Precursor to OCS Oil & Gas Leasing Offshore California
By 1947, advances
in drilling technology enabled oil companies to drill wells
from offshore platforms. As a result, an intense jurisdictional
struggle ensued between the federal government and coastal states
over the governance of submerged offshore lands. Revenue was at
the heart of this struggle since both the federal and state governments
receive money when they lease
submerged lands to oil companies for oil and gas exploration.
In 1953, Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act and the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). The Submerged Lands Act separated
federal and state jurisdiction (and revenue rights) of submerged
lands at three miles from shore. The states retained jurisdiction
for "tideland" areas up to three miles from shore. The
OCSLA authorized the Secretary of the Interior to lease tracts of
submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for oil and
gas development, collect revenues from leasing activity, and prescribe
regulations that prevent the waste of OCS natural resources.
In 1965, the United States Supreme Court ruled on California's
claim that the water between Santa Barbara County's mainland and
the Channel Islands should be considered "inland" water
under the jurisdiction of the State. The Court did not agree and
upheld the federal government's jurisdiction over all waters seaward
of the State's three-mile jurisdictional limit in the water of the
Santa Barbara Channel. Following this ruling, the federal government
began preparing to lease submerged tracts of land in the Santa Barbara
Channel.
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