The proposed bill does not contain any provision respecting the disposition of the proceeds received by the United States from the development of the oil and gas deposits in the submerged coastal lands. As to this point, if the Congress should deem it advisable to provide for a portion of these proceeds to be paid over to the coastal States adjacent to which the operations under the act are conducted, I believe that the President would be inclined to acquiesce in whatever provision might seem fair to the Congress.

The problem as to whether the coastal States, on the one hand, or all the United States, on the other hand, had the right to the oil in the Continental Shelves beneath the open sea contiguous to the coasts of the United States was formerly regarded as a legal question. For example, the Public Lands Committee of the Senate, in its report on Senate Joint Resolution 92 of the Seventy-sixth Congress, referred to this controversy as "purely a legal one.' " Moreover, the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate, in their reports on House Joint Resolution 225 of the Seventy-ninth Congress, indicated clearly that their actions upon this resolution were predicated wholly upon their understanding of the respective legal rights of the coastal States, on the one hand, and of all the United States, on the other hand, in the resources of the Continental Shelves beneath the open sea.

However, now that the Supreme Court has settled the question of legal rights in favor of the United States, the Congress has before it proposed measures that are apparently predicated on the idea that the people of the United States ought to give away their rights in, or to transfer their control over, the immensely valuable resources of the Continental Shelves beneath the open sea to a few coastal States. I regard such a position as altogether unsound. Moreover, I can assure you that the President is of the same opinion. When he vetoed House Joint Resolution 225 of the Seventy-ninth Congress at a time when uncertainty existed regarding the respective rights of the United States, on the one hand, and of the coastal States, on the other hand, in the lands and mineral resources of the Continental Shelves, he said: The ownership of the vast quantity of oil in such areas presents a vital problem for the Nation from the standpoint of national defense and conservation. If the United States owns these areas, they should not be given away.

The President has not changed his view during the intervening period, particularly as the Supreme Court in 1947 resolved the doubt that previously existed by declaring in the case of the United States against California

that California is not the owner of the 3-mile marginal belt along its coast, and that 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.

This does not mean, of course, that the United States should exercise its full legal power to the extent of forfeiting the interests of persons who have, under the erroneous belief that the coastal States could grant such authority, erected pursuant to State permission wharves, piers, and other similar installations in the waters of the open sea, or who may have, under State permission, filled in or reclaimed lands from the bed of the open sea. On the contrary, it is believed that the Federal Government might properly confirm in such persons whatever rights they may have been granted under

purported State authority with respect to the occupancy and use of such installations or of such filled in or reclaimed lands in the open sea. Title II of H. R. 5280-and title II of the companion bill, S. 2153-drafted by representatives of the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Defense, does this very thing.

An incidental purpose of H. R. 5280-and of its companion bill in the Senate-is to quiet the titles of the States to their tidelands and to the lands which form the beds of bays, harbors, and other navigable inland waters within their boundaries. This is to be accomplished in title I of the bill by quitclaming to the respective States, and to the persons who have acquired rights under State authority, whatever interest and title the United States may have in and to such lands.

The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior have consistently asserted the general rule that the United States has no title and makes no claim to the lands between the lines of high and low tide or to the lands beneath bays, harbors, and other navigable inland waters within the boundaries of the various States. On the contrary, it is believed that, as a general proposition, the title to such lands was vested in the respective States at the time of the attainment of independence, in the case of the Thirteen Original States and Texas, or at the time of their admission into the Union, in the case of the other States.

Notwithstanding the disclaimers of the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior, however, it seems that some State officials, and some people who have acquired rights to such lands under State authority and perhaps have spent large sums of money on improve- › ments, feel that a cloud has been cast upon the titles to lands between the lines of high and low tide, and to lands beneath navigable inland waters, by the decision which the Supreme Court rendered on June 23, 1947, in the case of the United States against California. In order to allay any concern that may exist among State officials or members of the public over the possibility of a Federal interest in such lands, it would probably be advisable for the Congress to pass appropriate legislation quitclaming the Federal title, if any, in these lands and declaring the title to be vested in the States and in those persons who hold the lands, or interests in them, under State authority. Representatives of the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Interior have collaborated in the drafting of proposed legislation which is designed to accomplish this purpose. Our recommendations in this respect are embraced, as previously indicated, in title I of H. R. 5280, and in title I of the companion bill,

S 2153.

In summary, I want to say that, in my judgment, the Congress will best serve the interests of all the people of the Nation and its defense, and at the same time will deal justly with those States and individuals that were adversely affected by the Supreme Court decision in the California case, by enacting legislation along the lines of the proposed bills drafted by the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Interior, and submitted to the Congress with the concurrence of the President.

The Department of the Interior and the other administrative departments involved are in favor of two proposals. The first is H. R. 5280, a bill to quiet the titles of the several States to the tidelands-that is, the

lands that are regularly covered and uncovered by the flow and ebb of the tide and to the lands beneath navigable inland waters situated within the exterior boundaries of the States.

The tidelands are not the matters really under controversy here. It is the submerged lands seaward from the tidelands. Properly speaking, the tidelands are merely the strip along the shore that is uncovered and covered by the ebb and flow of the tide.

Mr. GOSSETT. "Tidelands" is a misnomer we have applied to this whole thing?

Secretary KRUG. Tidelands oil is not in controversy at all. Our proposal is to quiet the States' claim for that, because we have never argued that the Federal Government has any claim for that oil. The pertinent area under consideration here is the area seaward from that area which is covered and uncovered by the tide.

With respect to that area, which, properly speaking, might be called the submerged lands underneath the open sea, the administration made a proposal dated February 1, 1949. That proposal was prepared and forwarded jointly by the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Interior. That proposal does not have a number in the house at this time, but in the Senate I believe it is S. 923.

That proposal provides for Federal management and development of the submerged lands which I have just referred to.

I have a copy of the proposal of February 1, along with the letter which transmitted it and a statement which explains its salient points. If I may, I would like to have that made a part of the record at this time.

Mr. GOSSETT (presiding). Without objection, they will appear in the record at this point.

(The documents referred to are as follows:)

Hon. ALBEN W. BARKLEY,

President of the Senate.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., February 1, 1949.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: Enclosed is a draft of a proposed bill to promote the development and conservation of certain resources in the submerged coastal lands adjacent to the shores of the United States.

This proposed legislation is similar to, but not identical with, the proposed legislation on this subject which we jointly submitted to the Congress on February 6, 1948. The previous proposal was introduced in the Senate as S. 2165, Eightieth Congress, and in the House of Representatives as H. R. 5528 and H. R. 5890, Eightieth Congress.

There is attached to the proposed bill an explanatory statement which summarizes and discusses its provisions in detail. We should like to supplement that explanatory statement in two respects.

The first additional comment relates to the matter of the distribution of the moneys received by the Federal Government from oil and gas operations in the submerged coastal lands. The proposed bill is silent on the subject and, hence, unless it is passed in a form expressly making other disposition of such income, all proceeds derived by the Government under the legislation will be paid into the Treasury of the United States and credited to miscellaneous receipts. In this connection, the Congress may wish to consider whether the States off whose shores operations under the legislation are conducted have equities which justify the payment of some portion of the income to them.

The second additional comment concerns the acreage limitation provisions of the bill, sections 4 (a) and 6 (a). These sections are identical with the provisions of S. 2165 and H. R. 5528, but a brief explanatory comment seems in order. Section 4 (a) places a ceiling of 64,000 acres on the quantity of land that can

be included in a lease at the time of its issuance, and this maximum figure is subject to certain requirements for subsequent reduction in the acreage, so that at the end of the fifth year of a lease the acreage shall not exceed 7,680 acres. Section 6 (a) prescribes an acreage limitation on the leases that can be held per person, the maximum being 128,000 acres under lease to a person-of which not more than 30,720 acres may be held under producing leases-in any one of the following coastal regions: The Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The reasons for suggesting in this proposed legislation acreage limitation provisions that are more generous than those under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U. S. C., 1946 ed., sec. 184) are set out on page 6 of the explanatory statement. We should like to make clear to the Congress, however, that these suggestions as to acreage limitations are matters of judgment, and that they are not based on actual experience in the administration of a Federal program of oil and gas development in the submerged coastal lands.

We recommend that the proposed bill be referred to the appropriate committee for consideration and that it be enacted as soon as possible, with such amendments and modifications relating to the two matters discussed herein as Congress may deem advisable.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this proposed bill to the Congress.

Sincerely yours,

(Similar letter sent to Hon. Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives.)

A BILL To promote the development and conservation of certain resources in the submerged coastal lands adjacent to the shores of the United States

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Submerged Coastal Lands Act."

SEC. 2. When used in this Act: (a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior; (b) the term "submerged coastal lands" means (1) submerged lands seaward of the shores of the United States and Alaska which are under the dominion of, and subject to the paramount rights of, the United States, and (2) all other submerged lands of the entire continental shelf seaward of such shores, within which submerged lands the natural resources appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control, but which resources are not owned by any State or other person; (c) the term "person" means a citizen of the United States, an association of such citizens, a State, a political subdiviison of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any State; (d) the term "lease," whenever used with reference to action by a State or its political subdivision or grantee prior to June 23, 1947, or with reference to such action taken between June 23, 1947, and the effective date of this Act, with the approval of the Secretary, shall be regarded as including any form of authorization for the development or production of oil or gas, and the term "lessee," whenever used in such connection, shall be regarded as including any person having the right to develop or produce oil or gas under any such form of authorization; and (e) the term "State" means any State, Territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.

SEC. 3. (a) Oil and gas deposits in submerged coastal lands shall be subject to disposal only in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and no rights in or claims to such deposits, whether based upon applications filed or other action taken heretofore or hereafter, shall be recognized except in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(b) It is the declared policy of Congress that oil and gas deposits in submerged coastal lands shall, to the maximum extent consistent with the requirements for exploration and development to meet the needs of the national economy, be conserved as a national asset vital to the security of the Nation; and this Act shall be administered in accordance with, and in a manner which will give effect to, this declared policy.

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(c) This Act shall also be administered in accordance with such determinations as to national security, conservation, or development, in furtherance of the foregoing policy, as may be made from time to time by the President.

(d) The President may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the submerged coastal lands and reserve them for the use of the United States in the interest of national security.

(e) In time of war or when the President shall so prescribe, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to 'purchase at the market price all or any portion of the oil or gas produced from the submerged coastal lands covered by this Act.

SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary may in his discretion grant to any responsible person bidding the highest bonus per leasing unit an oil and gas lease of submerged coastal lands which are not within any known geological structure of a producing oil or gas field. Such a lease shall be for a term of five years and shall continue so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities. The lands covered by any such lease shall be of such area, shape, and dimensions as may be determined by the Secretary, but the area shall not exceed sixty-four thousand acres per lease. Not later than three and five years, respectively, after the issuance of such a lease, the lessee shall advise the Secretary in writing of the portion, if any, of the area so leased which, subject to the provisions of this Act and the approval of the Secretary, he desires to continue to hold under the lease. The portion so selected in each case may consist of not more than three reasonably compact areas. The total area selected before the end of the third lease year shall not exceed one-half of the area of the original lease or seven thousand six hundred and eighty acres, whichever is larger. The total area selected before the end of the fifth lease year shall not exceed seven thousand six hundred and eighty acres. In the absence of a selection by the lessee at either of such times, the lease shall be regarded as having been surrendered. If more than one area is selected, then upon and after the effective date of the Secretary's approval of the lessee's selection each area shall be treated as if it were the subject of a separate lease except as to relinquishment of acreage pursuant to this subsection. As of the same time, the lessee shall be regarded as having surrendered the lands not so selected and approved.

(b) At the expiration of the primary five-year term for which any lease has been issued under this section, the lessee if he has otherwise satisfactorily performed all of his obligations under the lease, shall be entitled to an extension of not more than five years upon proof that he has performed actual development work on the area or areas selected for retention under the lease at a cost of at least $75,000, or such greater amount as the Secretary may fix at or before the issuance of the lease.

(c) All leases issued under this section shall be conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of a rental of 25 cents per acre per annum for the fourth lease year, and not less than 50 cents per acre per annum for every lease year thereafter, all such rentals to be payable on or before the beginning of each lease year.

(d) On and after a discovery of oil or gas, the lessee shall pay a royalty of not less than 121⁄2 per centum of the amount or value, at the option of the Secre tary, of the production from the lease, and in any event not less than $1 per acre per annum, in lieu of rental for each lease year commencing after discovery.

(e) The area or areas to be held after the end of the fifth year under a lease pursuant to this section shall be appropriately surveyed, described, and platted by the Secretary at the expense of the lessee. Deposits made to cover the expense of such surveys shall be deemed appropriated for that purpose, and excess deposits may be repaid to the persons making such deposits or to their legal representatives.

(f) Each lease issued under this section shall be subject to such terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may be prescribed by the Secretary.

SEC. 5. The Secretary may in his discretion grant to any responsible person bidding the highest bonus per leasing unit an oil and gas lease of submerged coastal lands which are within any known geological structure of a producing oil or gas field. A leasing unit shall be in such reasonably compact form and of such area and dimensions as may be determined by the Secretary, but shall not exceed two thousand five hundred sixty acres in area. Each lease issued under this section shall be for a period of five years and so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities. If at the date of the expiration of said fiveyear term oil or gas is not being produced in paying quantities but drilling operations, commenced not less than ninety days before such date, have been and