We began our series of blog posts by examining the history, purpose, and limitations of the Antiquities Act of 1906, 54 U.S.C. §§ 320301 – 320303 (“Antiquities Act” or the “Act”) (here and here), followed by a discussion of how the Act fits within the variety of other frameworks for protecting and using public lands (here and here). This week we explore the variety of statutory frameworks and federal government programs that are used to manage the jurisdictional waters of the United States.
There are numerous programs and statutory frameworks that relate to the management and conservation of water, water-based activities, natural resources, and living marine resources within the United States’ internal and the coastal waters, including: the Coastal Zone Management Act (“CZMA”); the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act (“Magnuson-Stevens”); the Marine Mammal Protection Act (“MMPA”); the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”); the Clean Water Act (“CWA”); the Submerged Lands Act (“SLA”); and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”).[1] The Antiquities Act of 1906 has not traditionally played a role within this collection for reasons that will be explored in a later post.
The comprehensive statutory and regulatory schemes governing America’s coastal and internal waters often turn on exacting definitions of jurisdictional zones that apply to those waters, a matter complicated by the fact that the zones sometimes overlap—for example, the Contiguous Zone is wholly contained within the Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”). Before examining the major programs that apply to United States’ coastal and internal waters, an overview of these jurisdictional zones is in order.
The jurisdictional zones, which include varying degrees of sovereignty, are measured relative to the baseline, which, in the United States, is defined as the low-water line along the coast as marked on the NOAA nautical charts in accordance with the articles of the Law of the Sea. Bodies of water that are inland from the baseline, such as bays, estuaries, rivers, and lakes, are considered internal waters and are subject to national sovereignty.
SOURCE: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”)
The zone closest to shore is the Territorial Sea, which measures from 0 to 12 nautical miles from the baseline. Within its territorial sea, the United States has sovereignty over the air space, water column, seabed, and subsoil.[2] Under the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, within the United States’ territorial sea, most coastal states have jurisdiction over the coast and the submerged lands and waters extending up to 3 nautical miles from their coastlines. Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf Coast side of Florida differ from this standard, having jurisdiction over the submerged lands and waters extending 9 nautical miles from their coastlines.[3]
Generally, land above the mean hightide line is held in private ownership; while the land below the hightide line, including the tidewaters, is held in public trust by the state (although this varies by state). The federal government has jurisdiction over the balance of the Territorial Sea (beyond the 3 or 9-mile area), in addition to limited authority within the state’s jurisdictional waters. Under the SLA, the federal government has the right, authority, and jurisdiction to regulate commerce, navigation, power generation (from water), national defense, and international affairs throughout the state waters.[4]
International law recognizes a Contiguous Zone that stretches from 12 to 24 nautical miles from the baseline.[5] Within the contiguous zone the United States can enforce its customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws against foreign flag vessels.
The EEZ extends from 12 to 200 nautical miles from baseline.[6] Within the EEZ, the United States has sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing the natural resources, both living and non-living, of the ocean waters, the seabed, and subsoil, and with regard to other economic or explorative activities, such as production of energy (wind, water, etc.), as well as jurisdiction over artificial islands or other structures and protection and preservation of the marine environment. President Reagan’s Proclamation of the EEZ stated that, “the Exclusive Economic Zone remains an area beyond the territory and territorial seas of the United States in which all States enjoy the high seas freedoms of navigation, overflight, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and other internationally lawful uses of the sea.” The EEZ has thus not been incorporated into the territory of the United States.
The continental shelf, under international law (UNCLOS), generally refers to the seafloor and subsoil (not the water column) beyond the territorial sea to the outer edge of the continental margin (including the shelf, the slope, and the rise) up to 200 miles from the baseline. It is similar in lateral extent to the EEZ but does not include the water column.[7] The United States, however, is not a party to UNCLOS and has separately declared jurisdiction over the natural resources of the subsoil and seabed of the continental shelf via the Truman Proclamation, as well as the right to free and unimpeded navigation upon the waters above the continental shelf. The essence of the Truman Proclamation was codified in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
The high seas are the areas of ocean that are beyond national jurisdiction, including the water column. Traditional freedoms on the high seas that apply to all nations include freedom of: surface and submerged navigation; flight; fishing; laying of cables and pipelines; scientific research; and the construction of artificial islands (and other structures).
Tomorrow we will address a variety of federal statutory frameworks that are used to manage and protect the jurisdictional waters of the United States.
Any questions, commentary, or criticisms? Please e-mail us at kara.mckenna@causeofaction.org and/or cynthia.crawford@causeofaction.org
Cynthia F. Crawford is a Senior Counsel at Cause of Action Institute.
Kara E. McKenna is a Counsel at Cause of Action Institute. You can follow her on Twitter @Kara_McK
[1] There are additional programs for protecting and using offshore federal waters, but the array is too extensive to cover here. Readers are directed to the Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law, Appendix 6, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, 2004, for a more comprehensive review.
[2] Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law, Appendix 6, U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, 2004, at 5; United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 2 et seq. [hereinafter “UNCLOS”].
[3] See 43 U.S.C. § 1301(b).
[4] 43 U.S.C. §§1301(e), 1311(d), and 1314(e).
[5] Proclamation No. 7219, 64 Fed Reg. 48,701 (Sept. 8, 1999); see also UNCLOS Article 33.
[6] Proclamation No. 5030, 48 Fed. Reg. 10,605 (Mar. 14, 1983); see also UNCLOS Article 55 et seq.
