103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3612

AN ACT

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. RATIFICATION OF CERTAIN CASWELL AND

2 MONTANA CREEK NATIVE ASSOCIATIONS

3 CONVEYANCES.

4 The conveyance of approximately 11,520 acres to

5 Montana Creek Native Association, Inc., and the convey6 ance of approximately 11,520 acres to Caswell Native As7 sociation, Inc., by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. in fulfillment

8 of the agreement of February 3, 1976, and subsequent

9 letter agreement of March 26, 1982, among the three par10 ties are hereby adopted and ratified as a matter of Federal

11 law. These conveyances shall be deemed to be conveyances

12 pursuant to section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims

13 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(2)). The group cor14 porations for Montana Creek and Caswell are hereby de15 clared to have received their full entitlement and shall not

16 be entitled to the receipt of any additional lands under

17 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The ratification

18 of these conveyances shall not have any other effect upon

19 section 14(h) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

20 (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)) or upon the duties and obligations

21 of the United States to any Alaska Native Corporation.

22 This ratification shall not be the basis for any claim to

23 land or money by Caswell or Montana Creek group cor24 porations or any other Alaska Native Corporation against

25 the State of Alaska, the United States, or Cook Inlet Re26 gion, Incorporated.
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1 SEC. 2. MINING CLAIMS AFTER LANDS CONVEYED TO ALAS2 KA REGIONAL CORPORATION.

3 Section 22(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

4 Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(c)) is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(3) This section shall apply to lands conveyed by in7 terim conveyance or patent to a regional corporation pur8 suant to this Act which are made subject to a mining claim

9 or claims located under the general mining laws, including

10 lands conveyed prior to enactment of this paragraph. Ef11 fective upon the date of the enactment of this paragraph,

12 the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Land Man13 agement and in a manner consistent with section 14(g)

14 of this Act, shall transfer to the regional corporation ad15 ministration of all mining claims determined to be entirely

16 within lands conveyed to that corporation. Any person

17 holding such mining claim or claims shall meet such re18 quirements of the general mining laws and section 314

19 of the Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976

20 (43 U.S.C. 1744), except that any filings which would

21 have been made with the Bureau of Land Management

22 if the lands were within Federal ownership shall be timely

23 made to the appropriate regional corporation. The validity

24 of any such mining claim or claims may be contested by

25 the regional corporation, in the place of the United States.

26 All contest proceedings and appeals by the mining claim-
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1 ants of adverse decisions made by the regional corporation

2 shall be brought in Federal District Court for the District

3 of Alaska. Neither the United States nor any Federal

4 agency or official shall be named or joined as a party in

5 such proceedings or appeals. All revenues from such min6 ing claims received after passage of this paragraph shall

7 be remitted to the regional corporation subject to distribu8 tion pursuant to section 7(i) of this Act, except that in

9 the event that the mining claim or claims are not totally

10 within the lands conveyed to the regional corporation, the

11 regional corporation shall be entitled only to that propor12 tion of revenues, other than administrative fees, reason13 ably allocated to the portion of the mining claim or claims

14 so conveyed.’’.

15 SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM HAZARD16 OUS SUBSTANCE CONTAMINATION OF TRANS17 FERRED LANDS.

18 The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.

19 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘CLAIMS ARISING FROM CONTAMINATION OF

22 TRANSFERRED LANDS

23 ‘‘SEC. 40. (a) As used in this section:

24 ‘‘(1) The term ‘contaminant’ means hazardous

25 substances harmful to public health or the environ26 ment, including asbestos.
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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lands’ means real property

2 transferred to an Alaska Native Corporation pursu3 ant to this Act.

4 ‘‘(b) Within 18 months of enactment of this section,

5 and after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture,

6 State of Alaska, and appropriate Alaska Native corpora7 tions and organizations, the Secretary shall submit to the

8 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural

10 Resources of the Senate, a report addressing issues pre11 sented by the presence of hazardous substances on lands

12 conveyed or prioritized for conveyance to such corpora13 tions pursuant to this Act. Such report shall consist of—

14 ‘‘(1) existing information concerning the nature

15 and types of contaminants present on such lands

16 prior to conveyance to Alaska Native corporations;

17 ‘‘(2) existing information identifying the exist18 ence and availability of potentially responsible par19 ties for the removal or amelioration of the effects of

20 such contaminants;

21 ‘‘(3) identification of existing remedies; and

22 ‘‘(4) recommendations for any additional legis23 lation that the Secretary concludes is necessary to

24 remedy the problem of contaminants on such

25 lands.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE

2 PURPOSES OF IMPLEMENTING REQUIRED

3 RECONVEYANCES.

4 Section 14(c) of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

5 (43 U.S.C. 1613(c)) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

8 be necessary for the purpose of providing technical assist9 ance to Village Corporations established pursuant to this

10 Act in order that they may fulfill the reconveyance require11 ments of section 14(c) of this Act. The Secretary may

12 make funds available as grants to ANCSA or nonprofit

13 corporations that maintain in-house land planning and

14 management capabilities.’’.

15 SEC. 5. NATIVE ALLOTMENTS.

16 Section 1431(o) of the Alaska National Interest

17 Lands Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2542) is amended by

18 adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(5) Following the exercise by Arctic Slope Regional

20 Corporation of its option under paragraph (1) to acquire

21 the subsurface estate beneath lands within the National

22 Petroleum Reserve—Alaska selected by Kuukpik Corpora23 tion, where such subsurface estate entirely surrounds

24 lands subject to a Native allotment application approved

25 under section 905 of this Act, and the oil and gas in such

26 lands have been reserved to the United States, Arctic
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1 Slope Regional Corporation, at its further option, shall be

2 entitled to receive a conveyance of the reserved oil and

3 gas, including all rights and privileges therein reserved to

4 the United States, in such lands. Upon the receipt of a

5 conveyance of such oil and gas interests, the entitlement

6 of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to in-lieu subsurface

7 lands under section 12(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims

8 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(a)(1)) shall be reduced

9 by the amount of acreage determined by the Secretary to

10 be conveyed to Arctic Slope Regional Corporation pursu11 ant to this paragraph.’’.

12 SEC. 6. REPORT CONCERNING OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN

13 NATIVE ALASKAN VETERANS FOR ALLOT14 MENTS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—No later than six months after the

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte17 rior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the

18 State of Alaska and appropriate Native corporations and

19 organizations, shall submit to the Committee on Natural

20 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate,

22 a report which shall include, but not be limited to, the

23 following:

24 (1) The number of Vietnam era veterans, as de25 fined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code,
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1 who were eligible for but did not apply for an allot2 ment of not to exceed 160 acres under the Act of

3 May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat. 197), as

4 such Act was in effect before December 18, 1971;

5 (2) an assessment of the potential impacts of

6 additional allotments on conservation system units

7 as such term is defined in section 102(4) of the

8 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

9 (94 Stat. 2375); and

10 (3) recommendations for any additional legisla11 tion that the Secretary concludes is necessary.

12 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af13 fairs shall release to the Secretary of the Interior informa14 tion relevant to the report required under subsection (a).

15 SEC. 7. TRANSFER OF WRANGELL INSTITUTE.

16 (a) PROPERTY TRANSFER.—Cook Inlet Region, In17 corporated, is authorized to transfer to the United States

18 and the General Services Administration shall accept an

19 approximately 10-acre site of the Wrangell Institute in

20 Wrangell, Alaska, and the structures contained thereon.

21 (b) RESTORATION OF PROPERTY CREDITS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In exchange for the land

23 and structures transferred under subsection (a),

24 property bidding credits in the total amount of

25 $382,305, shall be restored to the Cook Inlet Re-
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1 gion, Incorporated, property account in the Treasury

2 established under section 12(b) of the Act of Janu3 ary 2, 1976 (Public Law 94–204; 43 U.S.C. 1611

4 note), referred to in such section as the ‘‘Cook Inlet

5 Region, Incorporated, property account’’. Such prop6 erty bidding credits shall be used in the same fiscal

7 year as received by Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated.

8 (2) HOLD HARMLESS.—The United States shall

9 defend and hold harmless Cook Inlet Region, Incor10 porated, and its subsidiaries in any and all claims

11 arising from Federal or Cook Inlet Region, Incor12 porated, ownership of the land and structures prior

13 to their return to the United States.

14 SEC. 8. SHISHMAREF AIRPORT AMENDMENT.

15 The Shishmaref Airport, conveyed to the State of

16 Alaska on January 5, 1967, in Patent No. 1240529, is

17 subject to reversion to the United States, pursuant to the

18 terms of that patent for nonuse as an airport. The Sec19 retary is authorized to reacquire the interests originally

20 conveyed pursuant to Patent No. 1240529, and, notwith21 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary shall

22 immediately thereafter transfer all right, title, and interest

23 of the United States in the subject lands to the Shismaref

24 Native Corporation. Nothing in this section shall relieve

25 the State, the United States, or any other potentially re-
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1 sponsible party of liability, if any, under existing law for

2 the clean up of hazardous or solid wastes on the property,

3 nor shall the United States or Shismaref Native Corpora4 tion become liable for the cleanup of the property solely

5 by virtue of acquiring title from the State or from the

6 United States.

7 SEC. 9. PURCHASE OF SETTLEMENT COMMON STOCK OF

8 COOK INLET REGION.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(h) of the Alaska Native

10 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(h)) is amended

11 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(4)(A) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘Cook

13 Inlet Regional Corporation’ means Cook Inlet Region, In14 corporated.

15 ‘‘(B) The Cook Inlet Regional Corporation may, by

16 an amendment to its articles of incorporation made in ac17 cordance with the voting standards under section

18 36(d)(1), purchase Settlement Common Stock of the Cook

19 Inlet Regional Corporation and all rights associated with

20 the stock from the shareholders of Cook Inlet Regional

21 Corporation in accordance with any provisions included in

22 the amendment that relate to the terms, procedures, num23 ber of offers to purchase, and timing of offers to purchase.

24 ‘‘(C) Subject to subparagraph (D), and notwithstand25 ing paragraph (1)(B), the shareholders of Cook Inlet Re-
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1 gional Corporation may, in accordance with an amend2 ment made pursuant to subparagraph (B), sell the Settle3 ment Common Stock of the Cook Inlet Regional Corpora4 tion to itself.

5 ‘‘(D) No sale or purchase may be made pursuant to

6 this paragraph without the prior approval of the board of

7 directors of Cook Inlet Regional Corporation. Except as

8 provided in subparagraph (E), each sale and purchase

9 made under this paragraph shall be made pursuant to an

10 offer made on the same terms to all holders of Settlement

11 Common Stock of the Cook Inlet Regional Corporation.

12 ‘‘(E) To recognize the different rights that accrue to

13 any class or series of shares of Settlement Common Stock

14 owned by stockholders who are not residents of a Native

15 village (referred to in this paragraph as ‘non-village

16 shares’), an amendment made pursuant to subparagraph

17 (B) shall authorize the board of directors (at the option

18 of the board) to offer to purchase—

19 ‘‘(i) the non-village shares, including the right

20 to share in distributions made to shareholders pur21 suant to subsections (j) and (m) (referred to in this

22 paragraph as ‘nonresident distribution rights’), at a

23 price that includes a premium, in addition to the

24 amount that is offered for the purchase of other vil25 lage shares of Settlement Common Stock of the
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1 Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, that reflects the

2 value of the nonresident distribution rights; or

3 ‘‘(ii) non-village shares without the nonresident

4 distribution rights associated with the shares.

5 ‘‘(F) Any shareholder who accepts an offer made by

6 the board of directors pursuant to subparagraph (E)(ii)

7 shall receive, with respect to each non-village share sold

8 by the shareholder to the Cook Inlet Regional Corpora9 tion—

10 ‘‘(i) the consideration for a share of Settlement

11 Common Stock offered to shareholders of village

12 shares; and

13 ‘‘(ii) a security for only the nonresident rights

14 that attach to such share that does not have at15 tached voting rights (referred to in this paragraph

16 as a ‘non-voting security’).

17 ‘‘(G) An amendment made pursuant to subparagraph

18 (B) shall authorize the issuance of a non-voting security

19 that—

20 ‘‘(i) shall, for purposes of subsections (j) and

21 (m), be treated as a non-village share with respect

22 to—

23 ‘‘(I) computing distributions under such

24 subsections; and
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1 ‘‘(II) entitling the holder of the share to

2 the proportional share of the distributions made

3 under such subsections;

4 ‘‘(ii) may be sold to Cook Inlet Region, Inc.;

5 and

6 ‘‘(iii) shall otherwise be subject to the restric7 tions under paragraph (1)(B).

8 ‘‘(H) Any shares of Settlement Common Stock pur9 chased pursuant to this paragraph shall be canceled on

10 the conditions that—

11 ‘‘(i) non-village shares with the nonresident

12 rights that attach to such shares that are purchased

13 pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered to

14 be—

15 ‘‘(I) outstanding shares; and

16 ‘‘(II) for the purposes of subsection (m),

17 shares of stock registered on the books of the

18 Cook Inlet Regional Corporation in the names

19 of nonresidents of villages; and

20 ‘‘(ii) any amount of funds that would be distrib21 utable with respect to non-village shares or non-vot22 ing securities pursuant to subsection (j) or (m) shall

23 be distributed by Cook Inlet Regional Corporation to

24 itself; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) village shares that are purchased pursu2 ant to this paragraph shall be considered to be—

3 ‘‘(I) outstanding shares, and

4 ‘‘(II) for the purposes of subsection (k)

5 shares of stock registered on the books of the

6 Cook Inlet Regional Corporation in the names

7 of the residents of villages.

8 ‘‘(I) Any offer to purchase Settlement Common Stock

9 made pursuant to this paragraph shall exclude from the

10 offer—

11 ‘‘(i) any share of Settlement Common Stock

12 held, at the time the offer is made, by an officer (in13 cluding a member of the board of directors) of Cook

14 Inlet Regional Corporation or a member of the im15 mediate family of the officer; and

16 ‘‘(ii) any share of Settlement Common Stock

17 held by any custodian, guardian, trustee, or attorney

18 representing a shareholder of Cook Inlet Regional

19 Corporation in fact or law, or any other similar per20 son, entity, or representative.

21 ‘‘(J)(i) The board of directors of Cook Inlet Regional

22 Corporation, in determining the terms of an offer to pur23 chase made under this paragraph, including the amount

24 of any premium paid with respect to a non-village share,
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1 may rely upon the good faith opinion of a recognized firm

2 of investment bankers or valuation experts.

3 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

4 Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, a member of the board

5 of directors of Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, and any

6 firm or member of a firm of investment bankers or valu7 ation experts who assists in a determination made under

8 this subparagraph shall not be liable for damages resulting

9 from terms made in an offer made in connection with any

10 purchase of Settlement Common Stock if the offer was

11 made—

12 ‘‘(I) in good faith;

13 ‘‘(II) in reliance on a determination made pur14 suant to clause (i); and

15 ‘‘(III) otherwise in accordance with this para16 graph.

17 ‘‘(K) The consideration given for the purchase of Set18 tlement Common Stock made pursuant to an offer to pur19 chase that provides for such consideration may be in the

20 form of cash, securities, or a combination of cash and se21 curities, as determined by the board of directors of Cook

22 Inlet Regional Corporation, in a manner consistent with

23 an amendment made pursuant to subparagraph (B).

24 ‘‘(L) Sale of Settlement Common Stock in accordance

25 with this paragraph shall not diminish a shareholder’s sta-
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1 tus as an Alaska Native or descendant of a Native for

2 the purpose of qualifying for those programs, benefits and

3 services or other rights or privileges set out for the benefit

4 of Alaska Natives and Native Americans. Proceeds from

5 the sale of Settlement Common Stock shall not be ex6 cluded in determining eligibility for any needs-based pro7 grams that may be provided by Federal, State or local

8 agencies.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8(c) of

10 such Act (43 U.S.C. 1607(c)) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘(h) (other than paragraph (4))’’.

Passed the House of Representatives October 3,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3612

AN ACT

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

Act, and for other purposes.