Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 5.djvu/1031

 PUBLIC LAW 106-570—DEC. 27, 2000 114 STAT. 3045 or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Commission. (c) STAFF.— (1) IN GENERAL. — The Agreement should provide for the appointment of a staff and an executive director to be the head of the staff. (2) COMPENSATION. —Funds made available for the Commission by the United States may be used to pay the compensation of the executive director and other personnel at rates fixed by the Commission that are not in excess of the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. (d) OFFICE. —The Agreement should provide for the office of the Commission to be located in a mutually agreed location within the impacted areas of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and northern British Columbia. (e) MEETINGS. —The Agreement should provide for the Commission to meet at least biannually to review progress and to provide guidance to staff and others, and to hold, in locations within the affected areas of Alaska, the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia, such additional informational or public meetings as the Commission deems necessary to the conduct of its business. (f) PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES. —The Agreement should authorize and encourage the Commission to procure by contract, to the maximum extent practicable, the services (including any temporary and intermittent services) that the Commission determines necessary for carrying out the duties of the Commission. In the case of any contract for the services of an individual, funds made available for the Commission by the United States may not be used to pay for the services of the individual at a rate that exceeds the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. SEC. 306. DUTIES. (a) STUDY.— (1) IN GENERAL. — The Agreement should provide for the Commission to study and assess, on the basis of all available relevant information, the feasibility and advisability of linking the rail system in Alaska to the North American continental rail system through the continuation of the rail system in Alaska from its northeastern terminus to a connection with the continental rail system in Canada. (2) SPECIFIC ISSUES. —The Agreement should provide for the study and assessment to include the consideration of the following issues: (A) Railroad engineering. (B) Land ownership. (C) Geology. (D) Proximity to mineral, timber, tourist, and other resources. (E) Market outlook. (F) Environmental considerations. (G) Social effects, including changes in the use or availability of natural resources. (H) Potential financing mechanisms.

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