{
  "id": "RL32912",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32912",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 304823,
      "date": "2005-05-05",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:45:35.971029",
      "title": "Federal-State Maritime Boundary Issues",
      "summary": "Over the last few decades, new uses for coastal and offshore areas have emerged, including\naquaculture and renewable energy (wind, wave, and tidal), while more traditional uses, such as\ncommercial fishing and oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf, have continued to\nflourish. As technologies improve, companies may increasingly seek to move activities farther\noffshore and to expand resource development in both state and federal waters. Various interests\nargue over which policies and regulations will best minimize conflicts between competing offshore\nresource users while effectively safeguarding already crowded coastal areas from further\ndevelopment.\n An issue that is fundamental to the regulation of offshore activities is determining which level\nof government has primary jurisdiction over particular offshore areas. Who has jurisdiction depends,\nin part, upon the federal-state maritime boundaries. Unlike most countries, the U.S. federal\ngovernment shares jurisdiction over its 12-mile (nautical) territorial sea with its coastal states. The\n1953 Submerged Lands Act (SLA) generally gives coastal states title to the submerged lands, waters,\nand natural resources located within three nautical miles of the coastline. The waters, seabed, and\nnatural resources beyond these three miles belong to the federal government. Identifying where a\nfederal-state maritime boundary lies is not always an easy task. \n Federal-state maritime boundaries are represented on nautical charts published by the National\nOcean Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These\ncharts reflect the federal government's official position on where U.S. maritime boundaries (federal\nand state) are located. Determining the baseline from which federal-state maritime boundaries are\ndetermined can be difficult, depending on the geography of the coast. International law, which\nguides U.S. practice, recognizes different methods for locating a coastal baseline in such\ncircumstances.\n The U.S. has traditionally applied a measurement standard that minimizes the extent of state\noffshore waters. But while setting maritime boundaries is primarily a federal prerogative, states have\ncontinued to challenge the National Ocean Service charts. When a U.S. coastal state disagrees with\nthe federal government's position on its maritime boundary, the courts have been called upon to\nresolve the dispute, often the U.S. Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction under article III of\nthe Constitution. \n Congress also may become more involved in maritime boundary and jurisdiction issues as the\npace of offshore development increases, and legislation to address some of these issues, such as\n S. 735 , has been introduced in the 109th Congress. This report will be updated as\ncircumstances warrant.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Energy Policy"
  ]
}