Reading Room Document

Applicability of Section 307(c)(1) of the Coastal Zone Management Act to Preleasing Activities of the Department of Interior Relating to the Outer Continental Shelf

This document addresses the issue of whether the preleasing activities of the Secretary of the Interior relating to the Outer Continental Shelf are subject to the consistency requirement of the Coastal Zone Management Act. The conclusion reached is that the preleasing activities are subject to the conformity requirement of the Act. The document also presents questions regarding the interpretation of the statutory language "directly affecting the coastal zone" and whether the preleasing activities directly affect the Coastal Zone, which are considered factual questions that the Attorney General is not authorized to address. The document also discusses the applicability of the Coastal Zone Management Act Amendments of 1976 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 to the preleasing activities.

April 20, 1979