[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1266 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 53
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1266
[Report No. 104-115]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the exchange of lands within Admiralty Island National
Monument, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 9, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Union Calendar No. 53
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1266
[Report No. 104-115]
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
May 9, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March
16, 1995]
_______________________________________________________________________
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 ``Greens Creek Claims'' means those patented
mining claims of Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company within
the Monument recognized pursuant to section 504 of ANILCA;
(5) the term ``KGCMC'' means the Kennecott Greens Creek
Mining Company, Inc., a Delaware corporation;
(6) the term ``Monument'' means the Admiralty Island
National Monument in the State of Alaska established by section
503 of ANILCA;
(7) the term ``Royalty'' means Net Island Receipts Royalty
as that latter term is defined in Exhibit C to the Agreement;
and
(8) 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.--There is hereby established in the
Treasury of the United States an account entitled the ``Greens Creek
Land Exchange Account'' into which shall be deposited the first
$5,000,000 in royalties received by the United States under part 6 of
the Agreement after the distribution of the amounts pursuant to
subsection (c) of this section. Such moneys in the special account in
the Treasury may, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, be
used for land acquisition pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(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 schools.
(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.--Before reversion to the United States of KGCMC
properties located on Admiralty Island, KGCMC shall reclaim the surface
disturbed in accordance with an approved plan of operations and
applicable laws and regulations. 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.