Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 16 : Section 2403


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 2403. Prohibited acts

    (a) In general
      It is unlawful for any person - 
        (1) to introduce any prohibited product onto land or ice
      shelves or into water in Antarctica;
        (2) to dispose of any waste onto ice-free land areas or into
      fresh water systems in Antarctica;
        (3) to dispose of any prohibited waste in Antarctica;
        (4) to engage in open burning of waste;
        (5) to transport passengers to, from, or within Antarctica by
      any seagoing vessel not required to comply with the Act to
      Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), unless the
      person has an agreement with the vessel owner or operator under
      which the owner or operator is required to comply with Annex IV
      to the Protocol;
        (6) who organizes, sponsors, operates, or promotes a
      nongovernmental expedition to Antarctica, and who does business
      in the United States, to fail to notify all members of the
      expedition of the environmental protection obligations of this
      chapter, and of actions which members must take, or not take, in
      order to comply with those obligations;
        (7) to damage, remove, or destroy a historic site or monument;
        (8) to refuse permission to any authorized officer or employee
      of the United States to board a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft of
      the United States, or subject to the jurisdiction of the United
      States, for the purpose of conducting any search or inspection in
      connection with the enforcement of this chapter or any regulation
      promulgated or permit issued under this chapter;
        (9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or
      interfere with any authorized officer or employee of the United
      States in the conduct of any search or inspection described in
      paragraph (8);
        (10) to resist a lawful arrest or detention for any act
      prohibited by this section;
        (11) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the
      apprehension, arrest, or detention of another person, knowing
      that such other person has committed any act prohibited by this
      section;
        (12) to violate any regulation issued under this chapter, or
      any term or condition of any permit issued to that person under
      this chapter; or
        (13) to attempt to commit or cause to be committed any act
      prohibited by this section.
    (b) Acts prohibited unless authorized by permit
      It is unlawful for any person, unless authorized by a permit
    issued under this chapter - 
        (1) to dispose of any waste in Antarctica (except as otherwise
      authorized by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships [33 U.S.C.
      1901 et seq.]) including - 
          (A) disposing of any waste from land into the sea in
        Antarctica; and
          (B) incinerating any waste on land or ice shelves in
        Antarctica, or on board vessels at points of embarcation or
        debarcation, other than through the use at remote field sites
        of incinerator toilets for human waste;

        (2) to introduce into Antarctica any member of a nonnative
      species;
        (3) to enter or engage in activities within any Antarctic
      Specially Protected Area;
        (4) to engage in any taking or harmful interference in
      Antarctica; or
        (5) to receive, acquire, transport, offer for sale, sell,
      purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession
      of, any native bird, native mammal, or native plant which the
      person knows, or in the exercise of due care should have known,
      was taken in violation of this chapter.
    (c) Exception for emergencies
      No act described in subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (7),
    (12), or (13) of this section or in subsection (b) of this section
    shall be unlawful if the person committing the act reasonably
    believed that the act was committed under emergency circumstances
    involving the safety of human life or of ships, aircraft, or
    equipment or facilities of high value, or the protection of the
    environment.



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