H.R. 261
Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce from enforcing certain permit requirements for activities related to undersea fiber optic cables in national marine sanctuaries.
Specifically, Commerce may not prohibit or require an authorization for any covered activities related to undersea fiber optic cables if a license, lease, or permit has been issued by a state or federal agency to authorize the covered activity. Covered activities are the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary.
The bill also authorizes Commerce to direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to engage in interagency cooperation regarding federal agency actions that are likely to destroy, cause the loss of, or injure a resource in a national marine sanctuary and involve covered activities.
Text of the bill
This Act may be cited as the Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025.
The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 310 the following:
310A. Prohibition on prohibiting, or requiring permits or other authorizations for, undersea fiber optic cables authorized by a Federal or State agency
(a) In general. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may not prohibit, or require any permit, including any special use permit, or other authorization for, the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary if a license, lease, or permit has been issued by a Federal or State agency, and is in effect, authorizing such installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery.
(b) Interagency cooperation. Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering existing requirements regarding interagency cooperation under section 304(d) in any Federal agency action described in that section and involving the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary.
Section 310(c) of National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1441(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding and at the end;
(2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2).