104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 402
AN ACT
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. RATIFICATION OF CERTAIN CASWELL AND
MONTANA 
CREEK 
NATIVE 
ASSOCIATIONS
CONVEYANCES.
The conveyance of approximately 11,520 acres to
Montana Creek Native Association, Inc., and the convey-
ance of approximately 11,520 acres to Caswell Native As-
sociation, Inc., by Cook Inlet Region, Inc. in fulfillment
of the agreement of February 3, 1976, and subsequent
letter agreement of March 26, 1982, among the three par-
ties are hereby adopted and ratified as a matter of Federal
law. These conveyances shall be deemed to be conveyances
pursuant to section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(2)). The group cor-
porations for Montana Creek and Caswell are hereby de-
clared to have received their full entitlement and shall not
be entitled to the receipt of any additional lands under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The ratification
of these conveyances shall not have any other effect upon
section 14(h) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1613(h)) or upon the duties and obligations
of the United States to any Alaska Native Corporation.
This ratification shall not be the basis for any claim to
land or money by Caswell or Montana Creek group cor-
porations or any other Alaska Native Corporation against
the State of Alaska, the United States, or Cook Inlet Re-
gion, Incorporated.
SEC. 2. MINING CLAIMS AFTER LANDS CONVEYED TO ALAS-
KA REGIONAL CORPORATION.
Section 22(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(c)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(3) This section shall apply to lands conveyed by in-
terim conveyance or patent to a regional corporation pur-
suant to this Act which are made subject to a mining claim
or claims located under the general mining laws, including
lands conveyed prior to enactment of this paragraph. Ef-
fective upon the date of the enactment of this paragraph,
the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Land Man-
agement and in a manner consistent with section 14(g)
of this Act, shall transfer to the regional corporation ad-
ministration of all mining claims determined to be entirely
within lands conveyed to that corporation. Any person
holding such mining claim or claims shall meet such re-
quirements of the general mining laws and section 314
of the Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976
(43 U.S.C. 1744), except that any filings which would
have been made with the Bureau of Land Management
if the lands were within Federal ownership shall be timely
made to the appropriate regional corporation. The validity
of any such mining claim or claims may be contested by
the regional corporation, in the place of the United States.
All contest proceedings and appeals by the mining claim-
ants of adverse decisions made by the regional corporation
shall be brought in Federal District Court for the District
of Alaska. Neither the United States nor any Federal
agency or official shall be named or joined as a party in
such proceedings or appeals. All revenues from such min-
ing claims received after passage of this paragraph shall
be remitted to the regional corporation subject to distribu-
tion pursuant to section 7(i) of this Act, except that in
the event that the mining claim or claims are not totally
within the lands conveyed to the regional corporation, the
regional corporation shall be entitled only to that propor-
tion of revenues, other than administrative fees, reason-
ably allocated to the portion of the mining claim or claims
so conveyed.’’.
SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM HAZARD-
OUS SUBSTANCE CONTAMINATION OF TRANS-
FERRED LANDS.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘CLAIMS ARISING FROM CONTAMINATION OF
TRANSFERRED LANDS
‘‘SEC. 40. (a) As used in this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘contaminant’ means hazardous
substances harmful to public health or the environ-
ment, including asbestos.
‘‘(2) The term ‘lands’ means real property
transferred to an Alaska Native Corporation pursu-
ant to this Act.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE
PURPOSES OF IMPLEMENTING REQUIRED
RECONVEYANCES.
Section 14(c) of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1613(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary for the purpose of providing
technical assistance to Village Corporations established
pursuant to this Act in order that they may fulfill the
reconveyance requirements of section 14(c) of this Act.
The Secretary may make funds available as grants to
ANCSA or nonprofit corporations that maintain in-house
land planning and management capabilities.’’.
SEC. 5. NATIVE ALLOTMENTS.
Section 1431(o) of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2542) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) Following the exercise by Arctic Slope Regional
Corporation of its option under paragraph (1) to acquire
the subsurface estate beneath lands within the National
Petroleum Reserve—Alaska selected by Kuukpik Corpora-
tion, where such subsurface estate entirely surrounds
lands subject to a Native allotment application approved
under section 905 of this Act, and the oil and gas in such
lands have been reserved to the United States, Arctic
Slope Regional Corporation, at its further option and sub-
ject to the concurrence of the Kuupik Corporation, shall
be entitled to receive a conveyance of the reserved oil and
gas, including all rights and privileges therein reserved to
the United States, in such lands. Upon the receipt of a
conveyance of such oil and gas interests, the entitlement
of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to in-lieu subsurface
lands under section 12(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(a)(1)) shall be reduced
by the amount of acreage determined by the Secretary to
be conveyed to Arctic Slope Regional Corporation pursu-
ant to this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 6. REPORT CONCERNING OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN
NATIVE ALASKAN VETERANS FOR ALLOT-
MENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than six months after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the
State of Alaska and appropriate Native corporations and
organizations, shall submit to the Committee on Resources
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a report
which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) The number of Vietnam era veterans, as de-
fined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code,
who were eligible for but did not apply for an allot-
ment of not to exceed 160 acres under the Act of
May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat. 197), as
such Act was in effect before December 18, 1971;
(2) an assessment of the potential impacts of
additional allotments on conservation system units
as such term is defined in section 102(4) of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(94 Stat. 2375); and
(3) recommendations for any additional legisla-
tion that the Secretary concludes is necessary.
(b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs shall release to the Secretary of the Interior informa-
tion relevant to the report required under subsection (a).
SEC. 7. TRANSFER OF WRANGELL INSTITUTE.
(a) PROPERTY TRANSFER.—Cook Inlet Region, In-
corporated, is authorized to transfer to the United States
and the General Services Administration shall accept an
approximately 10-acre site of the Wrangell Institute in
Wrangell, Alaska, and the structures contained thereon.
(b) RESTORATION OF PROPERTY CREDITS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In exchange for the land
and structures transferred under subsection (a),
property bidding credits in the total amount of
$382,305, shall be restored to the Cook Inlet Re-
gion, Incorporated, property account in the Treasury
established under section 12(b) of the Act of Janu-
ary 2, 1976 (Public Law 94–204; 43 U.S.C. 1611
note), referred to in such section as the ‘‘Cook Inlet
Region, Incorporated, property account’’. Such prop-
erty bidding credits shall be used in the same fiscal
year as received by Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated.
(2) HOLD HARMLESS.—The United States shall
defend and hold harmless Cook Inlet Region, Incor-
porated, and its subsidiaries in any and all claims
arising from Federal or Cook Inlet Region, Incor-
porated, ownership of the land and structures prior
to their return to the United States.
SEC. 8. SHISHMAREF AIRPORT AMENDMENT.
The Shishmaref Airport, conveyed to the State of
Alaska on January 5, 1967, in Patent No. 1240529, is
subject to reversion to the United States, pursuant to the
terms of that patent for nonuse as an airport. The Sec-
retary is authorized to reacquire the interests originally
conveyed pursuant to Patent No. 1240529, and, notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary shall
immediately thereafter transfer all right, title, and interest
of the United States in the subject lands to the
Shishmaref Native Corporation. Nothing in this section
shall relieve the State, the United States, or any other
potentially responsible party of liability, if any, under ex-
isting law for the clean up of hazardous or solid wastes
on the property, nor shall the United States or Shishmaref
Native Corporation become liable for the cleanup of the
property solely by virtue of acquiring title from the State
or from the United States.
Passed the House of Representatives March 14,
1995.
Attest:
Clerk.