[Senate Report 106-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 131
106th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 106-61
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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.