§ 1349. — Citizens suits, jurisdiction and judicial review.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1349]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 29--SUBMERGED LANDS
SUBCHAPTER III--OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS
Sec. 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.
(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.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``Appeals''.
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(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 only to a person who (A) participated in
the administrative proceedings related to the actions specified in such
paragraphs, (B) is adversely affected or aggrieved by such action, (C)
files a petition for review of the Secretary's action within sixty days
after the date of such action, and (D) promptly transmits copies of the
petition to the Secretary and to the Attorney General.
(4) Any action of the Secretary specified in paragraph (1) or (2)
shall only be subject to review pursuant to the provisions of this
subsection, and shall be specifically excluded from citizen suits which
are permitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(5) The Secretary shall file in the appropriate court the record of
any public hearings required by this subchapter and any additional
information upon which the Secretary based his decision, as required by
section 2112 of title 28. Specific objections to the action of the
Secretary shall be considered by the court only if the issues upon which
such objections are based have been submitted to the Secretary during
the administrative proceedings related to the actions involved.
(6) The court of appeals conducting a proceeding pursuant to this
subsection shall consider the matter under review solely on the record
made before the Secretary. The findings of the Secretary, if supported
by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be
conclusive. The court may affirm, vacate, or modify any order or
decision or may remand the proceedings to the Secretary for such further
action as it may direct.
(7) Upon the filing of the record with the court, pursuant to
paragraph (5), the jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its
judgment shall be final, except that such judgment shall be subject to
review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon writ of
certiorari.
(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, Sec. 23, as added Pub. L. 95-372, title II,
Sec. 208, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 657; amended Pub. L. 98-620, title
IV, Sec. 402(44), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3360.)
References in Text
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (a)(5),
are set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure.
Amendments
1984--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 98-620 struck out subsec. (d) which
provided that except as to causes of action considered by the court to
be of greater importance, any action under this section would take
precedence on the docket over all other causes of action and would be
set for hearing at the earliest practical date and expedited in every
way.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98-620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov.
8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98-620, set out as a note under
section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1345 of this title.
