The U.S. Supreme Court declined to allow Utah’s request to file a lawsuit that disputed the federal government’s possession of over 18.5 million acres of land in the state.
No other court has heard the case. Utah had asked the Supreme Court to be the first, citing the high court’s so-called original jurisdiction in inter-governmental disputes under the U.S. Constitution, but the justices did not grant the state’s motion.
No justices dissented from the ruling. The court did not explain its decision.
The proposed lawsuit reflected long-standing tensions between local residents and federal land-use policies across the western part of the nation.
In the motion, Utah said that 18.5 million of the bureau’s 22.8 million acres in the state do not possess land-use designations, and this means they are “unappropriated … without any clear Congressional designation” and should be returned to state management.
Utah argued that when it attained statehood in 1896, the federal government had a “duty to dispose” of “unappropriated lands” in the state “not reserved for another purpose,” such as a national park.
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the U.S. Constitution gave the federal government the power to acquire the land at issue in the case and “also permits the United States to hold those lands today.”
The Property Clause in Article IV gives Congress authority to make “all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.”
A provision in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act that created a policy providing that “‘public lands be retained in Federal ownership,’ … falls squarely within that grant of authority,” she wrote.
Prelogar wrote that Utah’s proposed lawsuit was “untimely” because it came 176 years after the federal government acquired the land at issue, 128 years after Utah attained statehood, and 48 years after Congress approved the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
“Until recently, Utah acquiesced in federal possession of the lands; indeed, its state constitution disclaims any interest in the lands, and in the early 20th century, its governor rejected an offer to cede the lands to the State,” she added.
Environmentalist groups were pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision not to accept the case, which they say could have cleared the way for energy exploration and privatization on upwards of 200 million acres of public land in the Western United States.
Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Attorney General Brown, and Utah State Legislature leaders expressed disappointment at the new ruling in a joint statement.
They vowed to “continue to fight to keep public lands in public hands because it is our stewardship, heritage and home.”
The Epoch Times reached out for comment to Utah’s attorney in the case, Paul Clement of Clement and Murphy in Alexandria, Virginia, and the U.S. Department of Justice. No replies were received as of publication time.
