[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 19 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-10. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Louisiana memorializing the United States 
     Congress to extend Louisiana's seaward boundary in the Gulf 
     of Mexico to three marine leagues; to the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources.

                   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4

       Whereas, in United States of America v. States of 
     Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, 33 U.S. 
     1 (1960), the seaward boundary of the state of Louisiana in 
     the Gulf of Mexico was judicially determined by the United 
     States Supreme Court to be three geographical miles, despite 
     evidence showing that Louisiana's seaward boundary 
     historically consisted instead of three marine leagues, a 
     distance equal to nine geographic miles or 10.357 statute 
     miles; and
       Whereas, the seaward boundaries in the Gulf of Mexico for 
     the states of Texas and Florida were determined to be three 
     marine leagues; and
       Whereas, the unequal seaward boundary imposed upon 
     Louisiana has resulted in (1) economic disparity and hardship 
     for Louisiana citizens and entities; (2) economic loss to the 
     state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions; and (3) 
     the inability of the state of Louisiana and its political 
     subdivisions to fully exercise their powers and duties under 
     the federal and state constitutions and state laws and 
     ordinances, including but not limited to protection and 
     restoration of coastal lands, waters, and natural resources, 
     and regulation of activities affecting them; and
       Whereas, in recognition of all of the above the Legislature 
     of Louisiana in the 2011 Regular Session enacted Act No. 336, 
     which amended Louisiana statutes to provide that the seaward 
     boundary of the state of Louisiana extends a distance into 
     the Gulf of Mexico of three marine leagues from the 
     coastline, and further defines ``three marine leagues'' as 
     equal to nine geographic miles or 10.357 statute miles; and
       Whereas, Act No. 336 further provides that the jurisdiction 
     of the state of Louisiana or any political subdivision 
     thereof shall not extend to the boundaries recognized in such 
     Act until the United States Congress acknowledges the 
     boundary described therein by an Act of Congress or any 
     litigation resulting from the passage of Act No. 336 with 
     respect to the legal boundary of the state is resolved and a 
     final nonappealable judgment is rendered; and
       Whereas, through the federal Submerged Lands Act of 1953, 
     Congress has the power to fix the unequal disparity of the 
     lesser seaward boundary forced upon Louisiana by recognizing 
     and approving that Louisiana's seaward boundary extends three 
     marine leagues into the Gulf of Mexico; and
       Whereas, as shown by the national impact of natural and 
     manmade disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 
     and the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill in 2010, the seaward 
     boundary of Louisiana is vital to the economy and well-being 
     of the entire United States, since among other benefits the 
     Louisiana coastal area: (1) serves as both host and corridor 
     for significant energy and commercial development and 
     transportation; (2) serves as a storm and marine forces 
     buffer protecting ports and the vast infrastructure of 
     nationally significant oil and gas facilities located in such 
     area; (3) provides critical environmental, ecological, 
     ecosystem, and fish, waterfowl, and wildlife habitat 
     functions; (4) provides protection from storms for more than 
     400 million tons of water-borne commerce; and (5) offers 
     recreational and eco-tourism opportunities and industries 
     that are known and appreciated throughout the world; and
       Whereas, the Louisiana coastal area accounts for 80% of the 
     nation's coastal land loss, with its valuable wetlands 
     disappearing at a dramatically high rate of between 25-35 
     square miles per year; and
       Whereas, hurricanes Katrina and Rita turned approximately 
     100 square miles of southeast Louisiana coastal wetlands into 
     open water, and destroyed more wetlands east of the 
     Mississippi River in one month than experts estimated to be 
     lost in over 45 years; and
       Whereas, the economic, environmental, and ecological damage 
     of the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill is already calculated 
     in terms of billions of dollars, and potential longer-lasting 
     impacts are still being determined; and
       Whereas, adopted in 2006, the federal Gulf of Mexico Energy 
     Security Act (GOMESA) would provide ongoing revenues to 
     Louisiana from federal oil revenue derived from gulf leasing 
     and drilling, with the first payment in 2017 estimated to be 
     approximately $176 million, and with such monies dedicated to 
     coastal restoration, hurricane protection and coastal 
     infrastructure; and
       Whereas, despite strenuous objection, efforts are now 
     underway to repeal or amend GOMESA that would result in 
     depriving Louisiana and other gulf coast states of such 
     monies; and
       Whereas, the extension of Louisiana's seaward boundary into 
     the Gulf of Mexico for three marine leagues will provide a 
     much-needed stream of revenue for use in the state's ongoing 
     efforts to clean up, rebuild, protect and restore the 
     Louisiana coastal area from losses suffered due to both 
     natural and manmade disasters, and will benefit both the 
     state and the entire nation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes 
     the Congress of the United States to extend Louisiana's 
     seaward boundary in the Gulf of Mexico to three marine 
     leagues; and be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution shall be 
     transmitted to the President of the United States, to the 
     secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the 
     United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 
     the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress.

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