1625-0044 StatA

Page 317

TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS

and protective gear for exposure to hostile environments.
(f) Coordination and consultation with Federal
departments and agencies; availability to interested persons of compilation of safety regulations
(1) In administering the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall consult and coordinate
with the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies for purposes of assuring
that, to the maximum extent practicable, inconsistent or duplicative requirements are not imposed.
(2) The Secretary shall make available to any
interested person a compilation of all safety and
other regulations which are prepared and promulgated by any Federal department or agency
and applicable to activities on the outer Continental Shelf. Such compilation shall be revised and updated annually.
(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, § 21, as added Sept. 18, 1978,
Pub. L. 95–372, title II, § 208, 92 Stat. 654.)
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 1334, 1348 of this
title.

§ 1348. Enforcement of safety and environmental
regulations
(a) Utilization of Federal departments and agencies
The Secretary, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, and
the Secretary of the Army shall enforce safety
and environmental regulations promulgated
pursuant to this subchapter. Each such Federal
department may by agreement utilize, with or
without reimbursement, the services, personnel,
or facilities of other Federal departments and
agencies for the enforcement of their respective
regulations.
(b) Duties of holders of lease or permit
It shall be the duty of any holder of a lease or
permit under this subchapter to—
(1) maintain all places of employment within
the lease area or within the area covered by
such permit in compliance with occupational
safety and health standards and, in addition,
free from recognized hazards to employees of
the lease holder or permit holder or of any
contractor or subcontractor operating within
such lease area or within the area covered by
such permit on the outer Continental Shelf;
(2) maintain all operations within such lease
area or within the area covered by such permit
in compliance with regulations intended to
protect persons, property, and the environment on the outer Continental Shelf; and
(3) allow prompt access, at the site of any
operation subject to safety regulations, to any
inspector, and to provide such documents and
records which are pertinent to occupational or
public health, safety, or environmental protection, as may be requested.
(c) Onsite inspection of facilities
The Secretary and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating
shall individually, or jointly if they so agree,
promulgate regulations to provide for—

§ 1348

(1) scheduled onsite inspection, at least once
a year, of each facility on the outer Continental Shelf which is subject to any environmental or safety regulation promulgated pursuant to this subchapter, which inspection
shall include all safety equipment designed to
prevent or ameliorate blowouts, fires, spillages, or other major accidents; and
(2) periodic onsite inspection without advance notice to the operator of such facility to
assure compliance with such environmental or
safety regulations.
(d) Investigation and report on major fires, oil
spills, death, or serious injury
(1) The Secretary or the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating
shall make an investigation and public report on
each major fire and each major oil spillage occurring as a result of operations conducted pursuant to this subchapter, and may, in his discretion, make an investigation and report of lesser
oil spillages. For purposes of this subsection, a
major oil spillage is any spillage in one instance
of more than two hundred barrels of oil during
a period of thirty days. All holders of leases or
permits issued or maintained under this subchapter shall cooperate with the appropriate
Secretary in the course of any such investigation.
(2) The Secretary or the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating
shall make an investigation and public report on
any death or serious injury occurring as a result
of operations conducted pursuant to this subchapter, and may, in his discretion, make an investigation and report of any injury. For purposes of this subsection, a serious injury is one
resulting in substantial impairment of any bodily unit or function. All holders of leases or permits issued or maintained under this subchapter
shall cooperate with the appropriate Secretary
in the course of any such investigation.
(e) Review of allegations of violations
The Secretary, or, in the case of occupational
safety and health, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating,
may review any allegation from any person of
the existence of a violation of a safety regulation issued under this subchapter.
(f) Summoning of witnesses and production of
evidence
In any investigation conducted pursuant to
this section, the Secretary or the Secretary of
the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall have power to summon witnesses
and to require the production of books, papers,
documents, and any other evidence. Attendance
of witnesses or the production of books, papers,
documents, or any other evidence shall be compelled by a similar process, as in the district
courts of the United States. Such Secretary, or
his designee, shall administer all necessary
oaths to any witnesses summoned before such
investigation.
(g) Report to Congress of violations and action
taken
The Secretary shall, after consultation with
the Secretary of the Department in which the

§ 1349

TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS

Coast Guard is operating, include in his annual
report to the Congress required by section 1343
of this title the number of violations of safety
regulations reported or alleged, any investigations undertaken, the results of such investigations, and any administrative or judicial action
taken as a result of such investigations, and the
results of the diving studies conducted under
section 1347(e) of this title.
(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, § 22, as added Sept. 18, 1978,
Pub. L. 95–372, title II, § 208, 92 Stat. 655.)
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY SECRETARY TO
CONGRESS FOR TRAINING PROGRAM
Pub. L. 95–372, title VI, § 607, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat.
697, required the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department in which the
Coast Guard is operating, not later than ninety days
after Sept. 18, 1978, to prepare and submit to the Congress a training program report concerning individuals
employed on any artificial island, installation, or other
device located on the Outer Continental Shelf and who,
as part of their employment, operate or supervise the
operation of pollution-prevention equipment.

§ 1349. Citizens suits, jurisdiction and judicial review
(a) Persons who may bring actions; persons
against whom action may be brought; time of
action; intervention by Attorney General;
costs and fees; security
(1) Except as provided in this section, any person having a valid legal interest which is or may
be adversely affected may commence a civil action on his own behalf to compel compliance
with this subchapter against any person, including the United States, and any other government instrumentality or agency (to the extent
permitted by the eleventh amendment to the
Constitution) for any alleged violation of any
provision of this subchapter or any regulation
promulgated under this subchapter, or of the
terms of any permit or lease issued by the Secretary under this subchapter.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this
subsection, no action may be commenced under
subsection (a)(1) of this section—
(A) prior to sixty days after the plaintiff has
given notice of the alleged violation, in writing under oath, to the Secretary and any other
appropriate Federal official, to the State in
which the violation allegedly occurred or is
occurring, and to any alleged violator; or
(B) if the Attorney General has commenced
and is diligently prosecuting a civil action in
a court of the United States or a State with
respect to such matter, but in any such action
in a court of the United States any person
having a legal interest which is or may be adversely affected may intervene as a matter of
right.
(3) An action may be brought under this subsection immediately after notification of the alleged violation in any case in which the alleged
violation constitutes an imminent threat to the
public health or safety or would immediately affect a legal interest of the plaintiff.
(4) In any action commenced pursuant to this
section, the Attorney General, upon the request
of the Secretary or any other appropriate Federal official, may intervene as a matter of right.

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(5) A court, in issuing any final order in any
action brought pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or
subsection (c) of this section, may award costs
of litigation, including reasonable attorney and
expert witness fees, to any party, whenever such
court determines such award is appropriate. The
court may, if a temporary restraining order or
preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing of a bond or equivalent security in a sufficient amount to compensate for any loss or
damage suffered, in accordance with the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this
section, all suits challenging actions or decisions allegedly in violation of, or seeking enforcement of, the provisions of this subchapter,
or any regulation promulgated under this subchapter, or the terms of any permit or lease issued by the Secretary under this subchapter,
shall be undertaken in accordance with the procedures described in this subsection. Nothing in
this section shall restrict any right which any
person or class of persons may have under any
other Act or common law to seek appropriate
relief.
(b) Jurisdiction and venue of actions
(1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this
section, the district courts of the United States
shall have jurisdiction of cases and controversies arising out of, or in connection with (A) any
operation conducted on the outer Continental
Shelf which involves exploration, development,
or production of the minerals, of the subsoil and
seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, or which
involves rights to such minerals, or (B) the cancellation, suspension, or termination of a lease
or permit under this subchapter. Proceedings
with respect to any such case or controversy
may be instituted in the judicial district in
which any defendant resides or may be found, or
in the judicial district of the State nearest the
place the cause of action arose.
(2) Any resident of the United States who is
injured in any manner through the failure of
any operator to comply with any rule, regulation, order, or permit issued pursuant to this
subchapter may bring an action for damages (including reasonable attorney and expert witness
fees) only in the judicial district having jurisdiction under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(c) Review of Secretary’s approval of leasing program; review of approval, modification or
disapproval of exploration or production
plan; persons who may seek review; scope of
review; certiorari to Supreme Court
(1) Any action of the Secretary to approve a
leasing program pursuant to section 1344 of this
title shall be subject to judicial review only in
the United States Court of Appeal 1 for the District of Columbia.
(2) Any action of the Secretary to approve, require modification of, or disapprove any exploration plan or any development and production
plan under this subchapter shall be subject to
judicial review only in a United States court of
appeals for a circuit in which an affected State
is located.
(3) The judicial review specified in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of this subsection shall be available
1 So

in original. Probably should be ‘‘Appeals’’.