United States v. California
Headline: Fixed offshore boundary set and frozen; assigns seabed minerals landward to California and seaward to the United States, changing who controls specific ocean resources off California.
Holding: The Court granted the joint motion and entered a supplemental decree fixing and immobilizing the offshore boundary coordinates, allocating seabed resources landward to California and seaward to the United States.
- Fixes which portions of the offshore seabed California controls and which the federal government controls.
- Freezes the boundary coordinates so the line will not shift with shoreline or seabed changes.
- Affects state and federal permitting, leasing, and resource development on the California offshore.
Summary
Background
The federal government and the State of California have long disputed who owns the lands, minerals, and other natural resources under the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast. The Court originally issued a final decree in 1947 and entered several supplemental decrees in 1966, 1977, 1978, and 1981. The parties filed a joint motion to enter another supplemental decree to identify the federal-state boundary more precisely, and the Court granted that motion.
Reasoning
The Court’s order answers the straightforward question of where the federal-state offshore line lies and which side gets the seabed resources. The decree describes precise coordinates (NAD 83/WGS 84 UTM) in Exhibits A–C, declares that California is entitled to the lands, minerals, and other resources lying landward of the listed lines (subject to the Submerged Lands Act exceptions), and declares that the United States is entitled to the lands and resources seaward of those lines. The Court also ordered that, under 43 U.S.C. 1301(b), the boundary is immobilized—fixed at the listed coordinates and not ambulatory—and retained jurisdiction to enforce the decree.
Real world impact
Moving forward, the decree fixes who controls specific offshore seabed areas for California and for the federal government and provides legal certainty by freezing the boundary coordinates. That certainty will affect management of offshore minerals and other ocean resources and guide state and federal actions like permitting, leasing, and enforcement. The Court’s retention of jurisdiction means it can later address issues needed to give effect to the decree.
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