Eisenhower signs Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act establishing federal offshore leasing authority

President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act on Aug. 7, 1953, establishing exclusive federal jurisdiction over all submerged lands seaward of state coastal waters and directing the Interior Department to lease those areas for energy development. The law authorized the Secretary of the Interior to grant leases, set royalties, and -- crucially -- cancel leases under specific procedural conditions including formal hearings and findings of serious harm.