Law Commons^™

The Supreme Court And The Ppl Montana Case: Examining The Relationship Between Navigability And State Ownership Of Submerged Lands, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The United States Supreme Court held in PPL Montana v. Montana held that the State of Montana did not own the beds beneath certain rivers and, therefore, rejected the State's claim that the power company owed it millions of dollars in "back rent" for the use of the riverbeds as sites for ten of its hydroelectric power plants. The Montana Supreme Court, which had ruled in favor of the State, declared that even if portions of a river were not navigable for commercial purposes because of physical conditions, the entire river would be treated as navigable if commercial traffic could …

The Use And Legal Significance Of The Mean High Water Line In Coastal Boundary Mapping, Richard C. Ausness, Frank E. Maloney

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The effect of unplanned and ill-conceived land use development on the coastal ecology has been well documented in recent years. Recognizing the need for more effective governmental control in this area, a number of state legislatures have enacted statutes to protect the coastal environment and encourage the orderly development of coastal resources. These efforts have received the support of the federal government as well.

Determination of coastal boundaries is essential to the development of an effective coastal zone management program. In general such boundaries represent the intersection of the shore with a particular tidal elevation. However, the demarcation of coastal …