Easement

“ Land subject to a wetland reserve easement may be used for compatible economic uses, including such activities as hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, or periodic haying or grazing, if such use is specifically permitted by the wetland reserve easement plan and is consistent with the long-term protection and enhancement of the wetland resources for which the easement was established. ”

“ Upon the third point, the law in Massachusetts is well settled, that where a mere easement is taken for a public highway, the soil and freehold remains in the owner of the land, encumbered only with the easement, and that upon the discontinuance of the highway, the soil and freehold revert to the owner of the land (4 Mass. Rep. 427, 6 Id. 454, 13 Id. 259, 16 Id. 33.) ”

“ That maximum is more simply expressed in the criterion adopted by the Commission, i.e., 'the difference in the value of the land with and without the flowage easement.' Subject to that maximum, the actual measure of compensation payable for he flowage easement is the value of the easement to its owner. ”

“ They are divided into (a) affirmative or positive, those which authorize the commission of an act by the dominant owner, e.g. rights of way, a right to draw water from a spring, rights of aqueduct, and negative, when the easement restricts the rights of the servient owner over his own property, e.g. prevents him from building on land so as to obstruct ancient lights (cf. also the right to the support of neighbouring soil) ; (b) continuous, of which the enjoyment may be continual without the interference of man, e.g. ”

“ In the familiar case where a man lays out a street or public highway over his land, there is, strictly speaking, no grantee of the easement, but it takes effect by way of grant or dedication to public uses. ”

“ Priority– In evaluating applications under the program, the Secretary may give priority to land that is currently enrolled in the conservation reserve program in a contract that is set to expire within 1 year and—
(1) in the case of an agricultural land easement, is grassland that would benefit from protection under a long-term easement; and (2) in the case of a wetland easement, is a wetland or related area with the highest functions and value and is likely to return to production after the land leaves the conservation reserve program. ”

“ The District Court and the Court of Appeals were correct in holding that a flowage easement over fast lands adjoining a navigable stream is property which cannot be appropriated without compensating the owner. ”

“ Priority– the Secretary shall place priority on acquiring easements based on the value of the easement for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. (4) Agreement– To be eligible to place eligible land into the program through a wetland reserve easement, the owner of such land shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary to— (A) grant an easement on such land to the Secretary ; (B) authorize the implementation of a wetland reserve easement plan ”

“ Rep. 850, a recovery for the taking of land by permanent occupation allows it for a right of way taken in the same manner; and the value of the easement cannot be ascertained without reference to the dominant estate to which it was attached. ”

“ Judgment was also allowed against the United States for taking an easement for intermittent flooding of land above the new permanent level, and a value for such easements was assessed. We find nothing in this record to justify our setting aside these concurrent findings by two courts. ”

“ These agreements and any other similar easements should be kept together in a book, which may be called the “Easement Book,” and indexed in such a manner that a reference [183] can be easily made at any time to any easement that has been granted. ”

“ The court recognise the English rule, as laid down in 15 Johns. 454, and refer with approbation to a case decided in Massachusetts, in which it was held, that by the grant of a grist-mill with the appurtenances, the soil of a way, immemorially used for the purpose of access to the mill, did not pass, although it might be considered as a grant of the easement, for the accommodation of the mill. 10 Pet. 53-4; 7 Mass. 6. ”

“ The high ridges and deep furrows, to be seen on the heavy arable lands of the Vale of Evesham, are a source of wonderment to people who come from light land districts, and who do not recognize how impervious is the subsoil to the penetration of water. The origin of these highly banked ridges dates from far-away days before land drain pipes were obtainable, and it was the only possible arrangement to prevent the perishing of crops from standing water in the winter. ”

“ An accumulation of water upon the formation must be prevented, and, as in the majority of cases a railway or road is not level, any collection of water at the commencement of an incline or at a change of gradient should be provided against, and especially any localisation of flow down the slopes from the formation; the main point being to keep a cutting or embankment in a uniform state so that settlement is equable. ”

“ If the settlement is uniform, the easiest way is to simply raise an embankment; the rate of sinking varies considerably, averaging, say, from 2 to 5 feet per annum, and depending upon the amount of brine extracted and the percolation of water, &c. It is obvious that embankments upon such land require constant attention to prevent serious slips. ”

“ These boxes involve expense, but permit inspection and division of the flow according to the needs. They may be built of brick, stone, concrete, or even wood.
Fig. 31.—Close soils should be deeply subsoiled and underdrained. Porous, well-drained, air-filled soil is absolutely necessary. A, Subsoiled ground; B, 3 or 4 inch distribution tile; C, depth variable with the climate, 11⁄4 to 31⁄2 feet; D, 4-inch underdrain; E, depth such as would prepare land for good crop production, generally 31⁄2 to 4 feet; F, stone or other coarse material; G, gravel grading upward to coarse sand; H, loose soil. ”

“ If for any reason the floors have to be laid upon made-up ground, provision should be made by means of piers or cross-walls, carried down to the solid subsoil to support the floor, independent of the made-up ground which is, in all cases, absolutely untrustworthy. The walls of the beds may be constructed either of concrete throughout or of brickwork in cement, and they should be of such a thickness that they will withstand the pressure of the head of water which would result if the beds were filled to the top of the walls. ”

“ Cottage and dwelling houses for workmen or laborers in mineral works, coal mines, or quarries of stone or slate for the making of brick, tile, lime, or coals shall be built only within a mile from such works. Dwelling houses beyond this must be supported by four acres of land to be continually occupied and manured as long as the dwelling house is inhabited or else forfeit 40s. ”

“ The removal of excessive subsoil moisture being secured, attention should next be given to the surface of the road, which should be finished with the firmest material at hand,—with the common earth of the subsoil where nothing better can be afforded,—and which should be brought to a true grade, with a very slight slope from the centre to the edge. ”

“ The location of the sump should be at or about the lowest level of the ground well away from any wall or the dock area, and on the line of the greatest flow of the land waters or natural watercourse, thus, dealing with them before they reach the site of the works.
In loose and almost all earth the foundations should be covered up quickly so as to preserve the natural condition of the soil. It is also important to offer every possible support to the earth to prevent initial movement, and slight assistance may afford the required strength. ”

“ As drainage is the basis of all agricultural improvements, so there are usually associated with undrained estates the cognate evils of bad tillage, inefficient manuring, small fields, irregular fences—which not only occupy one-fifth of the total area, but also harbour vermin, shade crops, and extract nourishment from the surrounding soil—inferior road accommodation, dilapidated buildings, and, in short, land whose resources are not half developed. ”

“ General Construction.—The most important point to be borne in mind in constructing contact beds is, that they must be absolutely watertight. Should they leak in any way, the sewage may pass away untreated; or it may find its way into adjacent beds, and thus prevent these from being properly aerated during the periods of rest when empty. It is therefore evident that they should be constructed in a substantial manner. The floors are usually of concrete, and the thickness of the floor will depend upon the nature of the subsoil. ”

“ Where the slope of the ground permits of the construction of the filters on or above the ground level, much expense for excavation may be avoided, so long as the base of the filter can be laid on solid ground. In cases where the site of the works is comparatively flat, it is impossible to avoid excavation, and other means must be adopted to keep the actual cost as low as possible consistent with efficiency. ”

“ The extent of land required to conduct the operations of decantation, drainage, and drying, on the scale demanded by the city of Paris, seems formidable at the first sight, but it is not really so. As we have seen, the whole system at Essonnes occupies only two hectares, or five acres, of land. For the city of Paris thirty times as much land, sixty hectares, only 150 acres, would be needed to give room for all the apparatus and all the manipulations ”

“ This, if the grade is first made to slope sharply away from the house, will throw the rain which drips from the eaves, or runs down the walls, out upon the firm ground, and in the course of two or three seasons the filling will generally have compacted itself to a consistency as hard as or harder than the surrounding soil, so that the tendency of water to accumulate just outside the walls will disappear; while the concrete, as it hardens with age, will present more and more resistance to percolation from below. ”

“ An instructive lesson in the erosive action of rain may be found in the pitted and channelled surface of ground lying under the drip of the eaves of a cottage. The fragments of stone and pebbles of gravel that form part of the soil can there be seen sticking out of the ground, because being hard they resist the impetus of the falling drops, protecting for a time the earth beneath them, while that which surrounded and covered them is washed away. ”

“ A land owner may drain his land for agricultural purposes by tile or open ditch, in the line of natural drainage, into any natural outlet on his own land or into any drainage depression leading to some natural outlet. ”

“ To reclaim wet land the mountain man digs drainage ditches. Stone, heretofore hidden in the mountain side and unused, is now utilized for building barns and houses. On fourteen acres a man and his family, including a couple of grown sons and their families, can 285 today raise a living and be comfortable. ”

“ Unless special provision is made for the purpose, the time taken to fill each bed depends entirely upon the rate of flow of the sewage to the works, and the period of rest empty also depends upon the frequency with which the beds are filled, and thus indirectly upon the rate of flow of the sewage. For example, a set of four beds designed to receive each three fillings per day in wet weather, should not receive more than one filling per day in dry weather. ”

“ Should the shore be sandy and loose, a characteristic of estuarine accumulations, although its usual bed may be preserved in any storm, when an embankment is erected the rapid and ceaseless process of wasting of the sand and loose soil by the recoil of the waves from the face may in time lay bare the toe of a steep slope and undermine it ”

“ The inclination that any earth assumes, after being exposed to the weather a sufficient time for it to be affected by it, will afford a good indication of the safe load it will support. As the slope of repose becomes flatter, the bearing power of the soil in an embankment will be reduced, all the deteriorating influences being identical. ”

“ Marl, clay and sand beds are likely to slip when they are superimposed, and there are some districts in which sandy soil is so charged with water that, unless the drainage of the slopes and formation suffices to drain for some distance the land outside a cutting, the sand will become overcharged with moisture and will act as a fluid and slip, the lateral support being removed by the act of excavation and its normal condition altered. ”

“ A short and very high embankment may stand where one of considerable length would slip, consequent upon variations in the character and condition of the earth, the bearing capacity of the ground, the state of the weather, the flow of the surface water, general homogeneousness, the configuration of the ground, and other deteriorating influences; but draining, careful deposition, and a judicious adoption of the varying slope system, and other precautionary works, will conduce to stability. ”

“ Absolutely impervious surfaces such as asphalt pavements or roofs of buildings will give nearly 100 per cent run-off regardless of the slope, after the surfaces have become thoroughly wet. For unpaved streets, lawns, and gardens the steeper the slope the greater the per cent of run-off. When the ground is already water soaked or is frozen the per cent of run-off is high, and in the event of a warm rain on snow covered or frozen ground, the run-off may be greater than the rainfall. ”

“ The protection of the slope and toe has for its object the prevention of any percolation into the mass, and it may effect all that is requisite, but its efficiency and completeness much depends upon the preparation and deposition of the layers during the construction of an embankment, and also the time that can be allowed for consolidation, so as to prevent any cracking or fissuring of the face covering from settlement of the embankment. ”