23 U.S.C. § 108 — Advance acquisition of real property

(a) In General. (1) Availability of funds. To help states acquire land quickly and efficiently for an eligible transportation project, the Secretary — at a state's request — can make apportioned funds available for buying real property interests, under rules the Secretary issues. (2) Construction. The agreement between the Secretary and the state for reimbursing these land costs must require the actual project to be built within 20 years of the fiscal year the state made its request — unless the Secretary decides a longer period is reasonable. (b) The federal share of the cost of land acquired this way cannot exceed the normal federal share for whatever type of funds pay for it. (c) State-Funded Early Acquisition. (1) In general. A state can buy land interests for a project at its own expense, before finishing the review required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), without affecting any later approvals the state or a federal agency still needs to give the project. (2) Eligibility for reimbursement. Subject to paragraph (3), a state's apportioned funds can help pay: (A) costs of land bought ahead of any federal approval, if that land later becomes part of a project eligible for surface transportation block grant funds; and (B) costs of buying land to preserve environmental and scenic values. (3) Terms and conditions. These costs become eligible for federal reimbursement, once the land is folded into an eligible project, only if the state shows — and the Secretary agrees — that: (A) any land bought and any relocation help given followed the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970; (B) the state followed Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (C) the state has a required, coordinated land-use, environmental, and transportation planning process, and the Governor certified the purchase matched the state's plans beforehand; (D) the Governor determined beforehand that the purchase matches the state transportation planning process under section 135; (E) the state picked the project alternative the land was bought for, using Secretary regulations that weigh environmental impacts of the different alternatives; (F) before the state's cost is approved for federal money, the project's NEPA environmental review is complete, the Secretary approved the purchase under this title, and the purchase complied with 49 U.S.C. 303, section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and other environmental laws the Secretary identifies by regulation; and (G) before approving the state's cost, the Secretary determined the early purchase didn't influence the project's environmental review, the decision to build the project, or the choice of the project's design or location. (d) Federally Funded Early Acquisition. (1) Definition. Here, "acquisition of a real property interest" includes buying (A) any interest in land, (B) a contract right to acquire land, or (C) similar action to acquire or preserve transportation rights-of-way. (2) Authorization. The Secretary can allow a state to use its apportioned funds to buy a real property interest this way. (3) State certification. A state asking for this federal funding must certify in writing, with the Secretary's agreement, that: (A) state law lets it acquire the interest; and (B) the purchase (i) serves a transportation purpose; (ii) won't cause any significant environmental harm; (iii) won't limit reasonable project alternatives or otherwise sway the Secretary's later approval decisions; (iv) won't stop the lead agency from fairly deciding whether to pick an alternative still under environmental review; (v) matches the state transportation planning process under section 135; (vi) follows other applicable federal laws and regulations; (vii) will happen through negotiation, without threatening condemnation; and (viii) won't reduce or cut off benefits a displaced person is owed under the Uniform Relocation Assistance Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. (4) Environmental compliance. (A) In general. Before authorizing federal funding for the purchase, the Secretary must finish the NEPA review process for that specific purchase. (B) Independent utility. The purchase (i) is treated as having its own separate purpose for NEPA review, and (ii) doesn't limit consideration of alternatives for future transportation improvements involving that land. (5) Programming. (A) In general. The purchase must be listed as a project in the relevant transportation improvement program under sections 134, 135, and 49 U.S.C. 5303 and 5304. (B) Acquisition project. That project can cover a single parcel, part of a transportation corridor, or an entire corridor. (6) Development. Land bought this way can't be developed for the anticipated project until all required environmental reviews for that project are finished. (7) Reimbursement. If a state got federal reimbursement for land bought early, but the land isn't folded into an eligible project within the time subsection (a)(2) allows, the Secretary must subtract the reimbursed amount from the state's future apportioned funds. (8) Other requirements. (A) Applicable law. The purchase must follow every rule that applies to buying real property for federally funded transportation projects generally. (B) Additional conditions. The Secretary can set other conditions or restrictions on purchases under this subsection, as the Secretary thinks appropriate.