Opinion ID: 1667387
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Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Doctrine of Accretion Arkansas

Text: Accretion is the gradual deposit and addition of soil along the bank of a waterbody caused by the gradual shift of the waterbody away from the accreting bank. 8-A Williams & Meyers, Oil and Gas Law § 51 (2003). It is well settled in our case law that when accretion land is formed by a gradual and imperceptible alteration in the land, the ownership of the land vests in the riparian owner from whose shore or bank the water receded. Warren v. Chambers, 25 Ark. 120 (1867). Almost thirty years after Warren v. Chambers, supra , in the case of Wallace v. Driver, 61 Ark. 429, 33 S.W. 641 (1896), we explained that while the land contiguous to water may change ownership where the change is gradual and imperceptible, the true test `as to what is gradual and imperceptible in the sense of the rule is that, though the witnesses may see from time to time that progress has been made, they could not perceive it while the process was going on.' Wallace v. Driver, 61 Ark. at 429, 33 S.W. at 642. As a general rule, the water itself is a natural boundary and contiguous landowner's rights change as the natural boundary lines change. Wallace v. Driver, supra . This court has dealt with cases that are similar to the instant appeal. For example, in Kansas City Fibre Box Co. v. Burkart Mfg. Co., 184 Ark. 704, 44 S.W.2d 325 (1931), the appeal involved a question regarding the ownership of property contiguous to the Arkansas River where timber was being cut. The timber had originally been located in the river bed. Over time, the river boundary changed paths, leaving the timber on accretion land. The court, after stating that the law concerning accretion is beyond dispute, held that the additional land formed by accretion belonged to the contiguous landowner. Kansas City Fibre Box Co., supra (citing Nix v. Pfeifer, 73 Ark. 199, 83 S.W. 951 (1904)). More on point, perhaps, is the case of Porter v. Arkansas Western Gas Co., 252 Ark. 958, 482 S.W.2d 598 (1972), where the gas company sought to have ownership determined for a gas well located on a piece of land near the Arkansas River. Although the appellants contended that the land was an island, the court concluded that the area was a non-navigable area and that title vested in the riparian owners. Id. While the facts in the Porter case and this case are not identical, this court has consistently held that additional land formed from the river's change in flow generally belongs to the riparian owners of the contiguous land. See Wyatt v. Wycough, 232 Ark. 760, 341 S.W.2d 18 (1960); Desha v. Erwin, 168 Ark. 555, 270 S.W. 965 (1925); Yutterman v. Grier, 112 Ark. 366, 166 S.W. 749 (1914). The common law doctrine of accretion has also been codified by the Arkansas legislature with the enactment of Ark.Code Ann. § 22-5-404 (2004), which statute acknowledges that title vests in riparian landowners when lands emerge by accretion from lakes or river beds. Specifically, section 22-5-404 states as follows: (a) The title to all lands which have formed or may form in the beds of nonnavigable lakes, or in abandoned river channels or beds, whether or not still navigable, which reformed lands or alluvia are above the ordinary high-water mark, shall vest in the riparian owners to the lands and shall be assessed and taxed as other lands. (b) The lands referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall include those lands which have emerged or which may emerge by accretion, reliction, evaporation, drainage, or otherwise from the beds of lakes or from former navigable streams, whether by natural or artificial causes, or whether or not the lakes were originally formed from the channel or course of navigable or nonnavigable streams. Ark.Code Ann. § 22-5-404 (2004) (Emphasis added). Furthermore, section 22-5-405 provides in relevant part: (a) The Commissioner of State Lands is empowered and authorized to execute deeds to lands described in § 22-5-404 to riparian owners upon application and the filing of proof of record ownership of adjacent lands and proof of proper survey of the lands, conveying all the right, title, and interest of the State of Arkansas to lands as have emerged or may emerge to the mean high-water mark of any such stream or lake. Ark.Code Ann. § 22-5-405 (2004). According to the plain language of the statute, title to all lands which have been formed . . . in the abandoned river channels or beds . . . shall vest in the riparian owners . .. Ark.Code Ann. § 22-5-404(a). Thus, under that section, and under common law, title vests in the riparian landowner by virtue of the land emerging by accretion. The following section, Ark.Code Ann. § 22-5-405, which empowers the State Land Commissioner to execute deeds to riparian owners upon application, merely serves as a means to confirm title in the adjacent riparian owner of accretions to his or her property. River Land Co., Inc. v. McAlexander, 10 Ark.App. 123, 661 S.W.2d 451 (1983); Gill v. Porter, 248 Ark. 140, 450 S.W.2d 306 (1970) (statutes at issue designed to furnish a means by which the State can acknowledge the abandonment of a river bed). Although Stephens Production admits that the appellants obtained quitclaim deeds from the State of Arkansas pursuant to Section 22-5-404, it nonetheless cites the case of Hillard v. Stephens, 276 Ark. 545, 637 S.W.2d 581 (1982), for the proposition that oil and gas leases should have special legal recognition due to the fact that oil and gas leases are more than conveyances of determinable interests in the oil and gas below the lands which they cover. Furthermore, Stephens Production contends that, due to the express terms of the State lease, that lease continues to run with the land because the lease provisions state any conveyance of any interest in said production and/or royalties hereafter made while this lease is in full force and effect shall be made subject to this agreement. Stephens Productions' reliance on Hillard v. Stephens, supra ., is misplaced. In that case, we merely construed certain provisions contained in the respective oil and gas leases. Hillard is certainly not authority for the proposition that an oil and gas lessee continues to hold mineral lease rights in the land where due to accretion title becomes vested in a subsequent riparian landowner. Likewise, the express provisions of the State's lease fail to support the assertion by Stephens Production that the State lease continues to run with the accreted land. Unlike a conveyance where a grantor transfers title to a grantee, when land accretes, ownership of the land vests automatically in the riparian landowner both under the common law doctrine of accretion and Section 22-5-404. As explained earlier, the issuance of a quitclaim deed by the State of Arkansas is merely confirmation of title. River Land Co., Inc. v. McAlexander, supra ; Gill v. Porter, supra . As the accreted land was not transferred by conveyance and it is no longer acreage contributed by the State to the drilling unit, the State lease no longer applies to the accretion lands.