(a) The Act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat. 1253), as amended by the Act of May 27, 1952 (66 Stat. 95; 43 U.S.C. 961), authorizes right-of-way grants across tribal, individually owned and Government-owned land for electrical poles and lines for the transmission and distribution of electrical power. Rights-of-way granted under that act shall be subject to the provisions of this section as well as other pertinent sections of this part 169. Except when otherwise determined by the Secretary, rights-of-way granted for such purposes under the Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 17; 25 U.S.C. 323-328) shall also be subject to the provisions of this section.
(b) All applications, other than those made by power-marketing agencies of the Department of the Interior, for authority to survey, locate, or commence construction work on any project for the generation of electric power, or the transmission or distribution of electrical power of 66 kV or higher involving Government-owned lands shall be referred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Power Resources or such other agency as may be designated for the area involved, for consideration of the relationship of the proposed project to the power development program of the United States. Where the proposed project will not conflict with the program of the United States, the Secretary, upon notification to the effect, may then proceed to act upon the application. In the case of necessary changes respecting the proposed location, construction, or utilization of the project in order to eliminate conflicts with the power development program of the United States, the Secretary shall obtain from the applicant written consent to or compliance with such requirements before taking further action on the application.
(c) A right-of-way granted under the said Act of March 4, 1911, as amended, shall be limited to a term not exceeding 50 years from the date of the issuance of such grant.
(d) Rights-of-way for power lines shall be limited to those widths which can be justified and in no event shall exceed a width of 200 feet on each side of the centerline.
(e) The applicant shall make provision, or bear the reasonable cost (as may be determined by the Secretary) of making provision, for avoiding inductive interference between any project transmission line or other project works constructed, operated, or maintained by it on the right-of-way authorized under the grant and any radio installation, telephone line, or other communication facilities now or hereafter constructed and operated by the United States or any agency thereof. This provision shall not relieve the applicant from any responsibility or requirement which may be imposed by other lawful authority for avoiding or eliminating inductive interference.
(f) An applicant for a right-of-way for a transmission line across Government-owned lands having a voltage of 66 kV or more must, in addition to the stipulation required by Sec. 169.5, execute and file with its application a stipulation agreeing to accept the right-of-way grant subject to the following conditions:
(1) The applicant agrees that, in the event it becomes necessary for the United States to acquire the applicant's transmission line or facilities constructed on or across such right-of-way, the United States reserves the right to acquire such line or facilities at a sum to be determined upon by a representative of the applicant, a representative of the Secretary of the Interior, and a third representative to be selected by the other two for the purpose of determining the value of such property thus to be acquired by the United States.
(2) To allow the Department of the Interior to utilize for the transmission of electrical power any surplus capacity of the line in excess of the capacity needed by the holder of the grant for the transmission of electrical power in connection with the applicant's operations, or to increase the capacity of the line at the Department's expense and to utilize the increased capacity for the transmission of electrical power. Utilization by the Department of surplus or increased capacity shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(i) When the Department desires to utilize surplus capacity thought to exist in a line, notification will be given to the applicant and the applicant shall furnish to the Department within 30 days a certificate stating whether the line has any surplus capacity not needed by the applicant for the transmission of electrical power in connection with the applicant's operations, and, if so, the extent of such surplus capacity.
(ii) In order to utilize any surplus capacity certified by the applicant to be available, or any increased capacity provided by the Department at its own expense, the Department may interconnect its transmission facilities with the applicant's line in a manner conformable to approved standards of practice for the interconnection of transmission circuits.
(iii) The expense of interconnection will be borne by the Department, and the Department will at all times provide and maintain adequate switching, relaying, and protective equipment so as to insure that the normal and efficient operation of the applicant's line will not be impaired.
(iv) After any interconnection is completed, the applicant shall operate and maintain its line in good condition; and, except in emergencies, shall maintain in a closed position all connections under the applicant's control between the applicant's line and the interconnecting facilities provided by the Department.
(v) The interconnected power systems of the Department and the applicant will be operated in parallel.
(vi) The transmission of electrical power by the Department over the applicant's line will be effected in such manner and quantity as will not interfere unreasonably with the applicant's use and operation of the line in accordance with the applicant's normal operating standards, except that the Department shall have the exclusive right to utilize any increased capacity of the line which has been provided at the Department's expense.
(vii) The applicant will not be obligated to allow the transmission over its line by the Department of electrical power to any person receiving service from the applicant on the date of the filing of the application for a grant, other than persons entitled to statutory preference in connection with the distribution and sale of electrical power by the Department.
(viii) The Department will pay to the applicant an equitable share of the total monthly cost of maintaining and operating the part of the applicant's line utilized by the Department for the transmission of electrical power, the payment to be an amount in dollars representing the same proportion of the total monthly operation and maintenance cost of such part of the line as the maximum amount in kilowatts of the power transmitted on a scheduled basis by the Department over the applicant's line during the month bears to the total capacity in kilowatts of that part of the line. The total monthly cost may include interest and amortization, in accordance with the system of accounts prescribed by the Federal Power Commission, on the applicant's net total investment (exclusive of any investment by the Department) in the part of the line utilized by the Department.
(ix) If, at any time subsequent to a certification by the applicant that surplus capacity is available for utilization by the Department, the applicant needs for the transmission of electrical power in connection with its operations the whole or any part of the capacity of the line theretofore certified as being surplus to its needs, the applicant may modify or revoke the previous certification by giving the Secretary of the Interior 30 months' notice, in advance, of the applicant's intention in this respect. After the revocation of a certificate, the Department's utilization of the particular line will be limited to the increased capacity, if any, provided by the Department at its expense.
(x) If, during the existence of the grant, the applicant desires reciprocal accommodations for the transmission of electrical power over the interconnecting system of the Department to its line, such reciprocal accommodations will be accorded under terms and conditions similar to those prescribed in this paragraph with respect to the transmission by the Department of electrical power over the applicant's line.
(xi) The terms and conditions prescribed in this paragraph may be modified at any time by means of a supplemental agreement negotiated between the applicant and the Secretary of the Interior or his designee.
(g) Applicants may apply for additional lands for generating plants and appurtenant facilities. The lands desired for such purposes may be indicated on the maps showing the definite location of the right-of-way, but separate maps must be filed therefor. Such maps shall show enough of the line of route to indicate the position of the tract with respect to said line. The tract shall be located with respect to the public survey as provided in Sec. 169.8, and all buildings or other structures shall be platted on a scale sufficiently large to show clearly their dimensions and relative positions. [33 FR 19803, Dec. 27, 1968, as amended at 38 FR 14680, June 4, 1973. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982]