HF 3440

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to highways; regulating relocation and new 
  1.3             installation of utility facilities due to construction 
  1.4             projects in highway right-of-way; making clarifying 
  1.5             and technical changes; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             2000, section 161.45, as amended. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 161.45, as 
  1.9   amended by Laws 2001, First Special Session chapter 4, article 
  1.10  6, section 22, is amended to read: 
  1.11     161.45 [UTILITY ON HIGHWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY; RELOCATION.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [RULES.] (a) Electric transmission, 
  1.13  telephone, or telegraph lines; pole lines; community antenna 
  1.14  television lines; railways; ditches; sewers; water, heat, or gas 
  1.15  mains; gas and other pipelines; flumes; or other structures 
  1.16  which that, under the laws of this state or the ordinance of any 
  1.17  statutory or home rule charter city, may be constructed, placed, 
  1.18  or maintained across or along any trunk highway, or the roadway 
  1.19  thereof, by any person, persons, or corporation, however 
  1.20  organized, or any political subdivision of the state, may be so 
  1.21  maintained or hereafter constructed only in accordance with such 
  1.22  rules as may be prescribed by the commissioner who shall have 
  1.23  power to.  The commissioner may prescribe and enforce reasonable 
  1.24  rules with reference to the for placing and maintaining along, 
  1.25  across, or in any such trunk highway of any of the utilities 
  1.26  hereinbefore set forth in this paragraph. 
  2.1      (b) Nothing herein shall restrict the actions of public 
  2.2   authorities in extraordinary emergencies nor restrict the power 
  2.3   and authority of the commissioner of commerce as provided for in 
  2.4   other provisions of law.  Provided, however, that in the event 
  2.5   any local subdivision of government has enacted ordinances 
  2.6   relating to the method of installation or requiring underground 
  2.7   installation of such community antenna television lines, the 
  2.8   permit granted by the commissioner of transportation shall 
  2.9   require compliance with such those local ordinance ordinances. 
  2.10     Subd. 1a.  [LOCATING AND MEASURING UNDERGROUND UTILITY 
  2.11  FACILITIES.] (a) Relocations and new installations of 
  2.12  underground utility facilities described in subdivision 1 on 
  2.13  department of transportation construction projects let after 
  2.14  July 1, 2002, must be located and measured by the owner or 
  2.15  operator of the facility to an accuracy of 0.5 feet following 
  2.16  "Part 3:  National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy" of the 
  2.17  "Geospatial Positioning Accuracy Standards" for reporting 
  2.18  spatial locations, issued by the Federal Geographic Data 
  2.19  Committee, National Mapping Division, United States Geological 
  2.20  Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 
  2.21     (b) The measurement must be reported in x, y, and z 
  2.22  coordinates referenced to the North American Datum of 1983, 1986 
  2.23  Adjustment or High Accuracy Reference Network Adjustment, NAD 83 
  2.24  (1986), for horizontal locations and to the North American 
  2.25  Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) for vertical locations, compiled 
  2.26  by the National Geodetic Survey. 
  2.27     (c) The horizontal and vertical alignment and elevation 
  2.28  position must be reported at minimum intervals of 50 feet and at 
  2.29  each point where the direction of the facility changes.  The x, 
  2.30  y, and z coordinates must define the top center of the facility. 
  2.31     (d) The location and measurement information must be 
  2.32  provided to the commissioner in the form and manner required by 
  2.33  the commissioner. 
  2.34     (e) After July 1, 2004, the owner or operator of an 
  2.35  existing or new underground utility facility constructed, 
  2.36  placed, maintained, or relocated along, across, or in any trunk 
  3.1   highway right-of-way shall provide location and measurement 
  3.2   information for the facilities to an accuracy of 0.5 feet in 
  3.3   compliance with the standards described in this subdivision.  
  3.4   The commissioner may not issue a permit for the installation of 
  3.5   new utility facilities, other than those required by a 
  3.6   department of transportation construction project, if the owner 
  3.7   or operator has failed to provide the information required by 
  3.8   this subdivision. 
  3.9      (f) This subdivision supersedes any contrary provision of 
  3.10  chapter 505, 508, or 508A, or other law; provided that, this 
  3.11  subdivision does not apply to counties or to statutory or home 
  3.12  rule charter cities. 
  3.13     Subd. 2.  [RELOCATION OF UTILITY.] Whenever the relocation 
  3.14  of any utility facility is necessitated by the construction of a 
  3.15  project on trunk highway routes other than those described in 
  3.16  section 161.46, subdivision 2, the relocation work may be made a 
  3.17  part of the state highway construction contract or let as a 
  3.18  separate contract as provided by law (1) at the discretion of 
  3.19  the commissioner and in consultation with the owner, or (2) if 
  3.20  the owner or operator of the facility requests the commissioner 
  3.21  to act as its agent for the purpose of relocating the facilities 
  3.22  and if the commissioner determines that such action is in the 
  3.23  best interests of the state.  Payment by the utility owner or 
  3.24  operator to the state shall must be in accordance with 
  3.25  applicable statutes and the rules for utilities on trunk 
  3.26  highways. 
  3.27     Subd. 2a.  [NOTICE REQUIRED.] The commissioner shall notify 
  3.28  utility facility owners of planned construction projects and 
  3.29  provide preliminary and detailed plans as far in advance as 
  3.30  possible.  The commissioner shall notify the utility facility 
  3.31  owner no later than the time when the final geometric layout is 
  3.32  completed for projects that do not require the acquisition of 
  3.33  new right-of-way, or no later than the time when construction 
  3.34  limits are determined for projects that require the acquisition 
  3.35  of new right-of-way. 
  3.36     Subd. 3.  [UTILITY INTERESTS WHEN REAL PROPERTY CONVEYED.] 
  4.1   In proceedings to vacate, transfer, turn back, or otherwise 
  4.2   convey an interest in real property owned or controlled by the 
  4.3   department, when the property is owned in fee by the state, the 
  4.4   commissioner may specify that the conveyance of the department's 
  4.5   interest does not affect a prior, existing utility easement in 
  4.6   the property or use of the property granted to a utility under 
  4.7   permit issued by the department.  In addition, the commissioner 
  4.8   may convey interests in real property, including an easement, 
  4.9   subject to the right of a utility to enter upon the right-of-way 
  4.10  to maintain, repair, replace, reconstruct, improve, remove, or 
  4.11  otherwise attend to its equipment.  Where If the utility had no 
  4.12  preexisting easement over the real property, this subdivision 
  4.13  does not prohibit a political subdivision, government agency, or 
  4.14  private entity from negotiating or contracting with a utility 
  4.15  with regard to the utility's easement or other interest in the 
  4.16  property, but the utility shall continue continues to hold the 
  4.17  interest in the property and the right of reasonable entry 
  4.18  unless and until the utility agrees in writing to relinquish its 
  4.19  interests.