105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3903
AN ACT
To provide for an exchange of lands located near
Gustavus, Alaska, and for other purposes.
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3903
AN ACT
To provide for an exchange of lands located near Gustavus,
Alaska, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, or
other lands owned by the State of Alaska.
(3) If the Secretary and the State of Alaska have not
agreed on which lands the State of Alaska will convey by
a date not later than 6 months after a license is issued
pursuant to this Act, the United States shall accept, with-
in 1 year after a license is issued, title to land having a
sufficiently equal value to satisfy State and Federal law,
subject to clear title and valid existing rights, and absence
of environmental contamination, and as provided by the
laws applicable to exchanges involving lands managed by
the Secretary as part of the National Park System in Alas-
ka and the appropriate process for the exchange of State
lands required by State law. Such land shall be accepted
by the United States, subject to the other provisions of
this Act, from among the following State lands in the pri-
ority listed:
COPPER RIVER MERIDIAN
(A) T.6 S., R. 12 E., partially surveyed, Sec. 5,
lots 1, 2, and 3, NE1⁄4, S1⁄2NW1⁄4, and S1⁄2. Con-
taining 617.68 acres, as shown on the plat of survey
accepted June 9, 1922.
(B) T.6 S., R. 11 E., partially surveyed, Sec.
11, lots 1 and 2, NE1⁄4, S1⁄2NW1⁄4, SW1⁄4, and
N1⁄2SE1⁄4; Sec. 12; Sec. 14, lots 1 and 2,
NW1⁄4NW1⁄4. Containing 838.66 acres, as shown on
the plat of survey accepted June 9, 1922.
(C) T.6 S., R. 11 E., partially surveyed, Sec. 2,
NW1⁄4NE1⁄4 and NW1⁄4. Containing 200.00 acres, as
shown on the plat of survey accepted June 9, 1922.
(D) T.6 S., R. 12 E., partially surveyed, Sec.
6. lots 1 through 10, E1⁄2SW1⁄4 and SE1⁄4. Contain-
ing approximately 529.94 acres, as shown on the
plat of survey accepted June 9, 1922.
(4) The lands to be conveyed to the State of Alaska
by the United States under paragraph (1) are lands to
be designated by the Secretary and the State of Alaska,
consistent with sound land management principles, based
on those lands determined by FERC with the concurrence
of the Secretary and the State of Alaska, in accordance
with section 3(b), to be the minimum amount of land nec-
essary for the construction and operation of a hydro-
electric project.
(5) The time periods set forth for the completion of
the land exchanges described in this Act may be extended
as necessary by the Secretary should the processes of
State law or Federal law delay completion of an exchange.
(6) For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘land’’ means
lands, waters, and interests therein.
(b) WILDERNESS.—(1) To ensure that this trans-
action maintains, within the National Wilderness Preser-
vation System, approximately the same amount of area of
designated wilderness as currently exists, the following
lands in Alaska shall be designated as wilderness in the
priority listed, upon consummation of the land exchange
authorized by this Act and shall be administered according
to the laws governing national wilderness areas in Alaska:
(A) An unnamed island in Glacier Bay National
Park lying southeasterly of Blue Mouse Cove in sec-
tions 5, 6, 7, and 8, T. 36 S., R. 54 E., CRM, and
shown on United States Geological Survey quad-
rangle Mt. Fairweather (D–2), Alaska, containing
approximately 789 acres.
(B) Cenotaph Island of Glacier Bay National
Park lying within Lituya Bay in sections 23, 24, 25,
and 26, T. 37 S., R. 47 E., CRM, and shown on
United States Geological Survey quadrangle Mt.
Fairweather (C–5), Alaska, containing approxi-
mately 280 acres.
(C) An area of Glacier Bay National Park lying
in T. 31. S., R. 43 E and T. 32 S., R. 43 E., CRM,
that is not currently designated wilderness, contain-
ing approximately 2,270 acres.
(2) The specific boundaries and acreage of these wil-
derness designations may be reasonably adjusted by the
Secretary, consistent with sound land management prin-
ciples, to approximately equal, in sum, the total wilderness
acreage deleted from Glacier Bay National Park and Pre-
serve pursuant to the land exchange authorized by this
Act.
(c) CONDITIONS.—Any exchange of lands under this
Act may occur only if—
(1) following the submission of a complete li-
cense application, FERC has conducted economic
and environmental analyses under the Federal
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791–828) (notwithstanding
provisions of that Act and the Federal regulations
that otherwise exempt this project from economic
analyses), the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370), and the Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661–666), that
conclude, with the concurrence of the Secretary of
the Interior with respect to subparagraphs (A) and
(B), that the construction and operation of a hydro-
electric power project on the lands described in sec-
tion 3(b)—
(A) will not adversely impact the purposes
and values of Glacier Bay National Park and
Preserve (as constituted after the consumma-
tion of the land exchange authorized by this
section);
(B) will comply with the requirements of
the National Historic Preservation Act (16
U.S.C. 470–470w); and
(C) can be accomplished in an economically
feasible manner;
(2) FERC held at least one public meeting in
Gustavus, Alaska, allowing the citizens of Gustavus
to express their views on the proposed project;
(3) FERC has determined, with the concur-
rence of the Secretary and the State of Alaska, the
minimum amount of land necessary to construct and
operate this hydroelectric power project; and
(4) Gustavus Electric Company has been grant-
ed a license by FERC that requires Gustavus Elec-
tric Company to submit an acceptable financing plan
to FERC before project construction may commence,
and the FERC has approved such plan.
SEC. 3. ROLE OF FERC.
(a) LICENSE APPLICATION.—(1) The FERC licens-
ing process shall apply to any application submitted by
Gustavus Electric Company to the FERC for the right
to construct and operate a hydropower project on the
lands described in subsection (b).
(2) FERC is authorized to accept and consider an
application filed by Gustavus Electric Company for the
construction and operation of a hydropower plant to be
located on lands within the area described in subsection
(b), notwithstanding section 3(2) of the Federal Power
Act (16 U.S.C. 796(2)). Such application must be submit-
ted within 3 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(3) FERC will retain jurisdiction over any hydro-
power project constructed on this site.
(b) ANALYSES.—(1) The lands referred to in sub-
section (a) of this section are lands in the State of Alaska
described as follows:
COPPER RIVER MERIDIAN
Township 39 South, Range 59 East, partially sur-
veyed, 
Section 
(unsurveyed), 
SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,
S1⁄2SW1⁄4SW1⁄4, NE1⁄4SW1⁄4, W1⁄2W1⁄2NW1⁄4SE1⁄4, and
S1⁄2SE1⁄4NW1⁄4. Containing approximately 130 acres.
Township 40 South, Range 59 East, partially sur-
veyed, Section 1 (unsurveyed), NW1⁄4, SW1⁄4, W1⁄2SE1⁄4,
and SW1⁄4SW1⁄4NE1⁄4, excluding U.S. Survey 944 and
Native allotment A–442; Section 2 (unsurveyed), frac-
tional, that portion lying above the mean high tide line
of Icy Passage, excluding U.S. Survey 944 and U.S. Sur-