[House Report 105-782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2nd Session 105-782
_______________________________________________________________________
CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION SETTLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION
_______
October 6, 1998.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3087]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3087) to require the Secretary of Agriculture to grant an
easement to Chugach Alaska Corporation, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend
that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION SETTLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not
later than December 11, 1998, the Secretary of Agriculture shall grant
Chugach Alaska Corporation an irrevocable and perpetual 500-foot-wide
easement for the construction, use, and maintenance of nonpublic roads
and related facilities necessary for access to and economic development
of the land interests in the Carbon Mountain and Katalla vicinity that
were conveyed to Chugach Alaska Corporation pursuant to the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act. The centerline of the easement is
depicted on the map entitled ``Carbon Mountain Access Easement'' and
dated November 4, 1997.
(b) Submission of Survey; Relinquishment of Unneeded Portion of
Easement.--Not later than 90 days after completion of construction of
roads and related facilities on the easement granted pursuant to
subsection (a), Chugach Alaska Corporation shall submit to the
Secretary of Agriculture an as-built survey of such roads and related
facilities and relinquish to the United States those portions of the
easement Chugach Alaska Corporation deems not necessary for future use.
(c) Construction and Maintenance.--Construction and maintenance of
any roads pursuant to subsection (a) shall be in accordance with the
best management practices of the Forest Service as promulgated in the
Forest Service Handbook.
purpose of the bill
The purpose of H.R. 3087 is to require the Secretary of
Agriculture to grant an easement to Chugach Alaska Corporation.
background and need for legislation
H.R. 3087 grants to the Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC) a
perpetual 500-foot wide right-of-way for certain roads and
related facilities across the Chugach National Forest. The
corporation represents the Chugach Natives of south-central
Alaska. The easement will ensure CAC has access to a 73,000-
acre tract of land the Natives were awarded pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). H.R. 3087
provides that when construction of the road is complete, CAC
relinquish those portions of the right-of-way not necessary for
future use. The end result will be a forest road.
ANCSA declared the settlement of Natives' land claims would
be ``accomplished rapidly, with certainty, in conformity with
the real economic and social needs of Natives, without
litigation, with maximum participation by Natives. * * *'' In
the Chugach Natives' case, however, the settlement has been
honored by the Administration only half-way, reluctantly, with
litigation, and with relatively low regard to the economic need
of the Chugach Natives.
After 11 years of delays in acquiring its ANCSA
entitlement, CAC was granted land with access rights in the
1982 Chugach Natives, Inc. Settlement Agreement. The Settlement
Agreement granted the corporation a 73,000-acre tract of
property in the Chugach National Forest and an easement for
roads and related facilities to the land. To address
environmental considerations, the Settlement Agreement permits
the Secretary of Agriculture to require CAC to perform an
environmental analysis.
The property was conveyed in 1983; however, CAC's
entitlement is incomplete because 15 years later the federal
government has still not issued the easement for road access.
During a Committee hearing, the Forest Service reported it
was close to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which
would set in motion the process of issuing the easement by
December 11, 1998. After the hearing, the MOU was signed by all
parties. While an important component to the issuance of the
easement, the MOU does not obviate the need for legislation;
the document is not legally binding or enforceable, and can be
terminated by the Forest Service, or expire without renewal.
This means there is no date on which the easement will be
granted with certainty.
The lack of a legally binding, enforceable commitment to
convey the easement is inexcusable given the difficult delays
the Chugach Natives have encountered trying to secure promises
made to them 27 years ago. Whereas ANCSA was supposed to bring
the opportunity of economic benefit to the Natives, it has in
some ways become a financial burden to the corporation because
the long delays have been expensive and resulted in lost
opportunity. This is contrary to the aims of the landmark
settlement act.
Without access, the Natives do not have the use and
economic benefit of property Congress intended them to have 27
years ago, effectively denying the Natives a key part of their
land claims settlement.
The purpose of H.R. 3087 is to convey the promised easement
by a time-certain date. The legislation as introduced requires
the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the easement within 90
days after enactment; however, the Committee adopted an
amendment during its consideration of the measure to change the
effective day to December 11, 1998, allowing CAC time to
complete its environmental analysis.
The easement is 500-feet wide to allow CAC enough space in
which to locate the road in an environmentally responsible
manner. Because the Settlement Agreement reserves standing
timber to the United States, CAC is allowed to remove only that
timber which is necessary for a road. After construction is
complete, CAC must relinquish those portions of the easement
not needed for future use.
The Committee also adopted an amendment which requires
construction and maintenance of the road to be in accordance
with the best management practices of the U.S. Forest Service,
as promulgated in the Forest Service Handbook.
As to other requirements and obligations of CAC and the
government, terms of the 1982 Settlement Agreement will
continue to apply.
committee action
H.R. 3087 was introduced on November 13, 1997, by
Congressman Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources. On February 25, 1998, the Committee
held a hearing on H.R. 3087 where testimony was received from
witnesses representing the Administration, the Chugach Alaska
Corporation, and from the environmental community. On March 11,
1998, the full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 3087.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute was offered by
Congressman Young, and adopted by voice vote. The bill as
amended was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
committee oversight findings and recommendations
With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
constitutional authority statement
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact H.R. 3087.
COST OF THE LEGISLATION
Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 3087. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R.
3087 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3087.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R.
3087 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 27, 1998.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3087, a bill to
require the Secretary of Agriculture to grant an easement to
Chugach Alaska Corporation.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria V.
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the impact
on state, local, and tribal governments).
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 3087--A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to grant an
easement to Chugach Alaska Corporation
H.R. 3087 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
grant Chugach Alaska Corporation an irrevocable and perpetual
500-foot wide easement across federal land as depicted on a map
entitled ``Carbon Mountain Access Easement'' and dated November
4, 1997. The bill would require the Secretary to grant the
easement by December 11, 1998.
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Because enacting H.R.
2416 would not affect direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-
go procedures would not apply to the bill.
H.R. 3087 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. The bill would benefit the Chugach Alaska
Corporation, a regional native corporation in Alaska, by
facilitating its development of currently inaccessible lands.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Victoria V.
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the impact
on state, local, and tribal governments). This estimate was
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
H.R. 3087 contains no unfunded mandates.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, H.R. 3087 would make no changes in existing
law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
We strongly oppose this bill. There is no legitimate
purpose served by Congress intervening in a complex and
controversial matter subject to an ongoing administrative
process and governed by existing agreements and law. On behalf
of the Forest Service, the Secretary of Agriculture has
recommended that the President veto this bill if enacted.
H.R. 3087 would mandate an unprecedented 500 foot road
easement to facilitate the development of private corporation
lands in the Chugach National Forest in Alaska. Ironically,
President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot created the
Chugach National Forest in 1907 to protect it from exploitation
by the Alaska Syndicate, a coal monopoly formed by the
Guggenheim Brothers and John Pierport Morgan. But under a 1982
Settlement Agreement negotiated by the Reagan Administration,
the Native regional corporation now known as Chugach Alaska
Corporation received title to 73,000 acres at Bering River and
a right of access through the national forest.
Chugach Alaska Corporation plans to build a 26 mile road to
the Bering River lands in order to clearcut about 8,000 acres
and export the logs. Coal rights have been sold to Korean
interests. It is unclear how much building a costly (and
controversial) road and would benefit the Chugach shareholders,
considering the depressed Pacific Rim markets for both logs and
coal.
Beginning with the phrase, ``notwithstanding any other
provision of law,'' this bill grants Chugach rights beyond
those specified in the 1982 Settlement Agreement. It provides
exemptions from environmental laws. It grants a ``irrevocable
and perpetual'' 500 foot wide easement. It allows for ``related
facilities necessary for access to and economic development of
the land interests.'' It deems the road to be ``non-public''
contrary to the 1982 Settlement Agreement which clearly
reserves a right of public access.
The negotiations between the Forest Service and Chugach
involve complex issues and affect nationally significant
natural resources. In the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act, Congress directed that ``conservation of fish
and wildlife habitat shall be the primary purpose for the
management'' of the Copper River-Bering River area, in effect
treating these lands as a national fish and wildlife refuge
under Forest Service management. The proposed Chugach road
would cross more than 200 bodies of water, including anadromous
salmon streams, and affect wetlands which provide critical
habitat for millions of shorebirds and migratory waterfowl
which use the Pacific Flyway.
We should not undercut the current negotiations and fuel
the fires of environmental controversy by enacting this bill.
Instead, Congress should be considering whether the Chugach
lands could be purchased or exchanged for other federal assets,
with a goal of greater direct economic benefit to the Chugach
shareholders while retaining the integrity of the national
forest.
George Miller.
Maurice Hinchey.