The Federal Public Trust Doctrine: Misinterpreting Justice Kennedy and Illinois Central Railroad

32 Pages Posted: 25 Jan 2015 Last revised: 2 Jun 2015

See all articles by Michael C. Blumm

Michael C. Blumm

Lewis & Clark College - Lewis & Clark Law School; Lewis & Clark College Paul L Boley Library

Lynn Schaffer

Independent

Date Written: January 23, 2015

Abstract

In Alec L. v. McCarthy, an atmospheric trust case, the D.C. Circuit, in an unreflective opinion, rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that the public trust doctrine demanded action on the part of the federal government to curb atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. The court relied on dicta in Supreme Court opinions to declare the public trust doctrine inapplicable to the federal government, but instead exists solely as a creature of state law.

In this contribution to the journal Environmental Law's 2015 public trust doctrine symposium, we take issue with the D.C. Circuit’s conclusory opinion, maintaining that it relied on a misreading of the Supreme Court’s articulation of the public trust doctrine in Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, a century-old opinion in which the Court struck down a state conveyance of Chicago Harbor to the railroad as a violation of the public trust doctrine without any discernible reliance on state law. Consequently, we think the D.C. Circuit erred in interpreting the Illinois Central opinion as a reflection of state law. Recent statements by Justice Kennedy concerning the distinction between the equal footing and public trust doctrines were also misinterpreted by the D.C. Circuit.

We contend that the public trust doctrine is an inherent limit on all sovereign authority, not just states. The Illinois Central opinion was an application of the Tenth Amendment’s reserved powers doctrine, which reserves rights “to the people.” Just as the Supreme Court limited state sovereignty to enjoin Illinois from privatizing Chicago Harbor, the reserved powers doctrine expressed in the Tenth Amendment applies equally to the federal government, a government of limited powers. Implementing the federal public trust doctrine calls for close judicial oversight of federal conveyances of public resources or attempts to grant monopolies in public resources, not judicial deference. We think that this judicial skepticism is necessary if the federal government is to fulfill its sovereign duty to protect and preserve public resources for future generations.

Keywords: environmental law, natural resources law, public property, public trust doctrine, federal courts

JEL Classification: K11, K32, N1, Q15, Q22, Q25, Q28, R52

Suggested Citation

Blumm, Michael C. and Schaffer, Lynn, The Federal Public Trust Doctrine: Misinterpreting Justice Kennedy and Illinois Central Railroad (January 23, 2015). 45 Environmental Law 399 (2015), Lewis & Clark Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2554614

Michael C. Blumm (Contact Author)

Lewis & Clark College - Lewis & Clark Law School ( email )

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Lewis & Clark College Paul L Boley Library ( email )

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Lynn Schaffer

Independent ( email )

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