Two weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in PPL Montana v. Montana. The Court held that the Supreme Court of Montana had incorrectly determined that certain segments of the Upper Missouri, Madison, and Clark Fork Rivers were “navigable” at the time of statehood. The Court therefore set aside the Montana court’s determination that title to the beds of those rivers passed to the state upon statehood under the equal footing doctrine and remanded the case to the Montana Supreme Court for further proceedings consistent with the Court’s opinion.

PPL Montana is a power company that owns and operates hydroelectric dams built on the beds of the Upper Missouri, Madison, and Clark Fork Rivers in Montana. PPL holds federal licenses for its facilities and pays rent to the United States for its use of the riverbeds.

The State of Montana knew of the existence of the facilities for many years, but never claimed title to the riverbeds or asked PPL for compensation. That changed in 2003 when parents of Montana school children sued PPL in federal district court, arguing that PPL had built its facilities on state-owned and school trust lands. The state joined the suit seeking to collect rent from PPL. The case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, and ownership of the riverbeds remained an open question.