United States v. California

Background

The United States sued the State of California over entitlement to lands, minerals, and other natural resources under the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast. The Court had issued a final decree in 1947 and supplemental decrees in 1966, 1977, 1978, and 1981. California and the federal government filed a joint motion to enter a further supplemental decree to identify the offshore boundary with greater particularity, and the Court granted that joint motion and entered the Fifth Supplemental Decree.

Reasoning

The core question was where to draw a fixed line between California’s submerged lands and those of the United States. The Court described the boundary lines in paragraph 3 and in Exhibits A, B, and C using NAD 83/WGS 84 UTM coordinates. Under the decree, lands, minerals, and resources that lie landward of those lines belong to California (subject to the exceptions in Section 5 of the Submerged Lands Act), and those seaward of the lines belong to the United States. The Court ordered that, on entry of the decree, the federal-state boundary be immobilized under 43 U.S.C. 1301(b).

Real world impact

The decree fixes precise map coordinates that determine which underwater areas and resources are controlled by California or by the federal government. That certainty affects state and federal planning, resource leasing, coastal mapping, and businesses that explore or develop offshore minerals and other natural resources. The Court also retained jurisdiction to handle future matters needed to give the decree full effect, and the immobilization takes effect upon entry under the stated statute.