Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

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The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is a U.S. federal law that governs the exploration and development of offshore oil, gas, and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
energy law
environmental law
administeredBy United States Department of the Interior
amendedBy Energy Policy Act of 2005
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978
appliesTo submerged lands seaward of state coastal waters
assignsAuthorityTo Secretary of the Interior
basisIn Outer Continental Shelf clause of the Submerged Lands Act framework
citation 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331–1356b
containsProvision civil and criminal penalties for violations
lease terms and conditions for offshore operations
procedures for competitive bidding on offshore leases
requirements for consultation with affected states
requirements for environmental studies before leasing
suspension and cancellation authority for leases
country United States
dateEnacted 1953-08-07
declares federal jurisdiction over the outer continental shelf
defines legal status of the outer continental shelf
effectiveDate 1953-08-07
enactedBy United States Congress
excludes submerged lands within state territorial waters
geographicScope outer continental shelf adjacent to the United States
governs development of mineral resources on the outer continental shelf
exploration of mineral resources on the outer continental shelf
offshore natural gas leasing on the outer continental shelf
offshore oil leasing on the outer continental shelf
offshore sulfur and other mineral leasing on the outer continental shelf
implementedBy Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
jurisdictionLevel federal
legalArea federal public lands law
offshore oil and gas law
publicLawNumber Public Law 83-212
purpose to ensure safe and environmentally responsible offshore resource development
to establish a comprehensive leasing program for offshore resources
to provide for fair and equitable sharing of revenues from offshore production
regulates environmental safeguards for offshore operations
leasing of offshore tracts for energy development
royalty payments for offshore mineral production
safety standards for offshore drilling operations
relatedTo Clean Water Act
National Environmental Policy Act
Oil Pollution Act of 1990
Submerged Lands Act
shortName OCSLA
signedBy Harry S. Truman
titleOfAct An Act to provide for the jurisdiction of the United States over the outer Continental Shelf, and for other purposes


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