Secretary of the Interior et al. v. California et al. (464 U.S. 312)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 11, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 464 U.S. 312 · 104 S. Ct. 656
- Decided
- January 11, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. These cases arise out of the Department of the Interior’s sale of oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the coast of California. We must determine whether the sale is an activity “directly affecting” the coastal zone under § 307(c)(1) of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). That section provides in its entirety; “Each Federal agency conducting or supporting activities directly affecting the coastal zone shall conduct or support those activities in a manner which is, to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with approved state management programs.” 86 Stat. 1285, 16 U. S. C. § 1456(c)(1) (1982 ed.). We conclude that the Secretary of the Interior’s sale of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leases is not an activity “directly affecting” the coastal zone within the meaning of the statute. H CZMA defines the coastal zone” to include state but not federal land near the shorelines of the several coastal States, as well as coastal waters extending “seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea.” 16 U. S. C. § 1453(1) (1982 ed.). The territorial sea for States bordering on the Pacific Ocean or Atlantic Ocean extends three geographical miles seaward from the coastline. See 43 U. S. C. §1301; United States v. California, 381 U. S. 139 (1965). Submerged lands subject to the jurisdiction…
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