[107th Congress Public Law 239]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ239.107]
[[Page 1487]]
ALASKA LAND EXCHANGE AGREEMENT
[[Page 116 STAT. 1488]]
Public Law 107-239
107th Congress
An Act
To ratify an agreement between The Aleut Corporation and the United
States of America to exchange land rights received under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act for certain land interests on Adak Island,
and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Oct. 11, 2002 - [S. 1325]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Alaska. 16 USC 668dd
note.>> assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that:
(1) Adak Island is an isolated island located 1,200 miles
southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, between the Pacific Ocean and
the Bering Sea. The Island, with its unique physical and
biological features, including a deep water harbor and abundant
marine-associated wildlife, was recognized early for both its
natural and military values. In 1913, Adak Island was reserved
and set aside as a Preserve because of its value to seabirds,
marine mammals, and fisheries. Withdrawals of portions of Adak
Island for various military purposes date back to 1901 and
culminated in the 1959 withdrawal of approximately half of the
Island for use by the Department of the Navy for military
purposes.
(2) By 1990, military development on Adak Island supported a
community of 6,000 residents. Outside of the Adak Naval Complex,
there was no independent community on Adak Island.
(3) As a result of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment
Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 1808), as amended, the Adak Naval Complex
has been closed by the Department of Defense.
(4) The Aleut Corporation is an Alaskan Native Regional
Corporation incorporated in the State of Alaska pursuant to the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), as amended (43
U.S.C. 1601, et seq.). The Aleut Corporation represents the
indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands who prior to the
Russian exploration and settlement of the Aleutian Islands were
found throughout the Aleutian Islands which includes Adak
Island.
(5) None of Adak Island was available for selection by The
Aleut Corporation under section 14(h)(8) of ANCSA (43 U.S.C.
1613(h)(8)) because it was part of a National Wildlife Refuge
and because the portion comprising the Adak Naval Complex was
withdrawn for use by the United States Navy for military
purposes prior to the passage of ANCSA in December 1971.
(6) The Aleut Corporation is attempting to establish a
community on Adak and has offered to exchange ANCSA land
[[Page 116 STAT. 1489]]
selections and entitlements for conveyance of certain lands and
interests therein on a portion of Adak formerly occupied by the
Navy.
(7) Removal of a portion of the Adak Island land from refuge
status will be offset by the acquisition of high quality
wildlife habitat in other Aleut Corporation selections within
the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, maintaining a
resident human population on Adak to control caribou, and making
possible a continued United States Fish and Wildlife Service
presence in that remote location to protect the natural
resources of the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge.
(8) It is in the public interest to promote reuse of the
Adak Island lands by exchanging certain lands for lands selected
by The Aleut Corporation elsewhere in the Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge. Experience with environmental problems
associated with formerly used defense sites in the State of
Alaska suggests that the most effective and efficient way to
avoid future environmental problems on Adak is to support and
encourage active reuse of Adak.
SEC. 2. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT.
The document entitled the ``Agreement Concerning the Conveyance of
Property at the Adak Naval Complex'' (hereinafter ``the Agreement''),
and dated September 20, 2000, executed by The Aleut Corporation, the
Department of the Interior and the Department of the Navy, together with
any technical amendments or modifications to the boundaries that may be
agreed to by the parties is hereby ratified, confirmed, and approved and
the terms, conditions, procedures, covenants, reservations, indemnities
and other provisions set forth in the Agreement are declared to be
obligations and commitments of the United States and The Aleut
Corporation: Provided, That modifications to the maps and legal
descriptions of lands to be removed from the National Wildlife Refuge
System within the military withdrawal on Adak Island set forth in Public
Land Order 1949 may be made only upon agreement of all Parties to the
Agreement and notification given to the Committee on Resources of the
United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the United States Senate: Provided further, That
the acreage conveyed to the United States by The Aleut Corporation under
the Agreement, as modified, shall be at least 36,000 acres.
SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF LANDS FROM REFUGE.
Effective <<NOTE: Effective date.>> on the date of conveyance to The
Aleut Corporation of the Adak Exchange Lands as described in the
Agreement, all such lands shall be removed from the National Wildlife
Refuge System and shall neither be considered as part of the Alaska
Maritime National Wildlife Refuge nor be subject to any laws pertaining
to lands within the boundaries of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife
Refuge, including the conveyance restrictions imposed by section 22(g)
of ANCSA (43 U.S.C. 1621(g)), for land in the National Wildlife Refuge
System. The Secretary shall adjust the boundaries of the Refuge so as to
exclude all interests in lands and land rights, surface and subsurface,
received by The Aleut Corporation in accordance with this Act and the
Agreement.
[[Page 116 STAT. 1490]]
SEC. 4. ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT.
Lands and interests therein exchanged and conveyed by the United
States pursuant to this Act shall be considered and treated as
conveyances of lands or interests therein under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, except that receipt of such lands and interests therein
shall not constitute a sale or disposition of land or interests received
pursuant to such Act. The public easements for access to public lands
and waters reserved pursuant to the Agreement are deemed to satisfy the
requirements and purposes of section 17(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act.
SEC. 5. REACQUISITION OF LANDS.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire by purchase
or exchange, on a willing seller basis only, any land conveyed to The
Aleut Corporation under the Agreement and this Act. In the event any of
the lands are subsequently acquired by the United States, they shall be
automatically included in the Refuge System.
The <<NOTE: Applicability.>> laws and regulations applicable to Refuge
lands shall then apply to these lands and the Secretary shall then
adjust the boundaries accordingly.
SEC. 6. GENERAL.
(a) Nothwithstanding the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 483-484) and the Defense
Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended (10 U.S.C. 2687),
and for the purposes of the transfer of property authorized by this Act,
Department of Navy personal property that remains on Adak Island is
deemed related to the real property and shall be conveyed by the
Department of the Navy to The Aleut Corporation at no additional cost
when the related real property is conveyed by the Department of the
Interior.
(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall convey to The Aleut
Corporation those lands identified in the Agreement as the former
landfill sites without charge to The Aleut Corporation's entitlement
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
(c) Any property, including, but not limited to, appurtenances and
improvements, received pursuant to this Act shall, for purposes of
section 21(d) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended,
and section 907(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act, as amended, be treated as not developed until such property is
actually occupied, leased (other than leases for nominal consideration
to public entities) or sold by The Aleut Corporation, or, in the case of
a lease or other transfer by The Aleut Corporation to a wholly owned
development subsidiary, actually occupied, leased, or sold by the
subsidiary.
(d) Upon conveyance to The Aleut Corporation of the lands described
in Appendix A of the Agreement, the lands described in Appendix C of the
Agreement will become unavailable for selection under ANCSA.
[[Page 116 STAT. 1491]]
(e) The maps included as part of Appendix A to the Agreement depict
the lands to be conveyed to The Aleut Corporation. The maps shall be
left on file at the Region 7 Office of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and the offices of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife
Refuge in Homer, Alaska. The written legal descriptions of the lands to
be conveyed to The Aleut Corporation are also part of Appendix A. In
case of any discrepancies, the maps shall be controlling.
Approved October 11, 2002.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1325:
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SENATE REPORTS: No. 107-180 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 148 (2002):
Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 24, considered and passed House.
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