165 



summabt of opinion of the office of the sotlcitob, 

 Department of the Interior 



Mat 5. 1961. 

 application of outer continental shelf lands act to designated area 



OFF THE coast OF CALIFORNIA 



Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act : Generally 



The applicability of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act extends to all 

 submerged areas lying seaward of the States' boundaries over the seabed and 

 subsoil of which the United States has asserted jurisdiction. Since the United 

 States has now asserted jurisdiction over the seabed and subsoil of the sub- 

 marine areas adjacent to the coast of the mainland and islands as far as the 

 depth of the superjacent waters permits exploitation of the natural resources, 

 the Act is now applicable to those areas. 



U.S. Department of the Interior. 



Office of the Solicitor, 

 Washington, D.C., May 5, 1961. 



Memorandum 



To : Director, Bureau of Land Management. 

 From : Associate Solicitor, Division of Public Lands. 



Subject: Application of Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to designated area 

 off the coast of California. 



This is in reply to your memorandum of April 13, 19G1, inquiring whether 

 phosphate deposits in a designated area off the coast of southern California may 

 be leased under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (67 Stat. 462; 43 U.S.C. 

 sees. 1331-1343). 



The designated area lies some forty miles off the coast of southern California. 

 While it lies closer to the mainland than San Clemente Island, the designated 

 area does not lie between that island and the mainland but rather in the open 

 sea. The soundings in the designated area range between 43 and 670 fathoms, 

 the greater part of the area being at a depth of far more than 100 fathoms. Be- 

 tween the designated area and the mainland lies a deep channel in which the 

 soundings are of 600 fathoms and more. 



The question of the propriety of leaj^ing phosphate deposits in this area under 

 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act has been presented to us because it has 

 been frequently said in the past that the continental shelf extends seaward to a 

 point where the water deepens rapidly and that this outer limit is set at the 100- 

 fathom line. Under such a definition the designated areas would lie beyond the 

 outer Continental Shelf, and, consequently, the crux of this problem is whether 

 there is in fact a seaward limit to the applicability of the Outer Continental 

 Shelf Lands Act set at the 100-fathom line. The distance of 40 miles from the 

 mainland is of little importance since in the Gulf of Mexico activities under the 

 Act are conducted at a greater distance ; there, however, the depth of the water 

 increases very slowly. 



The question presented is rather novel. Previous questions as to the appli- 

 cability of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act have concerned the landward 

 limits of the outer Continental Shelf and the disputes between the States and the 

 Federal Government as to boundaries. The question here is not similar because 

 there is no other party to assert jurisdiction over the seabed and subsoil of 

 this area if the United States should fail to do so. 



The definition of the "Outer Continental Shelf" in section 2(a) of the Act 

 (43 U.S.C, sec. 1.331(a) ) is silent as to how far in a seaward direction the con- 

 tinental shelf extends. The definition merely states : 



"(a) The term 'outer Continental Shelf means all submerged lands lying sea- 

 ward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in 

 section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (Public Law 31, Eighty -third Congress, 

 first session), and of which the subs^oil and seabed appertain to the United States 

 and are subject to its jurisdiction and control." 



It should he noted that section 2(a) defines the shelf in terms of the sub.=:oil 

 and seabed under the jurisdiction and control of the United States, while section 



