Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (1953)

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Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (1953)

Charles Anthony Smith

Excerpt from the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that—the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction, control, and power of disposition ... the right to navigation and fishing therein shall not be affected ... the outer Continental Shelf is a vital national resource reserve held by the Federal Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly development, subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the maintenance of competition and other national needs.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (OCSLA) (67 Stat. 462) provides a mechanism for the federal government to establish ownership of and jurisdiction over the subsoil and seabed of the Outer Continental Shelf. The Outer Continental Shelf is the submerged edge of land that slopes towards the bottom of the ocean. The purpose of establishing ownership and jurisdiction is to allow for the exploitation and conservation of the land and extractable resources contained there. The main extractable resources that are the concern of the OCSLA are oil and natural gas, although it contemplates jurisdiction over any minerals discovered. The geographic jurisdiction of the OCSLA begins where the state boundaries end and continues until the end of the Continental Shelf. The OCSLA first was enacted in 1953 along with the Submerged Lands Act and has been amended numerous times throughout the years. The OCLSA reaffirmed the claim of federal supremacy over the seabed and subsoil asserted by President Harry Truman in Proclamation 2667 on September 28, 1945.

The original political motivation of the proclamation and the subsequent enactment of OCSLA had two dimensions. First, the shortages of fuel during World War II led the federal government to view access to energy resources as a security issue. Second, as World War II ended and the Cold War began, the assertion of sovereignty over the extended seabed served as a signal to the Soviet Union and others that the United States had no intention of disengaging from world affairs simply because the war was over. Originally, OCSLA was not a contentious bill although there was some debate about possible infringement on states' rights and about which administrative agency would direct future activity affected by the legislation.

The subsequent amendments to OCSLA have been more controversial than the original bill. Specifically, beginning in the 1970s, conservation became a more salient political issue, while beginning in the 1980s, state sovereignty was resurrected as an important political issue. Conservation of the resources and the environment in which those resources are found frequently conflicts with the exploitation of those resources. Similarly, federal jurisdiction over the resources and land inherently reduces state jurisdiction.

Despite its politically benign origins, virtually every aspect of OCSLA is now controversial. Much of the environmental controversy involves the valuation of the resources at issue and the impact of exploitation of those resources on the surrounding environment. Of special concern is the cleanup and valuation of damages arising out of oil spills. The jurisdiction controversy frequently is focused on whether state or federal laws should apply in disputes including labor laws, contract enforcement, and torts. Additionally, the competing interests of the extraction industries and the fishing industries led to a series of amendments, contained in Title IV of the act, to establish the Fisherman's Contingency Fund to compensate those in the fishing industry when they are damaged by some extraction activity.

See also: Mineral Leasing Act.