110 STAT. 3038 PUBLIC LAW 104-227 —OCT. 2, 1996 "(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 Act. "(c) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCIES. —No act described in subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), (12), or (13) or in subsection (b) 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.". SEC. 104. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT. The Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 is amended by inserting after section 4 the following new section: 16 USC 2403a. "SEC. 4A. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT. "(a) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES,— (1)(A) The obligations of the United States under Article 8 of and Annex I to the Protocol shall be implemented by applying the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to proposals for Federal agency activities in Antarctica, as specified in this section. "(B) The obligations contained in section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental PoUcy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall apply to all proposals for Federal agency activities occurring in Antarctica and affecting the quality of the human environment in Antarctica or dependent or associated ecosystems, only as specified in this section. For purposes of the application of such section 102(2)(C) under this subsection, the term "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment" shall have the same meaning as the term "more than a minor or transitory impact". "(2)(A) Unless an agency which proposes to conduct a Federal activity in Antarctica determines that the activity will have less than a minor or transitory impact, or unless a comprehensive environmental evaluation is being prepared in accordance with subparagraph (C), the agency shall prepare an initial environmental evaluation in accordance with Article 2 of Annex I to the Protocol. "(B) If the agency determines, through the preparation of the initial environmental evaluation, that the proposed Federal activity is likely to have no more than a minor or transitory impact, the activity may proceed if appropriate procedures are put in place to assess and verify the impact of the activity. Public "(C) If the agency determines, through the preparation of the information. initial environmental evaluation or otherwise, that a proposed Federal activity is likely to have more than a minor or transitory impact, the agency shall prepare and circulate a comprehensive environmental evaluation in accordance with Article 3 of Annex I to the Protocol, and shall make such comprehensive environmental evaluation publicly available for comment. "(3) Any agency decision under this section on whether a proposed Federal activity, to which paragraph (2)(C) applies, should proceed, and, if so, whether in its original or in a modified form, shall be based on the comprehensive environmental evaluation as
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