II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1686

To provide for the conveyances of land interests to Chugach Alaska Corporation to fulfill the intent, purpose, and promise of the Alaska Native

Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 5, 1999

Mr. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for the conveyances of land interests to Chugach

Alaska Corporation to fulfill the intent, purpose, and

promise of 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chugach Alaska Na5 tives Settlement Implementation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions

8 apply:
2

S 1686 IS

1 (1) The term ‘‘ANCSA’’ means the Alaska Na2 tive Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 U.S.C.

3 1601 et seq.).

4 (2) The term ‘‘ANILCA’’ means the Alaska

5 National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980,

6 as amended (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.).

7 TITLE I—EASEMENT FOR

8 ACCESS

9 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

10 The Congress finds that—

11 (1) Chugach Alaska Corporation, formerly

12 known as Chugach Natives, Inc., is the Alaska Na13 tive Regional Corporation organized under the au14 thority of ANCSA for the Chugach people in the

15 Chugach region;

16 (2) ANCSA promised the Chugach people a fair

17 and just settlement of their aboriginal claims to

18 lands and waters in Alaska;

19 (3) pursuant to section 1430 of ANILCA, the

20 Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agri21 culture, the State of Alaska, and Chugach Alaska

22 Corporation were directed to study land ownership

23 in and around the Chugach region for the purposes

24 of—
3

S 1686 IS

1 (A) providing a fair and just land settle2 ment for the Chugach people and realizing the

3 intent, purpose, and promise of ANCSA by

4 Chugach Alaska Corporation; and

5 (B) identifying lands that, to the maximum

6 extent possible, are of the like, kind, and char7 acter of those traditionally used and occupied

8 by the Chugach people, and, to the maximum

9 extent possible, are coastal accessible and eco10 nomically viable;

11 (4) on September 17, 1982, the aforementioned

12 parties entered into the 1982 Chugach Natives, Inc.

13 Settlement Agreement in order to set forth a fair

14 and just land settlement for the Chugach people

15 pursuant to the study directed by Congress, which

16 among its many provisions—

17 (A) required the United States to convey

18 to Chugach Alaska Corporation not more than

19 73,308 acres of land in the vicinity of Carbon

20 Mountain, which tract of land contains signifi21 cant natural resources, but is inaccessible by

22 road;

23 (B) granted Chugach Alaska Corporation

24 rights-of-way across Chugach National Forest

25 to such tract of land, and required the United
4

S 1686 IS

1 States to grant to Chugach Alaska Corporation

2 an easement for the purpose of constructing,

3 using, and maintaining roads and other facili4 ties necessary for the use and development of

5 that tract of land;

6 (C) required Chugach Alaska Corporation

7 to apply to the Forest Supervisor for Chugach

8 National Forest for conveyance of the ease9 ment, and to provide such information as may

10 be prescribed by the Forest Supervisor; and

11 (D) reserved in the United States the right

12 to prepare environmental documents in connec13 tion with the easement grant, consistent with

14 the provisions of section 910 of ANILCA, if

15 deemed desirable by the responsible Federal

16 agency;

17 (5) on September 11, 1996, the Forest Super18 visor deemed preparation of environmental docu19 ments for the easement desirable;

20 (6) on August 8, 1997, and January 21, 1998,

21 Chugach Alaska Corporation and the United States

22 Forest Service entered into collection agreements,

23 pursuant to which Chugach Alaska Corporation was

24 required to pay to the United States Forest Service

25 the costs of United States Forest Service personnel
5

S 1686 IS

1 involvement in the preparation and review of envi2 ronmental documents and processing of the ease3 ment application;

4 (7) on March 13, 1998, Chugach Alaska Cor5 poration and the United States Forest Service en6 tered into a Memorandum of Understanding, pursu7 ant to which the parties reached agreement on—

8 (A) the information prescribed by the For9 est Supervisor, in a detailed work plan prepared

10 jointly by United States Forest Service and

11 Chugach Alaska Corporation representatives;

12 (B) the process for the preparation and

13 approval of environmental documentation in

14 support of the easement; and

15 (C) the requirement that the United States

16 Forest Service grant an easement to Chugach

17 Alaska Corporation within 45 days after receiv18 ing a complete easement application from Chu19 gach Alaska Corporation;

20 (8) in furtherance of providing the environ21 mental documentation prescribed by the Forest Su22 pervisor, Chugach Alaska Corporation, at its sole

23 expense—

24 (A) contracted for the performance of field

25 surveys and the preparation of resource reports
6

S 1686 IS

1 on the cultural resources, wetlands, threatened,

2 endangered, and sensitive plant and animal spe3 cies, vegetation, and fish and wildlife in the

4 easement project area, as depicted on the map

5 entitled ‘‘Project Area and Corridor Carbon

6 Mountain Access project 1–14–98’’;

7 (B) submitted the resource reports to the

8 United States Forest Service for review and

9 comment, and contracted for further field sur10 veys and reports as and when requested by the

11 United States Forest Service;

12 (C) in conjunction with United States For13 est Service biologists, contracted for the per14 formance of field surveys and the preparation of

15 reports for waterfowl, goshawk, and goat kid16 ding areas in the easement project area;

17 (D) contracted for the preparation of

18 bridge designs and hydrological analyses for

19 major crossings within the easement project

20 area, submitted such designs and analyses to

21 the United States Forest Service for review and

22 comment, and modified such designs pursuant

23 to comments received from United States For24 est Service specialists;
7

S 1686 IS

1 (E) prepared a transportation plan for the

2 easement and road, including maintenance and

3 design standards and an erosion control plan,

4 for review by United States Forest Service engi5 neers and specialists; and

6 (F) contracted for the preparation of a

7 draft road design for field and office review by

8 United States Forest Service engineers and spe9 cialists, and for the modification of such design

10 pursuant to comments received by the United

11 States Forest Service;

12 (9) in June 1998, an interdisciplinary team of

13 specialists in the fields of fisheries, hydrology, engi14 neering, soils, wildlife, recreation, and visual quality

15 from the United States Forest Service and Chugach

16 Alaska Corporation and its contractors conducted an

17 extensive field review of the easement corridor and

18 road location, the costs of which were borne by Chu19 gach Alaska Corporation, and United States Forest

20 Service specialists concurred with Chugach Alaska

21 Corporation on the location of the easement cor22 ridor;

23 (10) following the interdisciplinary team review

24 and concurrence, United States Forest Service staff

25 officers, including the Forest Supervisor for the
8

S 1686 IS

1 Chugach National Forest, conducted a field review

2 of the road location and affirmed such concurrence;

3 (11) on January 12, 1999, the Forest Super4 visor determined that Chugach Alaska Corporation

5 had completed all studies and provided adequate

6 documentation to support its easement application;

7 (12) on January 19, 1999, Chugach Alaska

8 Corporation submitted the complete easement appli9 cation, containing all information prescribed by the

10 Forest Supervisor, in a multivolume collection of the

11 extensive field work, reviews, reports, analyses, and

12 modifications performed and relied upon in support

13 of the easement, and entitled ‘‘Documentation in

14 Support of an Easement Application for Road Ac15 cess Via the Martin River Valley to the Bering River

16 Coal Fields as Granted by the 1982 CNI Settlement

17 Agreement’’;

18 (13) to date, the United States Forest Service

19 has failed to grant Chugach Alaska Corporation an

20 easement for access to its lands in the vicinity of

21 Carbon Mountain;

22 (14) without such easement, the lands conveyed

23 to Chugach Alaska Corporation in the vicinity of

24 Carbon Mountain cannot be utilized or developed in
9

S 1686 IS

1 a manner consistent with the intent of Congress as

2 expressed in the ANILCA and ANCSA;

3 (15) Chugach Alaska Corporation has incurred

4 considerable expense and delay in its efforts to

5 achieve the fair and just settlement Congress in6 tended and promised to the Chugach people more

7 than 2 decades ago pursuant to ANCSA; and

8 (16) the easement requirement under the 1982

9 Chugach Natives, Inc. Settlement Agreement should

10 be granted without further delay.

11 SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

12 The purpose of this title is to provide Chugach Alaska

13 Corporation with access to and for the utilization and de14 velopment of land interests in the vicinity of Carbon

15 Mountain that were conveyed to Chugach Alaska Corpora16 tion pursuant to ANCSA.

17 SEC. 103. CONVEYANCE.

18 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, as soon

19 as practicable but not later than 90 days after the date

20 of the enactment of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture

21 shall grant Chugach Alaska Corporation a perpetual ease22 ment located and having the specifications as set forth in

23 the ‘‘Documentation in Support of an Easement Applica24 tion for Road Access Via the Martin River Valley to the

25 Bering River Coal Fields as Granted by the 1982 CNI
10

S 1686 IS

1 Settlement Agreement’’, for the purposes of facilities de2 scribed therein.

3 SEC. 104. EASEMENT.

4 Unless otherwise agreed to by the Secretary of Agri5 culture and Chugach Alaska Corporation, the easement

6 granted under section 103 of this title shall—

7 (1) include sufficient lands for logistical staging

8 areas and construction material sites used for the

9 construction and maintenance of a single-lane forest

10 road; and

11 (2) include the right for Chugach Alaska Cor12 poration, or its assignees to construct, operate, and

13 maintain related facilities and structures within the

14 right-of-way.

15 SEC. 105. TRANSFER.

16 If within 6 months from the date of the enactment

17 of this title the Secretary of Agriculture and Chugach

18 Alaska Corporation fail mutually to agree on the terms

19 and conditions of the use of the easement, then the ease20 ment is hereby granted to Chugach Alaska Corporation,

21 and such grant shall be deemed as a conveyance pursuant

22 to ANCSA.
11

S 1686 IS

1 TITLE II—CEMETERY SITES AND

2 HISTORIC PLACES

3 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

4 For the purposes of this title, the following defini5 tions apply:

6 (1) The term ‘‘Federal Government’’ means any

7 Federal agency of the United States .

8 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

9 of the Interior.

10 SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

11 The Congress finds the following:

12 (1) Pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA,

13 the Secretary has the authority to withdraw and

14 convey to the appropriate regional corporation fee

15 title to existing cemetery sites and historical places.

16 (2) Pursuant to section 14(h)(7) of ANCSA,

17 lands located within a National Forest may be con18 veyed for the purposes set forth in section 14(h)(1)

19 of ANCSA.

20 (3) Chugach Alaska Corporation, the Alaska

21 Native Regional Corporation for the Chugach Re22 gion, applied to the Secretary for the conveyance of

23 cemetery sites and historical places pursuant to sec24 tion 14(h)(1) of ANCSA in accordance with the reg25 ulations promulgated by the Secretary.
12

S 1686 IS

1 (4) Pursuant to such regulations, Village Cor2 poration selections were given priority over Regional

3 Corporation selections for the same lands.

4 (5) Chugach Alaska Corporation’s section

5 14(h)(1) applications for lands that were selected by

6 and conveyed to Village Corporations in the Chugach

7 Region were either withdrawn by Chugach Alaska

8 Corporation or denied by the Secretary.

9 (6) As part of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Res10 toration Program, the Federal Government has ac11 quired and is in the process of acquiring lands from

12 Village Corporations in the Chugach Region that

13 Chugach Alaska Corporation applied for pursuant to

14 section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA and lands from other

15 private parties in the Chugach Region that contain

16 cemetery sites and historical places.

17 (7) The fulfillment of the intent, purpose, and

18 promise of ANCSA requires that lands Chugach

19 Alaska Corporation selected or would have selected

20 under section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA and that were

21 subsequently acquired by the Federal Government

22 should be made available for conveyance to Chugach

23 Alaska Corporation as cemetery sites and historical

24 places pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA, sub25 ject only to a determination that such lands meet
13

S 1686 IS

1 the eligibility criteria for historical places or ceme2 tery sites, as appropriate, set forth in the Sec3 retary’s regulations.

4 SEC. 203. WITHDRAWAL OF LANDS.

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec6 retary shall withdraw from all forms of appropriation—

7 (1) all public lands for which Chugach Alaska

8 Corporation filed an application for conveyance pur9 suant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA as a cemetery

10 site or an historical place, and such application was

11 denied because the land was selected by and con12 veyed to a Village Corporation; and

13 (2) all lands that the Federal Government ac14 quired or hereafter acquires from Village Corpora15 tions or other private parties in the Chugach Region

16 in connection with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Res17 toration Program.

18 SEC. 204. APPLICATION FOR CONVEYANCE OF WITHDRAWN

19 LANDS.

20 Chugach Alaska Corporation shall apply to the Sec21 retary for the conveyance of lands as cemetery sites or

22 historical places under section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA as fol23 lows:

24 (1) With respect to lands withdrawn pursuant

25 to subsection 203(1) of this title, by filing with the
14

S 1686 IS

1 Secretary a request for reinstatement of its original

2 application, together with any amendments author3 ized under section 205 of this title.

4 (2) With respect to lands withdrawn pursuant

5 to subsection 203(2) of this title, for which Chugach

6 Alaska Corporation has not filed an application

7 under section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA with the Sec8 retary, by filing with the Secretary an application in

9 accordance with the regulations promulgated by the

10 Secretary as of the date of enactment of this title.

11 The Secretary shall accept all such requests filed within

12 the periods set forth in section 207 of this title.

13 SEC. 205. AMENDMENTS.

14 Chugach Alaska Corporation may amend original ap15 plications filed with the Secretary for the conveyance of

16 lands pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA—

17 (1) to include lands withdrawn pursuant to sec18 tion 203 of this title which are adjacent to lands

19 Chugach Alaska Corporation selected in its original

20 application and that Chugach Alaska Corporation

21 deems culturally important and potentially eligible as

22 a cemetery site or historical place; and

23 (2) to cure technical defects.
15

S 1686 IS

1 SEC. 206. PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING AND CONVEYING

2 SELECTED LANDS.

3 The lands selected by Chugach Alaska Corporation

4 pursuant to sections 204 and 205 of this title shall be

5 evaluated for their eligibility as cemetery sites and histor6 ical places, as appropriate, and conveyed to Chugach Alas7 ka Corporation, in accordance with the criteria and proce8 dures set forth in the regulations promulgated by the Sec9 retary as of the date of the enactment of this title. To

10 the extent that such criteria and procedures conflict with

11 any provision of this title, the provisions of this title shall

12 control.

13 SEC. 207. REINSTATEMENT PERIOD.

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Chugach

15 Alaska Corporation shall have—

16 (1) 1 year from the date of enactment of this

17 title to file a request for reinstement under sub18 section 204(1) of this title, together with any

19 amendments authorized under section 205 of this

20 title; and

21 (2) 4 years from the date of recording the con22 veyance document for any Federal acquisition of

23 lands to file an application under subsection 204(2)

24 of this title.
16

S 1686 IS

1 SEC. 208. APPLICABILITY.

2 This title shall apply to all Federal acquisitions of

3 the lands described in section 203 of this title, whether

4 occurring prior to or after the date of enactment of this

5 title.

6 TITLE III—FOREST SYSTEM

7 LAND MANAGEMENT

8 SEC. 301. DEFINITION.

9 For the purposes of this title, the term ‘‘Alaska Na10 tive Corporation’’ means a ‘‘Native Corporation’’ as that

11 term is defined in section 3(m) of ANCSA, as amended

12 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

13 SEC. 302. FINDINGS.

14 The Congress finds that—

15 (1) pursuant to ANCSA and ANILCA, Alaska Native

16 Corporations own hundreds of thousands of acres of land

17 intermingled with, adjacent to, or dependent for access

18 upon National Forest System lands in Alaska;

19 (2) the United States Forest Service, in a letter

20 dated June 30, 1998, to Chugach Alaska Corpora21 tion, the Alaska Native Regional Corporation for the

22 Chugach Region established under ANCSA, dis23 claimed any legal obligation to coordinate the revi24 sion of the Chugach National Forest land and re25 source management plan with the plans of Alaska
17

S 1686 IS

1 Native Corporations for the utilization of their lands

2 and resources;

3 (3) the uncoordinated development, mainte4 nance, or revision of land and resource management

5 plans for units of the National Forest System and

6 Alaska adversely affects the use, development, and

7 value of the lands and resources conveyed to Alaska

8 Native Corporations under ANCSA and ANILCA;

9 and

10 (4) the proper management of National Forest

11 System lands in Alaska and the fulfillment of the in12 tent, purpose, and promise of ANCSA require co13 ordination in the development, maintenance, and re14 vision of land and resource management plans for

15 units of the National Forest System in Alaska with

16 the plans of Alaska Native Corporations for the uti17 lization of their lands which are intermingled with,

18 adjacent to, or dependent upon for access National

19 Forest System lands.

20 SEC. 303. COORDINATION REQUIRED.

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec22 retary of Agriculture shall coordinate the development,

23 maintenance, and revision of land and resource manage24 ment plans for units of the National Forest System in

25 Alaska with the plans of Alaska Native Corporations for
18

S 1686 IS

1 the utilization of their lands which are intermingled with,

2 adjacent to, or dependent for access upon National Forest

3 System lands. At a minimum, such coordination shall

4 involve—

5 (1) notifying Alaska Native Corporations in ad6 vance of the development, maintenance, or revision

7 of a land and resource management plan for a unit

8 of the National Forest System in Alaska;

9 (2) meeting with Alaska Native Corporations at

10 the beginning of the plan preparation, maintenance,

11 or revision process to develop procedures for coordi12 nation;

13 (3) reviewing the plans of Alaska Native Cor14 porations for the utilization of their lands and re15 sources;

16 (4) assessing the impacts of Alaska Native Cor17 poration land use plans on National Forest land and

18 resource management planning, and determining

19 how to address those impacts; and

20 (5) identifying conflicts between National For21 est land and resource management plans and the

22 land use plans of Alaska Native Corporations, and

23 considering alternatives for resolving those conflicts.
19

S 1686 IS

1 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY.

2 This title shall apply to all land and resource manage3 ment plans for units of the National Forest System in

4 Alaska—

5 (1) in the process of being developed or revised

6 on the date of enactment of this title; and

7 (2) developed, maintained, or revised after the

8 date of enactment of this title.

Æ