Statutory Authority

§ 2602

TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

(D) the Exclusive Economic Zone as established by Presidential Proclamation Number
5030, dated March 10, 1983.
(3) ‘‘municipal or commercial waste’’ means
solid waste (as defined in section 6903 of title
42) except—
(A) solid waste identified and listed under
section 6921 of title 42;
(B) waste generated by the vessel during
normal operations;
(C) debris solely from construction activities;
(D) sewage sludge subject to regulation
under title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 [33 U.S.C.
1411 et seq.]; and
(E) dredged or fill material subject to regulation under title I of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972
[33 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.], the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.),
or the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act
of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).
(4) ‘‘person’’ means an individual, trust,
firm, joint stock company, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a State, or
any interstate body.
(5) ‘‘receiving facility’’ means a facility or
operation where municipal or commercial
waste is unloaded from a vessel.
(6) ‘‘United States’’, when used in a geographic sense, means the States of the United
States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia,
the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam,
the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other
territory or possession of the United States.
(7) ‘‘waste source’’ means a facility or vessel
from which municipal or commercial waste is
loaded onto a vessel, including any rolling
stock or motor vehicles from which that waste
is directly loaded.
(Pub. L. 100–688, title IV, § 4101, Nov. 18, 1988, 102
Stat. 4154.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Presidential Proclamation Number 5030, referred to
in par. (2)(D), is set out under section 1453 of Title 16,
Conservation.
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972, referred to in par. (3)(D) and (E), is Pub. L.
92–532, Oct. 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 1052, as amended. Title I of
that Act is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 1411 et
seq.) of chapter 27 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set
out under section 1401 of this title and Tables.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to
in par. (3)(E), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended
generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816,
which is classified generally to chapter 26 (§ 1251 et seq.)
of this title. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section
1251 of this title and Tables.
The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, referred to in par. (3)(E), is act Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 425, 30
Stat. 1151, as amended, which enacted sections 401, 403,
404, 406 to 409, 411 to 416, 418, 502, 549, 686, and 687 of this
title. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Tables.
SHORT TITLE
Section 4001 of title IV of Pub. L. 100–688 provided
that: ‘‘This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited
as the ‘Shore Protection Act of 1988’.’’

Page 654

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.

§ 2602. Vessel permits and numbers
(a) In general
A vessel (except a public vessel as defined in
section 2101 of title 46) may not transport municipal or commercial waste in coastal waters
without—
(1) a permit for that vessel from the Secretary of Transportation; and
(2) displaying a number or other marking on
the vessel as prescribed by the Secretary
under chapter 123 or section 12502(b) of title 46.
(b) Permit applications
Application for a permit required by subsection (a) of this section shall be made by the
vessel owner or operator and include—
(1) the name, address, and telephone number
of the vessel owner and operator;
(2) the vessel’s name and identification number;
(3) the vessel’s area of operation;
(4) the vessel’s transport capacity;
(5) a history of the types of cargo transported by that vessel during the previous year,
including identifying the type of municipal or
commercial waste transported as—
(A) municipal waste;
(B) commercial waste;
(C) medical waste; or
(D) waste of another character.
(6) any other information the Secretary may
require; and
(7) an acknowledgment.
(c) Effective date of permits
A permit issued under this section—
(1) is effective 30 days after the date on
which it was issued;
(2) may be issued only for a period of not
more than 5 years after the effective date of
the permit;
(3) may be renewed for periods of not more
than 5 years only by the vessel owner or operator that applied for the original permit; and
(4) is terminated when the vessel is sold.
(d) Denial of permits
The Secretary may, or at the request of the
Administrator shall, deny the issuance of a permit for any vessel if the owner or operator of the
vessel has a record of a pattern of serious violations of—
(1) this subchapter;
(2) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.
6901 et seq.);
(3) the Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act of 1972 [16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.,
1447 et seq.; 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq., 2801 et seq.];
(4) the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act
of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401 et seq.); or
(5) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
(e) Permit decision
The Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator, shall issue or deny a vessel permit

Page 655

TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

under this section within 30 days after receiving
a complete application. On denying the issuance
of the permit for a vessel the Secretary shall—
(1) notify the applicant of the denial and the
reasons for the denial; and
(2) provide an opportunity for a hearing on
the denial.
(f) Maintaining permit
(1) In general
The permit issued for a vessel under this
chapter shall be maintained in a manner prescribed by the Secretary.
(2) Endorsements
If a vessel is a documented vessel, the Secretary may endorse a permit on the vessel’s
certificate of documentation.
(g) Vessel information system
The Secretary may include information in a
permit in the vessel information system maintained under chapter 125 of title 46.
(Pub. L. 100–688, title IV, § 4102, Nov. 18, 1988, 102
Stat. 4155.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Solid Waste Disposal Act, referred to in subsec.
(d)(2), is title II of Pub. L. 89–272, Oct. 20, 1965, 79 Stat.
997, as amended generally by Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21,
1976, 90 Stat. 2795, which is classified generally to chapter 82 (§ 6901 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and
Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6901 of
Title 42 and Tables.
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act of 1972, referred to in subsec. (d)(3), is Pub. L.
92–532, Oct. 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 1052, as amended, which is
classified generally to chapters 27 (§ 1401 et seq.) and 41
(§ 2801 et seq.) of this title and chapters 32 (§ 1431 et seq.)
and 32A (§ 1447 et seq.) of Title 16, Conservation. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title note set out under section 1401 of this title
and Tables.
The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, referred to in subsec. (d)(4), is act Mar. 3, 1899, ch. 425, 30
Stat. 1151, as amended, which enacted sections 401, 403,
404, 406 to 409, 411 to 416, 418, 502, 549, 686, and 687 of this
title. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Tables.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to
in subsec. (d)(5), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended
generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816,
which is classified generally to chapter 26 (§ 1251 et seq.)
of this title. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section
1251 of this title and Tables.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 4204(b) of Pub. L. 100–688 provided that: ‘‘Section 4102(a) of this Act [33 U.S.C. 2602(a)] is effective 240
days after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 18,
1988].’’
AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATIONS
Section 4204(a) of Pub. L. 100–688 provided that: ‘‘The
Secretary shall make vessel applications for permits to
be issued under section 4102 of this Act [33 U.S.C. 2602]
publicly available within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 18, 1988].’’

§ 2603. Waste handling practices
(a) In general
(1) Loading
The owner or operator of the waste source
shall take all reasonable steps to assure that

§ 2604

all municipal or commercial waste is loaded
onto a vessel in a manner that assures that
waste deposited in coastal waters is minimized.
(2) Securing
The owner or operator of a vessel shall assure that all municipal or commercial waste
loaded onto the vessel is secured by netting or
other means to assure that waste will not be
deposited into coastal waters during transport.
(3) Offloading
The owner or operator of the receiving facility shall take all reasonable steps to assure
that any municipal or commercial waste is
offloaded from a vessel in a manner that assures that waste deposited into coastal waters
is minimized.
(4) Cleaning up
The owner or operator of any waste source
or receiving facility shall provide adequate
control measures to clean up any municipal or
commercial waste which is deposited into
coastal waters.
(b) Regulations
The Administrator, in consultation with the
Secretary of Transportation, shall prescribe regulations—
(1) requiring that waste sources, receiving
facilities, and vessels provide the means and
facilities to assure that the waste will not be
deposited into coastal waters during loading,
offloading, and transport;
(2) requiring, as appropriate, the submission
and adoption by each responsible party of an
operation and maintenance manual identifying procedures to be used to prevent, report,
and clean up any deposit of municipal or commercial waste into coastal waters, including
record keeping requirements; and
(3) if the Administrator determines that
tracking systems are required to assure adequate enforcement of laws preventing the deposit of municipal or commercial waste into
coastal waters, requiring installation of the
appropriate systems within 18 months after
the Administrator makes that determination.
(Pub. L. 100–688, title IV, § 4103, Nov. 18, 1988, 102
Stat. 4156.)
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 4204(c) of Pub. L. 100–688 provided that: ‘‘Section 4103 of this Act [33 U.S.C. 2603] takes effect 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 18, 1988].’’

§ 2604. Suspension, revocation, and injunctions
(a) Suspension and revocation
After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the
Secretary of Transportation may, and at the request of the Administrator shall, suspend or revoke a permit issued to a vessel under this chapter for a violation of this chapter or a regulation
prescribed under this chapter.
(b) Injunctions
The Secretary or the Administrator may bring
a civil action to enjoin any operation in violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed