There's oil along them thar rivers
Local lawyers wade into N.D. minerals dispute
In 1889, when North Dakota became a state, it acquired “sovereign lands” from the federal government. Sovereign lands meant areas, including beds and islands, lying within the ordinary high water mark of lakes and streams.
When enacting a “boundary of ownership” statute, the state said that owners of property along navigable waters “take” to the edge of the low water mark. That arguably gives upland owners the right to the “shore zone,” the area between the high and low waters. In 1994, the North Dakota Supreme Court said in State ex. rel. Sprynczynatyk v. Mills that the state reserved certain rights when the shore zone land was granted. Pursuant to the public trust doctrine, it preserved the shore zone for access to the water for public navigation, fishing, swimming and similar public uses.
The court didn’t say the public use extended to the minerals found under the shoreline.
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There's oil along them thar rivers