The Department of Administration (DOA) is charged with managing and controlling the State’s submerged lands. DOA does not have a comprehensive inventory of lands submerged under navigable rivers, so the extent to which private parties may hold title to these lands is unknown. Whereas DOA grants and tracks certain types of easements, it does not require easements for many structures built on lands submerged under navigable rivers and does not exercise its authority to lease or convey mineral deposits for most mining on submerged lands. The General Assembly could consider requiring DOA to improve its management and tracking of submerged lands and creating a submerged lands claims process based on a process North Carolina used for 25 coastal counties in the past.
Relevant Legislation:
- Senate Bill 282 (2015–16): An act to improve the oversight and management of state-owned submerged lands, including initiating a process to inventory claims on state-owned submerged lands. This legislation was not enacted.
- House Bill 13 (2013–14) proposed requiring improvement of the oversight and management of state-owned submerged lands, including initiating a process to inventory claims on state-owned submerged lands. This legislation was not enacted.