BASIC MATERIALS ON OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS DOCUMENT NO. 1 Truman Proclamation on the Continental Shelf (COMMITTEE STAFF NOTE: The proclamation of September 28, 1945, is the first assertion by the Government of the United States of sovereignty over the mineral deposits of lands lying outside the historic 3-mile limit (the distance a cannon shot could carry at the time Thomas Jefferson was Secretary of State). (Although superseded by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives congressional sanction to the extension of our national sovereignty, the Truman proclamation is still cited by the State Department and some foreign relations statements as the basis of our national claims. (Also the proclamation has been used as a basis for the assertion of greatly expanded sea boundaries by other countries, such as Peru's claim to 200 miles out. (This proclamation marks a new development in international law.) PROCLAMATION 2667 Policy of the United States with Respect to the Natural Resources of the Subsoil and the Sea Bed of the Continental Shelf. * Whereas the Government of the United States of America, aware of the long range world-wide need for new sources of petroleum and other minerals, holds the view that efforts to discover and make available new supplies of these resources should be encouraged; and Whereas its competent experts are of the opinion that such resources underlie many parts of the continental shelf off the coasts of the United States of America, and that with modern technological progress their utilization is already practicable or will become so at an early date; and Whereas recognized jurisdiction over these resources is required in the interest of their conservation and prudent utilization when and as development is undertaken; and Whereas it is the view of the Government of the United States that the exercise of jurisdiction over the natural resources of the subsoil and sea bed of the continental shelf by the contiguous nation is reasonable and just, since the effectiveness of measures to utilize or conserve these resources would be contingent upon cooperation and protection from the shore, since the continental shelf may be regarded as an extension of the land-mass of the coastal nation and thus naturally appurtenant to it, since these resources frequently form a seaward extension of a pool or deposit lying within the territory, and since self-protection compels the coastal nation to keep close watch over activities off its shores which are of the nature necessary for utilization of these resources; Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the following policy of the United States of America with respect to the natural resources of the subsoil and sea bed of the continental shelf. Having concern for the urgency of conserving and prudently utilizing its natural resources, the Government of the United States regards the natural resources of the subsoil and sea bed of the continental shelf beneath the high seas but contiguous to the coasts of the United States as appertaining to the United States, subject to • See Executive Order 9633, 3 C.F.R. 1943-1948. 33-388 O-69 its jurisdiction and control. In cases where the continental shelf extends to the shores of another State, or is shared with an adjacent State, the boundary shall be determined by the United States and the State concerned in accordance with equitable principles. The character as high seas of the waters above the continental shelf and the right to their free and unimpeded navigation are in no way thus affected. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this 28th day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-five, and of the Independence of the [SEAL] United States of America the one hundred and seventieth. By the President: DEAN ACHESON, Acting Secretary of State. HARRY S. TRUMAN. DOCUMENT NO. 2 The California Case (COMMITTEE STAFF NOTE: While the immediate issue before the Supreme Court of the United States in this case involved Federal versus State rights, rather than the extent of the national sovereignty vis-a-vis other nations, nevertheless the Court does discuss some of the issues of external sovereignty over the waters adjacent to our shores. The Court's holding with respect to the State's ownership of the submerged lands within the 3-mile limit was, in effect, reversed by the Submerged Lands Act of 1953 (67 Stat. 29; 43 U.S.C. 1301), but the same Congress, he 83d, did assert Federal sovereignty over the submerged lands beyond he State's sea boundary). UNITED STATES v. CALIFORNIA. Syllabus. UNITED STATES v. CALIFORNIA. NO. 12, ORIGINAL. Argued March 13-14, 1947-Decided June 23, 1947.* 1. The complaint filed in this Court by the United States against the State of California to determine which government owns, or has paramount rights in and power over, the submerged land off the coast of California between the low-water mark and the three-mile limit and has a superior right to take or authorize the taking of the vast quantities of oil and gas underneath that land (much of which has already been, and more of which is about to be, taken by or under authority of the State) presents a case or controversy under Article III, § 2, of the Constitution. Pp. 24-25. 2. The fact that the coastal line is indefinite and that its exact location will involve many complexities and difficulties presents no insuperable obstacle to the exercise of the highly important jurisdiction conferred on this Court by Article III, § 2, of the Constitution. Pp. 25-26. 3. Congress has neither explicitly nor by implication stripped the Attorney General of the power to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court in this federal-state controversy, pursuant to his broad authority under 5 U. S. C. §§ 291, 309, to protect the Government's interests through the courts. Pp. 26-29. 4. California is not the owner of the three-mile marginal belt along its coast; and the Federal Government rather than the State has paramount rights in and power over that belt, an incident to which is full dominion over the resources of the soil under that water area, including oil. Pp. 29-39. (a) There is no substantial support in history for the view that the thirteen original colonies separately acquired ownership of the three-mile belt beyond the low-water mark or the soil under it, even if they did acquire elements of the sovereignty of the English Crown by their revolution against it. Pollard's Lessee v. Hagan, 3 How. 212, distinguished. Pp. 29–33. (b) Acquisition of the three-mile belt has been accomplished by the National Government, and protection and control of it has been and is a function of national external sovereignty. Pp. 33-35. *For order and decree entered October 27, 1947, see post, p. 804. |