Opinion ID: 112480
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Oyster Bed Island and the Mouth of the River

Text: Oyster Bed Island, which was not in existence in 1787 and which emerged in the 1870's or 1880's, is one of the most easterly or downstream islands in the Savannah River. It lies north of Cockspur Island and southeast of Turtle Island. Both Turtle Island and its westerly neighbor, Jones Island, are now conceded by the parties to be in South Carolina. Georgia accepts the Special Master's location of the boundary between the two States immediately upstream and west of Oyster Bed as midway between Jones Island and certain Georgia islands in the river. Ga. Exceptions 38-39. Georgia complains, however, that west of Oyster Bed, opposite the southern point of Turtle Island, the Special Master's recommended boundary departs from the middle of the stream and, going east, makes an abrupt jog [to the southeast] to reach the navigation channel of the river. Id., at 38. The result is that Oyster Bed Island is placed in South Carolina, a consequence, Georgia says, that is contrary to this Court's 1922 ruling in Georgia v. South Carolina, supra . Georgia fortifies this argument by asserting that in the 1870's a major navigation channel of the river flowed north of Oyster Bed, but that the Corps of Engineers blocked this northern channel by a training wall and later by deposit of hydraulic fill in order to force the water into the channel south of Oyster Bed. It stresses that only Georgia has exercised dominion and control over Oyster Bed and, indeed, ceded it to the United States in 1820. It seems to us that this portion of the controversy between the two States centers on the determination of the mouth of the Savannah River and encounters no inconsistency with what this Court said in Georgia v. South Carolina. The Savannah River's mouth was not defined in the Treaty of Beaufort. Georgia argues that the mouth, as referred to in the Treaty, must be located in the vicinity of Tybee Island, rather than somewhat upstream. Tybee lies south and east of Cockspur. We accept that submission and regard Tybee as forming the south side of the river's mouth. Usually, there are two opposing headlands marking and constituting the mouth of a river. See Knight v. United States Land Assn., 142 U. S. 161, 207 (1891) (Field, J., concurring). This is the headland-to-headland principle used in defining the limits of bays and rivers. 2 A. Shalowitz, Shore and Sea Boundaries § 141, p. 367 (1964). It is not always that simple, however. Sometimes the mouth of a river is difficult to delineate. See S. Jones, Boundary-Making: A Handbook 130 (1945). Because of the absence of a reasonably close headland to the north, Georgia is driven to argue that the boundary at the mouth of the Savannah River must be the geographical middle between Tybee and the closest points of land in South Carolina, that is, Daufuskie Island, lying north and northeastward of Turtle Island, and Hilton Head Island, almost six miles north of Tybee. We conclude that this is not a realistic determination of the Savannah River's mouth, and we agree with the Special Master in rejecting the argument. The difficulty lies in the fact that Tybee Island, the most seaward point of land on the southern side of the river, has no counterpart of high land on the northern side. The geographical feature taking the place of the customarily present opposing headland is, instead, a shoal, long recognized as confining the river. It is true, of course, that the Corps of Engineers affected the flow by its training wall and hydraulic fill. But the shoal which directed that flow has been recognized for many years. Furthermore, Hilton Head Island and Daufuskie Island are so far distant that it is impossible to say that they even touch the Savannah River. Given this somewhat uncommon type of river mouth, the Special Master's conclusion that the northern side of the Savannah's mouth is the underwater shoal is not unreasonable. To accept Georgia's proposition here would result in having Georgia waters lie directly seaward of South Carolina's coast and waters. Georgia's exception with respect to Oyster Bed Island and the mouth of the Savannah River is overruled.