Escrow account pending conveyance of withdrawn lands; Proceeds not deposited in account; Payments; Interest; Deposit of account in United States treasury; Public easements; Authority for payment out of treasury funds Section 2

          (a) From and after the date of enactment of this Act, or January 1, 1976, whichever occurs first, any and all proceeds derived from contracts, leases, permits, rights-of-way, or easements pertaining to lands or resources of lands withdrawn for Native selection pursuant to the Settlement Act shall be deposited in an escrow account which shall be held by the Secretary until lands selected pursuant to that Act have been conveyed to the selecting corporation or individual entitled to receive benefits under such Act. As such withdrawn or formerly reserved lands are conveyed, the Secretary shall pay from such account the proceeds, together with interest which derive from contracts, leases, permits, rights-of-way, or easements, pertaining to such lands or resources of such lands, to the appropriate corporation or individual entitled to receive benefits under the Settlement Act. The proceeds derived from contracts, leases, permits, rights-of-way, or easements, pertaining to lands withdrawn or reserved, but not selected or elected pursuant to such Act, shall, upon the expiration of the selection or election rights of the corporations and individuals for whose benefit such lands were withdrawn or reserved, be paid as would have been required by law were it not for the provisions of this Act.

          (b) The Secretary is authorized to deposit in the Treasury of the United States the escrow account proceeds referred to in subsection (a) of this section, and the United States shall pay interest thereon semiannually from the date of deposit to the date of payment with simple interest at the rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be the rate payable on short-term obligations of the United States prevailing at the time of payment: Provided, That the Secretary in his discretion may withdraw such proceeds from the United States Treasury and reinvest such proceeds in the manner provided by the first section of the Act of June 24, 1938 (52 U.S.C. 1037): Provided further, That this section shall not be construed to create or terminate any trust relationship between the United States and any corporation or individual entitled to receive benefits under the Settlement Act.

          (c) Any and all proceeds from public easements reserved pursuant to section 17(b)(3) of the Settlement Act, from or after the date of enactment of this Act, shall be paid to the grantee of such conveyance in accordance with such grantee’s proportionate share.

          (d) To the extent that there is a conflict between the provisions of this section and any other Federal laws applicable to Alaska, the provisions of this section will govern. Any payment made to any corporation or any individual under authority of this section shall not be subject to any prior obligation under section 9(d) or 9(f) of the Settlement Act.


Section 2 as amended by P.L. 96-487, section 1411, 94 Stat. 2497, December 2, 1980:

          (a)(1) During the period of the appropriate withdrawal for selection pursuant to the Settlement Act, any and all proceeds derived from contracts, leases, licenses, permits, rights-of-way, or easements, or from trespass occurring after the date of withdrawal of the lands for selection, pertaining to lands or resources of lands, including wildlife proceeds received between the date of withdrawal and the date of conveyance from harvests on lands conveyed pursuant to the Act, withdrawn for Native selection pursuant to the Settlement Act shall be deposited in an escrow account which shall be held by the Secretary until lands selected pursuant to that Act have been conveyed to the selecting Corporation or individual entitled to receive benefits under such Act.

                    (2) Such proceeds which were received, if any, subsequent to the date of withdrawal of the land for selection, but were not deposited in the escrow account shall be identified by the Secretary within two years of the date of conveyance or this Act, whichever is later, and shall be paid, together with interest payable on the proceeds from the date of receipt by the United States to the date of payment to the appropriate Corporation or individual to which the land was conveyed by the United States: Provided, That the interest on proceeds received prior to January 2, 1976, shall be calculated and paid at the rate of the earnings on Individual Indian Moneys in the custody of the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to sections 463 and 465 of the Revised Statutes (25 U.S.C. 2 and 9) and invested by him pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a), from the date of receipt to January 2, 1976. Effective January 2, 1976, the interest so calculated shall be added to the principal amount of such proceeds. The interest on this total amount and on proceeds received on or after January 2, 1976, shall be calculated and paid as though such proceeds and previously calculated interest had been deposited in the escrow account from January 2, 1976, or the date of receipt, whichever occurs later, to the date of payment to the affected Corporation.

                    (3) Such proceeds which have been deposited in the escrow account shall be paid, together with interest accrued by the Secretary to the appropriate Corporation or individual upon conveyance of the particular withdrawn lands. In the event that a conveyance does not cover all of the land embraced within any contract, lease, license, permit, right-of-way, easement, or trespass, the Corporation or individual shall only be entitled to the proportionate amount of the proceeds, including interest accrued, derived from such contract, lease, license, permit, right-of-way, or easement, which results from multiplying the total of such proceeds, including interest accrued, by a fraction in which the numerator is the acreage of such contract, lease, license, permit, right-of-way, or easement which is included in the conveyance and the denominator is the total acreage contained in such contract, lease, license, permit, right-of-way, or easement; in the case of trespass, the conveyee shall be entitled to the proportionate share of the proceeds, including a proportionate share of interest accrued, in relation to the damages occurring on the respective lands during the period the lands were withdrawn for selection.

                    (4) Such proceeds which have been deposited in the escrow account pertaining to lands withdrawn but not selected pursuant to such Act, or selected but not conveyed due to rejection or relinquishment of the selection, shall be paid, together with interest accrued, as would have been required by law were it not for the provisions of this Act.

                    (5) Lands withdrawn under this subsection include all Federal lands identified under appendices A, B-1 and B-2 of the document referred to in section 12 of the Act of January 2, 1976 (Public Law 94-204) for Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, and are deemed withdrawn as of the date established in subsection (a) of section 2 of the Act of January 2, 1976.

          (b) The Secretary is authorized to deposit in the Treasury of the United States the escrow account proceeds referred to in subsection (a) of this section, and the United States shall pay interest thereon semiannually from the date of deposit to the date of payment with simple interest at the rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be the rate payable on short-term obligations of the United States prevailing at the time of payment: Provided, That the Secretary in his discretion may withdraw such proceeds from the United States Treasury and reinvest such proceeds in the manner provided by the first section of the Act of June 24, 1938 (52 U.S.C. 1037): Provided further, That this section shall not be construed to create or terminate any trust relationship between the United States and any corporation or individual entitled to receive benefits under the Settlement Act.

          (c) Any and all proceeds from public easements reserved pursuant to section 17(b)(3) of the Settlement Act, from or after the date of enactment of this Act, shall be paid to the grantee of such conveyance in accordance with such grantee’s proportionate share.

          (d) To the extent that there is a conflict between the provisions of this section and any other Federal laws applicable to Alaska, the provisions of this section will govern. Any payment made to any corporation or any individual under authority of this section shall not be subject to any prior obligation under section 9(d) or 9(f) of the Settlement Act.

          (e) The Secretary shall calculate the amounts payable pursuant to this section and notify the affected Corporation of the results of his calculations. The affected Corporation shall have thirty days in which to appeal the Secretary’s calculations after which the Secretary shall promptly make a final determination of the amounts payable. The Secretary shall certify such final determinations to the Secretary of the Treasury and each determination shall constitute a final judgment, award, or compromise settlement under section 1304 of title 31 of the United States Code. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay such amounts to the appropriate Corporation out of funds in the Treasury: Provided, That if the lands from which the proceeds and interest entitlement are derived have not been conveyed to the selecting Native Corporation at the time the Secretary makes his final determination, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay such amount into the escrow account where it will earn interest and be disbursed in the same manner as other proceeds and interest.