[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1266 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1266
To provide for the exchange of lands within Admiralty Island National
Monument, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 1995
Mr. Young of Alaska (for himself and Mr. Miller of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the exchange of lands within Admiralty Island National
Monument, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Greens Creek Land Exchange Act of
1995''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
established the Admiralty Island National Monument and sections
503 and 504 of that Act provided special provisions under which
the Greens Creek Claims would be developed. The provisions
supplemented the general mining laws under which these claims
were staked.
(2) The Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company, Inc.,
currently holds title to the Greens Creek Claims, and the area
surrounding these claims has further mineral potential which is
yet unexplored.
(3) Negotiations between the United States Forest Service
and the Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company, Inc., have
resulted in an agreement by which the area surrounding the
Greens Creek Claims could be explored and developed under terms
and conditions consistent with the protection of the values of
the Admiralty Island National Monument.
(4) The full effectuation of the Agreement, by its terms,
requires the approval and ratification by Congress.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act--
(1) the term ``Agreement'' means the document entitled the
``Greens Creek Land Exchange Agreement'' executed on December
14, 1994, by the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural
Resources and Environment on behalf of the United States and
the Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company and Kennecott
Corporation;
(2) the term ``ANILCA'' means the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act, Public Law 96-487 (94 Stat. 2371);
(3) the term ``conservation system unit'' has the same
meaning as defined in section 102(4) of ANILCA;
(4) the term ``Escrow Account'' means the Greens Creek Land
Exchange Escrow Account established pursuant to subsection 5(b)
of this Act;
(5) the term ``Greens Creek Claims'' means those patented
mining claims of Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company within
the Monument recognized pursuant to section 504 of ANILCA;
(6) the term ``KGCMC'' means the Kennecott Greens Creek
Mining Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation;
(7) the term ``Monument'' means the Admiralty Island
National Monument in the State of Alaska established by section
503 of ANILCA;
(8) the term ``Royalty'' means Net Island Receipts Royalty
as that latter term is defined in Exhibit C to the Agreement;
and
(9) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT.
The Agreement is hereby ratified and confirmed as to the duties and
obligations of the United States and its agencies, and KGCMC and
Kennecott Corporation, as a matter of Federal law. The agreement may be
modified or amended, without further action by the Congress, upon
written agreement of all parties thereto and with notification in
writing being made to the appropriate committees of the Congress.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT.
(a) Land Acquisition.--Without diminishment of any other land
acquisition authority of the Secretary in Alaska and in furtherance of
the purposes of the Agreement, the Secretary is authorized to acquire
lands and interests in land within conservation system units in the
Tongass National Forest, and any land or interest in land so acquired
shall be administered by the Secretary as part of the National Forest
System and any conservation system unit in which it is located.
Priority shall be given to acquisition of non-Federal lands within the
Monument.
(b) Acquisition Funding.--
(1) Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, United States
Code, or any other statute affecting the crediting of receipts,
there is hereby established in the Treasury of the United
States an account entitled the ``Greens Creek Land Exchange
Escrow Account'' into which shall be deposited the $1,100,000
received from KGCMC pursuant to part 4.A.(i)(b) of the
Agreement. Such moneys in the Escrow Account are hereby
authorized and appropriated, until expended, for land
acquisition pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(2) Moneys on deposit in the Escrow Account shall not be
subject to deferral or recision under the Budget Impoundment
and Control Act of 1974.
(c) Twenty-Five Percent Fund.--All royalties paid to the United
States under the Agreement shall be subject to the 25 percent
distribution provisions of the Act of May 23, 1908, as amended (16
U.S.C. 500) relating to payments for roads and counties.
(d) Mineral Development.--Notwithstanding any provision of ANILCA
to the contrary, the lands and interests in lands being conveyed to
KGCMC pursuant to the Agreement shall be available for mining and
related activities subject to and in accordance with the terms of the
Agreement and conveyances made thereunder.
(e) Administration.--The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to
implement and administer the rights and obligations of the Federal
Government under the Agreement, including monitoring the Government's
interests relating to extralateral rights, collecting royalties, and
conducting audits. The Secretary may enter into cooperative
arrangements with other Federal agencies for the performance of any
Federal rights or obligations under the Agreement or this Act.
(f) Reversions.--Upon reversion to the United States of KGCMC
properties located on Admiralty, those properties located within the
Monument shall become part of the Monument and those properties lying
outside the Monument shall be managed as part of the Tongass National
Forest.
(g) Savings Provisions.--Implementation of the Agreement in
accordance with this Act shall not be deemed a major Federal action
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, nor shall
implementation require further consideration pursuant to the National
Historic Preservation Act, title VIII of ANILCA, or any other law.
SEC. 6. RECISION RIGHTS.
Within 60 days of the enactment of this Act, KGCMC and Kennecott
Corporation shall have a right to rescind all rights under the
Agreement and this Act. Recision shall be effected by a duly authorized
resolution of the Board of Directors of either KGCMC or Kennecott
Corporation and delivered to the Chief of the Forest Service at the
Chief's principal office in Washington, District of Columbia. In the
event of a recision, the status quo ante provisions of the Agreement
shall apply.
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