Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Commerce, shall determine when a substance other than those enumerated in the protocol is liable to create a hazard to human health, to harm living re- sources, to damage amenities, or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea. (b) In determining whether there is grave and imminent danger of major harmful consequences to the coastline or related interests of the United States, the Secretary shall consider the interests of the United States directly threat- ened or affected including but not limited to, human health, fish, shellfish, and other living marine resources, wildlife, coastal zone and es- tuarine activities, and public and private shore- lines and beaches. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 4, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9; Pub. L. 95–302, § 1(3), June 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 344.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–302 added subsec. (a), designated ex- isting provisions as subsec. (b), and inserted ‘‘human health,’’ before ‘‘fish’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 95–302, see section 2 of Pub. L. 95–302, set out as a note under section 1487 of this title. § 1474. Federal intervention actions Upon a determination under section 1472 of this title of a grave and imminent danger to the coastline or related interests of the United States, the Secretary may— (1) coordinate and direct all public and pri- vate efforts directed at the removal or elimi- nation of the threatened pollution damage; (2) directly or indirectly undertake the whole or any part of any salvage or other ac- tion he could require or direct under sub- section (1) of this section; and (3) remove, and, if necessary, destroy the ship and cargo which is the source of the dan- ger. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 5, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9.) § 1475. Consultation procedure Before taking any measure under section 1474 of this title, the Secretary shall— (1) consult, through the Secretary of State, with other countries affected by the marine casualty, and particularly with the flag coun- try of any ship involved; (2) notify without delay the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and any other persons known to the Secretary, or of whom he later becomes aware, who have in- terests which can reasonably be expected to be affected by any proposed measures; and (3) consider any views submitted in response to the consultation or notification required by subsections (1) and (2) of this section. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 6, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9.) § 1476. Emergencies In cases of extreme urgency requiring meas- ures to be taken immediately, the Secretary may take those measures rendered necessary by the urgency of the situation without the prior consultation or notification as required by sec- tion 1475 of this title or without the continu- ation of consultations already begun. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 7, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9.) § 1477. Reasonable measures; considerations (a) Measures directed or conducted under this chapter shall be proportionate to the damage, actual or threatened, to the coastline or related interests of the United States and may not go beyond what is reasonably necessary to prevent, mitigate, or eliminate that damage. (b) In considering whether measures are pro- portionate to the damage the Secretary shall, among other things, consider— (1) the extent and probability of imminent damage if those measures are not taken; (2) the likelihood of effectiveness of those measures; and (3) the extent of the damage which may be caused by those measures. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 8, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9.) § 1478. Personal, flag state, and foreign state con- siderations In the direction and conduct of measures under this chapter the Secretary shall use his best endeavors to— (1) assure the avoidance of risk to human life; (2) render all possible aid to distressed per- sons, including facilitating repatriation of ships’ crews; and (3) not unnecessarily interfere with rights and interests of others, including the flag state of any ship involved, other foreign states threatened by damage, and persons otherwise concerned. (Pub. L. 93–248, § 9, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 9.) § 1479. Federal liability for unreasonable dam- ages (a) Payment of compensation The United States shall be obliged to pay com- pensation to the extent of the damage caused by measures which exceed those reasonably nec- essary to achieve the end mentioned in section 1472 of this title. (b) Jurisdiction Actions against the United States seeking compensation for any excessive measures may be brought in the United States Court of Federal Claims, in any district court of the United States, and in those courts enumerated in sec- tion 460 of title 28. For purposes of this chapter, American Samoa shall be included within the judicial district of the District Court of the