Section 389.586

Title XXV INCORPORATION AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

Chapter 389

Effective - 28 Aug 2013, 2 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  389.586.  Crossing by utility, notice, approval or rejection of proposal — maintenance of property. — 1. After the land management company receives a copy of the notice from the utility, the land management company shall send a complete copy of that notice, by certified mail or by private delivery service which requires a return receipt, to the railroad or railroad corporation within two business days. No utility may commence a crossing until the railroad or railroad corporation has approved the crossing. The railroad or railroad corporation shall have thirty days from the receipt of the notice to review and approve or reject the proposed crossing. The railroad or railroad corporation shall reject a proposed crossing only if special circumstances exist. If the railroad or railroad corporation rejects a proposed crossing, the utility may submit an amended proposal for a crossing. The railroad or railroad corporation shall have an additional thirty days from receipt of the amended proposal to review and approve or reject the amended crossing proposal. The railroad or railroad corporation shall not unreasonably withhold approval. Once the railroad or railroad corporation grants such approval, and upon payment of the fee and any other payments authorized pursuant to sections 389.586 or 389.587, the utility shall be deemed to have authorization to commence the crossing activity. The utility shall provide the railroad or railroad corporation with written notification of the commencement of the crossing activity before beginning such activity.

  2. The land management company and the utility shall maintain and repair its own property within the land management corridor and each shall bear responsibility for its own acts and omissions, except that the utility shall be responsible for any bodily injury or property damage arising from the installation, maintenance, repair and its use of the crossing. The railroad or railroad corporation may require the utility and the land management company to obtain reasonable amounts of comprehensive general liability insurance and railroad protective liability insurance coverage for a crossing, and that this insurance coverage name the railroad or railroad corporation as an insured. Further, the land management company and the utility shall provide the railroad or railroad corporation with proof that they have liability insurance coverage which meets such requirements, if any.

  3. A utility shall have immediate access to a crossing for repair and maintenance of existing facilities in case of an immediate threat to life and upon notification to the applicable railroad or railroad corporation. Before commencing any such work, the utility must first contact the railroad or railroad corporation's dispatch center, command center or other facility which is designated to receive emergency communications.

  4. The utility shall be provided a crossing, absent a claim of special circumstances, after payment by the utility of the standard crossing fee, submission of completed engineering specifications to the land management company, and approval of the crossing by the railroad or railroad corporation. The engineering specifications shall comply with the clearance requirements as established by the National Electrical Safety Code, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association and the standards of the applicable railroad or railroad corporation which are in effect and which apply to conditions at a particular crossing. The land management company and utility shall further be responsible for any modifications, upgrades or other changes which may be needed to comply with changes in said standards.

  5. The utility, the railroad or railroad corporation, and the land management company shall agree to such other terms and conditions as may be necessary to provide for reasonable use of a land management corridor by a utility.

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(L. 2013 H.B. 331)