This bill amends the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. It says that the Secretary may not block or require an extra permit for installing, operating, maintaining, repairing, or recovering undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary if a Federal or State agency has already issued a license, lease, or permit for those activities. The bill also allows the Secretary to direct NOAA to work with other Federal agencies on such actions.
If an undersea fiber optic cable activity already has a Federal or State license, lease, or permit, this bill would stop sanctuary managers from requiring a separate authorization under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. It also creates a rule for NOAA to cooperate with other agencies on these cable actions.
No publicly available information.
The bill's text removes the ability of the Secretary to require additional authorizations for undersea fiber optic cable activities that have already been authorized by a Federal or State agency, and it directs NOAA to engage in interagency cooperation for such actions.
No publicly available information.