§883 Collection of costs of surveying, etc.; reimbursement of purchaser

Summary

If a railroad must pay the costs for surveying, choosing, or transferring land given to it by Congress but does not pay within thirty days after the Secretary of the Interior asks for payment, the Secretary must tell the Attorney General. The Attorney General must then immediately start legal action to collect the money. If money is collected from the railroad for costs that a person already paid when buying such land under the purchase law, the Secretary must use that collected money to repay the buyer, or the buyer’s heirs or assigns, the amount they paid for the surveying, selecting, and transferring.