Utah Wants Federal Lands – Legal Battle Looms
A brewing legal battle between the state of Utah and the federal government looks a little like high stakes poker. The Los Angeles Times reports that Utah lawmakers are looking to go all the way to the Supreme Court to get eminent domain powers over some large land parcels now federally owned.
Land use groups estimate some 60% of Utah’s land is owned by the federal government, sparking claims of economic hardship from state officials who say the lack of potential revenue is crippling the state education budget. Some of the controversy goes all the way back to agreements made at the time of Utah’s official grant of statehood according to some Utah officials.
According to the AP report, the state is ready to put its chips on the table in the form of 3 million dollars earmarked for legal defense. State lawmakers say this is a small sum in relation to the revenues the state could get from control of the disputed lands.
At the core of the issue, according to some sources, is the general policy of current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to deny oil and gas leases on some of the Utah land parcels that are federally administrated. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, with its coal reserves, represents another possible land grab by Utah administrators.
Legal professionals involved in this kind of high stakes real estate law will want to watch this case carefully to see if Utah’s efforts will open the gates for a flood of eminent domain claims against the federal government. The outcome of this and similar cases will have a huge effect on state and federal budgets while setting important precedents for real estate law as it applies to multiple levels of government. The case may also shed some light on how public energy policies come into play in conflicts over America’s natural protected lands.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
