§ 104-20. Utilities Commission to secure right-of-way; condemnation by United States. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 104‑20.  UtilitiesCommission to secure right‑of‑way; condemnation by United States.

If the title to any part ofthe lands required by the United States government for the construction of aninland waterway from Beaufort Inlet to the Cape Fear River is owned by aprivate person, company or corporation, railroad company, street railwaycompany, telephone or telegraph company, or other public service corporation,or has been donated or condemned for any public use by any politicalsubdivision of the State or if it may be necessary, for the purpose ofobtaining the proper title to any lands, the title to which has heretofore beenvested in the State Board of Education, then the Utilities Commission, in thename of the State of North Carolina, may secure a right‑of‑way1,000 feet wide for the inland waterway across and through the lands or anypart thereof, if possible by purchase, donation or otherwise, through agreementwith the owner or owners, and when any property is thus acquired, the Governorand Secretary of State shall execute a deed for the same to the United States;and if for any reason the Commission is unable to secure a right‑of‑wayacross the property by voluntary agreement with the owner or owners asaforesaid, the Commission acting for and in behalf of the State of NorthCarolina, is hereby vested with the power to condemn the same, and in so doing,the ways, means, methods and procedure of Chapter 40A of the General Statutesof North Carolina, entitled "Eminent Domain," shall be used by it asnear as the same is suitable for the purposes of this law, and in allinstances, the general and the special benefits to the owner thereof shall beassessed as offsets against the damages to the property or lands.

As condemnation proceedingsmight result in delay in the acquiring of title to all parts of the right‑of‑wayand in the construction of the inland waterway by the United States, theUtilities Commission is authorized to enter any of the lands and property andtake possession of the same at the time hereinafter provided as needed for thisuse in behalf of the State or the United States government for the purposesherein set out prior to the bringing of the proceeding for condemnation andprior to the payment of the money for the land or property under any judgmentin condemnation. In the event the owner or owners shall appeal from the reportof the commissioners appointed in the condemnation proceeding it shall not benecessary for the Commission, acting in behalf of the State of North Carolina,the State of North Carolina, or the United States government, to deposit themoney assessed by the commissioners with the clerk.

Whenever proceedings incondemnation are instituted under the provisions of this section, theCommission upon the filing of the petition or petitions in the proceedings, maytake immediate possession on behalf of the State of the lands or property tothe extent of the interest to be acquired and the Governor and Secretary ofState shall thereupon execute a deed to the United States and the lands orproperty may then be appropriated and used by the United States for thepurposes described in this section. Provided, that in every case theproceedings in condemnation shall be diligently prosecuted to final judgment inorder that the just compensation to which the owners of the property areentitled may be ascertained and when so ascertained and determined thecompensation shall be promptly paid as hereinafter in this law provided.

If the United Statesgovernment shall so determine, it is hereby authorized to condemn and use alllands and property that may be needed for the purposes herein set out and whichis specifically described and set out in the preceding paragraphs, under theauthority of the United States government, and according to the provisionsexisting in the federal statutes for condemning lands and property for the useof the United States government. In case the United States government shall socondemn the land and property, the Utilities Commission is hereby authorized topay all expenses of the condemnation proceedings and any award that may be madethereunder, out of the money that may be appropriated for these purposes. (1927, c. 44, s. 2; 1929, c.4; c. 7, s. 1; 1937, c. 434; 2001‑487, s. 38(d).)