Santa Barbara Channel Protection Act

Summary

Santa Barbara Channel Protection Act - Title I: International Cooperation - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to: (1) support and encourage ratification of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers; (2) report to the Congress on progress toward ratification; (3) submit proposals to the International Maritime Organization to designate the Santa Barbara National Marine Sanctuary islands as an area to be avoided; and (4) establish an alternative to the Santa Barbara Traffic Separation Scheme. Title II: Environmental Zone - Establishes a Santa Barbara Environmental Protection Zone within the exclusive economic zone established by a certain Presidential Proclamation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on standards for vessels and oil tankers in the waters of the Santa Barbara Environmental Protection Zone to prevent incidents which might damage the environment or natural resources. Title III: Navigation Requirements - Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on progress toward establishing a Fairway under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act within the Santa Barbara Traffic Separation Scheme. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress regarding certain weather information dissemination services in the Santa Barbara Channel. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a NAVTEX radio safety service in waters off the West Coast, including the Santa Barbara Channel; and (2) report to the Congress on the need for additional navigational aids necessitated by vessel traffic in the Santa Barbara Channel. Title IV: Natural Resource Protection - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to establish liability to the United States for damages to any sanctuary resource. Prescribes the civil action procedures under which the Secretary is directed to recover damages for injury to such sanctuary resource. Title V: Coordination of Federal, State, and Local Efforts - Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding: (1) recommendations based on all current Federal, State, and local studies of the hazards of shipping operations and the risks to the environment and natural resources in the Santa Barbara Channel; (2) the adequacy of Federal, State, and local resources in responding to a pollution incident; (3) the need to revise a certain National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; and (4) the need to establish a Santa Barbara Channel Advisory Committee to evaluate shipping operations hazards and risks to the environment and natural resources in the Santa Barbara Channel.

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1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 16 December 1987

  Open at official source

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