SB 103-LAND TRANSFERS ALASKA RR & EKLUTNA  CHAIR HUGGINS announced SB 103 to be up for consideration. 5:13:58 PM PAT GAMBLE, President and CEO, Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC), supported SB 103 saying that in accordance with the Railroad Transfer Act, the ARRC seeks permission from the legislature to transfer about 48 acres of ARRC property to Eklutna Inc. with the blessing of Eklutna Village. The purpose of the transfer is to end a long-standing gridlock over this particular piece of property that started out as a quarry. It was quarried for a number of years until such time as they became aware that it was also a significant cultural icon in the history of the Eklutnas. They became gridlocked in terms of using any quarry product and figured any future mining possibilities were very remote. After much unsuccessful litigation, they decided the right thing to do was recognize it as a cultural issue and resolve it by signing the land over to the Eklutnas. In addition, Eklutna, Inc. and CIRI, to the extent that it has rights under the surface of lands all through this particular area, have a lot of interests that the Railroad wanted to further over time. 5:17:43 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what the status of the land is to the Railroad right now. MR. GAMBLE replied that it is one of fee simple ownership. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what the ARRC would get in exchange for the transfer. MR. GAMBLE replied that the transfer is not value for value, but rather: We are transferring the property just simply because we feel that it's rightfully theirs and we're not going to use it. We're not going to mine the quarry any more as we had over a number of years. In the sense that there's an exchange, they have agreed that any rock that is currently laying on the ground that was shot in the past - it's been there for several years - any rock of whatever size that would be part of a cleanup that we would go in and do and bring the materials out in order to leave the land clean, we could have. In addition, if there was any desire of Eklutna Village or Eklutna Inc to try to landscape the face of what has already been shot, quarried, over the years and to try to clean that up and make it look a little more presentable, we're certainly amenable to going in and with certain restrictions doing that cleanup and again picking up whatever comes off the face as we clean that up and take that out, too, before we roll the track up. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how he can say the land belongs to the Railroad in fee simple, but yet the land rightfully belongs to Eklutna. MR. GAMBLE explained that's part of the cultural determination he and his staff made when looking into the history of how the land came into the Railroad's hands. "Things were done in a way that we probably would not accept today." The objection raised by the Eklutna Village in the late 90s highlighted this issue to the point where their interests were recognized finally by the Railroad and the federal government. 5:20:07 PM He related that the history goes back to World War II when the Eklutna Village offered the quarry to the Army to use. The Army ran the Railroad in those days. After the war ended, the Native School that owned the property closed the quarry and moved, surplusing the land. The Railroad asked for the quarry and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), not the Village, gave it to them. The Village felt like it had been sold out at that point. This is the story he heard over and over again. He explained that in the North Anchorage Land Agreement (NALA) the Railroad was given the right to mine the quarry down to the flat ground. However, the very name "Eklutna" talks about the geographical features [the two knobs on either side of the river] that were being mined away. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if this property had an appraisal. MR. GAMBLE replied no. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he knew what it was worth. MR. GAMBLE answered no. 5:21:59 PM CURTIS MCQUEEN, Corporate Affairs, Eklutna Inc., supported SB 130 and added that this is a 30-year plus wound for Eklutna Inc. and the Native Village of Eklutna. They both serve the same clients and work very close together. Eklutna Inc. is the for- profit corporation and the Village is the federally recognized tribe. "Elutnoi" means the river that runs between and the two knobs on either side of the river are what Eklutna is to the people. To have them continue to be mined down to flat ground goes to the core of their identity. With Mr. Gamble's arrival to the Railroad, it was recognized as a long-term issue and other mutually favorable long-term issues were found that they could work together on in terms of land trades. 5:23:58 PM JIM ARNESEN, Land Manager, Eklutna, Inc., said one thing that has been left out so far is the tie-in to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The Railroad had temporary rights to this property which would self-extinguish when it could no longer use the property. ANILCA didn't deal with every land issue and this property was envisioned to go back to Eklutna over 30 years ago in ANSCA. 5:25:28 PM DANIEL ALEX, Tribal Administrator, Native Village of Eklutna, supported Mr. McQueen's comments that only temporary use was granted. Section 3 of the ANSCA said that Eklutna, Inc. was entitled to the property. He mentioned that Eklutna, Inc. signed an MOU with the ARRC saying it could use the materials that were already quarried and that the Railroad would restructure the landscape once it was done. 5:27:25 PM CHAIR HUGGINS asked if anyone objects to this transaction. MR. ALEX replied that the Council speaks for the Native Village of Eklutna and it supports the MOU. CHAIR HUGGINS asked who signed the MOU dated January 22, 2007. He saw the signatures of Mr. Gamble and Mr. Alex. MR. ALEX responded that the MOU dates back before he became the tribal administrator. He thought Jerry [indisc.] was deputy executive officer. The MOU went back a couple of years. CHAIR HUGGINS asked if he was talking about the 1982 version. MR. ALEX replied [indisc.]. 5:29:39 PM MR. MCQUEEN clarified that for the last 2.5 years the Native Village of Eklutna and the ARRC have had a MOU that contained certain dates. As those dates have come up, they have been reaffirmed by signing amendments to continue the MOU. This goes back quite a long way. 5:30:27 PM CHAIR HUGGINS asked if there were other aspects to the land transfer agreement the legislature should be aware of. MR. MCQUEEN replied that there are some conditions have been worked out with the ARRC regarding blasting overhangs that might be dangerous - including a schedule and times of days and nights they need to be respectful of. However, they all agree that the sooner they can get in and get that stock pile off the ground, the better. They have requested that this summer season be the one they do it in. CHAIR HUGGINS asked Mr. Gamble if the Railroad could meet those cleanup obligations. He indicated yes. 5:31:53 PM BONNE' WOLSTAD, Fairbanks, said she was glad the ARRC recognized the ownership issues and was working to solve them. SENATOR STEDMAN commended the Railroad on taking a proactive direction in settling this issue and setting a good example in how to resolve other similar situations. He is comfortable with the settlement, but he would have liked to see an appraisal. 5:34:06 PM He asked if there is a Railroad right-of-way that goes into the quarry site that isn't referenced on the aerial survey. MR. GAMBLE replied that the right-of-way is the spur line going into the quarry and that would be part of the cleanup. As they bring the material out it is their intention to pull the rail up and return the right-of-way strip to its natural look as much as possible. So, the main line which is a couple hundred yards down from that spur will then bypass the entire piece of property. 5:35:05 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked since this is a cultural and historic site, is it fair to say the Eklutna Village has no plans to mine or develop the property. MR. MCQUEEN replied that is correct; they are working to keep that area in its pristine natural state. Eklutna, Inc. has other lands outside of this area that may potentially be mine-able rock, but do not have cultural significance and do not have the ties to the Eklutna River that these two knobs have. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if any municipalities in the area have weighed in either in support of or opposed to this plan. MR. MCQUEEN replied that they have had tremendous support from Mayor Begich and the NALA has a resolution in favor of it. 5:37:12 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the planning and zoning department had granted a conditional use permit. MR. MCQUEEN replied that a conditional permit has been granted recently to remove the remaining rock, but for nothing else. 5:37:49 PM SENATOR STEVENS asked who gave the quarry to the Railroad after the Army was done with it. MR. GAMBLE replied the BIA closed the school and moved it; the land that had been retained for the school grounds went up for grabs. The ARRC said it wanted the quarry and in the original document review, a letter was found between the Railroad and the BIA in which the BIA asked a couple of questions, those were answered, and very simply the land was transferred to the Railroad. SENATOR STEVENS said he thought this was the right thing to do. 5:39:33 PM MR. GAMBLE added that the federal government also removed its objection when it saw the progress that had been made and reviewed the signed documents going forward to a resolution. CHAIR HUGGINS asked Mr. Alex if he supported the land transfer. MR. ALEX replied yes. SENATOR STEDMAN moved to pass SB 103 from committee with individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered. There being no further business to come before the committee, Chair Huggins adjourned the meeting at 5:40:43 PM.