[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2687 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2687

To facilitate the extension of the Alaska Railroad for national defense 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2002

 Mr. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To facilitate the extension of the Alaska Railroad for national defense 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This act may be cited as the ``National Defense Rail Connection Act 
of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) A comprehensive rail transportation network is a key element of 
an integrated transportation system for the North American continent, 
and Federal leadership is required to address the needs of a reliable, 
safe, and secure rail network, and to connect all areas of the United 
States for national defense and economic development, as previously 
done for the interstate highway system, the Federal aviation network, 
and the transcontinental railroad.
    (b) The creation and use of joint use corridors for rail 
transportation, fiber optics, pipelines, and utilities are an efficient 
and appropriate approach to optimizing the Nation's interconnectivity 
and national security.
    (c) Government assistance and encouragement in the development of 
the transcontinental rail system successfully led to the growth of 
economically strong and socially stable communities throughout the 
western United States.
    (d) Government assistance and encouragement in the development of 
the Alaska Railroad between Seward, Alaska and Fairbanks, Alaska 
successfully led to the growth of economically strong and socially 
stable communities along the route, which today provide homes for over 
70 percent of Alaska's total population.
    (e) While Alaska and the remainder of the continental United States 
has been connected by highway and air transportation, no rail 
connection exists despite the fact that Alaska is accessible by land 
routes and is a logical destination for the North American rail system.
    (f) Rail transportation in otherwise isolated areas is an 
appropriate means of providing controlled access, reducing overall 
impacts to environmentally sensitive areas over other methods of land-
based access.
    (g) Because Congress originally authorized 1,000 miles of rail line 
to be built in Alaska, and because the system today covers only 
approximately half that distance, substantially limiting its beneficial 
effect on the economy of Alaska and the Nation, it is appropriate to 
support the expansion of the Alaska system to ensure the originally 
planned benefits are achieved.
    (h) Alaska has an abundance of natural resources, both material and 
aesthetic, access to which would significantly increase Alaska's 
contribution to the national economy.
    (i) Alaska contains many key national defense installations, 
including sites chosen for the construction of the first phase of the 
National Missile Defense system, the cost of which could be 
significantly reduced if rail transportation were available for the 
movement of materials necessary for construction and for the secure 
movement of launch vehicles, fuel and other operational supplies.
    (j) The 106th Congress recognized the potential benefits of 
establishing a rail connection to Alaska by enacting legislation to 
authorize a U.S.-Canada bilateral commission to study the feasibility 
of linking the rail system in Alaska to the nearest appropriate point 
in Canada of the North American rail network.
    (k) In support of pending bilateral activities between the United 
States and Canada, it is appropriate for the United States to undertake 
activities relating to elements within the United States.

SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF NATIONAL DEFENSE RAILROAD-UTILITY CORRIDOR.

    (a) Within one year from the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Transportation, the State of Alaska and the Alaska Railroad 
Corporation, shall identify a proposed national defense railroad-
utility corridor linking the existing corridor of the Alaska Railroad 
to the vicinity of the proposed National Missile Defense facilities at 
Fort Greely, Alaska. The corridor shall be at least 500 feet wide and 
shall also identify land for such terminals, stations, maintenance 
facilities, switching yards, and material sites as are considered 
necessary.
    (b) The identification of the corridor under paragraph (a) shall 
include information providing a complete legal description for and 
noting the current ownership of the proposed corridor and associated 
land.
    (c) In identifying the corridor under paragraph (a), the Secretary 
shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors:
            (1) The proximity of national defense installations and 
        national defense considerations.
            (2) The location of and access to natural resources that 
        could contribute to economic development of the region.
            (3) Grade and alignment standards that are commensurate 
        with rail and utility construction standards and that minimize 
        the prospect of at-grade railroad and highway crossings.
            (4) Availability of construction materials.
            (5) Safety.
            (6) Effects on and service to adjacent communities and 
        potential intermodal transportation connections.
            (7) Environmental concerns.
            (8) Use of public land to the maximum degree possible.
            (9) Minimization of probable construction costs.
            (10) An estimate of probable construction costs and methods 
        of financing such costs through a combination of private, 
        State, and Federal sources.
            (11) Appropriate utility elements for the corridor, 
        including but not limited to petroleum product pipelines, 
        fiber-optic telecommunication facilities, and electrical power 
        transmission lines.
            (12) Prior and established traditional uses.
    (d) The Secretary may, as part of the corridor identification, 
include issues related to the further extension of such corridor to a 
connection with the nearest appropriate terminus of the North American 
rail network in Canada.

SEC. 4. NEGOTIATION AND LAND TRANSFER.

    (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) upon completion of the corridor identification in 
        section 3, negotiate the acquisition of any lands in the 
        corridor which are not federally owned through an exchange for 
        lands of equal or greater value held by the Federal Government 
        elsewhere in Alaska; and
            (2) upon completion of the acquisition of lands under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall convey to the Alaska 
        Railroad Corporation, subject to valid existing rights, title 
        to the lands identified under section 3 as necessary to 
        complete the national defense railroad-utility corridor, on 
        condition that the Alaska Railroad Corporation construct in the 
        corridor an extension of the railroad system to the vicinity of 
        the proposed national missile defense installation at Fort 
        Greely, Alaska, together with such other utilities, including 
        but not limited to fiber-optic transmission lines and 
        electrical transmission lines, as it considers necessary and 
        appropriate. The Federal interest in lands conveyed to the 
        Alaska Railroad Corporation under this Act shall be the same as 
        in lands conveyed pursuant to the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act 
        (45 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).

SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.

    Actions authorized in this Act shall proceed immediately and to 
conclusion not withstanding the land-use planning provisions of section 
202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Public Law 
94-579.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
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