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2 SandBar 1 (2003)

handle is hein.journals/sndbr2 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Reporter for the National Sea Grant College Program Volume 2:1, 2003 Gradual Takings Claim Not Barred by Statute of Limitations Banks v. U.S., 314 E3d 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2003). Jason Savarese, 2L The Federal Circuit recently addressed the time limits for filing a gradual takings lawsuit, in which a landowner argues that his property has been taken by government action over the course of sev- eral years. Background A group of landowners with acreage running along four miles of Lake Michigan sued the U.S. claiming marina jetties installed by the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) were causing a gradual, yet steady erosion of their properties. Although the shorelines of the Great Lakes naturally erode, the erosion had been accelerated over the years by the construction of the harbor jetties, built by the Corps in Lake Michigan's St. Joseph Harbor around 1903. The jetties were upgraded using sandtight steel sheet piling from 1950 through 1989. These improvements doubled the annual, natural erosion rate of Lake Michigan's littoral land abutting the jetties from one to two feet per year. Because of the increased erosion surrounding St. Joseph Harbor, the Corps developed a sand mit- igation plan pursuant to the Rivers and Harbors Act.1 For over fifteen years the Corps attempted to mitigate the erosion by nourishing and replenish- ing the beaches with fine sand. In 1986, the Corps switched to coarser materials with a longer reten- tion time on the beach. The Lawsuit The landowners sued the United States in July of 1999, charging the Corps with restricting the nat- ural flow of sand and river sediment to their prop- erties, causing a slow, yet unceasing taking of their littoral land without just compensation. The own- ers claimed these jetties and some dredging pro- jects had permanently taken away sand needed to replenish the naturally eroding shorelines along Lake Michigan. The Corps moved to dismiss for lack of juris- diction, arguing that the takings occurred more See Banks, page 6 NMFS Strengthens Sea Turtle Protections Stephanie Showalter, .D., M.S.E.L. On February 21, 2003, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a final rule strengthening the protections for endangered and threatened sea turtles. The NMFS amended its tur- tle excluder device (TED) regulations to improve the effectiveness of the regulation in reducing sea turtle mortality in the southeastern United States. The final rule took effect on April 15, 2003. However, the Gulf Area received a grace period until August 21, 2003. All five endangered or threatened sea turtles are found within U.S. waters. Large loggerhead and leatherback turtles can be found in the state See Sea Turtle, page 15

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