IB 

Union Calendar No. 556 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3843 

[Report No. 114–717, Part I] 

To authorize for a 7-year period the collection of claim location and 

maintenance fees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2015 

Mr. LAMBORN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on 

Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. YOUNG of Alaska and Mr. TIPTON

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

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

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

The Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 

the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 28, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To authorize for a 7-year period the collection of claim 

location and maintenance fees, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Locatable Minerals 

5 Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—MINING CLAIM LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE FEES 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Claim location and maintenance fees. 

Sec. 103. Mining claim validity exams and mineral reports for areas segregated 

or withdrawn from mineral entry. 

Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 105. Mineral potential reports and mining claim validity exams. 

Sec. 106. United States mineral deposit database. 

TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR INACTIVE AND 

ABANDONED NONCOAL MINE LANDS PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of inactive and abandoned noncoal mine lands program. 

Sec. 203. Inactive and abandoned mine land program partners. 

Sec. 204. Priority sites for Good Samaritan projects on Federal lands. 

Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE III—GOOD SAMARITAN REMEDIATION OF ABANDONED MINE 

LANDS 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Permits for remediation of inactive or abandoned mine lands by Good 

Samaritans. 

Sec. 304. State or tribal programs. 

Sec. 305. Enforcement. 

Sec. 306. Grants eligibility. 

Sec. 307. Construction of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. 

Sec. 308. Use of projects to meet offsite mitigation requirements. 

Sec. 309. State and tribal reclamation plans under the Surface Mining Control 

and Reclamation Act of 1977. 

Sec. 310. Savings provisions. 

Sec. 311. Sunset. 


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1 TITLE I—MINING CLAIM LOCA2 TION AND MAINTENANCE 

3 FEES 

4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title: 

6 (1) CLAIM.—The term ‘‘claim’’ means an 

7 unpatented lode mining claim, placer claim, mill site, 

8 or tunnel site located under the general mining laws. 

9 (2) CLAIM HOLDER AND CLAIMANT.—The terms 

10 ‘‘claim holder’’ and ‘‘claimant’’ mean the owner or 

11 holder of a claim. 

12 (3) CERTIFIED MINERAL EXAMINER.—The term 

13 ‘‘Certified Mineral Examiner’’ means an employee of 

14 the Federal Government who— 

15 (A) possesses sufficient college education to 

16 qualify as a geologist, mining engineer, or met17 allurgical engineer; and 

18 (B) has completed training specified by the 

19 Chief Mineral Examiner of the Bureau of Land 

20 Management, Department of the Interior. 

21 (4) CERTIFIED REVIEW MINERAL EXAMINER.— 

22 The term ‘‘Certified Review Mineral Examiner’’ 

23 means a Certified Mineral Examiner who is deter24 mined by the Bureau of Land Management Mineral 

25 Examiner Certification Panel to possess an addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Sep 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3843.RH H3843

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1 tional breadth of training and experience that is suf2 ficient to review mineral potential reports and min3 ing claim validity exam reports. 

4 (5) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal lands’’ 

5 means lands and interests in lands owned by the 

6 United States that are open to mineral entry and lo7 cation, or that were open to mineral entry and loca8 tion at the time of entry or location. 

9 (6) GENERAL MINING LAWS.—The term ‘‘general 

10 mining laws’’ means those Acts that generally com11 prise chapters 2, 11, 12, 12A, 15, and 16, and sec12 tions 161 and 162, of title 30, United States Code, all 

13 Acts that are amendatory of or supplementary to any 

14 of the foregoing Acts, and the judicial and adminis15 trative decisions interpreting such Acts. 

16 (7) LOCATABLE MINERALS.—The term ‘‘locatable 

17 minerals’’ means those minerals held by the United 

18 States and not subject to disposition under— 

19 (A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 

20 et seq.); 

21 (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

22 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

23 (C) the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 

24 601 et seq.); or 


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1 (D) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

2 Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 

3 (8) MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘mineral 

4 activities’’ means any activity on Federal lands 

5 under a claim with or without a discovery, or off of 

6 claims, for mineral prospecting, exploration, develop7 ment, mining, extraction, milling, beneficiation, proc8 essing, storage of mined or processed materials, or 

9 reclamation activities for any locatable mineral and 

10 uses that are reasonably incident thereto, including 

11 the construction and use of roads, transmission lines, 

12 water wells, pipelines, utility corridors, and other 

13 means of access across Federal lands for ancillary fa14 cilities used in conjunction with such activity. 

15 (9) MINERAL POTENTIAL REPORT.—The term 

16 ‘‘mineral potential report’’ means a report described 

17 in section 204(c)(2)(12) of the Federal Land Policy 

18 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

19 1714(c)(2)(12)). 

20 (10) MINING CLAIM VALIDITY EXAM.—The term 

21 ‘‘mining claim validity exam’’ means an examination 

22 of a mining claim to determine if it establishes a 

23 valid existing right in a valuable mineral deposit (as 

24 that term is used in section 2319 of the Revised Stat25 utes (30 U.S.C. 22)). 


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1 (11) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in2 dividual, partnership, association, society, joint ven3 ture, joint stock company, firm, company, limited li4 ability company, corporation, cooperative, or other 

5 organization, and any instrumentality of State or 

6 local government, including any publicly owned util7 ity or publicly owned corporation of State or local 

8 government. 

9 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior, unless otherwise speci11 fied. 

12 (13) UNITED STATES MINERAL DEPOSIT DATA13 BASE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘United States Mineral 

14 Deposit Database Project’’ means the interactive 

15 database of mines and mineral deposits in the United 

16 States administered by the United States Geological 

17 Survey Mineral Resources Program. 

18 SEC. 102. CLAIM LOCATION AND MAINTENANCE FEES. 

19 (a) LOCATION FEE.—For each claim located after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, a claimant shall pay the Sec21 retary a location fee of $37 not later than 90 days after 

22 the date of location, at the time the location notice is re23 corded with the Bureau of Land Management. 

24 (b) ANNUAL CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE.—Commencing 

25 the first calendar year after the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act, a claimant shall pay the Secretary on or before Sep2 tember 1 of each year, a claim maintenance fee of $155 

3 per 20.66-acre claim or fraction thereof to maintain the 

4 claim for the following assessment year beginning at noon 

5 on September 1. Payment of such claim maintenance fee 

6 shall be in lieu of the assessment work requirement con7 tained in the general mining laws and the related filing 

8 requirements contained in subsections (a) and (c) of section 

9 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

10 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744). 

11 (c) WAIVER FOR HOLDERS OF 10 OR FEWER

12 CLAIMS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The claim maintenance fee re14 quired under this section shall be waived for a claim15 ant who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on 

16 the date the payment was due— 

17 (A) the claimant was— 

18 (i) the holder of not more than 10 lode 

19 claims on Federal lands; or 

20 (ii) an association that held less than 

21 or equal to 320 acres; and 

22 (B) the claimant has performed assessment 

23 work sufficient to maintain the claims held by 

24 the claimant for the assessment year ending on 

25 noon of September 1 of the calendar year in 


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1 which the claim maintenance fee payment was 

2 due. 

3 (2) HOLDER.—As used in paragraph (1), the 

4 term ‘‘holder’’ includes— 

5 (A) the claimant; 

6 (B) the spouse and dependent children (as 

7 defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986) of the claimant; and 

9 (C) a person affiliated with the claimant, 

10 including— 

11 (i) a person controlled by, controlling, 

12 or under common control with the claimant; 

13 and 

14 (ii) a subsidiary or parent company or 

15 corporation of the claimant. 

16 (3) CERTIFICATION PROCESSING FEE.—The Sec17 retary shall charge a certification processing fee of 

18 $30 for the filing of a certification under this sub19 section. 

20 (d) SUSPENSION OF CLAIM MAINTENANCE AND WAIV21 ER OF COST RECOVERY FEES.— 

22 (1) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE.—The claim main23 tenance fees required under this section shall be sus24 pended for any claims of a claimant for an area that 

25 was open to mineral entry and location at the time 


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1 of entry or location that has subsequently been seg2 regated or withdrawn from mineral entry and loca3 tion by order of the Secretary or a law enacted after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act until such time 

5 as the area is reopened to mineral entry, or the 

6 claimant has submitted a notice or permit to explore 

7 or develop his or her claims or is actively mining. 

8 (2) COST RECOVERY FEES.—The fees required by 

9 part 3000 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, as 

10 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, and any 

11 substantially similar fee charged for a mining claim 

12 validity exam, shall be waived for any claimant with 

13 claims in an area that was open to mineral entry 

14 and location at the time of claim location that has 

15 subsequently been segregated or withdrawn from min16 eral entry and location by order of the Secretary or 

17 a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 (e) EFFECTS OF PAYMENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Timely payment of the loca21 tion and claim maintenance fees under this section 

22 secures the rights of the holder of a mining claim 

23 against the Federal Government both prior to and 

24 after discovery of valuable mineral deposits, to use 

25 and occupy Federal lands under the provisions of the 


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1 general mining laws for all mineral activities. This 

2 section shall not be construed to amend section 910 of 

3 the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 53) or in any way 

4 affect the law of possession or the doctrine of pedis 

5 possessio. 

6 (2) WAIVER OF CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE.—In 

7 the case of a claim holder who qualifies for a waiver 

8 of payment of the claim maintenance fee under sub9 section (c), timely payment of the location fee and 

10 compliance with the assessment work required under 

11 the general mining laws (30 U.S.C. 28–28e) secures 

12 the rights of the holder of a claim, both prior to and 

13 after discovery of valuable mineral deposits, to use 

14 and occupy Federal lands under the provisions of the 

15 general mining laws for all mineral activities. 

16 (f) FORFEITURE OF UNPATENTED CLAIM FOR FAIL17 URE TO PAY MAINTENANCE FEE.— 

18 (1) FAILURE TO PAY.—Failure to pay a claim 

19 maintenance fee or a location fee under this section 

20 for an unpatented mining claim shall subject the 

21 claim to forfeiture by the claim holder as provided in 

22 this subsection. 

23 (2) NOTICE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

24 provide the claim holder— 

25 (A) notice of the failure; and 


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1 (B) the opportunity to correct the failure 

2 within 45 days after the claim holder’s receipt of 

3 the notice. 

4 (3) AMOUNT.—To correct the failure the claim 

5 holder must, within such 45-day period, pay twice the 

6 amount of claim maintenance fee that would other7 wise have been required to be timely paid. The Sec8 retary shall specify the amount that must be paid in 

9 the notice under paragraph (2). 

10 (4) FORFEITURE.—Failure by the claim holder 

11 to make a timely and proper payment in the amount 

12 specified in the notice, within 45 days after the claim 

13 holder’s receipt of the notice, shall constitute a for14 feiture of the mining claim by the claim holder by op15 eration of law. 

16 (g) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF FEES.—The fees imposed 

17 under this section shall apply during the period beginning 

18 September 1, 2016, and ending August 31, 2022. 

19 SEC. 103. MINING CLAIM VALIDITY EXAMS AND MINERAL 

20 REPORTS FOR AREAS SEGREGATED OR WITH21 DRAWN FROM MINERAL ENTRY. 

22 All mining claim validity exams shall be completed 

23 by Certified Mineral Examiners and reviewed by Certified 

24 Review Mineral Examiners. 


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1 SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

3 of the Interior to carry out mining law administration pro4 gram operations $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

5 through 2022. 

6 SEC. 105. MINERAL POTENTIAL REPORTS AND MINING 

7 CLAIM VALIDITY EXAMS. 

8 Mineral potential reports for areas withdrawn from 

9 mineral entry, and any mining claim validity exam on 

10 claims located within those areas, must be completed or pre11 pared by a Certified Mineral Examiner and reviewed by 

12 Certified Review Mineral Examiner. 

13 SEC. 106. UNITED STATES MINERAL DEPOSIT DATABASE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United 

16 States Geological Survey shall enter into separate memo17 randa of understanding to share data for the purpose of 

18 expanding and maintaining the United States Mineral De19 posit Database, with each of— 

20 (1) the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage21 ment; 

22 (2) the Director of the Office of Surface Mining 

23 Reclamation and Enforcement; and 

24 (3) the Chief Forester of the Forest Service. 

25 (b) FUNDING.—From amounts available for each of fis26 cal years 2016 through 2022 for operations to administer 


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1 the mining laws, the Secretary may use not more than 

2 $1,000,000 to support the United States Mineral Deposit 

3 Database of which not more than 5 percent may be used 

4 for overhead expenses. 

5 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

6 INTERIOR INACTIVE AND 

7 ABANDONED NONCOAL MINE 

8 LANDS PROGRAM 

9 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

11 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD.—The term ‘‘envi12 ronmental hazard’’ means degradation of air, soil, or 

13 water resources resulting from the effects of past min14 ing practices. 

15 (2) HISTORIC MINE RESIDUE.—The term ‘‘his16 toric mine residue’’ means mine residue, or conditions 

17 related to an inactive or abandoned mine site that 

18 pollute the environment, resulting from prior mining 

19 activities, including— 

20 (A) tailings or mine waste piles; 

21 (B) abandoned equipment (or materials in 

22 such equipment); and 

23 (C) acidic or otherwise polluted flows in 

24 surface or ground water. 


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1 (3) INACTIVE AND ABANDONED NONCOAL MINE

2 LANDS.—The term ‘‘inactive and abandoned noncoal 

3 mine lands’’ means any location of a noncoal mine, 

4 including mill sites and processing sites, that was in5 active or abandoned before January 1, 1981, and 

6 that— 

7 (A) contains historic mine residue; 

8 (B) is not owned by any person who caused 

9 or contributed to the historic mine residue; 

10 (C) was used for the production of a 

11 noncoal mineral; and 

12 (D) is no longer in operation and is not 

13 subject to a temporary shutdown, as determined 

14 by the Secretary. 

15 (4) PHYSICAL SAFETY HAZARD.—The term 

16 ‘‘physical safety hazard’’ means any dangerous condi17 tion or effect resulting from past mining practices, 

18 that poses a risk of death or serious injury to the pub19 lic, livestock, or wildlife. 

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (6) WATER RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘water re23 sources’’ means any watershed, ground water, water 

24 course, or lake. 


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1 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF INACTIVE AND ABANDONED 

2 NONCOAL MINE LANDS PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the De4 partment of the Interior a program to be known as the 

5 Abandoned Noncoal Mine Lands Program (referred to in 

6 this section as the ‘‘Program’’). The Program shall be ad7 ministered by the Secretary of the Interior acting through 

8 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 

9 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—Under the Program, 

10 the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) identify, secure, and remediate physical safe12 ty hazards and environmental hazards associated 

13 with inactive and abandoned noncoal mine lands that 

14 are located on, or affecting, Federal public lands, in15 cluding such hazards on other lands that are adjacent 

16 to such Federal lands; 

17 (2) maintain an inventory of the sites of such 

18 inactive and abandoned noncoal mines, affected Fed19 eral public lands, and other lands that are adjacent 

20 to such Federal public lands, including such sites that 

21 have been remediated in whole or in part, and associ22 ated water resources; and 

23 (3) identify the persons, if any, who are respon24 sible for paying the costs to remediate such hazards. 


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1 (c) PRIORITIES.—In securing and remediating haz2 ards under this title, the Secretary shall give priority (in 

3 the following order of priority) to— 

4 (1) the protection of public health, safety, and 

5 general welfare from the adverse effects of inactive 

6 and abandoned noncoal mine lands; and 

7 (2) the reclamation of land and water resources 

8 degraded by the adverse effects of such mine lands. 

9 SEC. 203. INACTIVE AND ABANDONED MINE LAND PRO10 GRAM PARTNERS. 

11 The Secretary, where appropriate, shall seek out Fed12 eral agencies or departments, State agencies, Indian tribes, 

13 nonprofit organizations, individuals, and corporations to 

14 participate as partners, including partners that are Good 

15 Samaritans (as that term is defined in title III), to facili16 tate remediation and securing of physical safety or environ17 mental hazards under this title. 

18 SEC. 204. PRIORITY SITES FOR GOOD SAMARITAN 

19 PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

20 (a) IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 120 

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 

23 Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of Agri24 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, in 

25 consultation with other Federal land management agencies, 


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1 shall identify a minimum of 20 priority sites on Federal 

2 land containing inactive or abandoned mine sites suitable 

3 for Good Samaritan projects under title III. 

4 (b) NOMINATIONS.—In identifying priority sites under 

5 subsection (a), the Secretaries shall accept nominations 

6 from the public. 

7 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Secretaries shall annually 

8 review the sites identified under subsection (a) and identify 

9 additional priority sites as appropriate. 

10 SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this title $17,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

13 2020. 

14 TITLE III—GOOD SAMARITAN RE15 MEDIATION OF ABANDONED 

16 MINE LANDS 

17 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan Clean19 up of Abandoned Mine Lands Act’’. 

20 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ24 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) COOPERATING PERSON.—The term ‘‘cooper2 ating person’’ means any person (other than a Fed3 eral agency) that— 

4 (A) is a Good Samaritan; 

5 (B) assists another Good Samaritan in a 

6 remediation project; and 

7 (C) is identified as a cooperating person in 

8 a permit issued under this title. 

9 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—The term ‘‘environ10 mental laws’’ means— 

11 (A) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

12 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and any State law im13 plementing a permit program under section 

14 402(b) or 404(g) of such Act; and 

15 (B) the Comprehensive Environmental Re16 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 

17 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 

18 (4) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—The 

19 term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ means any 

20 agency of the Federal Government authorized by stat21 ute to exercise jurisdiction, custody, or control over 

22 lands of the United States. 

23 (5) GOOD SAMARITAN.—The term ‘‘Good Samar24 itan’’ means any person that did not participate in 

25 any way in the creation of, or activities that caused, 


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1 any historic mine residue at the inactive or aban2 doned mine site and that— 

3 (A) has an ownership interest in the inac4 tive or abandoned mine site, but— 

5 (i) is not liable or potentially liable for 

6 remediation costs related to the historic 

7 mine residue at the inactive or abandoned 

8 mine site, or affiliated with any other per9 son potentially so liable through any con10 tractual, corporate, or financial relation11 ship (other than a contractual, corporate, or 

12 financial relationship that is created by the 

13 instruments by which the ownership interest 

14 in the inactive or abandoned mine site is 

15 conveyed or financed or by a contract for 

16 the sale of goods or services); and 

17 (ii) is not a successor entity to a busi18 ness entity that was liable or potentially 

19 liable for such remediation costs; 

20 (B) has an ownership interest in the inac21 tive or abandoned mine site that was acquired 

22 through the inheritance of a patented mining 

23 claim; or 

24 (C) has no ownership interest in the inac25 tive or abandoned mine site and had no such an 


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1 interest at any time during or since the creation 

2 of the historic mine residue at the site. 

3 (6) HISTORIC MINE RESIDUE.—The term ‘‘his4 toric mine residue’’ means mine residue, or conditions 

5 related to an inactive or abandoned mine site that 

6 pollute the environment, resulting from prior mining 

7 activities, including— 

8 (A) tailings or mine waste piles; 

9 (B) abandoned equipment (or materials in 

10 such equipment); and 

11 (C) acidic or otherwise polluted flows in 

12 surface or ground water. 

13 (7) INACTIVE OR ABANDONED MINE SITE.—The 

14 term ‘‘inactive or abandoned mine site’’ means any 

15 mine site, including any mill or processing site, 

16 that— 

17 (A) contains historic mine residue; 

18 (B) is not owned by any person who caused 

19 or contributed to the historic mine residue; 

20 (C) was used for the production of a min21 eral-bearing ore or coal; and 

22 (D) is no longer in operation and is not 

23 subject to a temporary shutdown, as determined 

24 by the permitting authority. 


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1 (8) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun2 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 

3 of title 18, United States Code. 

4 (9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

5 means an Indian tribe that— 

6 (A) is federally recognized; or 

7 (B) is an Alaska Native Corporation as de8 fined under section 1602 of title 43, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (10) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 

11 means a State or tribal agency designated under sec12 tion 304(c)(1) as the lead agency responsible for car13 rying out permitting responsibilities of the State or 

14 Indian tribe under this title. 

15 (11) OFFSITE MITIGATION REQUIREMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘offsite mitigation requirement’’ means a re17 quirement imposed under another Federal law to im18 prove, enhance, restore, or create a wetland, stream, 

19 or habitat conservation area to offset or compensate 

20 for adverse impacts to similar ecosystems resulting 

21 from the development of a natural resource or other 

22 commercial activity. 

23 (12) PERMITTING AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘per24 mitting authority’’ means the Administrator or, in 


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1 the case of a State or tribal program authorized by 

2 the Administrator under section 304, the lead agency. 

3 (13) REMEDIATION.—The term ‘‘remediation’’ 

4 means activities to clean up or otherwise mitigate the 

5 impacts of historic mine residue. 

6 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

7 the 50 States of the United States, the District of Co8 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

9 American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, 

10 the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and 

11 any other territory or possession over which the 

12 United States has jurisdiction. 

13 SEC. 303. PERMITS FOR REMEDIATION OF INACTIVE OR 

14 ABANDONED MINE LANDS BY GOOD SAMARI15 TANS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority may issue 

17 a permit to a Good Samaritan to carry out a project in 

18 accordance with this section. 

19 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

20 (1) PURPOSE OF PROJECT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority 

22 may issue a permit under this section for a 

23 project to improve the environment (including 

24 water quality) by carrying out remediation at or 

25 related to an inactive or abandoned mine site. 


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1 (B) WATER QUALITY.—A permitting au2 thority shall ensure that remediation carried out 

3 pursuant to a permit issued under this section— 

4 (i) assists in the attainment of appli5 cable water quality standards to the extent 

6 reasonable and practicable under the cir7 cumstances; and 

8 (ii) does not result in water quality 

9 that is worse than the baseline water condi10 tion. 

11 (2) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—A permitting 

12 authority may not issue a permit under this section 

13 for a project at or related to a mine site included on 

14 the National Priorities List developed by the Presi15 dent in accordance with section 105(a)(8)(B) of the 

16 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa17 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

18 9605(a)(8)(B)) or a mine site at which the Adminis19 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency or an20 other Federal, State, or tribal agency is taking an en21 vironmental enforcement or response action, unless 

22 the permitting authority determines, after consulta23 tion with any other interested agency, that— 

24 (A) the proposed project is not inconsistent, 

25 and will not interfere, with any other planned 


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1 remediation at the mine site that is reasonably 

2 likely to occur; and 

3 (B) the proposed project will accelerate en4 vironmental improvements. 

5 (c) PERMIT APPLICATIONS.— 

6 (1) CONTENTS.—A permitting authority shall re7 quire an application for a permit under this section 

8 to include— 

9 (A) a description of the project site (includ10 ing the boundaries of the project site and any de11 graded waters related to the project site); 

12 (B) an identification of— 

13 (i) any current owner of the property 

14 on which the project is proposed to be car15 ried out; 

16 (ii) any person with a legal right to 

17 exclude other persons from the project site 

18 or affect activities on the project site, with 

19 a description of those legal rights; 

20 (iii) for project sites on Federal lands, 

21 the Federal land management agency; and 

22 (iv) based on the conduct of an inquiry 

23 that is reasonable under the cir24 cumstances— 


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1 (I) all persons that may be legally 

2 responsible for remediation of the 

3 project site; and 

4 (II) any relationship between 

5 those persons and the applicant; 

6 (C) a description of any contractual ties or 

7 other legal relationship between the applicant 

8 and all persons with responsibility for compli9 ance with environmental laws at the project site; 

10 (D) a general description of the known and 

11 identifiable baseline conditions, including condi12 tions existing prior to the commencement of min13 ing activities, as of the date of submission of the 

14 application, of the environment affected by the 

15 historic mine residue to be remediated, includ16 ing, if available, any sampling data or informa17 tion regarding the nature and extent of the ef18 fects on the water quality of any body of water 

19 caused by the drainage of historic mine residue 

20 or other discharges from the inactive or aban21 doned mine site; 

22 (E) a description of— 

23 (i) the historic mine residue proposed 

24 to be remediated; 


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1 (ii) the nature and scope of the pro2 posed remediation, including— 

3 (I) any proposed recycling or re4 processing of the historic mine residue, 

5 how the recycling or reprocessing re6 lates to the remediation, and where the 

7 recycling or reprocessing will occur; 

8 and 

9 (II) the manner in which the pro10 posed remediation will mitigate the 

11 drainage from the inactive or aban12 doned mine site to improve water qual13 ity, if applicable; 

14 (iii) the remediation alternatives, if 

15 any, considered in developing the proposed 

16 remediation plan for the project site; 

17 (iv) engineering plans for the project, 

18 bearing the seal of a Professional Engineer; 

19 (v) in the case of a remediation activ20 ity that requires plugging, opening, or oth21 erwise altering the portal or adit of an in22 active or abandoned mine, an evaluation of 

23 inactive or abandoned mine site conditions, 

24 including an assessment of any pooled 


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1 water or hydraulic pressure in the inactive 

2 or abandoned mine; 

3 (vi) how any material related to the 

4 inactive or abandoned mine site that is 

5 identified or listed as hazardous waste 

6 under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) will be disposed of; 

8 (vii) a monitoring program proposed 

9 to be carried out following completion of the 

10 remediation, if applicable, that will be im11 plemented to evaluate the effects of the reme12 diation on the environment; and 

13 (viii) the capacity (including technical 

14 and administrative) of the applicant to 

15 carry out the proposed activities and any 

16 terms of the permit for which the applica17 tion is being submitted; 

18 (F) a plan for any operation and mainte19 nance related to the proposed remediation; 

20 (G) a proposed schedule for activities to be 

21 carried out under the project, including an ex22 pected completion date for the remediation; 

23 (H) a budget for the project; 

24 (I) evidence satisfactory to the permitting 

25 authority that the applicant has sufficient finanVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Sep 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3843.RH H3843

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1 cial resources to ensure that the activities pro2 posed to be carried out by the applicant, includ3 ing any operation and maintenance activities 

4 related to the remediation, will be carried out 

5 under the permit; 

6 (J) an identification of any cooperating 

7 persons and a description of activities proposed 

8 to be carried out by such persons; 

9 (K) a description of— 

10 (i) any recognition for excellence in en11 vironmental compliance, reclamation, or re12 mediation received by the applicant or any 

13 cooperating person identified under sub14 paragraph (J); and 

15 (ii) the history of any noncompliance 

16 with environmental laws by the applicant 

17 or any cooperating person identified under 

18 subparagraph (J) during the 5-year period 

19 preceding submission of the application; 

20 (L) if the applicant intends to use the 

21 project to comply with an offsite mitigation re22 quirement, a reference to the offsite mitigation 

23 requirement and any related permit; and 

24 (M) a specific contingency plan that— 


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1 (i) includes provisions on emergency 

2 actions, response, and notification; and 

3 (ii) is designed to be used in response 

4 to unplanned adverse events, including the 

5 sudden release of historic mine residue. 

6 (2) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 (A) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL COMMU8 NITIES.—As soon as practicable after receiving 

9 an application under this section, a permitting 

10 authority shall provide notice of the application, 

11 including a copy of the application, to— 

12 (i) each local government located with13 in a radius of 20 miles of the project site; 

14 (ii) each Federal, State, and tribal 

15 agency that the permitting authority deter16 mines may have an interest in the applica17 tion; and 

18 (iii) if the project site lies in the head19 water area of a major drainage basin, local 

20 governments located outside of the 20-mile 

21 radius of the project site that are down22 stream of the project site and may be af23 fected by a discharge resulting from activi24 ties carried out pursuant to the project. 


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1 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

2 days after receiving an application under this 

3 section, a permitting authority shall provide to 

4 the public notice of the application. 

5 (3) INVESTIGATIVE SAMPLING.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority 

7 may, upon request, authorize a person to carry 

8 out investigative sampling, as determined appro9 priate by the permitting authority, prior to sub10 mitting an application for a permit under this 

11 section. 

12 (B) EFFECT OF AUTHORIZATION.—An au13 thorization to carry out investigative sampling 

14 under this section shall, with respect to the au15 thorized activities, have the same effect as a per16 mit for the purposes of subsection (g). 

17 (d) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 

18 (1) HEARING.—Prior to issuing a permit under 

19 this section, a permitting authority shall conduct a 

20 public hearing in the vicinity of the proposed project 

21 site, and shall give public notice of the hearing not 

22 later than 30 days before the date of the hearing. 

23 (2) DRAFT PERMIT.—The permitting authority 

24 shall include a draft permit in the notice of a hearing 

25 to be conducted under this section. 


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1 (3) COMMENTS.—The permitting authority shall 

2 provide the applicant and the public with the oppor3 tunity to— 

4 (A) comment on the draft permit at the 

5 public hearing; and 

6 (B) submit written comments to the permit7 ting authority during the 30-day period fol8 lowing the hearing. 

9 (e) PERMIT ISSUANCE.— 

10 (1) DEADLINE.—A permitting authority shall 

11 issue a permit or deny a permit application under 

12 this section not later than— 

13 (A) the date that is 180 days after the date 

14 on which the permitting authority receives a 

15 complete application for the permit, as deter16 mined by the permitting authority; or 

17 (B) such later date as may be determined 

18 by the permitting authority, with the agreement 

19 of the applicant. 

20 (2) CONSTRUCTIVE DENIAL.—If the permitting 

21 authority does not issue a permit or deny the permit 

22 application by the applicable date described in para23 graph (1), the application shall be considered to be 

24 denied by the permitting authority. 

25 (3) AGENCY CONSULTATION.— 


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1 (A) CONSULTATION.—In considering wheth2 er to issue a permit for a project to be carried 

3 out on Federal lands, a permitting authority 

4 shall consult with any applicable Federal land 

5 management agency. 

6 (B) OBJECTION.—A permitting authority 

7 may not issue a permit under this section if— 

8 (i) the proposed project site is not a 

9 priority site designated under section 204; 

10 and 

11 (ii) the permitting authority receives 

12 an objection to the proposed permit from a 

13 Federal land management agency with ju14 risdiction over the project site. 

15 (f) PERMIT CONTENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority shall 

17 include in a permit issued under this section— 

18 (A) a description of the activities authorized 

19 by the permit, including a description of any ac20 tivities to be carried out by a cooperating person 

21 in accordance with paragraph (5); 

22 (B) a schedule for the activities to be car23 ried out under the project, in accordance with 

24 paragraph (3), including an end date by which 


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1 the permittee shall complete the permitted activi2 ties; 

3 (C) conditions requiring the permittee to— 

4 (i) secure, for all activities authorized 

5 under the permit, all authorizations, li6 censes, and permits required under law; 

7 (ii) establish and maintain records, 

8 conduct monitoring (as described in para9 graph (4)), and provide such other informa10 tion as may be reasonably necessary to en11 sure the project will result in improvement 

12 to the environment; and 

13 (iii) minimize any short-term adverse 

14 environmental impacts from the remedi15 ation, to the extent practicable; 

16 (D) a right of entry to the project site for 

17 the permitting authority to inspect and collect 

18 such information as is reasonably necessary to 

19 carry out this title; 

20 (E) if the project to be carried out under the 

21 permit will be used by the permittee to comply 

22 with an offsite mitigation requirement, a ref23 erence to the offsite mitigation requirement and 

24 any related permit; and 


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1 (F) any other terms and conditions deter2 mined appropriate by the permitting authority. 

3 (2) BENCHMARKS.—A permitting authority shall 

4 ensure that a permit issued under this section is site5 and situation-specific, relying on pre-mining condi6 tions and conditions existing as of the date of 

7 issuance of the permit to determine appropriate water 

8 quality or other environmental benchmarks to achieve 

9 in carrying out remediation under the permit. 

10 (3) TIMING.—A permitting authority shall re11 quire activities authorized by a permit issued under 

12 this section to— 

13 (A) commence not later than the date that 

14 is 1 year after the date on which the permit is 

15 issued; and 

16 (B) continue until completed, with tem17 porary suspensions permitted during adverse 

18 weather or other circumstances, as approved by 

19 the permitting authority. 

20 (4) MONITORING.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority 

22 shall require a permittee to take such actions as 

23 the permitting authority determines are nec24 essary to ensure, where appropriate, baseline, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Sep 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3843.RH H3843

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1 medial alternative, and postremediation moni2 toring of the environment. 

3 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—In selecting the type 

4 and frequency of monitoring requirements to be 

5 included in a permit under this paragraph, the 

6 permitting authority shall— 

7 (i) balance the utility of information 

8 obtained through monitoring against the 

9 cost of the monitoring, based on the cir10 cumstances relating to the project; and 

11 (ii) take into account the scope of the 

12 project. 

13 (5) COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES.—A permitting 

14 authority may approve in a permit the conduct of 

15 project activities by cooperating persons if, as deter16 mined by the permitting authority, the cooperative 

17 arrangement will effectively accomplish the purposes 

18 of this title. 

19 (g) EFFECT OF PERMIT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person authorized by a per21 mit issued under this section to carry out activities— 

22 (A) shall be deemed to be in compliance 

23 with environmental laws with respect to such ac24 tivities; and 


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1 (B) shall not be liable under environmental 

2 laws with respect to such activities, including for 

3 any costs or damages deriving from the prior, 

4 present, or future activities of others at the 

5 project site. 

6 (2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply 

7 if— 

8 (A) the person impedes or fails to facilitate 

9 a response action, remediation, or other natural 

10 resource restoration activity at the project site; 

11 (B) the person exacerbates the pollution 

12 from historic mine residue as a result of gross 

13 negligence or intentional misconduct, in which 

14 case the person may be liable under environ15 mental laws for costs or damages resulting from 

16 such gross negligence or intentional misconduct; 

17 or 

18 (C) information supplied to the permitting 

19 authority in the permit application is subse20 quently determined to contain a dishonest, 

21 fraudulent, or materially misleading statement 

22 or omission, in which case the permit shall be 

23 deemed to have been invalid beginning on the 

24 date the permit was issued, and shall have no 

25 force or effect. 


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1 (h) ADMINISTRATION OF PERMITS.— 

2 (1) MODIFICATION OR TERMINATION OF PER3 MITS.— 

4 (A) AUTHORITY.—A permitting authority 

5 may— 

6 (i) extend the period during which a 

7 permit is valid under procedures established 

8 for such purpose by the permitting author9 ity; 

10 (ii) modify or terminate a permit for 

11 cause, including misrepresentation or a vio12 lation of a permit; and 

13 (iii) upon the request of the Good Sa14 maritan, and subject to a 30 day public no15 tice and comment period, modify a Good 

16 Samaritan permit to take into account any 

17 event or condition that— 

18 (I) significantly reduces the feasi19 bility or significantly increases the cost 

20 of completing the remediation work at 

21 the inactive or abandoned mine site 

22 that is the subject of the Good Samari23 tan permit; 

24 (II) was not— 


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1 (aa) contemplated by the 

2 Good Samaritan; or 

3 (bb) taken into account in 

4 the remediation plan of the Good 

5 Samaritan; and 

6 (III) is beyond the control of the 

7 Good Samaritan, as determined by the 

8 permitting authority. 

9 (B) TERMINATION.—Unless the permitting 

10 authority has extended the period during which 

11 a permit is valid, the authority to carry out ac12 tivities under a permit issued under this section 

13 shall terminate— 

14 (i) if the activities do not commence by 

15 the date that is 1 year after the date on 

16 which the permit is issued; 

17 (ii) if the activities are discontinued or 

18 not completed by the end date specified in 

19 the permit; or 

20 (iii) on any other grounds determined 

21 appropriate by the permitting authority. 

22 (2) TRANSFER OF PERMITS.—A permit may be 

23 transferred to another person only if— 


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1 (A) the appropriate permitting authority 

2 determines that the transferee will satisfy all of 

3 the requirements of the permit; 

4 (B) the transferee is a Good Samaritan; 

5 (C) the transferee accepts all of the require6 ments of the permit; 

7 (D) the permitting authority includes in the 

8 transferred permit any additional or modified 

9 conditions determined to be appropriate by the 

10 permitting authority; and 

11 (E) any Federal, State, or tribal land man12 agement agency with jurisdiction over the project 

13 site is notified of the proposed transfer and does 

14 not object to the permitting authority before the 

15 date that is 30 days before the proposed transfer 

16 is to take effect. 

17 (3) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—A permitting 

18 authority shall maintain all records relating to per19 mits and the permit process under this section. 

20 (i) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—A permit issued under this 

21 section may not authorize any new mining activities other 

22 than those activities directly related to carrying out remedi23 ation at or related to the inactive or abandoned mine site. 


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1 SEC. 304. STATE OR TRIBAL PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe may issue 

3 a permit under this title if the State or Indian tribe has 

4 in effect a Good Samaritan permit program approved by 

5 the Administrator under this section. 

6 (b) APPLICATION.— 

7 (1) SUBMISSION.—The Governor of any State or 

8 the head of an Indian tribe’s governing body may 

9 submit to the Administrator an application to carry 

10 out a Good Samaritan permit program within its ju11 risdiction at any time. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—An application under this sec13 tion shall include— 

14 (A) a full and complete description of the 

15 Good Samaritan permit program it proposes to 

16 administer under State or tribal law; and 

17 (B) a statement from the State Attorney 

18 General, or, for an Indian tribe, the equivalent 

19 official authorized to represent the tribe in court 

20 pertaining to the application, that the laws of 

21 the State or Indian tribe provide sufficient legal 

22 authority to carry out the described program. 

23 (3) APPROVAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

24 receiving an application submitted under this sub25 section, the Administrator shall approve the Good Sa26 maritan permit program unless the Administrator deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Sep 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3843.RH H3843

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1 termines that the requirements of this section are not 

2 met. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—To meet the requirements of this 

4 section, a State or Indian tribe shall— 

5 (1) designate a lead agency that is responsible 

6 for carrying out permitting responsibilities under this 

7 section; and 

8 (2) have in effect laws providing sufficient legal 

9 authority to carry out a Good Samaritan permit pro10 gram in accordance with this title. 

11 (d) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Upon approval of 

12 a State or tribal Good Samaritan permit program under 

13 this section, the Administrator shall transfer all authority 

14 to issue permits under this title for the State or relevant 

15 area of Indian country to the lead agency designated under 

16 subsection (c)(1). 

17 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—A State or tribal Good Samar18 itan permit program approved under this section shall be 

19 administered in accordance with this title, except that noth20 ing in this title precludes a State or Indian tribe from im21 posing more stringent requirements on permit applicants 

22 or permittees. 


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1 SEC. 305. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A permitting authority may en3 force any violation of this title, with respect to which the 

4 permitting authority has jurisdiction, by— 

5 (1) issuing an order to comply with the violated 

6 provision; or 

7 (2) commencing a civil action for appropriate 

8 relief, including a permanent or temporary injunc9 tion. 

10 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.—In the event of a per11 mit violation, and absent extraordinary circumstances, the 

12 court shall, at a minimum, require the person to repair, 

13 to the extent practicable, the damage to any part of the en14 vironment caused by an action of the person in violation 

15 of the permit. 

16 (c) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who violates this 

17 title shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for 

18 each day of the violation (except in cases of knowing con19 duct, in which case the civil penalty shall be $32,500 for 

20 each day of the violation). 

21 SEC. 306. GRANTS ELIGIBILITY. 

22 A project authorized by a permit issued under this title 

23 is eligible for funding pursuant to section 319 of the Federal 

24 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329). 


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1 SEC. 307. CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRON2 MENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969. 

3 No action of the Administrator taken pursuant to this 

4 title shall be required to comply with section 102 of the Na5 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

6 SEC. 308. USE OF PROJECTS TO MEET OFFSITE MITIGATION 

7 REQUIREMENTS. 

8 A project authorized by a permit issued under this title 

9 shall be considered to satisfy all or part of any offsite miti10 gation requirement of the permittee, upon approval by the 

11 authority imposing the offsite mitigation requirement. 

12 SEC. 309. STATE AND TRIBAL RECLAMATION PLANS UNDER 

13 THE SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND REC14 LAMATION ACT OF 1977. 

15 No State or Indian tribe conducting remediation of an 

16 inactive or abandoned mine site pursuant to an approved 

17 State or tribal abandoned mine reclamation plan approved 

18 under title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclama19 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) shall, with respect 

20 to the remediation activities, be required to obtain a permit 

21 under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

22 1251 et seq.). 

23 SEC. 310. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

24 (a) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this title af25 fects the authority of a Federal, State, tribal, or local agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Sep 07, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3843.RH H3843

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1 cy to carry out any emergency authority, including an 

2 emergency authority under environmental laws. 

3 (b) LIABILITY UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro4 vided in section 303(g), nothing in this title or a permit 

5 issued under this title limits the liability of any person 

6 under any other provision of law. 

7 SEC. 311. SUNSET. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—No permitting authority may issue 

9 a permit under this title after the date that is 7 years after 

10 the date of enactment of this title. 

11 (b) STUDY; REPORT.— 

12 (1) STUDY.—Not earlier than 5 years after the 

13 date of enactment of this title, the Administrator, the 

14 Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Agri15 culture, in consultation with the Interstate Mining 

16 Compact Commission, shall enter into an arrange17 ment with the National Academy of Sciences, for exe18 cution by the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, 

19 to conduct a detailed, comprehensive study of the ef20 fectiveness of the permitting activities carried out 

21 under this title. 

22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 7 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this title, the Board on Earth 

24 Sciences and Resources shall submit to Congress, the 

25 appropriate Federal agencies, and the Governors of 


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1 each of the States represented by the Interstate Min2 ing Compact Commission a report containing— 

3 (A) the results of the study conducted under 

4 paragraph (1); and 

5 (B) any recommendations regarding wheth6 er the permitting activities carried out under 

7 this title should be reauthorized and, if so, any 

8 changes that should be made to improve the effec9 tiveness of the activities. 

10 (3) FUNDING.—From the funds collected as 

11 claim location fees and maintenance fees under sec12 tion 102, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide 

13 to the National Academy of Sciences such funds as it 

14 requests, not to exceed $2,000,000, for the purpose of 

15 conducting the study required under this section. 


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Union Calendar No. 556 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3843 

[Report No. 114–717, Part I] 

A BILL 

To authorize for a 7-year period the collection of 

other purposes. claim location and maintenance fees, and for 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

an amendment 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 

The Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the and Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to 


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