Protecting the Public Trust

There have been court cases racing around the country looking at the extent and limits of the Public Trust. In Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, when filling submerged lands, the state maintained rights to the formerly submerged property. It noted that, while property owners may have rights to lands created by natural accretion, the formal action of filling tidelands provided no such benefit.

A similar case in Massachusetts has just been decided. The SJC decided today that the State maintains Public Trust Rights to filled tidelands, even ones filled over a century ago. This case is important to most coastal communities. Chapter 91 protects the public's interests in filled tidelands that are seaward of the first street. This provides the protection of public rights to the presently submerged lands.

Given the amount of public and private beach nourishment that occurs in Massachusetts, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. It is clear that in this case, the Commonwealth felt it was important to maintain public rights. With most of our beach front areas being subjected to restrictions by adjacent private property owners that limit public passage for fishing and fowling, one has to wonder if beach nourishment projects could actually open these previously submerged lands to greater public access such as in the Florida case?