Enforcement

Except where a specific section of this chapter designates enforcement responsibility, the provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Administrator. The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall have exclusive responsibility for enforcement measures which affect the safety of life and property at sea, shall exercise such other enforcement responsibilities with respect to vessels subject to the provisions of this chapter as are authorized under other provisions of law, and may, upon the specific request of the Administrator, assist the Administrator in the enforcement of any provision of this chapter. The Administrator and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may, by agreement, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, utilize the personnel, services, equipment, including aircraft and vessels, and facilities of any other Federal agency or department, and may authorize officers or employees of other departments or agencies to provide assistance as necessary in carrying out subsection (b) of this section. The Administrator and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may issue regulations jointly or severally as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out their duties under this section. To enforce the provisions of this chapter in or on board any ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship or any vessel subject to the provisions of this chapter, any officer who is authorized by the Administrator or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may— Except as otherwise specified in section 9125 of this title, the district courts of the United States shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over any case or controversy arising under the provisions of this chapter. Except as otherwise specified in this chapter, venue shall lie in any district wherein, or nearest to which, the cause of action arose, or wherein any defendant resides, may be found, or has his principal office. In the case of Guam, and any Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, the appropriate court is the United States District Court for the District of Guam, except that in the case of American Samoa, the appropriate court is the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Any such court may, at any time— For the purposes of this section, the term “vessel” includes an ocean thermal energy conversion facility or plantship, and the term “provisions of this chapter” or “provision of this chapter” includes any rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant to this chapter and any term or condition of any license issued pursuant to this chapter.