The Submerged Lands Act of 1953 is a U.S. federal law that recognized the title of the
states to submerged navigable lands within their boundaries at the time they entered the Union. They include navigable waterways, such as
rivers, as well as marine waters within the state's boundaries, generally three
geographical mile
The geographical mile is a unit of length determined by 1 minute of arc along the Earth's equator. For the international ellipsoid 1924 this equalled 1855.4 metres. ''The American Practical Navigator'' 2017 defines the geographical mile as . Gre ...
s (almost exactly ) from the coastline.
The Submerged Lands Act of 1953 was immediately followed by the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Under the latter, the Secretary of the Interior is responsible for the administration of mineral exploration and development of the Outer Continental Shelf (O.C.S.). The Secretary of the Interior is empowered to grant leases to the highest qualified responsible bidder and to formulate regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. O.C.S.L.A. provides guidelines for implementing an
Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration and development program.
References
External links
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1953 in law
83rd United States Congress
United States federal public land legislation
United States federal legislation articles without infoboxes
Equal footing doctrine
United States public land law
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