The public trust doctrine in California provides that the state holds an interest in navigable waters in trust for the public. By holding waterways in trust, the government implicitly recognizes that certain rights should not be privately controlled and consents to protect waterways for public use and enjoyment. Such uses include recreation, fishing or ecological preservation.
The issue that the appellate courts will decide for the first time in California’s history is whether groundwater is covered by this doctrine. In 1983, the California Supreme Court concluded that the public trust doctrine limits the amount of water that can be extracted from navigable waterways. The public trust doctrine applies to the State Water Resources Control Board’s (Board) oversight of water rights in navigable waters and that the Board must take into account public trust concerns when exercising its authority. By extension, the Court determined that the doctrine applies to non-navigable water tributaries where the tributaries have an effect on public trust uses in surface waters. The decision, however, does not give the Board the right to authorize groundwater uses.
The petition currently under review by the Supreme Court relates to legal action brought by Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) against Siskiyou County (County). ELF maintained that the public trust doctrine extends to groundwater and that the County is obligated to control groundwater appropriation to safeguard public uses for navigable surface waters. The Court concluded that groundwater is covered by the doctrine and reasoned that if the state is charged with the public trust to maintain groundwater, then the County, as a “subdivision of the State,” has an analogous duty. The decision would require the County to assess whether new wells for which it issues permits encroach on public trusts interest in surface waters. On appeal, the Court will decide the singular question of whether the public trust doctrine applies to groundwater.
Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about his practice.