Opinion ID: 1094077
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Public Tidelands Trust

Text: ¶ 15. At the heart of this case is the question of who has authority to act as the trustee of the public trust tidelands. Columbia and the amici assert that the responsibility falls upon the Legislature and is non-delegable. The Secretary of State asserts that he is the trustee for all public lands in Mississippi, including the public trust tidelands, under Miss.Code Ann. § 7-11-11 (Rev.2002) and §§ 29-1-1 et seq. (Rev.2000). We agree with the Secretary of State. ¶ 16. The title to the public trust tidelands was vested in this State at the inception of statehood and such title is held in trust by the State of Mississippi for the benefit of the public. Miss.Code. Ann. § 29-15-5 (Rev.2000). This Court has long recognized that the tidelands are a part of the public trust. State ex rel. Rice v. Stewart, 184 Miss. 202, 184 So. 44 (1938); Rouse v. Saucier's Heirs, 166 Miss. 704, 146 So. 291 (1933). For a thorough review of the establishment and history of the Public Tidelands Trust, see Secretary of State v. Wiesenberg, 633 So.2d 983, 987-89 (Miss.1994). ¶ 17. The public trust tidelands are unique and ever changing with the ebb and flow of the tide. The trust encompasses this unique corpus which is to be protected for the use and possession of the general public and the upland owners. The public trust tidelands are characterized as follows: Tidelands and submerged lands are held by the state in trust for use of all the people, and are so held in their character as the beds and shores of the sea and its tidally affected arms and tributaries for the purposes defined by common law and statutory law. Littoral and riparian property owners have common law and statutory rights under the Coastal Wetlands Protection Law which extend into the waters and beyond the low tide line, and the state's responsibilities as trustee extends to such owners as well as to the other members of the public. Miss.Code Ann. § 29-15-5 (Rev.2000). The terms riparian and littoral are occasionally used interchangeably; however, there is a distinction between the two: Riparian is defined as Belonging or relating to the bank of a river or stream; of or on the bank. Land lying beyond the natural watershed of a stream is not riparian. The term is sometimes used as relating to the shore of the sea or other tidal water, or of a lake or other considerable body of water not having the character of a watercourse. But this is not accurate. The proper word to be employed in such connections is littoral. Black's Law Dictionary 1327 (6th ed.1990)(emphasis added). Littoral rights are those [r]ights concerning properties abutting an ocean, sea or lake rather than a river or stream (riparian). Littoral rights are usually concerned with the use and enjoyment of the shore. Watts v. Lawrence, 703 So.2d 236, 238 (Miss.1997) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 934). Stewart v. Hoover, 815 So.2d 1157, 1163 (¶ 19) (Miss.2002). In the boundary line dispute case of Cinque Bambini Partnership v. State, 491 So.2d 508 (Miss.1986), this Court noted a distinction of property rights: while the lands below tidewaters may not be alienated except for high public purposes and generally only with the consent of the legislature, lands below navigable freshwaters are susceptible of wholly private ownership. Id. at 517 & n. 5. ¶ 18. Littoral rights, though, are not property rights per se; they are merely licenses or privileges. Watts v. Lawrence, 703 So.2d 236, 238 (Miss.1997) (citing Miss. State Highway Comm'n v. Gilich, 609 So.2d 367, 375 (Miss.1992)). In Watts, adjoining land owner brought suit challenging his neighbor's right to construct a boathouse. The construction was approved by the Bureau of Marine Resources. We concluded that: Owners of land whose property abut the water at the high watermark are entitled to enjoy their littoral rights. However, these rights are administered through the agency so designated by statute. That agency's procedures and requirements must be followed. 703 So.2d at 239. ¶ 19. The public policy of the State of Mississippi regarding that trust has been stated by the Legislature as the: [p]reservation of the natural state of the public trust tidelands and their ecosystems and to prevent the despoliation and destruction of them, except where a specific alternation of specific public trust tidelands would serve a higher public interest in compliance with the public purposes of the public trust in which such tidelands are held. Miss.Code Ann. § 29-15-3 (Rev.2000). These public purposes have been found to include: navigation and transportation, Rouse v. Saucier's Heirs, 166 Miss. 704, 146 So. 291 (1933); Martin v. O'Brien, 34 Miss. 21 (1857); commerce, Rouse v. Saucier's Heirs, 166 Miss. 704, 146 So. 291 (1933); fishing, State ex rel. Rice v. Stewart, 184 Miss. 202, 231, 184 So. 44, 50 (1938); bathing, swimming and other recreational activities, Treuting v. Bridge and Park Commission of City of Biloxi, 199 So.2d 627, 632-33 (Miss.1967); development of mineral resources, Treuting v. Bridge and Park Commission of City of Biloxi, 199 So.2d 627, 633 (Miss.1967); environmental protection and preservation, Miss.Code. Ann. Secs. 49-27-3 and -5(a) (Supp.1985); the enhancement of aquatic, avarian and marine life, sea agriculture and doubt others. See Marks v. Whitney, 6 Cal.3d 251, 491 P.2d 374, 98 Cal.Rptr. 790 (1971). Suffice it to say that the purposes of the trust have evolved with the needs and sensitivities of the peopleand the capacity of trust properties through proper stewardship to serve those needs. Cinque Bambini P'ship v. State, 491 So.2d at 513. The rules of the Secretary of State reflect the same public purposes. See Rules of Secretary of State for the Administration, Control, and Leasing of Public Trust Tidelands, Rules 1(B) & 4(B)(1) & (2). ¶ 20. Clearly, the littoral property at issue in the case sub judice is subject to the public tidelands trust and the associated rules and regulations. The State of Mississippi is the trustee of the public trust tidelands. The State, as trustee, may not divest itself of its duties. However, the state, by statute, may vest in others the authority to do acts which the trustee cannot practicably be expected to perform. Wiesenberg, 633 So.2d at 997 (citing Turney v. Marion County Bd. of Educ., 481 So.2d 770, 777 (Miss.1985)). The Legislature has done just that. The Secretary of State shall have charge of the swamp and the overflowed lands and indemnity lands in lieu thereof, the internal improvement lands, the lands forfeited to the state for nonpayment of taxes after the time allowed by law for redemption shall have expired, and of all other public lands belonging to or under the control of the state. The regulation, sale and disposition of all such lands shall be made through the secretary of state's office. The secretary of state shall sign all conveyances and leases of any and all state-owned lands and shall record same in a book kept in his office for such purposes. Miss.Code Ann. § 7-11-11 (Rev.2002). ¶ 21. This Court has found that: The Secretary of State is a constitutionally created office and is statutorily responsible for the public trust lands. Wiesenberg, 633 So.2d at 997. In Wiesenberg, we held that the delegation of the management of the tidelands to the Secretary of State was constitutional. Thus, notwithstanding Columbia's contentions to the contrary, the Secretary of State is not merely an administrator. The Secretary of State, subject to approval by the Governor, has been granted via legislative enactment the discretion to enter into leases involving the public tideland property. Miss.Code Ann. § 29-1-107(2) (Rev.2000) states: The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may rent or lease surface lands, tidelands or submerged lands owned or controlled by the State of Mississippi lying in or adjacent to Mississippi Sound or Gulf of Mexico or streams emptying therein, for a period not exceeding forty (40) years for rent payable to the state annually. The lessee under such agreement may construct such necessary items from marking channels, docking, wharfing, mooring or fleeting vessels which shall be in aid of navigation and not obstructions thereto. (emphasis added). This statute unequivocally affords the Secretary of State the discretion to enter into a lease of the public tidelands. ¶ 22. For the foregoing reasons, the Secretary of State has the responsibility of preserving the public trust tidelands for the people of the State of Mississippi.