In California, there are some underwater telephone cables that were laid by pac bell sometime in the 50's. No one has shown any interest at all in them for at least 25yrs. I'm applying for a permit to recover them. All is good until I need to show they are legally abandoned and nobody has any interest in them. They have been vandalized and are clearly useless except for the salvage value. Question? do abandoned utilities belong to the state? If so, do abandoment laws apply to state property? They are at the bottom of a navigable waterway so why cant anyone recover them