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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1443. Destruction or loss of, or injury to, sanctuary resources
(a) Liability
(1) Liability to United States
Any person who destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any
sanctuary resource is liable to the United States for an amount
equal to the sum of -
(A) the amount of response costs and damages resulting from
the destruction, loss, or injury; and
(B) interest on that amount calculated in the manner
described under section 2705 of title 33.
(2) Liability in rem
Any vessel used to destroy, cause the loss of, or injure any
sanctuary resource shall be liable in rem to the United States
for response costs and damages resulting from such destruction,
loss, or injury. The amount of that liability shall constitute a
maritime lien on the vessel and may be recovered in an action in
rem in any district court of the United States that has
jurisdiction over the vessel.
(3) Defenses
A person is not liable under this subsection if that person
establishes that -
(A) the destruction or loss of, or injury to, the sanctuary
resource was caused solely by an act of God, an act of war, or
an act or omission of a third party, and the person acted with
due care;
(B) the destruction, loss, or injury was caused by an
activity authorized by Federal or State law; or
(C) the destruction, loss, or injury was negligible.
(4) Limits to liability
Nothing in sections 181 to 188 (!1) of title 46, Appendix, or
section 192 of title 46, Appendix, shall limit the liability of
any person under this chapter.
(b) Response actions and damage assessment
(1) Response actions
The Secretary may undertake or authorize all necessary actions
to prevent or minimize the destruction or loss of, or injury to,
sanctuary resources, or to minimize the imminent risk of such
destruction, loss, or injury.
(2) Damage assessment
The Secretary shall assess damages to sanctuary resources in
accordance with section 1432(6) of this title.
(c) Civil actions for response costs and damages
(1) The Attorney General, upon request of the Secretary, may
commence a civil action against any person or vessel who may be
liable under subsection (a) of this section for response costs and
damages. The Secretary, acting as trustee for sanctuary resources
for the United States, shall submit a request for such an action to
the Attorney General whenever a person may be liable for such costs
or damages.
(2) An action under this subsection may be brought in the United
States district court for any district in which -
(A) the defendant is located, resides, or is doing business, in
the case of an action against a person;
(B) the vessel is located, in the case of an action against a
vessel; or
(C) the destruction of, loss of, or injury to a sanctuary
resource occurred.
(d) Use of recovered amounts
Response costs and damages recovered by the Secretary under this
section shall be retained by the Secretary in the manner provided
for in section 9607(f)(1) of title 42, and used as follows:
(1) Response costs
Amounts recovered by the United States for costs of response
actions and damage assessments under this section shall be used,
as the Secretary considers appropriate -
(A) to reimburse the Secretary or any other Federal or State
agency that conducted those activities; and
(B) after reimbursement of such costs, to restore, replace,
or acquire the equivalent of any sanctuary resource.
(2) Other amounts
All other amounts recovered shall be used, in order of priority
-
(A) to restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the
sanctuary resources that were the subject of the action,
including for costs of monitoring and the costs of curation and
conservation of archeological, historical, and cultural
sanctuary resources;
(B) to restore degraded sanctuary resources of the national
marine sanctuary that was the subject of the action, giving
priority to sanctuary resources and habitats that are
comparable to the sanctuary resources that were the subject of
the action; and
(C) to restore degraded sanctuary resources of other national
marine sanctuaries.
(3) Federal-State coordination
Amounts recovered under this section with respect to sanctuary
resources lying within the jurisdiction of a State shall be used
under paragraphs (2)(A) and (B) in accordance with the court
decree or settlement agreement and an agreement entered into by
the Secretary and the Governor of that State.
(e) Statute of limitations
An action for response costs or damages under subsection (c) of
this section shall be barred unless the complaint is filed within 3
years after the date on which the Secretary completes a damage
assessment and restoration plan for the sanctuary resources to
which the action relates.
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