Helium Privatization Act of 1996

Summary: Helium Privatization Act of 1996 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to:  (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store and transport crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. 
Directs the Secretary to:  (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. 
Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. 
Prescribes guidelines for:  (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary.  Requires the Secretary to make crude helium sales in amounts that will cause minimum market disruption.  Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. 
(Sec. 5) Instructs the Secretary to eliminate helium stockpiles by a prescribed deadline.  Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act. 
(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Texas Plains Girl Scout Council for consideration of one dollar specified lands in Potter County, Texas, reserving easements to the United States for pipeline rights-of-way. 
(Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to:  (1) enter into arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to the Congress on whether disposal of helium reserves (including crude helium reserves) will have a substantial adverse effect upon U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, or national security interests; (2) determine whether disposal of the helium reserve will have a substantial adverse effect on the U.S. helium industry, the U.S. helium market or such interests; and (3) if the Secretary determines that selling the crude helium reserves will have a substantial adverse effect on the industry, market, or such interests, make recommendations to the Congress, including proposed legislation, necessary to avoid such effects.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helium Privatization Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF HELIUM ACT.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 
167 to 167n).

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

    Sections 3, 4, and 5 are amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

    ``(a) Extraction and Disposal of Helium on Federal Lands.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into agreements 
        with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on 
        Federal lands upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
        deems fair, reasonable, and necessary.
            ``(2) Leasehold rights.--The Secretary may grant leasehold 
        rights to any such helium.
            ``(3) Limitation.--The Secretary may not enter into any 
        agreement by which the Secretary sells such helium other than 
        to a private party with whom the Secretary has an agreement for 
        recovery and disposal of helium.
            ``(4) Regulations.--Agreements under paragraph (1) may be 
        subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the 
        Secretary.
            ``(5) Existing rights.--An agreement under paragraph (1) 
        shall be subject to any rights of any affected Federal oil and 
        gas lessee that may be in existence prior to the date of the 
        agreement.
            ``(6) Terms and conditions.--An agreement under paragraph 
        (1) (and any extension or renewal of an agreement) shall 
        contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary may consider 
        appropriate.
            ``(7) Prior agreements.--This subsection shall not in any 
        manner affect or diminish the rights and obligations of the 
        Secretary and private parties under agreements to dispose of 
        helium produced from Federal lands in existence on the date of 
        enactment of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 except to the 
        extent that such agreements are renewed or extended after that 
        date.
    ``(b) Storage, Transportation, and Sale.--The Secretary may store, 
transport, and sell helium only in accordance with this Act.

``SEC. 4. STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND WITHDRAWAL OF CRUDE HELIUM.

    ``(a) Storage, Transportation, and Withdrawal.--The Secretary may 
store, transport, and withdraw crude helium and maintain and operate 
crude helium storage facilities, in existence on the date of enactment 
of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 at the Bureau of Mines 
Cliffside Field, and related helium transportation and withdrawal 
facilities.
    ``(b) Cessation of Production, Refining, and Marketing.--Not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Helium Privatization 
Act of 1996, the Secretary shall cease producing, refining, and 
marketing refined helium and shall cease carrying out all other 
activities relating to helium which the Secretary was authorized to 
carry out under this Act before the date of enactment of the Helium 
Privatization Act of 1996, except activities described in subsection 
(a).
    ``(c) Disposal of Facilities.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (5), not later than 
        24 months after the cessation of activities referred to in 
        subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall designate 
        as excess property and dispose of all facilities, equipment, 
        and other real and personal property, and all interests 
        therein, held by the United States for the purpose of 
        producing, refining and marketing refined helium.
            ``(2) Applicable law.--The disposal of such property shall 
        be in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative 
        Services Act of 1949.
            ``(3) Proceeds.--All proceeds accruing to the United States 
        by reason of the sale or other disposal of such property shall 
        be treated as moneys received under this chapter for purposes 
        of section 6(f).
            ``(4) Costs.--All costs associated with such sale and 
        disposal (including costs associated with termination of 
        personnel) and with the cessation of activities under 
        subsection (b) shall be paid from amounts available in the 
        helium production fund established under section 6(f).
            ``(5) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
        facilities, equipment, or other real or personal property, or 
        any interest therein, necessary for the storage, 
        transportation, and withdrawal of crude helium or any 
        equipment, facilities, or other real or personal property, 
        required to maintain the purity, quality control, and quality 
        assurance of crude helium in the Bureau of Mines Cliffside 
        Field.
    ``(d) Existing Contracts.--
            ``(1) In general.--All contracts that were entered into by 
        any person with the Secretary for the purchase by the person 
        from the Secretary of refined helium and that are in effect on 
        the date of the enactment of the Helium Privatization Act of 
        1996 shall remain in force and effect until the date on which 
        the refining operations cease, as described in subsection (b).
            ``(2) Costs.--Any costs associated with the termination of 
        contracts described in paragraph (1) shall be paid from the 
        helium production fund established under section 6(f).

``SEC. 5. FEES FOR STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND WITHDRAWAL.

    ``(a) In General.--Whenever the Secretary provides helium storage 
withdrawal or transportation services to any person, the Secretary 
shall impose a fee on the person to reimburse the Secretary for the 
full costs of providing such storage, transportation, and withdrawal.
    ``(b) Treatment.--All fees received by the Secretary under 
subsection (a) shall be treated as moneys received under this Act for 
purposes of section 6(f).''.

SEC. 4. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM.

    (a) Subsection 6(a) is amended by striking ``from the Secretary'' 
and inserting ``from persons who have entered into enforceable 
contracts to purchase an equivalent amount of crude helium from the 
Secretary''.
    (b) Subsection 6(b) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``crude'' before ``helium''; and
            (2) by adding the following at the end: ``Except as may be 
        required by reason of subsection (a), sales of crude helium 
        under this section shall be in amounts as the Secretary 
        determines, in consultation with the helium industry, necessary 
        to carry out this subsection with minimum market disruption.''.
    (c) Subsection 6(c) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``crude'' after ``Sales of''; and
            (2) by striking ``together with interest as provided in 
        this subsection'' and all that follows through the end of the 
        subsection and inserting ``all funds required to be repaid to 
        the United States as of October 1, 1995 under this section 
        (referred to in this subsection as `repayable amounts'). The 
        price at which crude helium is sold by the Secretary shall not 
        be less than the amount determined by the Secretary by--
            ``(1) dividing the outstanding amount of such repayable 
        amounts by the volume (in million cubic feet) of crude helium 
        owned by the United States and stored in the Bureau of Mines 
Cliffside Field at the time of the sale concerned, and
            ``(2) adjusting the amount determined under paragraph (1) 
        by the Consumer Price Index for years beginning after December 
        31, 1995.''.
    (d) Subsection 6(d) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Extraction of Helium From Deposits on Federal Lands.--All 
moneys received by the Secretary from the sale or disposition of helium 
on Federal lands shall be paid to the Treasury and credited against the 
amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under subsection (c).''.
    (e) Subsection 6(e) is repealed.
    (f) Subsection 6(f) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(f)'' and inserting ``(e)(1)''; and
            (2) by adding the following at the end:
    ``(2)(A) Within 7 days after the commencement of each fiscal year 
after the disposal of the facilities referred to in section 4(c), all 
amounts in such fund in excess of $2,000,000 (or such lesser sum as the 
Secretary deems necessary to carry out this Act during such fiscal 
year) shall be paid to the Treasury and credited as provided in 
paragraph (1).
    ``(B) On repayment of all amounts referred to in subsection (c), 
the fund established under this section shall be terminated and all 
moneys received under this Act shall be deposited in the general fund 
of the Treasury.''.

SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

    Section 8 is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

    ``(a) Stockpile Sales.--
            ``(1) Commencement.--Not later than January 1, 2005, the 
        Secretary shall commence offering for sale crude helium from 
        helium reserves owned by the United States in such amounts as 
        would be necessary to dispose of all such helium reserves in 
        excess of 600,000,000 cubic feet on a straight-line basis 
        between such date and January 1, 2015.
            ``(2) Times of sale.--The sales shall be at such times 
        during each year and in such lots as the Secretary determines, 
        in consultation with the helium industry, to be necessary to 
        carry out this subsection with minimum market disruption.
            ``(3) Price.--The price for all sales under paragraph (1), 
        as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the helium 
        industry, shall be such price as will ensure repayment of the 
        amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under section 
6(c).
    ``(b) Discovery of Additional Reserves.--The discovery of 
additional helium reserves shall not affect the duty of the Secretary 
to make sales of helium under subsection (a).''.

SEC. 6. REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO BORROW.

    Sections 12 and 15 are repealed.

SEC. 7. LAND CONVEYANCE IN POTTER COUNTY, TEXAS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall transfer all 
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the parcel of 
land described in subsection (b) to the Texas Plains Girl Scout Council 
for consideration of $1, reserving to the United States such easements 
as may be necessary for pipeline rights-of-way.
    (b) Land Description.--The parcel of land referred to in subsection 
(a) is all those certain lots, tracts or parcels of land lying and 
being situated in the County of Potter and State of Texas, and being 
the East Three Hundred Thirty-One (E331) acres out of Section Seventy-
eight (78) in Block Nine (9), B.S. & F. Survey, (some times known as 
the G.D. Landis pasture) Potter County, Texas, located by certificate 
No. 1/39 and evidenced by letters patents Nos. 411 and 412 issued by 
the State of Texas under date of November 23, 1937, and of record in 
Vol. 66A of the Patent Records of the State of Texas. The metes and 
bounds description of such lands is as follows:
            (1) First tract.--One Hundred Seventy-one (171) acres of 
        land known as the North part of the East part of said survey 
        Seventy-eight (78) aforesaid, described by metes and bounds as 
        follows:
                    Beginning at a stone 20 x 12 x 3 inches marked X, 
                set by W.D. Twichell in 1905, for the Northeast corner 
                of this survey and the Northwest corner of Section 59;
                    Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East with the 
                West line of said Section 59, 999.4 varas to the 
                Northeast corner of the South 160 acres of East half of 
                Section 78;
                    Thence, North 89 degrees 47 minutes West with the 
                North line of the South 150 acres of the East half, 
                956.8 varas to a point in the East line of the West 
                half Section 78;
                    Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes West with the 
                East line of the West half 999.4 varas to a stone 18 x 
                14 x 3 inches in the middle of the South line of 
                Section 79;
                    Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965 varas 
                to the place of beginning.
            (2) Second tract.--One Hundred Sixty (160) acres of land 
        known as the South part of the East part of said survey No. 
        Seventy-eight (78) described by metes and bounds as follows:
                    Beginning at the Southwest corner of Section 59, a 
                stone marked X and a pile of stones; Thence, North 89 
                degrees 47 minutes West with the North line of Section 
                77, 966.5 varas to the Southeast corner of the West 
                half of Section 78; Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes 
                West with the East line of the West half of Section 78;
                    Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965.8 
                varas to a point in the East line of Section 78;
                    Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East 934.6 varas 
                to the place of beginning.
            Containing an area of 331 acres, more or less.

SEC. 8. REPORT ON HELIUM.

    (a) Not later than three years before the date on which the 
Secretary commences offering for sale crude helium under section 8, the 
Secretary shall enter into appropriate arrangements with the National 
Academy of Sciences to study and report on whether such disposal of 
helium reserves will have a substantial adverse effect on United States 
scientific, technical, biomedical, or national security interests.
    (b) Not later than 18 months before the date on which the Secretary 
commences offering for sale crude helium under section 8, the Secretary 
shall transmit to the Congress--
          (1) the report of the National Academy under subsection (a);
          (2) the findings of the Secretary, after consideration of the 
        conclusions of the National Academy under subsection (a) and 
        after consultation with the United States helium industry and 
        with heads of affected Federal agencies, as to whether the 
        disposal of the helium reserve under section 8 will have a 
        substantial adverse effect on the United States helium 
        industry, United States, helium market or United States, 
        scientific, technological, biomedical, or national security 
        interests; and
            (3) if the Secretary determines that selling the crude 
        helium reserves under the formula established in section 8 will 
        have a substantial adverse effect on the United States helium 
        industry, the United States helium market or United States 
        scientific, technological, biomedical, or national security 
        interest, the Secretary shall make recommendations, including 
        recommendations for proposed legislation, as may be necessary 
        to avoid such adverse effects.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 30, 1996.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.