Archipelagic Baselines

Archipelagic Baselines. (a) The Director of Natural Resources is authorized and directed to draw archipelagic baselines pursuant to this section on charts of a scale or scales adequate for determining the baselines, and shall transmit the charts to the Attorney General not later than 60 days after December 11, 1980. Upon such transmittal, the charts will be deemed to be officially recognized by the Commonwealth. The Attorney General shall promptly give due publicity to such charts and shall deposit a copy of such charts with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. (b) The baselines shall be drawn in straight line segments and shall join the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the Commonwealth; provided, that the ratio of the area of the water to the area of the land (including as land all waters lying within the fringing reefs of any island, the waters of any lagoon, and the waters surrounded by the islands of Maug) shall not exceed nine to one. (c) The length of any baseline shall not exceed 100 miles, except that up to three percent of the total number of baselines may exceed that length, up to a maximum length of 125 miles. (d) The drawing of such baselines shall not depart to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the archipelago. (e) The baselines shall be drawn to and from low-tide elevations, except that no low-tide elevation situated at a distance more than 12 miles from the nearest island shall be the end point of any baseline unless it is marked by a lighthouse or similar installation which is permanently above sea level. Source: PL 2-7, § 6. Commission Comment: With respect to the reference to the “Director of Natural Resources,” see Executive Order 94-3 (effective August 23, 1994), reorganizing the executive branch, changing agency names and official titles, and effecting other changes, set forth in the Commission comment to 1 CMC § 2001.