106 



Nonwaiver of 

 U.S. claims. 



Court review of 

 determination. 



Lands beneath 



navigable 



waters. 



Agreements 

 with State. 



Bids. 



Oil and gas 



leases. 



under subsection (b) hereof has expired prior to the effective 

 date of this Act and oil or gas is being produced in paying quanti- 

 ties on such date, then such rights to sulphur as the lessee may 

 have under such lease shall continue for twenty-four months 

 from the effective date of this Act and as long thereafter as sul- 

 phur is produced in paying quantities, or drilling, well working, 

 plant construction, or other operations for the production of sul- 

 phur, as approved by the Secretary, are being conducted on the 

 area covered by the lease. 



(c) The i)emus)sion granted in subsection (b) of this section 

 shall not be construed to be a waiver of such claims, if any, as the 

 United States may have against the lessor or the lessee or any 

 other person respecting sums payable or paid for or under the 

 lease, or respecting activities conducted under the lease, prior to 

 the effective date of this Act. 



(d) Any person complaining of a negative determination by 

 the Secretary of the Interior under this section may have such de- 

 termination reviewed by the United States District Court for the 

 District of Columbia by filing a petition for review within sixty 

 days after receiving notice of such action by the Secretary. 



(e) In the event any lease maintained under this section covers 

 lands beneath navigable waters, as that term is used in the Sub- 

 merged Lands Act, as well as lands of the outer Continental 

 Shelf, the provisions of this section shall apply to such lease only 

 insofar as it covers lands of the outer Continental Shelf. 



Sec. 7. Controversy Over Jurisdiction. — In the event of a con- 

 troversy between the United States and a State as to whether or 

 not lands are subject to the provisions of this Act, the Secretary 

 is authorized, notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) 

 and (b) of section 6 of this Act, and with the concurrence of the 

 Attorney General of the United States, to negotiate and enter into 

 agreements with the State, its political subdivision or grantee or 

 a lessee thereof, respecting operations under existing mineral 

 leases and payment and impounding of rents, royalties, and other 

 sums payable thereunder, or with the State, its political sub- 

 division or grantee, respecting the issuance or nonissuance of new 

 mineral leases pending the settlement or adjudication of the 

 controversy. The authorization contained in the preceding sen- 

 tence of this section shall not be construed to be a limitation upon 

 the authority conferred on the Secretary in other sections of this 

 Act. Payments made pursuant to such agreement, or pursuant to 

 any stipulation between the United States and a State, shall be 

 considered as compliance with section 6(a) (4) hereof. Upon the 

 termination of such agreement or stipulation by reason of the 

 final settlement or adjudication of such controversy, if the lands 

 subject to any mineral lease are determined to be in whole or in 

 part lands subject to the provisions of this Act, the lessee, if he 

 has not already done so, shall comply with the requirements of 

 section 6(a), and thereupon the provisions of section 6 (b) shall 

 govern such lease. The notice concerning "Oil and Gas Operations 

 in the Submerged Coastal Lands of the Gulf of Mexico" issued by 

 the Secretary on December 11, 1950 (15 F. R. 8835), as amended 

 by the notice dated January 26, 1951 (16 F. R. 953), and as sup- 

 plemented by the notices dated February 2, 1951 (16 F. R. 1203), 

 March 5, 1951 (16 F. R. 2195), April 23, 1951 (16 F. R. 3623), 

 June 25, 1951 (16 F. R. 6404), August 22, 1951 (16 F. R. 8720), 

 October 24, 1951 (16 F. R. 10998) , December 21, 1951 (17 F. R. 43) . 

 March 25, 1952 (17 F. R. 2821), June 26, 1952 (17 F. R. 5833) , and 

 December 24, 1952 (18 F. R. 48), respectively, is hereby approved 

 and confirmed. 



Sec. 8. Leasing of Outer Continental Shelf. — (a) In order 

 to meet the urgent need for further exploration and develop- 

 ment of the oil and gas deposits of the submerged lands of the 

 outer Continental Shelf, the Secretary is authorized to grant to 

 the highest responsible qualified bidder by competitive bidding 

 under regulations promulgated in advance, oil and gas leases on 



