Section 23-1-5

Payment of costs of relocation of utility facilities necessitated by construction of highways.

(a) Whenever the Director of Transportation shall determine and order that the relocation of any utility facility is necessitated by the construction of any project on the national system of interstate and defense highways, including the extensions thereof within urban areas, the utility owning or operating the utility facility shall relocate the facility in accordance with the order of the Director of Transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the cost of the utility facility relocation is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the federal government, the cost of the relocation of the utility facility shall be paid by the state as a part of the cost of the construction of the project out of the funds then or thereafter available for the highway construction after the utility has furnished the Director of Transportation with all papers, records, or other supporting documents required by the director. After the final federal bureau of public roads audit, the utility shall repay to the state the difference, if any, between the total amount paid by the state to the utility for the relocation and the total amount collected by the state from federal participation on the utility relocation, plus the state's matching share of the federal participation.

(b) Whenever the Director of Transportation shall determine and order that the relocation of any utility facility is necessitated by the construction of any highway, road, or street, other than the highways that are a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the utility owning or operating the facility shall relocate the facility in accordance with the order of the Director of Transportation at its own expense. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the facilities to be relocated are owned by any utility which had a gross income of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) or less for the calendar year immediately preceding the relocation or in the case of utilities which may be hereafter organized and created which have a gross income of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) or less in their first complete year of operation or in the calendar year immediately preceding the relocation, or in the case of utilities owned or operated by a corporation organized pursuant to Article 8, Chapter 50, Title 11, the cost of the relocation of the utility facility shall be paid by the state as a part of the cost of the construction of the project out of the funds then or thereafter available for the highway construction after the utility has furnished the Director of Transportation with all papers, records, or other supporting documents required by the director. After the final federal bureau of public roads audit, the utility shall repay to the state the difference, if any, between the total amount paid by the state to the utility for the relocation and the total amount collected by the state from federal participation on the utility relocation, plus the state's matching share of the federal participation.

(c) The Director of Transportation is authorized to enter into contracts or agreements and to conform any existing contracts or agreements with utilities in order to effectuate the purposes of this section.

(d) The word "utility" shall include publicly, privately, and cooperatively owned utilities. The words "cost of relocation" shall include the entire amount paid by the utility properly attributable to the relocation after deducting therefrom any increase in the value of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old facility. The words "national system of interstate and defense highways" mean the national system of interstate and defense highways or interstate system described in subsection (d) of Section 103 of Title 23, United States Code.

(Acts 1961, No. 474, p. 529; Acts 1982, No. 82-275, p. 346, §1; Acts 1994, No. 94-340, p. 580, §1; Act 2000-695, p. 1416, §1; Act 2000-723, p. 1548, §1; Act 2001-473, p. 633, §1.)