(a) Access across Federal lands; application approval
After January 14, 1983, the State or State-owned railroad may request the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate under law, to expeditiously approve an application for a right-of-way in order that the Alaska Railroad or State-owned railroad may have access across Federal lands for transportation and related purposes. The State or State-owned railroad may also apply for a lease, permit, or conveyance of any necessary or convenient terminal and station grounds and material sites in the vicinity of the right-of-way for which an application has been submitted.
(b) Consultative requirements prior to approval of application; conformance of rights-of-way, etc.
Before approving a right-of-way application described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, shall consult with the Secretary. Approval of an application for a right-of-way, permit, lease, or conveyance described in subsection (a) of this section shall be pursuant to applicable law. Rights-of-way, grounds, and sites granted pursuant to this section and other applicable law shall conform, to the extent possible, to the standards provided in the Act of March 12, 1914 (43 U.S.C. 975 et seq.) and section 1202(6) of this title. Such conformance shall not be affected by the repeal of such Act under section 615 of this title.1
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Act of March 12, 1914 (43 U.S.C. 975 et seq.), referred to in subsec. (b), is act Mar. 12, 1914, ch. 37, 38 Stat. 305, as amended, popularly known as the Alaska Railroad Act, which enacted section 353a of Title 16, Conservation, and sections 975 to 975g of Title 43, Public Lands, and which was repealed by section 615(a)(1) of Pub. L. 97–468 effective on the date of transfer of Alaska Railroad to the State [Jan. 5, 1985], pursuant to section 1203 of this title.
Section 615 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), means section 615 of title VI of Pub. L. 97–468, Jan. 14, 1983, 96 Stat. 2577. Title VI of Pub. L. 97–468 is known as the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 and is classified principally to this chapter. Under section 615, the repeal is effective on the date of transfer to the State of Alaska (pursuant to section 1203 of this title) or other disposition (pursuant to section 1210 of this title), whichever first occurs.
Amendments
2003—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–7 struck out subsec. (c) which read as follows: "Reversion to the United States of any portion of any right-of-way or exclusive-use easement granted to the State or State-owned railroad shall occur only as provided in section 1209 of this title. For purposes of such section, the date of the approval of any such right-of-way shall be deemed the 'date of transfer'."
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