§615a. Sale of timber in Alaska; appraisal; local consumption; accounting; deposit in Treasury — Inbound Citations
16 U.S.C. § 615a
Cited by 7 provisions in release 119-102.
Citations to 16 U.S.C. § 615a as a whole
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The right of way through the lands of the United States in Alaska is granted to any railroad company, duly organized under the laws of any State or Territory or by the Congress of the United States, which may on and after May 14, 1898, file for record with the Secretary of the Interior a copy of its articles of incorporation and due proofs of its organization under the same, to the extent of one hundred feet on each side of the center line of said road; also the right to take from the lands of the United States adjacent to the line of said road, material, earth, stone, and timber necessary for the construction of said railroad; also the right to take for railroad uses, subject to the reservation of all minerals and coal therein, public lands adjacent to said right of way for station buildings, depots, machine shops, side tracks, turn-outs, water stations, and terminals, and other legitimate railroad purposes, not to exceed in amount twenty acres for each station, to the extent of one station for each ten miles of its road, excepting at terminals and junction points, which may include additional forty acres, to be limited on navigable waters to eighty rods on the shore line, and with the right to use such additional ground as may in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior be necessary where there are heavy cuts or fills: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to give to such railroad company, its lessees, grantees, or assigns the ownership or use of minerals, including coal, within the limits of its right of way, or of the lands granted: Provided further, That all mining operations prosecuted or undertaken within the limits of such right of way or of the lands granted shall under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, be so conducted as not to injure or interfere with the property or operations of the road over its said lands or right of way. And when such railway shall connect with any navigable stream or tide water such company shall have power to construct and maintain necessary piers and wharves for connection with water transportation, subject to the supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That nothing in sections 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5,1 and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and sections 607a and 615a of title 16 contained shall be construed as impairing in any degree the title of any State that may hereafter be erected out of the Territory of Alaska, or any part thereof, to tide lands and beds of any of its navigable waters, or the right of such State to regulate the use thereof, nor the right of the United States to resume possession of such lands, it being declared that all such rights shall continue to be held by the United States in trust for the people of any State or States which may on and after May 14, 1898, be erected out of said Territory. The term “navigable waters,” as herein used, shall be held to include all tidal waters up to the line of ordinary high tide and all nontidal waters navigable in fact up to the line of ordinary high-water mark. All charges for the transportation of freight and passengers on railroads in Alaska shall be printed and posted as required by section 107621 of title 49, and such rates shall be subject to revision and modification by the Secretary of the Interior.
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Where any company, the right of way to which is granted by sections 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5,1 and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and sections 607a and 615a of title 16, shall in the course of construction find it necessary to pass over private lands or possessory claims on lands of the United States, condemnation of a right of way across the same may be made in the following manner: In case the owner or claimant of such lands or premises and such company can not agree as to the damages, the amount shall be determined by the appraisal of three disinterested commissioners, who may be appointed upon application by any party to any judge of a court of record in Alaska; and said commissioners, in their assessments of damages, shall appraise such premises at what would have been the value thereof if the road had not been built; and upon return into court of such appraisement, and upon the payment to the clerk thereof of the amount so awarded by the commissioners for the use and benefit of the owner thereof, said premises shall be deemed to be taken by said company, which shall thereby acquire full title to the same for the purposes aforesaid. And either party feeling aggrieved by said assessment may, within thirty days, file an appeal therefrom, and demand a jury of twelve men to estimate the damage sustained; but such appeal shall not interfere with the rights of said company to enter upon the premises taken, or to do any act necessary in the construction of its road. And said party appealing shall give bonds with sufficient surety or sureties for the payment of any costs that may arise upon such appeal. And in case the party appealing does not obtain a more favorable verdict, such party shall pay the whole cost incurred by the appellee, as well as its own. And the payment into court for the use of the owner of claimant, of a sum equal to that finally awarded shall be held to vest in said company the title of said land, and the right to use and occupy the same for the construction, maintaining and operating of the road of said company. And in case any of the lands to be taken as aforesaid shall be held by any person residing without the Territory, or subject to any legal disability, the court may appoint a proper person who shall give bonds with sufficient surety or sureties, for the faithful execution of his trust, and who may represent in court the person disqualified or absent as aforesaid, when the same proceeding shall be had in reference to the appraisement of the premises to be taken, and with the same effect as has been already described. And the title of the company to the land taken by virtue of this section shall not be affected nor impaired by reason of any failure by any guardian to discharge faithfully his trust. And in case it shall be necessary for the said company to enter upon lands which are unoccupied, and of which there is no apparent owner or claimant, it may proceed to take and use the same for the purpose of its said railroad, and may institute proceedings in the manner described for the purpose of ascertaining the value of, and acquiring a title to, the same; and the court may determine the kind of notice to be served on such owner or owners, and may in its discretion appoint an agent or guardian to represent such owner or owners in case of his or their incapacity or nonappearance. But in case no claimant shall appear within six years from the time of the opening of said road across any land, all claims to damages against said company shall be barred. It shall be competent for the legal guardian of any infant, or any other person under guardianship, to agree with the said company as to damages sustained by reason of the taking of any lands of any such person under disability, as aforesaid, for the use as aforesaid; and upon such agreement being made, and approved by the court having supervision of the official acts of said guardian, and said guardian shall have full power to make and execute a conveyance thereof to the said company which shall vest the title thereto in the said company.
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Any company mentioned in sections 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5,1 and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and sections 607a and 615a of title 16, by filing with the Secretary of the Interior a preliminary actual survey and plat of its proposed route, shall have the right at any time within one year thereafter to file the map and profile of definite location and such preliminary survey and plat shall during the said period of one year from the time of filing the same have the effect to render all the lands on which said preliminary survey and plat shall pass subject to the right of way mentioned in section 942–3 of this title.
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Any company desiring to secure the benefits of sections 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5,1 and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and sections 607a and 615a of title 16, shall, within twelve months after filing the preliminary map of location of its road as hereinbefore prescribed, whether upon surveyed or unsurveyed lands, file with such officer as the Secretary of the Interior may designate of the land office for the district where such land is located a map and profile of at least a twenty-mile section of its road or a profile of its entire road if less than twenty miles, as definitely fixed; and shall thereafter each year definitely locate and file a map of such location as aforesaid of not less than twenty miles additional of its line of road until the entire road has been thus definitely located, and upon approval thereof by the Secretary of the Interior the same shall be noted upon the records of said office, and thereafter all such lands over which such right of way shall pass shall be disposed of subject to each right of way: Provided, That if any section of said road shall not be completed within one year after the definite location of said section so approved, or if the map of definite location be not filed within one year as herein required, or if the entire road shall not be completed within four years from the filing of the map of definite location, the rights herein granted shall be forfeited as to any such uncompleted section of said road, and thereupon shall revert to the United States without further action or declaration, the notation of such uncompleted section upon the records of the land office shall be canceled, and the reservations of such lands for the purposes of said right of way, stations, and terminals shall cease and become null and void without further action.
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The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue a permit, by instrument in writing, in conformity with and subject to the restrictions herein contained, unto any responsible person, company, or corporation, for a right of way over the public domain in Alaska, not to exceed one hundred feet in width, and ground for station and other necessary purposes not to exceed five acres for each station for each five miles of road, to construct wagon roads and wire rope, aerial, or other tramways, and the privilege of taking all necessary material from the public domain in said district for the construction of such wagon roads or tramways, together with the right, subject to supervision and at rates to be approved by said Secretary, to levy and collect toll or freight and passenger charges on passengers, animals, freight, or vehicles passing over the same for a period not exceeding twenty years, and said Secretary is also authorized to sell to the owner or owners of any such wagon road or tramway, upon the completion thereof, not to exceed twenty acres of public land at each terminus at $1.25 per acre, such lands when located at or near tide water not to extend more than forty rods in width along the shore line and the title thereto to be upon such expressed conditions as in his judgment may be necessary to protect the public interest, and all minerals, including coal, in such right of way or station grounds shall be reserved to the United States: Provided, That such lands may be located concurrently with the line of such road or tramway, and the plat of preliminary survey and the map of definite location shall be filed as in the case of railroads and subject to the same conditions and limitations: Provided further, That such rights of way and privileges shall only be enjoyed by or granted to citizens of the United States or companies or corporations organized under the laws of a State or Territory; and such rights and privileges shall be held subject to the right of Congress to alter, amend, repeal, or grant equal rights to others on contiguous or parallel routes. And no right to construct a wagon road on which toll may be collected shall be granted unless it shall first be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that the public convenience requires the construction of such proposed road, and that the expense of making the same available and convenient for public travel will not be less on an average than $500 per mile: Provided, That if the proposed line of road in any case shall be located over any road or trail in common use for public travel, the Secretary of the Interior shall decline to grant such right of way, if, in his opinion, the interests of the public would be injuriously affected thereby. Nor shall any right to collect toll upon any wagon road in Alaska be granted or inure to any person, corporation, or company until it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of said Secretary that at least an average of $500 per mile has been actually expended in constructing such road: and all persons are prohibited from collecting or attempting to collect toll over any wagon road in Alaska, unless such person or the company or person for whom he acts shall at the time and place the collection is made or attempted to be made possess written authority, signed by the Secretary of the Interior, authorizing the collection and specifying the rates of toll: Provided, That accurate printed copies of said written authority from the Secretary of the Interior, including toll, freight, and passenger charges thereby approved, shall be kept constantly and conspicuously posted at each station where toll is demanded or collected. And any person, corporation, or company collecting or attempting to collect toll without such written authority from the Secretary of the Interior, or failing to keep the same posted as herein required, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined for each offense not less than $50 nor more than $500, and in default of payment of such fine and costs of prosecution shall be imprisoned in jail not exceeding ninety days, or until such fine and costs of prosecution shall have been paid.
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Congress reserves the right at any time to alter, amend, or repeal sections 687a, 687a–2 to 687a–5,1 and 942–1 to 942–9 of this title and sections 607a and 615a of title 16 or any part thereof; and the right of way herein authorized shall not be assigned or transferred in any form whatever prior to the construction and completion of at least one-fourth of the proposed mileage of such railroad, wagon road, or tramway, as indicated by the map of definite location, except by mortgages or other liens that may be given or secured thereon to aid in the construction thereof: Provided, That where within ninety days after May 14, 1898, proof is made to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that actual surveys, evidenced by designated monuments, were made, and the line of a railroad, wagon road, or tramway located thereby, or that actual construction was commenced on the line of any railroad, wagon road, or tramway, prior to January 21, 1898, the rights to inure hereunder shall, if the terms of said sections are complied with as to such railroad, wagon road, or tramway, relate back to the date when such survey or construction was commenced; and in all conflicts relative to the right-of-way or other privilege of said sections the person, company, or corporation having been first in time in actual survey or construction, as the case may be, shall be deemed first in right.