43 U.S.C. § 1331 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 43. Public Lands § 1331. Definitions

(a)Outer Continental Shelf

The term “outer Continental Shelf” means--

(b)Secretary

The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior, except that with respect to functions under this subchapter transferred to, or vested in, the Secretary of Energy or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by or pursuant to the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Energy, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as the case may be.

(c)Lease

The term “lease” means any form of authorization which is issued under section 1337 of this title or maintained under section 1335 of this title and which authorizes exploration for, and development and production of, minerals.

(d)Person

The term “person” includes, in addition to a natural person, an association, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation.

(e)Coastal zone

The term “coastal zone” means the coastal waters (including the lands therein and thereunder) and the adjacent shorelands (including the waters therein and thereunder), strongly influenced by each other and in proximity to the shorelines of the several coastal States, and includes islands, transition and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches, which zone extends seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea and extends inland from the shorelines to the extent necessary to control shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and significant impact on the coastal waters, and the inward boundaries of which may be identified by the several coastal States, pursuant to the authority of section 1454(b)(1) of Title 16.

(f)Affected State

The term “affected State” means, with respect to any program, plan, lease sale, or other activity, proposed, conducted, or approved pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter, any State--

(g)Marine environment

The term “marine environment” means the physical, atmospheric, and biological components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state, condition, and quality of the marine ecosystem, including the waters of the high seas, the contiguous zone, transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, and wetlands within the coastal zone and on the outer Continental Shelf.

(h)Coastal environment

The term “coastal environment” means the physical atmospheric, and biological components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state, condition, and quality of the terrestrial ecosystem from the shoreline inward to the boundaries of the coastal zone.

(i)Human environment

The term “human environment” means the physical, social, and economic components, conditions, and factors which interactively determine the state, condition, and quality of living conditions, employment, and health of those affected, directly or indirectly, by activities occurring on the outer Continental Shelf.

(j)Governor

The term “Governor” means the Governor of a State, or the person or entity designated by, or pursuant to, State law to exercise the powers granted to such Governor pursuant to this subchapter.

(k)Exploration

The term “exploration” means the process of searching for minerals, including (1) geophysical surveys where magnetic, gravity, seismic, or other systems are used to detect or imply the presence of such minerals, and (2) any drilling, whether on or off known geological structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil or natural gas in paying quantities is made and the drilling of any additional delineation well after such discovery which is needed to delineate any reservoir and to enable the lessee to determine whether to proceed with development and production.

(l)Development

The term “development” means those activities which take place following discovery of minerals in paying quantities, including geophysical activity, drilling, platform construction, and operation of all onshore support facilities, and which are for the purpose of ultimately producing the minerals discovered.

(m)Production

The term “production” means those activities which take place after the successful completion of any means for the removal of minerals, including such removal, field operations, transfer of minerals to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance, and work-over drilling.

(n)Antitrust law

The term “antitrust law” means--

(o)Fair market value

The term “fair market value” means the value of any mineral (1) computed at a unit price equivalent to the average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to a lease during the period for which any royalty or net profit share is accrued or reserved to the United States pursuant to such lease, or (2) if there were no such sales, or if the Secretary finds that there were an insufficient number of such sales to equitably determine such value, computed at the average unit price at which such mineral was sold pursuant to other leases in the same region of the outer Continental Shelf during such period, or (3) if there were no sales of such mineral from such region during such period, or if the Secretary finds that there are an insufficient number of such sales to equitably determine such value, at an appropriate price determined by the Secretary.

(p)Major Federal action

The term “major Federal action” means any action or proposal by the Secretary which is subject to the provisions of section 4332(2)(C) of Title 42.

(q)Minerals

The term “minerals” includes oil, gas, sulphur, geopressured-geothermal and associated resources, and all other minerals which are authorized by an Act of Congress to be produced from “public lands” as defined in section 1702 of this title; and

(r) 2Carbon dioxide stream

(s)Carbon sequestration

The term “carbon sequestration” means the act of storing carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere or captured through physical, chemical, or biological processes that can prevent the carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere.

(r) 3The term “State” means--