United States v. Florida

Background

This decree resolves who owns the lands, minerals, and natural resources under the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s coast. The parties are the State of Florida and the United States. The decree implements this Court’s decision announced March 17, 1975, and a Supplemental Report of the Special Master filed January 26, 1976. The decree defines key terms like “coastline” and “historic coastline” (the coastline as it existed in 1868) for boundary purposes.

Reasoning

The core question was where the line falls between state ownership close to shore and federal ownership farther out to sea. The Court ordered that, for the Atlantic, Florida owns the seabed and resources extending seaward three geographic miles from its coast, and the United States owns everything beyond three geographic miles out to the edge of the Continental Shelf. For the Gulf of Mexico, Florida owns the seabed and resources out to three marine leagues from the coastline (or from the historic 1868 coastline if that line is landward), but not less than three geographic miles; the United States owns Gulf seabed and resources beyond three marine leagues. The decree also preserves the exceptions in Section 5 of the Submerged Lands Act.

Real world impact

The decree fixes precise distance rules for who controls offshore minerals and lands near Florida. It identifies a specific line to separate the Gulf and Atlantic for these purposes, finds no historic bay along Florida’s coast that would change those rights, and specifies certain keys and shoals as within the Gulf. The Court retained jurisdiction to issue orders as needed to enforce this decree.