II 

Calendar No. 350 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 526 

To withdraw certain Bureau of Land Management land from mineral 

development. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To withdraw certain Bureau of Land Management land from 

mineral development. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Buffalo Tract Protec5 tion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

3 the Bureau of Land Management land described in sub4 section (b) is withdrawn from all forms of mineral develop5 ment under all laws pertaining to mineral leasing or min6 eral materials, including locatable minerals. 

7 (b) BLM LAND DESCRIBED.—The Bureau of Land 

8 Management land referred to in subsection (a) is the land 

9 identified as ‘‘Tract A’’, ‘‘Tract B’’, ‘‘Tract C’’, and 

10 ‘‘Tract D’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Placitas, New Mexico 

11 Area Map’’ and dated March 11, 2016. 

12 (c) DISPOSAL OF SURFACE ESTATE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

14 nothing in this section prohibits the disposal of the 

15 surface estate of the Bureau of Land Management 

16 land described in subsection (b) under— 

17 (A) the Federal Land Policy and Manage18 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

19 (B) the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly 

20 known as the ‘‘Recreation and Public Purposes 

21 Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). 

22 (2) OWNERSHIP OF MINERAL ESTATE.—Any 

23 disposal of the surface estate of the Bureau of Land 

24 Management land described in subsection (b) shall 

25 be subject to the condition that the mineral estate 

26 of that land shall remain under the ownership of the 


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1 Bureau of Land Management, subject to the with2 drawal described in subsection (a). 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Buffalo Tract Protection 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, the 

8 Federal land described in subsection (b) is withdrawn from 

9 all forms of— 

10 (1) location, entry, and patent under the mining 

11 laws; and 

12 (2) disposition under the mineral leasing, min13 eral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

14 (b) DESCRIPTION.—The Federal land referred to in 

15 subsections (a) and (c) is the approximately 4,288 acres of 

16 land administered by the Director of the Bureau of Land 

17 Management and generally depicted as ‘‘Tract A’’, ‘‘Tract 

18 B’’, ‘‘Tract C’’, and ‘‘Tract D’’ on the map entitled 

19 ‘‘Placitas, New Mexico Area Map’’ and dated November 13, 

20 2019. 

21 (c) SURFACE ESTATE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the reservation of 

23 the mineral estate under paragraph (2), nothing in 

24 this Act prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from 


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1 conveying the surface estate of the Federal land de2 scribed in subsection (b) in accordance with— 

3 (A) the Federal Land Policy and Manage4 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

5 (B) the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly 

6 known as the ‘‘Recreation and Public Purposes 

7 Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). 

8 (2) MINERAL ESTATE.—Any conveyance of the 

9 surface estate of the Federal land described in sub10 section (b) shall require a reservation of the mineral 

11 estate to the United States. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Calendar No. 350 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 526 

A BILL 

To withdraw certain Bureau of Land Management 

land from mineral development. 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS