ACQUISITION OF UNECONOMIC REMNANTS UNDER 23 U.S.C. 109(F)

The principle that no more land shall be taken than is needed for a public improvement appears in codified form as relating to the taking of land for highway purposes, in the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 109(f). This section of the United States Code was first enacted into law pursuant to the provisions of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, P.L. 78-521, December 20, 1944, 58 Stat. 838. The provisions remain today in form that is not changed in any substantial particular. No significant problem arose in respect to remnant acquisition until the passage on January 2, 1971, by the United States Congress of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, P.L. 91-646, 84 Stat. 1894. The problem arose in connection with Section 301(9) of Title III of said Act, which contained the following provision: "If the acquisition of only part of a property would leave its owner with an uneconomic remnant, the head of the Federal agency concerned shall offer to acquire the entire property." The conflict evident in these two provisions of the U.S.C. is the subject matter of this paper. The paper reviews the rules of statutory construction that have evolved over the years in the interpretation of apparently conflicting statutes, and through the application of such rules, seeks to make determination as to how the States are affected, in respect to land acquisition involving Federal participation, by the apparent conflict.

• Digital Copy:
  • Purchase a digital copy of this publication for $25 USD
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/030902434X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • An Editor's Note explains the somewhat different view taken by the Federal Highway Administration on how it must administer the statutes analyzed in this paper. Page range: 796-N1 through 796-N22.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Vance, J C
• Publication Date: 1988-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 22 p.
• Serial:
  • Selected Studies in Highway Law
  • Volume: 2
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Constitutional law; Highway law; Legislation; Property acquisition; Psychological conflict
• Old TRIS Terms: Legislative intent; Uneconomic remnants
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00488256
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0-309-02434-X
• Report/Paper Numbers: Addendum 4
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 30 1989 12:00AM