Is a "slow-no wake" speed limit on the Lower St. Croix River vague on its face or contrary to the public trust doctrine? St. Croix Waterway Ass'n v. Meyer, 178 F.3d 515 (8th Cir. 1999) The St. Croix Waterway Association, a group of individuals who regularly operate motorboats on the Lower St. Croix River, challenged identical slow-no wake regulations enacted by the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Association charged that the regulations, defining the speed limit as "the slowest possible speed necessary to maintain steerage" were unconstitutionally vague on their face. The court found that, even though the regulations do not specify a numerical maximum speed and instead require operators to consider factors such as boat design, water and weather conditions, the regulations not unconstitutionally vague. The court compared the regulations to automobile speed limits stated as what is "reasonable and prudent under the circumstances." The regulations, said the Court, use ordinary words easily understood by people of normal intelligence. The Association also argued that the regulations violate the public trust doctrine by subjecting the public to arbitrary criminal and quasi-criminal sanctions while traveling on public waters. The court held that the public trust doctrine supports the states' authority to protect and preserve the public waters by regulating navigation.
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