[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 24, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6491-H6492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ALEUT CORPORATION AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LAND EXCHANGE

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1325) 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.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1325

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that:
       (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 deep water 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), as amended, 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 (ANCSA), as amended 
     (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 ANCSA (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 ANCSA in December 1971.
       (6) The Aleut Corporation is attempting to establish a 
     community on Adak and has offered to exchange ANCSA 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 U.S. 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 ``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 and The 
     Aleut Corporation: Provided, That 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 United States House of Representatives and 
     the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United 
     States Senate: Provided further, That 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 be 
     subject to any laws pertaining to lands within the boundaries 
     of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, including 
     the conveyance restrictions imposed by section 22(g) of the 
     ANCSA, 43 U.S.C. 1621(g), for land in the National Wildlife 
     Refuge System. 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

[[Page H6492]]

     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.

       (a) Nothwithstanding the Federal Property and 
     Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 
     483-484) and the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 
     1990, as amended (10 U.S.C. 2687), 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) 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) 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, as amended, and section 907(d) of the 
     Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, as amended, 
     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.
       (d) 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 ANCSA.
       (e) The maps included as part of Appendix A to the 
     Agreement depict the lands to be conveyed to The Aleut 
     Corporation. The maps shall be left on file at the Region 7 
     Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the offices 
     of 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 
     any discrepancies, the maps shall be controlling.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is 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.
  S. 1325 is sponsored by Senator Murkowski of Alaska. The bill 
ratifies a land exchange agreement between the Aleut Corporation and 
the United States of America. The Aleut Corporation is an Alaska Native 
regional corporation.
  The purpose of this land exchange is to ensure the economic reuse of 
a major Cold War base that has closed, and to add pristine lands to the 
National Wildlife Refuge System.
  Under the bill, the Federal Government will transfer to the Aleut 
Corporation about 47,000 acres of Federal lands comprising the former 
Adak Naval Complex, which closed in 1997 under the Base Realignment and 
Closure Procedure.
  In return for this asset, the corporation will relinquish its 
entitlement to about 47,000 acres of high quality wildlife habitat 
within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. These lands will 
be made a part of the Refuge System. The Department of Interior, the 
Navy, the State of Alaska and the Aleut Corporation deserve ours thanks 
for hammering out a major land exchange that is, in my opinion, totally 
noncontroversial. It benefits the American public, a Native 
corporation, and the conservation of fish and wildlife.
  Mr. Speaker, I should note that substantially identical legislation 
is contained in the Defense authorization bill which is currently in 
conference. The House and Senate have not resolved their differences 
over the retention of this legislation in the conference report. I have 
grown very concerned over the status of the language in the Defense 
bill, and failure to pass this bill today could preclude our best 
opportunity to ratify this land exchange. The administration supports 
enactment of S. 1325, and I strongly urge that we suspend the rules and 
pass the bill so that the long-awaited land exchange can be completed 
to benefit so many people. I urge Members to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the chairman has fully explained the bill. We have no 
problems with it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 1325.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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