§1336 Controversies over jurisdiction; agreements; payments; final settlement or adjudication; approval of notice concerning oil and gas operations in Gulf of Mexico

Summary

Lets the Secretary, if the Attorney General agrees, make agreements with a State, its local governments, grantees, or leaseholders when there is a dispute about whether land is covered by this law. The agreements can deal with operations under current mineral leases and how rents, royalties, and other payments are paid or held, or with whether new leases may be issued while the dispute is decided. This power does not limit other powers the Secretary has. Payments made under such agreements count as meeting section 1335(a)(4). If the agreement ends because the dispute is finally decided and the land is found to be covered, the leaseholder must follow section 1335(a) if not already done, and then section 1335(b) applies. The notice titled “Oil and Gas Operations in the Submerged Coastal Lands of the Gulf of Mexico” issued December 11, 1950 (15 F.R. 8835), as amended January 26, 1951 (16 F.R. 953), and supplemented February 2, 1951 (16 F.R. 1203); March 5, 1951 (16 F.R. 2195); April 23, 1951 (16 F.R. 3623); June 25, 1951 (16 F.R. 6404); August 22, 1951 (16 F.R. 8720); October 24, 1951 (16 F.R. 10998); December 21, 1951 (17 F.R. 43); March 25, 1952 (17 F.R. 2821); June 26, 1952 (17 F.R. 5833); and December 24, 1952 (18 F.R. 48) is approved.