Senate Report 112-52 - SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT

[Senate Report 112-52]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

Calendar No. 132
112th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 112-52

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SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT

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August 30 (legislative day, August 2), 2011.--Ordered to be printed

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of August 2, 2011

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

R E P O R T

[To accompany S. 292]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 292) to resolve the claims of the Bering
Straits Native Corporation and the State of Alaska and to
provide for the conveyance to the Bering Straits Native
Corporation of certain other public land in partial
satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 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 2, strike lines 18 through 20 and insert ``2007; and''.

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 292 is to ratify an agreement among the
Secretary of the Interior, the State of Alaska, and the Bering
Straits Native Corporation to resolve certain land selections
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska
Statehood Act.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Salmon Lake is one of the largest bodies of fresh water on
the Seward Peninsula and has been an important source of food
and resources for Native Alaskans since time immemorial. The
lake is located approximately 40 miles northeast of Nome and is
a popular recreation destination with campgrounds and other
lands that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) created
Regional Native Corporations with the right to select certain
Federal land as part of a settlement of aboriginal land claims
in Alaska. The Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC)
exercised its rights under ANCSA by selecting land around
Salmon Lake. The State of Alaska also selected some of the same
land under the Alaska Statehood Act, which granted the State
the opportunity to select certain Federal land in Alaska for
the benefit of the State.
To resolve the conflicting claims and avoid further
administrative and legal challenges, the State, BSNC, and the
BLM entered into negotiations and subsequently signed the
``Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement'' in
2007. Both the State and BSNC relinquished certain claims in
order to settle the dispute. The Agreement provides for the
conveyance of approximately 3,084 acres of land in the Salmon
Lake area to the State and approximately 14,645 acres of land
in the Salmon Lake, Imuruk Basin, and Windy Cove areas to BSNC.
The BLM would maintain ownership of a nine acre campground with
access to other important Federal lands nearby and retain a
number of public access easements and other appropriate
reservations.
The initial effective date of the negotiated agreement was
July 18, 2007, and it was set to expire on January 1, 2009. The
term of the Agreement was extended by the parties until January
1, 2011, and then again until January 1, 2013, unless
legislation is enacted ratifying the terms of the Agreement or
the parties agree to further extend the term of the Agreement.
S. 292 would ratify the agreement, thereby enabling the parties
to carry out its terms and finalize the conveyances in
accordance with the agreement and the terms of the bill.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 292 was introduced by Senators Murkowski and Begich on
February 4, 2011. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
held a hearing on the bill on May 18, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112-39). At
its business meeting on July 14, 2011, the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources ordered S. 292 favorably reported with an
amendment.
In the 111th Congress, similar bills were reported by the
Committee (S. 522; S. Rept. 111-130) and passed by the House of
Representatives (H.R. 2340, as amended, by a vote of 410-0 on
July 1, 2010), but the Senate took no further action on either
bill.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 14, 2011, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 292, if amended as
described herein.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 292, the Committee adopted a
technical amendment that simplifies the description of
Agreement.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Sections 1, 2, and 3 provide the short title, purpose, and
definitions for the bill.
Section 4(a) ratifies the Agreement, subject to the
provisions of the bill.
Subsection (b) requires the conveyance of land to BSNC to
be subject to the reservation of certain easements specified in
the Agreement. Paragraph 4.b.(3)(B) of the Agreement provides
that the conveyances to the State shall be ``subject to
appropriate reservations, exceptions, exclusions, and
limitations.'' Paragraph 4.b.(3)(C) of the Agreement has
identical language in relation to the conveyances to BSNC, but
it also provides for the reservation of specific easements
(identified in Appendix E to the Agreement), which ``shall be
reserved pursuant to the legislation ratifying this
Agreement.'' Subsection (b) specifically provides for those
easements to be reserved pursuant to terms of the bill, while
at the same time clarifying that the easements are
substantively the same as easements reserved pursuant to
section 17(b) of ANCSA.
Subsection (c) limits modifications to the Agreement after
the date of enactment of the bill to typographical and clerical
corrections.
Subsection (d) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
carry out all actions required by the Agreement.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 292--Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act

Summary: S. 292 would ratify an agreement settling a land
dispute between the state of Alaska and the Bering Straits
Native Corporation (a native-owned regional corporation
established to administer land given to Alaska Natives under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act). Based on information
from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO expects that
implementing the legislation would increase direct spending;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CB0 estimates,
however, that such effects would be insignificant for each year
over the 2012-2021 period.
S. 292 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: Under the bill,
the federal government would convey about 18,000 acres of land
located in western Alaska to the Bering Straits Native
Corporation and the state of Alaska to satisfy claims made by
those parties under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and
the Alaska Statehood Act, respectively. The federal government
currently collects about $1,500 per year from a lease on the
affected land. Thus, CBO estimates that conveying that land
would reduce offsetting receipts (a credit against direct
spending) by about $15,000 over the 2012-2021 period. In
addition, upon enactment of the bill, BLM would transfer 90
percent of all receipts collected over the life of the lease
(about $20,000 to date) to the state of Alaska and would
deposit the remaining 10 percent of those funds in the U.S.
Treasury. In total, CBO estimates that implementing the bill
would increase direct spending by about $35,000 over the 2012-
2021 period.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net budgetary changes that are subject to pay-as-
you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR S. 292, THE SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL
RESOURCES ON JUNE 16, 2010
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2011-2016 2011-2021
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NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 292
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Martin von Gnechten;
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa
Merrell; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, 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. 292.
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. 292, as ordered reported.

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 292, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at
the May 18, 2011, hearing on S. 292 follows.

Statement of Mike Pool, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 292, the
Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act. As a party to the
Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement, the
BLM has supported efforts between the State of Alaska and the
Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) to resolve competing
land selections at Salmon Lake. As such, BLM supports S. 292,
with one minor technical amendment, because it will ratify the
agreement between the BLM, BSNC, and the State of Alaska; and
allow for a reasonable and practicable conveyance of lands in
the Salmon Lake area.

background

Salmon Lake is located on the Seward Peninsula,
approximately 40 miles northeast of Nome. The lake is one of
the largest bodies of fresh water on the peninsula, and has
long been an important source of food and resources for the
Native people. Because the area contains significant fisheries
and other subsistence resources, it remains a popular resource
and destination for local communities.
The BLM is responsible for expediting the conveyance of
Federal lands to Native corporations, including the BSNC, under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), and to the
State of Alaska under the Alaska Statehood Act of 1958.
The BSNC, the Native regional corporation for the Bering
Straits area, and the State of Alaska each sought to gain title
to the Salmon Lake area through selection applications filed
under respective provisions of ANCSA and the Alaska Statehood
Act. However, the land addressed by the two applications
overlapped. The BSNC and the State negotiated a resolution to
this issue whereby each entity would receive title to distinct
lands. The BLM supported this resolution, and the three parties
signed the Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation
Agreement on July 18, 2007. Legislation is now required to
ratify the Agreement between the United States (acting through
the Department of the Interior, BLM), the BSNC, and the State
of Alaska. The Agreement would have expired January 1, 2011,
but its term was extended until January 1, 2013 in anticipation
of ratifying legislation. Accordingly, the Department
recommends that Section 3(1)(b) of the bill be amended to
reflect the extension of the Agreement to January 1, 2013.

s. 292

S. 292 represents an opportunity to resolve the overlapping
land selections between the BSNC and the State, The bill would
ratify the Agreement between the BLM, the BSNC, and the State,
and allow for finalization of land conveyances in the Salmon
Lake area. The lands would be transferred in accordance with
the terms of the signed agreement.
As noted, the BLM supported the efforts between the BSNC
and State, and signed the agreement to recognize the desires of
the entities. The bill would also further the intent of the
Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act of 2004 (PL 108-452),
expediting the transfer of title to Federal lands to Native
corporations and the State of Alaska.

conclusion

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of S.
292. I am happy to answer any questions.

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. 292, as ordered
reported.