Pace Environmental Law Review Volume 13 Issue 2 Spring 1996 Article 28 Symposium Edition April 1996 On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks: Public Access to the Hudson River Matthew R. Atkinson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr Recommended Citation Matthew R. Atkinson, On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks: Public Access to the Hudson River, 13 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 747 (1996) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr/vol13/iss2/28 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace Environmental Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks: Public Access to the Hudson River MATTHw R. ATKINSON* Table of Contents I. Introduction .................................... 749 II. High-Speed Ground Transportation ............ 753 A. The New York State Plan .................. 753 B. The Regulatory Structure ................... 758 C. Specific Impacts on Hudson River Access ... 761 D. Procedural Review of Adverse Impacts to Access ....................... .............. 764 III. Substantive Law Affecting Access to the Hudson R iver ........................................... 767 A. The Public Trust Doctrine .................. 767 1. Introduction ............................ 767 2. Background ............................. 768 a. Historical Antecedents .............. 768 b. State Law Variations ............... 769 c. Federal Law ........................ 772 i. Commerce Clause ............... 773 ii. Treaty Law ...................... 774 iii. Eminent Domain ................ 775 iv. Admission of States into the U nion ........................... 777 * Fellow, Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc., Pace University School of Law. J.D. 1994, Pace University School of Law; A.B.