15 C.F.R. § 922.71 Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities.
Title 15 - Commerce and Foreign Trade
(a) Except as may be necessary for the national defense (subject to the terms and conditions of Article 5, Section 2 of the Designation Document) or to respond to an emergency threatening life, property, or the environment, or except as may be permitted by the Director in accordance with §§922.48 and 922.72, the following activities are prohibited and thus are unlawful for any person to conduct or to cause to be conducted within the Sanctuary: (1) Exploring for, developing, and producing hydrocarbons except pursuant to leases executed prior to March 30, 1981, and except the laying of pipeline, if the following oil spill contingency equipment is available at the site of such operations: (i) 1500 feet of open ocean containment boom and a boat capable of deploying the boom; (ii) One oil skimming device capable of open ocean use; and (iii) Fifteen bales of oil sorbent material, and subject to all prohibitions, restrictions and conditions imposed by applicable regulations, permits, licenses or other authorizations and consistency reviews including those issued by the Department of the Interior, the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and under the California Coastal Management Program and its implementing regulations. (2) Discharging or depositing any material or other matter except: (i) Fish or fish parts and chumming materials (bait); (ii) Water (including cooling water) and other biodegradable effluents incidental to vessel use of the Sanctuary generated by: (A) Marine sanitation devices; (B) Routine vessel maintenance, e.g., deck wash down; (C) Engine exhaust; or (D) Meals on board vessels; (iii) Effluents incidental to hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities allowed by paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (3) Except in connection with the laying of any pipeline as allowed by paragraph (a)(1) of this section, within 2 NM of any Island: (i) Constructing any structure other than a navigation aid, (ii) Drilling through the seabed, or (iii) Dredging or otherwise altering the seabed in any way, other than (A) To anchor vessels, or (B) To bottom trawl from a commercial fishing vessel. (4) Except to transport persons or supplies to or from an Island, operating within one NM of an Island any vessel engaged in the trade of carrying cargo, including, but not limited to, tankers and other bulk carriers and barges, or any vessel engaged in the trade of servicing offshore installations. In no event shall this section be construed to limit access for fishing (including kelp harvesting), recreational, or research vessels. (5) Disturbing seabirds or marine mammals by flying motorized aircraft at less than 1000 feet over the waters within one NM of any Island except: (i) For enforcement purposes; (ii) To engage in kelp bed surveys; or (iii) To transport persons or supplies to or from an Island. (6) Removing or damaging any historical or cultural resource. (b) All activities currently carried out by the Department of Defense within the Sanctuary are essential for the national defense and, therefore, not subject to the prohibitions in this section. The exemption of additional activities having significant impact shall be determined in consultation between the Director and the Department of Defense.
Title 15: Commerce and Foreign Trade
PART 922—NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS
Subpart G—Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
§ 922.71 Prohibited or otherwise regulated activities.
