[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2479 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2479
To ratify an agreement between The Aleut Corporation and the United
States of America to exchange land rights received under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act for certain land interests on Adak Island,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 11, 2001
Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Armed Services, 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 ratify an agreement between The Aleut Corporation and the United
States of America to exchange land rights received under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act for certain land interests on Adak Island,
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. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Adak Island is an isolated island located 1,200 miles
southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, between the Pacific Ocean and
the Bering Sea. The island, with its unique physical and
biological features, including a deepwater harbor and abundant
marine-associated wildlife, was recognized early for both its
natural and military values. In 1913, Adak Island was reserved
and set aside as a preserve because of its value to seabirds,
marine mammals, and fisheries. Withdrawals of portions of Adak
Island for various military purposes date back to 1901 and
culminated in the 1959 withdrawal of approximately half of the
island for use by the Department of the Navy for military
purposes.
(2) By 1990, military development on Adak Island supported
a community of 6,000 residents. Outside of the Adak Naval
Complex, there was no independent community on Adak Island.
(3) As a result of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment
Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 1808), the Adak Naval Complex has been
closed by the Department of Defense.
(4) The Aleut Corporation is an Alaskan Native Regional
Corporation incorporated in the State of Alaska pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
The Aleut Corporation represents the indigenous people of the
Aleutian Islands who prior to the Russian exploration and
settlement of the Aleutian Islands were found throughout the
Aleutian Islands, which includes Adak Island.
(5) None of Adak Island was available for selection by The
Aleut Corporation under section 14(h)(8) of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(8)) because it was
part of a national wildlife refuge and because the portion
comprising the Adak Naval Complex was withdrawn for use by the
United States Navy for military purposes prior to the passage
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in December 1971.
(6) The Aleut Corporation is attempting to establish a
community on Adak and has offered to exchange Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act land selections and entitlements for
conveyance of certain lands and interests therein on a portion
of Adak formerly occupied by the Navy.
(7) Removal of a portion of the Adak Island land from
refuge status will be offset by the acquisition of high-quality
wildlife habitat in other Aleut Corporation selections within
the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, maintaining a
resident human population on Adak to control caribou, and
making possible a continued United States Fish and Wildlife
Service presence in that remote location to protect the natural
resources of the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge.
(8) It is in the public interest to promote reuse of the
Adak Island lands by exchanging certain lands for lands
selected by The Aleut Corporation elsewhere in the Alaska
Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Experience with
environmental problems associated with formerly used defense
sites in the State of Alaska suggests that the most effective
and efficient way to avoid future environmental problems on
Adak is to support and encourage active reuse of Adak.
SEC. 2. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT.
The document entitled the ``Agreement Concerning the Conveyance of
Property at the Adak Naval Complex'' (hereinafter referred to as the
``Agreement''), and dated September 20, 2000, executed by The Aleut
Corporation, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of the
Navy, together with any technical amendments or modifications to the
boundaries that may be agreed to by the parties, is hereby ratified,
confirmed, and approved and the terms, conditions, procedures,
covenants, reservations, indemnities and other provisions set forth in
the Agreement are declared to be obligations and commitments of the
United States as a matter of Federal law. Modifications to the maps and
legal descriptions of lands to be removed from the National Wildlife
Refuge System within the military withdrawal on Adak Island set forth
in Public Land Order 1949 may be made only upon agreement of all
Parties to the Agreement and notification given to the Committee on
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate. The acreage conveyed to the United
States by The Aleut Corporation under the Agreement, as modified, shall
be at least 36,000 acres.
SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF LANDS FROM REFUGE.
Effective on the date of conveyance to the Aleut Corporation of the
Adak Exchange Lands as described in the Agreement, all such lands shall
be removed from the National Wildlife Refuge System and shall neither
be considered as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
nor subject to any laws pertaining to lands within the boundaries of
the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The conveyance
restrictions imposed by section 22(g) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(g)) for land in the National Wildlife
Refuge System shall not apply. The Secretary shall adjust the
boundaries of the Refuge so as to exclude all interests in lands and
land rights, surface and subsurface, received by The Aleut Corporation
in accordance with this Act and the Agreement.
SEC. 4. ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT.
Lands and interests therein exchanged and conveyed by the United
States pursuant to this Act shall be considered and treated as
conveyances of lands or interests therein under the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, except that receipt of such lands and interests
therein shall not constitute a sale or disposition of land or interests
received pursuant to such Act. The public easements for access to
public lands and waters reserved pursuant to the Agreement are deemed
to satisfy the requirements and purposes of section 17(b) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act.
SEC. 5. REACQUISITION OF LANDS.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire by purchase
or exchange, on a willing seller basis only, any land conveyed to The
Aleut Corporation under the Agreement and this Act. In the event any of
the lands are subsequently acquired by the United States, they shall be
automatically included in the Refuge System. The laws and regulations
applicable to refuge lands shall then apply to these lands and the
Secretary shall then adjust the boundaries accordingly.
SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) Conveyance of Navy Personal Property.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, and for the purposes of the transfer of
property authorized by this Act, Department of Navy personal property
that remains on Adak Island is deemed related to the real property and
shall be conveyed by the Department of the Navy to The Aleut
Corporation, at no additional cost, when the related real property is
conveyed by the Department of the Interior.
(b) Additional Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
convey to the Aleut Corporation those lands identified in the Agreement
as the former landfill sites without charge to the Aleut Corporation's
entitlement under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
(c) Valuation.--For purposes of section 21(c) of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, the receipt of all property by The Aleut
Corporation shall be entitled to a tax basis equal to fair value on
date of transfer. Fair value shall be determined by replacement cost
appraisal.
(d) Certain Property Treated as Not Developed.--Any property,
including, but not limited to, appurtenances and improvements, received
pursuant to this Act shall, for purposes of section 21(d) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act and section 907(d) of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act be treated as not developed until such
property is actually occupied, leased (other than leases for nominal
consideration to public entities) or sold by The Aleut Corporation, or,
in the case of a lease or other transfer by The Aleut Corporation to a
wholly owned development subsidiary, actually occupied, leased, or sold
by the subsidiary.
(e) Certain Lands Unavailable for Selection.--Upon conveyance to
The Aleut Corporation of the lands described in Appendix A of the
Agreement, the lands described in Appendix C of the Agreement will
become unavailable for selection under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act.
(f) Maps.--The maps included as part of Appendix A to the Agreement
depict the lands to be conveyed to The Aleut Corporation. The maps are
on file at the Region 7 Office of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service and the offices of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
in Homer, Alaska. The written legal descriptions of the lands to be
conveyed to The Aleut Corporation are also part of Appendix A. In case
of discrepancies, the maps shall control.
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