43 U.S.C. § 956
Section 956 · Right of way for tramroads, canals, or reservoirs
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Hage v. United States (2002)
Most recently applied in Walker v. United States (October 2005)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him, to permit the use of the right of way through the public lands of the United States, not within the limits of any national forest, park, military or Indian reservation, for tramroads, canals, or reservoirs to the extent of the ground occupied by the water of the canals and reservoirs and fifty feet on each side of the marginal limits thereof, or fifty feet on each side of the center line of the tramroad, by any citizen or any association of citizens of the United States engaged in the business of mining or quarrying or of cutting timber and manufacturing lumber or for the purposes of furnishing water for domestic, public, and other beneficial uses.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Repeal of Section
Section repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, §706(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2793, effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976, insofar as applicable to the issuance of rights-of-way over, upon, under, and through the public lands and lands in the National Forest System.
Savings Provision
Repeal by Pub. L. 94–579 insofar as applicable to the issuance of rights-of-way not to be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent, etc., existing on Oct. 21, 1976, see section 701 of Pub. L. 94–579, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title.