[Senate Report 108-97]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 205
108th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 108-97
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ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE CORPORATION
_______
July 11, 2003.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 924]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 924) to authorize the exchange of lands
between the Alaska Native Village Corporation and the
Department of the Interior, 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:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the term:
(1) ``ANCSA'' means the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);
(2) ``ANILCA'' means the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.);
(3) ``Calista'' means the Calista Corporation, an Alaska
Native Regional Corporation established pursuant to ANCSA;
(4) ``Identified Lands'' means approximately 10,943 acres of
lands (including surface and subsurface estates) designated as
``Proposed Village Site'' on a map entitled ``Proposed Newtok
Exchange,'' dated September, 2002, and available for inspection
in the Anchorage office of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service;
(5) ``limited warranty deed'' means a warranty deed which is,
with respect to its warranties, limited to that portion of the
chain of title for the moment of conveyance from the United
States to Newtok to and including the moment at which such
title is validly reconveyed to the United States;
(6) ``Newtok'' means the Newtok Native Corporation, an Alaska
Native Village Corporation established pursuant to ANCSA;
(7) ``Newtok lands'' means approximately 12,101 acres of
surface estate comprising conveyed lands and selected lands
identified as Aknerkochik on the map referred to in paragraph
(4) and that surface estate selected by Newtok on Baird Inlet
Island as shown on the map; and
(8) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 2. LANDS TO BE EXCHANGED.
(a) Lands Exchanged to the United States.--If, within 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, Newtok expresses to the
Secretary in writing its intent to enter into a land exchange with the
United States, the Secretary shall accept from Newtok a valid,
unencumbered conveyance, by limited warranty deed, of the Newtok lands
previously conveyed to Newtok. The Secretary shall also accept from
Newtok a relinquishment of irrevocable prioritized selections for
approximately 4,956 acres for those validly selected lands not yet
conveyed to Newtok.
(b) Lands Exchanged to Newtok.--In exchange for the Newtok lands
conveyed and selections relinquished under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall, subject to valid existing rights and notwithstanding
section 14(f) of ANCSA, convey to Newtok the surface and subsurface
estates of the Identified Lands. The conveyance shall be by interim
conveyance. Subsequent to the interim conveyance, the Secretary shall
survey the Identified Lands at no cost to Newtok and issue a patent to
the Identified Lands subject to the provisions of ANCSA and this Act.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE.
(a) Timing.--The Secretary shall issue interim conveyances pursuant
to subsection 2(b) at the earliest possible time after acceptance of
the Newtok conveyance and relinquishment of selections under subsection
2(a).
(b) Relationship to ANCSA.--Land conveyed to Newtok under this Act
shall be treated as having been conveyed under the provisions of ANCSA,
except that the provisions of 14(c) and 22(g) of ANCSA shall not apply
to these lands. Consistent with section 103(c) of ANILCA, these lands
shall not be included as a portion of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife
Refuge and shall not be subject to regulations applicable solely to
public lands within this Conservation System Unit.
(c) Effect on Entitlement.--Except as otherwise provided, nothing
in this Act shall be construed to change the total acreage of land to
which Newtok is entitled under ANCSA.
(d) Effect on Newtok Lands.--The Newtok Lands shall be included in
the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge as of the date of acceptance
of the conveyance of those lands from Newtok, except that residents of
the Village of Newtok, Alaska, shall retain access rights to
subsistence resources on those Newtok lands as guaranteed under section
811 of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 3121), and to subsistence uses, such as
traditional subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering, consistent with
section 803 of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 3113).
(e) Adjustment to Calista Corporation ANCSA Entitlement for
Relinquished Newtok Selections.--To the extent that Calista subsurface
rights are affected by this Act, Calista shall be entitled to an
equivalent acreage of in lieu subsurface entitlement for the Newtok
selections relinquished in the exchange as set forth in subsection 2(a)
of this Act. This equivalent entitlement shall come from subsurface
lands already selected by Calista, but which have not been conveyed. If
Calista does not have sufficient subsurface selections to accommodate
this additional entitlement, Calista Corporation is hereby authorized
to make an additional in lieu selection for the deficient acreage from
lands within the region but outside any conservation system unit.
(f) Adjustment to Exchange.--If requested by Newtok, the Secretary
may consider and make adjustments to the exchange to meet the purposes
of this Act, subject to all the same terms and conditions of this Act.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 924 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to complete a land exchange with Newtok Native
Corporation, an Alaska Native Village Corporation.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Newtok is located in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western
Alaska. The people of this region are Yupik (Eskimo) and have
lived along the Bering Sea coast for 2000 years. The present
village has been occupied since 1949 after the villagers moved
from another site that flooded.
There are approximately 300 residents of Newtok. The
village is unincorporated and has no taxing authority. While
some villagers are employed at the school, the clinic, by the
Native corporation or as commercial fishermen, most villagers
pursue a subsistence lifestyle. Fifty percent of the villagers
live below the poverty level. Most villagers are shareholders
in the Newtok Native Corporation, which was organized pursuant
to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Lands selected by
Newtok under ANCSA were chosen to provide good hunting areas
for the villagers. The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
surrounds the village.
S. 924 is necessary because the Ninglick River is eroding
the bank near the village, severely threatening the airport,
homes, and other buildings. Each year since the early 1950s,
the shifting course of the river has moved closer to the
village. The erosion has been particularly rapid in the last
decade. To save the village and its way of life, a new location
for Newtok must be provided soon.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 924 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on April 11,
2003. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a
hearing on S. 924 on June 4, 2003. The Committee ordered S. 490
favorably reported, with an amendment on July 25, 2003. Similar
legislation S. 2016, was introduced in the 107th Congress on
March 14, 2002. A joint hearing was held on S. 2016 on July 30,
2002 by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill
was reported with an amendment on October 3, 2002. No further
action was taken on S. 2016 in the 107th Congress. S. 924 as
introduced is identical to the amended bill reported in 2002.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business session on July 25, 2002, by unanimous consent of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 924, if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 924, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute
amendment is explained in the section-by-section analysis
below.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 defines the key terms in the bill.
Section 2 directs the Secretary of the Interior to enter
into a land exchange with the Newtok Native Corporation.
Section (a) requires the Secretary to accept the 12,101 acres
of Newtok lands (defined in section 1(7)). Subsection (b)
requires the Secretary to convey 10,941 acres of ``Identified
Lands'' (defined in section (1(4)) to the Newtok Native
Corporation.
Section 3 provides additional terms and conditions for the
land exchange. Subsection (a) requires the Secretary to convey
the Identified Lands at the earliest possible time after
accepting the Newtok lands. Subsection (b) specifies that the
Identified Lands are to be treated as having been conveyed
under the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act, except for the patenting requirements of sections 14(c)
and 22(g) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1613(c) and 1621(g)).
Subsection (b) further specifies that the Identified Lands will
not be included in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.
Subsection (c) provides that, except as otherwise provided, S.
924 does not change the total acreage of land to which Newtok
is entitled under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Subsection (d) provides that the Newtok land will be included
in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, but that residents
of the Village of Newtok will retain access rights to
subsistence resource and subsistence uses. Subsection (e)
provides for an adjustment to the subsurface selections that
Calista Corporation is entitled to make under the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act to the extent that its subsurface rights
are affected by the exchange. Subsection (f) authorizes the
Secretary to make adjustments to the exchange, subject to the
terms and conditions of the Act, if requested by Newtok.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 924--A bill to authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska
Native Village Corporation and the Department of the Interior,
and for other purposes
CBO estimates that enacting S. 924 would not significantly
affect the federal budget. The bill could affect direct
spending, but we estimate that any such effects would be
negligible. S. 924 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
S. 924 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey
the surface and subsurface estate to 10,943 acres of federal
lands in Alaska to the Newtok Native Corporation. In exchange,
the corporation would convey the surface estate to 12,101 acres
of lands and relinquish its claim to 4,956 acres of other lands
that it has selected under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act. Under S. 924, the Calista Regional Corporation, another
Alaska Native corporation, could select additional subsurface
rights to certain lands if the proposed land exchange affects
that corporation's existing entitlement to certain subsurface
rights.
Based on information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, CBO estimates that completing the proposed exchange
would increase the agency's costs by less than $500,000,
assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Conveying
lands and interests to the tribal corporations could result in
forgone offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending)
if, under current law, those lands and interests would generate
income from programs to develop natural resources. According to
the agency, however, the lands and interests that would be
conveyed under the bill currently generate no significant
receipts and are not expected to do so over the next 10 years.
Hence, we estimate that any forgone offsetting receipts under
S. 924 would be negligible.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
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. 490. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant 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. 924.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive
agency recommendations related to S. 924 are set forth below:
Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, June 24, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the
Department of the Interior on S. 924, a bill to authorize the
exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village Corporation
and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes,
S. 924 which would direct a land exchange between the
Department of the Interior and Newtok Native Corporation. The
purpose of this exchange is to provide a new site for the
Native Village of Newtok, Alaska, on lands within the Yukon
Delta National Wildlife Refuge on Nelson Island. The present
village site is experiencing severe erosion along the banks of
the Ninglick River. The average annual erosion rate is 90 feet
per year, and it is expected that the land under the homes,
schools, and businesses of Newtok will erode within seven
years.
We support the desire of the residents of Newtok to
relocate their village from its present site across the
Ninglick River to an upland area on the Yukon Delta National
Wildlife Refuge that is adjacent to other Newtok Village-owned
lands on Nelson Island.
S. 924 represents the results of discussions that took
place last year on S. 2016 in the 107th Congress. The
Department had several concerns last year regarding the earlier
version of the bill, including insufficient acres to support
the future needs of the community, a complex appraisal process,
and ambiguities regarding the effect of the exchange on
Newtok's ANCSA entitlement and the United States' ability to
protect valid existing rights and enforce treaty obligations.
Since that time, we have worked cooperatively with Newtok
representatives and the Committee to achieve consensus on a
bill that will allow for the relocation and re-establishment of
the Village to more suitable terrain and still protect the fish
and wildlife resources and supporting habitat within the
National Wildlife Refuge System.
We support S. 924. On further examination of the bill,
however, we have suggestions for several minor technical
clarifications to the bill, discussed below.
Under the terms of the exchange as proposed in S. 924,
Newtok will give up approximately 11,105 acres of land referred
to as the Aknerkochik parcel and relinquish selection rights to
approximately 996 acres on Baird Inlet Island. The Aknerkochik
parcel lies about 14 miles northwest of the current community
of Newtok and includes important wildlife habitat which will be
restored to unencumbered refuge status. Baird Inlet Island lies
between the current village of Newtok and the site proposed for
relocation of the village. This island is the summer home to
4,500 pairs of Pacific brant which nest and brood their young
there. The Baird Inlet Island brant population accounts for
about one quarter of the entire Pacific brant population within
the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. With the
relinquishment of Newtok's selections, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service will be able to retain administrative
jurisdiction over all of Baird Inlet Island thus assuring the
ongoing protection of this important colony.
In exchange for these lands and selection rights, Newtok
Native Corporation will receive title to approximately 10,943
acres of surface and subsurface estate on the northern shore of
Nelson Island adjacent to lands already owned by the
corporation. This proposal does not increase Newtok Native
Corporation's ANCSA entitlement. The corporation will remain
charged for lands which had previously been conveyed to it and
will also be charged for the selections it relinquishes.
Following survey of the lands on Nelson Island conveyed to
Newtok under this proposal, the Bureau of Land Management will
adjust Newtok's entitlement so that the corporation will
ultimately be charged 1.1 acres for each acre to be conveyed
under this bill. The additional charge of one tenth of an acre
is to compensate the government for conveyance of the
subsurface estate to Newtok Native Corporation, an additional
benefit not extended to village corporations under the original
ANCSA.
Approxiamtley 70 acres within the area to be conveyed to
Newtok Native Corporation fall within the boundaries of the
former Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range. For that reason,
these 70 acres would normally reman subject to statutory and
regulatory restrictions imposed by Section 22(g) of ANCSA.
Because such restrictions could limit Newtok's ability to
develop these lands for their intended purpose, the Department
agrees that the lands conveyed to Newtok should be free from
restrictions imposed by Section 22(g) of ANCSA. The Department
also agrees that it is appropriate for the conveyance to Newtok
to be free from the standard 14(c) reconveyance requirements of
ANCSA intended to benefit residents and communities occupying
land as of 1971 and that the lands conveyed to Newtok shall no
longer be considered part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife
Refuge.
When a village corporation such as Newtok Native
Corporation exchanges selection rights prior to receiving title
under ANCSA, there can be ambiguity as to the effect on the
Regional Corporation whose right to equivalent subsurface
acreage is derived from conveyance of the surface estate. The
bill includes a provision that assures that Calista Corporation
will not lose subsurface acreage as a result of this exchange.
Because detailed site plans and surveys for the new village
have not yet been completed, the bill gives the Secretary of
the Interior the flexibility to adjust the exchange to meet the
intended purposes of the bill should Newtok determine at a
later date that a larger site is needed for the relocated
community.
The Department suggests five small technical amendments.
(1) In section 4(b), add the word ``Delta'' to the name Yukon
National Wildlife Refuge so it reads ``Yukon Delta National
Wildlife Refuge,'' the correct name. (2) In section 4(d), after
``subsistence resources on'', delete ``those public lands'' and
add ``those Newtok lands.'' This will be clearer and avoid
ambiguity. (3) In section 4(e), second sentence, change ``This
additional entitlement'' to read ``This equivalent
entitlement.'' This is a more accurate description of the
entitlement. Also in section 4(e), third sentence, change
``this additional entitlement'' to ``this equivalent
entitlement.'' (4) Further, in section 4(e), at the end, after
``acreage'' add the phrase ``from lands within the region but
outside any conservation system unit.'' This will help clarify
the areas from which lands may and may not be selected.
Finally, in section 4(f), strike the word ``original'' before
``exchange'' and add the words ``herein authorized'' after
``exchange,'' to clarify the exchange referenced. There is no
``original'' exchange.
We appreciate the opportunity to comment on S. 924. The
Department is satisfied that S. 924, with the suggested
clarifying technical amendments, will safeguard both the fish
and wildlife resources of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife
Refuge and Newtok's future as a viable community.
The Office of Management and Budget had advised that there
is no objection to the presentation of this report from the
standpoint of the Administration's program.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Watson,
Assistant Secretary for Land
and Minerals Management.
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 the bill S. 924, as ordered
reported.