[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 54176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22065]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAK927000 L54200000 FR0000 LVDIL09L0430; AA-086371]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Kuskokwim River in Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State of Alaska has filed an application with the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest from 
the United States in those lands underlying the Kuskokwim River in 
Southwestern Alaska. The State asserts that the Kuskokwim River was 
navigable and unreserved at the time of Statehood; therefore, title to 
the submerged lands passed to the State at the time of Statehood 
(1959). Certain lands included in the application are within the 
exterior boundary of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, created 
by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, and 
administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

DATES: All comments to this action should be received on or before 
December 2, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the State of Alaska's application or the BLM 
Draft Summary Report must be filed with the Chief, Branch of Survey 
Planning and Preparation (AK-9270), Division of Cadastral Survey, BLM 
Alaska State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99513-7599.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Frost, 907-271-5531; E-mail 
[email protected]; or visit the BLM Recordable Disclaimer of Interest 
Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/rdi.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 10, 2006, the State of Alaska filed 
an application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest pursuant to 
Section 315 of the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act and the 
regulations contained in 43 CFR Subpart 1864 for the lands underlying 
the Kuskokwim River (AA-086371). A Recordable Disclaimer of Interest, 
if issued, will confirm that the United States has no valid interest in 
the subject lands. This notice is intended to notify the public of the 
pending application and the State's grounds for supporting it. The 
State asserts that this river is navigable. Therefore, under the Equal 
Footing Doctrine, the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, the Submerged Lands 
Act of 1988, the Alaska Statehood Act, or any other legally cognizable 
reason, ownership of these lands underlying the river automatically 
passed from the United States to the State at the time of statehood in 
1959.
    The State's application, AA-086371, is for ``all submerged lands 
lying within the bed of the Kuskokwim River, and all interconnected 
sloughs, between the ordinary high water lines of the left and right 
banks from its origins at the confluence with the South Fork of 
Kuskokwim River and North Fork of Kuskokwim River within Township 28 
South, Range 22 East, Kateel River Meridian, Alaska, downstream to its 
confluence with the Kuskokwim Bay within Township 2 South, Range 77 
West, Seward Meridian, Alaska.'' The State did not identify any known 
adverse claimant or occupant of the affected lands.
    A final decision on the merits of the application will not be made 
before December 2, 2010. During the 90-day period, interested parties 
may comment on the State's application, AA-086371, and supporting 
evidence. Interested parties may also comment during this time on the 
BLM's Draft Summary Report. The State's application and the BLM Draft 
Summary Report may be viewed on the BLM Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/rdi.html, or in 
the BLM Public Room located at 222 West 7th Avenue, 13, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99513.
    Comments filed with the Division of Cadastral Survey, including 
names and street addresses of commenters, will be available for public 
inspection at the BLM Alaska State Office (see ADDRESSES above), during 
regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    If no valid objection is received, a Disclaimer of Interest may be 
approved, if all else is proper, stating that the United States does 
not have a valid interest in these lands.

    Dated: July 9, 2010.
Craig Frichtl,
Chief, Branch of Survey Planning and Preparation.
[FR Doc. 2010-22065 Filed 9-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P