Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 2.djvu/199

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PUBLIC LAW 103-272—JULY 5, 1994 108 STAT. 915 for assistance to the owner for relocation or other measures undertaken after December 31, 1977, to minimize or eliminate the danger. (2) The Secretary shall recommend to Congress that Congress authorize amounts for the relocation or other measures if the Secretary decides that— (A) the facility presents a danger of death or serious injury to an employee or passenger or of serious damage to that property; and (B) the owner should not be expected to bear the cost of that relocation or other measures. (b) To CORRECT STATE AND LOCAL VIOLATIONS. —(1) Amtrak, by itself or jointly with an owner or operator of a rail station Amtrak uses to provide rail passenger transportation, may apply to the Secretary for amounts that may be appropriated under paragraph (2) of this subsection to pay or reimburse expenses incurred after October 1, 1987, related to the station complying with an official notice received before October 1, 1987, from a State or local authority stating that the station violates or allegedly violates the building, construction, fire, electric, sanitation, mechanical, or plumbing code. (2) Not more than $1,000,000, may be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1) of this subsection. Amounts appropriated under this paragraph remain available until expended. §24311. Acquiring interests in property by eminent domain (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY. — (1) To the extent financial resources are available, Amtrak may acquire by eminent domain under subsection (b) of this section interests in property— (A) necessary for intercity rail passenger transportation, except property of a rail carrier, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a governmental authority; or (B) requested by the Secretary of Transportation in carry- ing out the Secretary's duty to design and build an intermodal transportation terminal at Union Station in the District of Columbia if the Secretary assures Amtrak that the Secretary will reimburse Amtrak. (2) Amtrak may exercise the power of eminent domain only if it cannot— (A) acquire the interest in the property by contract; or (B) agree with the owner on the purchase price for the interest. (b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—(1) A civil action to acquire an interest in property by eminent domain under subsection (a) of this section must be brought in the district court of the United States for the judicial district in which the property is located or, if a single piece of property is located in more than one judicial district, in any judicial district in which any piece of the property is located. An interest is condemned and taken by Amtrak for its use when a declaration of taking is filed under this subsection and an amount of money estimated in the declaration to be just compensation for the interest is deposited in the court. The declaration may be filed with the complaint in the action or at any time before judgment. The declaration must contain or be accompanied by— (A) a statement of the public use for which the interest is taken; (B) a description of the property sufficient to identify it; J3. -. (C) a statement of the interest in the property taken; I