635 



General shall bring an action in an appropriate dis- 

 trict court of the United States for equitable relief 

 to redress a violation by any pcison of any provision 

 of this chapter, any regulation under this chapter, 

 or any license condition. The district courts of the 

 United States shall have jurisdiction to grant such 

 relief as is necessary or appropriate, including man- 

 datory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equit- 

 able relief, compensatory damages, and punitive 

 (famages. 



(d) Vessels; liability in rem; exemnf vessels; consent 

 or privy of owners or bareboat charterers. 



Any vessel, except a public vessel engaged in non- 

 commercial activities, used in a violation of this 

 chapter or of any rule or regulation issued pursuant 

 to this chapter, shall be liable in rem for any civil 

 penalty assessed or criminal fine imposed and may 

 be proceeded against in any district court of the 

 United States having jurisdiction thereof; but no 

 vessel shall be liable unless it shall appear that one 

 or more of the owners, or bareboat charterers, was 

 at the time of the violation, a consenting party or 

 privy to such violation. (Pub. L. 93-627, § 15, Jan. 3, 

 1975, 88 Stat. 2140.) 



§ 1515. Citizen civil action. 



(a) EquitaMe relief; case or controversy; district 

 court ju'isdiction. 



Except as provided in subsection (b) of this sec- 

 tion, any person may commence a civil action for 

 equitable relief on his own behalf, whenever such ac- 

 tion constitutes a case or controversy — 



(1) against any person (including (Ai the 

 United States, and (B> any other governmental in- 

 strumentality or agency to the extent permitted 

 by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution) 

 who is alleged to be in violation of any provision 

 of this chapter or any condition of a license issued 

 pursuant to this chapter; or 



(2) against the Secretary where there is alleged 

 a failure of the Secretary to perform any act or 

 duty under this chapter which is not discretion- 

 ary with the Secretary. Any action brought 

 against the Secretary under this paragraph shall 

 be brought in the district court for the District 

 of Columbia or the district of the appropriate ad- 

 jacent coastal State. 



In suits brought under this chapter, the district court 

 shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount 

 in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to 

 enforce any provision of this chapter or any condi- 

 tion of a license issued pursuant to this chapter, or 

 to order the Secretary to perform such act or duty, 

 as the case may be. 



(b) Notice; intervention of right by person. 

 No civil action may be commenced — 



(1) under subsection (a)(1) of this isection — 



(A) prior to 60 days after thei plaintiff has 

 given notice of the violation (i) to the Secretary 

 and (iii to any alleged violator; or 



(B) if the Secretary or the Attorney General 

 has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a 

 civil or criminal action with respect to such mat- 

 ters in a court of the United States, but in any 



such action any person may intervene as a mat- 

 ter of right; or 



(2) under subsection (a) (2) of this section prior 

 to 60 days after the plaintiff has given notice of 

 such action to the Secretary. 

 Notice under this subsection shall be given in such a 

 manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by regula- 

 tion. 



(c) Intervention of right by Secretary or Attorney 

 General. 



In any action under this section, the Secretary or 

 the Attorney General, if not a party, may intervene 

 as a matter of right. 



(d) Costs of litigation; at'orney and w'lness fees. 

 The Court, in issuing any final order in any action 



brought pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, 

 may award costs of litigation (including reasonable 

 attorney and expert witness fees) to any party when- 

 ever the court determines that, such an award is ap- 

 propriate. 



(e) Statutory or common law rights unaffected. 



Nothing in this section shall restrict any right 

 which any person (or class of persons) may have 

 under any statute or common law to seek enforce- 

 ment or to seek any other relief. (Pub. L. 93-627, § 16, 

 Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 2140.) 



§ 1516. Judicial veview: persons aggrieved; jurisdic- 

 tion of courts of appeal. 



Anv person suffering legal wrong, or v.'ho is ad- 

 versely affected or aggrieved by the Secretarv's deci- 

 sion to issue, transfer, modify, renew, susr-end. or re- 

 voke a license may. not later than 60 days after any 

 such decision is m^de. seek judicial review of such 

 decision in the United States Court of Appeals for 

 the circuit within which the nearest adjacent coastal 

 State i? located. A person shall be deemed to be ag- 

 grieved by the Secretary's decision within the mean- 

 ing of this chapter if he — 



(Ai has participated in th? adm.inir,trative pro- 

 ceedings before the Secretary (or if he did not so 

 participate, he can show that his failure to do so 

 was caused by the Secretary's failure to provide 

 the required notice^ ; and 



(B) is adversely affected by the Secretary's ac- 

 tion. 

 (Pub. L. 93-627. § 17, Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 2141.) 



§1517. Liability. 



(a) Oil discha-Te: prohibition; penalty; notice and 

 hearing; <;ep-»ratp rffense; vessel clear'^nce: with- 

 holding, bond or surety. 



(1) The discharge of oil into the marine environ- 

 ment from a vessel within any safety zone, from a 

 vessel which has received oil from another vessel at a 

 deepwater port, or from a deepwater port is pro- 

 hibited. 



(2) The owner or operator of a vessel or the 

 licensee of a defpwater port from which oil is dis- 

 charged in vislation of this subsection shall be as- 

 sessed a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for 

 each violation. No penalty shall be assessed unless 



