256 



Admiral Jones. Sir, I do not believe that we have been involved 

 in the preparation of these maps. However, we have cooperated with 

 the Department of Interior by furnishing special low- water line maps 

 along the Louisiana coast and by extending geodetic control out into 

 the Gulf of Mexico. This control data is made available for the con- 

 struction of the maps and for defining the lease property lines. 



Mr. Lennon. You are familiar with the fact that the Department 

 of Interior now, and for the past 18 months, using these maps of the 

 Continental Shelf, have been actually miaking leases with private 

 enterprise for the exploration and exploiting of certain areas of the 

 Continental Shelf under specific lease agreements? 



Admiral Jones. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Lennon. I believe last year the income to the Federal Govern- 

 ment from some seven leases was about $238 million. Do you have 

 any figures such as that on the top of your head? 



Admiral Jones. I have seen some of the figures from the leasing, 

 and I do know it is a tremendous amount of money that the Govern- 

 ment is realizing. 



Mr. Lennon. Can you recall off the top of your head the figure in 

 dollars that came to the Federal Government through the leases that 

 were made by the Department of Interior during the month of July 

 of this year? 



Admiral Jones. No, sir. 



Mr. Lennon. The figures were released yesterday and they were 

 astronomical. Just for the record. Doctor, and Admiral, would you 

 tell us under what act the Department of the Interior has the legal 

 authority to lease a part of the Continental Shelf to private enter- 

 prise for exploration and exploiting? 



Dr. White. We will be glad to obtain that from the Department of 

 Interior, Mr. Chairman. 



(The information follows:) 



The Mineral Leasing Act of 1953, 67 Stat. 462 Public Law 212 of the 83rd 

 Congress, First Session, passed August 7, 1953. 



Mr. Lennon. This question has arisen in connection with the so- 

 called Malta Resolution. It gave me some concern — I will say to my 

 friends of the press that we are off the record at this point but on 

 the record here — I am advised that very likely our Ambassador will 

 give an assurance to the members of the General Assembly that it is 

 not in the general public international interest to make such leases 

 in hopes that this thing can be resolved tiirough a continuous study 

 over the years. That is the reason I wanted to know if ESSA was 

 collaborating with the Department of Interior. We did not have this 

 information when the Interior witness was here and this came to my 

 attention last evening. I wanted to know to what extent we were 

 collaborating with the Department of Interior in the preparation of 

 these maps, because you did specifically mention in your statement 

 that you now are in the process of making maps of the Continental 

 Shelf beyond the Bering Sea. What is the objective of that if the 

 Department of Interior is doing the same thing? Is the Department 

 of Interior mapping the Continental Shelf beyond the east, west, and 

 gulf coast of the United States ? 



