[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.
                                 <all>