
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC3215]

 
                         TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
 
         CHAPTER 51--ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION
 
                SUBCHAPTER VI--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 3215. Public land entries in Alaska


(a) Application approval; adjudication; protests; voluntary 
        relinquishment of application

    (1) Subject to valid existing rights, all applications made pursuant 
to the Acts of June 1, 1938 (52 Stat. 609),\1\ May 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 
1364),\1\ May 14, 1898 (30 Stat. 413),\1\ and March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 
1097), which were filed with the Department of the Interior within the 
time provided by applicable law, and which describe land in Alaska that 
was available for entry under the aforementioned statutes when such 
entry occurred, are hereby approved on the one hundred and eightieth day 
following the effective date of this Act, except where provided 
otherwise by paragraph (3) or (4) of this subsection, or where the land 
description of the entry 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.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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    (2) Where an application describes land within the boundaries of a 
unit of the National Park System or a unit of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System, or a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System 
in the Tongass or Chugach National Forests established before the 
effective date of this Act or by this Act, 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not withdrawn pursuant to section 11(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims 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 application describes 
land which has been patented or deeded to the State of Alaska or which 
on or before the date of entry was validly selected by, tentatively 
approved, patented, deeded or confirmed to the State of Alaska pursuant 
to applicable law and was not withdrawn pursuant to section 11(a)(1)(A) 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 (c) of this section shall not apply 
and the application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of 
the Acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], and other 
applicable law.
    (3) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) of this 
section shall not apply and the application shall be adjudicated 
pursuant to the requirements of the Acts referred to in paragraph (1) of 
this subsection, if on or before the one hundred and eightieth day 
following the effective date of the \2\ Act--
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    \2\ So in original. Probably should be ``this''.
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        (A) a Native Corporation files a protest with the Secretary of 
    the Interior (the Secretary) stating that the applicant is not 
    entitled to the land described in the 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 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 application and that said land is the situs of improvements 
    claimed by the person or entity; or
        (D) the State of Alaska files a protest with the Secretary 
    respecting an entry which was made prior to a valid selection 
    tentative approval, patent, deed, or confirmation to the State of 
    Alaska pursuant to applicable law; or
        (E) regarding public land entries within units of the National 
    Wildlife Refuge System established or expanded in this Act, any such 
    entry not properly made under applicable law, or not the subject of 
    an application filed within the time required by applicable law, or 
    not properly maintained thereafter under applicable law shall be 
    adjudicated pursuant to the Act under which the entry was made.

    (4) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) of this 
section shall not apply to any application which was knowingly and 
voluntarily relinquished by the applicant.

(b) Amendment of land description in application

    An 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 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 entry's location, and any such party 
shall have until the one hundred and eightieth day following the 
effective date of this Act 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)(3) of this section, which 
protest, if timely, shall be deemed filed within one hundred and eighty 
days of the effective date of this Act notwithstanding the actual date 
of filing: Provided further, That the Secretary may require that all 
applications designating land in a specific area be amended, if at all, 
prior to a date certain which date shall be calculated to allow for 
orderly adoption of a plan or survey for the specified area, and the 
Secretary shall mail notification of the final date for amendment to 
each affected applicant, and shall provide such other notice as the 
Secretary deems appropriate, at least sixty days prior to said date: 
Provided further, That no application may be amended for location 
following adoption of a final plan of survey which includes the location 
of the entry as described in the application or its location as desired 
by amendment.

(c) Powersites and power-projects

    Where the land described in application (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 Acts referred 
to in subsection (a)(1) of this section, 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 application shall be adjudicated 
pursuant to the appropriate Act: Provided further, That where the 
applicant commenced occupancy of the land after its withdrawal or 
classification for powersite purposes, the entry 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 patent pursuant to this section shall 
expire twenty years after the effective date of this Act if at that time 
the land involved is not subject to a license or an application for a 
license under part I of the Federal Power Act, as amended, 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.

(d) Validity of existing rights; rights acquired by actual use and 
        national forest lands unaffected

    Prior to issuing a patent for an entry subject to this section, the 
Secretary shall identify and adjudicate any record entry or application 
for title to land described in the application, 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 application, and shall 
determine whether such entry or application represents a valid existing 
right to which the 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, as affecting 
National Forest lands.

(Pub. L. 96-487, title XIII, Sec. 1328, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2489.)

                       References in Text

    Act of June 1, 1938 (52 Stat. 609), referred to in subsec. (a)(1), 
is act June 1, 1938, ch. 317, 52 Stat. 609, which was classified to 
sections 682a to 682e of Title 43, Public Lands, was repealed by Pub. L. 
94-579, title VII, Sec. 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787, 2789.
    Act of May 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1364), referred to in subsec. (a)(1), 
probably means act Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 323, 44 Stat. 1364, which was 
classified to section 687a of Title 43, and was repealed by Pub. L. 94-
579, title VII, Sec. 703(b), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2791.
    Act of May 14, 1898, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act May 14, 
1898, ch. 299, 30 Stat. 409, which is classified to sections 607a and 
615a of this title, sections 270, 270-4, 687a, 687a-2, 687a-3, 687a-4, 
687a-5, and 942-1 to 942-9 of Title 43, and section 392 of Title 48, 
Territories and Insular Possessions. Section 270 of Title 43 was 
repealed by Pub. L. 94-579, title VII, Sec. 703(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 
Stat. 2789. Section 270-4 of Title 43 was repealed by Pub. L. 94-579, 
title VII, Sec. 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787. Sections 687a and 
687a-2 to 687a-5 of Title 43 were repealed by Pub. L. 94-579, title VII, 
Secs. 703(a), 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2792. Section 392 of 
Title 48 was eliminated from the Code as obsolete. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    Act of March 3, 1891, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act Mar. 3, 
1891, ch. 561, 26 Stat. 1095, which is classified to sections 161, 162, 
165, 173, 174, 185, 202, 212, 321, 323, 325, 327 to 329, 663, 671, 687a-
6, 718, 728, 732, 893, 946 to 949, 989, 1165, 1166, 1181, and 1197 of 
this title, sections 471, 607, 611, 611a, and 613 of Title 16, 
Conservation, section 495 of Title 25, Indians, and sections 30, 36, 44, 
45, 48; and 52 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) to (c), 
probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 96-487, which was 
approved Dec. 2, 1980.
    This Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2) and (3)(E), is Pub. L. 96-
487, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2371, as amended, known as the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act. For complete classification of 
this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3101 of 
this title and Tables.
    The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, referred to in subsecs. 
(a)(2), (3)(A) and (d), is Pub. L. 92-203, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 688, 
as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (Sec. 1601 et 
seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act 
to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 43 
and Tables.
    The Federal Power Act and that Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is 
act June 10, 1920, ch. 285, 41 Stat. 1063, as amended, which is 
classified generally to chapter 12 (Sec. 791a et seq.) of this title. 
Part I of the Federal Power Act of June 10, 1920 as amended, is 
classified generally to subchapter I (Sec. 791a et seq.) of chapter 12 
of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
section 791a of this title and Tables.
    The Alaska Statehood Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is Pub. L. 85-
508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, as amended, which is set out as a note 
preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. 
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
    Act of May 17, 1906, as amended, referred to in subsec. (d), is act 
May 17, 1906, ch. 2469, 34 Stat. 197, as amended, which was classified 
to sections 270-1 to 270-3 of Title 43, Public Lands, prior to its 
repeal by Pub. L. 92-203, Sec. 18(a), Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 710. See 
section 1617 of Title 43.
