IB 

Union Calendar No. 503 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3844 

[Report No. 114–651] 

To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamation Foundation to encourage, 

obtain, and use gifts, devises, and bequests for projects to reclaim abandoned mine lands and orphan oil and gas well sites, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2015 

Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

JULY 1, 2016 

Additional sponsor: Mr. LOWENTHAL

JULY 1, 2016 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

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


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A BILL 

To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamation Foundation to encourage, obtain, and use gifts, devises, and 

bequests for projects to reclaim abandoned mine lands 

and orphan oil and gas well sites, 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 ‘‘Bureau of Land Man5 agement Foundation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

9 Board of Directors of the Foundation. 

10 (2) BLM.—The term ‘‘BLM’’ means the Bureau 

11 of Land Management. 

12 (3) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 

13 the Chairman of the Board. 

14 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means an 

15 individual member of the Board. 

16 (5) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

17 means the Bureau of Land Management Foundation 

18 established by this Act. 

19 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (7) NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS.—The term 

22 ‘‘National Conservation Lands’’ means the system of 

23 lands established by section 2002 of the Omnibus Pub24 lic Lands Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7202). 


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1 (8) WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BUR2 ROS.—The term ‘‘wild free-roaming horses and bur3 ros’’ has the same meaning that term has under sec4 tion 2(b) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses And Bur5 ros Act Of 1971 (16 U.S.C. 1332(b)). 

6 (9) ORPHANED OIL AND GAS WELL SITES.—The 

7 term ‘‘orphaned oil and gas well sites’’ means all on8 shore oil and gas wells in the United States that have 

9 no responsible or liable parties and that— 

10 (A) are located on federally managed lands; 

11 (B) are located on lands or minerals that 

12 were federally managed at the time oil and gas 

13 operations were initiated; or 

14 (C) adversely impact the health or produc15 tivity of Federal lands. 

16 (10) ABANDONED MINE LANDS.—The term 

17 ‘‘abandoned mine lands’’ means all hard rock mines 

18 in the United States that were abandoned before Jan19 uary 1, 1981, and all coal mines in the United States 

20 that were abandoned before August 3, 1977, and 

21 that— 

22 (A) are located on federally managed lands; 

23 (B) are located on lands or minerals that 

24 were federally managed at the time mining oper25 ations were initiated; or 


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1 (C) adversely impact the health or produc2 tivity of Federal lands. 

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES OF THE BUREAU 

4 OF LAND MANAGEMENT FOUNDATION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bureau 

6 of Land Management Foundation as a charitable and non7 profit corporation that shall not be considered an agency 

8 or establishment of the United States. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of the Founda11 tion are to— 

12 (A) encourage, accept, obtain, administer, 

13 and use private gifts of money, devises, and be14 quests of real and personal property for the ben15 efit of, or in connection with, the activities and 

16 services of the BLM described in subparagraph 

17 (B); 

18 (B) undertake, conduct, and encourage pro19 grams and activities that support— 

20 (i) educational, technical, scientific, 

21 and other assistance or activities that sup22 port the management of BLM lands in re23 gard to— 

24 (I) wild free-roaming horses and 

25 burros; 


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1 (II) fish and wildlife and their 

2 habitats; 

3 (III) National Conservation 

4 Lands; 

5 (IV) recreation resources; and 

6 (V) cultural and historic re7 sources; and 

8 (ii) activities that support the reclama9 tion and remediation of— 

10 (I) abandoned mine lands; 

11 (II) orphaned oil and gas well 

12 sites; or 

13 (III) public lands impacted by de14 velopment connected to mineral explo15 ration and development activities. 

16 (2) INCLUDED RECLAMATION ACTIVITIES.—Rec17 lamation activities under paragraph (1)(B) should 

18 include, but not be limited to, the remediation of soil 

19 and water contamination, the restoration of wildlife 

20 habitat in order to restore the natural, scenic, his21 toric, cultural, and ecological values of such areas, or 

22 the promotion of the economic potential of such areas. 

23 (c) ACTIVITIES OF THE FOUNDATION AND THE BU24 REAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.—The activities of the Foun25 dation authorized under this Act shall be supplemental to 


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1 and shall not preempt any authority or responsibility of 

2 the BLM under any other provision of law. 

3 (d) RANGE OF FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.—The activi4 ties and grants made by the Foundation under subsection 

5 (b)(1)(B) that are not subject to limitations under section 

6 5(d)(4) shall be undertaken in equal proportion under 

7 clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (b)(1)(B). 

8 SEC. 4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall have a 

11 governing Board of Directors, which shall consist of 

12 no more than 9 members, each of whom shall be a 

13 United States citizen. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF MEMBERS.—Of the ap15 pointed members of the Board— 

16 (A) at least 3 shall have education or expe17 rience in natural, cultural, conservation, or other 

18 resource management, law, research, or advo19 cacy; 

20 (B) at least 3 shall have education or expe21 rience in energy and minerals development, rec22 lamation, or remediation; and 

23 (C) up to 3 shall be appointed as at-large 

24 members. 


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1 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Director of the 

2 Bureau of Land Management, or a designee of the Di3 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, shall be 

4 an ex officio nonvoting member of the Board. 

5 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 

6 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 1 

7 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary shall appoint the members of the Board in 

9 accordance with paragraph (6) who, except as other10 wise provided in paragraph (2), shall be appointed 

11 for terms of 6 years. 

12 (2) STAGGERED APPOINTMENTS.—In appointing 

13 the initial members of the Board, the Secretary shall 

14 appoint, as determined to be appropriate by the Sec15 retary— 

16 (A) one-third of the members to serve an 

17 initial term of 2 years; 

18 (B) one-third of the members to serve an 

19 initial term of 4 years; and 

20 (C) one-third of the members to serve an 

21 initial term of 6 years. 

22 (3) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Board shall 

23 be— 


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1 (A) filled not later than 60 days after the 

2 vacancy occurs, in the manner of which the 

3 original appointment was made; and 

4 (B) for the balance of the term of the indi5 vidual who was replaced. 

6 (4) REMOVAL.—A Director may be removed from 

7 the Board by a majority vote of the Board if the indi8 vidual misses 3 consecutive regularly scheduled meet9 ings. 

10 (5) TERM LIMIT.—In no case may an individual 

11 serve more than 12 consecutive years on the Board. 

12 (6) NOMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall publish 

13 a solicitation in the Federal Register seeking nomina14 tions from the public of individuals for appointment 

15 to the Board. Such solicitation shall be open for a pe16 riod of 30 days. Nominations submitted shall not be 

17 binding, but the Secretary shall give consideration to 

18 the names received. Within 30 days after the end of 

19 such period, the Secretary shall appoint members who 

20 comply with the requirements of subsection (a)(2), 

21 and publish the names and backgrounds of those ap22 pointed in the Federal Register. 

23 (7) REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE AREAS OF EX24 PERTISE.—In appointing the members of the Board 

25 the Secretary shall seek to appoint, and may give 


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1 preference to, individuals who have experience with 

2 State or local government partnerships and represent 

3 diverse areas of expertise. 

4 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman— 

5 (1) shall be elected by the Board from its mem6 bers for a 2-year term; and 

7 (2) may be reelected as Chairman while serving 

8 as a Director. 

9 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the current voting mem10 bership of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the trans11 action of business. 

12 (e) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 

13 the Chairman at least once a year. 

14 (f) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—Serving as a Di15 rector shall not constitute employment by the United States 

16 Government for any purpose. Members of the Board shall 

17 serve without pay other than reimbursement for the actual 

18 and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred 

19 in the performance of their duties for the Foundation in 

20 accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (g) GENERAL POWERS.—The Board may complete the 

22 organization of the Foundation by appointing officers and 

23 employees, adopting a constitution and bylaws consistent 

24 with the purposes of the Foundation and this Act, and unVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3844.RH H3844

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1 dertaking other such acts as may be necessary to function 

2 and to carry out the provisions of this title. 

3 (h) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—Officers and em4 ployees of the Foundation may not be appointed until the 

5 Foundation has sufficient funds to pay them for their serv6 ice. Appointment as an officer or employee of the Founda7 tion shall not constitute employment by the United States. 

8 (i) LIMITATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

9 (1) PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL CAMPAIGN AC10 TIVITY.—The Foundation shall not participate or in11 tervene in a political campaign on behalf of any can12 didate for public office. 

13 (2) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No Director, offi14 cer, or employee of the Foundation shall participate, 

15 directly or indirectly, in the consideration or deter16 mination of any particular matter before the Founda17 tion affecting— 

18 (A) the financial interests of that Director, 

19 officer, employee, or an immediate family mem20 ber of such Director, officer, or employee; or 

21 (B) the interests of any corporation, part22 nership, entity, or organization in which such 

23 Director, officer, employee, or an immediate fam24 ily member of such Director, officer, or em25 ployee— 


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1 (i) is an officer, director, or trustee; or 

2 (ii) has any direct financial interest. 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDI4 TURE.—Starting in the fifth fiscal year beginning 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, of the 

6 amounts available to the Foundation for expenditure 

7 each fiscal year, not more than 15 percent may be 

8 used for administrative expenses. 

9 SEC. 5. POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation— 

11 (1) shall have perpetual succession; and 

12 (2) may conduct business throughout the several 

13 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

14 States. 

15 (b) NOTICE AND SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The Founda16 tion shall at all times maintain a designated agent in the 

17 District of Columbia authorized to accept service of process 

18 for the Foundation. The serving of notice to, or service of 

19 process upon, the agent required under this subsection, or 

20 mailed to the business address of such agent, shall be treated 

21 as service upon or notice to the Foundation. 

22 (c) SEAL.—The Foundation shall have an official seal 

23 selected by the Board, which shall be judicially noticed. 

24 (d) POWERS.—In addition to powers otherwise author25 ized under this Act, to carry out its purposes the FoundaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3844.RH H3844

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1 tion shall have the usual powers of a not-for-profit corpora2 tion in the District of Columbia, including the power to— 

3 (1) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and 

4 use any gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely or in 

5 trust, of real or personal property or any income 

6 therefrom or other interest therein; 

7 (2) acquire by donation, gift, devise, purchase, or 

8 exchange, and dispose of, any real or personal prop9 erty or interest therein; 

10 (3) sell, donate, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or 

11 otherwise dispose of any property or income therefrom 

12 unless limited by the instrument of transfer; 

13 (4) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and 

14 use any gift, devise, or bequest, at the request of the 

15 donor thereof, strictly and exclusively for any purpose 

16 set forth in section 3(b), including expenditure of 

17 funds received as a bequest for such a purpose for rea18 sonable administrative expenses related to actions to 

19 carry out the bequest; 

20 (5) borrow money and issue bonds, debentures, or 

21 other debt instruments; 

22 (6) sue and be sued, and complain and defend 

23 itself in any court of competent jurisdiction, except 

24 that the Directors of the Board shall not be personally 

25 liable, except for gross negligence; 


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1 (7) enter into contracts or other arrangements 

2 with public agencies, private organizations, and per3 sons and to make such payments as may be necessary 

4 to carry out the purposes thereof; and 

5 (8) do any and all acts necessary and proper to 

6 carry out the purposes of the Foundation. 

7 (e) PROPERTY.— 

8 (1) ACCEPTANCE OF PROPERTY.—A gift, devise, 

9 or bequest of real property may be accepted by the 

10 Foundation even though it is encumbered, restricted, 

11 or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if 

12 any current or future interest therein is for the benefit 

13 of the Foundation. 

14 (2) REFUSAL OF PROPERTY.—The Foundation 

15 may, in its discretion, decline any gift, devise, or be16 quest of real or personal property. 

17 (3) TITLE AND INTEREST IN REAL PROPERTY.— 

18 For the purposes of this Act, an interest in real prop19 erty shall be treated as including mineral and water 

20 rights, rights-of-way, and easements, appurtenant or 

21 in gross. 

22 (4) CONDEMNATION OF REAL PROPERTY PROHIB23 ITED.—No lands or waters, or interests therein, that 

24 are owned by the Foundation shall be subject to conVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3844.RH H3844

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1 demnation by any State or political subdivision, or 

2 any agent of instrumentality thereof. 

3 (5) LIMITATION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

4 PROPERTY.—The Foundation shall not use any funds 

5 to purchase real property, unless such property is to 

6 be used for administrative or support purposes. 

7 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT SUPPORT.—For the purposes of 

9 assisting the Foundation in establishing an office and meet10 ing initial administrative, project, and other expenses, there 

11 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $3,000,000 

12 for fiscal year 2016, $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

13 2017, 2018, and 2019, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

14 Amounts appropriated under this subsection that are pro15 vided to the Foundation shall remain available to the Foun16 dation until they are expended for authorized purposes. 

17 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Secretary may 

18 provide personnel, facilities, equipment, and other adminis19 trative services to the Foundation with such limitations and 

20 on such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall estab21 lish. The Foundation may reimburse the Secretary for any 

22 support provided under this subsection, in whole or in part, 

23 and any reimbursement received by the Secretary under 

24 this subsection shall be deposited into the Treasury to the 


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1 credit of the appropriations then current and chargeable for 

2 the cost of providing the services. 

3 SEC. 7. VOLUNTEERS. 

4 The Secretary may accept, without regard to the civil 

5 service classification laws, rules, and regulations, the serv6 ices of the Foundation, the Board, and the offices, employ7 ees, or agents of the Foundation, without compensation 

8 from the Department of the Interior, as volunteers for the 

9 performance of the functions under section 307(d) of the 

10 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

11 U.S.C. 1737(d)). 

12 SEC. 8. AUDITS AND REPORTS REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) AUDITS.—For purposes of section 10101 of title 36, 

14 United States Code, the Foundation shall be treated as a 

15 corporation in part B of subtitle II of such title. 

16 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Foundation shall transmit 

17 at the end of each fiscal year a report to Congress of its 

18 proceedings and activities during that fiscal year, includ19 ing— 

20 (1) a full and complete statement of its receipts, 

21 expenditures, and investments; 

22 (2) a description of all acquisition and disposal 

23 of real property by the Foundation; 


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1 (3) a detailed statement of the recipient, amount, 

2 and purpose of each grant made by the Foundation; 

3 and 

4 (4) a copy of any audit prepared for the Foun5 dation in the previous fiscal year. 

6 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES RELEASE FROM LIABILITY. 

7 The United States shall not be liable for any debts, 

8 defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation, nor shall the 

9 full faith and credit of the United States extend to any obli10 gations of the Foundation. 

11 SEC. 10. RELIEF WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FOUNDATION 

12 ACTS OR FAILURE TO ACT. 

13 The Attorney General may petition in the United 

14 States District Court for the District of Columbia for such 

15 equitable relief as may be necessary or appropriate if the 

16 Foundation engages in any act, practice, or policy that is 

17 inconsistent with this Act or the bylaws of the Foundation. 

18 SEC. 11. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY. 

19 Nothing in this Act authorizes the Foundation to per20 form any function the authority for which is exclusively 

21 provided to the BLM under any other provision of law. 

22 SEC. 12. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS. 

23 Amounts available to, or provided by, the Foundation 

24 shall not be used for— 


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1 (1) any activity the purpose of which is to influ2 ence legislation pending before Congress; or 

3 (2) any activity inconsistent with this Act. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to establish 

the Bureau of Land Management Foundation to encourage, obtain, and use gifts, devises, and bequests for 

projects for the benefit of, or in connection with, activities and services of the Bureau of Land Management, 

and for other purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 503 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3844 

[Report No. 114–651] 

A BILL 

To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamation 

well sites, and for other purposes. abandoned mine lands and orphan oil and gas devises, and bequests for projects to reclaim Foundation to encourage, obtain, and use gifts, 

JULY 1, 2016 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H3844.RH H3844

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