Chapter 28

Section 1. Authority. The Transportation Commission of Wyoming is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations governing the reimbursement of utility relocation costs per W.S. 24-13-101 through W.S. 24-13-104.

Section 2. Purpose of Rules. The rules provided for the percentage of reimbursement to qualified utilities and establish a limitation on the size of the utility company eligible for reimbursement.

All utility companies serving customers in Wyoming are eligible for reimbursement provided they fall within the parameters of this regulation. It has been determined by the Transportation Commission of Wyoming that eligible utility companies lack sufficient financial resources to be able to sustain costs of relocating their facilities.

Section 3. Definitions.

1. (a) “Cost of relocation” means the entire amount paid by a utility properly attributable to relocation after deducting therefrom any increase in the value of the new facility, any salvage value derived from the old facility, and any betterments installed.
2. (b) “Increase in Value” also referred to as “Expired Service Life Credit” is a credit deducted by the utility from the total cost of the project for any relocated or adjusted line segment that exceeds one mile in length and for the relocation or replacement of buildings, pumping stations, regulator stations, power plants, electric substations, or any similar operational unit.
3. (c) “Betterment Credit” is a credit deducted by the utility from the total cost of the project for increases in size or capacity of the relocated, replaced or adjusted facility, except that: replacement of devices or materials no longer regularly manufactured may be substituted with the next higher size or grade; and, except that improvements made to the relocated facility to bring the facility within requirements of current laws, governmental regulations, and appropriate regulatory commission codes shall not be deemed betterment.
4. (d) “Salvage Credit” is a credit deducted by the utility from the cost of the project for the amount received from the sale of utility property that has been removed, or the amount at which the recovered material is charged to the utility’s accounts if retained for reuse.
5. (e) “Department” means the Wyoming Department of Transportation created by W. S. 24-2-101.
6. (f) “Federal-aid highway system” means the federal-aid primary highway system, the federal-aid secondary highway system and the interstate highway system, including extensions of any of them within urban areas.
7. (g) “FAPG” means the Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Policy Guide references to Title 23 - code of federal regulations (CFR) and specifically to part 645 A titled Relocations, Adjustments and Reimbursements, and 23 CFR 645 B titled Accomodation of Utilities.
8. (h) “Utility, Utilities, or Utility Companies,” for the purpose of this regulation, means all publicly, privately, cooperatively, and municipally owned utilities, regulated or unregulated, supplying electric power, telephone, or natural gas services to or for the public.
9. (i) “Highway right-of-way” means all of the property acquired by the Department for the construction, operation, and maintenance of highways and related facilities whether or not a highway has been constructed thereon.
10. (j) “Roadway Template” means the area of the road embankment from the roadway centerline across the shoulder to the drainage ditch and/or up or down to an intercept of the constructed slope with natural ground.
11. (k) “Clear Roadway Recovery Area” also referred to as “Clear Zone” means an obstruction free vehicle recovery area adjacent to the road traveled lane.
12. (l) “License or License Agreement” means the document and exhibit drawing used to apply for permission to occupy highway right-of-way, which upon approval by the Department becomes the permit to do so.
13. (m) “Joint Occupancy Agreement” means the document and exhibit drawings used to denote utility facilities who have a previous prior right for relocation/adjustment reimbursement and were incorporated into new highway right-of-way and/or facilities who had a prior right and were relocated into existing or proposed highway right-of-way. This document specifies future obligation to reimburse relocation/ adjustment expenses to the utility. Whether the utility’s easement is acquired by the Department or it is agreed upon to coexist in the same corridor without restricting each others property rights.

Section 4. Regulation. The Department will reimburse utilities with less than fifteen thousand (15,000) customer access lines or customer meters at the rate of fifty (50) percent of the actual cost of relocation or adjustment of utility facilities from federal-aid highway system road right-of-way subject to the following stipulations:

1. (a) The utility provides certification as to its total customer access lines or customer meters.
2. (b) The utility submits detailed cost estimates and a detailed final bill showing the total cost of relocation reduced by the expired service life credit, salvage credit, and betterment credit.
3. (c) The utility cost estimate and final bill shall break out in separate detail those charges reim- bursable at one hundred percent due to provisions of other law, the constitution of this state or of the United States, binding agreements inuring to the utility’s benefit, and/or private property rights held by the utility, from those costs incurred by the relocation/adjustment of facilities located on existing high- way right-of-way.
4. (d) The reimbursement being sought is for the relocation/adjustment of facilities in actual con- flict with the proposed construction of the roadway template, drainage facilities, structures, borrow areas, and other roadway appurtenances or highway related facilities, or where the utility facility is in conflict with the clear roadway recovery area of the proposed road.
5. (e) The utility facility for which reimbursement is being sought was located on the highway right-of-way under a license or license agreement issued by the Department and constructed in close conformance with the exhibit drawing and Department’s stipulations. Relocation of non-licensed facilities is not reimbursable under this regulation.
6. (f) Except for the reimbursement provision of this regulation, all other stipulations of the Federal Highway Administration, as outlined in the applicable parts of 23 CFR 645 A and 645 B shall remain in force.
7. (g) The relocation or adjustment of facilities crossing the highway right-of-way below or above ground is not considered reimbursable under this regulation unless the crossing is part of a parallel line that is being relocated.

Section 5. Procedure. Some change to the current utility relocation/adjustment reimbursement procedures will be required in order to implement the provisions of W. S. 24-13-101 through 24-13-104 and the stipulations of this regulation. The following outlines the general responsibilities of the Depart- ment and those of the utility.

1. (a) The Department shall:

   1. (i) Identify utility facility locations on plan sheets and cross-sections, prepare a summary that identifies anticipated conflicts between the utility facility and the proposed highway construction, indicate on the summary the percentage of reimbursement for each conflict area, and provide this infor- mation to each utility in sufficient quantity to begin their engineering.
   2. (ii) Request certification by the utility regarding their total amount of customer access lines or meters, as deemed necessary by the Department.
   3. (iii) Provide duplicate original utility relocation/adjustment agreements for execution by the utility, set aside relocation/adjustment funds, and provide written authorization to start the physical relocation/adjustment work.
   4. (iv) Review final bills from the utility, verify material quantities, resolve billing ques- tions, and authorize bills for payment.
   5. (v) Prepare Joint Occupancy Agreements when a utility facility previously located on private land is being incorporated or relocated into existing or proposed highway right-of-way as war- ranted or requested by the utility.

2. (b) The utility shall:

   1. (i) Upon receipt of the plans, cross-sections, and summary of conflicts proceed with preliminary engineering based on a field review of the project site with the Department’s engineer.
   2. (ii) Prepare and submit to the Department a relocation/adjustment cost estimate showing the major components of anticipated expenses including: labor, materials, equipment, overhead, engi- neering, construction supervision, replacement right-of-way, etc. The cost estimate shall be further broken down to separate the anticipated cost to be reimbursed as outlined in Section 4, Paragraph (c), of this regulation.

   3. (iii) The estimate shall show the anticipated credit for salvage, betterment, and expired service life. The expired service life credit shall apply to the relocation or adjustment of any utility facility segment that exceeds one mile in length, and shall be computed using the following formula:

      “Expired service life of the replaced facility in years; divided by the total estimated service life of the replaced facility in years; the result multiplied by the original installed cost of the replaced facility; which equals the credit to be deducted from the total cost.”

      The estimated total life expectancy of a facility is the sum of the period of actual use and the period of expectant remaining service life.

      The period of expectant remaining service life may be taken from the utility’s records established through the use of age-life curves, or determined by the interested parties through field inspections, giving due consideration to the quality and frequency of maintenance.

   4. (iv) Prepare drawings showing the proposed relocation/adjustment of the facility for use by the Department’s engineer and contractor to prevent damage to the facilities, and to become a perma- nent attachment to the relocation/adjustment agreement and/or joint occupancy agreement.
   5. (v) Prepare and submit a final bill in the same detail as the cost estimate showing the total actual expenses incurred as well as the total actual credits deducted from the project costs.

Section 6. Savings Clause. If any portion of this regulation is determined to be illegal, the Commission shall take action to recind the entire regulation.