[House Report 110-91]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-91
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COPPER VALLEY NATIVE ALLOTMENT RESOLUTION ACT OF 2007
_______
April 17, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 865]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 865) to grant rights-of-way for electric
transmission lines over certain Native allotments in the State
of Alaska, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 865 is to grant rights of way for
electric transmission lines over certain Native allotments in
the State of Alaska.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 865 seeks to resolve a conflict in 14 cases between
land titles issued under the Alaska Native Allotment Act of
1906 and rights-of-way granted by the Department of the
Interior to the Copper Valley Electric Association, a rural
non-profit electrical cooperative that provides electricity to
about 4,000 members in Alaska's Valdez and Copper River Basin
areas. Extensive background on the subject may be found in the
U.S. Government Accountability Office report: ``Alaska Native
Allotments: Conflicts with Utility Rights-of-way Have Not Been
Resolved through Existing Remedies'' (GAO-04-923, September 7,
2004).
Under the Alaska Native Allotment Act of 1906, the
Secretary of the Interior was authorized to grant individual
Alaska Natives a homestead of up to 160 acres of land. The
Alaska Native Allotment Act was repealed by the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (Pub. L. 92-203) in 1971, and many
allotment applications were filed shortly prior to the repeal.
In 1980, Congress legislatively approved, subject to valid
existing rights, pending Native Allotment claims in the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Pub. L. 96-487).
Although Copper Valley Electric Association holds right-of-
ways granted in the 1950's and 1960's, and built electric lines
prior to the filing of Alaska Native Allotment claims, the
Interior Board of Land Appeals determined in 1987 that the
Alaska Native allotees have priority under the ``relation back
doctrine.'' Since then, efforts to resolve the conflicts
between the federal laws have been largely unsuccessful.
H.R. 865 ratifies existing rights-of-way across the 14
specified Native Allotments for electric transmission lines
owned by the Copper Valley Electric Association. H.R. 865 also
requires the Secretary of the Interior to appraise the fair
market value of the rights-of-way and provides that
compensation will be paid to the owners of the Native
Allotments from the Treasury's permanent Judgment Fund (31
U.S.C. Section 1304).
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 865 was introduced on February 6, 2007 by
Representative Don Young (R-Alaska). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources. In the 109th Congress, the
Committee held a hearing on a similar bill, H.R. 5781, on
September 13, 2006.
On March 7, 2007, the full Committee on Natural Resources
met to consider H.R. 865. The bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Copper Valley Native
Allotment Resolution Act of 2007.''
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 defines the terms used in the Act.
Section 3. Electrical transmission line rights-of-way
Section 3(a) grants rights-of-way across the Native
allotments for an electrical transmission line owned by the
Copper Valley Electric Association. Section 3(b) requires that
the Secretary of the Interior shall determine an accurate legal
description of the rights-of-way, the nature of the rights
granted, and the widths of the right-of-way. Subsection 3(c)
clarifies that the Act does not apply to land owned by Ahtna,
Inc. Section 3(d)(1) and (2) establishes a procedure for the
Secretary to appraise the rights-of-way, provide notice,
calculate payments and compensate Native allotment owners.
Section 3(d)(3) provides that compensation to the Native
allotment owners shall be paid from the permanent judgment
appropriation under 31 U.S.C. Section 1304. Section 3(d)(4)
limits judicial review to the determination of the Secretary
regarding compensation.
Section 4. Authorization of appropriations
Section 4 authorizes such sums as may be necessary to carry
out this Act.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
compensation paid to Native allotment holders from the
Treasury's permanent Judgment Fund pursuant to H.R. 865 would
result in an increase in direct spending of as much as
$150,000.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to grant rights-of-way for electric
transmission lines over certain Native allotments in the State
of Alaska.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 865--Copper Valley Native Allotment Resolution Act of 2007
H.R. 865 would grant rights-of-way to the Copper Valley
Electric association across certain Alaskan Native allotments
for electric transmission lines owned by the association. The
Secretary of the Interior would be required to appraise the
allotments for fair market value, and would compensate the
landholders.
Based on information from the Department of the Interior,
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 865 would not have a
significant effect on the federal budget. We estimate that
granting rights-of-way would increase the Bureau of Land
Management's administrative costs to prepare assessments of the
value of the rights-of-way by less than $500,000, assuming the
availability of appropriated funds. Compensation paid to
allotment holders would be paid from the Treasury's permanent
Judgment Fund, and would be considered an increase in direct
spending of as much as $150,000, CBO estimates. Enacting H.R.
865 would not affect revenues.
H.R. 865 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 865 would impose a private-sector mandate as defined
in UMRA on certain owners of Native allotments in Alaska. It
would grant the Copper Valley Electric Association rights-of-
way across 14 allotments. Based on information from government
sources, CBO estimates the direct cost of complying with that
mandate would be minimal compared to the annual threshold for
private-sector mandates established in UMRA ($131 million in
2007, adjusted annually for inflation).
The staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. This
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 865 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.