About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-243670 1 (1991-11-05)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadnza0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ComptroUer General /) of the United States Washington, Df, 20548 Decision Matter of: James M. Simons - Claim for Damages to Land Corps of Engineers Waterway Project File: B-243670 Date: November 5, 1991 DIGEST A property owner claims that flooding caused by a hydroelec- tric plant constructed as part of an Army Corps of Engineers water rediversion project has destroyed the value of his land, The owner has not established a claim undet the Fifth Amendment's taking clause because the project was a legit- imate exercise of the government's dominant servitude over navigable waterways under the Commerce Clause. The govern- ment's dominant servitude applies to the entire area below the ordinary high water mark of the waterway, within which this land lies, and the hydroelectric plant is an appropri- ate collateral project to the wateir rediversion. DECISION Mr. James M. Simons appeals our Claims Group settlement, Z-2866768, April 12, 1991, denying his claim for $55,000, which, Mr. Simons states, represents the property value he has lost because of an Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) water rediversion project. For the reasons stated belowe, the Claims Group's settlement is affirmed. BACKGROUN1D This case arose out of the Corps' Cooper River Rediversion Project, located near St. Stevens, South Carolina, In 1942, to generate hydroelectric power and provide a navigation channel to Columbia, the state of South Carolina diverted a substantial part of the Santee River's flow into the nearby Cooper River. A side effect of the 1942 project was increased shoaling in Charleston Harbor, into which the Cooper empties. The increased shoaling became a serious problem to navigation, and, to alleviate the problem, Congress authorized the Corps of Engineers to undertake the rediversion project to restore the flow of the two rivers to approximately their pre-1942 levels. As part of the project, the Corps constructed a canal to carry the rediverted water to the Santee River. Because the

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most