Aronow v. Minnesota

On appeal, a state appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the action, holding that the public trust doctrine only applied to navigable waters and did not apply to the atmosphere.

A trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, holding first that the governor was not a proper party because he had no legislative authority to implement the policies sought by the plaintiff. Turning to the merits, the court held that that the public trust doctrine only applies to navigable waters, not the atmosphere. In addition, the court held that the plaintiff had no viable claim under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act given that he had not given the requisite notice and had not sued on behalf of the state, as the statute required.

Our Children’s Trust, an environmental group based in Oregon, filed dozens of lawsuits in federal court and several states asserting that the federal government and state governments had an obligation under the public trust doctrine to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In Minnesota, the group commenced a lawsuit against the State, the Governor, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.