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148.690 Determination of boundaries of abandoned rights-of-way and abandoned railroad corridors -- Evaluation of potential for conversion to railtrail.

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148.690 Determination of boundaries of abandoned rights-of-way and abandoned railroad corridors -- Evaluation of potential for conversion to railtrail. (1) The department shall review all formal declarations of railroad right-of-way abandonments by the Surface Transportation Board or other agency with <br>jurisdiction and may review former railroad corridors for possible inclusion in the <br>state trails system. The commissioner shall, within three (3) years after the route of <br>a trail or trail segment included in the system has been located, determine the <br>boundaries of the right-of-way to be associated with that trail. Such boundaries shall <br>be established in such a manner that they protect the scenic value of the trail. (2) The commissioner is authorized to develop effective procedures to assure that, wherever practicable, utility rights-of-way, abandoned railroad corridors, or similar <br>properties having value for trail purposes may be made available for such use; <br>however, the commissioner shall take into consideration the rights of adjacent <br>property owners in the development of any such procedures. Other departments of <br>state government having jurisdiction, control over, or information concerning the <br>use, abandonment, or disposition of rights-of-way, railroad corridors, and similar <br>properties that may be suitable for trail purposes shall cooperate with the <br>commissioner in the transfer of these rights for trail use. These procedures shall <br>include, at a minimum, that, for every railroad corridor that is the subject of a <br>request for federal authority to discontinue service or for federal regulatory <br>abandonment, the commissioner shall evaluate the potential of converting that <br>corridor into a railtrail. The commissioner shall cause a preliminary review to be <br>completed within thirty (30) days of the publication of the request for federal <br>authority in the Federal Register. The commissioner shall cause a final review to be <br>completed ninety (90) days after the publication of the request for federal authority <br>in the Federal Register. The commissioner shall timely transmit copies of these <br>reviews to the Legislative Research Commission and to the Commonwealth's <br>Railtrail Development Office in the Department for Local Government as they are <br>completed. If either review indicates the possibility of converting the corridor into a <br>railtrail, the commissioner may participate in the federal proceeding to request that <br>the corridor be railbanked in accordance with federal law or to request the <br>imposition of a public use condition. Effective: July 15, 2010 <br>History: Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 117, sec. 73, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 47, sec. 76, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts <br>ch. 338, sec. 5, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 373, sec. 2, <br>effective July 15, 1998. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 288, sec. 10.