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GULFPORT - Incumbent Secretary of State Eric Clark says he has been more than fair with Coast casinos when he calculates the leases they must pay on state-controlled waterbottoms, called tidelands.

"I have instituted a policy that I didn't have to do by law," Clark said during a meeting Monday with The Sun Herald. "When tidelands leases come up for reassessment, we go out and get an appraisal. If the casino doesn't like our appraisal, then they can get their own appraisal. If those two numbers differ, then those appraisers go into a room and fuss. If they can't reach an agreement, then we get a third appraisal, and whichever two agree, that's what we charge. Boomtown Casino is the first one to use this policy and they got their rent lowered with it. I really don't know how to get any fairer than that."

Clark and some casinos have been at odds for years over his claim of tidelands, or land subject to the ebb and flow of tides, and the leases he charges. Imperial Palace and Treasure Bay have challenged in court Clark's claim to the land, the rent he charges and the taxes the county assesses on the waterbottoms.

Clark said casino challenges to his authority and the county charging taxes on tidelands leases could set a dangerous precedent for Coast development on its public beachfront.

"They're saying Harrison County doesn't have the authority to charge based on the riparian or littoral rights that upland landowners have on the beach," Clark said. "If that theory were to hold, then anyone who owned a house on the north side of U.S. 90 could control whether a casino could be built across from them on the beach. If that theory held true, there wouldn't be any tidelands, and there wouldn't be any public beach.

"There are such things as riparian or littoral rights," Clark said, "but that applies to the right to swim or crab and fish, not for commercial development."

The money the state collects from tidelands is returned to Coast governments for work on the waterfront. Clark said he is proud of the many piers, boat ramps, docks and other things the tidelands money has built.

"Week before last, I delivered a $5.7 million check down here," he said. "Since 1990, $45 million has been spent right here on the Coast."

There has long been rumbling in the Legislature about redirecting the tidelands money from Coast governments to the state general fund. Clark said this pressure could mount as the state endures a bad financial crunch.

"I think the chance for someone to make a grab for it becomes more and more," Clark said. "But I think it should stay here. That $5.7 million can do a lot of good down here, but when you dump it into the general fund, it just becomes a drop in the bucket."

Clark said he also is proud of his record of helping create the Coastal Preserve Program, which has allowed the state to swap land with developers for preservation.

"For 27 acres of wetlands filled, we have traded over 4,000 acres for preservation and we have bought over 15,000 acres, including Deer Island, which will be preserved forever," Clark said.

Clark faces Republican challenger Julio Del Castillo and Reform Party candidate Brenda Blackburn in the Nov. 4 election.