43 U.S.C. § 1652 — Authorizations for construction

Page 522 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1652 PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE Pub. L. 101–380, title VIII, § 8103, Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 567, established a Presidential Task Force on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, to conduct an audit of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and make rec- ommendations to the President, Congress, and the Gov- ernor of Alaska, authorized appropriations for the Task Force, and required it to transmit its final report to the President, Congress, and the Governor no later than 2 years after the date on which funding was made available. NORTH SLOPE CRUDE OIL; REPORT ON EQUITABLE ALLOCATION Pub. L. 94–586, § 18, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2916, directed that the President, within 6 months of Oct. 22, 1976, de- termine special expediting procedures necessary to in- sure the equitable allocation of North Slope crude oil to the Northern Tier States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Illinois, Indiana, and Idaho to carry out the provisions of section 410 of Pub. L. 93–153 [set out below], and to report his findings to Congress, such report to include a statement demonstrating the im- pact that the delivery system would have on reducing the dependency of New England and the Middle Atlan- tic States on foreign oil imports. TRANS-CANADA PIPELINE; NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA; FEASIBILITY STUDY Pub. L. 93–153, title III, Nov. 16, 1973, 87 Stat. 588, au- thorized the President to enter into negotiations with the Government of Canada to determine Canadian will- ingness to permit construction of pipelines or other transportation systems across its territory to bring gas and oil from Alaska’s North Slope to the United States; the need for intergovernmental agreements to protect interests of any parties involved with construction, op- eration, and maintenance of such natural gas or oil transportation systems; terms and conditions for con- struction across Canadian territory; desirability of joint studies to insure environmental protection, re- duce regulatory uncertainty, and insure meeting en- ergy requirements; quantity of oil and gas for which Canada would guarantee transit; and acquisition of other energy sources so as to make unnecessary the shipment of oil from the Alaska pipeline by tanker into the Puget Sound area. The President was to report to Congress on actions taken and recommendations for further action. In addition, the Secretary of the Inte- rior was to investigate, and to report to Congress with- in 2 years of Nov. 16, 1973, as to the feasibility of oil or gas pipelines from the North Slope of Alaska to con- nect with a pipeline through Canada that would deliver oil or gas to United States markets. Nothing in title III was to limit the authority of the Secretary or any other Federal official to grant a gas or oil pipeline right-of-way or permit, which that official was other- wise authorized by law to grant. EXCLUSION OF PERSONS FROM TRANS-ALASKA PIPELINE ACTIVITIES ON BASIS OF RACE, CREED, COLOR, NA- TIONAL ORIGIN, OR SEX PROHIBITED Pub. L. 93–153, title IV, § 403, Nov. 16, 1973, 87 Stat. 590, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior shall take such affirmative action as he deems necessary to assure that no person shall, on the grounds of race, creed, color, national origin, or sex, be excluded from receiv- ing, or participating in any activity conducted under, any permit, right-of-way, public land order, or other Federal authorization granted or issued under title II [this chapter]. The Secretary of the Interior shall pro- mulgate such rules as he deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection and may enforce this subsection, and any rules promulgated under this sub- section, through agency and department provisions and rules which shall be similar to those established and in effect under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [sec- tion 2000d et seq. of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare].’’ EQUITABLE ALLOCATION OF NORTH SLOPE CRUDE OIL Pub. L. 93–153, title IV, § 410, Nov. 16, 1973, 87 Stat. 594, provided that: ‘‘The Congress declares that the crude oil on the North Slope of Alaska is an important part of the Nation’s oil resources, and that the benefits of such crude oil should be equitably shared, directly or indirectly, by all regions of the country. The President shall use any authority he may have to insure an equi- table allocation of available North Slope and other crude oil resources and petroleum products among all regions and all of the several States.’’ § 1652. Authorizations for construction (a) Congressional declaration of purpose The purpose of this chapter is to insure that, because of the extensive governmental studies already made of this project and the national in- terest in early delivery of North Slope oil to do- mestic markets, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline be constructed promptly without further adminis- trative or judicial delay or impediment. To ac- complish this purpose it is the intent of the Con- gress to exercise its constitutional powers to the fullest extent in the authorizations and direc- tions herein made and in limiting judicial re- view of the actions taken pursuant thereto. (b) Issuance, administration, and enforcement of rights-of-way, permits, leases, and other au- thorizations The Congress hereby authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior and other appro- priate Federal officers and agencies to issue and take all necessary action to administer and en- force rights-of-way, permits, leases, and other authorizations that are necessary for or related to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline system, includ- ing roads and airstrips, as that system is gen- erally described in the Final Environmental Im- pact Statement issued by the Department of the Interior on March 20, 1972. The route of the pipe- line may be modified by the Secretary to pro- vide during construction greater environmental protection. (c) Applicability of statutes governing rights-of- way for pipelines through Federal lands; other statutory terms and conditions; waiver of procedural requirements; supersedure of administrative authorizations for construc- tion Rights-of-way, permits, leases, and other au- thorizations issued pursuant to this chapter by the Secretary shall be subject to the provisions of section 185 of title 30, as amended by Pub. L. 93–153 (except the provisions of subsections (h)(1), (k), (q), (w)(2), and (x)); all authorizations issued by the Secretary and other Federal offi- cers and agencies pursuant to this chapter shall include the terms and conditions required, and may include the terms and conditions per- mitted, by the provisions of law that would oth- erwise be applicable if this chapter had not been enacted, and they may waive any procedural re- quirements of law or regulation which they deem desirable to waive in order to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. The direction con- tained in subsection (b) shall supersede the pro- visions of any law or regulation relating to an administrative determination as to whether the authorizations for construction of the trans- Alaska oil pipeline shall be issued. Page 523 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1653 (d) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 bypassed; issuance of authorizations for con- struction and operation not to be subject to judicial review; time limits on charges of in- validity or unconstitutionality; jurisdiction; hearings; review The actions taken pursuant to this chapter which relate to the construction and completion of the pipeline system, and to the applications filed in connection therewith necessary to the pipeline’s operation at full capacity, as de- scribed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement of the Department of the Interior, shall be taken without further action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.]; and the actions of the Fed- eral officers concerning the issuance of the nec- essary rights-of-way, permits, leases, and other authorizations for construction and initial oper- ation at full capacity of said pipeline system shall not be subject to judicial review under any law except that claims alleging the invalidity of this section may be brought within sixty days following November 16, 1973, and claims alleging that an action will deny rights under the Con- stitution of the United States, or that the ac- tion is beyond the scope of authority conferred by this chapter, may be brought within sixty days following the date of such action. A claim shall be barred unless a complaint is filed within the time specified. Any such complaint shall be filed in a United States district court, and such court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to deter- mine such proceeding in accordance with the procedures hereinafter provided, and no other court of the United States, of any State, terri- tory, or possession of the United States, or of the District of Columbia, shall have jurisdiction of any such claim whether in a proceeding insti- tuted prior to or on or after November 16, 1973. Such court shall not have jurisdiction to grant any injunctive relief against the issuance of any right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authoriza- tion pursuant to this section except in conjunc- tion with a final judgment entered in a case in- volving a claim filed pursuant to this section. An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of such district court may be reviewed only upon petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States. (e) Amendment or modification of rights-of-way, permits, leases, or other authorizations The Secretary of the Interior and the other Federal officers and agencies are authorized at any time when necessary to protect the public interest, pursuant to the authority of this sec- tion and in accordance with its provisions, to amend or modify any right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization issued under this chapter. (Pub. L. 93–153, title II, § 203, Nov. 16, 1973, 87 Stat. 584; Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(46), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3360; Pub. L. 100–352, § 6(c), June 27, 1988, 102 Stat. 663.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, re- ferred to in subsec. (d), is Pub. L. 91–190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (section 4321 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 4321 of Title 42 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1988—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–352 amended last sen- tence generally. Prior to amendment, last sentence read as follows: ‘‘Any review of an interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order of such district court may be had only upon direct appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.’’ 1984—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 98–620 struck out provision that any such proceeding had to be assigned for hearing at the earliest possible date, had to take precedence over all other matters pending on the docket of the dis- trict court at that time, and had to be expedited in every way by such court. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 100–352 effective ninety days after June 27, 1988, except that such amendment not to apply to cases pending in Supreme Court on such effec- tive date or affect right to review or manner of review- ing judgment or decree of court which was entered be- fore such effective date, see section 7 of Pub. L. 100–352, set out as a note under section 1254 of Title 28, Judici- ary and Judicial Procedure. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov. 8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98–620, set out as a note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judici- ary and Judicial Procedure. § 1653. Liability for damages (a) Activities along or in vicinity of pipeline right-of-way; strict liability; limitation on li- ability; subrogation; emergency subsistence and other aid; exemption for State of Alaska (1) Except when the holder of the pipeline right-of-way granted pursuant to this chapter can prove that damages in connection with or resulting from activities along or in the vicinity of the proposed trans-Alaskan pipeline right-of- way were caused solely by an act of war or neg- ligence of the United States, other government entity, or the damaged party, such holder shall be strictly liable to all damaged parties, public or private, without regard to fault for such dam- ages, and without regard to ownership of any af- fected lands, structures, fish, wildlife, or biotic or other natural resources relied upon by Alaska Natives, Native organizations, or others for sub- sistence or economic purposes. Claims for such injury or damages may be determined by arbi- tration or judicial proceedings. (2) Liability under paragraph (1) of this sub- section shall be limited to $350,000,000 for any one incident, and the holders of the right-of-way or permit shall be liable for any claim allowed in proportion to their ownership interest in the right-of-way or permit. Liability of such holders for damages in excess of $350,000,000 shall be in accord with ordinary rules of negligence. (3) In any case where liability without fault is imposed pursuant to this subsection and the damages involved were caused by the negligence of a third party, the rules of subrogation shall apply in accordance with the law of the jurisdic- tion where the damage occurred.