§ 1631. — Ownership of submerged lands.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1631]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 33A--IMPLEMENTATION OF ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT AND
ALASKA STATEHOOD
Sec. 1631. Ownership of submerged lands
(a) Meandering in the surveying of submerged land
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), whenever the Secretary
surveys land selected by a Native, a Native Corporation, or the State
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.], the Alaska Statehood Act, or this Act, lakes, rivers, and streams
shall be meandered in accordance with the principles in the Bureau of
Land Management, ``Manual of Surveying Instructions'' (1973).
(2) If title to lands beneath navigable waters of a lake less than
fifty acres in size or a river or stream less than three chains in width
did not vest in the State pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act [43 U.S.C.
1301 et seq., 1311 et seq.], such lake, river, or stream shall not be
meandered.
(3) The Secretary is not required to determine the navigability of a
lake, river, or stream which because of its size or width is required to
be meandered or to compute the acreage of the land beneath such lake,
river, or stream or to describe such land in any conveyance document.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require ground
survey or monumentation of meanderlines.
(b) Ownership of riparian lands; ratification of memorandum of agreement
(1) Whenever, either before or after August 16, 1988, the Secretary
conveys land to a Native, a Native Corporation, or the State pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], the
Alaska Statehood Act, or this Act which abuts or surrounds a meanderable
lake, river, or stream, all right, title, and interest of the United
States, if any, in the land under such lake, river, or stream lying
between the uplands and the median line or midpoint, as the case may be,
shall vest in and shall not be charged against the acreage entitlement
of such Native or Native Corporation or the State. The right, title, and
interest vested in a Native or Native Corporation shall be no greater an
estate than the estate he or it is conveyed in the land which abuts or
surrounds the lake, river, or stream.
(2) The specific terms, conditions, procedures, covenants,
reservations, and other restrictions set forth in the document entitled,
``Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Department of the
Interior and the State of Alaska'' dated March 28, 1984, signed by the
Secretary and the Governor of Alaska and submitted to the Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, are hereby
incorporated in this section and are ratified as to the duties and
obligations of the United States and the State, as a matter of Federal
law.
(c) Interim conveyances and patents; navigability of streams; award of
costs and attorney's fees
(1) The execution of an interim conveyance or patent, as
appropriate, by the Bureau of Land Management which conveys an area of
land selected by a Native or Native Corporation which includes,
surrounds, or abuts a lake, river, or stream, or any portion thereof,
shall be the final agency action with respect to a decision of the
Secretary of the Interior that such lake, river, or stream, is or is not
navigable, unless such decision was validly appealed to an agency or
board of the Department of the Interior on or before December 2, 1980.
(2) No agency or board of the Department of the Interior other than
the Bureau of Land Management shall have authority to determine the
navigability of a lake, river, or stream within an area selected by a
Native or Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.] or this Act unless a
determination by the Bureau of Land Management that such lake, river, or
stream, is or is not navigable, was validly appealed to such agency or
board on or before December 2, 1980.
(3) If title to land conveyed to a Native Corporation pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.] or this
Act which underlies a lake, river, or stream is challenged in a court of
competent jurisdiction and such court determines that such land is owned
by the Native Corporation, the Native Corporation shall be awarded a
money judgment against the plaintiffs in an amount equal to its costs
and attorney's fees, including costs and attorney's fees incurred on
appeal.
(d) Definitions
For the purposes of this section, the terms ``navigable'' and
``navigability'' means navigable for the purpose of determining title to
lands beneath navigable waters, as between the United States and the
several States pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act [43 U.S.C. 1301 et
seq., 1311 et seq.] and section 6(m) of the Alaska Statehood Act.
(Pub. L. 96-487, title IX, Sec. 901, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2430; Pub.
L. 99-258, Mar. 19, 1986, 100 Stat. 42; Pub. L. 99-644, Nov. 10, 1986,
100 Stat. 3581; Pub. L. 100-395, title I, Sec. 101, Aug. 16, 1988, 102
Stat. 979.)
References in Text
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, referred to in subsecs.
(a)(1), (b)(1), and (c)(2), (3), 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 this title. For complete classification of this
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of this
title and Tables.
This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1), and (c)(2), (3),
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 Title 16, Conservation, and Tables.
The Alaska Statehood Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1),
and (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.
The Submerged Lands Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2) and (d), is
act May 22, 1953, ch. 65, 67 Stat. 29, as amended, which is classified
generally to subchapters I and II (Secs. 1301 et seq., 1311 et seq.) of
chapter 29 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1301 of this title and
Tables.
Codification
August 16, 1988, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), was in the original
``the date of enactment of this section'', which was translated as
meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 100-395, which amended this
section generally, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Amendments
1988--Pub. L. 100-395 amended section generally, revising and
restating as subsecs. (a) to (d) provisions of former subsecs. (a) to
(h).
1986--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-644 substituted ``eight years after
the date of execution'' for ``six years after the date of execution'' in
two places and ``nine years after December 2, 1980'' for ``seven years
after December 2, 1980'' in two places.
Pub. L. 99-258 substituted ``six years after the date of execution''
for ``five years after the date of execution'' in two places.
Change of Name
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of
Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives on Jan. 5, 1993, by House Resolution No. 5, One
Hundred Third Congress. Committee on Natural Resources of House of
Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Resources of House
of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104-14, set out as a note
preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress.
Construction
Section 102 of Pub. L. 100-395 provided that: ``Nothing in this Act
[amending this section and section 3192 of Title 16, Conservation, and
enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall amend or
alter any land exchange agreement to which the United States is a party,
or any statute, including but not limited to the Act of January 2, 1976
(89 Stat. 1151) and section 506(c) of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2409; Public Law 96-487), that authorizes,
ratifies or implements such an agreement.''
Report to Congress
Section 103 of Pub. L. 100-395 directed Secretary of the Interior to
prepare a report that assesses the effects of the implementation of
section 101 of Pub. L. 100-395 (amending this section) on Conservation
System Units as defined in 16 U.S.C. 3102(4) and makes recommendations
for appropriate action, specified scope of the report, and directed
Secretary, within one year after Aug. 16, 1988, to submit a report to
Congress.
Definitions
For definition of the terms ``land'', ``Federal land'', ``public
lands'', ``conservation system unit'', ``Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act'', ``Native Corporation'', ``Regional Corporation'', ``Village
Corporation'', ``Urban Corporation'', ``Native Group'', ``Native land'',
``Secretary'', ``wilderness'' and ``National Wilderness Preservation
System'', ``Alaska Statehood Act'', ``State'', ``Alaska Native'' or
``Native'', ``fish and wildlife'', and ``take'' or ``taking'' as used in
this chapter, including sections 1639 to 1641 of this title, as having
the same meaning as they have in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act, section 1601 et seq. of this title, and the Alaska Statehood Act,
Pub. L. 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set out as a note preceding
section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, see section
3102 of Title 16, Conservation.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1636 of this title.
