(a) Any person in possession of a valid permit issued by the Director, in consultation with the ASDOC, in accordance with this section and §922.48, may conduct an activity otherwise prohibited by §922.103, §922.104, and §922.105 in the Sanctuary if such activity is judged not to cause long-term or irreparable harm to the resources of the Sanctuary, and is:

(1) Related to research involving Sanctuary resources designed to enhance understanding of the Sanctuary environment or to improve resource management decisionmaking;

(2) Intended to further the educational value of the Sanctuary and thereby enhance understanding of the Sanctuary environmental or improve resource management decisionmaking;

(3) Intended to further the management of the Sanctuary; or

(4) For salvage or recovery operations.

(b) Permit applications shall be addressed to the Director, Office National Marine Sanctuaries; ATTN: Sanctuary Superintendent, American Samoa National Marine Sanctuary, P.O. Box 4318, Pago Pago, AS 96799.

(c) In considering whether to grant a permit, the Director shall evaluate such matters as:

(1) The general professional and financial responsibility of the applicant;

(2) The appropriateness of the methods being proposed for the purpose(s) of the activity;

(3) The extent to which the conduct of any permitted activity may diminish or enhance the value of the Sanctuary as a source of recreation, education, or scientific information; and

(4) The end value of the activity.

(d) In addition to meeting the criteria in this section and §922.48, the applicant also must demonstrate to the Director that:

(1) The activity shall be conducted with adequate safeguards for the environment; and

(2) The environment shall be returned to, or will regenerate to, the condition which existed before the activity occurred.

(e) The Director may, at his or her discretion, grant a permit which has been applied for pursuant to this section, in whole or in part, and subject the permit to such condition(s) as he or she deems necessary.