Railroad Revitalization.
§ 136-44.35. Railroad revitalization and corridor preservation a public purpose.
The General Assembly hereby finds that programs for railroad revitalization which assure the maintenance of safe, adequate, and efficient rail transportation services and that programs for railway corridor preservation which assure the availability of such corridors in the future are vital to the continued growth and prosperity of the State and serve the public purpose. (1979, c. 658, s. 1; 1989, c. 600, s. 1.)
§ 136-44.36. Department of Transportation designated as agency to administer federal and State railroad revitalization programs.
(a) The General Assembly hereby designates the Department of Transportation as the agency of the State of North Carolina responsible for administering all State and federal railroad revitalization programs. The Department of Transportation is authorized to develop, and the Board of Transportation is authorized to adopt, a State railroad plan, and the Department of Transportation is authorized to do all things necessary under applicable State and federal legislation to properly administer State and federal railroad revitalization programs within the State. Such authority shall include, but shall not be limited to, the power to receive federal funds and distribute and expend federal and State funds for rail programs designed to cover the costs of acquiring, by purchase, lease or other manner as the department considers appropriate, a railroad line or other rail property to maintain existing or to provide future rail service; the costs of rehabilitating and improving rail property on railroad lines to the extent necessary to permit safe, adequate and efficient rail service on such lines; and the costs of constructing rail or rail related facilities for the purpose of improving the quality, efficiency and safety of rail service. The Department shall also have the authority to preserve railroad corridors for future railroad use and interim compatible uses and may lease such corridors for interim compatible uses. Such authority shall also include the power to receive and administer federal financial assistance without State financial participation to railroad companies to cover the costs of local rail service continuation payments, of rail line rehabilitation, and of rail line construction as listed above. This Article shall not be construed to grant to the department the power or authority to operate directly any rail line or rail facilities.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the acceptance of federal funds by the Department of Transportation for rail programs shall be subject to the following:
(1) Report. - For any project under subsection (a) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall report the project details, including the amounts of federal funds and any State matching funds, as well as the expected annual maintenance and operational costs to the State of the project for the next 25 years, to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee if the General Assembly is not in session, or to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Department of Transportation if the General Assembly is in session.
(2) Consultation. - If either the amount of State matching funds required by the federal grant or the amount of future annual maintenance and operational costs of the project are reasonably expected to exceed three million dollars ($3,000,000), then the Department shall not accept the federal funds prior to consultation with the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee if the General Assembly is not in session, or with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Department of Transportation if the General Assembly is in session. Failure of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, or the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Department of Transportation to hold a meeting with the Department of Transportation within 60 days of a written request for a meeting from the Department of Transportation shall be deemed a waiver of consultation by the committee.
(3) Approval. - If either the amount of State matching funds required by the federal grant or the amount of future annual maintenance and operational costs of the project are reasonably expected to exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000), then the Department's acceptance of funds shall be subject to approval of the project by an act of the General Assembly. If 30 days have passed since consultation or the expiration of the consultation period under subdivision (2) of this subsection, then the inaction of the General Assembly, including the lack of an extra session to address the project, shall be deemed an approval of the project, and the Department may accept the funds without an act of the General Assembly.
For purposes of this subsection, the terms "State matching funds" and "annual maintenance and operational costs to the State" shall not include funds that may pass through the Department of Transportation but that originally came from a non-State source. (1979, c. 658, s. 2; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1071, s. 1; 1989, c. 600, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 28.15.)
§ 136-44.36A. Railway corridor preservation.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is authorized, pursuant to 16 U.S.C.A. § 1247(d), to preserve rail transportation corridors and permit compatible interim uses of such corridors. (1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1071, s. 2.)
§ 136-44.36B. Power of Department to preserve and acquire railroad corridors.
In exercising its power to preserve railroad corridors, the Department of Transportation may acquire property for new railroad corridors and may acquire property that is or has been part of a railroad corridor by purchase, gift, condemnation, or other method, provided that the Department may not condemn part of an existing, active railroad line. The procedures in Article 9 of this Chapter apply when the Department condemns property to preserve or acquire a railroad corridor. (1989, c. 600, s. 3; 1991, c. 673, s. 1.)
§ 136-44.36C. Installment contracts authorized.
The Department of Transportation may purchase active or inactive railroad lines, corridors, rights-of-way, locomotives, rolling stock, and other rail property, both real and personal, by installment contracts which create in the property purchased a security interest to secure payment of the purchase money. No deficiency judgment may be rendered against the Department of Transportation in any action for breach of a contractual obligation authorized by this section, and the taxing power of the State is not and may not be pledged directly or indirectly to secure any money due the seller. (1991, c. 673, s. 2.)
§ 136-44.36D. Recreational leasing requirements.
Portions of rail corridors held by the North Carolina Department of Transportation in fee simple absolute may be leased by the Department for interim public recreation use provided the following conditions are met:
(1) Before requesting trail use, a sponsoring unit of local government has held a public hearing in accordance with G.S. 143-318.12 and notified the owners of all parcels of land abutting the corridor as shown on the county tax listing of the hearing date, place, and time by first-class mail at the last addresses listed for such owners on the county tax abstracts. A transcript of all public comments presented at the hearing has been sent to the North Carolina Department of Transportation at the time of requesting use of the corridor.
(2) A unit of local government has requested use of the rail corridor or a portion thereof for interim public recreational trail use, and agrees in writing to assume all development costs as well as management, security, and liability responsibilities as defined by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
(3) Adjacent property owners are offered broad voting representation by membership in the organization, if any, that is delegated most immediate responsibility for development and management of the rail-trail by the sponsoring local government.
(4) The North Carolina Department of Transportation has determined that there will not likely be a need to resume active rail service in the leased portion of the rail corridor for at least 10 years.
(5) Any lease or other agreement allowing trail use includes terms for resumption of active rail use which will assure unbroken continuation of the corridor's perpetual use for railroad purposes and interim compatible uses.
(6) Use of the rail corridor or portions thereof as a recreational trail does not interfere with the ultimate transportation purposes of the corridor as determined by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. (1991, c. 751, s. 1; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u).)
§ 136-44.37. Department to provide nonfederal matching share.
The Department of Transportation upon approval by the Board of Transportation and the Director of the Budget may provide for the matching share of federal rail revitalization assistance programs through private resources, county funds or State appropriations as may be provided by the General Assembly. (1979, c. 658, s. 3; 1983, c. 717, s. 48; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 955, ss. 47, 48; 2006-203, s. 76.)
§ 136-44.38. Department to provide State and federal financial assistance to cities and counties for rail revitalization.
(a) The Department of Transportation is authorized to distribute to cities and counties State financial assistance for local rail revitalization programs provided that every rail revitalization project for which State financial assistance would be utilized must be approved by the Board of Transportation and by the Director of the Budget.
(b) Repealed by Session Laws 1989, c. 600, s. 4. (1979, c. 658, s. 3; 1983, c. 717, s. 48; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 955, ss. 49, 50; 1989, c. 600, s. 4; 2006-203, s. 77.)
§ 136-44.39. Department to provide State and federal financial assistance to short-line railroads.
The Department of Transportation is authorized to provide assistance to short-line railroads to continue and enhance common carrier rail service in the State so as to assist in economic development and access to ports and military installations. Assistance under this section may include funds from the Rail Industrial Access Program, the Short Line Infrastructure Access Program, and any other programs that may exist or be established for these purposes. Grants under this section shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the nonfederal share and must be matched by equal or greater funding from the applicant. (2011-145, s. 28.13; 2016-94, s. 35.21(b).)
§§ 136-44.40 through 136-44.49. Reserved for future codification purposes.