2015 WL 1040458, at *4. 61 Danos, 61 F. Supp. 3d at 690, n.1 (citing 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A)). 62 Dkt.

at 525 (an agency decision “may be more probative if it is believed that the agency more closely followed the dictates of § 1333(a)(2)(A) . . . .”). 41 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A) (emphasis added). 42 The Plans Map is available at Dkt.

This field was thus much closer geographically to Alabama. Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 130 Filed in TXSD on 03/19/18 Page 10 of 15 8 Danos is also unpersuasive in its interpretation of 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). One of the parties in Danos submitted the MMS/BOEM Projected State Boundaries Map, which draws exclusive state boundaries, and upon which TEP USA relies.

at 681. Danos is also unpersuasive in its interpretation of 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). One of the parties in Danos submitted the MMS/BOEM Projected State Boundaries Map, which draws exclusive state boundaries.

It simply requires that the state boundary lines as a whole extend seaward such that they account for the entire OCS waters, even if two states’ boundaries converge before reaching all the way to the outer limit. See 43 U.S.C.A. § 1333(a)(2)(A) (adjacency is measured as “if [each state’s] boundaries were extended seaward to the outer margin of the outer Continental Shelf”) The MMS State Boundaries Map and the OCS Boundaries Map achieve this by clearly and fairly extending each state’s boundary, and where they merge, applying the principle of equidistance to ensure no overlap. By such method, it is entirely clear within which state any given part of the seafloor is located.

40295 (Aug. 2, 2001) states that Mississippi Canyon Block 305 and Mississippi Canyon Block 348 are “nearest” to Louisiana.20 However, this publication merely recites approximate miles from Louisiana and Alabama, and contains no actual commentary (much less an analytical determination) as to adjacency. It is therefore not probative in that it does not follow the dictates of 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). TOTAL also claims that in a 1998 “News Release” the Minerals Management Service stated “that Desoto Canyon Block 133, which is nearby to Mississippi Canyon Block 305 and Mississippi Canyon Block 348, and feeds into CEPS, is located ‘offshore Louisiana.

at Section 4. Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 122 Filed in TXSD on 03/19/18 Page 2 of 4 3 probative in conjunction with a choice of law adjacency analysis pursuant to 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). In addition, so the record is clear, the map attached to 71 Fed. Reg.

However, since OCSLA was 15 Union Texas Petroleum Corp. v. PLT Eng’g 895 F.2d 1043 (5th Cir. 1990). 16 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(1). Case 4:16-cv-02674 Document 157 Filed in TXSD on 12/22/17 Page 5 of 13 6 passed in the 1950’s, no President has ever undertaken this task and such projection lines have never been drawn.

One example of how the choice-of-law issue requires p mature factual determination arises in the context of determining the application of the state law borrowing provision of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”). See 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A); Texas Exploration & Prod. v. Amclyde Eng’d Prods., 448 F.3d 760, 772 (5th Cir. 2006) (“OCSLA extends federal law to the Outer Continental Shelf and borrows adjacent state law as a gap-filler.”)

TOTAL is incorrect. MOGUS emphasizes the CZM OCS Plans Map, which extends State CZM zones from the State waters to the end of the OCS, which is consistent with the dictates of 43 U.S.C. §1333(a)(2)(A). The CZM Plans Map clearly shows that Mississippi Canyon Block 305, Mississippi Canyon Block 348, Main Pass Block 261, and the route of the CEPS all fall within the red “Alabama CZM.”