H. R. 2000
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight
An Act
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to make certain clarifications
to the land bank protection provisions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTOMATIC LAND BANK PROTECTION.
(a) LANDS RECEIVED IN EXCHANGE FROM CERTAIN FEDERAL
AGENCIES.—The matter preceding clause (i) of section 907(d)(1)(A)
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (43 U.S.C.
1636(d)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or conveyed to a Native
Corporation pursuant to an exchange authorized by section 22(f )
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act or section 1302(h)
of this Act or other applicable law’’ after ‘‘Settlement Trust’’.
(b) LANDS EXCHANGED AMONG NATIVE CORPORATIONS.—Section
907(d)(2)(B) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1636(d)(2)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iv) lands or interest in lands shall not be considered
developed or leased or sold to a third party as a result of
an exchange or conveyance of such land or interest in land
between or among Native Corporations and trusts, partner-
ships, corporations, or joint ventures, whose beneficiaries, part-
ners, shareholders, or joint venturers are Native Corporations.’’.
(c) ACTIONS BY TRUSTEE SERVING PURSUANT TO AGREEMENT
OF NATIVE CORPORATIONS.—Section 907(d)(3)(B) of such Act (43
U.S.C. 1636(d)(3)(B)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (ii) and
inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) to actions by any trustee whose right, title, or interest
in land or interests in land arises pursuant to an agreement
between or among Native Corporations and trusts, partner-
ships, or joint ventures whose beneficiaries, partners, share-
holders, or joint venturers are Native Corporations.’’.
SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT BY THIRD-PARTY TRESPASSERS.
Section 907(d)(2)(A)(i) of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1636(d)(2)(A)(i)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘Any such modification shall be performed
by the Native individual or Native Corporation.’’ after ‘‘substan-
tial modification.’’;
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(2) by inserting a period after ‘‘developed state’’ the second
place it appears; and
(3) by adding ‘‘Any lands previously developed by third-
party trespassers shall not be considered to have been devel-
oped.’’.
SEC. 3. RETAINED MINERAL ESTATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12(c)(4) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(c)(4)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subpara-
graphs (E) and (F), respectively, and by inserting after subpara-
graph (B) the following new subparagraphs:
‘‘(C) Where such public lands are surrounded by or contig-
uous to subsurface lands obtained by a Regional Corporation
under subsections (a) or (b), the Corporation may, upon request,
have such public land conveyed to it.
‘‘(D)(i) A Regional Corporation which elects to obtain public
lands under subparagraph (C) shall be limited to a total of
not more than 12,000 acres. Selection by a Regional Corporation
of in lieu surface acres under subparagraph (E) pursuant to
an election under subparagraph (C) shall not be made from
any lands within a conservation system unit (as that term
is defined by section 102(4) of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3102(4)).
‘‘(ii) An election to obtain the public lands described in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall include all available parcels
within the township in which the public lands are located.
‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph and subparagraph
(C), the term ‘Regional Corporation’ shall refer only to Doyon,
Limited.’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated), by striking
‘‘(A) or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A), (B), or (C)’’.
(b) FAILURE
TO APPEAL NOT PROHIBITIVE.—Section 12(c) of
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (4) shall
apply, notwithstanding the failure of the Regional Corporation
to have appealed the rejection of a selection during the convey-
ance of the relevant surface estate.’’.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC LAW 102–415.
Section 20 of the Alaska Land Status Technical Corrections
Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 2129), is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(h) Establishment of the account under subsection (b) and
conveyance of land under subsection (c), if any, shall be treated
as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold Creek
under section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act for which rights to subsurface estate are hereby provided to
CIRI. Within 1 year from the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, CIRI shall select 3,520 acres of subsurface estate in land
from the area designated for selection by paragraph I.B.(2)(b) of
the document identified in section 12(b) (referring to the Talkeetna
Mountains) of the Act of January 2, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1611 note).
Not more than five selections shall be made under this subsection,
each of which shall be reasonably compact and in whole sections,
except when separated by unavailable land or when the remaining
entitlement is less than a whole section.’’.
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SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION ON TREATMENT OF BONDS FROM A NATIVE
CORPORATION.
Section 29(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1626(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘and on bonds received
from a Native Corporation’’ after ‘‘from a Native Corporation’’;
and
(2) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ‘‘or bonds issued by
a Native Corporation which bonds shall be subject to the protec-
tion of section 7(h) until voluntarily and expressly sold or
pledged by the shareholder subsequent to the date of distribu-
tion’’ before the semicolon.
SEC. 6. CALISTA NATIVE CORPORATION LAND EXCHANGE.
(a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares
that—
(1) the land exchange authorized by section 8126 of Public
Law 102–172 should be implemented without further delay;
(2) the Calista Corporation, the Native Regional Corpora-
tion organized under the authority of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act for the Yupik Eskimos of Southwestern Alaska,
which includes the majority of the Yukon Delta National Wild-
life Refuge—
(A) has responsibilities provided for by the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act to help address social, cul-
tural, economic, health, subsistence, and related issues
within the region and among its villages, including the
viability of the villages themselves, many of which are
remote and isolated; and
(B) has been unable to fully carry out such responsibil-
ities;
(3) the implementation of the exchange referenced in this
subsection is essential to helping Calista utilize its assets to
carry out those responsibilities and to realize the benefits of
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act;
(4) the parties to the exchange have been unable to reach
agreement on the valuation of the lands and interests in lands
to be conveyed to the United States under section 8126 of
Public Law 102–172; and
(5) in light of the foregoing, it is appropriate and necessary
in this unique situation that Congress authorize and direct
the implementation of this exchange as set forth in this section
in furtherance of the purposes and underlying goals of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act.
(b) LAND EXCHANGE IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 8126 of Public
Law 102–172 (105 Stat. 1206) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 8126. (a)(1) In exchange for lands, partial estates, and
land selection rights identified in the document entitled ‘The Calista
Conveyance and Relinquishment Document’, dated October 28,
1991, as amended September 22, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as
‘CCRD’), the United States will establish a property account for
the Calista Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws
of the State of Alaska, in the amount identified in the CCRD,
and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
H. R. 2000—4
‘‘(2) The CCRD contains the land descriptions of the lands
and interests in lands to be conveyed, the selections to be relin-
quished, the charges to entitlement, the quantity and class of
entitlement to be transferred to the United States, the terms of
the Kuskokwim Corporation Conservation Easement, and the
amount that is authorized for the property account.
‘‘(3) The covenants, terms, and conditions to be used in any
transfers to the United States described in the CCRD shall be
binding on the United States and the participating Native corpora-
tions and shall be a matter of Federal law.
‘‘(b)(1) The aggregate values of such lands and interests in
lands, together with compensation for the considerations set forth
in congressional findings concerning the Calista Region and its
villages, shall be the sum provided in section IX of the CCRD.
The amounts credited to the property account described in this
subsection shall not be subject to adjustment for minor changes
in acreage resulting from preparation or correction of the land
descriptions in the CCRD or the exclusion of any small tracts
of land as a result of hazardous material surveys. The Secretary
of the Interior shall maintain an accounting of the lands and
interests in lands remaining to be conveyed or relinquished by
Calista Corporation and the participating village corporations
pursuant to this section. The Secretary of the Treasury on October
1, 1998, shall establish a property account on behalf of Calista
Corporation.
‘‘(2) The account shall be credited and available for use as
provided in paragraph (4), according to the following schedule of
percentages of the amount in section IX of the CCRD:
‘‘(A) On October 1, 1999, and on October 1 of each year
thereafter through October 1, 2005, the amount equal to 12.69
percent.
‘‘(B) On October 1, 2007, the amount equal to 11.17 percent.
‘‘(3)(A) Unless otherwise authorized by law, the aggregate
amount of all credits to the account, pursuant to the schedule
set forth in paragraph (2), shall be equal to the amount in section
IX of the CCRD.
‘‘(B) All amounts credited to the account shall be from amounts
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated and shall be available
for expenditure without further appropriation and without fiscal
year limitation.
‘‘(4) The property account may not be used until all conveyances,
relinquishments of selections, and adjustments to entitlements
described in the CCRD have been made to and accepted by the
United States. The Secretary of the Interior shall notify the Sec-
retary of the Treasury when all requirements of the preceding
sentence have been met. Immediately thereafter the Secretary of
the Treasury shall comply with his duties under this paragraph
including the computations of the amount in the account, the
amount that may be expended in any particular Federal fiscal
year, and the balance of the account after any transaction. The
property account may be used in the same manner as any other
property account held by any other Alaska Native Corporation.
‘‘(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Calista Cor-
poration on its own behalf or on behalf of the village corporations
identified in the CCRD, may assign any or all of the account
upon written notification to the Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of the Interior.
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‘‘(6) The Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the Secretary
of the Interior and Calista whenever there is a reduction in the
property account, the purpose for such reduction and the remaining
balance in the account. The Alaska State Office of the Bureau
of Land Management shall be the official repository of such notices.
‘‘(7) For the purpose of the determination of the applicability
of section 7(i) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1606(i)) to revenues generated pursuant to that section,
such revenues shall be calculated in accordance with section IX
of the CCRD.
‘‘(8) The United States shall not be liable for the redistribution
of benefits by the Calista Corporation to the participating Alaska
Native village corporations pursuant to this section.
‘‘(9) These transactions are not based on appraised property
values and therefore shall not be used as a precedent for establish-
ing property values.
‘‘(10) Prior to the issuance of any conveyance documents or
relinquishments and acceptance, the Secretary of the Interior and
the participating Native corporations may, by mutual agreement,
modify the legal descriptions included in the CCRD to correct cleri-
cal errors.
‘‘(11) Property located in the State of Alaska that is purchased
by use of the property account shall be considered and treated
as conveyances of land selections under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
‘‘(12) The conveyance of lands, partial estates, and land selec-
tion rights and relinquishment or adjustments to entitlement made
by the Alaska Native Corporations pursuant to this section and
the use of the property account in the Treasury shall be treated
as the receipt of land or any interest therein or cash in order
to equalize the values of properties exchanged pursuant to section
22(f ) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(f ))
as provided in the first sentence in section 21(c) of that Act (43
U.S.C. 1620(c)).
‘‘(13) With respect to the content of the CCRD, the Secretary
of the Interior, the Calista Regional Corporation, and the participat-
ing village corporations agree upon the lands, interests in lands,
relinquishments and adjustments to entitlement described therein
that may be offered to the United States pursuant to this section.
These parties also agree with the amounts to be made available
in the property account once all conveyances and relinquishments
are completed, and the parties agree with the needs set forth
in the congressional findings in section 6(a) of the ANCSA Land
Bank Protection Act of 1998. The parties do not necessarily agree
on the hortatory statements, descriptions, and attributions of
resource values which are included in the CCRD as drafted by
Calista. But such disagreements will not affect the implementation
of this section.
‘‘(14) Descriptions of resource values provided for surface lands
which are not offered in the exchange and will remain privately
owned by village corporations form no part of the consideration
for the exchange.’’.
SEC. 7. MINING CLAIMS.
Paragraph (3) of section 22(c) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(c)) is amended—
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(1) by striking out ‘‘regional corporation’’ each place it
appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Regional Corporation’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The provisions
of this section shall apply to Haida Corporation and the Haida
Traditional Use Sites, which shall be treated as a Regional
Corporation for the purposes of this paragraph, except that
any revenues remitted to Haida Corporation under this section
shall not be subject to distribution pursuant to section 7(i)
of this Act.’’.
SEC. 8. SALE, DISPOSITION, OR OTHER USE OF COMMON VARIETIES
OF SAND, GRAVEL, STONE, PUMICE, PEAT, CLAY, OR CIN-
DER RESOURCES.
Subsection (i) of section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settle-
ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(i)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Seventy per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘(A)
Except as provided by subparagraph (B), 70 percent’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B) In the case of the sale, disposition, or other use of common
varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder
resources made during a fiscal year ending after the date of enact-
ment of this subparagraph, the revenues received by a Regional
Corporation shall not be subject to division under subparagraph
(A). Nothing in this subparagraph is intended to or shall be con-
strued to alter the ownership of such sand, gravel, stone, pumice,
peat, clay, or cinder resources.’’.
SEC. 9. ALASKA NATIVE ALLOTMENT APPLICATIONS.
Section 905(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conserva-
tion Act (43 U.S.C. 1634(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (d) shall
apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection shall cease to apply,
to an application—
‘‘(A) that is open and pending on the date of enactment
of this paragraph;
‘‘(B) if the lands described in the application are in Federal
ownership other than as a result of reacquisition by the United
States after January 3, 1959; and
‘‘(C) if any protest which is filed by the State of Alaska
pursuant to paragraph (5)(B) with respect to the application
is withdrawn or dismissed either before, on, or after the date
of the enactment of this paragraph.
‘‘(8)(A) Any allotment application which is open and pending
and which is legislatively approved by enactment of paragraph
(7) shall, when allotted, be made subject to any easement, trail,
or right-of-way in existence on the date of the Native allotment
applicant’s commencement of use and occupancy.
‘‘(B) The jurisdiction of the Secretary is extended to make
any factual determinations required to carry out this paragraph.’’.
SEC. 10. VISITOR SERVICES.
Paragraph (1) of section 1307(b) of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3197(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Native Corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘Native
Corporations’’; and
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(2) by striking ‘‘is most directly affected’’ and inserting
‘‘are most directly affected’’.
SEC. 11. LOCAL HIRE REPORT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall transmit
to Congress a report.
(b) LOCAL HIRE.—The report required by subsection (a) shall—
(1) indicate the actions taken in carrying out subsection
(b) of section 1308 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 3198);
(2) address the recruitment processes that may restrict
employees hired under subsection (a) of such section from
successfully obtaining positions in the competitive service; and
(3) describe the actions of the Secretary of the Interior
in contracting with Alaska Native Corporations to provide serv-
ices with respect to public lands in Alaska.
(c) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall cooperate
with the Secretary of the Interior in carrying out this section
with respect to the Forest Service.
SEC. 12. SHAREHOLDER BENEFITS.
Section 7 of the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1606) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(r) BENEFITS FOR SHAREHOLDERS OR IMMEDIATE FAMILIES.—
The authority of a Native Corporation to provide benefits to its
shareholders who are Natives or descendants of Natives or to its
shareholders’ immediate family members who are Natives or
descendants of Natives to promote the health, education, or welfare
of such shareholders or family members is expressly authorized
and confirmed. Eligibility for such benefits need not be based on
share ownership in the Native Corporation and such benefits may
be provided on a basis other than pro rata based on share owner-
ship.’’.
SEC. 13. SHAREHOLDER HOMESITE PROGRAM.
Section 39(b)(1)(B) of the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1629e(b)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘settlor
corporation’’ the following: ‘‘or the land is conveyed for a homesite
by the Trust to a beneficiary of the Trust who is also a legal
resident under Alaska law of the Native village of the settlor
corporation and the conveyance does not exceed 1.5 acres’’.