Title 41. Public Lands

Chapter 6. School Lands

Part I. In General

41:642      Sixteenth section lands; erosion; title and revenues

A. (1) The trustee title of the state of Louisiana to those sixteenth section or indemnity lands granted by congress to the state of Louisiana as trustee for the benefit of the school children of the township in which such lands are located, shall be deemed transferred to the state of Louisiana in its sovereign capacity when such lands become a part of the bed of any body of navigable water as a result of erosion, subsidence of the surface, action of a navigable stream, bay, lake, or the Gulf of Mexico, or other similar occurrence; however, except as provided for in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, revenues generated by such former lands held in trust shall be credited to the account of the current school fund of the parish having an interest in the sixteenth section or indemnity school lands to ensure the purposes of the original grant, and in accordance with the procedures established herein. 

(2)(a) In the event any such eroded or subsided lands are covered by an existing oil and gas lease or other contract granted by the state in its sovereign capacity, all proceeds from production and other revenues, generated after July 1, 2007, and attributable to the eroded lands, shall be credited to the account of the current school fund of the parish having an interest in the sixteenth section or indemnity lands. 

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, in the event that sixteenth section lands are comprised entirely of state-owned water bottoms and no school indemnity lands were provided for the sixteenth section lands, all proceeds received by the state from production and other revenues generated after July 1, 2007, from any oil and gas lease or other contract granted by the state in its sovereign capacity attributable to the sixteenth section lands shall be credited, subject to an appropriation specifically for proceeds attributable to Fiscal Years 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010, to the account of the school fund of the parish in which the sixteenth section lands are located. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2010-2011 and thereafter, the proceeds shall be credited to the account of the current school fund of the parish in which the sixteenth section lands are located. The secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources shall certify to the treasurer the amount of proceeds to be credited pursuant to this Subparagraph. 

B. Proof of the extent of erosion or subsidence which may have occurred after the title to the sixteenth section land or indemnity lands vested in the state as trustee for the benefit of the school children of the townships in which the lands are located shall be made by the school board having an interest therein to the Department of Energy and Natural Resources and shall consist of a certified map or plat of survey prepared by a professional land surveyor qualified and currently licensed by the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board, showing the exact extent of land claimed to be lost through erosion or subsidence and by evidence as may be required by the secretary showing the extent of the erosion or subsidence claimed. 

Added by Acts 1982, No. 648, § 1, eff. July 22, 1982. Amended by Acts 2003, No. 279, § 6; Acts 2007, No. 158, § 1, eff. July 1, 2007; Acts 2010, No. 971, § 1; Acts 2023, No. 150, § 15, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.