[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2413 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2413
To transfer the Tongass National Forest to the State of Alaska.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 28, 1995
Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To transfer the Tongass National Forest to the State of Alaska.
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 ``Tongass Transfer and Transition
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) It is in the public interest to provide a mechanism to
transfer ownership of the Tongass National Forest to the State
of Alaska to be managed and operated under the laws of the
State of Alaska.
(2) The State of Alaska is the level of government that is
most sensitive to the ecologic and economic needs of the people
of the Tongass and other Alaskans.
(3) The State of Alaska is committed to policies in
connection with the Tongass that include informed
decisionmaking, prudent management of Tongass resources with
sound science, multiple, balanced, and sustainable use of
Tongass resources, an inclusive planning process for the
diverse interests associated with the Tongass, and planning
that fosters consensus.
(4) It is appropriate for the State level of government to
own and manage the land area now comprising Tongass National
Forest and to provide the best ecologic and economic balance in
the Southeast Alaska area that comprises the Tongass National
Forest.
(5) Without Federal constraints and costs, the State of
Alaska is in a better position to balance the diverse needs and
interests of those concerned with the future of the Tongass.
(6) It is necessary to provide a smooth transition between
Federal and State ownership and control and to resolve as many
issues as possible prior to State ownership and control.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(2) The term ``Tongass National Forest'' means the Tongass
National Forest, as depicted on the map numbered ____ and dated
____.
(3) The term ``Federal obligation'' means any obligation or
duty of the United States Forest Service arising out of any
lease, permit, license, contract, and other legal instruments
issued by or with the Forest Service relating to the Tongass
National Forest. The term ``Federal obligation'' does not
include any obligation with respect to a Federal law,
regulation, or policy.
(4) The term ``Tongass National Forest lands'' includes all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to all
real property located in the Tongass National Forest, and all
structures (permanent and temporary) owned by the United States
Forest Service located on such land.
(5) The term ``transfer-transition period'' means the
period beginning when the State of Alaska elects to receive the
lands pursuant to this Act and ending one year thereafter.
(6) The term ``transfer date'' means the date on which the
State of Alaska elects to receive the lands pursuant to this
Act and notifies the Secretary of such election.
(7) The term ``patent date'' means the last day of the
transfer-transition period.
(8) Terms used in section 6(c) shall be accorded the
meaning given to such terms under the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act.
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF TONGASS LANDS AND PROPERTY TO THE STATE OF ALASKA.
(a) Automatic Transfer of Lands.--If, within 10 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the State of Alaska elects to
receive all Tongass National Forest lands in conformance with
subsection (b), and so notifies the Secretary, all Tongass National
Forest lands shall be conveyed, by operation of law, to the State of
Alaska, subject only to valid existing rights. Such transfer shall
occur in accordance with this Act.
(b) Form of Election.--The election by the State of Alaska to
receive lands pursuant to subsection (a) shall be in the form of a bill
approved by the House and Senate of the Alaska State Legislature and
signed by the Governor of the State of Alaska. Such law shall state
that--
(1) the State of Alaska elects to receive all Tongass
National Forest lands;
(2) the Tongass National Forest lands received shall be
received subject to valid existing rights;
(3) the procedures specified in this Act and the transition
provisions of this Act shall apply to the transfer; and
(4) the rights and obligations of the United States under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act with respect to lands,
rights in lands, and use of lands transferred by the Tongass
Transfer and Transition Act shall not be infringed by the State
of Alaska.
(c) Procedure.--Upon receipt by the Secretary of Agriculture of a
copy of the law specified under subsection (b), the Secretary of
Agriculture shall prepare a patent conveying all Tongass National
Forest lands to the State of Alaska and shall deliver such patent to
the State of Alaska on the patent date. The duty of the Secretary to
prepare and deliver such patent pursuant to this Act shall be purely
ministerial and delivery of the patent on the patent date shall not be
withheld or conditioned. The United States Supreme Court shall have
exclusive jurisdiction to issue such writs and compel such actions as
may be necessary to accomplish the conveyance made under this Act.
(d) Other Property.--Upon the election pursuant to subsection (a)
and concurrent with the transfer of lands pursuant to this Act, the
Secretary shall also transfer the right and title to and interest in
all other types of property (including real and personal property) used
for purposes of operating, administering, and managing the Tongass
National Forest. Such property shall be transferred on the patent date
and include only that which is owned by the United States and used by
the United States Forest Service within the Tongass National Forest and
that which is directly associated with the management of such Forest.
All vehicles transferred shall be painted the official colors of State
of Alaska vehicles prior to transfer.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD.
(a) Existing Obligations of the United States.--The United States
shall remain obligated for Federal obligations during the transfer-
transition period.
(b) Employees.--During the transfer-transition period, to the
extent practicable, the State of Alaska shall interview each person
employed on the date of the enactment of this Act in the Tongass
National Forest by the United States Forest Service for purposes of
reemployment by the State of Alaska for a comparable function within
the new State administrative system for the Tongass Forest. Employees
who do not secure employment with the State of Alaska shall be given
preferential treatment for purposes of other available positions with
the United States Government.
(c) Alaska Pulp Corporation Contract.--The State of Alaska shall
enter into discussions with the Alaska Pulp Corporation during the
transition-transfer period and conclude an agreement which reinstates
the Alaska Pulp Corporation Contract (Contract No. 12-11-010-1545)
within six months of the patent date. Such agreement shall provide for
dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit styled as Alaska Pulp Corporation
against the United States of America, No. 95-153C. Such reinstatement
shall include an additional provision which requires sale or assignment
of such contract to a third party who agrees to construct a
manufacturing facility in Southeast Alaska that utilizes pulp-grade
logs. The State of Alaska shall assume the obligations of the Forest
Service under such reinstated contract, except that the State of Alaska
shall assume no obligation for any claim relating to such contract
which arose from an occurrence before the transfer date.
(d) Timber Road Program Fund.--From amounts remaining after making
payments for the benefit of public schools and roads under the Act of
May 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500), the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, provide the gross receipts from the Tongass
National Forest derived from timber sale stumpage fees due during the
transfer-transition period to the State of Alaska as seed money for
purposes of establishing a timber roads revolving fund.
SEC. 6. TRANSITION PROVISIONS OUTSIDE THE TRANSITION PERIOD.
(a) Management of Transferred Lands.--(1) Beginning on the patent
date, the lands transferred pursuant to this Act shall be administered
and managed under applicable State of Alaska law, except as otherwise
provided in this Act for the period provided by this Act.
(2) During the transfer-transition period and until the patent
date, the lands subject to transfer pursuant to this Act shall be
administered and managed under Federal law and the Tongass Land
Management Plan.
(b) Land Designations.--Land use designations in effect on the date
of the enactment of this Act under the Tongass Land Management Plan
shall continue in effect for a period of up to one year after the
patent date, but shall cease to be applicable when the State of Alaska
adopts a land use designation system for the transferred lands during
such one-year period.
(c) Subsistence Use After the Patent Date.--The Secretary of the
Interior shall retain continuing authority to manage subsistence uses
of fish and wildlife on lands transferred under this Act until such
time as the State of Alaska law is in compliance with title VIII of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
(d) Mining Claims.--(1) For a period of 15 years after the patent
date, Federal mining claims located before the patent date pursuant to
the General Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 22 and following) in the
Tongass National Forest shall remain subject to the laws, rules,
regulations, and policies of the United States, but such laws, rules,
regulations, and policies shall be administered by the State of Alaska.
During such period, the right and ability of a claimholder to patent
such a mining claim shall not be infringed. An application to patent a
Federal mining claim located in the area comprising the Tongass
National Forest may be made by the claimholder with the State of Alaska
and shall constitute an election by the claim holder to be subject to
Federal mining claim patent procedures administered by the State of
Alaska.
(2) At any time during the 15-year period referred to in paragraph
(1), the holder of a Federal mining claim may elect to convert the
claim into a mining claim to be administered under the laws of the
State of Alaska. An election to convert such a claim must be in
writing, include such information as the Commissioner may request, and
be sent to the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources of
the State of Alaska. The State of Alaska shall convert each Federal
claim into one or more State claims covering the area of the Federal
claim.
(3) Upon the expiration of the 15-year period referred to in
paragraph (1), each Federal mining claim for which a mining patent
application has not been filed and which is located within the Tongass
National Forest shall be converted by operation of law into a mining
claim or claims to be administered under the laws of the State of
Alaska.
(4) During the transfer-transition period the Federal Government
shall maintain the right to receive fees and revenues, if any, due on
Federal mining claims. After the patent date, the State of Alaska shall
have the right to receive any fees or revenues due on Federal claims
that are not converted under paragraph (2) or (3).
(e) Land Grants to Native People.--The State of Alaska shall
negotiate in good faith to obtain an agreement with the native people
of the communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and
Wrangell, Alaska who did not receive a land claim settlement under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Under such agreement, the State of
Alaska shall convey not less than 23,040 acres of surface estate and
not more than 46,080 acres of surface estate to each community within
the boundary of the land transferred for purposes of historical,
cultural, economic (including timber, tourism, and recreation)
development and subsistence use in settlement of such claims. Upon the
conveyance of such surface estate, the State of Alaska shall convey the
subsurface estate of such lands to Sealaska Corporation. Unprocessed
timber (as defined in section 493 of Public Law 101-382) may not be
exported from Alaska. Negotiations shall conclude as soon as
practicable after the patent date, but in no case later than two years
after the transfer date. If an agreement is not reached, then the
matter shall be submitted to binding arbitration.
(f) Timber Receipts to Local Governments.--In each year, beginning
with the fiscal year of the State of Alaska beginning after the
transfer date and ending with the tenth fiscal year thereafter, the
State of Alaska shall allocate 25 percent of the net timber stumpage
receipts for all timber sold on the lands transferred under authority
of this Act directly to boroughs, municipalities, and local governments
for purposes of schools, educational materials, and community roads.
(g) Timber Receipts to the United States.--For a period of 10
calendar years, beginning with the fiscal year of the State of Alaska
beginning after the patent date, the State of Alaska shall pay to the
United States, 25 percent of the net receipts for all timber sold on
the lands transferred under authority of this Act.
(h) Ketchikan Pulp Contract.--On the patent date, the State of
Alaska shall assume all the obligations of the United States and be
entitled to all the benefits due to the United States under Contract
No. A10fs-1042 with the Ketchikan Pulp Corporation beginning on the
patent date.
(i) Timber Exports.--The State of Alaska shall prohibit by law
export of unprocessed saw, utility, and pulp logs originating from
lands transferred under this Act for a minimum period of ten years.
(j) Existing Obligations After Patent Date.--On the patent date,
the State of Alaska shall assume all Federal obligations and duties and
receive all rights of the United States Forest Service, except that the
State of Alaska shall assume no obligation for any claim for damages or
specific performance relating to a contract if such claim arose before
the patent date, unless the State of Alaska receives the benefit from
such an obligation.
SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES OF THE PARTIES AND OTHER PROVISIONS
RELATING TO THE TRANSFER.
(a) Map and Legal Description.--The Secretary shall provide the
State of Alaska with a map and other legal descriptions of the land to
be transferred under section 4. The map and the legal descriptions
provided under this subsection shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the Office of the Secretary in Washington,
District of Columbia, and in two readily accessible locations in
Alaska, at least one of which is in Southeast Alaska.
(b) Hazardous Materials.--As promptly as practicable after the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make available to the State
of Alaska for review and inspection, all pertinent records relating to
hazardous materials, if any, on lands to be transferred under this
section. The responsibility for costs of remedial action related to
such materials shall be borne by those entities responsible under
existing law.
(c) Judicial Review.--Transfer of land pursuant to this Act shall
not be subject to judicial review in any court of the United States,
except--
(1) to the extent a right of judicial review is conferred
specifically by the United States Constitution;
(2) otherwise conferred by this Act; or
(3) when sought by the State of Alaska on matters
pertaining to rights conferred by this Act.
(d) Rulemaking.--No formal rules under section 553 of title 5,
United States Code, are required to implement this Act.
(e) Survey.--The patent for lands conveyed pursuant to this Act
shall not be subject to completion of a field survey and may be issued
based on a protraction survey.
(f) Repeal.--Sections 503, 508, 703, 704, 705, and 706 of the
Alaska National Lands Interest Conservation Act are repealed on the
patent date. Title III of the Tongass Timber Reform Act is repealed on
the transfer date.
(g) Encumbrances.--For purposes of an orderly transfer of the
Tongass National Forest to State ownership and transition to State
management, the Secretary shall provide a list of encumbrances of
record and otherwise known in the Tongass National Forest to the
Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources of the State of
Alaska during the transfer-transition period. The transfer under this
Act shall be subject to all existing encumbrances.
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