STATE SEAWARD BOUNDARIES IN THE UNITED STATES
(0 to 3 Nautical Miles; 0 to 9 Nautical Miles for Texas, Florida’s Gulf Coast, and Puerto Rico)
In the 1940s, several states claimed jurisdiction over mineral and other resources off their coasts. This was overturned in 1947, when the Supreme Court determined that states had no title to, or property interest in, these resources. In response, the Submerged Lands Act was enacted in 1953 giving coastal states jurisdiction over a region extending 3 nautical miles seaward from the baseline, commonly referred to as state waters. For historical reasons, Texas and the Gulf Coast of Florida are an exception, with state waters extending to 9 nautical miles offshore. (Note: A nautical mile is approximately 6,076 feet. All references hereafter in this Primer to miles are to nautical miles.) Subsequent legislation granted the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa jurisdiction out to 3 miles, while Puerto Rico has a 9-mile jurisdictional boundary.
THE TERRITORIAL SEA (0 to 12 Nautical Miles)
Under international law, every coastal nation has sovereignty over the air space, water column, seabed, and subsoil of its territorial sea, subject to certain rights of passage for foreign vessels and, in more limited circumstances, foreign aircraft.
For almost two hundred years, beginning with an assertion by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson in 1793, the United States claimed a territorial sea out to 3 miles. In 1988, President Reagan proclaimed a 12-mile territorial sea for the United States, consistent with provisions in the LOS Convention. The proclamation extended the territorial sea only for purposes of international law, explicitly stating that there was no intention to alter domestic law.
(Source: Primer on Ocean Jurisdictions: Drawing Lines in the Water, final report by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy) You can visit their website at http://www.oceancommission.gov/ |
