584
Opinion of the Court
"(f) Effects on limits of the territorial sea. Structures or work affecting coastal waters may modify the coast line or base line from which the territorial sea is measured for purposes of the Submerged Lands Act and international law. . . . Applications for structures or work affecting coastal waters will therefore be reviewed specifically to determine whether the coast line or base line might be altered. If it is determined that such a change might occur, coordination with the Attorney General and the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior is required before final action is taken. The district engineer will . . . request [the Solicitor's] comments concerning the effects of the proposed work on the outer continental rights of the United States. . . . The decision on the application will be made by the Secretary of the Army after coordination with the Attorney General." 33 CFR § 320.4 (1991).
Alaska advances several arguments why such concerns exceed the scope of the Secretary's authority. We address each in turn.
A
Alaska's first argument proceeds from the premise that the SLA trumps the RHA for purposes of determining whether the Secretary may condition issuance of a permit on the State's disclaimer of sovereignty over the accreted submerged lands. The SLA establishes that a coastal State's boundary extends seaward "to a line three geographical miles distant from its coast line." 43 U. S. C. § 1312. The seaward boundary of state-owned lands is measured from a base line that is subject to change from natural and artificial alterations. See United States v. California, 381 U. S. 139, 176-177 (1965); United States v. Louisiana (Louisiana Boundary Case), 394 U. S. 11, 40, n. 48 (1969). In applying these rules, Alaska asserts that because the SLA extends a State's boundary seaward three miles from its coastline and
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