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:

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

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

Intended to further the management of the Sanctuary; or

For salvage or recovery operations.

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.

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

The general professional and financial responsibility of the applicant;

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

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

The end value of the activity.

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

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

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

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.