[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 924 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 205
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 924
[Report No. 108-97]
To authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village
Corporation and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 11, 2003
Ms. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
July 11, 2003
Reported by Mr. Domenici, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village
Corporation and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds that:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) The continued existence of the village of
Newtok, Alaska is threatened by the eroding banks of the
Ninglick River.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) A relocation of the village will become
necessary for the health and safety of the residents of Newtok
within the next 8 years.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Lands previously conveyed to the Newtok Native
Corporation contain habitat of high value for
waterfowl.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) An opportunity exists for an exchange of lands
between the Newtok Native Corporation and the Yukon Delta
National Wildlife Refuge that would address the relocation
needs of the village while enhancing the quality of waterfowl
habitat within the boundaries of the Refuge.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) An exchange of lands between Newtok and the
United States on an other than equal value basis pursuant to
the terms of this Act is in the public interest.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> For the purposes of this Act, the term--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) ``ANCSA'' means the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act of 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) ``ANILCA'' means the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 410hh-3233, 43 U.S.C.
1602 et seq.);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) ``Calista'' means the Calista Corporation, an
Alaska Native Regional Corporation established pursuant to
ANCSA;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) ``Identified Lands'' means approximately
10,943 acres of lands (including surface and subsurface)
designated as ``Proposed Village Site'' upon a map entitled
``Proposed Newtok Exchange,'' dated September, 2002, and
available for inspection in the Anchorage office of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) ``limited warranty deed'' means a warranty
deed which is, with respect to its warranties, limited to that
portion of the chain of title from the moment of conveyance
from the United States to Newtok to and including the moment at
which such title is validly reconveyed to the United States of
America and its assigns;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) ``Newtok'' means the Newtok Native
Corporation, an Alaska Native Village Corporation established
pursuant to ANCSA;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) ``Newtok lands'' means approximately 12,101
acres of surface estate comprising conveyed lands and selected
lands identified as Aknerkochik on the map referred to in
paragraph (4) and that surface estate selected by Newtok on
Baird Inlet Island as shown on said map; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. LANDS TO BE EXCHANGED.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Lands Exchanged to the United States.--If, within 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, Newtok expresses to the
Secretary in writing its intent to enter into a land exchange with the
United States, the Secretary shall accept from Newtok a valid,
unencumbered conveyance, by limited warranty deed, of the Newtok lands
previously conveyed to Newtok. The Secretary shall also accept from
Newtok a relinquishment of irrevocable prioritized selections for
approximately 4,956 acres for those validly selected lands not yet
conveyed to Newtok. The reconveyance of lands by Newtok to the United
States and the prioritized, relinquished selections shall be 1.1 times
the number of acres conveyed to Newtok under this Act. The number of
acres reconveyed to the United States and the prioritized, relinquished
selections shall be charged to the entitlement of Newtok.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Lands Exchanged to Newtok.--In exchange for the Newtok
lands conveyed and selections relinquished under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall, subject to valid existing rights and notwithstanding
section 14(f) of ANCSA, convey to Newtok the surface and subsurface
estate of the Identified Lands. The conveyance shall be by interim
conveyance. Subsequent to the interim conveyance, the Secretary shall
survey the Identified Lands at no cost to Newtok and issue a patent to
the Identified Lands subject to the provisions of ANCSA and this Act.
At the time of survey the charge against Newtok's entitlement for acres
conveyed or irrevocable priorities relinquished by Newtok may be
adjusted to conform to the standard of 1.1 acres relinquished by Newtok
for each one acre received.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. CONVEYANCE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Timing.--The Secretary shall issue interim conveyances
pursuant to subsection 3(b) at the earliest possible time after
acceptance of the Newtok conveyance and relinquishment of selections
under subsection 3(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Relationship to ANCSA.--Lands conveyed to Newtok under
this Act shall be deemed to have been conveyed under the provisions of
ANCSA, except that the provisions of 14(c) of ANCSA shall not apply to
these lands, and to the extent that section 22(g) of ANCSA would
otherwise be applicable to these lands, the provisions of 22(g) of
ANCSA shall also not apply to these lands. Consistent with section
103(c) of ANILCA, these lands shall not be deemed to be included as a
portion of the Yukon National Wildlife Refuge and shall not be subject
to regulations applicable solely to public lands within this
Conservation System Unit.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Effect on Entitlement.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to change the total acreage of land to which Newtok is
entitled under ANCSA.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Effect on Newtok Lands.--The Newtok Lands shall be
included in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge as of the date of
acceptance of the conveyance of those lands from Newtok, except that
residents of the Village of Newtok, Alaska, shall retain access rights
to subsistence resources on those public lands as guaranteed under
ANILCA section 811 (16 U.S.C. 3121), and to subsistence uses, such as
traditional subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering, consistent with
ANILCA section 803 (16 U.S.C. 3113).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Adjustment to Calista Corporation ANCSA Entitlement
for Relinquished Newtok Selections.--To the extent that Calista
subsurface rights are affected by this Act, Calista shall be entitled
to an equivalent acreage of in-lieu subsurface entitlement for the
Newtok selections relinquished in the exchange as set forth in
subsection 3(a) of this Act. This additional entitlement shall come
from subsurface lands already selected by Calista, but which have not
been conveyed. If Calista does not have sufficient subsurface
selections to accommodate this additional entitlement, Calista
Corporation is hereby authorized to make an additional in lieu
selection for the deficient acreage.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Adjustment to Exchange.--If requested by Newtok, the
Secretary is authorized to consider and make adjustments to the
original exchange to meet the purposes of this Act, subject to all the
same terms and conditions of this Act.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the term:
(1) ``ANCSA'' means the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);
(2) ``ANILCA'' means the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.);
(3) ``Calista'' means the Calista Corporation, an Alaska
Native Regional Corporation established pursuant to ANCSA;
(4) ``Identified Lands'' means approximately 10,943 acres
of lands (including surface and subsurface estates) designated
as ``Proposed Village Site'' on a map entitled ``Proposed
Newtok Exchange,'' dated September, 2002, and available for
inspection in the Anchorage office of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service;
(5) ``limited warranty deed'' means a warranty deed which
is, with respect to its warranties, limited to that portion of
the chain of title from the moment of conveyance from the
United States to Newtok to and including the moment at which
such title is validly reconveyed to the United States;
(6) ``Newtok'' means the Newtok Native Corporation, an
Alaska Native Village Corporation established pursuant to
ANCSA;
(7) ``Newtok lands'' means approximately
12,101 acres of surface estate comprising conveyed lands and
selected lands identified as Aknerkochik on the map referred to
in paragraph (4) and that surface estate selected by Newtok on
Baird Inlet Island as shown on the map; and
(8) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 2. LANDS TO BE EXCHANGED.
(a) Lands Exchanged to the United States.--If, within 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, Newtok expresses to the
Secretary in writing its intent to enter into a land exchange with the
United States, the Secretary shall accept from Newtok a valid,
unencumbered conveyance, by limited warranty deed, of the Newtok lands
previously conveyed to Newtok. The Secretary shall also accept from
Newtok a relinquishment of irrevocable prioritized selections for
approximately 4,956 acres for those validly selected lands not yet
conveyed to Newtok.
(b) Lands Exchanged to Newtok.--In exchange for the Newtok lands
conveyed and selections relinquished under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall, subject to valid existing rights and notwithstanding
section 14(f) of ANCSA, convey to Newtok the surface and subsurface
estates of the Identified Lands. The conveyance shall be by interim
conveyance. Subsequent to the interim conveyance, the Secretary shall
survey identified Lands at no cost to Newtok and issue a patent to the
Identified Lands subject to the provisions of ANCSA and this Act.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE.
(a) Timing.--The Secretary shall issue interim conveyances pursuant
to subsection 2(b) at the earliest possible time after acceptance of
the Newtok conveyance and relinquishment of selections under subsection
2(a).
(b) Relationship to ANCSA.--Lands conveyed to Newtok under this Act
shall be treated as having been conveyed under the provisions of ANCSA,
except that the provisions of 14(c) and 22g of ANCSA shall not apply to
these lands. Consistent with section 103(c) of ANILCA, these lands
shall not be included as a portion of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife
Refuge and shall not be subject to regulations applicable solely to
public lands within this Conservation System Unit.
(c) Effect on Entitlement.--Except as otherwise provided, nothing
in this Act shall be construed to change the total acreage of land to
which Newtok is entitled under ANCSA.
(d) Effect on Newtok Lands.--The Newtok Lands shall be included in
the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge as of the date of acceptance
of the conveyance of those lands from Newtok, except that residents of
the Village of Newtok, Alaska, shall retain access rights to
subsistence resources on those Newtok lands as guaranteed under section
811 of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 3121), and to subsistence uses, such as
traditional subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering, consistent with
section 803 of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 3113).
(e) Adjustment to Calista Corporation ANCSA Entitlement for
Relinquished Newtok Selections.--To the extent that Calista subsurface
rights are affected by this Act, Calista shall be entitled to an
equivalent acreage of in lieu subsurface entitlement for the Newtok
selections relinquished in the exchange as set forth in subsection 2(a)
of this Act. This equivalent entitlement shall come from subsurface
lands already selected by Calista, but which have not been conveyed. If
Calista does not have sufficient subsurface selections to accommodate
this additional entitlement, Calista Corporation is hereby authorized
to make an additional in lieu selection for the deficient acreage from
lands within the region but outside any conservation system unit.
(f) Adjustment to Exchange.--If requested by Newtok, the Secretary
may consider and make adjustments to the exchange to meet the purposes
of this Act, subject to all the same terms and conditions of this Act.
Calendar No. 205
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 924
[Report No. 108-97]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village
Corporation and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 11, 2003
Reported with an amendment