[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3612 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3612

    To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 1993

 Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. RESCISSION OF RELINQUISHMENT.

    Section 12 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1611) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) The Secretary of the Interior shall develop procedures under 
which a rescission of a relinquishment of a parcel of land properly 
selected pursuant to this Act may be made before adjudication with 
respect to that parcel and conveyance to a third party.''.

SEC. 2. KAGEET POINT LAND SELECTION.

    The following lands shall be treated as acreage allotted to the 
Chugach Alaska Corporation for the purpose of making selections under 
section 12(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1611(c)): those lands contained within the west half of Township 21 
South, Range 24 East, Copper River Meridian, commonly known as ``Kageet 
Point''.

SEC. 3. RATIFICATION OF CERTAIN CASWELL AND MONTANA CREEK NATIVE 
              ASSOCIATIONS CONVEYANCES.

    The conveyance of approximately 11,520 acres to Montana Creek 
Native Association, Inc., and the conveyance of approximately 11,520 
acres to Caswell Native Association, Inc., by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. 
In fulfillment of the agreement of February 3, 1976, and subsequent 
letter agreement of March 26, 1982, among the three parties are hereby 
adopted and ratified as a matter of Federal law. These conveyances 
shall be deemed to be conveyances pursuant to section 14(h)(2) of the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(2)). The group 
corporations for Montana Creek and Caswell are hereby declared to have 
received their full entitlement and shall not be entitled to the 
receipt of any additional lands under the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act.

SEC. 4. MINING CLAIMS AFTER LANDS PATENTED TO REGIONAL CORPORATION.

    Section 22(c) of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1621(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) After the fee or subsurface lands subject to a valid mining 
claim have been patented to a Regional Corporation--
            ``(A) any person holding such valid mining claim shall 
        continue to meet all requirements of the general mining laws 
        and section 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
        of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744);
            ``(B) the administration of the mining claim shall continue 
        to be by the United States, unless the Secretary, acting 
        through the Bureau of Land Management, waives administration in 
        favor of the Regional Corporation; and
            ``(C) all revenues from the mining claim otherwise due the 
        United States shall be remitted to the Regional Corporation for 
        distribution pursuant to section 7(i) of this Act, except that 
        in the event that the Regional Corporation patent does not 
        cover all land embraced within the mining claim, the Regional 
        Corporation shall be entitled only to that proportion of 
        revenues reasonably allocated to the portion of the mining 
        claim so covered.''.

SEC. 5. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM CONTAMINATION OF TRANSFERRED 
              LANDS.

    (a) In General.--The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

        ``claims arising from contamination of transferred lands

    ``Sec. 40. (a) As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `contaminant' means substances harmful to 
        public health or the environment, including asbestos.
            ``(2) The term `lands' means real property transferred to a 
        Native Corporation pursuant to this Act.
    ``(b)(1) Not later than one year after being notified by a Native 
Corporation of contaminants on lands, the Secretary shall reach a 
settlement with the Native Corporation that provides for--
            ``(A) the removal of all contaminants left by the United 
        States, an agent of the United States, or a lessee, from the 
        transferred lands; or
            ``(B) the replacement of the lands containing contaminants 
        in accordance with paragraph (2).
    ``(2) If the settlement reached pursuant to paragraph (1) provides 
for the replacement of lands containing contaminants in accordance with 
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall--
            ``(A) accept title to the lands containing contaminants 
        from the Native Corporation; and
            ``(B) replace the lands by conveying to the Native 
        Corporation--
                    ``(i) other lands, from unreserved, vacant, and 
                unappropriated public lands, in accordance with section 
                1302(h) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
                Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3192(h)); or
                    ``(ii) other lands, interests in lands, or rights 
                available under this Act, pursuant to such authority, 
                and under such terms with respect to value and acreage, 
                as governed the original conveyance.
    ``(c) The United States shall--
            ``(1) assume all past, present, and future liabilities and 
        obligations arising from the original transfer of contaminated 
        lands; and
            ``(2) defend and hold harmless Native Corporations in all 
        claims arising from the original transfer of contaminated 
        lands.''.
    (b) Pending Transfers.--Nothing in the amendment made by subsection 
(a) is intended to impede or delay any transfer of lands under the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) that is 
pending on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF 
              IMPLEMENTING REQUIRED RECONVEYANCES.

    Section 14(c) of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1613(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for the purpose of providing technical assistance to Village 
Corporations in carrying out this subsection. The Secretary may provide 
amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection through contracts to 
nonprofit organizations whose function is to provide technical 
assistance in planning, developing, and administering assistance to 
Village Corporations in fulfilling their requirements under this 
subsection.''.

SEC. 7. COMMUNITY NEED.

    Section 14(c)(3) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1613(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``community needs: Provided,'' and 
        inserting ``community needs: Provided, That the Village 
        Corporation need not convey any particular lands unless the 
        Municipal Corporation or the State in trust shows that those 
        lands are necessary for community expansion, rights-of-way, or 
        other foreseeable community needs: Provided further,''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``one thousand two hundred and 
        eighty acres:'' the following: ``Provided further, That if the 
        improved lands owned by the Village Corporation within the 
        Native Village plus the Village Corporation lands that are 
        shown to be necessary for community expansion, rights-of-way, 
        or other foreseeable community needs amount to less than 1,280 
        acres, and if the Municipal Corporation or the State in trust 
        cannot reach a written agreement with the Village Corporation, 
        then the Village Corporation shall have the discretion to 
        designate which additional lands shall be conveyed to bring the 
        total conveyance to 1,280 acres:''.

SEC. 8. NATIVE ALLOTMENTS.

    Section 1431(o) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (94 Stat. 2542) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) Following the exercise by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 
of its option under paragraph (1) to acquire the subsurface estate 
beneath lands within the National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska selected by 
a Village Corporation, where such subsurface estate entirely surrounds 
lands subject to a Native allotment application approved under section 
905 of this Act, and the oil and gas in such lands have been reserved 
to the United States, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, at its further 
option, shall be entitled to receive a conveyance of the reserved oil 
and gas, including all rights and privileges therein reserved to the 
United States, in such lands. Upon the receipt of a conveyance of such 
oil and gas interests, the entitlement of Arctic Slope Regional 
Corporation to in-lieu subsurface lands under section 12(a)(1) of the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(a)(1)) shall be 
reduced by the amount of acreage determined by the Secretary to be 
conveyed to Arctic Slope Regional Corporation pursuant to this 
paragraph.''.

SEC. 9. OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN NATIVE ALASKAN VETERANS FOR ALLOTMENTS.

    (a) In General.--During the one-year period beginning on the date 
of enactment of this Act, an individual described in subsection (b) is 
eligible for an allotment of not to exceed 160 acres under the Act of 
May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat. 197), as such Act was in effect 
before December 18, 1971. The Secretary shall prescribe such rules as 
may be necessary to carry out this section.
    (b) Eligible Individuals.--(1) An individual is eligible under 
subsection (a) if the individual would have been eligible under the Act 
of May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat. 197), as such Act was in effect 
before December 18, 1971, and the individual is a veteran of the Korean 
conflict or the Vietnam era.
    (2) In the case of an individual described in paragraph (1) who is 
deceased, the heirs of the individual shall be treated as the 
individual described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Conveyance Deadline.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
complete land conveyances pursuant to this section within one year 
after the end of the period referred to in subsection (a).
    (d) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section, the terms 
``veteran'', ``Korean conflict'', and ``Vietnam era'' have the meaning 
given such terms by paragraphs (2), (9), and (29), respectively, of 
section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 10. LAPSED MINING CLAIMS.

    Section 22(c)(2)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1621(c)(2)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i)--
                    (A) by striking ``outside the boundaries of a 
                conservation system unit (as such term is defined in 
                the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) 
                and''; and
                    (B) by striking ``The Secretary shall promptly 
                determine the validity of such claims or locations 
                within conservation system units.''; and
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``outside a conservation 
        system unit'' both places it appears.

SEC. 11. TRANSFER OF WRANGELL INSTITUTE.

    (a) Property Transfer.--Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, is 
authorized to transfer to the United States and the General Services 
Administration shall accept an approximately 10-acre site of the 
Wrangell Institute in Wrangell, Alaska, and the structures contained 
thereon.
    (b) Restoration of Property Credits.--
            (1) In general.--In exchange for the land and structures 
        transferred under subsection (a), property bidding credits in 
        the total amount of $382,305, and in addition, interest 
        calculated in accordance with paragraph (2), shall be restored 
        to the Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, property account in the 
        Treasury established under section 12(b) of the Act of January 
        2, 1976 (Public Law 94-204; 43 U.S.C. 1611 note), referred to 
        in such section as the ``Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, 
        property account.'' Property bidding credits sufficient to 
        reimburse Cook Inlet Region for all legal and other expenses 
        incurred due to the return of this property, shall also be 
        added to the property account provided that all such credits 
        restored or added to the property account shall be used solely 
        for the acquisition or purchase of General Services 
        Administration properties.
            (2) Calculations of interest.--The interest credited to the 
        Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, property account shall be 
        compounded semiannually and calculated at the same interest 
        rate as that of 5-year Treasury bonds issued by the United 
        States Treasury on or about November 2, 1987. The interest 
        shall be calculated on a principal amount equal to the property 
        bidding credits restored to the property account under 
        paragraph (1), and shall be for the time period from November 
        2, 1987, to the date of conveyance of the land and buildings to 
        the United States.
            (3) Hold harmless.--The United States shall defend and hold 
        harmless Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, and its subsidiaries 
        in any and all claims arising from Federal or Cook Inlet 
        Region, Incorporated, ownership of the land and structures 
        prior to their return to the United States.

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