What is the OCS?
A. Under United States law, the term Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) refers to all submerged lands lying seaward of State offshore lands. Generally referred to as “Federal waters, the OCS encompasses the seabed and subsoil in which natural resources of vital importance to the Nation are found: nearly 17 percent of our oil reserves, 25 percent of our natural gas reserves, and resources of commercially important minerals including manganese, gold, phosphorite, and construction aggregates. In 1945, because of the potential value of such minerals, President Truman proclaimed that the Federal Government had jurisdiction over all offshore resources, from the coastline seaward, and a 1947 Supreme Court case essentially upheld the Truman Proclamation and the claims of the Federal Government. However, in 1953, Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed the Submerged Lands Act which established natural resource jurisdiction seaward out to 3 geographical miles for practically all coastal State
