ONSHORE AND NEARSHORE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT 



The tract selection and leasing program of the Department of the 

 Interior precedes or parallels site selection and development for related 

 onshore support and processing facilities. Full OCS development requires 

 numerous types of facilities, including supply bases, platform 

 fabrication, pipeline facilities and landfalls and refining works onshore 

 or in nearshore waters (Table 7) [91]. Industry locates these facilities 

 subject to a web of local, state and Federal regulatory authorities. 



Onshore site selection, purchase and development affect easily 

 identifiable economic and environmental interests in particular 

 communities along the coastline. Unlike the Federal lands of the OCS, 

 nearshore development management includes private land owners and state 

 and local government interests. The onshore resources of greatest concern 

 to the FWS and state natural resource agencies may not be federally owned 

 and this introduces considerations in the regulatory review process 

 under the Coordination Act and NEPA that differ from offshore lease 

 decisions (see Section 1.3). 



3.1 FEDERAL ROLES IN MANAGEMENT 



Federal regulatory authority varies between nearshore and onshore 

 coastal areas. A Common Law concept called the navigation servitude 

 supports Federal authority in coastal waters. It has been amplified in 

 statutes. Statutes may also define management programs for other areas 

 based on additional Federal powers. These are generally based on the 

 Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In some situations. Federal 

 law may preempt local regulation, but more typically both operate 

 concurrently [92]. The primary role of the FWS is that of advisor to 

 other agencies for its specific wildlife and habitat interests. 



3.1.1 Navigation Servitude 



Coastal waters affected by the navigation servitude are subject to 

 a paramount Federal interest. The navigation servitude is a property 

 interest somewhat like an easement, and is related to inundation by tidal 

 waters and to water-born commerce. In coastal areas it generally exists 

 seaward of the line of mean high tide to the limits of Federal authority 

 over the OCS [93]. Federal dredge and fill permits under Section 10 of 

 the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 are based directly on this 

 concept [94]. Where the servitude exists, the Federal agencies have 

 a right to exercise their permitting powers to protect navigation and 

 the environment, even when competing private interests in the property 

 also exist [95]. 



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