Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 3090 (rs) To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to restore certain lands to the Elim Native Corporation, and for other purposes. [Reported in Senate] ...H.R. 3090 (rs) To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to restore certain lands to the Elim Native Corporation, and for other purposes. [Reported in Senate] ...
Union Calendar No. 261
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3090
[Report No. 106-452]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to restore certain
lands to the Elim Native Corporation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 5, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Union Calendar No. 261
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3090
[Report No. 106-452]
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to restore certain
lands to the Elim Native Corporation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 1999
Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources
November 5, 1999
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 October
18, 1999]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to restore certain
lands to the Elim Native Corporation, 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. ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``elim native corporation land restoration
``Sec. 42. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
``(1) approximately 350,000 acres of land were withdrawn by
Executive Orders in 1917 for the use of the United States
Bureau of Education and of the Natives of Indigenous Alaskan
race;
``(2) these lands comprised the Norton Bay Reservation
(later referred to as Norton Bay Native Reserve) and were set
aside for the benefit of the Native inhabitants of the Eskimo
Village of Elim, Alaska;
``(3) in 1929, an Executive Order deleted 50,000 acres of
land from the Norton Bay Reservation;
``(4) the lands were deleted from the Reservation for the
benefit of others;
``(5) the deleted lands were not available to the Native
inhabitants of Elim under section 19(b) of this Act at the time
of passage of this Act;
``(6) the deletion of these lands has been and continues to
be a source of deep concern to the indigenous people of Elim;
and
``(7) until this matter is dealt with, it will continue to
be a source of great frustration and sense of loss among the
shareholders of the Elim Native Corporation and their
descendants.
``(b) Withdrawal and Availability for Selection.--The lands
described in subsection (c) are withdrawn, subject to valid existing
rights, from all forms of appropriation or disposition under the public
land laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws, for a period
of 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, for selection by
the Elim Native Corporation.
``(c) Lands Described.--The lands described in this section are
within the boundary of a parcel of land in the vicinity of Elim,
Alaska, more particularly depicted and designated `Temporary Withdrawal
Area' on the map dated October 19, 1999, on file with the Bureau of
Land Management, and entitled Land Withdrawal Elim Native Corporation.
``(d) Authorization To Select and Receive Title to Lands;
Reservation of Easements.--The Elim Native Corporation is authorized to
select and receive title to 50,000 acres of lands within the boundary
of the lands described in subsection (c). The Secretary is authorized
and directed to receive and adjudicate a selection application filed by
the Elim Native Corporation, and to convey the surface and subsurface
estate in the selected lands to the Elim Native Corporation subject to
the following rules, conditions, and limitations:
``(1) The Elim Native Corporation shall have 2 years from
the date of the enactment of this section in which to file its
selection of no more than 60,000 acres of land from the area described
in subsection (c). The selection application shall be filed with the
Bureau of Land Management, shall describe a single tract adjacent to
U.S. Survey No. 2548, Alaska, and shall be reasonably compact,
contiguous, and in whole sections except when separated by unavailable
land or when the remaining entitlement is less than a whole section.
The Elim Native Corporation shall prioritize its selections made
pursuant to this section at the time such selections are filed, and
such prioritization shall be irrevocable. Any lands selected shall
remain withdrawn until conveyed or full entitlement has been achieved.
``(2)(A) The selection filed by the Elim Native Corporation
pursuant to this section shall be subject to valid existing
rights and may not supercede prior selections of the State of
Alaska, any Native corporation, or valid entries of any private
individual unless such selection or entry is relinquished prior
to any selection by the Elim Native Corporation. Any lands held
within the exterior boundaries of lands conveyed to the Elim
Native Corporation shall have all rights of ingress and egress
to be vested in the inholder and the inholder's agents,
employees, co-venturers, licensees, or subsequent grantees, and
such easements shall be reserved in the conveyance to the Elim
Native Corporation. Public Land Order 5563 of December 16,
1975, is hereby modified to extend to the lands withdrawn
pursuant to this section and the Secretary is authorized, at
the Secretary's discretion, to permit selections and
conveyances of hot or medicinal springs (referred to herein as
`hot springs') pursuant to this section.
``(B) If any lands are conveyed to Elim Native Corporation
which are also subject to withdrawal for hot springs under this
section, there shall be in the conveyance the following rights
reserved to the United States, covenants, and conditions:
``(i) The right of ingress and egress over
easements under 17(b) of this Act for the public to
visit the hot springs for noncommercial purposes and to
use any part of the hot springs that is not
commercially developed.
``(ii) The right of the United States to enter upon
the lands for the purpose of conducting scientific
research and to use the results of such research
without compensation to Elim Native Corporation.
``(iii) A covenant running with the land that
commercial development of the hot springs by Elim
Native Corporation or its successors, assigns, or
grantees shall include the right to develop a maximum
of 15 percent of the land upon which the hot springs
are located and the land within \1/4\ mile of the land
upon which the hot springs are located. Such commercial
development shall not alter the natural hydrologic or
thermal system associated with the hot springs and not
less than 85 percent of the lands within \1/4\ mile of
the hot springs shall be left in its natural state.
``(C) Elim Native Corporation shall have the right to
conduct scientific research on the conveyance lands, including
the hot springs, and to use the results of such research
without compensation to the United States.
``(D) The Secretary is authorized to negotiate with Elim
Native Corporation a memorandum of understanding to implement
the provisions of this paragraph.
``(E) The following covenants, terms, and conditions with
respect to the conveyance lands shall be incorporated into the
interim conveyance and patent, if any, conveying the lands to
Elim Native Corporation:
``(i) Upon receipt of the conveyance lands, Elim
shall have all legal rights and privileges as
landowner, other than reservations, covenants, and
conditions specified in this subsection and in the
Memorandum of Understanding.
``(ii) Elim Native Corporation shall not engage in
or allow Commercial Timber Harvesting on the conveyance
lands. `Commercial Timber Harvesting' means--
``(I) cutting and removing from the Elim
Native Corporation lands Merchantable Timber
for sale; and
``(II) constructing roads and related
infrastructure for the support thereof.
`Merchantable Timber' means timber that can be
harvested and marketed by a prudent operator.
``(iii) To accomplish the purpose of this
subsection, the following rights are retained by the
United States:
``(I) To enter upon the conveyance lands,
after providing reasonable advance notice in
writing to Elim Native Corporation, and after
providing Elim Native Corporation with a
reasonable opportunity to have a representative
present upon such entry in order to achieve the
purpose and enforce the terms of this
subsection.
``(II) To have all rights and remedies
available against persons who cut or remove
Merchantable Timber with no lawful right to do
so in addition to any such rights held by Elim
Native Corporation.
``(III) In cooperation with Elim Native
Corporation, the right, but not the obligation,
to reforest in the event then-existing
Merchantable Timber is destroyed by fire, wind,
insects, disease, or other similar manmade or
natural occurrence (excluding manmade
occurrences resulting from the exercise by Elim
Native Corporation of its lawful rights to use
the conveyance lands).
``(iv) The foregoing provisions are covenants
running with the land.
``(v) Elim Native Corporation shall incorporate the
terms of this subsection in any deed or other legal
instrument by which it divests itself of any interest
in all or a portion of the conveyance lands, including
without limitation a leasehold interest.
``(vi) The covenants, terms, conditions, and
restrictions of this subsection are covenants running
with the land and shall be binding upon Elim Native
Corporation and the United States, their successors and
assigns.
``(vii) Appropriate administration and enforcement
provisions shall be incorporated into the Memorandum of
Understanding authorized by this subsection.
``(viii) The United States shall retain the right
of prosecutorial discretion without waiver of any such
reservations, covenants, or conditions, in the
enforcement of any reservation, covenant, or condition.
``(3) The Bureau of Land Management shall reserve easements
to the United States for the benefit of the public pursuant to
section 17(b) of this Act in the conveyance to the Elim Native
Corporation.
``(4) The Bureau of Land Management may reserve an easement
for the Iditarod National Historic Trail in the conveyance to
the Elim Native Corporation.
``(e) Finality of Selections.--Selection by the Elim Native
Corporation of lands under subsection (d) and final conveyance of those
lands to Elim Native Corporation shall constitute full satisfaction of
any claim of entitlement of the Elim Native Corporation with respect to
its land entitlements under section 19(b).
``(f) Implementation.--There are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary to implement this section.''.
SEC. 2. COMMON STOCK TO ADOPTED-OUT DESCENDANTS.
Section 7(h)(1)(C)(iii) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1606(h)(1)(C)(iii)) is amended by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``, notwithstanding an adoption,
relinquishment, or termination of parental rights that may have altered
or severed the legal relationship between the gift donor and
recipient''.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SETTLEMENT TRUST.
Section 3(t)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1602(t)(2)) is amended by striking ``sole'' and all that follows
through ``Stock'' and inserting ``benefit of shareholders, Natives, and
descendants of Natives,''.
Pages: 1 Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:
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