[Senate Report 106-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 131
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     106-61

======================================================================



 
                  PUBLIC LANDS IN THE STATE OF ALASKA

                                _______
                                

                  June 2, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______


    Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of May 27, 1999

  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. 744]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 744) to provide for the continuation of 
higher education through the conveyance of certain 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:
    On page 9 line 13, strike ``April 24, 1997.'' and insert 
``May 17, 1999.''.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    S. 744 would provide Alaska's Federal land grant college, 
the University of Alaska, with a Federal land grant in support 
of its educational endeavors. S. 744 would also transfer to the 
Federal Government 31 individual inholdings 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 
acres 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 was in 
addition to the 1915 lands and totaled approximately 100,000 
acres which to this day comprises the bulk of the University's 
roughly 112,000 acres of Federal land.
    During the 74th-78th (1936-1943) Congresses, Alaska 
Delegate Anthony J. Dimond introduced five identical bills to 
extend the 1915 grant to all section 33's throughout the State, 
not just the Tanana Valley, for approximately a 10 million acre 
grant to the University. In 1943, BobBartlett 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 ``in-place 
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. While the final version of the Statehood Act had 
no language specifically granting land to the University, many argue 
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 the Statehood Act in 1958, the 
1915 Act was repealed 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 
with the balance of land it never received under the 1915 legislation.
    S. 744 would grant the University 250,000 acres of Federal 
land. In order to receive this land, the University must 
relinquish 13,958 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, and a world class nickel deposit in Glacier Bay 
National Park. 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. An 
additional provision allows for an agreement to be concluded 
between the Secretary of the Interior, the State, and the 
University regarding sharing revenues form the National 
Petroleum Reserve Alaska.

                          legislative history

    S. 744 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on March 25, 
1999. On April 15, the Full Committee held a hearing. A similar 
measure, S. 660, was introduced during the 105th Congress by 
Senator Murkowski on April 28, 1997. At the business meeting on 
September 24, 1997, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 660, as amended, favorably reported by a 
vote of 12-8. On October 9, 1997, the bill was placed on the 
Senate Legislative Calendar with a unanimous consent time 
agreement. No further action was taken during the 105th 
Congress.

           committee recommendations and tabulation of votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 19, 1999, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 744, if 
amended as described herein.
    The roll call vote on reporting the measure was 13 yeas, 7 
nays, as follows:
        YEAS                          NAYS
Murkowski                           Bingaman
Domenici                            Dorgan
Nickles*                            Graham*
Craig                               Wyden
Campbell                            Johnson
Thomas                              Bayh
Smith                               Lincoln
Bunning
Fitzgerald
Gorton
Burns
Akaka
Landrieu

    *Voted by proxy.

                          committee amendments

    During the consideration of S. 744, the Committee adopted 
an amendment offered by Senator Murkowski. The amendment 
clarified, and added to, the lands the University is to 
relinquish under Section 3 of the bill. The relinquishment 
document, entitled ``The University of Alaska's Inholding 
Relinquishment Document,'' is printed in the June 8, 1999 
Congressional Record.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 contains congressional findings and sets forth 
the purposes of the Act.
    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)(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 
revoked or changed at any time within the 48 month period. 
However, at no time may the amount of land tentatively selected 
exceed 275,000 acres. Paragraph (2) provides that the 
University may select lands which have been selected by, but 
not conveyed to, the State of Alaska or Alaska Native 
corporations. However, such lands may be conveyed to the 
University only if the State or Native corporation first 
relinquishes its selection. Paragraph (3) prohibits the 
University from selecting lands within Conservation System 
Units (CSUs), as defined in the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA), or within the Tongass National 
Forest. However, the University may select lands classified as 
LUD III or LUD IV by the United States Forest Service in areas 
of second growth timber where timber harvest occurred after 
January 1, 1952. Paragraph (4) permits the University to make 
selections within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA), 
except as provided in subparagraphs (A)-(C). Subparagraph (A) 
prohibits the University from selecting land within anarea 
withdrawn for village selection pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (ANCSA) for the Native villages of Atkasook, Barrow, 
Nuiqsit, and Wainwright. Subparagraph (B) prohibits the University from 
making a selection in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area as depicted on a 
map dated March 24. Subparagraph (C) bars the University from making a 
selection in excess of 92,000 acres within those portions of the NPRA 
north of latitude 69 degrees North. Further, (C) prohibits any 
selection within that area during the two-year period extending from 
the date of enactment of the Act. Next, (C) requires the Secretary to 
attempt to conclude an agreement with the University and the State of 
Alaska for sharing of NPRA leasing revenues within that two-year 
period. Such agreement shall provide for the University of Alaska to 
receive a portion of annual revenues from mineral leases within NPRA in 
lieu of any land selections within NPRA north of latitude 69 degrees 
North, but not to exceed ten percent of such revenues or $9 million 
annually, whichever is less. If the Secretary concludes such an 
agreement, he shall transmit it to the Congress, and no selection may 
be made within the area covered by the agreement during the three-year 
period extending from the date of enactment of the Act. If the Congress 
does not enact legislation approving the agreement within three years 
of the date of enactment of the Act, the University may make selections 
within the area. Paragraph (5) directs the Secretary to publish in the 
Federal Register notice of University selections within 45 days of the 
receipt of a selection. 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 reject a 
tentative selection within six months and that failure to do so 
constitutes approval. Paragraph (7) permits the Secretary to reject 
tentative selections if he finds that such a conveyance would either 
have a significant adverse impact on his ability to comply with the 
land entitlement provisions of the Alaska Statehood Act or ANCSA or 
that the selection would have an irreversible adverse effect on a CSU. 
Paragraph (8) requires prompt publication in the Federal Register of 
the acceptance or rejection of a selection. Subsection (b)(9) provides 
that any action taken pursuant to the Act is not a major federal action 
within the meaning of 102(2)(C) of Public Law 91-190.
    Subsection (c), prohibits the University from selecting any 
federal lands which are reserved for military purposes or for 
the administration of a Federal agency, unless the Secretary of 
Defense or the head of the affected agency agrees to relinquish 
the lands.
    Subsection (d) allows the University to select additional 
lands to replace lands rejected by the Secretary.
    Subsection (e) states that any land tentatively selected by 
the University shall be segregated, and unavailable for 
selection by the State of Alaska Native corporations and may 
not be otherwise encumbered or disposed of by the United States 
during the selection process.
    Subsection (f) gives the University the non-exclusive right 
to enter onto selected lands for the purposes of assessing oil, 
gas, mineral and other resource potential and exercising due 
diligence. Assessment techniques permitted include core 
drilling to assess metalliferous or other values, and surface 
geological exploration and seismic exploration for oil and gas, 
but not exploratory drilling of oil and gas wells.
    Subsection (g) provides that within one year of the 
Secretary's approval of a selection, theUniversity may make its 
final decision whether to accept the lands. Within six months of such 
final decision, the Secretary must publish notice of an acceptance in 
the Federal Register. Effective on the date of publication, all right, 
title and interest of the United States in the lands shall vest in the 
University.
    Subsection (h) provides that lakes, rivers, and streams 
contained within final selections shall be meandered and lands 
submerged thereunder shall be conveyed in accordance with the 
provisions of 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1631.
    Subsection (i) provides that the Secretary shall issue a 
patent to lands once they have been surveyed.
    Subsection (j) directs the Secretary of Agriculture and 
other Federal officials to take any actions necessary to assist 
the Secretary in implementing the Act.
    Section 3, (a), provides that, as a condition to receiving 
the land under section 2, the University must convey to the 
Secretary certain inholdings in National Park and Wildlife 
Refuge System units, identified in a document titled ``The 
University of Alaska's Inholding Reconveyance Document,'' dated 
May 17, 1999. Subsection (b) states that, the University must 
convey those inholdings on a basis proportional to its receipt 
of title of 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 gives the University the right of action against 
the Secretary for violations of the Act or for review of an 
agency decision thereunder and states that any such action may 
be brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of 
Alaska within two years.
    Section 5, (a), provides the University with an entitlement 
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 notwithstanding any other provision of law and 
subject to valid existing rights. Subsection (b) provides that 
this additional federal entitlement is to be conveyed in 
minimum increments of 25,000 acres. Subsection (c) makes grants 
made under this section subject to the terms and conditions 
applicable to grants made under section 2 of the Act.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    On May 20, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested cost estimates to be prepared by the 
Congressional Budget Office for S. 744. These reports had not 
been received at the time the report on S. 744 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. 744. 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. 744, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On May 20, 1999 the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of 
Education, and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 744. Reports from 
the OMB had not been received at the time the report on S. 744 
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. The testimony provided by the 
Department of the Interior at the Committee hearing follows:

 Statement of Don Barry, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 
                 Parks, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for 
the opportunity to testify on S. 744, which would require the 
Secretary to convey to the University of Alaska up to 250,000 
acres of Federal lands in Alaska, as selected by the 
University. S. 744 would further require the Secretary to 
convey up 250,000 additional acres to the University on a 
matching basis if the State were to convey an equal amount.
    The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture strongly oppose this bill and will recommend a veto 
if it passes the Congress.
    The United States has fully discharged its responsibilities 
to the State of Alaska with regard to any university lands 
entitlement. Further, pursuant to the terms of the bill, the 
University would be able to select some of the most valuable 
500,000 acres of Federal land in the State, including lands 
from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the Tongass 
National Forest, Chugach National Forest, the outer continental 
shelf, or other areas of great financial and environmental 
value to the citizens of the United States. The impact of 
university selections on important and sensitive Federal lands 
could be profound.
    A bill could pit Alaska landowners and users against one 
another; it could spawn conflicts and litigation between the 
University, local governments, and Native interests over 
priorities for as yet unselected federal lands; its significant 
ambiguities would likely cause years of litigation over 
interpretation; and it could result in undue pressure for lands 
to be developed for timber, mining, and oil and gas uses, at 
the expense of other uses such as hunting, fishing, 
subsistence, tourism, recreation, and other values of 
importance to Alaskans and other Americans. Many organizations 
such as Native groups, environmental groups, local governments, 
fishing groups, mining groups, and others have expressed 
concerns in the past over this legislation.


  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. 744, Congress has 
already enacted legislation to fully compensate Alaska for 
original university land grants. The United States granted the 
State of Alaska the amount of 102.5 million acres of land at 
statehood, more than four times the amount of Federal land 
provided to any other state, in part to provide for higher 
education, and yet another 75,000 acres of land under the 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, in final 
relinquishment of all State claims for school lands that may 
have failed to vest under earlier statutes.
    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 additional 
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 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 HR. 
7999 and S. 49. HR. 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 
versions, 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) 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 further federal responsibility for any specialized internal 
improvements grants and uses 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 have the 
discretion and responsibility for deciding for itself which 
internal improvements to undertake, and how to allocate those 
lands. S. 744 must be rejected because it is entirely 
inconsistent with the legislation and legislative histories 
discussed above.


 costs to the american taxpayers and impacts to resource values under 
                            this legislation


    In addition to the ban on any selection within a 
Conservation System Unit, as defined in the Alaska National 
Interests Lands Conservation Act, which was contained in S. 660 
in the 105th Congress, S. 744 adds a limitation on land 
selection within the Tongass National Forest. While the 
language in section 2(b)(3) is not clear, it appears to limit 
Tongass selection to cut over second growth areas within areas 
classified as LUD III [moderate development] or LUD IV 
[intensive development] by the Forest Service. It should be 
noted that LUD [land use designation] III and IV are from the 
1979 forest management plan and are not current terminology. It 
is likely that the University would pursue multiple tracts of 
high value timber producing lands 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 Management Plan, 
which was revised in 1997, and require another planning effort.
    The additional limitation on university selection in S. 744 
are still grossly insufficient to protect the many resource 
values. S. 744 allows the University to select lands of 
tremendous value to the American taxpayers, e.g., the pipeline 
corridor, the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and outer 
continental shelf interests. There is no prohibition on 
university selection within areas with unique values like the 
Colville River Special Area with nesting peregrine falcons, 
Steese National Conservation Area or the White Mountains 
National Recreation Area. Further, there are no limits to 
selection within the Chugach National Forest.
    Depending upon the tracts selected, the costs of the 
proposed legislation in terms of future lost revenue to the 
Federal treasury could be very significant. Onshore and 
offshore leasable minerals, including the outer continental 
shelf, could be selected.


                            npra selections


    Section 2(b)(4) is new this year and establishes a 
framework for land selection within the NPRA, and a possible 
royalty sharing agreement between the University of Alaska and 
the Department of the Interior for NPRA lease revenues. The 
University could select up to 92,000 acres within the NPRA 
above 69 degrees North latitude, or unlimited amounts below it, 
and in lieu of any selections above the line, could elect to 
receive up to 10 percent of annual leasing revenues from the 
NPRA. The Federal government has no discretion in that 
election. It is unclear how that 10 percent lease share affects 
the current 50-50 sharing of lease revenues between the Federal 
government and the State. The University could apparently take 
the 10 percent share of revenues for waiving selections above 
the 69 degree line and still make unlimited land selections in 
the NPRA below the line.
    Any of the various scenarios for this NPRA selection 
process would reduce future Federal royalties and most likely 
also the State's share of NPRA production. Private development 
would exclude the United States and the State of Alaska from 
any share of royalties.
    In addition to list revenue and planning costs, the survey, 
adjudication and management costs of the proposal could be 
significant. Litigation risks are high.


                               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 sate, in part to provide 
land for higher education. This is in addition to approximately 
185,000 acres that have been specifically assigned or made 
available to the University under other Federal statutes. 
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 to look to 
the United States once again to provide additional public lands 
to the University of Alaska for an entitlement that has been 
fully satisfied, (and where any shortage the University may 
claim is the result of allocation decisions made within the 
State government.)
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my prepared remarks. Thank you 
again for the opportunity to testify on S. 744. I am now 
prepared to respond to any questions you may have.

                   MINORITY VIEWS OF SENATOR BINGAMAN

    The underlying premise of this bill is that the University 
of Alaska has been treated unfairly by the Federal government 
and has not received an adequate amount of land as a land grant 
institution. However, for the reasons stated below, it seems 
clear that no outstanding Federal obligation exists with 
respect to the University.
    Proponents of this legislation have compared the amount of 
Federal land given to various States for higher education 
purposes and note that the University of Alaska, comparably, 
has received a small amount of Federal land. These comparisons 
are misleading, however, because at the time of Statehood, the 
State of Alaska received its Federal land grants in a different 
manner than other States. Specifically, the State of Alaska was 
given a general land grant of 104 million acres and was given 
the ability to determine on its own which State institutions 
would benefit from the grant. In other Statehood Acts, specific 
sections or amounts of acres were granted to specific state 
institutions. Therefore, if the University has been treated 
unfairly, it is a result of the State of Alaska's failure to 
adequately provide for the University.
    The State of Alaska's land grant of 104 million acres is 
more than four times the amount received by any other State. In 
fact, the State of Alaska's land grant is more than the 
combined amount of land granted to Florida, Minnesota, New 
Mexico, Michigan, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Arizona.
    In addition to the Alaska Statehood Act general land grant 
of 104 million acres, the Federal government, pursuant to a 
variety of other laws, has transferred to the University of 
Alaska between 112,000 and 186,000 acres of Federal land.
    Last month I asked the American Law Division of the 
Congressional Research Service (``CRS'') to analyze whether the 
Federal government has a legal obligation to provide the 
University of Alaska with additional lands. The CRS report 
found that ``based on the history of relevant land grants to 
Alaska, we conclude that the United States appears to have no 
legal obligation to provide additional lands to the University 
of Alaska.''
    The other major issue is that, under the bill, the 
University could select lands within areas containing 
significant national resources including: Federal lands on the 
Outer Continental Shelf; national forests in Alaska (including 
certain areas in the Tongass National Forest); within the 
National Petroleum Reserve--Alaska (including lands within the 
Colville River Special Area); and national conservation areas 
managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The impact of the 
University's selections on important and sensitive Federal 
lands could be profound.
    Finally, S. 744 specifically waives compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act. This is an extraordinary 
waiver given the amount of land involved and the potential 
impacts associated with the University's selection.
    Two changes have been made to this year's bill in response 
to concerns raised about a similar bill during the 105th 
Congress. First, the bill prohibits the University from 
selecting lands within the Tongass National Forest except 
within certain designated areas. However, the terms used to 
describe these areas are not consistent with current Forest 
Service planning documents so the effect of this change is 
unclear. Second, the bill prohibits any selections within the 
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for two years and directs the 
Secretary to attempt to conclude an agreement with the Governor 
to share a portion of the oil and gas leasing revenues with the 
University rather than transferring land. While both of these 
changes are improvements from the previous bill, they do not 
address the underlying major issues raised by the bill.

                                                     Jeff Bingaman.
                        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. 744, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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