Cite as: 532 U. S. 742 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
Ibid. The meaning of those terms was essential to delineating the lateral marine boundary. See Report of Special Master, O. T. 1975, No. 64 Orig., pp. 32-49 (hereinafter Report). In particular, the northern end of the lateral marine boundary required a determination of the point where the line marking the "Middle of the [Piscataqua] River" crosses the closing line of Piscataqua Harbor. Id., at 43.
In the course of litigation, New Hampshire and Maine proposed a consent decree in which they agreed, inter alia, that the words "Middle of the River" in the 1740 decree refer to the middle of the Piscataqua River's main channel of navigation. Motion for Entry of Judgment By Consent of Plaintiff and Defendant in New Hampshire v. Maine, O. T. 1973, No. 64 Orig., p. 2 (hereinafter Motion for Consent Judgment). The Special Master, upon reviewing pertinent history, rejected the States' interpretation and concluded that "the geographic middle of the river and not its main or navigable channel was intended by the 1740 decree." Report 41. This Court determined, however, that the States' interpretation "reasonably invest[ed] imprecise terms" with a definition not "wholly contrary to relevant evidence." New Hampshire v. Maine, 426 U. S., at 369. On that basis, the Court declined to adopt the Special Master's construction of "Middle of the River" and directed entry of the consent decree. Id., at 369-370. The final decree, entered in 1977, defined "Middle of the River" as "the middle of the main channel of navigation of the Piscataqua River." New Hampshire v. Maine, 434 U. S., at 2.
The 1977 consent judgment fixed only the lateral marine boundary and not the inland Piscataqua River boundary. See Report 42-43 ("For the purposes of the present dispute, . . . it is unnecessary to lay out fully the course of the boundary as it proceeds upriver . . . ."). In the instant action, New Hampshire contends that the inland river boundary "run[s] along the low water mark on the Maine shore," Complaint 49, and asserts sovereignty over the entire river
747
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007