USC Subchapter II

USC Subchapter II
in effect

43 U.S.C. § 1841 Definitions

As used in this subchapter, the term— (1) “area affected by Outer Continental Shelf activities” means any geographic area:(A) which is under oil or gas lease on the Outer Continental Shelf; (B) where Outer Continental Shelf exploration, development or production activities have been permitted, except geophysical activities; (C) where pipeline rights-of-way have been granted; or (D) otherwise impacted by such activities including but not limited to expired lease areas, relinquished rights-of-way and easements, Outer Continental Shelf supply vessel routes, or other areas as determined by the Secretary; (2) “citizen of the United States” means any person who is a United States citizen by law, birth, or naturalization, any State, any agency of a State, or a group of States, or any corporation, partnership, or association organized under the laws of any State which has as its president or other chief executive officer and as its chairman of the board of directors, or holder of a similar office, a person who is a United States citizen by law, birth, or naturalization, and which has at least 75 per centum of the interest of 11 So in original. The “of” is probably unnecessary. therein owned by citizens of the United States. Seventy-five per centum of the interest in the corporation shall not be deemed to be owned by citizens of the United States—(A) if the title to 75 per centum of its stock is not vested in such citizens free from any trust or fiduciary obligation in favor of any person not a citizen of the United States; (B) if 75 per centum of the voting power in such corporation is not vested in citizens of the United States; (C) if through any contract or understanding it is so arranged that more than 25 per centum of the voting power may be exercised, directly or indirectly, in behalf of any person who is not a citizen of the United States; or (D) if by any other means whatsoever control of any interest in the corporation in excess of 25 per centum is conferred upon or permitted to be exercised by any person who is not a citizen of the United States; (3) “commercial fisherman” means any citizen of the United States who owns, operates, or derives income from being employed on a commercial fishing vessel; (4) “commercial fishing vessel” means any vessel, boat, ship, or other craft which is (A) documented under the laws of the United States or, if under five net tons, registered under the laws of any State, and (B) used for, equipped to be used for, or of a type which is normally used for commercial purposes for the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish or the aiding or assisting of any activity related to the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish, including, but not limited to, preparation, supply, storage, refrigeration, transportation, or processing; (5) “fish” means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals, birds, and highly migratory species; (6) “fishing gear” means (A) any commercial fishing vessel, and (B) any equipment of such vessel, whether or not attached to such a vessel; (7) “Fund” means the Fishermen’s Contingency Fund established under section 1842 of this title; and (8) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce or the designee of such Secretary.

43 U.S.C. § 1842 Fishermen’s Contingency Fund

(a) Establishment; availability; source of deposits; limitation on amount; interest-bearing accounts; litigation(1) There is established in the Treasury of the United States a Fishermen’s Contingency Fund. The Fund shall be available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitations as a revolving fund for the purpose of making payments pursuant to this section. The Fund shall consist of—(A) revenues received from investments made under paragraph (3); (B) amounts collected under subsection (b); and (C) amounts recovered by the Secretary under section 1845(h)(2) of this title. The total amount in the Fund that is collected under subsection (b) may at no time exceed $2,000,000; and the total amount in the Fund which is attributable to revenue received under paragraph (3) or recovered by the Secretary under section 1845(h)(2) of this title shall be expended prior to amounts collected under subsection (b). Not more than 8 percent of the total amount in the Fund may be expended in any fiscal year for paying the administrative and personnel expenses referred to in paragraph (2)(A). (2) The Fund shall be available, as provided for in appropriation Acts solely for the payment of—(A) the personnel and administrative expenses incurred in carrying out this subchapter; (B) any claim, in accordance with procedures established under this section, for damages that are compensable under this subchapter; and (C) attorney and other fees awarded under section 1845(e) of this title with respect to any such claim. (3) Sums in the Fund that are not currently needed for the purposes of the Fund shall be kept on deposit in appropriate interest-bearing accounts that shall be established by the Secretary of the Treasury or invested in obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States. Any revenue accruing from such deposits and investments shall be deposited into the Fund. (4) The Fund may sue and be sued in its own name. All litigation by or against the Fund shall be referred to the Attorney General. (b) Payments by each holder of lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each holder of a lease that is issued or maintained under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act [43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.] and each holder of an exploration permit, or an easement or right-of-way for the construction of a pipeline in any area of the Outer Continental Shelf, shall pay an amount specified by the Secretary. The Secretary of the Interior shall collect such amount and deposit it into the Fund. In any calendar year, no holder of a lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way shall be required to pay an amount in excess of $5,000 per lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way. (2) Payments may not be required under paragraph (1) by the Secretary of the Interior with respect to geological permits and geophysical permits, other than prelease exploratory drilling permits issued under section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340).

43 U.S.C. § 1843 Duties and powers of Secretary

(a) Prescription and amendment of regulations respecting settlement of claims; identification classification of potential hazards to commercial fishingIn carrying out the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary shall—(1) prescribe, and from time to time amend, regulations for the filing, processing, and fair and expeditious settlement of claims pursuant to this subchapter, including a time limitation of not less than 90 days on the filing of such claims (except that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, final regulations implementing the 1981 amendments to this subchapter shall be published in the Federal Register within 120 days after the date of the enactment of such amendments); and (2) identify and classify all potential hazards to commercial fishing caused by Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities, including all obstructions on the bottom, throughout the water column, and on the surface. (b) Establishment of regulations respecting color coding, stamping, or labeling of equipment, tools, etc., used on Outer Continental ShelfThe Secretary of the Interior shall establish regulations requiring all materials, equipment, tools, containers, and all other items used on the Outer Continental Shelf to be properly color coded, stamped, or labeled, wherever practicable, with the owner’s identification prior to actual use. (c) Disbursement of payments to compensate commercial fishermen; restrictions(1) Payments shall be disbursed by the Secretary from the Fund to compensate commercial fishermen for actual and consequential damages, including resulting economic loss, due to damages to, or loss of, fishing gear by materials, equipment, tools, containers, or other items associated with Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration, development, or production activities. The compensation payable under this section for resulting economic loss shall be an amount equal to 50 per centum of such loss. For purposes of this subsection, the term “resulting economic loss” means the gross income, as estimated by the Secretary, that a commercial fisherman who is eligible for compensation under this section will lose by reason of not being able to engage in fishing, or having to reduce his fishing effort, during the period before the damaged or lost fishing gear concerned is repaired or replaced and available for use. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection, no payment may be made by the Secretary from the Fund—(A) to the extent that damages were caused by the negligence or fault of the commercial fisherman making the claim; (B) if the damage set forth in the claim was sustained prior to September 18, 1978; (C) in the case of a claim for damage to, or loss of, fishing gear, in an amount in excess of the replacement value of the fishing gear with respect to which the claim is filed; and (D) for any portion of the damages claimed with respect to which the claimant has received, or will receive, compensation from insurance.

43 U.S.C. § 1844 Burden of proof

With respect to any claim for damages filed under this subchapter, there shall be a presumption that such damages were due to activities related to oil and gas exploration, development, or production if the claimant establishes that— (1) the commercial fishing vessel was being used for fishing and was located in an area affected by Outer Continental Shelf activities; (2) a report on the location of the material, equipment, tool, container, or other item which caused such damages and the nature of such damages was made within fifteen days after the date on which the vessel first returns to a port after discovering such damages; (3) there was no record on the latest nautical charts or Notice to Mariners in effect at least 15 days prior to the date such damages were sustained that such material, equipment, tool, container, or other item existed where such damages occurred, except that in the case of damages caused by a pipeline, the presumption established by this section shall obtain whether or not there was any such record of the pipeline on the damage date; and (4) there was no proper surface marker or lighted buoy which was attached or closely anchored to such material, equipment, tool, container, or other item.

43 U.S.C. § 1845 Claims procedure

(a) Filing requirement; time to fileAny commercial fisherman suffering damages compensable under this subchapter may file a claim for compensation with the Secretary under subsection (d)(1). (b) Transmittal of copy of claim to Secretary of the Interior; reference to SecretaryUpon receipt of any claim under this section, the Secretary shall transmit a copy of the claim to the Secretary of the Interior and shall take such further action regarding the claim that is required under subsection (d). (c) Notification to persons engaged in activities associated with Outer Continental Shelf energy activities; response of persons notified; submittal of evidenceThe Secretary of the Interior shall make reasonable efforts to notify all persons known to have engaged in activities associated with Outer Continental Shelf energy activity in the vicinity. Each such person shall promptly notify the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior as to whether he admits or denies responsibility for the damages claimed. Any such person, including lessees or permittees or their contractors or subcontractors, may submit evidence at any proceeding conducted with respect to such claim. (d) Acceptance of claim by Secretary; time to render decision; review of initial determination(1) The Secretary shall, under regulations prescribed pursuant to section 1843(a) of this title, specify the time, form and manner in which claims must be filed. (2) The Secretary may not accept any claim that does not meet the filing requirements specified under paragraph (1), and shall give a claimant whose claim is not accepted written notice of the reasons for nonacceptance. Such written notice must be given to the claimant within 30 days after the date on which the claim was filed and if the claimant does not refile an acceptable claim within 30 days after the date of such written notice, the claimant is not eligible for compensation under this subchapter for the damages concerned; except that the Secretary—(A) shall in any case involving a good faith effort by the claimant to meet such filing requirements, or (B) may in any case involving extenuating circumstances, accept a claim that does not meet the 30-day refiling requirement. (3)(A) The Secretary shall make an initial determination with respect to the claim within 60 days after the day on which the claim is accepted for filing. Within 30 days after the day on which the Secretary issues an initial determination on a claim, the claimant, or any other interested person who submitted evidence relating to the initial determination, may petition the Secretary for a review of that determination. (B) If a petition for the review of an initial determination is not filed with the Secretary within the 30-day period provided under subparagraph (A), the initial determination shall thereafter be treated as a final determination by the Secretary on the claim involved. (C) If a petition for review of an initial determination is timely filed under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall allow the petitioner 30 days after the day on which the petition is received to submit written or oral evidence relating to the initial determination. The Secretary shall then undertake such review and, on the basis of such review, issue a final determination no later than the 60th day after the day on which the Secretary received the petition for review of an initial determination. (e) Claim preparation fees; attorney’s feesIf the decision of the Secretary under subsection (d) is in favor of the commercial fisherman filing the claim, the Secretary, as a part of the amount awarded, shall include reasonable claim preparation fees and reasonable attorney’s fees, if any, incurred by the claimant in pursuing the claim. (f) Powers of Secretary(1) For purposes of any proceeding conducted pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall have the power to administer oaths and subpena the attendance or testimony of witnesses and the production of books, records, and other evidence relative or pertinent to the issues being presented for determination. (2) In any proceeding conducted pursuant to this section with respect to a claim for damages resulting from activities on any area of the Outer Continental Shelf, the Secretary shall consider evidence of obstructions in such area which have been identified pursuant to the survey conducted under section 1847 11 See References in Text note below. of this title. (g) Place of proceedingAny proceeding conducted with respect to an initial determination on a claim under subsection (d)(3)(A) shall be conducted within such United States judicial district as may be mutually agreeable to the claimant and the Secretary or, if no agreement can be reached, within the United States judicial district in which the home port of the claimant is located. (h) Certification and disbursement of award; subrogation of rights; payment of costs of proceedings(1) The amount awarded in an initial determination by the Secretary under subsection (d) shall be immediately disbursed, subject to the limitations of this section, by the Secretary if the claimant—(A) states in writing that he will not petition for review of the initial determination; and (B) enters into an agreement with the Secretary to repay to the Secretary all or any part of the amount of the award if, after review under subsection (d)(3)(C) or, if applicable, after judicial review, the amount of the award, or any part thereof, is not sustained. (2) Upon payment of a claim by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall acquire by subrogation all rights of the claimant against any person found to be responsible for the damages with respect to which such claim was made. Any moneys recovered by the Secretary through subrogation shall be deposited into the Fund. (3) Any person who denies responsibility for damages with respect to which a claim is made and who is subquently 22 So in original. Probably should be “subsequently”. found to be responsible for such damages, and any commercial fisherman who files a claim for damages and who is subsequently found to be responsible for such damages, shall pay the costs of the proceedings under this section with respect to such claim. (i) Judicial reviewAny claimant or other person who suffers a legal wrong or who is adversely affected or aggrieved by a final determination of the Secretary under subsection (d), may, no later than 30 days after such determination is made, seek judicial review of the determination in the United States district court for such United States judicial district as may be mutually agreeable to the parties concerned or, if no agreement can be reached, in the United States district court for the United States judicial district in which is located the home port of the claimant.

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