The Federal Navigational Servitude doctrine arises from two related components:

navigation power which is derived from the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution giving Congress regulatory power over navigable waters; and

navigation servitude which provides that certain private property may be taken, without compensation to the landowner, if the taking is necessary to exercise the navigation power.

Private ownership of land below navigable or tidal waters is acquired and held subject to the dominant public right of navigation. This dominant public right may be exercised by Congress without giving rise to a compensable taking.