§ 1348. — Enforcement of safety and environmental regulations.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1348]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 29--SUBMERGED LANDS
SUBCHAPTER III--OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS
Sec. 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--
(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.
(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, Sec. 22, as added Pub. L. 95-372, title II,
Sec. 208, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 655; amended Pub. L. 105-362, title
IX, Sec. 901(l)(2), Nov. 10, 1998, 112 Stat. 3290.)
Amendments
1998--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105-362 struck out subsec. (g) which read
as follows: ``The Secretary shall, after consultation with the Secretary
of the Department in which the 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.''
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 relating 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 Security, and the Department of
Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified,
set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.
Report and Recommendations by Secretary to Congress for Training Program
Pub. L. 95-372, title VI, Sec. 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.
