00HOUSE BILL NO. 12                                                                                                     
01 "An Act relating to an easement for the extension of the Alaska Railroad to the                                         
02 Alaska-Canada border."                                                                                                  
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1. AS 19.05.122(c) is amended to read:                                                                   
05  (c)  If the commissioner approves or modifies the proposed utility corridor and                                       
06 railroad right-of-way,                                                                                                  
07   (1)  the Department of Natural Resources shall promptly                                                              
08    (A)   classify, or reclassify, and reserve any state land within the                                             
09 utility corridor for use as a utility corridor and railroad right-of-way;                                               
10    (B)  reserve an exclusive use easement for the Alaska                                                             
11 Railroad Corporation in state land within the railroad right-of-way; and                                                
12   (C)  reserve exclusive use easements for the Alaska Railroad                                                        
13 Corporation for terminal and station areas at locations on state land                                                   
14 within the utility corridor that the corporation may designate;  and                                                   

01   (2)  the department shall                                                                                            
02   (A)  after consultation with the Alaska Railroad Corporation,                                                     
03 exercise its authority under AS 19.05.040 to acquire rights-of-way across land                                          
04 within the utility corridor  that  [WHICH] is subject to the state's power of                                         
05 condemnation;                                                                                                           
06   (B)  in coordination with the Alaska Railroad Corporation,                                                        
07 work with federal officials to secure reclassification and withdrawal of federal                                        
08 land in the utility corridor for reservations and rights-of-way across the federal                                      
09 land for use as a utility corridor and railroad right-of-way; and                                                       
10   (C)  prepare a report evaluating the impact of construction of an                                                   
11 extension of the Alaska Railroad across federal land within the railroad right-                                         
12 of-way; the statement shall satisfy the requirements for an "environmental impact statement"                            
13 under 42 U.S.C. 4332.                                                                                                   
14    * Sec. 2.  AS 19.05.122 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                             
15  (e)  In this section, "exclusive use easement" means an easement that affords                                         
16 to the Alaska Railroad Corporation the following:                                                                       
17   (1)  the exclusive right to use, possess, and enjoy the surface estate of                                            
18 the land subject to the easement for transportation, communication, and transmission                                    
19 purposes and for support functions associated with such purposes;                                                       
20   (2)  the right to use so much of the subsurface estate of the land subject                                           
21 to the easement as is necessary for transportation, communication, and transmission                                     
22 purposes and associated support functions for which the surface of such land is used;                                   
23   (3)  subjacent and lateral support of the land subject to the easement;                                              
24 and                                                                                                                     
25   (4)  the right, at the discretion of the corporation, to fence all or part of                                        
26 the land subject to the easement and to affix track, fixtures, and structures to such land                              
27 and to exclude other persons from all or part of such land.                                                             
28    * Sec. 3.  Within one year after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Natural                         
29 Resources shall reserve the exclusive use easement described in AS 19.05.122(c)(1)(B), as                               
30 added by sec. 1 of this Act, in state land that is within the railroad right-of-way on the                              
31 effective date of this Act.