Opinion ID: 311492
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the special land use permit

Text: 21
22 The pending application by appellee Alyeska to the Bureau of Land Management requests, as indicated above, the temporary use of such minimum amounts of land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior as may be reasonably necessary for construction of a proposed 48 diameter oil pipeline   . 17 The application states that [a]fter construction has been completed, no continuing interest in this additional space is or will be claimed by Alyeska.    Alyeska recognizes that any authorization to use the space    will remain at all times revocable at will by the government, without cause or justification, and without giving rise to any claim against the government arising out of such revocation. 18 23 While the application states that [t]he precise amount of land required for construction purposes may only be approximated at this time, 19 it also provides what all parties agree are fair estimates of the amount of space to be used outside and in addition to the basic 54-foot right-of-way, the legality of which is not challenged under the Mineral Leasing Act. The application states: 24    [A]pproximately 85 per cent of the right-of-way (approximately 662 miles) will require the temporary use of widths ranging from 46 to 146 feet. Approximately twothirds of this distance (about 456 miles) will require temporary widths of 96 feet or less. Along the remainder of the route, instances will occur where greater widths will be necessary, such as at river crossings, road crossings, and in mountainous terrain. Temporary widths exceeding 246 feet are expected to comprise only about 28 miles of the 789-mile pipeline route, occurring primarily at river crossings and in particularly difficult terrain. 20 25 (Footnote omitted.) 26 In order to understand what the SLUP will be used for, why it is needed, and whether it is legal, it is necessary to consider some of the mechanics of pipeline construction. Most of the proposed pipeline will be buried underground, the remainder being placed on a gravel berm or on raised pilings. We will only describe construction under the burial mode since construction under the other modes differs only slightly with respect to the amount of land used. Construction proceeds step-by-step through a number of distinct operations. First, prior to construction a centerline is surveyed and marked. A construction zone is cleared and graded, and the ditch for the pipe is dug. The pipe, valves, fittings and coating materials are then transported to the job site and the pipe is strung along the open ditch. Frequently it is necessary to bend the pipe by machine at the site to fit the alignment and contour of the ditch. Strings of pipe are then aligned, clamped, and welded together. Joined sections of pipe are lowered into the ditch by heavy sideboom tractors. These sections are then joined to the pipe already in place and the pipe receives its final coatings. The ditch is then backfilled and compacted. 27 A minimum work area of about 55 feet on one side of the pipe is necessary along the entire length of the pipe. The modern method of pipeline construction requires use of bulky and heavy equipment designed to operate from one side of the pipe only. It is essential to provide adequate vehicle passing space along the entire length of the proposed route since pipe sections must constantly be trucked to the head of the construction area, and sideboom tractors which have finished lifting and lowering sections of pipe must pass ahead of others still engaged in such operations to take up new positions as construction of the line advances. Space is needed for the transport of men and equipment, and safety margins must be provided to avoid collisions. 28 The land in most areas along the proposed route is permafrost-that is, land which absent human interference remains frozen throughout the year. To prevent thawing and other disturbance of the permafrost during construction in these areas, and to prevent the sinking of heavy equipment, a gravel work pad must be constructed over the working area. The pad is basically a gravel road with gravel compacted to a depth of from 18 inches to five feet. 21 Of the total 9600 acres of land estimated to be covered by the SLUP, about 3600 acres represent land to be used for this construction area and work pad. 29 The remaining 6000 acres will be used in other, construction-related ways. First, whenever the pipeline passes through hilly or mountainous areas, or where it crosses a river or road, it is often necessary to modify the grade in areas adjacent to the actual construction area to assure slope stability and to provide for a level construction area. Grading these adjacent areas produces large amounts of rock, dirt and gravel, known as cut spoil, which must be piled up on the side of the pipeline opposite the construction side. In addition, the material removed from the ground when the ditch is dug and displaced by the pipeline when it is placed in the ditch-known as ditch spoil-must also be piled up opposite the construction side of the pipeline. In laymen's terms, then, the other 6000 acres will be used to grade away mountains and hills in some areas, and to pile their remains, along with ditch spoil, in others. 30
31 Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 30 U.S.C. Sec. 185, provides in pertinent part: 32 Rights-of-way through the public lands, including the forest reserves of the United States, may be granted by the Secretary of the Interior for pipeline purposes for the transportation of oil or natural gas to any applicant possessing the qualifications provided in section 181 of this title, to the extent of the ground occupied by the said pipe line and twenty-five feet on each side of the same under such regulations and conditions as to survey, location, application, and use as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior and upon the express condition that such pipe lines shall be constructed, operated, and maintained as common carriers and shall accept, convey, transport, or purchase without discrimination, oil or natural gas produced from Government lands in the vicinity of the pipe line in such proportionate amounts as the Secretary of the Interior may, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties and a proper finding of facts, determine to be reasonable:    Provided further, That no right-of-way shall hereafter be granted over said lands for the transportation of oil or natural gas except under and subject to the provisions, limitations, and conditions of this section. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section or the regulations and conditions prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior shall be ground for forfeiture of the grant by the United States district court for the district in which the property, or some part thereof, is located in an appropriate proceeding. 33 Appellants contend that the SLUP for the construction zone violates that portion of Section 28 which provides That no right-of-way shall hereafter be granted over said lands for the transportation of oil or natural gas except under and subject to the provisions, limitations, and conditions of this section. That is, appellants claim that the SLUP is a right-of-way for the transportation of oil which violates one of the provisions, limitations, and conditions of Section 28 in that it exceeds the statutory width limitation to the extent of the ground occupied by the said pipe line and twenty-five feet on each side of the same   . 34 Appellees' response also focuses on a literal reading of the statutory language. Interior argues that a temporary, revocable permit is not a right-of-way. In its view, a right-of-way is an easement, a permanent interest in land. A revocable permit, on the other hand, is like a license which is not an interest in land. A permit, by this reasoning, cannot be a right-of-way. Alyeska adopts a similar approach. In its view [f]ailure to make a distinction between acts which convey an interest in land and those which merely allow its use is the fundamental flaw in Wilderness Society's arguments. The term [right-of-way] implies conveyance of an interest in the land, rather than a mere license to use the land. In support of their position, appellees cite several cases in which a statutory grant of a right-of-way was construed to grant a permanent easement. See, e. g., Great Northern Ry Co. v. United States, 315 U.S. 262, 271, 62 S.Ct. 529, 86 L.Ed. 836 (1942); Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v. State Highway Comm'n, 294 U.S. 613, 618, 55 S.Ct. 563, 79 L.Ed. 1090 (1935); United States v. Welch, 217 U. S. 333, 339, 30 S.Ct. 527, 54 L.Ed. 787 (1910). 35 Although we base our statutory interpretation not merely on a literal reading of the statute but on other indicia of legislative intent, we conclude that a literal reading indicates a result favorable to appellants. To begin with, it seems clear that a revocable permit to use land is a right-of-way. Most statutory grants of rights-of-way, it is true, are construed as grants of permanent easements, but rights-of-way are occasionally construed as revocable licenses, 22 and, more importantly, there is nothing in the accepted definition of the phrase right-of-way which restricts its application to permanent interests in land. A right-of-way is most typically defined as the right of passage over another person's land. 23 It has been said that [a] right of way is nothing more than a special and limited right of use, 24 a definition that sounds remarkably similar to the special land use permit issued in this case. There is no temporal element in these definitions. Both a revocable license and a permanent easement fall within their language. The regulations of the Bureau of Land Management recognize this when they define the term right-of-way as follows:  'Right-of-way' includes license, permit, or easement, as the case may be   . 43 C.F.R. Sec. 2800.0-5(i) (1972). 25 36 Appellees also argue that a revocable permit cannot be a right-of-way because the latter term refers to an interest in land, and licenses are not interests in land. An examination of relevant authority, however, indicates that licenses are indeed interests in land. They may not be the kind of interests in land that must be created in writing or recorded to be enforced, 26 or the kind of interests in land for which compensation must be paid following condemnation for public use, 27 but they are nevertheless interests in land. See 3 R. Powell, Real Property p 428 at 526.63 (1970); 2 A. Casner (ed.), American Law of Property Sec. 8.110 at 317 (1952). The Restatement provides: All 'licenses,' as the term is used in this Chapter, are 'interests in land' as that phrase is used in the Restatement of Property. Restatement of Property Sec. 512, Comment c, at 3116 (1944). In fact, the affidavit of an individual knowledgeable about customary practices in the oil pipeline industry, introduced into the record by appellees, supports the view that a grant of permission to use land for construction purposes is a grant of an interest in land. Thus where construction of a pipeline takes place over privately owned property, according to this affidavit, space necessary for construction is purchased or condemned    for the time necessary for construction of the pipeline. 28 37 Appellees also make the argument that the land covered by the SLUP will not be used for pipe-line purposes or for the transportation of oil within the meaning of Section 28. Interior argues that [t]he temporary revocable permits do not pertain to land to be used for the transportation of oil or natural gas. Alyeska argues that [i]f one applies normal rules of construction, Congress must have intended something by the use of the phrase 'pipe line purposes' that was not synonymous with construction and maintenance. But we would have to stretch the statutory language totally beyond its natural meaning to conclude that the SLUP in this case is not being issued for pipe-line purposes. As the United States Supreme Court had occasion to note, This Court naturally does not review congressional enactments as a panel of grammarians; but neither do we regard ordinary principles of English prose as irrelevant to a construction of those enactments. Flora v. United States, 362 U.S. 145, 150, 80 S.Ct. 630, 633, 4 L.Ed.2d 623 (1960). It simply makes no sense to insist on the one hand, as all parties do, that use of this land is absolutely necessary if the pipeline is to be built and oil to be transported, and to claim on the other hand that the land will not be used for pipeline purposes or for the transportation of oil. One of the functions of statutory rights-of-way is to allow room for construction activities. 29 Indeed, the Bureau's own contemporaneous interpretation of Section 28 stated that the purpose of the right-of-way was for construction, maintenance, and operation of the pipe line. 47 Int.Dept.Dec. re Pub. Lands 437, 461 (March 11, 1920). 30 38 It is also argued that the statutory requirement of compliance with the provisions, limitations, and conditions of Section 28 is concerned solely with the condition that pipelines be common carriers. While it is clear that the common carrier provision was one of Congress' chief concerns, nevertheless the statutory language plainly bars any pipeline right-of-way which does not comply with all provisions, limitations, and conditions, including limitation of the right-of-way to 25 feet. 39 In conclusion, under a literal reading of Section 28 the proposed SLUP is a right-of-way for the transportation of oil which is not subject to one of the provisions, limitations, and conditions of Section 28. Of course, we cannot end our inquiry with this simplistic and literal approach. 31 On occasion we have paid lip service to the rule that where the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous on its face it cannot be controverted by seeking to show inconsistent legislative intent, see Sea-Land Service, Inc. v. F.M. C., 131 U.S.App.D.C. 246, 250, 404 F.2d 824, 828 (1968), but we have also faced up to the reality that the 'plain meaning' doctrine has always been subservient to a truly discernible legislative purpose however discerned, District of Columbia v. Orleans, 132 U.S.App.D.C. 139, 141, 406 F.2d 957, 959 (1968). Regardless of how plainly we might feel the SLUP is barred by the literal terms of Section 28, we must respond to what seems to us to be the crucial contention in the Mineral Leasing Act aspects of this case. All parties agree that it is impossible to build large-diameter oil pipelines if construction is to be limited to 25 feet on either side of the pipeline. Appellees then argue that Congress must have intended Section 28 to include all those uses of land necessary to secure the central objective of allowing pipeline construction. Absent any other indication of what Congress in fact intended, settled maxims of statutory construction would probably lead us to accept this inference about congressional intent. Cf. United States v. State of Maryland for Use of Meyer, 121 U.S.App.D.C. 258, 260, 349 F.2d 693, 695 (1965). There is a presumption against construing a statute so as to render it ineffective. Bird v. United States, 187 U.S. 118, 124, 23 S.Ct. 42, 47 L.Ed. 100 (1902); United States v. Blasius, 2 Cir., 397 F.2d 203, 207 n.9 (1968), cert. dismissed, 393 U.S. 1008, 89 S.Ct. 615, 21 L.Ed.2d 557 (1969); United States v. Milk Distributors Ass'n, Inc., D.Md., 200 F.Supp. 792, 799 (1961); In re White, N.D.N.Y., 266 F.Supp. 863, 866 (1967). But conjecture and inference about the central purposes of Section 28 and what Congress must have intended are not necessary in this case, for we have firmer evidence of what Congress did in fact intend when it enacted the width limitation of Section 28, and it is to this legislative history that we now turn. 40
41 The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, of which Section 28 is but a small and relatively minor part, was not the product of a single Congress. Other versions of the Act, substantially similar to the one finally adopted and containing provisions virtually identical with what is now Section 28, were introduced, reported out of Committee, and debated on the floor of Congress as early as 1914. See H.R. 16136, 63rd Cong. (various prints) (1914); H.R. 406, 64th Cong. (various prints) (1915-16); H.R. 3232, 65th Cong. (various prints) (1917); S. 2812, 65th Cong. (various prints) (1918). The legislative history of the bill that was finally enacted into law as the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, S. 2775, 66th Cong., 2d Sess. (1920), contains no discussion of the width limitation in either the reports, the hearings, or the floor debates. The legislative history of similar bills in prior Congresses, however, is very revealing. Cf. United States v. Plesha, 352 U.S. 202, 205, 77 S.Ct. 275, 1 L.Ed.2d 254 (1957); United States v. Blasius, supra, 397 F.2d at 205-206. 42 As originally drafted Section 28 provided, not for 25 feet on either side of the pipeline, but for only 10 feet. See H.R. 16136, 63rd Cong., 2d Sess., Sec. 17 (April 29, 1914). The bill was referred to the House Committee on Public Lands and was reported therefrom with an amendment that would substitute twenty for ten. See H.R. 16136, 63rd Cong., 3d Sess., Sec. 11 (February 2, 1915). When next introduced into Congress, the section again provided for only 10 feet. See H.R. 406, 64th Cong., 1st Sess., Sec. 18 (December 6, 1915). When this bill was reported from the House Committee on Public Lands, however, the width limitation provision was amended to change ten to twenty-five. See H.R. 406, 64th Cong., 1st Sess., Sec. 13 (January 4, 1916). The bill was sent back to Committee again, and when reported the width limitation had been changed once more, this time from twenty-five to twenty. See H.R. 406, 64th Cong., 1st Sess., Sec. 11 (March 30, 1916). When introduced in subsequent Congresses, however, and when reported from Committee and debated thereafter, the width limitation remained at 25 feet. See H.R. 3232, 65th Cong., Sec. 13 (various prints) (1917); S. 2812, 65th Cong., 2d Sess., Sec. 13 (May 14, 1918); S. 2775, 66th Cong., 1st Sess., Sec. 27 (August 15, 1919); S. 2775, 66th Cong., 1st Sess., Sec. 28 (October 21, 1919). This legislative history indicates that Congress placed some significance on the exact figure chosen. The number twenty-five was not pulled out of thin air, but was resolved upon after apparently careful deliberation. In view of the significance Congress seemed to place on the exact figure chosen, it seems unreasonable to conclude that Congress intended the interpretation put forth by appellees in these cases, for under that interpretation it is irrelevant whether the statute permits 10, 20 or 25 feet. If the statute allows one to use any land reasonably necessary to build a pipeline, what purpose is there in choosing 25 feet rather than 10? Cf. United States v. Blasius, supra, 397 F.2d at 207. 43 It is a well known maxim of statutory construction that all words and provisions of statutes are intended to have meaning and are to be given effect, and words of a statute are not to be construed as surplusage. See McDonald v. Thompson, 305 U.S. 263, 266, 59 S.Ct. 176, 83 L.Ed. 164 (1938); D. Ginsberg & Sons, Inc. v. Popkin, 285 U.S. 204, 208, 52 S.Ct. 322, 76 L.Ed. 704 (1932); Klein v. Republic Steel Corp., 3 Cir., 435 F.2d 762, 765-766 (1970); Consolidated Flower Shipments, Inc.-Bay Area v. C. A.B., 9 Cir., 205 F.2d 449, 450 (1953). We should be particularly mindful of this maxim in cases such as these where there is specific evidence that Congress placed significance on the statutory language in dispute. 44 More than the bills themselves, the debates in the House of Representatives 32 indicate that Congress intended all construction work to take place within the width limitation of the statute. As noted earlier, the first predecessor of Section 28 provided for only 10 feet. When this provision was first put before the House, Mr. Mondell, a Representative from Wyoming who continued to play an active role in the debates throughout the history of Section 28, proposed an amendment to be added to the provision: 45 Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be held to repeal the provisions of the act approved May 21, 1896, entitled 'An Act to grant right of way over the public domain for pipe line in the States of Colorado or Wyoming,' but all pipe lines built under the provisions of that act shall be common carriers. 33 46 The act referred to in the proposed amendment is still codified at 43 U.S.C. Sec. 962 (1970), although the legislative history of Section 28 makes it questionable whether it is still in force. 34 It provides: 47 The right of way through the public lands of the United States situate in the State of Colorado and in the State of Wyoming    is granted to any pipe-line company or corporation formed for the purpose of transporting oils    to the extent of the ground occupied by said pipe line and twenty-five feet on each side of the center line of the same; also the right to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said pipe line, material, earth, and stone necessary for the construction of said pipe line. 48 Mr. Mondell supported his amendment as follows: 49 The pipe lines that are really important, so far as the question of right of way is concerned, are the great carrying lines. There have already been two, over 60 miles long each, constructed in my State under the act that I have referred to. I think one of them cost $600,000. I do not know how much the other cost. Such lines are large. They are very expensive.    The provisions of this section are not sufficiently liberal to allow the construction of one of these great lines. 35 50 Congressman Mondell was asked whether a total space of 20 feet was not sufficient room in which to construct a pipeline. He responded: 51 No; it is not wide enough to construct one of these great lines over a rough country. The width is not great enough, and there is no opportunity to get the necessary material from the adjacent lands.    36 52 Representative Taylor of Colorado said he believed the amendment offered by Mondell was a good one for, in his words, 53    I regret to see this law, which is applicable to the States of Colorado and Wyoming alone, thus wiped off the statute books, because it has been a good law and nobody has ever complained of it. It is a better law than this one.    37 54 But he said he would not support the amendment because he did not believe in special legislation for one or two states. He concluded: I feel that if this proposed law works all right we can operate under it in our State, and if it does not, then we hope to come back here some time and amend it. 38 During later debate on the provision, Taylor specifically referred to the views of the House Committee on Public Lands on this matter: 55    I think that law [Section 962] ought to be inserted in this bill in lieu of section 17, but at the same time the committee has taken a different view, and I am not disposed to quarrel with the committee about the matter.    I think the provisions of this section in the bill, the same as some other sections, should be more liberal. But I have expressed myself on this bill at great length in my minority report and in my speech on the bill, and I will therefore not offer any special opposition to this section at this time. 39 56 A vote was then taken on the proposed amendment and it was defeated. 57 Realizing that to some extent the opposition to his proposal was based on a desire not to have special legislation for any states, Representative Mondell immediately introduced another amendment, the effect of which would be to change the width limitation to read to the extent of the ground occupied by said pipe line and 25 feet on each side of the center of line of the same; also the right to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said pipe line material, earth, and stone necessary for the construction of said pipe line. 40 Again Mondell justified his proposed amendment: 58    First, the provisions of this section [as originally drafted] are not liberal enough to enable people desiring to do so to construct the great carrying pipe lines which we are attempting to provide for.    Those lines are most of them of considerable length. The two that have been constructed in my State so far are each some sixty-odd miles in length. A line is now under contemplation which will be much longer than either of those lines. Eventually, we will have to cross the State, and probably cross a large portion of the State of Colorado with a main pipe line. At least 50 feet right of way is needed, and opportunity to use material on either side is needed to make the construction of these pipe lines practicable.    59