941 



55 



Additionally, the Committee has structured these criteria to repre- 

 sent levels of activity which would not have occurred were it not for 

 the OCS exploration and development work. 



Section 308(a) (2) defines the term adjacency for use by the Secre- 

 tary in calculating the proportions set forth in section 308(a)(1) 

 (A), (B), and (C). The Committee wished to avoid creating disputes 

 as to which state was adjacent to oil and gas production, for purposes 

 of section 308(a). It is intended by the Committee that the method 

 by which adjacency is determined in this particular section be used 

 solely for the purpose of calculating the proportions in paragraph 

 (1) and not be construed to have application to any other law or 

 treaty of the United States, either retrospectively or prospectively. 



The definition which was adopted by the Committee recognizes the 

 seaward lateral boundaries which have been previously determined 

 to apply between coastal states within the territorial limits of such 

 states. If any such boundary has been clearly defined by interstate 

 compact, agreement, or by judicial decree, the Secretary of Commerce 

 shall accept such boundaries as the effective lines of delimitation 

 between such states for purposes of this section. The Secretary would 

 then extend those boimdaries seaward from the limit of the territorial 

 sea to the limit of the outer continental shelf using the same princi- 

 ples of delimitation originally used to establish them. Any such 

 boundaries would have had to have been entered into, agreed to, or 

 issued before the effective date of this paragraph in order to be used 

 by the Secretary as an effective boundary. If no seaward lateral bound- 

 aries have been established previously between coastal states (to the 

 limit of their respective territorial sea), the Secretary shall extend 

 seaward lateral boundaries between states by applying the principles 

 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone (15 

 UST 1606) which was entered into force on September 10, 1964. In 

 this case, the Secretary would extend boundaries between the coastal 

 states from the baselines of such states seaward to the limit of the 

 outer continental shelf. 



The Secretary is designated as the responsible official for deter- 

 mining the boundary extensions to be used for purposes of this sub- 

 section, and it is expected that he will consult with the necessary state 

 and Federal officials for assistance in this determination. 



Paragraph (3) of section 308(a) designates the Secretary of Com- 

 merce as the responsible official for purposes of compiling, evaluating, 

 and calculating all relevant data pertaining to the six criteria and the 

 determination of the amount of annual payments for each coastal 

 state. In promulgating regulations to administer this section, it is ex- 

 pected that the Secretary will consult with relevant federal, state, or 

 local agencies or governmental units to determine the most responsible 

 method by which data collection and evaluation shall be made. It is 

 also anticipated that the Secretary will allow input from interested 

 persons, and representatives from industry, environmental and other 

 organizations in this determination. In the opinion of the Committee, 

 it is necessary for the Secretary to have absolute authority in the final 

 evaluation and final computation of the data. 



Payments to be made in any particular fiscal year are to be based on 

 data from the immediately preceding fiscal year. Data from the 



