43 U.S.C. § 156: Approval by Congress…

Summary

Only a law passed by Congress can take public land, water, or land-and-water areas out of settlement, sale, entry, or set them aside for the Department of Defense, or limit offshore mineral-leasing rules for those areas. That rule applies if doing so would total more than 5,000 acres for any one defense project or facility counted from February 28, 1958, or from the last earlier law that already took land for that same project, whichever date is later.

Title 43, §156

Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

No public land, water, or land and water area shall, except by Act of Congress, on and after February 28, 1958 be (1) withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, or entry for the use of the Department of Defense for defense purposes; (2) reserved for such use; or (3) restricted from operation of the mineral leasing provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act [43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.], if such withdrawal, reservation, or restriction would result in the withdrawal, reservation, or restriction of more than five thousand acres in the aggregate for any one defense project or facility of the Department of Defense since February 28, 1958, or since the last previous Act of Congress which withdrew, reserved, or restricted public land, water, or land and water area for that project or facility, whichever is later.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, referred to in text, is act Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, 67 Stat. 462, which is classified generally to subchapter III (§ 1331 et seq.) of chapter 29 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1301 of this title and Tables.

§156 Approval by Congress Necessary for Withdrawal, Reservation, or Restriction of Over 5,000 Acres for Any Department of Defense Project or Facility