43 U.S.C. § 1634 : US Code - Section 1634: Alaska Native allotments

Search 43 U.S.C. § 1634 : US Code - Section 1634: Alaska Native allotments

(a) Approval of applications for certain lands; lands containing
coal, oil, or gas; nonmineral lands; lands within National Park
System; protests; voluntary relinquishment of application
(1)(A) Subject to valid existing rights, all Alaska Native
allotment applications made pursuant to the Act of May 17, 1906 (34
Stat. 197, as amended) which were pending before the Department of
the Interior on or before December 18, 1971, and which describe
either land that was unreserved on December 13, 1968, or land
within the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (then identified as
Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4) or within Fort Davis (except as
provided in subparagraph (B)) are hereby approved on the one
hundred and eightieth day following December 2, 1980, except where
provided otherwise by paragraph (3), (4), (5), or (6) of this
subsection, or where the land description of the allotment must be
adjusted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, in which cases
approval pursuant to the terms of this subsection shall be
effective at the time the adjustment becomes final. The Secretary
shall cause allotments approved pursuant to this section to be
surveyed and shall issue trust certificates therefor.
(B) The land referred to in subparagraph (A) with respect to Fort
Davis -
(i) shall be restricted to -
(I) the allotment applications named in the decision
published at 96 IBLA 42 (1987) and to the acreage involved in
those applications; or
(II) the heirs of an applicant who made an application
described in subclause (I); and
(ii) shall be subject to valid existing rights and an easement
for the Iditarod National Historic Trail established by section
1244(a)(7) of title 16, but pending final determination of the
trail's location, the easement shall be located on an interim
basis by the Secretary, in consultation with the Iditarod
Historic Trail Advisory Council.
(2) All applications approved pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the provisions of the Act of March 8, 1922 (43 U.S.C.
270-11) [43 U.S.C. 270-11 to 270-13].(!1)
(3) When on or before the one hundred and eightieth day following
December 2, 1980, the Secretary determines by notice or decision
that the land described in an allotment application may be valuable
for minerals, excluding oil, gas, or coal, the allotment
application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the provision of the
Act of May 17, 1906, as amended, requiring that land allotted under
said Act be nonmineral: Provided, That "nonmineral", as that term
is used in such Act, is defined to include land valuable for
deposits of sand or gravel.
(4) Where an allotment application describes land within the
boundaries of a unit of the National Park System established on or
before December 2, 1980, and the described land was not withdrawn
pursuant to section 11(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(1)], or where an allotment application
describes land which has been patented or deeded to the State of
Alaska or which on or before December 18, 1971, was validly
selected by or tentatively approved or confirmed to the State of
Alaska pursuant to the Alaska Statehood Act and was not withdrawn
pursuant to section 11(a)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(1)(A)] from those lands made
available for selection by section 11(a)(2) of the Act [43 U.S.C.
1610(a)(2)] by any Native Village certified as eligible pursuant to
section 11(b) of such Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(b)], paragraph (1) of
this subsection and subsection (d) of this section shall not apply
and the application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the
requirements of the Act of May 17, 1906, as amended, the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], and other
applicable law.
(5) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (d) of this
section shall not apply and the Native allotment application shall
be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of the Act of May 17,
1906, as amended, if on or before the one hundred and eightieth day
following December 2, 1980 -
(A) A Native Corporation files a protest with the Secretary
stating that the applicant is not entitled to the land described
in the allotment application, and said land is withdrawn for
selection by the Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.]; or
(B) The State of Alaska files a protest with the Secretary
stating that the land described in the allotment application is
necessary for access to lands owned by the United States, the
State of Alaska, or a political subdivision of the State of
Alaska, to resources located thereon, or to a public body of
water regularly employed for transportation purposes, and the
protest states with specificity the facts upon which the
conclusions concerning access are based and that no reasonable
alternatives for access exist; or
(C) A person or entity files a protest with the Secretary
stating that the applicant is not entitled to the land described
in the allotment application and that said land is the situs of
improvements claimed by the person or entity.
(6) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (d) of this
section shall not apply to any application pending before the
Department of the Interior on or before December 18, 1971, which
was knowingly and voluntarily relinquished by the applicant
thereafter.
(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (d) of this
section shall apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection shall
cease to apply, to an application -
(A) that is open and pending on October 31, 1998;
(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 October 31,
1998.
(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.
(b) Conflicting land descriptions in applications; adjustments;
reductions
Where a conflict between two or more allotment applications
exists due to overlapping land descriptions, the Secretary shall
adjust the descriptions to eliminate conflicts, and in so doing,
consistent with other existing rights, if any, may expand or alter
the applied-for allotment boundaries or increase or decrease
acreage in one or more of the allotment applications to achieve an
adjustment which, to the extent practicable, is consistent with
prior use of the allotted land and is beneficial to the affected
parties: Provided, That the Secretary shall, to the extent
feasible, implement an adjustment proposed by the affected parties:
Provided further, That the Secretary's decision concerning
adjustment of conflicting land descriptions shall be final and
unreviewable in all cases in which the reduction, if any, of the
affected allottee's claim is less than 30 percent of the acreage
contained in the parcel originally described and the adjustment
does not exclude from the allotment improvements claimed by the
allottee: Provided further, That where an allotment application
describes more than one hundred and sixty acres, the Secretary
shall at any time prior to or during survey reduce the acreage to
one hundred and sixty acres and shall attempt to accomplish said
reduction in the manner least detrimental to the applicant.
(c) Amendment of land description in application; notification;
protest; adoption of final plan of survey
An allotment applicant may amend the land description contained
in his or her application if said description designates land other
than that which the applicant intended to claim at the time of
application and if the description as amended describes the land
originally intended to be claimed. If the allotment application is
amended, this section shall operate to approve the application or
to require its adjudication, as the case may be, with reference to
the amended land description only: Provided, That the Secretary
shall notify the State of Alaska and all interested parties, as
shown by the records of the Department of the Interior, of the
intended correction of the allotment's location, and any such party
shall have until the one hundred and eightieth day following
December 2, 1980, or sixty days following mailing of the notice,
whichever is later, to file with the Department of the Interior a
protest as provided in subsection (a)(5) of this section, which
protest, if timely, shall be deemed filed within one hundred and
eighty days of December 2, 1980, notwithstanding the actual date of
filing: Provided further, That the Secretary may require that all
allotment applications designating land in a specified area be
amended, if at all, prior to a date certain, which date shall be
calculated to allow for orderly adoption of a plan of survey for
the specified area, and the Secretary shall mail notification of
the final date for amendment to each affected allotment applicant,
and shall provide such other notice as the Secretary deems
appropriate, at least sixty days prior to said date: Provided
further, That no allotment application may be amended for location
following adoption of a final plan of survey which includes the
location of the allotment as described in the application or its
location as desired by amendment.
(d) Powersites and power projects
Where the land described in an allotment application pending
before the Department of the Interior on or before December 18,
1971 (or such an application as adjusted or amended pursuant to
subsection (b) or (c) of this section), was on that date withdrawn,
reserved, or classified for powersite or power-project purposes,
notwithstanding such withdrawal, reservation, or classification the
described land shall be deemed vacant, unappropriated, and
unreserved within the meaning of the Act of May 17, 1906, as
amended, and, as such, shall be subject to adjudication or approval
pursuant to the terms of this section: Provided, however, That if
the described land is included as part of a project licensed under
part I of the Federal Power Act of June 10, 1920 (41 Stat. 24), as
amended [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.], or is presently utilized for
purposes of generating or transmitting electrical power or for any
other project authorized by Act of Congress, the foregoing
provision shall not apply and the allotment application shall be
adjudicated pursuant to the Act of May 17, 1906, as amended:
Provided further, That where the allotment applicant commenced use
of the land after its withdrawal or classification for powersite
purposes, the allotment shall be made subject to the right of
reentry provided the United States by section 24 of the Federal
Power Act, as amended [16 U.S.C. 818]: Provided further, That any
right of reentry reserved in a certificate of allotment pursuant to
this section shall expire twenty years after December 2, 1980, if
at that time the allotted land is not subject to a license or an
application for a license under part I of the Federal Power Act, as
amended [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.], or actually utilized or being
developed for a purpose authorized by that Act, as amended [16
U.S.C. 791a et seq.], or other Act of Congress.
(e) Validity of existing rights; rights acquired by actual use and
national forest lands unaffected
Prior to issuing a certificate for an allotment subject to this
section, the Secretary shall identify and adjudicate any record
entry or application for title made under an Act other than the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], the
Alaska Statehood Act, or the Act of May 17, 1906, as amended, which
entry or application claims land also described in the allotment
application, and shall determine whether such entry or application
represents a valid existing right to which the allotment
application is subject. Nothing in this section shall be construed
to affect rights, if any, acquired by actual use of the described
land prior to its withdrawal or classification, or as affecting
national forest lands.
(f) Reinstatement
(1)(A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (6) of subsection (a)
of this section, and subject to subparagraph (B), each Alaska
Native allotment application made pursuant to the Act entitled "An
Act authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to allot homesteads
to the natives of Alaska", approved May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197),
that -
(i) was pending before the Department of the Interior on or
before December 18, 1971; and
(ii) describes lands within the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska that have been selected, interim conveyed, or patented to
a Village Corporation or Regional Corporation,
is reinstated only for the purpose of this section, subject to this
section.
(B) The reinstatement under subparagraph (A) shall be carried out
regardless of whether the application was -
(i) relinquished by the applicant; or
(ii) denied by the Department of the Interior, if the denial
was based solely on the grounds that land within the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was unavailable.
(2)(A) To the extent that the application describes lands (or any
interest in the lands) that have been selected, interim conveyed,
or patented to a Village Corporation or Regional Corporation, the
Secretary is authorized to accept from the Village Corporation or
Regional Corporation the reconveyance or relinquishment of the
lands (or any interest in the lands).
(B)(i) To the extent that the application describes lands (or any
interest in the lands) that a Village Corporation is not willing to
reconvey or relinquish pursuant to subparagraph (A), the applicant
may relinquish any claim to any portion of the lands (or any
interest in the lands) or may, with the consent of the affected
Village Corporation, amend the application to exclude the lands and
include in lieu thereof a description of lands selected by, interim
conveyed to, or patented to the Village Corporation of an acreage
that is not to exceed the amount of land relinquished.
(ii) The Secretary is authorized to accept the reconveyance or
relinquishment of the lands (or any interest in the lands)
described in the amended application from the Village Corporation
or Regional Corporation in lieu of the lands (or any interest in
the lands) described in the initial application.
(C) If a Village Corporation or Regional Corporation reconveys
lands (or any interest in the lands) to the United States under
subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary shall reduce the acreage
charged against the entitlement of the Village Corporation or
Regional Corporation.
(D) The authority of the Secretary to accept the reconveyance or
relinquishment of lands (or any interest in the lands) under this
paragraph shall terminate on the date that is 6 years after October
14, 1992.
(3)(A) Subject to any valid existing rights, to the extent that
the application describes lands that are authorized to be
reconveyed or relinquished to the United States under paragraph
(2), the Village Corporation shall file with the Secretary, not
later than 3 years after October 14, 1992, the name of the
applicant and the land description of each allotment proposed to be
reconveyed or relinquished.
(B) Upon receipt of the land description, the Secretary shall
immediately notify the State of Alaska and all interested parties
of the land description proposed to be reconveyed or relinquished,
and any such party shall have 60 days following notification in
which to file with the Department of the Interior a protest as
provided in subsection (a)(5) of this section.
(C) The Secretary shall then either -
(i) if no protest is filed, approve the application; or
(ii) if a protest is filed, adjudicate the legal sufficiency of
any protest timely filed; and -
(I) if the protest is legally insufficient, approve the
application; or
(II) if the protest is valid, issue a decision that closes
the application and that is final for the Department.
(D) The Secretary shall, with respect to each allotment approved
pursuant to this subsection -
(i) survey the allotment; and
(ii) following reconveyance or relinquishment, issue a Native
allotment certificate to the applicant or heirs of the applicant.
(4)(A) To the extent a Village Corporation or a Regional
Corporation reconveys lands (or any interest in the lands) to the
United States pursuant to paragraph (2) and the conveyance results
in a reduction in the acreage charged against the entitlement of
the Village Corporation or Regional Corporation under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Village
Corporation or Regional Corporation shall be entitled to make
selections in lieu of the reconveyed lands (or any interest in the
lands).
(B)(i) The quantity of acreage of the surface estate reconveyed
pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be added to the quantity of acreage
of underselection, if any, for the Village Corporation. The
Secretary shall provide for the selection of lands for replacement
in accordance with the procedures for withdrawals and selections
under section 22(j)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1621(j)(2)).
(ii)(I) A Village Corporation described in clause (i) shall be
entitled to select lands for replacement from the lands that have
been withdrawn for selection by the Village Corporation pursuant to
section 11(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1610(a)(1)).
(II) In any case in which the lands described in subclause (I)
are no longer in Federal ownership and the Village Corporation is
entitled to make a selection pursuant to this subparagraph, the
Secretary shall withdraw, and the Village Corporation shall select,
Federal lands that are compact and contiguous with lands previously
conveyed to the Village Corporation.
(C) Lands (or any interests in the lands) in the replacement of
lands (or interests in the lands) reconveyed by the Regional
Corporation to the United States under this subsection shall be
selected by the Regional Corporation from lands that are -
(i) compact and contiguous with other lands previously conveyed
to the Regional Corporation within the National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska; and
(ii) beneath the surface estate of lands selected and conveyed
to a Village Corporation.
(D) The Secretary shall convey the lands selected pursuant to
this paragraph in accordance with this subsection.
(5)(A) Each Native allotment certificate issued to an applicant
or the heirs of the applicant pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be
subject to any existing easement or other right that had been
reserved, conveyed, transferred, or recognized by the United States
prior to the issuance of the certificate.
(B) Each conveyance by the Secretary to any applicant or to the
heirs of the applicant under this subsection shall reserve to the
United States -
(i) except as provided in subparagraph (C), all interests in
oil, gas, and coal in the conveyed lands, and the right of the
United States, or a lessee or assignee of the United States, to
enter on lands conveyed to the applicant or to the heirs of the
applicant, to drill, explore, mine, produce, and remove the oil,
gas, or coal; and
(ii) all other rights reasonably incident to the mineral
reservations described in clause (i).
(C)(i) If the oil, gas, or coal described in subparagraph (B)(i)
was previously conveyed to the Regional Corporation and the
Regional Corporation reserves those interests in a reconveyance to
the United States, the Secretary shall reserve from the
reconveyance to the applicant or to the heirs of the applicant for
the benefit of the Regional Corporation the same rights and
privileges that would have been reserved for the United States.
(ii) With respect to a reconveyance of lands (or any interest in
the lands) by the Regional Corporation to the United States that
does not convey the entire mineral estate, the Regional Corporation
shall not be entitled -
(I) to a reduction of the acreage charged against the
entitlement under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); or
(II) to select mineral interests to replace the acreage.
(6) The United States shall not be subject to liability for the
presence of any hazardous substance in land or an interest in land
solely as a result of any reconveyance to and transfer by the
United States of the land or interest pursuant to this subsection.