ARA Legal Regulations & Environmental Considerations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A prescriptive easement differs from an express easement in that it is:
- Granted in writing by the property owner
- Acquired through open, continuous, and hostile use over a statutory period (Correct answer)
- Created by court order following condemnation
- Recorded in the chain of title at purchase
Correct answer: Acquired through open, continuous, and hostile use over a statutory period
A prescriptive easement arises by operation of law when a party uses another's land openly, continuously, and without permission for the period required by state statute.
Question 2: The 'bundle of rights' concept in real property law includes all of the following EXCEPT:
- The right to use
- The right to exclude others
- The right to government-mandated improvements (Correct answer)
- The right to dispose of the property
Correct answer: The right to government-mandated improvements
The bundle of rights includes use, enjoyment, exclusion, encumbrance, and disposition — governments can regulate or take rights but do not grant them to private owners.
Question 3: Which doctrine holds that landowners own the mineral rights beneath their surface unless those rights were previously severed and sold separately?
- Doctrine of correlative rights
- Cuius est solum doctrine (Correct answer)
- Doctrine of prior appropriation
- Riparian rights doctrine
Correct answer: Cuius est solum doctrine
The cuius est solum doctrine ('whoever owns the soil owns up to the sky and down to the depths') means minerals belong to the surface owner absent a prior severance.
Question 4: In agricultural appraisal, an appraiser discovers that a rural property's irrigation water rights are administered under the prior appropriation doctrine. This means:
- All landowners along a stream share water equally regardless of use
- Water rights are allocated based on seniority — the oldest right has priority in times of shortage (Correct answer)
- Federal law supersedes all state water allocation decisions
- Water use is unlimited as long as the land is actively farmed
Correct answer: Water rights are allocated based on seniority — the oldest right has priority in times of shortage
Prior appropriation, used in most western states, allocates water on a 'first in time, first in right' basis, making senior water rights more valuable and reliable.
Question 5: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required when:
- Any private land sale exceeds 100 acres
- A federal agency proposes a major action significantly affecting the human environment (Correct answer)
- A state highway bisects an agricultural parcel
- A landowner applies for a local building permit
Correct answer: A federal agency proposes a major action significantly affecting the human environment
NEPA requires federal agencies to prepare an EIS for major federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
Question 6: A rural property appraiser notes the presence of lead-based paint in farm outbuildings constructed before 1978. The appraiser's primary obligation is to:
- Quantify the exact remediation cost in the appraisal report
- Disclose the observed condition and note potential impact on value (Correct answer)
- Refuse to complete the assignment until remediation occurs
- Test all painted surfaces with an EPA-approved kit
Correct answer: Disclose the observed condition and note potential impact on value
Appraisers are not environmental inspectors; they must note observed conditions and their potential effect on value and recommend specialist inspection if warranted.
Question 7: Agricultural zoning classifications on rural properties are primarily intended to:
- Maximize residential density near farmland
- Protect productive farmland from conversion to non-agricultural uses (Correct answer)
- Establish minimum farm income thresholds for tax purposes
- Require all landowners to actively cultivate their parcels
Correct answer: Protect productive farmland from conversion to non-agricultural uses
Agricultural zoning is a land-use tool used by local governments to preserve farmland, control sprawl, and maintain the rural character of an area.
ARA Legal Regulations & Environmental Considerations 3
A prescriptive easement differs from an express easement in that it is: