United States v. Certain Parcels of Land Situated in the City of Valdez, City of Valdez, Alaska

The City of Valdez appeals from a summary judgment in favor of the United States in a condemnation proceeding that involves a ferry terminal facility in the Valdez Small Boat Harbor. The district court held that the Government need not pay compensation for the dock and dolphins constituting the terminal facility because these improvements are subject to the navigation servitude of the United States. Our jurisdiction rests on 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1976). We affirm.

I

BACKGROUND

A. Facts

The Valdez Small Boat Harbor is in navigable waters of the United States. The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed the harbor after the 1964 Alaska earthquake. As part of that construction the Corps of Engineers built a ferry terminal facility consisting of three wooden ramps used as a dock, and twelve cluster pile dolphins. The ferry terminal facility was constructed exclusively with federal funds and was built because the 1964 earthquake destroyed the former terminal, owned by the State of Alaska.

In 1975, the United States initiated condemnation proceedings to acquire three small parcels of land near Valdez for the establishment of a Coast Guard vessel traffic system and port safety…