[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withdrawn for use by the United States Navy for military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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