[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38724-38725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16858]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[14X.LLAK942000.L54200000.FR0000.LVDIL14L0540; AA094269]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Egegik River, Becharof Lake, and Ruth Lake and 
Outlet, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State of Alaska (State) 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 Egegik 
River, Becharof Lake, and Ruth Lake and Outlet in southwest Alaska. The 
State asserts that the Egegik River, Becharof Lake, and Ruth Lake and 
Outlet, were navigable and unreserved at the time of Alaska Statehood 
in 1959.

DATES: The BLM should receive all comments to this action on or before 
November 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by mail or email on the State's 
application for an RDI or on the BLM Draft ``Summary Report on Federal 
Interest in Lands Underlying the Egegik River, Becharof Lake, and Ruth 
Lake

[[Page 38725]]

and Outlet in Alaska'' (Draft Summary Report). 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, Alaska 99513. To submit comments by email, send to 
[email protected].
    Copies of the State's application, supporting evidence, the Draft 
Summary Report, and comments, including names and street addresses of 
commenters, will be available for public review at the BLM Alaska 
Public Information Center (Public Room), 222 West 8th Avenue, 
Anchorage, Alaska, during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angie Nichols, RDI Program Manager, 
222 West 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513; 907-271-3359; 
[email protected]; or visit the BLM RDI website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/lands-and-realty/regional-information/alaska/RDI/bristol-bay.
    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 Sept. 7, 2016, the State filed an 
application (AA-94269) 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 subpart 1864 for the lands underlying 
the Egegik River, Becharof Lake, and Ruth Lake and Outlet. The State 
asserts that these waterbodies were navigable at the time of Alaska 
Statehood. As such, the State contends that ownership of the lands 
underlying this river system automatically passed from the United 
States to the State 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 will help remove a cloud on title to such 
lands.
    The State's application is for an RDI for all submerged lands 
underlying the portions described below of the Egegik River, Becharof 
Lake, and Ruth Lake and Outlet. Specifically, these are Becharof Lake: 
All submerged lands and bed up to and including the ordinary high water 
lines of Becharof Lake upstream from its outlet within section 5, 
township 25 south, range 46 west, Seward Meridian, Alaska; Egegik 
River: All submerged lands and bed of the Egegik River lying between 
the ordinary high water lines of the left and right banks of the Egegik 
River, beginning at the outlet of Becharof Lake, downstream to the 
limit of tidal influence; Unnamed outlet Ruth Lake: All submerged lands 
up to and including the ordinary high water lines of Unnamed outlet of 
Ruth Lake upstream from its outlet at Becharof Lake within section 5, 
township 30 south, range 42 west, Seward Meridian, Alaska, upstream to 
Ruth Lake; and Ruth Lake: All submerged lands and bed up to and 
including the ordinary high water lines of Ruth Lake upstream from its 
outlet within section 9, township 30 south, range 42 west, Seward 
Meridian, Alaska.
    The State listed the coverage area on the USGS 1:63,360 series 
topographic maps as follows: Naknek A-1 through A-3, Karluk C-6, D-6 
and Ugashik C-1 and D-1, D-2, D-3. Over time, the precise location of 
the submerged lands described above may vary between townships due to 
the ambulatory nature of these water bodies.
    An 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 is to inform the public of the pending 
application and the State'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 November 5, 2018. During this 90-day period, 
interested parties may comment on the State's application, AA-94269, 
and supporting evidence. Interested parties may also comment on the 
BLM's Draft Summary Report, which is available on the BLM's RDI website 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above).
    Copies of the State's application, supporting evidence, the Draft 
Summary Report, and comments, including names and street addresses of 
commenters, will be available for public review at the BLM Alaska 
Public Information Center (Public Room), 222 West 8th Avenue, 
Anchorage, Alaska, during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask the BLM in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable 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 is 
sufficient to reach 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. 2018-16858 Filed 8-6-18; 8:45 am]
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