A Conundrum: Who Owns Louisiana Land After It Washes Away?
8th February 2020
Louisiana’s continual land loss has created a monumental legal headache: When privately owned land vanishes under the water, who does it belong to?
A task force created in the summer of 2018 to come up with policy recommendations sent its list of possible solutions to state lawmakers Friday, ahead of their regular session.
The problem is a result of the state’s rapidly changing landscape. About 80 percent of Louisiana’s coast is privately owned. But, under an old law, as coastal erosion and sea level rise turn the land into open water the area becomes property of the state, including the mineral rights underneath.