Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 3.djvu/322

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106 STAT. 2116 PUBLIC LAW 102-415—OCT. 14, 1992 affected Village Corporation, amend the application to exclude the lands and include in lieu fhereof a description of lands selected by, interim conveyed to, or patented to the Village Corporation of an acreage that is not to exceed the amount of land relinquished. "(ii) The Secretary is authorized to accept the reconveyance or relinquishment of the lands (or any interest in the lands) described in the amended application from the Village Corporation or Regional Corporation in lieu of the lands (or any interest in the lands) described in the initial application. "(C) If a Village Corporation or Regional Corporation reconveys lands (or any interest in the lands) to the United States under subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary shall reduce the acreage charged against the entitlement of the Village Corporation or Regional Corporation. "(D) The authority of the Secretary to accept the reconveyance or relinquishment of lands (or any interest in the lands) under this paragraph shall terminate on the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of this subsection. "(3)(A) Subject to any valid existing rights, to the extent that the application describes lands that are authorized to be reconveyed or relinquished to the United States under paragraph (2), the Village Corporation shall file with the Secretary, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the name of the applicant and the land description of each allotment proposed to be reconveyed or relinauished. "(B) Upon receipt of the land description, the Secretary shall immediately notify the State of Alaska and all interested parties of the land description proposed to be reconveyed or relinquished, and any such party shall have 60 days following notification in which to file with the Department of the Interior a protest as provided in subsection (a)(5). "(C) The Secretary shall then either— "(i) if no protest is filed, approve the application; or "(ii) if a protest is filed, adjudicate the legal sufficiency of any protest timely filed; and— "(I) if the protest is legally insufficient, approve the application; or "(II) if the protest is valid, issue a decision that closes the application and that is final for the Department. "(D) The Secretary shall, with respect to each allotment approved pursuant to this subsection— "(i) survey the allotment; and "(ii) following reconveyance or relinquishment, issue a Native allotment certificate to the applicant or heirs of the applicant. "(4)(A) To the extent a Village Corporation or a Regional Corporation reconveys lands (or any interest in the lands) to the United tates piirsuant to paragraph (2) and the conveyance results in a reduction in the acreage charged against the entitlement of the Village Corporation or Regional Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Village Corporation or Regional Corporation shall be entitled to make selections in lieu of the reconveyed lands (or any interest in the lands). "(B)(i) The qusmtity of acreage of the surface estate reconveyed . pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be added to the quantity of acreage y of underselection, if any, for the Village Corporation. The Secretary V shall provide for the selection of lands for replacement in accordance