[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 402 Referred in Senate (RFS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 402


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 1995

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
    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. 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. The 
ratification of these conveyances shall not have any other effect upon 
section 14(h) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1613(h)) or upon the duties and obligations of the United States to any 
Alaska Native Corporation. This ratification shall not be the basis for 
any claim to land or money by Caswell or Montana Creek group 
corporations or any other Alaska Native Corporation against the State 
of Alaska, the United States, or Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated.

SEC. 2. MINING CLAIMS AFTER LANDS CONVEYED TO ALASKA REGIONAL 
              CORPORATION.

    Section 22(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1621(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) This section shall apply to lands conveyed by interim 
conveyance or patent to a regional corporation pursuant to this Act 
which are made subject to a mining claim or claims located under the 
general mining laws, including lands conveyed prior to enactment of 
this paragraph. Effective upon the date of the enactment of this 
paragraph, the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Land Management 
and in a manner consistent with section 14(g) of this Act, shall 
transfer to the regional corporation administration of all mining 
claims determined to be entirely within lands conveyed to that 
corporation. Any person holding such mining claim or claims shall meet 
such requirements of the general mining laws and section 314 of the 
Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744), except 
that any filings which would have been made with the Bureau of Land 
Management if the lands were within Federal ownership shall be timely 
made to the appropriate regional corporation. The validity of any such 
mining claim or claims may be contested by the regional corporation, in 
the place of the United States. All contest proceedings and appeals by 
the mining claimants of adverse decisions made by the regional 
corporation shall be brought in Federal District Court for the District 
of Alaska. Neither the United States nor any Federal agency or official 
shall be named or joined as a party in such proceedings or appeals. All 
revenues from such mining claims received after passage of this 
paragraph shall be remitted to the regional corporation subject to 
distribution pursuant to section 7(i) of this Act, except that in the 
event that the mining claim or claims are not totally within the lands 
conveyed to the regional corporation, the regional corporation shall be 
entitled only to that proportion of revenues, other than administrative 
fees, reasonably allocated to the portion of the mining claim or claims 
so conveyed.''.

SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE 
              CONTAMINATION OF TRANSFERRED LANDS.

    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 hazardous substances 
        harmful to public health or the environment, including 
        asbestos.
            ``(2) The term `lands' means real property transferred to 
        an Alaska Native Corporation pursuant to this Act.
    ``(b) Within 18 months of enactment of this section, and after 
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, State of Alaska, and 
appropriate Alaska Native corporations and organizations, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate, a report addressing issues presented by the presence of 
hazardous substances on lands conveyed or prioritized for conveyance to 
such corporations pursuant to this Act. Such report shall consist of--
            ``(1) existing information concerning the nature and types 
        of contaminants present on such lands prior to conveyance to 
        Alaska Native corporations;
            ``(2) existing information identifying the existence and 
        availability of potentially responsible parties for the removal 
        or amelioration of the effects of such contaminants;
            ``(3) identification of existing remedies; and
            ``(4) recommendations for any additional legislation that 
        the Secretary concludes is necessary to remedy the problem of 
        contaminants on such lands.''.

SEC. 4. 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 
established pursuant to this Act in order that they may fulfill the 
reconveyance requirements of section 14(c) of this Act. The Secretary 
may make funds available as grants to ANCSA or nonprofit corporations 
that maintain in-house land planning and management capabilities.''.

SEC. 5. 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 
Kuukpik 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 and subject to the concurrence of the Kuupik Corporation, 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. 6. REPORT CONCERNING OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN NATIVE ALASKAN 
              VETERANS FOR ALLOTMENTS.

    (a) In General.--No later than six months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Agriculture, the State of Alaska and appropriate 
Native corporations and organizations, shall submit to the Committee on 
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate, a report which shall include, but 
not be limited to, the following:
            (1) The number of Vietnam era veterans, as defined in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code, who were eligible 
for but did not apply 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;
            (2) an assessment of the potential impacts of additional 
        allotments on conservation system units as such term is defined 
        in section 102(4) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
        Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2375); and
            (3) recommendations for any additional legislation that the 
        Secretary concludes is necessary.
    (b) Requirement.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall release 
to the Secretary of the Interior information relevant to the report 
required under subsection (a).

SEC. 7. 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, 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''. Such property bidding credits shall be used in the 
        same fiscal year as received by Cook Inlet Region, 
        Incorporated.
            (2) 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.

SEC. 8. SHISHMAREF AIRPORT AMENDMENT.

    The Shishmaref Airport, conveyed to the State of Alaska on January 
5, 1967, in Patent No. 1240529, is subject to reversion to the United 
States, pursuant to the terms of that patent for nonuse as an airport. 
The Secretary is authorized to reacquire the interests originally 
conveyed pursuant to Patent No. 1240529, and, notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary shall immediately thereafter transfer 
all right, title, and interest of the United States in the subject 
lands to the Shishmaref Native Corporation. Nothing in this section 
shall relieve the State, the United States, or any other potentially 
responsible party of liability, if any, under existing law for the 
clean up of hazardous or solid wastes on the property, nor shall the 
United States or Shishmaref Native Corporation become liable for the 
cleanup of the property solely by virtue of acquiring title from the 
State or from the United States.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 14, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.