[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42138-42139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17878]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[12X.LLAK942000.L54200000.FR0000. LVDIL12L0530; FF097215]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Fortymile River System, 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 Fortymile 
River System located in the upper Yukon subregion, Alaska. The State 
asserts that the Fortymile River System was 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 19, 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 Fortymile River System in 
Alaska.'' (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, 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 RDI website at https://www.blm.gov/basic/programs-lands-and-realty-alaska-rdi-fortymile-fortymile-river.
    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 May 11, 2017, the State filed an 
application (FF-97215) 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 Fortymile River System.

[[Page 42139]]

    The State asserts that this river system was 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 of 1959; 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 portion of the Fortymile River System described below. 
Specifically, these are all submerged lands between the ordinary high 
water marks of the left and right banks of the Fortymile River, 
beginning sixty feet upstream of the international border with Canada, 
upstream to the confluence of the North and South Forks of the 
Fortymile River within section 10, township 8 south, range 30 east, 
Fairbanks Meridian, Alaska; all submerged lands between the ordinary 
high water marks of the left and right banks of the South Fork of the 
Fortymile River beginning at the confluence with the North Fork of the 
Fortymile River upstream to the confluence of the Mosquito and Dennison 
Forks of the Fortymile River within section 8, township 26 north, range 
18 east, Fairbanks Meridian, Alaska; and all submerged lands between 
the ordinary high water marks of the left and right banks of the North 
Fork of the Fortymile River, beginning at its confluence with the South 
Fork of the Fortymile River, upstream to the dead-end slough which is a 
remnant of the Knik in section 20, township 6 south, range 29 east, 
Fairbanks Meridian, Alaska. The State listed the main stem of the 
Fortymile River's coverage on the USGS 1:63,360 series topographic map 
Eagle A-2 (1956), Eagle B-1 (1956) and Eagle B-2 (1956); for the North 
Fork of the Fortymile River, Eagle A-2 (1956), Eagle B-2 (1956) and 
Eagle B-3 (1956); and the South Fork of the Fortymile River is shown on 
the Eagle A-2 (1956) quadrangle.
    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 19, 2018. During this 90-day period, 
interested parties may comment on the State's application, FF-97215, 
and supporting evidence. Interested parties may also comment on the 
BLM's draft 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 BLM 
draft 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 identifying 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. 2018-17878 Filed 8-17-18; 8:45 am]
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