Alaska 10th in states receiving revenues from federal lands

The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service said Feb. 24 that the state of Alaska received $5,463,996.70 as its 1998 share of minerals revenues collected from federal public lands within its borders and from federal offshore tracts adjacent to its seaward boundary.

The money, $1,341,241.08 of which came from offshore tracts, represents the state’s share of bonuses, rents and royalties. In addition to this continuing share of revenues, Alaska was paid $13,400,000 by the federal government as part of its 8(g) tracts settlement in April 1998.

“A state is entitled to a share of the mineral revenues collected from federal lands located within that state’s boundaries. As prescribed by the Alaska Statehood Act, Alaska gets a 90 percent share. The U.S. Treasury gets the remaining 10 percent,” MMS Alaska Regional Director John Goll said in a statement.

“Coastal states, including Alaska, with federal offshore tracts adjacent to their seaward boundaries, receive 27 percent of those mineral royalties as well,” Goll said. Most of the money goes to western states, with Wyoming topping the list at $232 million, 41.5 percent of the total, followed by New Mexico with $156 million (28 percent), Colorado $41 million (7 percent), Utah $33 million (6 percent), Montana $18.5 million (3 percent) and California $17.6 million (3 percent). Alaska ranked tenth, receiving just less than 1 percent of the total of more than $559 million.