negotiating position should offer the same program to all
individuals without distinction.
Existing legislation
sponsored by the Department of the Interior for the
peoples of Rongelap and Utirik Atolls is an excellent
Starting point for this program.
The benefits of this
legislation should be extended to all
and supplemented as needed to achieve
above.
To avoid double recovery, the
already received should be taken into
affected peoples
the goals outlined
value of compensation
account.
Because the United States Government has had different
experiences with the peoples of the atolls involved, the
negotiating position for land use claims should be tailored
to deal with the specific facts of each case.
In all cases
the United States Government should pursue the following
objectives:
(1)
Involve the Marshallese in establishing
and implementing policy for use of land that may
be radiologically contaminated.
A permanent
mechanism must be created to acccmplish this
objective.
(2)
to land.
Compensate for ioss of use or damage
The most that may be demanded of the
United Sta tes Government is to make injured
land-owners whole, either by restoring the iana
or by making compensatory Payments.
There srould
be no attempt to go beyond this limited objective.
Our land use analysis balances the amount of land use compensation already made ageinst the value of land involved.
Because it represents & position alreacy taken by the United
States Gavernment in connection with passage of Public Law
No.
94-34 and is reasonable,
the Department of the Interior
valuation of Ujelang Atoll is adopted as the standard for
the initial negotiating position.
Again, to avoid double
recovery, the value of compensation already received should
be taken into account.
Finally, it is important to recognize
that in two instances legally binding release and hold
harmless agreements for land use claims have already been
given by the people involved.