[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28657-28658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13243]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[12X.LLAK942000.L54200000.FR0000.LVDIL12L0550; AA094268]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Taku 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 (RDI) 
from the United States in those lands underlying the Taku River located 
in southeast Alaska. The State of Alaska asserts that the Taku River 
was navigable and unreserved at the time of Alaska Statehood in 1959.

DATES: The BLM must receive all comments to this action on or before 
September 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by mail or email on the State of 
Alaska's application for an RDI or on the BLM draft ``Summary Report on 
Federal Interest in Lands underlying the Taku River in Alaska.'' To 
file comments by mail, send to RDI Program Manager (AK-942), Division 
of Lands and Cadastral, BLM Alaska State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513. To submit comments by email, send to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angie Nichols, RDI Program Manager, 
222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK 99513; 907-271-3359; 
[email protected]; or visit the BLM Recordable Disclaimer of Interest 
website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/lands-and-realty/regional-information/alaska/RDI/southeast.
    People who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Relay System (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the 
above individual during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or a question with the 
above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 14, 2017, the State of Alaska filed 
an application (AA-94268) for an RDI pursuant to Section 315 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the 
regulations contained in 43 CFR 1864 for the lands underlying the Taku 
River in Alaska. The State asserts that this river was navigable at the 
time of Alaska Statehood. As such, the State contends that ownership of 
the lands underlying the Taku River automatically passed from the 
United States to the State of Alaska in 1959 at the time of Statehood 
under the Equal Footing Doctrine, the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, the 
Alaska Statehood Act, and other title navigability law.
    Section 315 of FLPMA authorizes the BLM to issue an RDI when it 
determines that a record interest of the United States in lands has 
terminated by law or is otherwise invalid, and a disclaimer would help 
remove a cloud on title to such lands.
    The State's application is for an RDI for all submerged lands 
between the ordinary high water mark of the left and right banks of the 
Taku River, beginning at the 60-foot boundary reserve within sections 
10, 11, and 14; township 38 south; range 71 east; Copper River 
Meridian, Alaska; to the extent of tidal influence, regardless of 
location. The State listed the Taku River's coverage on the USGS 
1:63,360 series topographic map Taku River B-6, (1951, minor revisions 
1971); Taku River C-6 (1995); Taku River C-5, (1960) and Juneau B-1 
quadrangles. The precise location may be within other townships due to 
the ambulatory nature of these water bodies.

[[Page 28658]]

    The RDI is a legal document through which the BLM disclaims the 
United States' interest in or ownership of specified lands, but the 
disclaimer does not grant, convey, transfer, or renounce any title or 
interest in the lands, nor does it release any tax, judgment, or lien. 
This Notice of Application for a RDI is to inform the public of the 
pending application and the State of Alaska's supporting evidence, as 
well as to provide the opportunity to comment or provide additional 
information to the BLM.
    The BLM will not make a final decision on the merits of the State's 
application before September 18, 2018.
    During this 90-day period, interested parties may comment on the 
State's application, AA-94268, and supporting evidence. Interested 
parties may also comment on the BLM's draft ``Summary Report on Federal 
Interest in Lands underlying the Taku River in Alaska'' for the State's 
application for the RDI, which is available on the BLM's RDI website 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above).
    Copies of the State application, supporting evidence, the BLM Draft 
Summary Report, and comments, including names and street addresses of 
commenters, will be available in Anchorage for public review at the BLM 
Alaska State Office, Public Information Center (Public Room), 
Fitzgerald Federal Building, 222 West 8th Avenue, Monday through 
Friday, during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except 
holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personally identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personally identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask the BLM in your comment to withhold your personally identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    If the BLM determines the State's evidence, and any additional 
information the agency receives concerning the State's application, are 
sufficient to find a favorable determination, and neither the records 
nor a valid objection discloses a reason not to disclaim, the BLM may 
decide to approve the application for the RDI.

    Authority: 43 CFR 1864.2

Erika L. Reed,
Deputy State Director, Division of Lands and Cadastral, Alaska.
[FR Doc. 2018-13243 Filed 6-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P