Q&A -- Oil and Gas Attorney Jasmine B. Bertrand: When Do Waterbottom and Waterway Issues Arise the Context of Title Examination and Land Work? 1. Determining whether said waterbodies are susceptible of ownership, which usually depends on a determination of whether said waterbody is navigable. 2. In the context of navigable waterways, determining the type of waterbody at issue, for a determination of ownership of the bank or shore, accretion/dereliction, and the effects of erosion. 3. Determining whether contiguity of mineral servitudes is defeated, where waterbodies traverse lands upon which mineral servitudes are created. 4. Determination of whether lands have been properly severed from the State of Louisiana, such as in the context of swamp lands and dried lands. 5. Determination of whether the “Freeze Statute” might apply to certain banks or shores for purposes of mineral ownership or attribution. 6. Determination as to ownership of islands or sandbars. 7. Determination as to whether reclamation efforts have affected mineral ownership of banks or shores. 8. Bottom Line: “[A]ny analysis of the ownership of a waterbottom must begin with the general premise that the State is the owner of the beds of all navigable waterbodies within its borders. This is important to mineral law because it determines who the proper parties to a lease are, and, in the event of production, to whom royalties are properly payable.” Ryan M. Seidemann, Curious Corners of Louisiana Mineral Law: Cemeteries, School Lands, Erosion, Accretion, and Other Oddities, 23 Tul. Envtl. L.J. 93, 118-34 (2009).
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 21:27:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015