45 U.S.C. § 1204 — Transition period

Page 252 TITLE 45—RAILROADS § 1204 1 See Codification note below. in all or part of the lands subject to such easement, such easement shall terminate with respect to the lands subject to such reversion, and no new exclusive- use easement with respect to such reverted lands shall be granted except by Act of Congress.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF ALASKA RAILROAD TO STATE OF ALASKA The State of Alaska accepted the certification re- quirements of the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act [this chapter] by 1984 SLA ch. 54, eff. May 19, 1984. There- after, by 1984 SLA ch. 153, eff. July 6, 1984, the Alaska Railroad Corporation was established to manage and operate the Alaska Railroad. The transfer of the Alas- ka Railroad to the State of Alaska was carried out on January 5, 1985. DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION EXCHANGE Pub. L. 110–229, title III, § 351, May 8, 2008, 122 Stat. 800, provided that: ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) CORPORATION.—The term ‘Corporation’ means the Alaska Railroad Corporation owned by the State of Alaska. ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior. ‘‘(b) EXCHANGE.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(A) EASEMENT EXPANDED.—The Secretary is au- thorized to grant to the Alaska Railroad Corpora- tion an exclusive-use easement on land that is iden- tified by the Secretary within Denali National Park for the purpose of providing a location to the Cor- poration for construction, maintenance, and on- going operation of track and associated support fa- cilities for turning railroad trains around near Denali Park Station. ‘‘(B) EASEMENT RELINQUISHED.—In exchange for the easement granted in subparagraph (A), the Sec- retary shall require the relinquishment of certain portions of the Corporation’s existing exclusive use easement within the boundary of Denali National Park. ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS OF THE EXCHANGE.— ‘‘(A) EQUAL EXCHANGE.—The exchange of ease- ments under this section shall be on an approxi- mately equal-acre basis. ‘‘(B) TOTAL ACRES.—The easement granted under paragraph (1)(A) shall not exceed 25 acres. ‘‘(C) INTERESTS CONVEYED.—The easement con- veyed to the Alaska Railroad Corporation by the Secretary under this section shall be under the same terms as the exclusive use easement granted to the Railroad in Denali National Park in the Deed for Exclusive Use Easement and Railroad Related Improvements filed in Book 33, pages 985–994 of the Nenana Recording District, Alaska, pursuant to the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 (45 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). The easement relinquished by the Alaska Railroad Corporation to the United States under this section shall, with respect to the portion being exchanged, be the full title and interest received by the Alaska Railroad in the Deed for Exclusive Use Easement and Railroad Related Improvements filed in Book 33, pages 985–994 of the Nenana Recording District, Alaska, pursuant to the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 (45 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.). ‘‘(D) COSTS.—The Alaska Railroad shall pay all costs associated with the exchange under this sec- tion, including the costs of compliance with the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the costs of any surveys, and other reasonable costs. ‘‘(E) LAND TO BE PART OF WILDERNESS.—The land underlying any easement relinquished to the United States under this section that is adjacent to designated wilderness is hereby designated as wil- derness and added to the Denali Wilderness, the boundaries of which are modified accordingly, and shall be managed in accordance with applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act (78 Stat. 892) [16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.] and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (94 Stat. 2371) [see Tables for classification]. ‘‘(F) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec- retary shall require any additional terms and con- ditions under this section that the Secretary deter- mines to be appropriate to protect the interests of the United States and of Denali National Park.’’ § 1204. Transition period (a) Joint report by Secretary and Governor of Alaska; contents, preparation, etc. Within 6 months after January 14, 1983, the Secretary and the Governor of Alaska shall jointly prepare and deliver to the Congress of the United States and the legislature of the State a report that describes to the extent pos- sible the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad, the liabilities and obligations to be assumed by the State, the sum of money, if any, in the Alas- ka Railroad Revolving Fund to be withheld from the State pursuant to section 1202(10)(C) 1 of this title, and any personal property to be withheld pursuant to section 1202(10)(D) 1 of this title. The report shall separately identify by the best available descriptions (1) the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad to be transferred pursuant to section 1203(b)(1)(A), (B), and (D) of this title; (2) the rail properties to be subject to the license granted pursuant to section 1203(b)(1)(C) of this title; and (3) the easements to be reserved pursu- ant to section 1203(c)(2) of this title. The Secre- taries of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior and the Administrator of the General Services Administration shall provide the Secretary with all information and assistance necessary to allow the Secretary to complete the report with- in the time required. (b) Inspection, etc., of rail properties and records; terms and conditions; restrictions During the period from January 14, 1983, until the date of transfer, the State shall have the right to inspect, analyze, photograph, photocopy and otherwise evaluate all of the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad and all records related to the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad main- tained by any agency of the United States under conditions established by the Secretary to pro- tect the confidentiality of proprietary business data, personnel records, and other information, the public disclosure of which is prohibited by law. During that period, the Secretary and the Alaska Railroad shall not, without the consent of the State and only in conformity with appli- cable law and the Memorandum of Under- standing referred to in section 1205(b)(3) of this title— (1) make or incur any obligation to make any individual capital expenditure of money from the Alaska Railroad Revolving Fund in excess of $300,000; (2) (except as required by law) sell, exchange, give, or otherwise transfer any real property included in the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad; or Page 253 TITLE 45—RAILROADS § 1205 2 See References in Text note below. (3) lease any rail property of the Alaska Railroad for a term in excess of five years. (c) Format for accounting practices and systems Prior to transfer of the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad to the State, the Alaska Rail- road’s accounting practices and systems shall be capable of reporting data to the Interstate Com- merce Commission in formats required of com- parable rail carriers subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. (d) Fair market value; determination, terms and conditions, etc. (1) Within nine months after January 14, 1983, the United States Railway Association (herein- after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Associa- tion’’) shall determine the fair market value of the Alaska Railroad under the terms and condi- tions of this chapter, applying such procedures, methods and standards as are generally accepted as normal and common practice. Such deter- mination shall include an appraisal of the real and personal property to be transferred to the State pursuant to this chapter. Such appraisal by the Association shall be conducted in the usual manner in accordance with generally ac- cepted industry standards, and shall consider the current fair market value and potential fu- ture value if used in whole or in part for other purposes. The Association shall take into ac- count all obligations imposed by this chapter and other applicable law upon operation and ownership of the State-owned railroad. In mak- ing such determination, the Association shall use to the maximum extent practicable all rel- evant data and information, including, if rel- evant, that contained in the report prepared pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. (2) The determination made pursuant to para- graph (1) of this subsection shall not be con- strued to affect, enlarge, modify, or diminish any inventory, valuation, or classification re- quired by the Interstate Commerce Commission pursuant to subchapter V 2 of chapter 107 of title 49. (Pub. L. 97–468, title VI, § 605(a)–(d), Jan. 14, 1983, 96 Stat. 2562, 2563.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Subchapter V of chapter 107 of title 49, referred to in subsec. (d)(2), was omitted in the general amendment of subtitle IV of Title 49, Transportation, by Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804. CODIFICATION In subsec. (a), references to section 1202(10)(C) and (D) of this title were in the original references to section 603(8)(C) and (D) of title VI of Pub. L. 97–468, and were editorially translated as section 1202(10)(C) and (D), as the probable intent of Congress, in view of section 1202(8) containing no subpars. (C) and (D) and the sub- ject matter of section 1202(10)(C), which relates to money in the Alaska Railroad Revolving Fund being withheld from the State, and section 1202(10)(D), which relates to personal property being withheld. Section is comprised of subsecs. (a) to (d) of section 605 of Pub. L. 97–468. Subsec. (e) of section 605 of Pub. L. 97–468 amended section 712 of this title. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ABOLITION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Interstate Commerce Commission abolished and func- tions of Commission transferred, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, to Surface Transportation Board effective Jan. 1, 1996, by section 1302 of Title 49, Transportation, and section 101 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of Title 49. References to Interstate Commerce Commission deemed to refer to Surface Transportation Board, a member or employee of the Board, or Secretary of Transportation, as appro- priate, see section 205 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of Title 49. ABOLITION OF UNITED STATES RAILWAY ASSOCIATION AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND SECURITIES See section 1341 of this title. § 1205. Lands to be transferred (a) Availability of lands among rail properties Lands among the rail properties of the Alaska Railroad shall not be— (1) available for selection under section 12 of the Act of January 2, 1976, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1611, note), subject to the exception contained in section 12(b)(8)(i)(D) of such Act, as amended by subsection (d)(5) of this section; (2) available for conveyance under section 1425 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96–487; 94 Stat. 2515); (3) available for conveyance to Chugach Na- tives, Inc., under sections 1429 or 1430 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96–487; 94 Stat. 2531) or under sections 12(c) or 14(h)(8) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(c) and 1613(h)(8), respectively); or (4) available under any law or regulation for entry, location, or for exchange by the United States, or for the initiation of a claim or se- lection by any party other than the State or other transferee under this chapter, except that this paragraph shall not prevent a con- veyance pursuant to section 12(b)(8)(i)(D) of the Act of January 2, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1611, note), as amended by subsection (d)(5) of this section. (b) Review and settlement of claims; administra- tive adjudication; management of lands; pro- cedures applicable (1)(A) During the ten months following Janu- ary 14, 1983, so far as practicable consistent with the priority of preparing the report required pursuant to section 1204(a) of this title, the Sec- retary of the Interior, Village Corporations with claims of valid existing rights, and the State shall review and make a good faith effort to set- tle as many of the claims as possible. Any agree- ment to settle such claims shall take effect and bind the United States, the State, and the Vil- lage Corporation only as of the date of transfer of the railroad. (B) At the conclusion of the review and settle- ment process provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a report identifying lands to be conveyed in accordance with settlement agree- ments under this chapter or applicable law.