Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Revenues: Coastal States Should Be Entitled to a Share

OCS oil and gas development has caused federal‐state conflicts. Coastal states have been deprived of offshore lands within their historic boundaries by erroneous judicial decisions. Coastal states have been required to bear the impacts and risks of OCS development without sharing in its benefits. The federal programs which have enabled coastal states to plan for and deal with the impacts of OCS development have been terminated or threatened by budgetary cutbacks. Coastal states have had to be concerned with the drainage of their oil and gas resources by federal lessees. Congress should enact a block grant program, similar to the Ocean and Coastal Resources Management and Development Block Grant Act of 1984, to provide OCS revenues to the coastal states. This program would help establish greater federal‐state cooperation concerning OCS oil and gas development