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


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

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



 
               SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT

                                _______
                                

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

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

                                _______
                                

   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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2011    2012    2013    2014    2015    2016    2017    2018    2019    2020    2021   2011-2016  2011-2021
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       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.

                                  
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