[Senate Report 105-106]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 208
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                    105-106
_______________________________________________________________________


 
              CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PUBLIC LANDS IN ALASKA

                                _______
                                

                October 9, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 660]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 660) to provide for the continuation of 
higher education through the conveyance of certain public lands 
in the State of Alaska to the University of Alaska, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends 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:

SEC. 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
          (1) the University of Alaska is the successor to and the 
        beneficiary of all Federal grants and conveyances to or for the 
        Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines;
          (2) under the Acts of March 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1214, and 
        January 21, 1929, 45 Stat. 1091, the United States granted to 
        the Territory of Alaska certain federal land for the University 
        of Alaska;
          (3) the Territory was unable to receive most of the land 
        intended to be conveyed by the Act of March 4, 1915, before 
        repeal of that Act by Sec. 6(k) of the Alaska Statehood Act 
        (P.L. 85-508, 72 Stat. 339);
          (4) only one other state land grant college in the United 
        States has obtain a smaller land grant from the federal 
        government than the University of Alaska has received, and all 
        land grant colleges in the western states of the United States 
        have obtained substantially larger land grants than the 
        University of Alaska;
          (5) an academically strong and financially secure state 
        university system is a cornerstone to the long-term development 
        of a stable population and to a healthy, diverse economy and is 
        in the national interest;
          (6) the national interest is served by transferring certain 
        federal lands to the University of Alaska which will be able to 
        use and develop the resources of such lands and by returning 
        certain lands held by the University of Alaska located within 
        certain federal conservation system units to federal ownership;
          (7) the University of Alaska holds valid legal title to and 
        is responsible for management of lands transferred by the 
        United States to the Territory and State of Alaska for the 
        University and that an exchange of lands is consistent with and 
        in furtherance of the purposes and terms of, and thus not in 
        violation of, the Federal grant of such lands.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this act are--
          (1) to fulfill the original commitment of Congress to 
        establish the University of Alaska as a land grant university 
        with holdings sufficient to facilitate operation and 
        maintenance of a university system for the inhabitants of the 
        State of Alaska; and
          (2) to acquire from University of Alaska lands it holds 
        within federal Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Wilderness areas.

SEC. 2. PRIMARY FEDERAL GRANT

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to 
valid existing rights and the procedures set forth herein, the 
University is granted and entitled to take up to 250,000acres of 
federal lands (or reserved interests in lands) in or adjacent to Alaska 
as a federal grant. The University may identify and select the specific 
lands it intends to take pursuant to this grant, and the Secretary of 
the Interior (``Secretary'') shall promptly convey to the University 
the lands selected, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
    (b)(1) Within 48 months of enactment of this Act, the University of 
Alaska may submit to the Secretary a list of properties the University 
has tentatively selected to receive under the conditions of this grant. 
Such list may be submitted in whole or in part during this period and 
the University may make interim tentative selections that it may 
relinquish or change within the 48 month period. The University may 
submit tentative selections that exceed the amount of the grant except 
that such selections shall not exceed 275,000 acres at any one time.
    (2) All selections shall be in reasonably compact units: Provided, 
That the University may select small tracts of federal land within 
federal reservations consistent with the limitations in subsection (c) 
below.
    (3) The University may submit tentative selections of federal lands 
validly selected but not conveyed to the State of Alaska or the 
corporations organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act: Provided, That such lands may not be approved or conveyed to the 
University unless the State of Alaska and or the corporation has 
relinquished its prior selection.
    (4) The University shall make no selections within Conservation 
System Units as defined in the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101) or lands designated as LUD II by 
section 201 of the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990.
    (5) Within forty-five (45) days of receipt of a University 
tentative selection, the Secretary shall publish notice of said 
selection in the Federal Register. Such notice shall identify lands 
included in the tentative selection and provide for a period for public 
comment on the tentative selection not to exceed sixty (60) days.
    (6) Within six months of the receipt of a University tentative 
selection, the Secretary shall notify the University of his acceptance 
or objection to each tentative selection, including the reasons for any 
objection. Failure to object within six months shall constitute 
approval by the Secretary. Any public comments submitted in response to 
a public notice issued pursuant to paragraph (5) above may be 
considered by the Secretary: Provided, That the Secretary may object to 
tentative selections of the University if and only if he demonstrates 
that a conveyance of such to the University--
          (A) will have a significant adverse impact on the purposes 
        for which a Conservation System Unit was established; or
          (B) will have a significant adverse impact on fulfillment of 
        the Alaska Statehood Act of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
        Act. (43 U.S.C. 1601)
    (7) The Secretary's acceptance of, or objection to, any tentative 
selections submitted by the University of Alaska pursuant to Section 2 
of this Act or the conveyance of any such selections by tentative 
approval, patent or other instrument are not major federal actions 
within the means of section 102(2)(c) of P.L. 91-190.
    (8) The Secretary shall publish notice of any decision to accept or 
object to a tentative selection in the Federal Register.
    (c) The Secretary shall not approve or convey, under this grant,
          (1) any federal lands which, at the time of enactment of this 
        Act, are included in a Conservation System Unit, or are 
        designated as LUD II by section 201 of the Tongass Timber 
        Reform Act of 1990;
          (2) any federal lands validly selected or top filed pursuant 
        to Sec. 906(e) ofPublic Law No. 96-487 but not conveyed to the 
State of Alaska or the corporations, pursuant to the Alaska Native 
Claims Settlement Act; or
          (3) any federal lands withdrawn and actually used in 
        connection with the administrative of any federal installations 
        and military reservations unless the head of the land holding 
        or occupying agency or entity agrees.
    (d) If, following the Secretary's review of tentative selections by 
the University, the amount of acreage approved by the Secretary for 
conveyance is less than the full primary grant, the University may 
select addition lands to satisfy the primary grant.
    (e) Upon the University's tentative selection of land--
          (1) Such land shall be segregated and unavailable of 
        selection by and conveyance to the State of Alaska or any 
        corporation organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 
        Settlement Act and shall not be otherwise encumbered or 
        disposed of by the United States pending completion of the 
        selection process.
          (2) The University shall possess the non-exclusive right to 
        enter onto such lands for the purpose of--
                  (A) assessing the oil, gas, mineral and other 
                resource potential therein. The University, and its 
                delegatees or agents, shall be permitted to engage in 
                assessment techniques including but not limited to core 
                drilling to assess the metalliferous or other values, 
                and surface geological exploration and seismic 
                exploration for oil and gas: Provided, That this 
                paragraph shall not be construed as including or 
                allowing exploratory drilling of oil and gas wells; and
                  (B) exercising due diligence regarding the making of 
                final selection.
    (f) Within one year of the Secretary's approval of a tentative 
selection, the University may make therefrom a final selection pursuant 
to this Act. Within six months of such final selection by the 
University, the Secretary shall issue a tentative approval of such 
final selection. Such tentative approval shall be deemed to transfer to 
the University all right, title, and interest of the United States in 
and to the described selection. Any lakes, rivers and streams contained 
within such selections shall be meandered and lands submerged 
thereunder conveyed in accordance with 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1631, as amended. 
Upon completion of a survey of lands included within such tentative 
approval, the Secretary shall promptly issue a patent to such lands. 
Pending issuance of a patent, the University shall have rights and 
authorities over tentatively approved lands consistent with those under 
the Alaska Statehood Act and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 
including the right to transfer, assign, exchange, grant, deed, lease 
or otherwise convey any or all present or future interest in the lands 
granted pursuant to this Act.
    (g) The Secretary of Agriculture, as well as the heads of other 
federal agencies, shall take such actions as may be necessary to 
facilitate and expedite the implementation of this Act by the Secretary 
of the Interior.

SEC. 3. RELINQUISHMENT OF CERTAIN UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA HOLDINGS

    (a) As a condition to receiving the primary land grant provided by 
Section 2 of this Act, University of Alaska shall convey to the 
Secretary those lands listed in ``The University of Alaska's Inholding 
Reconveyance Documents'' and dated April 24, 1997.
    (b) The University shall begin conveyance of the lands listed in 
(a) above upon taking title to lands it has selected pursuant to 
section 2 of this Act and shall convey to the Secretary a percentage 
amount of land proportional to that which it has received, but in no 
event shall it be required to convey any lands other than those listed 
in (a) above to the Secretary. The Secretary shall accept quitclaim 
deeds from the University for those lands.

SEC. 4. ALIENATION OF LANDS

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the University of 
Alaska may transfer, assign, exchange, grant, deed, lease or otherwise 
convey any or all present or future interests in the lands granted 
pursuant to this Act.

SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW

    The University of Alaska has the right to bring action for, 
including but not limited to, relief in the nature of mandamus, against 
the Secretary for violation of this Act or for review of an agency 
decision under this Act. Such an action can only be brought in the 
United States District Court for the District of Alaska and within two 
(2) years of the alleged violation or the final decision-making. For 
all other entities or persons, decisions of the Secretary shall be 
final and conclusive.

SEC. 6. STATE MATCHING GRANT

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, but subject to 
valid existing rights and the procedures set forth in this Act, the 
University is granted and shall be entitled to take, in addition to the 
primary grant provided for in Section 2 herein, up to another 250,000 
acres in federal lands (or reserved interests in lands) in or adjacent 
to Alaska: Provided, That any additional acres are granted, as 
specified below, on a matching acre-for-acre basis to the extent that 
the State of Alaska shall first grant to the University State-owned 
land in Alaska.
    (b) The University may select and the Secretary shall convey lands 
which the University is entitled to receive pursuant to this State 
Matching Grant Provision in minimum increments of 25,000 acres up to 
the maximum of 250,000 acres.

                         purpose of the measure

    S. 660 as ordered reported, would provide Alaska's Federal 
land grant college, the University of Alaska, with a Federal 
land grant in support of its educational endeavors. S. 660 
would also transfer to the Federal Government 29 individual 
inholdings in within conservation system units in Alaska.

                          background and need

    One of the oldest and most respected ways of financing 
America's educational system has been through the land grant 
system. Established in 1785, this practice gives land to 
schools and universities for use in supporting educational 
endeavors. In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act which 
created land grant colleges and universities as a way to 
underwrite the cost of higher education to more Americans. 
These colleges and universities received land from the Federal 
Government for facility location and, more importantly, as a 
way to provide sustaining revenues.
    The University of Alaska received the smallest amount of 
land of any State, with the exception of Delaware, that has a 
land grant college. Even the land grant college in Rhode Island 
received more land from the Federal Government than has the 
University of Alaska.
    Previous efforts in Congress were made to fix this problem. 
These efforts date back to 1915, less than 50 years after the 
passage of the Morrill Act, when Alaska's Delegate James 
Wickersham shepherded a measure through Congress that set aside 
potentially more than a quarter of a million acres in the 
Tanana Valley outside of Fairbanks, for the support of an 
agricultural college and school of mines. Following the 
practice established in the lower 48 for other land grant 
colleges, Wickersham's bill set aside every Section 33 of the 
unsurveyed Tanana Valley for the Alaska Agricultural College 
and School of Mines.
    Before land could be transferred to the Alaska Agricultural 
College and School of Mines (renamed the University of Alaska 
in 1935) under the 1915 Act, it had to be surveyed. The 
sections reserved for education could not be transferred to the 
College until they had been delineated. According to records of 
the time, it was unlikely, given the incredibly slow speed of 
surveying, that the land could be completely surveyed before 
the 21st century. Surveying was and is an extraordinarily slow 
process in Alaska's remote and unpopulated terrain. In all, 
only a small amount of section 33's--totaling just under 12,000 
acres--were ever transferred to the University. Of this, 2,250 
were used for the original campus and the remainder was left to 
support educational opportunities.
    Recognizing the difficulties of surveying in Alaska, 
subsequent legislation was passed in 1929 that simply granted 
land for the benefit of the University. This grant totaled 
approximately 100,000 acres and to this day comprises the bulk 
of the University's roughly 112,000 acres of Federal land.
    During the 74th-78th (1936-43) Congress, Alaska Delegate 
Anthony J. Dimond introduced five identical bills to extend the 
1915 grant to all section 33's throughout the State, not just 
TananaValley for approximately a 10 million acre grant to the 
University. In 1943, Bob Bartlett introduced the first of his statehood 
bills which reserved two sections of every township (20 million acres) 
for support of public schools and one section of every township (10 
million acres) for the University. This was the formula for all 
statehood bills up to 1949. Realizing that schools would never see any 
land until it was surveyed--decades into the future--in 1950, Bartlett 
changed his approach from ``inplace grants'' to ``quantity grants'' 
which would allow the University to select the lands they wanted. He 
believed this would give the new state greater flexibility. At that 
point, the University's land became part of an approximate 3.25 million 
acre ``internal improvement grant'' that was rolled into the state's 
104 million acre grant. With the passage of Statehood in 1958 all the 
University's land (approximately one million+acres now) were 
consolidated into the State's general grant leaving disposition of all 
State lands, including the University, at the discretion of the 
legislature. The Statehood Act also repealed the 1915 Act although it 
did preserve the previously granted acres. This set the stage for 
future debates in Congress and in the State of Alaska for disagreements 
about whether the State or the Federal Government should be responsible 
for providing the University wit the balance of land it never received 
under 1915 legislati0on.
    S. 660 would grant the University 250,000 acres of Federal 
land. In order to receive this land, the University must 
relinquish 11,852 acres of valuable inholdings in Alaska. These 
inholdings include lands in the Alaska Peninsula and Maritime 
National Wildlife Refuge, the Kenai Fjords National Park, 
Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Denali Park 
and Preserve. The University would be eligible to receive an 
additional 250,000 acres of Federal land on a matching basis 
with the State for a total of 500,000 additional acres.

                          legislative history

    S. 660 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on April 28, 
1997. A hearing was held before the Full Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources on September 11, 1997. At the business 
meeting on September 24, 1997, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 660, as amended, favorably 
reported.

           committee recommendations and tabulation of votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 24, 1997, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 660, if 
amended as described herein.
    The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 12 yeas, 8 
nays, as follows:
        YEAS                          NAYS
Murkowski                           Bumpers
Domenici                            Ford
Nickles \1\                         Bingaman \1\
Craig                               Dorgan
Campbell                            Graham \1\
Thomas \1\                          Wyden \1\
Kyl                                 Johnson
Grams                               Landrieu
Smith
Gorton
Burns \1\
Akaka

    \1\ Voted by proxy.

                          committee amendments

    During the consideration of S. 660, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Senator 
Murkowski. The amendment made two changes to the original 
legislation. First it directs the University to relinquish the 
inholdinhgs identified in the bill proportionately with the 
land it receives under the primary land grant from the Federal 
Government. Second, the amendment prohibits the University from 
selecting any lands that are contained in LUD II areas as 
defined by Section 201 of the Tongrass Timber Reform Act of 
1990 (Public Law 101-626).

                      section-by-section analysis

Section 1

    Contains congressional findings and sets forth the purposes 
of the Act.

Section 2

    Section 2 provides a new land grant for the University of 
Alaska. Subsection (a) grants the University of Alaska 
selection rights to 250,000 acres of public lands in or 
adjacent to Alaska and directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
promptly convey such lands. Subsection (b) in paragraph (1) 
provides that within 48 months of enactment the University may 
submit lists of lands tentatively selected under the Act. Such 
tentative selections may be relinquished or changed at any time 
within the 48 month period. However, at no time may the 
University's amount of tentative selections exceed 275,000 
acres. Paragraph (2) of this section requires that selections 
be in reasonably compact units, provided that small tracts 
within Federal reservations may be selected consistent with the 
provision of subsection (c). Paragraph (3) provides that the 
University may select lands which have been selected by, but 
not conveyed to, the State of Alaska Native corporations. 
However, such lands may be conveyed to the University only if 
the State or Native corporation first relinquishes its 
selection. Paragraph (4) prohibits the University from 
selecting lands within Conservation System Units (SCU) as 
defined in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA) or lands designated as LUD II by the Tongass Timber 
Reform Act (TTRA). Paragraph (5) directs the Secretary to 
publish in the Federal Register notice of University selections 
within 45 days thereof. Such notice must provide for a public 
comment period not to exceed 60 days. Paragraph (6) provides 
that the Secretary must notify the University of a decision to 
accept or object a tentative selection within six months and 
that failure to doso constitutes approval. Public comments 
submitted pursuant to paragraph (5) may be considered, but the 
Secretary may object to tentative selections only if he demonstrates 
that such a conveyance would either have a significant adverse impact 
on (A) the purposes of a CSU or (B) on the fulfillment of the Alaska 
Statehood Act or the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). 
Paragraph (7) provides that the Secretary's acceptance of, objection 
to, or conveyance of tentative selections are not major Federal actions 
under the National Environmental Policy Act. Paragraph (8) requires 
publication in the Federal Register of the acceptance or rejection of 
any tentative sections. In subsection (c), the Secretary is prescribed 
from approving or conveying any Federal lands which (1) are part of a 
CSU or designated as LUD II under TTRA; (2) validly selected or top 
filed, but not yet conveyed, pursuant to Section 906(e) of ANILCA; or 
(3) withdrawn or actually used in connection with any Federal 
installation or military reservation, unless agreed to by the head of 
the relevant federal agency or entity. Under subsection (d), if the 
amount of acreage approved for conveyance by the Secretary is less than 
the full grant provided for in section 7, the University may select 
additional lands. Subsection (e), in paragraph (1), directs that any 
land tentatively selected by the University is to be segregated, will 
be unavailable for selection by the State of Alaska or Alaska Native 
corporations and may not be otherwise encumbered or disposed of by the 
United States during the selection process. Paragraph (2) gives the 
University the non-exclusive right to enter onto tentatively selected 
lands for the purpose of (A) assessing oil, gas, mineral and other 
resource potential through various assessment techniques, including 
core drilling; and (B) the exercise of due diligence. Subsection (f) 
directs that within one year of the Secretary's approval of a tentative 
selection, the University may make its final selection. Within six 
months of such final selection, the Secretary must issue a tentative 
approval which shall be deemed to transfer all right, title and 
interest in the selection to the University. Lands are to be meandered 
and submerged lands conveyed in accordance with the provisions of 43 
U.S.C. Sec. 1631. The Secretary shall issue a patent to such lands once 
they have been surveyed. Pending such issuance, the University shall 
have all rights and authorities over tentatively approved lands 
consistent with the Alaska Statehood Act and the ANCSA, including the 
right to transfer, assign, exchange, grant, lease or otherwise convey. 
Subsection (g) directs the Secretary of Agriculture and other federal 
officials to take any actions necessary to facilitate and expedite 
implementation of this Act.

Section 3

    Section 3, in subsection (a), provides that, as a condition 
to receiving the primary Federal land grant under section 2, 
the University must relinquish and convey certain lands to the 
United States. These lands, which are all inholdings in 
National Park and Wildlife Refuge System units, are identified 
in a document titled ``The University of Alaska's Inholding 
Reconveyance Document,'' dated April 24, 1997. Under subsection 
(b), the University must convey those inholdings on a basis 
proportional to its receipt of title to lands under Section 2. 
The Secretary must accept quitclaim deeds to such lands and the 
University may not be required to convey any other lands.

Section 4

    Section 4 provides that, notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the University will have the absolute right 
to transfer, assign, exchange, grant, deed, lease of otherwise 
convey any interests in land it receives under the Act.

Section 5

    Section 5 provides that the University has a right of 
action against the Secretary for violations of this Act or for 
review of an Agency decision hereunder. Any such action must be 
brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska 
within two years. The Secretary's decisions shall be final as 
to all others.

Section 6

    Section 6, in subsection (a), provides the University with 
an entitlement up to an additional 250,000 acres of federal 
lands on an acre-for-acre matching basis with the State of 
Alaska. This additional entitlement is subject to valid 
existing rights and the procedures in this Act. Subsection (b) 
provides that this additional federal entitlement is to be 
conveyed in minimum increments of 25,000 acres.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    On September 24, 1997, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested cost estimates to be prepared by the 
Congressional Budget Office for S. 660. These reports had not 
been received at the time the report on S. 660 was filed. When 
the reports become available, the Chairman will request that 
they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of 
the Senate.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 660. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 660, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On September 25, 1997 the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Office of 
Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency 
recommendations on S. 660. Reports from the OMB had not been 
received at the time the report on S. 660 was filed. When this 
report becomes available, the Chairman will request that it be 
printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate. A joint letter from the Departments of Agriculture and 
Interior and the testimony provided by the Department of the 
Interior at the Committee hearing follows:

                             The Secretary of the Interior,
                                    Washington, September 25, 1997.
Hon. Frank Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This is to express the Department of the 
Interior's views on S. 660, on which Tom Fry of the Bureau of 
Land Management testified on September 11, 1997. S. 660 would 
direct the Secretary to convey a minimum of 250,000 acres of 
Federal lands to the University of Alaska. S. 660 further 
directs the Secretary to convey additional acreage, up to 
250,000 acres, if the State were to convey an equal amount. 
Pursuant to the terms of the bill, the University would be able 
to choose some of the most valuable 500,000 acres of Federal 
land in the State. Unlike nearly all other statutes disposing 
of public land, there is no requirement in S. 660 that lands be 
vacant, unreserved, or unappropriated. This bill would allow 
the University to select lands from the National Petroleum 
Reserve-Alaska, the Tongass National Forest, or other areas of 
great value to the citizens of the United States.
    Because the United States has fully discharged its 
responsibilities to the State of Alaska with regard to the 
university lands entitlement and the impact on sensitive 
Federal lands could be profound, the Department of the Interior 
and the Department of Agriculture strongly oppose this bill and 
will recommend a veto if it passes the Congress.

Legislation to compensate Alaska for the original school land grant

    The underlying premise of this bill is faulty. The bill 
presumes that the University of Alaska never received the 
quantity of land that Congress intended to bestow upon it. It 
implies that the Federal government failed to provide an 
adequate land base, and as a result the University has failed 
to achieve its full potential.
    Contrary to the claims asserted in S. 660, Congress has 
already enacted legislation to fully compensate Alaska for 
original university land grants.
    The Act of March 4, 1915, set aside each surveyed section 
33 in the Tanana Valley for the support of a Territorial 
agricultural college. Twenty-six of these sections were 
surveyed and 11,850.60 acres were transferred tot he Territory 
for the benefit of an agricultural college and school of mines.
    On January 21, 1929, while survey and transfer under the 
Act of March 4, 1915, was ongoing, Congress provided an 
additional 100,000-acre grant to the Territory on behalf of the 
University. The 1929 Act did not restrict the land grants to 
sections in place, but instead allowed Alaska to select vacant, 
unappropriated, and unreserved land anywhere within the 
Territory's boundaries. This gave the Territory the opportunity 
to choose the highest value land from all lands meeting the 
selection criteria. To date, 99,417 acres of this grant have 
been transferred to the State.
    The Act of March 4, 1915 was repealed by the Alaska 
Statehood Act in 1959, although the sections that had already 
been surveyed continued to be reserved for future conveyance to 
the State. There was a lingering dispute in 1980 between Alaska 
and the Federal government concerning which land grant sections 
vested in the State at the time of Statehood and which sections 
were revoked in the Alaska Statehood Act. To resolve this, 
Congress passed section 906(b) of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act, granting the State 75,000 acres of land 
and clearly stating that any and all Federal obligations under 
the Act of March 4, 1915, had been extinguished. Section 906(b) 
states that:

          In full and final settlement of any and all claims by 
        the State of Alaska arising under the Act of March 4, 
        1915 . . . as confirmed and transferred in section 6(k) 
        of the Alaska Statehood Act, the State is hereby 
        granted seventy-five thousand acres which it shall be 
        entitled to select until January 4, 1994, from vacant, 
        unappropriated, and unreserved public lands. In 
        exercising the selection rights granted herein, the 
        State shall be deemed to have relinquished all claims 
        to any right, title, or interest to any school lands 
        which failed to vest under the above statutes at the 
        time Alaska became a State (January 3, 1959), including 
        lands unsurveyed on that date or surveyed lands which 
        were within Federal reservations or withdrawals on that 
        date.

The Alaska Statehood Act

    In the Alaska Statehood Act, Congress rejected the previous 
methods used to provide for state institutions (i.e., making 
specific sections available or setting aside specific acreage 
for categories of state institutions). Congress opted instead 
to give the new state a general purpose land grant of 
102,550,000 acres. This provided Alaska with the needed 
flexibility to chart its own course. Subsequent decisions made 
by the State concerning the funding of its university system 
were to be freely made in Alaska, by Alaskans.
    Alaska was never short-changed in the amount of land it 
received to support its university system. The original land 
grant formula to states in support of higher education is known 
as the Morrill Act. The amount of land awarded each state under 
the Morrill Act was based on the state's population, not its 
size. Had Alaska been a state in 1862 when the original Morrill 
Act passed, it would have received a total of 90,000 acres 
(30,000 acres each for one Representative and two Senators). 
Although Alaska was not a state and did not fall under the 
purview of the Morrill Act, it actually received more land 
through the Act of March 4, 1915, and the Act of January 21, 
1929, described above.
    Section 6(l) of the Alaska Statehood Act explicitly states 
that Alaska will not be entitled to receive any additional 
lands under the Morrill Act, making it clear that Congress did 
not overlook the university in the Statehood Act, but concluded 
that it had adequately provided for the needs of all State 
institutions through the general purpose grant of 102.5 million 
acres in Section 6(b).
    The responsibility for providing the remaining land 
endowment for the Alaska university system clearly passed to 
the State of Alaska with passage of the Alaska Statehood Act. 
Congress made it clear that in giving the State a land 
entitlement of 102.5 million acres, it was extinguishing and 
fully satisfying previous university land entitlements. In 
other words, Alaska was given a block land grant with a proviso 
that the grant was ``in lieu'' of previous and future grants 
for internal improvement.
    The specific Alaska Statehood bills passed by the houses of 
Congress addressed the ``in lieu'' issue. Those bills were H.R. 
7999 and S. 49. H.R. 7999 read as follows:

          The grants provided for in this Act shall be in lieu 
        of the grant of land (emphasis added) for purposes of 
        internal improvements made to new States by section 8 
        of the Act of September 4, 1841, (5 Stat. 455), and 
        sections 2378 and 2379 of the Revised Statutes (43 
        U.S.C. sec. 857), and in lieu of the swampland grant 
        made by the Act of September 28, 1850, (9 Stat. 520), 
        and section 2479 of the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 
        sec. 982), and in lieu of the grant of thirty thousand 
        acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress 
        made by the Act of July 2, 1862, as amended (12 Stat. 
        503; 7 U.S.C., secs. 301-308 [The Morrill Act]), which 
        grants are hereby declared not to extend to the State 
        of Alaska.

S. 49 provided for a general grant of 102,550,000 acres and an 
``in lieu'' subsection which was identical to H.R. 7999 above.
    Due to differences in the two bills, conferees met and 
agreed upon H.R. 7999 with certain concessions to S. 49, 
including a quantity grant of 102,500,000 acres. Both houses 
passed the bill as amended by the conferees. The final version, 
as reflected by section 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act, 
provided a quantity land grant of 102,550,000 acres with only a 
very few internal improvement grants, namely: 6(a) for 
community expansion; 6(c) and 6(d) for government buildings in 
Juneau; and 6(e) for improvements used in fish and wildlife 
conservation and protection.
    Congress intended the larger quantity land grant to expunge 
any federal responsibility for any specialized internal 
improvements grants such as to the University of Alaska. The 
tenor of both the House and Senate versions of the statehood 
bills was that the State of Alaska would be responsible for 
deciding for itself which internal improvements to undertake, 
and how generously or penuriously to provide for those internal 
improvements.
    S. 660 must be rejected because it is entirely inconsistent 
with the legislation and legislative histories discussed in 
this testimony.

Cost to the American taxpayers under this legislation

    As previously stated, S. 660 allows the University to 
select lands of tremendous value to the American taxpayers. The 
proposed legislation provides no exceptions for the high value 
lands held by the American taxpayers, such as the Tongass 
National Forest, the pipeline corridor, the National Petroleum 
Reserve-Alaska, and offshore interests. Similarly, there is no 
protection for areas with unique values like the Steese 
National Conservation Area or the White Mountains National 
Recreation Area.
    Depending upon the tracts selected the costs of the 
proposed legislation in terms of future lost revenue to the 
Federal treasury could be significant. Onshore and offshore 
leasable minerals could be selected. It is also likely that the 
University would pursue multiple tracts of high value timber 
from the Tongass National Forest, the United States' premier 
temperate rain forest located in southeastern Alaska. The 
effect could be to fatally undermine the Tongass National 
Forest Land Use Management Plan and require a new plan.
    In addition to lost revenue and planning costs, the survey, 
adjudication and management costs of the proposal could be 
significant.

Conclusion

    At Statehood, the Congress provided Alaska with 102.5 
million acres of land, more than four times the amount of 
Federal land provided to any other state, in part to provide 
land for higher education. Subsequent decisions made by the 
State concerning the allocation of lands for the university 
system were freely made in Alaska, by Alaskans. The United 
States has fully discharged its responsibilities. It is clearly 
not appropriate for the United States to provide additional 
public lands to the State of Alaska for an entitlement that has 
been fully satisfied.
    The Office of Management and Budget has advised us that it 
has no objection to the submission of this report from the 
standpoint of the President's program.
            Sincerely,
                                   Bruce Babbitt.
                                   Dan Glickman.
                                ------                                


   Statement of Tom Fry, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for 
the opportunity to testify on S. 660, which would direct the 
Secretary to convey a minimum of 250,000 acres of Federal lands 
to the University of Alaska. S. 660 further directs the 
Secretary to convey additional acreage, up to 250,000 acres, if 
the State were to convey an equal amount. Pursuant to the term 
of the bill, the University would be able to choose some of the 
most valuable 500,000 acres of Federal land in the State. 
Unlike nearly all other statutes disposing of public land, 
there is no requirement in S. 660 that lands be vacant, 
unreserved, or unappropriated. This bill would allow the 
University to select lands from the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska, the Tongass National Forest, or other areas of great 
value to the citizens of the United States.
    Because the United States has fully discharged its 
responsibilities to the State of Alaska with regard to the 
university lands entitlement and the impact on sensitive 
Federal lands could be profound, the Secretary of the 
Department of the Interior and the Secretary of the Department 
of Agriculture strongly oppose this bill and will recommend a 
veto if it passes the Congress.
Legislation to compensate Alaska for the original school land grant
    The underlying premise of this bill is faulty. The bill 
presumes that the University of Alaska never received the 
quantity of land that Congress intended to bestow upon it. It 
implies that the Federal government failed to provide an 
adequate land base, and as a result the University has failed 
to achieve its full potential.
    Contrary to the claims asserted in S. 660, Congress has 
already enacted legislation to fully compensate Alaska for 
original university land grants.
    The Act of March 4, 1915, set aside each surveyed section 
33 in the Tanana Valley for the support of a Territorial 
agricultural college. Twenty-six of these sections were 
surveyed and 11,850.60 acres were transferred to the Territory 
for the benefit of an agricultural college and school of mines.
    On January 21, 1929, while survey and transfer under the 
Act of March 4, 1915, was ongoing, Congress provided an 
additional 100,000-acre grant to the Territory on behalf of the 
University. The 1929 Act did not restrict the land grants to 
sections in place, but instead allowed Alaska to select vacant, 
unappropriated, and unreserved land anywhere within the 
Territory's boundaries. This gave the Territory the opportunity 
to choose the highest value land from all lands meeting the 
selection criteria. To date, 99,417 acres of this grant have 
been transferred to the State.
    The Act of March 4, 1915 was repealed by the Alaska 
Statehood Act in 1959, although the sections that had already 
been surveyed continued to be reserved for future conveyance to 
the State. There was a lingering dispute in 1980 between Alaska 
and the Federal government concerning which land grant sections 
vested in the State at the time of Statehood and which sections 
were revoked in the Alaska Statehood Act. To resolve this, 
Congress passed section 906(b) of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act, granting the State 75,000 acres of land 
and clearly stating that any and all Federal obligations under 
the Act of March 4, 1915, had been extinguished. Section 906(b) 
states that:

          In full and final settlement of any and all claims by 
        the State of Alaska arising under the Act of March 4, 
        1915 . . . as confirmed and transferred in section 6(k) 
        of the Alaska Statehood Act, the State is hereby 
        granted seventy-five thousand acres which it shall be 
        entitled to select until January 4, 1994, from vacant, 
        unappropriated, and unreserved public lands. In 
        exercising the selection rights granted herein, the 
        State shall be deemed to have relinquished all claims 
        to any right, title, or interest to any school lands 
        which failed to vest under the above statutes at the 
        time Alaska became a State (January 3, 1959), including 
        lands unsurveyed on that date or surveyed lands which 
        were within Federal Reservations or withdrawals on that 
        date.
The Alaska Statehood Act
    In the Alaska Statehood Act, Congress rejected the previous 
methods used to provide for state institutions (i.e., making 
specific sections available or setting aside specific acreage 
for categories of state institutions). Congress opted instead 
to give the new state a general purpose land grant of 
102,550,000 acres. This provided Alaska with the needed 
flexibility to chart its own course. Subsequent decisions made 
by the State concerning the funding of its university system 
were to be freely made in Alaska, by Alaskans.
    Alaska was never short-changed in the amount of land it 
received to support its university system. The original land 
grant formula to states in support of higher education is known 
as the Morrill Act. The amount of land awarded each state under 
the Morrill Act was based on the state's population, not its 
size. Had Alaska been a state in 1862 when the original Morrill 
Act passed, it would have received a total of 90,000 acres 
(30,000 acres each for one Representative and two Senators). 
Although Alaska was not a state and did not fall under the 
purview of the Morrill Act, it actually received more land 
through the Act of March 4, 1915, and the Act of January 21, 
1929, described above.
    Section 6(l) of the Alaska Statehood Act explicitly states 
that Alaska will not be entitled to receive any additional 
lands under the Morrill Act, making it clear that Congress did 
not overlook the university in the Statehood Act, but concluded 
that it had adequately provided for the needs of all State 
institutions through the general purpose grant of 102.5 million 
acres in Section 6(b).
    The responsibility for providing the remaining land 
endowment for the Alaska university system clearly passed to 
the State of Alaska with passage of the Alaska Statehood Act. 
Congress made it clear that in giving the State a land 
entitlement of 102.5 million acres, it was extinguishing and 
fully satisfying previous university land entitlements. In 
other words, Alaska was given a block land grant with a proviso 
that the grant was ``in lieu'' of previous and future grants 
for internal improvement.
    The specific Alaska Statehood bills passed by the houses of 
Congress addressed the ``in lieu'' issue. Those bills were H.R. 
7999 and S. 49. H.R. 7999 read as follows:

          The grants provided for in this Act shall be in lieu 
        of the grant of land (emphasis added) for purposes of 
        internal improvements made to new States by section 8 
        of the Act of September 4, 1841, (5 Stat. 455), and 
        sections 2378 and 2379 of the Revised Statutes (43 
        U.S.C. sec. 857), and in lieu of the swampland grant 
        made by the Act of September 28, 1850, (9 Stat. 520), 
        and section 2479 of the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 
        sec. 982), and in lieu of the grant of thirty thousand 
        acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress 
        made by the Act of July 2, 1862, as amended (12 Stat. 
        503; 7 U.S.C., secs. 301-308 [The Morrill Act]), which 
        grants are hereby declared not to extend to the State 
        of Alaska.

S. 49 provided for a general grant of 102,550,000 acres and an 
``in lieu'' subsection which was identical to H.R. 7999 above.
    Due to differences in the two bills, conferees met and 
agreed upon H.R. 7999 with certain concessions to S. 49, 
including a quantity grant of 102,500,000 acres. Both houses 
passed the bill as amended by the conferees. The final version, 
as reflected by section 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act, 
provided a quantity land grant of 102,550,000 acres with only a 
very few internal improvement grants, namely: 6(a) for 
community expansion; 6(c) and 6(d) for government buildings in 
Juneau; and 6(e) for improvements used in fish and wildlife 
conservation and protection.
    Congress intended the larger quantity land grant to expunge 
any federal responsibility for any specialized internal 
improvements grants such as to the University of Alaska. The 
tenor of both the House and Senate versions of the statehood 
bills was that the State of Alaska would be responsible for 
deciding for itself which internal improvements to undertake, 
and how generously or penuriously to provide for those internal 
improvements.
    S. 660 must be rejected because it is entirely inconsistent 
with the legislation and legislative histories discussed in 
this testimony.
Costs to the American taxpayers under this legislation
    As previously stated, S. 660 allows the University to 
select lands of tremendous value to the American taxpayers. The 
proposed legislation provides no exceptions for the high value 
lands held by the American taxpayers, such as the Tongass 
National Forest, the pipeline corridor, the National Petroleum 
Reserve-Alaska, and offshore interests. Similarly, there is no 
protection for areas with unique values like the Steese 
National Conservation Area or the White Mountains National 
Recreation Area.
    Depending upon the tracts selected, the costs of the 
proposed legislation in terms of future lost revenue to the 
Federal treasury could be significant. Onshore and offshore 
leasable minerals could be selected. It is also likely that the 
University would pursue multiple tracts of high value timber 
from the Tongass National Forest, the United States' premier 
temperate rain forest located in southeastern Alaska. The 
effect could be to fatally undermine the Tongass National 
Forest Land Use Management Plan and require a new plan.
    In addition to lost revenue and planning costs, the survey, 
adjudication and management costs of the proposal could be 
significant.
Conclusion
    At Statehood, the Congress provided Alaska with 102.5 
million acres of land, more than four times the amount of 
Federal land provided to any other state, in part to provide 
land for higher education. Subsequent decisions made by the 
State concerning the allocation of lands for the university 
system were freely made in Alaska, by Alaskans. The United 
States has fully discharged its responsibilities. It is clearly 
not appropriate for the United States to provide additional 
public lands to the State of Alaska for an entitlement that has 
been fully satisfied.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared remarks. Thank you 
again for the opportunity to testify on S. 660. I am now 
prepared to respond to any questions you may have.

                   MINORITY VIEWS OF SENATOR BUMPERS

    S. 660 is an outrageous give away of public resources. This 
bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey up to 
500,000 acres of federal land to the University of Alaska. 
Unlike almost all statutes disposing of federal land, S. 660 
contains no provision that the lands conveyed to the University 
be vacant, unreserved, or unappropriated. And although the 
University could not choose lands from most areas specifically 
set aside for protection by Congress, the University could 
select lands in the national forests in Alaska, within the 
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and federal lands on the 
Outer Continental Shelf. Depending upon which lands the 
University chose, the value of these lands could be very 
significant. In return, the University would transfer 11,852 
acres to the federal government. It is quite obvious that the 
values of this exchange are not equal.
    The underlying premise of this bill is faulty. The federal 
government has not failed to meet its obligations to provide an 
adequate land base to the University of Alaska as the bill's 
proponents suggest. The University of Alaska has received more 
than its fair share of federal lands and no inequity exists.
    The sponsors of S. 660 contend that the University of 
Alaska received the smallest amount of federal land of any 
state that has a land grant college, with the exception of 
Delaware. It is important to note, however, that the amount of 
land awarded each state pursuant to the Morrill Act (12 Stat. 
503), the law that established a system of land grant colleges 
and universities, was based on each state's population, not its 
size (30,000 acres per Senator and Representative). Had Alaska 
been a state in 1862 when the Morrill Act was enacted, it would 
have received a total of 90,000 acres, which is less land than 
the state has actually received from the federal government 
under a variety of statutes.
    As discussed below, over the past several years the 
University has received 186,850 acres of land from the federal 
government. The Act of March 4, 1915, set aside each surveyed 
section 33 in the Tanana Valley for the support of a 
Territorial agricultural college in Alaska. Twenty-six of those 
sections were surveyed and 11,851 acres were ultimately 
transferred to the Territory to benefit an agricultural college 
and school of mines.
    On January 21, 1929, Congress granted an additional 100,000 
acres to the Territory of Alaska on behalf of the University of 
Alaska. This Act authorized the Territory to select vacant, 
unappropriated, and unreserved land anywhere within its 
boundaries. To date, 99,417 acres have been transferred 
pursuant to this Act.
    The Act of March 4, 1915 was repealed by the Alaska 
Statehood Act in 1959. In 1980, the State of Alaska and the 
federal government disagreed as to which land grant sections 
vested in the State at the time of statehood and which sections 
were revoked by the Statehood Act. In order to resolve this 
disagreement, section 906(b) of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act granted the state 75,000 acres of land 
for a variety of school purposes, and stated that this amount 
constituted full and final settlement of any and all claims 
with respect to the Act of March 4, 1915.
    Finally, in the Alaska Statehood Act, the federal 
government provided the state a general purpose land grant of 
102.5 million acres (more than four times the amount of any 
other state). The state could decide on its own what portion of 
these lands would be used for the benefit of the university 
system or for other purposes. Section 6(l) of the Alaska 
Statehood Act prohibited Alaska from receiving any additional 
lands pursuant to the Morrill Act.
    In addition to the land based provisions, S. 660 
specifically waives any compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act. This is an extraordinary waiver given 
the amount of land involved and the potential impacts on 
federal lands associated with the University's selections. 
Moreover, the bill waives judicial review for all parties or 
entities other than the University of Alaska, thus preventing 
any party from going to court to challenge the land conveyances 
to the University except for the University itself!
    This bill would set a terrible precedent and I hope that it 
will be rejected by the full Senate if it is considered on the 
floor.

                                                      Dale Bumpers.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by S. 660, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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