§ 942-1. — Rights of way in Alaska; railroad rights of way; reservations; water transportation connections; State title to submerged lands; Federal repossession as trustee; "navigable waters" defined; posting schedules of rates; changes in rates.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC942-1]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 22--RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OTHER EASEMENTS IN PUBLIC LANDS
Sec. 942-1. Rights of way in Alaska; railroad rights of way;
reservations; water transportation connections; State title to
submerged lands; Federal repossession as trustee; ``navigable
waters'' defined; posting schedules of rates; changes in rates
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 10762 \1\ of
title 49, and such rates shall be subject to revision and modification
by the Secretary of the Interior.
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\1\ See References in Text note below.
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(May 14, 1898, ch. 299, Sec. 2, 30 Stat. 409.)
Repeal of Section
Section repealed by Pub. L. 94-579, title VII, Sec. 706(a), Oct.
21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2793, effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976,
insofar as applicable to the issuance of rights-of-way over, upon,
under, and through the public lands and lands in the National Forest
System.
References in Text
Sections 687a and 687a-2 to 687a-5 of this title, referred to in
text, were repealed by Pub. L. 94-579, title VII, Secs. 703(a), 704(a),
Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2792.
Section 10762 of title 49, referred to in text, was omitted in the
general amendment of subtitle IV of Title 49, Transportation, by Pub. L.
104-88, title I, Sec. 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804. Previously,
``section 10762 of title 49'' was substituted in text for ``section 6 of
an Act to regulate commerce as amended on March second, eighteen hundred
and eighty-nine [49 U.S.C. 6]'' on authority of Pub. L. 95-473,
Sec. 3(b), Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1466, the first section of which
enacted subtitle IV of Title 49.
Section was formerly classified to section 411 of Title 48,
Territories and Insular Possessions.
Short Title
Sections 942-1 to 942-9 of this title are popularly known as the
``Alaska Right of Way Act''.
Savings Provision
Repeal by Pub. L. 94-579 insofar as applicable to the issuance of
rights-of-way not to be construed as terminating any valid lease,
permit, patent, etc., existing on Oct. 21, 1976, see section 701 of Pub.
L. 94-579, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title.
Admission of Alaska as State
Admission of Alaska into the Union was accomplished Jan. 3, 1959, on
issuance of Proc. No. 3269, Jan. 3, 1959. 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, as
required by sections 1 and 8(c) of Pub. L. 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72
Stat. 339, set out as notes preceding section 21 of Title 48,
Territories and Insular Possessions.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 942-3, 942-4, 942-5, 942-6,
942-7, 942-8 of this title; title 16 section 3215.
