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 follow-
ing:
‘‘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.
‘‘(b) Within 18 months of enactment of this section,
and after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture,
State of Alaska, and appropriate Alaska Native corpora-
tions and organizations, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate, a report addressing issues pre-
sented by the presence of hazardous substances on lands
conveyed or prioritized for conveyance to such corpora-
tions pursuant to this Act. Such report shall consist of—
‘‘(1) existing information concerning the nature
and types of contaminants present on such lands
prior to conveyance to Alaska Native corporations;
‘‘(2) existing information identifying the exist-
ence and availability of potentially responsible par-
ties for the removal or amelioration of the effects of
such contaminants;
‘‘(3) identification of existing remedies; and
‘‘(4) recommendations for any additional legis-
lation that the Secretary concludes is necessary to
remedy the problem of contaminants on such
lands.’’.
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 assist-
ance to Village Corporations established pursuant to this
Act in order that they may fulfill the reconveyance require-
ments 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, 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 Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee 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 cleanup 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.
SEC. 9. PURCHASE OF SETTLEMENT COMMON STOCK OF
COOK INLET REGION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(h) of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(h)) is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4)(A) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘Cook
Inlet Regional Corporation’ means Cook Inlet Region, In-
corporated.
‘‘(B) The Cook Inlet Regional Corporation may, by
an amendment to its articles of incorporation made in ac-
cordance with the voting standards under section
36(d)(1), purchase Settlement Common Stock of the Cook
Inlet Regional Corporation and all rights associated with
the stock from the shareholders of Cook Inlet Regional
Corporation in accordance with any provisions included in
the amendment that relate to the terms, procedures, num-
ber of offers to purchase, and timing of offers to purchase.
‘‘(C) Subject to subparagraph (D), and notwithstand-
ing paragraph (1)(B), the shareholders of Cook Inlet Re-
gional Corporation may, in accordance with an amend-
ment made pursuant to subparagraph (B), sell the Settle-
ment Common Stock of the Cook Inlet Regional Corpora-
tion to itself.
‘‘(D) No sale or purchase may be made pursuant to
this paragraph without the prior approval of the board of
directors of Cook Inlet Regional Corporation. Except as
provided in subparagraph (E), each sale and purchase
made under this paragraph shall be made pursuant to an
offer made on the same terms to all holders of Settlement
Common Stock of the Cook Inlet Regional Corporation.
‘‘(E) To recognize the different rights that accrue to
any class or series of shares of Settlement Common Stock
owned by stockholders who are not residents of a Native
village (referred to in this paragraph as ‘non-village
shares’), an amendment made pursuant to subparagraph
(B) shall authorize the board of directors (at the option
of the board) to offer to purchase—
‘‘(i) the non-village shares, including the right
to share in distributions made to shareholders pur-
suant to subsections (j) and (m) (referred to in this
paragraph as ‘nonresident distribution rights’), at a
price that includes a premium, in addition to the
amount that is offered for the purchase of other vil-
lage shares of Settlement Common Stock of the
Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, that reflects the
value of the nonresident distribution rights; or
‘‘(ii) non-village shares without the nonresident
distribution rights associated with the shares.
‘‘(F) Any shareholder who accepts an offer made by
the board of directors pursuant to subparagraph (E)(ii)
shall receive, with respect to each non-village share sold
by the shareholder to the Cook Inlet Regional Corpora-
tion—
‘‘(i) the consideration for a share of Settlement
Common Stock offered to shareholders of village
shares; and
‘‘(ii) a security for only the nonresident rights
that attach to such share that does not have at-
tached voting rights (referred to in this paragraph
as a ‘non-voting security’).
‘‘(G) An amendment made pursuant to subparagraph
(B) shall authorize the issuance of a non-voting security
that—
‘‘(i) shall, for purposes of subsections (j) and
(m), be treated as a non-village share with respect
to—
‘‘(I) computing distributions under such
subsections; and
‘‘(II) entitling the holder of the share to
the proportional share of the distributions made
under such subsections;
‘‘(ii) may be sold to Cook Inlet Region, Inc.;
and
‘‘(iii) shall otherwise be subject to the restric-
tions under paragraph (1)(B).
‘‘(H) Any shares of Settlement Common Stock pur-
chased pursuant to this paragraph shall be canceled on
the conditions that—
‘‘(i) non-village shares with the nonresident
rights that attach to such shares that are purchased
pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered to
be—
‘‘(I) outstanding shares; and
‘‘(II) for the purposes of subsection (m),
shares of stock registered on the books of the
Cook Inlet Regional Corporation in the names
of nonresidents of villages; and
‘‘(ii) any amount of funds that would be distrib-
utable with respect to non-village shares or non-vot-
ing securities pursuant to subsection (j) or (m) shall
be distributed by Cook Inlet Regional Corporation to
itself; and
‘‘(iii) village shares that are purchased pursu-
ant to this paragraph shall be considered to be—
‘‘(I) outstanding shares, and
‘‘(II) for the purposes of subsection (k)
shares of stock registered on the books of the
Cook Inlet Regional Corporation in the names
of the residents of villages.
‘‘(I) Any offer to purchase Settlement Common Stock
made pursuant to this paragraph shall exclude from the
offer—
‘‘(i) any share of Settlement Common Stock
held, at the time the offer is made, by an officer (in-
cluding a member of the board of directors) of Cook
Inlet Regional Corporation or a member of the im-
mediate family of the officer; and
‘‘(ii) any share of Settlement Common Stock
held by any custodian, guardian, trustee, or attorney
representing a shareholder of Cook Inlet Regional
Corporation in fact or law, or any other similar per-
son, entity, or representative.
‘‘(J)(i) The board of directors of Cook Inlet Regional
Corporation, in determining the terms of an offer to pur-
chase made under this paragraph, including the amount
of any premium paid with respect to a non-village share,
may rely upon the good faith opinion of a recognized firm
of investment bankers or valuation experts.
‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, a member of the board
of directors of Cook Inlet Regional Corporation, and any
firm or member of a firm of investment bankers or valu-
ation experts who assists in a determination made under
this subparagraph shall not be liable for damages resulting
from terms made in an offer made in connection with any
purchase of Settlement Common Stock if the offer was
made—
‘‘(I) in good faith;
‘‘(II) in reliance on a determination made pur-
suant to clause (i); and
‘‘(III) otherwise in accordance with this para-
graph.
‘‘(K) The consideration given for the purchase of Set-
tlement Common Stock made pursuant to an offer to pur-
chase that provides for such consideration may be in the
form of cash, securities, or a combination of cash and se-
curities, as determined by the board of directors of Cook
Inlet Regional Corporation, in a manner consistent with
an amendment made pursuant to subparagraph (B).
‘‘(L) Sale of Settlement Common Stock in accordance
with this paragraph shall not diminish a shareholder’s sta-
tus as an Alaska Native or descendant of a Native for
the purpose of qualifying for those programs, benefits and
services or other rights or privileges set out for the benefit
of Alaska Natives and Native Americans. Proceeds from
the sale of Settlement Common Stock shall not be ex-
cluded in determining eligibility for any needs-based pro-
grams that may be provided by Federal, State or local
agencies.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8(c) of
such Act (43 U.S.C. 1607(c)) is amended by striking
‘‘(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘(h) (other than paragraph (4))’’.
Passed the House of Representatives October 3,
1994.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.