UNITED STATES
v.
CALIFORNIA

U.S. | 1977-06-13
No. 5
432 U.S. 40 Supreme Court of the United States (1977) Positive Treatment
Also reported at: 53 L. Ed. 2d 94 · 97 S. Ct. 2915 · SCDB 1976-135 · 1977 U.S. LEXIS 112
Cited by 12 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The court further supplements its prior decree to define specific closing lines for inland waters and identify artificial structures as part of the coastline for federal-state boundary purposes.


Facts & Procedural History

This decree supplements a prior supplemental decree defining the boundary line between submerged lands of the United States and California. It specifi…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court

For the purpose of identifying with greater particularity parts of the boundary line, as defined by the Supplemental Decree of January 31, 1966, 382 U. S. 448, between the submerged lands of the United States and the submerged lands of the State of California, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that this Court's Supplemental Decree of January 31, 1966, be, and the same is hereby, further supplemented as follows:

1.Closing Lines Across Entrances to Bodies of Inland Waters a. The inland waters of the following bodies of water are enclosed by straight lines between the mean lower low-water lines at the seaward ends of the jetties located at their mouths:
1. Humboldt Bay
2. Port Hueneme
3. Santa Ana River
4. Agua Hedionda Lagoon b. The inland waters of San Francisco Bay are those enclosed by a series of straight lines from the southwestern head of Point Bonita (37°48'56"N, 122°31' 44"W); thence to the western edge of an unnamed island immediately to the south (37°48/55"N, 122°31/44.2//W); thence southward to the western edge of a second unnamed island (37°48/53"N,- 122°31'44"W); thence southward to the western edge of a third unnamed island (37°46'57"N, 122°30'52"W); thence to a western head of Point Lobos (37°46'53"N, 122°30'49"W). The length of this closing line is 2.18 nautical miles.

c. The inland waters of Bodega-Tomales Bay are those enclosed by a straight line drawn from Bodega Head (38° 17'53.8"N, 123°03/25.3"W); thence to the western edge of an unnamed island northwest of Tómales Point (38° 14'28.4"N, 122°59'41.5"W); thence southward to Tómales Point (38°14/26.5"N, 122°59'39"W).

d. The closing lines delineated in the foregoing paragraph are part of the coastline of California; The foregoing is without prejudice to the right of either party to assert or deny that other closing lines are part of the coastline of California for purposes of establishing the Federal-State boundary line under the Submerged Lands Act, 67 Stat. 29, as amended.

2. Artificial Extensions of the Coastline

The mean lower low-water line along each of the following structures is part of the coastline of California for purposes of establishing the Federal-State boundary line under the Submerged Lands Act:

a. The Morro Bay breakwater b. The Port San Luis breakwater c. The Santa Barbara breakwater d. The Ventura Marina breakwater e. The Channel Islands Harbor breakwater f. Three rubble groins at Point Mugu g. The Santa Monica breakwater h. The Venice Beach groin i. The Marina del Rey breakwater j. Three rubble groins along Dockweiler Beach k. The Redondo Beach breakwater l. Two harbor jetties at Newport Bay m. The Dana Point breakwater n. The Oceanside breakwater o. Two harbor jetties at entrance to Mission Bay p. The Zuniga jetty at San Diego (including the southern seaward end of this entire structure)
The foregoing is without prejudice to the right of either party to assert or deny that other artificial structures are part of the coastline of California for purposes of establishing the Federal-State boundary line under the Submerged Lands Act.

3. The Court retains jurisdiction to entertain such further proceedings, enter such orders, and issue such writs as may from time to time be deemed necessary or advisable to give proper force and effect to this decree or to effectuate the rights of the parties in the premises.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • United States v. California, 436 U.S. 32 (U.S. 1978)
    …on brought in this Court more than three decades ago. United States v. California, 332 U. S. 19. The first decree was entered in 1947, 332 U. S. 804; a supplemental decree was entered in 1966, 382 U. S. 448; and a second supplemental decree in 1977, 432 U. S. 40. In each instance, jurisdiction was reserved to enter further orders necessary to effectuate the decrees. California initiated the present suit under the 1966 reservation of jurisdiction: “As to any portion of such boundary line or of any areas cla…
  • United States v. California, 1947 U.S. LEXIS 2903 (U.S. 1947)
    …, 436 U. S. 32, and for the purpose of identifying with greater particularity parts of the boundary line, as defined by the Supplemental Decree herein of January 31, 1966, 382 U. S. 448, and by the Second Supplemental Decree herein of June 13, 1977, 432 U. S. 40, between the submerged lands of the United States and the submerged lands of the State of California, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this Court’s Supplemental Decree be, and the same is hereby, further supplemented as follows: 1. The Uni…
  • United States v. California, 447 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1980)
    …to encompass only the natural shore, or to include structures extending seaward from shore. Although we have recognized in earlier proceedings of this case that some kinds of structures may modify the [*6] California coastline, see the 1977 decree, 432 U. S. 40, this Court has never adopted a view that all structures erected on the coast may be considered extensions of the coast. Open piers, such as those at issue here, are elevated above the surface of the ocean on pilings. Accordingly, they do not confo…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw