Clark, 082113 INAGO, AGO 2013-6

Case DateAugust 21, 2013
CourtIndiana
Mr. Cameron Clark
AGO 2013-6
Official Opinion No. 2013-6
State of Indiana Office of the Attorney General
August 21, 2013
         Mr. Cameron Clark          Director          Department of Natural Resources          402 W. Washington St.          Indianapolis, IN 46204          RE: State Boundary on the Wabash River          Dear Mr. Clark:          By letter dated May 7, 2013, you requested the Attorney General’s opinion concerning how the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) should best determine the ownership of oil and gas interests and other minerals located underneath the bed of the Wabash River, recognizing that the course of the river has change over time. This question could be restated as, how the DNR can determine the border between Indiana and Illinois on that portion that is determined by the Wabash River?          BRIEF ANSWER          The doctrines of accretion and avulsion which apply to private property owners also applies to state borders when the border is described as the “middle of the river.” Therefore, the Wabash River portion of the Indiana-Illinois border varies as the river meanders from time to time but would become fixed at that locations were an avulsion has occurred. The DNR can best determine the ownership of oil and gas interests by determining the current course of the Wabash River and accounting for any avulsions over the years. Indiana would control the eastern portion of the river up to its thalweg.          ANALYSIS          The Indiana Constitution defines the borders of Indiana as follows:
The state of Indiana is bounded, on the East, by the meridian line, which forms the western boundary of the State of Ohio; on the South, by the Ohio river, from the mouth of the Great Miami river to the mouth of the Wabash river; on the West, by a line drawn along the middle of the Wabash river, from its mouth to a point where a due north line, drawn from the town of Vincennes, would last touch the north-western shore of said Wabash river; and, thence, by a due north line, until the same shall intersect an east and west line, drawn through a point ten miles north of the southern extreme of Lake Michigan; on
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