North Dakota Century Code Title 24. Highways, Bridges, and Ferries § 24-01-41. Relocation of utility facilities

1. Whenever the director determines and orders that any utility facility which now is, or hereafter may be, located in, over, along, or under the national system of interstate and defense highways, or urban extension thereof, qualifying for federal aid should be changed, removed, or relocated to accommodate the construction of a project on the national system of interstate and defense highways, including extensions thereof within urban areas, the utility owning or operating such facility shall change, relocate, or remove the same in accordance with the order of the director; provided that the costs of the change, relocation, or removal, including the costs of installing such facilities in a new location, must be ascertained and paid to the affected utility by the state out of state highway funds as part of the cost of such federally aided project, unless such payment would violate a legal contract between the utility and the state.

2. As used in this section, the term “utility” includes all cooperatively, municipally, publicly, or privately owned utilities, for supplying water, sewer, light, gas, power, telegraph, telephone, transit, pipeline, or like service to the public or any part thereof. “Cost of change, relocation, or removal” includes the entire cost incurred by such utility properly attributable to such change, relocation, or removal after deducting therefrom any increase in the value of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old facility.

3. The department, in cooperation with utilities, shall develop or adopt procedures for administration of utility facility relocation. The procedures must comply with federal law. At a minimum, the procedures must address notification, coordination, billing, and payment. The department shall coordinate with utilities that are affected by the construction project as early as possible in the project development process.

4. The department shall coordinate utility facility relocations with the affected utility in an effort to minimize cost associated with utility facility relocations.

5. When a utility facility needs to be relocated, the department shall enter an agreement with the utility indicating if the utility facility relocation work is eligible for reimbursement, the estimated cost for the work, the anticipated construction schedule, and the location of the work.

6. This section does not affect in any way the right of any utility to receive just compensation for the expense of changing, removing, or relocating its facilities located in a private right of way.