RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

June 2004

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Supreme Court Finds that Sand and Gravel Are Not “Valuable Minerals” under the Pittman Underground Water Act of 1919.
BedRoc Limited, LLC v. United States, 541 U.S.___

On March 31, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a District Court decision granting summary judgment to the government; in reversing the lower court opinions, the Court found that sand and gravel are not “valuable minerals” reserved to the United States by land grants issued under the Pittman Underground Water Act of 1919 (Pittman Act).