Union Calendar No. 402

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 401

[Report No. 104–756]

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Kenai Natives Association Equity

Act’’.

SEPTEMBER 4, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 402

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 401

[Report No. 104–756]

Entitled the ‘‘Kenai Natives Association Equity Act’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

SEPTEMBER 4, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 1995]

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Kenai Natives Association Equity Act’’.

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 ‘‘Kenai Natives Associa5 tion Equity Act Amendments of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service

4 and Kenai Natives Association, Inc., have agreed to

5 transfers of certain land rights, in and near the

6 Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, negotiated as di7 rected by Public Law 102–458.

8 (2) The lands to be acquired by the Service are

9 within the area impacted by the Exxon Valdez oil

10 spill of 1989, and these lands included important

11 habitat for various species of fish and wildlife for

12 which significant injury resulting from the spill has

13 been documented through the EVOS Trustee Council

14 restoration process. This analysis has indicated that

15 these lands generally have value for the restoration of

16 such injured natural resources as pink salmon, dolly

17 varden, bald eagles, river otters, and cultural and ar18 chaeological resources. This analysis has also indi19 cated that these lands generally have high value for

20 the restoration of injured species that rely on these

21 natural resources, including wilderness quality, recre22 ation, tourism, and subsistence.

23 (3) Restoration of the injured species will benefit

24 from acquisition and the prevention of disturbances

25 which may adversely affect their recovery.
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1 (4) It is in the public interest to complete the

2 conveyances provided for in this Act.

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to authorize

4 and direct the Secretary, at the election of KNA, to complete

5 the conveyances provided for in this Act.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act, the term—

8 (1) ‘‘ANCSA’’ means the Alaska Native Claims

9 Settlement Act of 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

10 (2) ‘‘ANILCA’’ means the Alaska National Inter11 est Lands Conservation Act (Public Law 96–487; 94

12 Stat. 2371 et seq.);

13 (3) ‘‘conservation system unit’’ has the same

14 meaning as in section 102(4) of ANILCA (16 U.S.C.

15 3102(4));

16 (4) ‘‘CIRI’’ means the Cook Inlet Region, Inc., a

17 Native Regional Corporation incorporated in the

18 State of Alaska pursuant to the terms of ANCSA;

19 (5) ‘‘EVOS’’ means the Exxon Valdez oil spill;

20 (6) ‘‘KNA’’ means the Kenai Natives Association,

21 Inc., an urban corporation incorporated in the State

22 of Alaska pursuant to the terms of ANCSA;

23 (7) ‘‘lands’’ means any lands, waters, or inter24 ests therein;
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1 (8) ‘‘Refuge’’ means the Kenai National Wildlife

2 Refuge;

3 (9) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Inte4 rior;

5 (10) ‘‘Service’’ means the United States Fish and

6 Wildlife Service; and

7 (11) ‘‘Terms and Conditions’’ means the Terms

8 and Conditions for Land Consolidation and Manage9 ment in the Cook Inlet Area, as clarified on August

10 31, 1976, ratified by section 12 of Public Law 94–204

11 (43 U.S.C. 1611 note).

12 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

13 (a) OFFER TO KNA.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of

15 the funds identified in subsection (b)(3), no later than

16 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the

17 Secretary shall offer to convey to KNA the interests

18 in land and rights set forth in subsection (b)(2), sub19 ject to valid existing rights, in return for the convey20 ance by KNA to the United States of the interests in

21 land or relinquishment of ANCSA selections set forth

22 in subsection (b)(1). Payment for the lands conveyed

23 to the United States by KNA is contingent upon

24 KNA’s acceptance of the entire conveyance outlined

25 herein.
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1 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not convey

2 any lands or make payment to KNA under this sec3 tion unless title to the lands to be conveyed by KNA

4 under this Act has been found by the United States

5 to be sufficient in accordance with the provisions of

6 section 355 of the Revised Statutes (40 U.S.C. 255).

7 (b) ACQUISITION LANDS.—

8 (1) LANDS TO BE CONVEYED TO THE UNITED

9 STATES.—The lands to be conveyed by KNA to the

10 United States, or the valid selection rights under

11 ANCSA to be relinquished, all situated within the

12 boundary of the Refuge, are the following:

13 (A) The conveyance of approximately 803

14 acres located along and on islands within the

15 Kenai River, known as the Stephanka Tract.

16 (B) The conveyance of approximately 1,243

17 acres located along the Moose River, known as

18 the Moose River Patented Lands Tract.

19 (C) The relinquishment of KNA’s selection

20 known as the Moose River Selected Tract, con21 taining approximately 753 acres located along

22 the Moose River.

23 (D) The relinquishment of KNA’s remain24 ing ANCSA entitlement of approximately 454

25 acres.
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1 (E) The relinquishment of all KNA’s re2 maining overselections. Upon completion of all

3 relinquishments outlined above, all KNA’s enti4 tlement shall be deemed to be extinguished and

5 the completion of this acquisition will satisfy all

6 of KNA’s ANCSA entitlement.

7 (F) The conveyance of an access easement

8 providing the United States and its assigns access across KNA’s surface estate in the SW1 9 ⁄4 of

10 section 21, T. 6 N., R. 9 W., Seward Meridian,

11 Alaska.

12 (G) The conveyance of approximately 100

13 acres within the Beaver Creek Patented Tract,

14 which is contiguous to lands being retained by

15 the United States contiguous to the Beaver Creek

16 Patented Tract, in exchange for 280 acres of

17 Service lands currently situated within the Bea18 ver Creek Selected Tract.

19 (2) LANDS TO BE CONVEYED TO KNA.—The

20 rights provided or lands to be conveyed by the United

21 States to KNA, are the following:

22 (A) The surface and subsurface estate to ap23 proximately 5 acres, subject to reservations of

24 easements for existing roads and utilities, located

25 within the city of Kenai, Alaska, identified as
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1 United States Survey 1435, withdrawn by Exec2 utive Order 2934, and known as the old Fish

3 and Wildlife Service Headquarters site.

4 (B) The remaining subsurface estate held by

5 the United States to approximately 13,811 acres,

6 including portions of the Beaver Creek Patented

7 Tract, the Beaver Creek Selected Tract, and por8 tions of the Swanson River Road West Tract and

9 the Swanson River Road East Tract, where the

10 surface was previously or will be conveyed to

11 KNA pursuant to this Act. The conveyance of

12 these subsurface interests will be subject to the

13 rights of CIRI to the coal, oil, and gas, and to

14 all rights CIRI, its successors, and assigns would

15 have under paragraph 1(B) of the Terms and

16 Conditions, including the right to sand and

17 gravel, to construct facilities, to have rights-of18 way, and to otherwise develop its subsurface in19 terests.

20 (C)(i) The nonexclusive right to use sand

21 and gravel which is reasonably necessary for on22 site development without compensation or permit

23 on those portions of the Swanson River Road

24 East Tract, comprising approximately 1,738.04

25 acres; where the entire subsurface of the land is
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1 presently owned by the United States. The Unit2 ed States shall retain the ownership of all other

3 sand and gravel located within the subsurface

4 and KNA shall not sell or dispose of such sand

5 and gravel.

6 (ii) The right to excavate within the sub7 surface estate as reasonably necessary for struc8 tures, utilities, transportation systems, and other

9 development of the surface estate.

10 (D) The nonexclusive right to excavate with11 in the subsurface estate as reasonably necessary

12 for structures, utilities, transportation systems,

13 and other development of the surface estate on

the SW1 14 ⁄4, section 21, T. 6 N., R. 9 W., Seward

15 Meridian, Alaska, where the entire subsurface of

16 the land is owned by the United States and

17 which public lands shall continue to be with18 drawn from mining following their removal from

19 the Refuge boundary under subsection (c)(1)(B).

20 The United States shall retain the ownership of

21 all other sand and gravel located within the sub22 surface of this parcel.

23 (E) The surface estate of approximately 280

24 acres known as the Beaver Creek Selected Tract.

25 This tract shall be conveyed to KNA in exchange
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1 for lands conveyed to the United States as de2 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(B).

3 (3) PAYMENT.—The United States shall make a

4 total cash payment to KNA for the above-described

5 lands of $4,443,000, contingent upon the appropriate

6 approvals of the Federal or State of Alaska EVOS

7 Trustees (or both) necessary for any expenditure of

8 the EVOS settlement funds.

9 (4) NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.—

10 Upon completion of the acquisition authorized in sub11 section (a), the Secretary shall, at no cost to KNA, in

12 coordination with KNA, promptly undertake to nomi13 nate the Stephanka Tract to the National Register of

14 Historic Places, in recognition of the archaeological

15 artifacts from the original Dena’ina Settlement. If the

16 Department of the Interior establishes a historical,

17 cultural, or archaeological interpretive site, KNA

18 shall have the exclusive right to operate a Dena’ina

19 interpretive site on the Stephanka Tract under the

20 regulations and policies of the department. If KNA

21 declines to operate such a site, the department may

22 do so under its existing authorities. Prior to the de23 partment undertaking any archaeological activities

24 whatsoever on the Stephanka Tract, KNA shall be

25 consulted.
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1 (c) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—

2 (1) REMOVAL OF KNA LANDS FROM THE NA3 TIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.—

4 (A) Effective on the date of closing for the

5 Acquisition Lands identified in subsection (b)(2),

6 all lands retained by or conveyed to KNA pursu7 ant to this Act, and the subsurface interests of

8 CIRI underlying such lands shall be automati9 cally removed from the National Wildlife Refuge

10 System and shall neither be considered as part

11 of the Refuge nor subject to any laws pertaining

12 solely to lands within the boundaries of the Ref13 uge. The conveyance restrictions imposed by sec14 tion 22(g) of ANCSA (i) shall then be ineffective

15 and cease to apply to such interests of KNA and

16 CIRI, and (ii) shall not be applicable to the in17 terests received by KNA in accordance with sub18 section (b)(2) or to the CIRI interests underlying

19 them. The Secretary shall adjust the boundaries

20 of the Refuge so as to exclude all interests in

21 lands retained or received in exchange by KNA

22 in accordance with this Act, including both sur23 face and subsurface, and shall also exclude all

24 interests currently held by CIRI. On lands with25 in the Swanson River Road East Tract, the
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1 boundary adjustment shall only include the sur2 face estate where the subsurface estate is retained

3 by the United States.

4 (B)(i) The Secretary, KNA, and CIRI shall

5 execute an agreement within 45 days of the date

6 of enactment of this Act which preserves CIRI’s

7 rights under paragraph 1(B)(1) of the Terms

8 and Conditions, addresses CIRI’s obligations

9 under such paragraph, and adequately addresses

10 management issues associated with the boundary

11 adjustment set forth in this Act and with the dif12 fering interests in land resulting from enactment

13 of this Act.

14 (ii) In the event that no agreement is exe15 cuted as provided for in clause (i), solely for the

16 purposes of administering CIRI’s rights under

17 paragraph 1(B)(1) of the Terms and Conditions,

18 the Secretary and CIRI shall be deemed to have

19 retained their respective rights and obligations

20 with respect to CIRI’s subsurface interests under

21 the requirements of the Terms and Conditions in

22 effect on June 18, 1996. Notwithstanding the

23 boundary adjustments made pursuant to this

24 Act, conveyances to KNA shall be deemed to re25 main subject to the Secretary’s and CIRI’s rights
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1 and obligations under paragraph 1(B)(1) of the

2 Terms and Conditions.

3 (C) The Secretary is authorized to acquire

4 by purchase or exchange, on a willing seller basis

5 only, any lands retained by or conveyed to KNA.

6 In the event that any lands owned by KNA are

7 subsequently acquired by the United States, they

8 shall be automatically included in the Refuge

9 System. The laws and regulations applicable to

10 Refuge lands shall then apply to these lands and

11 the Secretary shall then adjust the boundaries

12 accordingly.

13 (D) Nothing in this Act is intended to en14 large or diminish the authorities, rights, duties,

15 obligations, or the property rights held by CIRI

16 under the Terms and Conditions, or otherwise

17 except as set forth in this Act. In the event of the

18 purchase by the United States of any lands from

19 KNA in accordance with paragraph (1)(B), the

20 United States shall reassume from KNA the

21 rights it previously held under the Terms and

22 Conditions and the provisions in any patent im23 plementing section 22(g) of ANCSA will again

24 apply.
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1 (E) By virtue of implementation of this

2 Act, CIRI is deemed entitled to 1,207 acres of in3 lieu subsurface entitlement under section

4 12(a)(1) of ANCSA. Such entitlement shall be

5 fulfilled in accordance with paragraph

6 1(B)(2)(A) of the Terms and Conditions.

7 (2) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—Maps and

8 a legal description of the lands described above shall

9 be on file and available for public inspection in the

10 appropriate offices of the United States Department

11 of the Interior, and the Secretary shall, no later than

12 90 days after enactment of this Act, prepare a legal

13 description of the lands described in subsection

14 (b)(1)(G). Such maps and legal description shall have

15 the same force and effect as if included in the Act, ex16 cept that the Secretary may correct clerical and typo17 graphical errors.

18 (3) ACCEPTANCE.—KNA may accept the offer

19 made in this Act by notifying the Secretary in writ20 ing of its decision within 180 days of receipt of the

21 offer. In the event the offer is rejected, the Secretary

22 shall notify the Committee on Resources of the House

23 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and

24 Natural Resources and the Committee on Environ25 ment and Public Works of the Senate.
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1 (4) FINAL MAPS.—Not later than 120 days after

2 the conclusion of the acquisition authorized by sub3 section (a), the Secretary shall transmit a final report

4 and maps accurately depicting the lands transferred

5 and conveyed pursuant to this Act and the acreage

6 and legal descriptions of such lands to the Committee

7 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the

8 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the

9 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the

10 Senate.

11 SEC. 5. ADJUSTMENTS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS SYSTEM.

12 Upon acquisition of lands by the United States pursu13 ant to section 4(b)(1), that portion of the Stephanka Tract

14 lying south and west of the Kenai River, consisting of ap15 proximately 592 acres, shall be included in and managed

16 as part of the Kenai Wilderness and such lands shall be

17 managed in accordance with the applicable provisions of

18 the Wilderness Act and ANILCA.

19 SEC. 6. DESIGNATION OF LAKE TODATONTEN SPECIAL

20 MANAGEMENT AREA.

21 (a) PURPOSE.—To balance the potential effects on fish,

22 wildlife, and habitat of the removal of KNA lands from the

23 Refuge System, the Secretary is hereby directed to with24 draw, subject to valid existing rights, from location, entry,

25 and patent under the mining laws and to create as a special
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1 management unit for the protection of fish, wildlife, and

2 habitat, certain unappropriated and unreserved public

3 lands, totaling approximately 37,000 acres adjacent to the

4 west boundary of the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge to

5 be known as the ‘‘Lake Todatonten Special Management

6 Area’’, as depicted on the map entitled Proposed: Lake

7 Todatonten Special Management Area, dated June 13,

8 1996, and to be managed by the Bureau of Land Manage9 ment.

10 (b) MANAGEMENT.—

11 (1) Such designation is subject to all valid exist12 ing rights as well as the subsistence preferences pro13 vided under title VIII of ANILCA. Any lands con14 veyed to the State of Alaska shall be removed from the

15 Lake Todatonten Special Management Area.

16 (2) The Secretary may permit any additional

17 uses of the area, or grant easements, only to the extent

18 that such use, including leasing under the mineral

19 leasing laws, is determined to not detract from nor

20 materially interfere with the purposes for which the

21 Special Management Area is established.

22 (3)(A) The BLM shall establish the Lake

23 Todatonten Special Management Area Committee.

24 The membership of the Committee shall consist of 11

25 members as follows:
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1 (i) Two residents each from the villages of

2 Alatna, Allakaket, Hughes, and Tanana.

3 (ii) One representative from each of Doyon

4 Corporation, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, and

5 the State of Alaska.

6 (B) Members of the Committee shall serve with7 out pay.

8 (C) The BLM shall hold meetings of the Lake

9 Todatonten Special Management Area Committee at

10 least once per year to discuss management issues

11 within Special Management Area. The BLM shall not

12 allow any new type of activity in the Special Man13 agement Area without first conferring with the Com14 mittee in a timely manner.

15 (c) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall allow the following:

16 (1) Private access for any purpose, including

17 economic development, to lands within the boundaries

18 of the Special Management Area which are owned by

19 third parties or are held in trust by the Secretary for

20 third parties pursuant to the Alaska Native Allotment

21 Act (25 U.S.C. 336). Such rights may be subject to

22 restrictions issued by the BLM to protect subsistence

23 uses of the Special Management Area.
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1 (2) Existing public access across the Special

2 Management Area. Section 1110(a) of ANILCA shall

3 apply to the Special Management Area.

4 (d) SECRETARIAL ORDER AND MAPS.—The Secretary

5 shall file with the Committee on Resources of the House of

6 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural

7 Resources and the Committee on Environment and Public

8 Works of the Senate, the Secretarial Order and maps setting

9 forth the boundaries of the Area within 90 days of the com10 pletion of the acquisition authorized by this Act. Once estab11 lished, this Order may only be amended or revoked by Act

12 of Congress.

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

14 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec15 essary to carry out the purposes of this Act.