Skip to main content
Arizona State Library Logo

Main menu

  • Home
  • About
    • Volunteering Opportunities
      • Volunteer at the Arizona Talking Book Library
      • Volunteer at the Capitol Museum
      • Volunteer at the Research Library
    • Boards and Commissions
    • Contact Us
  • Branches
    • Archives
      • Accessing Arizona Public Records
      • Archives and Records Management Policies
      • Conservation Disaster Recovery
      • Contact
      • Programs, Training, and Presentations
        • Class Offerings
      • Research at the Archives
        • Ancestry.com Arizona
        • Arizona State Agency Records and Publications
        • Genealogy Collection
          • Genealogy Information Portals
          • Ten Basic Steps to Researching Your Family Tree
        • Maps at the Arizona State Archives
        • Photograph Collections
          • Photograph Collection List
        • Arizona Women's Hall of Fame
    • Arizona Capitol Museum
      • About the Arizona Capitol Museum
      • Capitol Museum Store
      • Capitol Museum Tours
      • Educator Resources
      • Exhibits
        • Online Art Exhibits
        • Online Exhibits
      • Museum Events
        • Celebrating Suffrage: More than the 19th Amendment
      • Museum Guild
      • Plan your Visit
        • Explore the Capitol
      • Reserve a Room
      • Visitor Satisfaction Survey
      • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Arizona Talking Book Library
    • E-Rate
    • Library Development
      • Arizona Center for the Book
      • Arizona Reading Program
      • Contact Library Development
      • Continuing Education
        • Arizona State Library Leadership Institute
        • Arizona State Library Summer Institute
        • Get Involved Collaborative
        • Library Practitioner Certification
        • Scholarships
      • Grants
      • Library Directory
      • Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) Funding
      • Programs, Services and Tools
      • State Grants-in-Aid (SGIA)
    • Records Management
      • Records Center Services
        • Records Warehouse and Vault
      • Retention Schedules, Forms, Standards, Guidance and FAQs
        • Forms and Approvals
        • Guidance, Standards and Statutes
        • Retention Schedules
    • State of Arizona Research Library
      • Arizona Collection
      • Arizona Newspapers
      • Federal Agency Publications and Information
      • Legal Resources
      • Legislative Assistance and Resources
      • Our Locations
      • Patent and Trademark Resources
      • Research Center
      • Research for State Employees
      • State Publications
      • State of Arizona Research Library Policies
  • Collections
    • Digital Arizona Library (DAZL)
      • Online Reference Resources
      • Resources for Learners
        • Elementary Students
        • High School and Junior High
        • Research Topics
      • Arizona Memory Project
      • Arizona Historic Digital Newspapers
      • Arizona Almanac
      • Arizona Government
        • Historic Arizona Legislatures
        • Documents Leading to Statehood
        • Historic Election Materials
        • State Agency Histories
      • Arizona Maps Online
      • Arizona Research Topics
      • Reading Arizona eBooks
    • Arizona State Knowledge (ASK)
    • Arizona Talking Book Library Online Catalog
    • Braille and Audio Reading Download
    • Research Library Catalog
  • Services
    • Jobline
    • Library Directory
    • Library Services
    • Reserve a Room
    • Retention Schedules
  • Events
  • Home
  • Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission (ANSAC)

Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission (ANSAC)

Arizona State Library, Archives & Records COVID-19 Response – Temporarily suspending all in-person services, while maintaining our statutory responsibilities

What our office is doing

  • Our number one goal is to keep the public and our employees safe
  • The situation related to COVID-19 is rapidly developing, as is the response from this office and the state. Please check back regularly for updates
  • We are committed to providing continuity of services while reducing exposure risks
  • In-person trainings for ALL divisions are on hold until further notice. Divisions will hold trainings by webinar as needed.
  • Department staff will attend community meetings virtually or by phone, when available.
  • Services impacted:
    • In-person Patent and Trademark Resource Center consultations
    • The Arizona Capitol Museum is closed until further notice.
    • In-person retrieval and immediate checkout of materials to patrons of Arizona Talking Book Library
    • Walk-in reference service for Archives & the Research Library

Services that are available online or by phone

  • Ask a Question - online reference service
  • Digital Arizona Library, including statewide electronic resources
    • COVID-19 Resources for Arizona Libraries
    • Stay-at-Home Learning Tools
  • Records retention schedules assistance
  • Arizona Talking Book Library requests and link to downloads
  • Tools and resources for library staff
  • Online continuing education for library staff
    • Library Services Newsletter
    • Library Development Event Calendar
    • Continuing Education Upcoming Events
  • Consulting for library staff on grants, electronic resources, digital inclusion efforts, Public Library Survey and all library services
  • Communications channel for County Librarians
  • E-rate Services offered online and by phone
  • Arizona Capitol Museum Giftshop orders can still be placed online
  • Arizona Capitol Museum collections can be viewed online through the Arizona Memory Project and Google Cultural Institute
  • Arizona Capitol Museum staff can respond to email and phone call inquiries.

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

__Panel_Title__

______________

Revision Date: 
Monday, July 15, 2019

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission

Authority:

Statutory authority to collect evidence, conduct hearings and make decisions is found at A.R.S. § 37-1101 et seq. The Commission was established by Laws 1992, Chapter 297; however Laws 2001, Chapter 166 revised the adjudication process.


Function:

ANSAC is a five-member commission charged with the responsibility to review historical evidence, conduct investigations and determine the navigability of Arizona’s 39,039 watercourses at the time of statehood (February 14, 1912) in order to determine title and ownership of the streambed. The review applies to rivers and streams in the state, but does not apply to the Colorado River.


History:

If a body of water or watercourse was navigable at the time of statehood, title to the bed of the stream or lake passed to the state upon admission into the Union. A navigable watercourse is defined as one that, at the time of statehood, was used or could be used, in its ordinary and natural condition, as a highway for commerce, over which trade and travel were or could have been conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water. (A.R.S. §37-1101) Title to beds of waters that were not navigable at the time of statehood may pass to private landowners.

Since 1985, a series of lawsuits and legislative enactments has attempted to resolve the issue of streambed ownership in Arizona. Laws 1987, Chapter 127, which disclaimed the state’s interest in all watercourses in the state except for the Gila, Verde and Salt Rivers, was determined to be unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals in 1991 (Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest v. Hassell). In response to the Hassell case, the Legislature established the five-member Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission (ANSAC) in 1992 and outlined its duties and responsibilities to ‘collect and consider relevant historical evidence regarding navigability of watercourses in the state as of February 14, 1913, and based on the evidence determine navigable, non-navigable and identify public trust values associated with navigable watercourses. The Arizona State Land Department was required to assemble and document evidence to be used by ANSAC. Created as a separate agency, ANSAC’s charge was to review evidence presented by the State Land Department and other persons regarding navigability of Arizona’s 39,039 watercourses.

Laws 1994, Chapter 277 outlined standards to be used by ANSAC in their determinations and required a report of findings and recommendations to be submitted to the Legislature. The Legislature was obligated to conduct hearings and take action based on the recommendations. The ANSAC held more than 50 hearings and submitted recommendations in 1998, 1999 and 2000 reporting non-navigability for 14 rivers, two creeks and small and minor watercourses in three counties. The Legislature ratified those findings which prompted a lawsuit alleging violation of the constitutional gift clause and the public trust doctrine.

On February 13, 2001, the Court of Appeals held the statutory standards used by ANSAC to determine navigability invalid (Defenders of Wildlife v. Governor Jane Dee Hull). Laws 2001, Chapter 166 repealed earlier legislative ratifications of ANSAC’s findings and directed ANSAC to begin the adjudication process again. Since then, ANSAC has found all of Arizona’s 39,039 watercourses to have been non-navigable at the time of statehood, and therefore subject to private ownership. Various parties appealed ANSAC determinations regarding watercourses in Pima County and Maricopa County. In 2018, ANSAC issued determinations for the last five rivers under consideration: San Pedro, Santa Cruz, Salt, Verde and Gila rivers. As of July 2019, ANSAC determinations of non-navigability for the Salt, Verde and Gila Rivers have been appealed in Maricopa County Superior Court. Final briefs are due November 2019, at which time a judge is expected to set a date for oral arguments.

ANSAC has been extended several times and is scheduled to terminate on June 30, 2024 (A.R.S. § 37-1121). Statute requires ANSAC to transmit its records to the Arizona Secretary of State.


Sources:

  • Arizona Revised Statutes § 37-1101 et seq.
  • Session laws:
    • Laws 1987, Chapter 127
    • Laws 1992, Chapter 297
    • Laws 1994, Chapter 277
    • Laws 1998, Chapter 43
    • Laws 2001, Chapter 166
    • Laws 2002, Chapter 102
    • Laws 2006, Chapter 34
    • Laws 2008, Chapter 42
    • Laws 2011, Chapter 39
    • Laws 209, Chapter 26

Master List of State Government Programs
Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission
JLBC Staff Program Summary July 29, 2019
George Mehnert, ANSAC Executive Director. Interview July 15, 2019

Agency Histories

Starl Logo

General Information

Phone: 602-926-3870

Contact Us ask a question icon

Follow the State Library

Twitter - Arizona Capitol Museum Facebook - State Library of Arizona WordPress - Virtual Reference Desk

Arizona State Seal
Contact Us
Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records
Multiple Locations
See Contact Us Page
Map Image

Footer Nav

  • Statewide Policies
  • Site Map
  • Website Policies
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Login