HEARTS BLUFF GAME RANCH, INC., PETITIONER, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, RESPONDENTS, 381 S.W.3d 468

Summary

The owner bought property within the bounds of a potential reservoir site previously identified by the State. At the time of the purchase, the owner was aware both that the State was considering creating the reservoir and that the land was within the reservoir's footprint. The owner applied to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for a mitigation banking permit. In response to the Corps' request for public comment on the application, the State indicated that it did not favor the establishment of a federal mitigation bank on the reservoir site. The Corps denied the permit. The court held that there was no compensable taking under U.S. Const. amend. V and Tex. Const. art. I, § 17 because the State had no authority to act on the permit application and thus did not cause its denial; the Corps was the only body with regulatory authority to grant or deny mitigation banking permits. Moreover, there was no evidence in the record showing that the State acted in bad faith. As to the owner's...