918
Easements and rights-of-way.
Easement as contribution, claim and allowance. 76 Stat. 1034; 68A Stat. 410.
Definitions.
Appropriations.
PUBLIC LAW 90-542-OCT. 2, 1968
[82
STAT.
(e) Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to alter, amend, repeal, interpret, modify, or be in conflict with any interstate compact made by any States which contain any portion of the national wild and scenic rivers system. (f) Nothing in this Act shall affect existing rights of any State, including the right of access, with respect to the beds o;^ navigable streams, tributaries, or rivers (or segments thereof) located in a national wild, scenic or recreational river area. (g) The Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, may grant easements and rights-of-way upon, over, under, across, or through any component of the national wild and scenic rivers system in accordance with the laws applicable to the national park system and the national forest system, respectively: Provided, That any conditions precedent to granting such easements and rights-of-way shall be related to the policy and purpose of this Act. SEC. 14. The claim and allowance of the value of an easement as a charitable contribution under section 170 of title 26, United States Code, or as a gift under section 2522 of said title shall constitute an agreement by the donor on behalf of himself, his heirs, and assigns that, if the terms of the instrument creating the easement are violated, the donee or the United States may acquire the servient estate at its fair market value as of the time the easement was donated minus the value of the easement claimed and allowed as a charitable contribution or gift. SEC. 15. As used in this Act, the term— (a) "River" means a flowing body of water or estuary or a section, portion, or tributary thereof, including rivers, streams, creeks, runs, kills, rills, and small lakes. (b) "Free-flowing", as applied to any river or section of a river, means existing or flowing m natural condition without impoundment, diversion, straightening, rip-rapping, or other modification of the waterway. The existence, however, of low dams, diversion works, and other minor structures at the time any river is proposed for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system shall not automatically bar its consideration for such inclusion: Provided, That this shall not be construed to authorize, intend, or encourage future construction of such structures within components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. (c) "Scenic easement" means the right to control the use of land (including the air space above such land) for the purpose of protecting the scenic view from the river, but such control shall not affect, without the owner's consent, any regular use exercised prior to the acquisition of the easement. SEC. 16. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary, but not more than $17,000,000, for the acquisition of lands and interests in land under the provisions of this Act. Approved October 2, 1968.
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