PART 2—JURISDICTION Authority: 14 U.S.C. 503; 33 U.S.C. 70031; Public Law 89-670, 80 Stat. 931, 49 U.S.C. 108; Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135, 2249, 6 U.S.C. 101 note and 468; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1. Source: USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—General § 2.1 Purpose. (a) The purpose of this part is to define terms the Coast Guard uses in regulations, policies, and procedures, to determine whether it has jurisdiction on certain waters in cases where specific jurisdictional definitions are not otherwise provided. (b) Figure 2.1 is a visual aid to assist you in understanding this part. § 2.5 Specific definitions control. In cases where a particular statute, regulation, policy or procedure provides a specific jurisdictional definition that differs from the definitions contained in this part, the former definition controls. Note to § 2.5: For example, the definition of “inland waters” in the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2003(o)) would control the interpretation of inland navigation rules created under that Act and the “inland waters” definition in 46 CFR 10.107 would control regulations in 46 CFR part 10. Also, in various laws administered and enforced by the Coast Guard, the terms “State” and “United States” are defined to include some or all of the territories and possessions of the United States. The definitions in §§ 2.36 and 2.38 should be considered as supplementary to these statutory definitions and not as interpretive of them. [USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, as amended by USCG-2020-0304, 85 FR 58275, Sept. 18, 2020] Subpart B—Jurisdictional Terms § 2.20 Territorial sea baseline. Territorial sea baseline Note to § 2.20: Charts depicting the territorial sea baseline are available for examination in accordance with § 1.10-5 of this chapter. § 2.22 Territorial sea. (a) With respect to the United States, the following apply— (1) Territorial sea (i) Statutes included within subtitle II, subtitle VI, and subtitle VII, title 46, U.S.C.; the Act of June 15, 1917, as amended (46 U.S.C. 70051-70054); and the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act (33 U.S.C. 1201-1208), and any regulations issued under the authority of these statutes. (ii) Purposes of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Title 18, United States Code. (iii) The special maritime and territorial jurisdiction as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7. (iv) Interpreting international law. (v) Any other treaty, statute, or regulation, or amendment thereto, interpreted by the Coast Guard as incorporating the definition of territorial sea as being 12 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of the territorial sea baseline. (2) Unless otherwise specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, territorial sea (3) In cases where regulations are promulgated under the authority of statutes covered by both paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section, the Coast Guard may use the definition of territorial sea in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (b) With respect to any other nation, territorial sea [USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, as amended by USCG-2003-14792, 68 FR 60470, Oct. 22, 2003; USCG-2020-0304, 85 FR 58275, Sept. 18, 2020] § 2.24 Internal waters. (a) With respect to the United States, internal waters (b) With respect to any other nation, internal waters § 2.26 Inland waters. Inland waters § 2.28 Contiguous zone. (a) For the purposes of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. contiguous zone (b) For all other purposes, contiguous zone § 2.30 Exclusive Economic Zone. (a) With respect to the United States, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession over which the United States exercises sovereignty, exclusive economic zone (b) Under customary international law as reflected in Article 55 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with respect to other nations, exclusive economic zone [USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, as amended by USCG-2012-0306, 77 FR 37309, June 21, 2012] § 2.32 High seas. (a) For purposes of special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7, high seas (b) For the purposes of section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895, as amended (33 U.S.C. 151) and the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. Chapter 34), high seas (c) For the purposes of 14 U.S.C. 522, 14 U.S.C. 545, 33 U.S.C. 409, and 33 U.S.C. 1471 et seq., (d) Under customary international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and without prejudice to high seas freedoms that may be exercised within exclusive economic zones pursuant to article 58 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and unless the context clearly requires otherwise (e.g., The International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, including annexes thereto), high seas [USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, as amended by USCG-2007-27887, 72 FR 45902, Aug. 16, 2007; USCG-2020-0304, 85 FR 58275, Sept. 18, 2020;] § 2.34 Waters subject to tidal influence; waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide; mean high water. (a) Waters subject to tidal influence and waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide (b) Mean high water § 2.36 Navigable waters of the United States, navigable waters, and territorial waters. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, navigable waters of the United States, navigable waters, territorial waters (1) Territorial seas of the United States; (2) Internal waters of the United States that are subject to tidal influence; and (3) Internal waters of the United States not subject to tidal influence that: (i) Are or have been used, or are or have been susceptible for use, by themselves or in connection with other waters, as highways for substantial interstate or foreign commerce, notwithstanding natural or man-made obstructions that require portage, or (ii) A governmental or non-governmental body, having expertise in waterway improvement, determines to be capable of improvement at a reasonable cost (a favorable balance between cost and need) to provide, by themselves or in connection with other waters, as highways for substantial interstate or foreign commerce. (b) Navigable waters of the United States navigable waters, (1) Navigable waters of the United States as defined in paragraph (a) of this section and all waters within the United States tributary thereto; and (2) Other waters over which the Federal Government may exercise Constitutional authority. § 2.38 Waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; waters over which the United States has jurisdiction. Waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States waters over which the United States has jurisdiction (a) Navigable waters of the United States, as defined in § 2.36(a). (b) Waters, other than those under paragraph (a) of this section, that are located on lands for which the United States has acquired title or controls and— (1) Has accepted jurisdiction according to 40 U.S.C. 255; or (2) Has retained concurrent or exclusive jurisdiction from the date that the State in which the lands are located entered the Union. (c) Waters made subject to the jurisdiction of the United States by operation of the international agreements and statutes relating to the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and waters within the territories and possessions of the United States. Subpart C—Availability of Jurisdictional Decisions § 2.40 Maintenance of decisions. (a) From time to time, the Coast Guard makes navigability determinations of specific waterways, or portions thereof, in order to determine its jurisdiction on those waterways. Copies of these determinations are maintained by the District Commander in whose district the waterway is located. (b) If the district includes portions of the territorial sea, charts reflecting Coast Guard decisions as to the location of the territorial sea baseline for the purposes of Coast Guard jurisdiction are maintained by the District Commander in whose district the portion of the territorial sea is located. § 2.45 Decisions subject to change or modification and availability of lists and charts. The determinations referred to in § 2.40 are subject to change or modification. The determinations are made for Coast Guard use at the request of Coast Guard officials. Determinations made or subsequently changed are available to the public under § 1.10-5(b) of this chapter. Inquiries concerning whether a determination has been made for specific waters, for the purposes of Coast Guard jurisdiction, should be directed to the District Commander of the district in which the waters are located.