Union Calendar No. 185

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 322

[Report No. 103–338]

A BILL

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable

and for other purposes.the principles of self-initiation of mining claims,minerals on public domain lands, consistent with

NOVEMBER 9, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 185

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 322

[Report No. 103–338]

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain

lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. VENTO, and Mr.

LEHMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

SEPTEMBER 9, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. MURPHY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. GORDON, Mr. PORTER,

Mr. BARLOW, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. PRICE of North

Carolina, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr.

SHAYS, Mr. STARK, Mr. REED, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FILNER, Mr. KLEIN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. WYNN, Mr.

KREIDLER, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. BERMAN,

Mr. DELLUMS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. JACOBS, Mr.

YATES, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. HILLIARD, and Mr. POSHARD

NOVEMBER 9, 1993

Reported with an amendment, 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 January 5, 1993]

A BILL

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals
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on public domain lands, consistent with the principles

of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other

purposes.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 1993’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions and references.

TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 101. Lands open to location.

Sec. 102. Rights under this act.

Sec. 103. Location of mining claims.

Sec. 104. Conversion of existing claims.

Sec. 105. Claim maintenance requirements.

Sec. 106. Failure to comply.

Sec. 107. Basis for contest.

TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 201. Surface management standard.

Sec. 202. Permits.

Sec. 203. Exploration permits.

Sec. 204. Operations permit.

Sec. 205. Persons ineligible for permits.

Sec. 206. Financial assurance.

Sec. 207. Reclamation.

Sec. 208. State law and regulation.

Sec. 209. Unsuitability review.

Sec. 210. Certain mineral activities covered by other law.

TITLE III—ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE

RECLAMATION FUND

Sec. 301. Abandoned locatable minerals mine reclamation.

Sec. 302. Use and objectives of the fund.

Sec. 303. Eligible lands and waters.

Sec. 304. Fund expenditures.

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 306. Royalty.
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TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SUBTITLE A—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Policy functions.

Sec. 402. User fees.

Sec. 403. Public participation requirements.

Sec. 404. Inspection and monitoring.

Sec. 405. Citizens suits.

Sec. 406. Administrative and judicial review.

Sec. 407. Enforcement.

Sec. 408. Regulations; effective dates.

SUBTITLE B—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 411. Transitional rules; surface management requirements.

Sec. 412. Claims subject to special rules.

Sec. 413. Purchasing power adjustment.

Sec. 414. Savings clause.

Sec. 415. Availability of public records.

Sec. 416. Miscellaneous powers.

Sec. 417. Limitation on patent issuance.

Sec. 418. Multiple mineral development and surface resources.

Sec. 419. Mineral materials.

Sec. 420. Application of Act to beneficiation and processing of nonFederal minerals on Federal lands.

Sec. 421. Severability.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares the follow3 ing:

4 (1) The general mining laws, commonly referred

5 to as the Mining Law of 1872, at one time promoted

6 the development of the West and provided a frame7 work for the exploitation of Federal mineral resources.

8 (2) Congress recognized that the public interest

9 was no longer being advanced under the Mining Law

10 of 1872 when, in 1920, it removed energy minerals

11 and minerals chiefly valuable for agricultural use,

12 and in 1955, removed common varieties of mineral

13 materials, from the scope of the general mining laws
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1 and made such minerals available under regimes

2 which provide for a financial return to the public for

3 the disposition of such minerals and which better

4 safeguard the environment.

5 (3) The Mining Law of 1872 no longer fosters

6 the efficient and diligent development of those mineral

7 resources still under its scope, giving rise to specula8 tion and nonmining uses of lands chiefly valuable for

9 minerals.

10 (4) The Mining Law of 1872 does not provide for

11 a financial return to the American people for use by

12 claim holders of public domain lands or for the dis13 position of valuable mineral resources from such

14 lands.

15 (5) The Mining Law of 1872 continues to trans16 fer lands valuable for mineral resources from the pub17 lic domain to private ownership for less than the fair

18 market value of such lands and mineral resources.

19 (6) There are a substantial number of acres of

20 land throughout the Nation disturbed by mining ac21 tivities conducted under the Mining Law of 1872 on

22 which little or no reclamation was conducted, and the

23 impacts from these unreclaimed lands pose a threat to

24 the public health, safety, and general welfare and to

25 environmental quality.
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1 (7) Activities under the Mining Law of 1872

2 continue to result in disturbances of surface areas and

3 water resources which burden and adversely affect the

4 public welfare by destroying or diminishing the util5 ity of public domain lands for other appropriate uses

6 and by creating hazards dangerous to the public

7 health and safety and to the environment.

8 (8) Existing Federal law and regulations, as well

9 as applicable State laws, have proven to be inad10 equate to ensure that active mining operations under

11 the Mining Law of 1872 will not leave to future gen12 erations a new legacy of hazards associated with

13 unreclaimed mined lands.

14 (9) The public interest is no longer being served

15 by archaic features of the Mining Law of 1872 that

16 thwart the efficient exploration and development of

17 those minerals which remain under its scope and

18 which conflict with modern public land use manage19 ment philosophies.

20 (10) The public is justified in expecting the dili21 gent development of its mineral resources, a financial

22 return for the use of public domain lands for mineral

23 activities as well as for the disposition of valuable

24 mineral resources from such lands.
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1 (11) It is not in the public interest for public do2 main lands to be sold for below fair market value nor

3 does this aspect of the Mining Law of 1872 comport

4 with modern Federal land policy which is grounded

5 on the retention of public domain lands under the

6 principles of multiple use.

7 (12) Mining and reclamation technology is now

8 developed so that effective and reasonable regulation

9 of operations by the Federal Government in accord10 ance with this Act is an appropriate and necessary

11 means to minimize so far as practicable the adverse

12 social, economic and environmental effects of such

13 mining operations.

14 (13) Mining activities on public domain lands

15 affect interstate commerce, contribute to the economic

16 well-being, security and general welfare of the Nation

17 and should be conducted in an environmentally sound

18 manner.

19 (14) It is necessary that any revision of the gen20 eral mining laws insure that a domestic supply of

21 hardrock minerals be made available to the domestic

22 economy of the United States.

23 (15) America’s economy still depends heavily on

24 hardrock minerals and a strong environmentally
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1 sound mining industry is critical to the domestic

2 minerals supply.

3 (16) Many of the deposits of hardrock minerals

4 remain to be discovered on the Federal public do5 main.

6 (17) Private enterprise must be given adequate

7 incentive to engage in a capital-intensive industry

8 such as hardrock mining.

9 (18) The United States, as owner of the public

10 domain, has a dual interest in insuring a fair return

11 for mining on the public domain and insuring that

12 any royalty and fees charged do not discourage essen13 tial mining activity on the public domain.

14 (19) The domestic mining industry provides

15 thousands of jobs directly and indirectly to the domes16 tic economy and those jobs must be preserved and en17 couraged by a sound Federal policy regarding mining

18 on Federal lands.

19 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—

20 (1) to devise a more socially, fiscally and envi21 ronmentally responsible regime to govern the use of

22 public domain lands for the exploration and develop23 ment of those minerals not subject to mineral leasing

24 acts or mineral materials statutes;
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1 (2) to provide for a fair return to the public for

2 the use of public domain lands for mineral activities

3 and for the disposition of minerals from such lands;

4 (3) to foster the diligent development of mineral

5 resources on public domain lands in a manner that

6 is compatible with other resource values and environ7 mental quality;

8 (4) to promote the restoration of mined areas left

9 without adequate reclamation prior to the enactment

10 of this Act and which continue, in their unreclaimed

11 condition, to substantially degrade the quality of the

12 environment, prevent the beneficial use of land or

13 water resources, and endanger the health and safety

14 of the public;

15 (5) to assure that appropriate procedures are

16 provided for public participation in the development,

17 revision and enforcement of regulations, standards

18 and programs established under this Act; and

19 (6) to, whenever necessary, exercise the full reach

20 of Federal constitutional powers to ensure the protec21 tion of the public interest through the effective control

22 of mineral exploration and development activities.

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES.

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means with respect to

2 any person, any of the following:

3 (A) Any person who controls, is controlled

4 by, or is under common control with such per5 son.

6 (B) Any partner of such person.

7 (C) Any person owning at least 10 percent

8 of the voting shares of such person.

9 (2) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap10 plying for a permit under this Act or a modification

11 to or a renewal of a permit under this Act.

12 (3) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crushing

13 and grinding of locatable mineral ore and such proc14 esses as are employed to free the mineral from other

15 constituents, including but not necessarily limited to,

16 physical and chemical separation techniques.

17 (4) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means a person

18 holding a mining claim located or converted under

19 this Act. Such term may include an agent of a claim

20 holder.

21 (5) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the ability,

22 directly or indirectly, to determine (without regard to

23 whether exercised through one or more corporate

24 structures) the manner in which an entity conducts

25 mineral activities, through any means, including
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1 without limitation, ownership interest, authority to

2 commit the entity’s real or financial assets, position

3 as a director, officer, or partner of the entity, or con4 tractual arrangement. The Secretary and the Sec5 retary of Agriculture shall jointly promulgate such

6 rules as may be necessary under this paragraph.

7 (6) The term ‘‘exploration’’ means those tech8 niques employed to locate the presence of a locatable

9 mineral deposit and to establish its nature, position,

10 size, shape, grade and value not associated with min11 ing, beneficiation, processing or marketing of min12 erals.

13 (7) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ means lands held

14 in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individ15 ual or held by an Indian tribe or individual subject

16 to a restriction by the United States against alien17 ation.

18 (8) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

19 tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group

20 or community, including any Alaska Native village

21 or regional corporation as defined in or established

22 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

23 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recognized as eligi24 ble for the special programs and services provided by
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1 the United States to Indians because of their status

2 as Indians.

3 (9) The term ‘‘land use plans’’ means those plans

4 required under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy

5 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) or the

6 land management plans for National Forest System

7 units required under section 6 of the Forest and

8 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

9 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604), whichever is applicable.

10 (10) The term ‘‘legal subdivisions’’ means an ali11 quot quarter quarter section of land as established by

12 the official records of the public land survey system,

13 or a single lot as established by the official records of

14 the public land survey system if the pertinent section

15 is irregular and contains fractional lots, as the case

16 may be.

17 (11)(A) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ means any

18 mineral, the legal and beneficial title to which re19 mains in the United States and which is not subject

20 to disposition under any of the following:

21 (i) The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181

22 and following).

23 (ii) The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30

24 U.S.C. 1001 and following).
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1 (iii) The Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

2 known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C.

3 601 and following).

4 (iv) The Mineral Leasing for Acquired

5 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 and following).

6 (B) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ does not in7 clude any mineral held in trust by the United States

8 for any Indian or Indian tribe, as defined in section

9 2 of the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25

10 U.S.C. 2101), or any mineral owned by any Indian

11 or Indian tribe, as defined in that section, that is

12 subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by

13 the United States.

14 (12) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any

15 activity for, related to, or incidental to, mineral ex16 ploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or rec17 lamation activities for any locatable mineral.

18 (13) The term ‘‘mining’’ means the processes em19 ployed for the extraction of a locatable mineral from

20 the earth.

21 (14) The term ‘‘mining claim’’ means a claim

22 for the purposes of mineral activities.

23 (15) The term ‘‘National Conservation System

24 unit’’ means any unit of the National Park System,

25 National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and
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1 Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, or a

2 National Conservation Area, National Recreation

3 Area, a National Forest Monument or any unit of the

4 National Wilderness Preservation System.

5 (16) The term ‘‘operator’’ means any person,

6 conducting mineral activities subject to this Act or

7 any agent of such a person.

8 (17) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual,

9 Indian tribe, partnership, association, society, joint

10 venture, joint stock company, firm, company, cor11 poration, cooperative or other organization and any

12 instrumentality of State or local government includ13 ing any publicly owned utility or publicly owned cor14 poration of State or local government.

15 (18) The term ‘‘processing’’ means processes

16 downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare

17 locatable mineral ore into the final marketable prod18 uct, including but not limited to, smelting and elec19 trolytic refining.

20 (19) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

21 of the Interior, unless otherwise specified.

22 (20) The term ‘‘surface management require23 ments’’ means the requirements and standards of title

24 II, and such other standards as are established by the
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1 Secretary governing mineral activities pursuant to

2 this Act.

3 (b) REFERENCES.—(1) Any reference in this Act to the

4 term ‘‘general mining laws’’ is a reference to those Acts

5 which generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16, and sec6 tions 161 and 162 of title 30 of the United States Code.

7 (2) Any reference in this Act to the ‘‘Act of July 23,

8 1955’’, is a reference to the Act of July 23, 1955, entitled

9 ‘‘An Act to amend the Act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681)

10 and the mining laws to provide for multiple use of the sur11 face of the same tracts of the public lands, and for other

12 purposes’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 and following).

13 TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLO14 RATION AND DEVELOPMENT

15 SEC. 101. LANDS OPEN TO LOCATION.

16 (a) LANDS OPEN TO LOCATION.—Except as provided

17 in subsection (b), mining claims may be located under this

18 Act on lands and interests in lands owned by the United

19 States if—

20 (1) such lands and interests were open to the lo21 cation of mining claims under the general mining

22 laws on the date of enactment of this Act; or

23 (2) such lands and interests are opened to the lo24 cation of mining claims after the date of enactment
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1 of this Act by reason of any administrative action or

2 statute.

3 (b) LANDS NOT OPEN TO LOCATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

5 provision of law and subject to valid existing rights,

6 each of the following shall not be open to the location

7 of mining claims under this Act on or after the date

8 of enactment of this Act:

9 (A) Lands recommended for wilderness des10 ignation by the agency managing the surface,

11 pending a final determination by the Congress of

12 the status of such recommended lands.

13 (B) Lands being managed by the Secretary,

14 acting through Bureau of Land Management, as

15 wilderness study areas on the date of enactment

16 of this Act except where the location of mining

17 claims is specifically allowed to continue by the

18 statute designating the study area, pending a

19 final determination by the Congress of the status

20 of such lands.

21 (C)(i) Lands under study for inclusion in

22 the National Wild and Scenic River System pur23 suant to section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Riv24 ers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)), pending a final de25 termination by the Congress of the status of such
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1 lands, and (ii) lands determined by a Federal

2 agency under section 5(d) of such Act to be eligi3 ble for inclusion in such system, pending a final

4 determination by the Congress of the status of

5 such lands.

6 (D) Lands withdrawn from mineral activi7 ties under authority of other law.

8 (2) DEFINITION.—(A) As used in this subsection,

9 the term ‘‘valid existing rights’’ refers to a mining

10 claim located on lands described in paragraph (1) of

11 subsection (a) that—

12 (i) was properly located and maintained

13 under this Act prior to and on the applicable

14 date, or

15 (ii) was properly located and maintained

16 under the general mining laws prior to the ap17 plicable date, and

18 (I) was supported by a discovery of a

19 valuable mineral deposit within the mean20 ing of the general mining laws on the appli21 cable date, and

22 (II) continues to be valid under this

23 Act.

24 (B) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘appli25 cable date’’ means one of the following:
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1 (i) In the case of lands described in para2 graph (1)(A), such term means the date of the

3 recommendation referred to in paragraph (1)(A)

4 if such recommendation is made on or after the

5 enactment of this Act.

6 (ii) In the case of lands described in para7 graph (1)(A), if the recommendation referred to

8 in paragraph (1)(A) was made before the enact9 ment of this Act, such term means the earlier of

10 (I) the date of enactment of this Act or (II) the

11 date of any withdrawal of such lands from min12 eral activities.

13 (iii) For lands described in paragraph

14 (1)(B), such term means the date of the enact15 ment of this Act.

16 (iv) For lands referred to in paragraph

17 (1)(C)(i), such term means the date of the enact18 ment of the amendment to the Wild and Scenic

19 Rivers Act listing the river segment for study

20 and for lands referred to in paragraph

21 (1)(C)(ii), such term means the date of the eligi22 bility determination.

23 (v) For lands referred to in paragraph

24 (1)(D), such term means the date of the with25 drawal.
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1 SEC. 102. RIGHTS UNDER THIS ACT.

2 The holder of a mining claim located or converted

3 under this Act and maintained in compliance with this Act

4 shall have the exclusive right of possession and use of the

5 claimed land for mineral activities, including the right of

6 ingress and egress to such claimed lands for such activities,

7 subject to the rights of the United States under this Act

8 and other applicable Federal law. Such rights of the claim

9 holder shall terminate upon completion of mineral activities

10 of lands to the satisfaction of the Secretary. In cases where

11 an area is determined unsuitable under section 209, holders

12 of claims converted or located under this Act shall be enti13 tled to receive a refund of claim maintenance fees.

14 SEC. 103. LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS.

15 (a) GENERAL RULE.—A person may locate a mining

16 claim covering lands open to the location of mining claims

17 by posting a notice of location, containing the person’s

18 name and address, the time of location (which shall be the

19 date and hour of location and posting), and a legal descrip20 tion of the claim. The notice of location shall be posted on

21 a suitable, durable monument erected as near as practicable

22 to the northeast corner of the mining claim. No person who

23 is not a citizen of the United States, or a corporation orga24 nized under the laws of the United States or of any State

25 or the District of Columbia may locate or hold a claim

26 under this Act. On or after the enactment of this Act, a
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1 mining claim for a locatable mineral on lands open to loca2 tion—

3 (1) may be located only in accordance with this

4 Act,

5 (2) may be maintained only as provided in this

6 Act, and

7 (3) shall be subject to the requirements of this

8 Act.

9 (b) USE OF PUBLIC LAND SURVEY.—Except as pro10 vided in subsection (c), each mining claim located under

11 this Act shall (1) be located in accordance with the public

12 land survey system, and (2) conform to the legal subdivi13 sions thereof. Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), the

14 legal description of the mining claim shall be based on the

15 public land survey system and its legal subdivisions.

16 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) If only a protracted survey ex17 ists for the public lands concerned, each of the following

18 shall apply in lieu of subsection (b):

19 (A) The legal description of the mining claim

20 shall be based on the protracted survey and the min21 ing claim shall be located as near as practicable in

22 conformance with a protracted legal subdivision.

23 (B) The mining claim shall be monumented on

24 the ground by the erection of a suitable, durable

25 monument at each corner of the claim.
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1 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

2 shall include a reference to any existing survey monu3 ment, or where no such monument can be found with4 in a reasonable distance, to a permanent and con5 spicuous natural object.

6 (2) If no survey exists for the public lands concerned,

7 each of the following shall apply in lieu of subsection (b):

8 (A) The mining claim shall be a regular square,

9 with each side laid out in cardinal directions, 40

10 acres in size.

11 (B) The claim shall be monumented on the

12 ground by the erection of a suitable durable monu13 ment at each corner of the claim.

14 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

15 shall be expressed in metes and bounds and shall be

16 defined by and referenced to the closest existing survey

17 monument, or where no such monument can be found

18 within a reasonable distance, to a permanent and

19 conspicuous natural object. Such description shall be

20 of sufficient accuracy and completeness to permit re21 cording of the claim upon the public land records and

22 to permit the claim to be readily found upon the

23 ground.

24 (3) In the case of a conflict between the boundaries

25 of a mining claim as monumented on the ground and the
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1 description of such claim in the notice of location referred

2 to in subsection (a), the notice of location shall be deter3 minative, except where determined otherwise by the Sec4 retary.

5 (d) FILING WITH SECRETARY.—(1) Within 30 days

6 after the location of a mining claim pursuant to this sec7 tion, a copy of the notice of location referred to in subsection

8 (a) shall be filed with the Secretary in an office designated

9 by the Secretary.

10 (2)(A) Whenever the Secretary receives a copy of a no11 tice of location of a mining claim under this Act, the Sec12 retary shall assign a serial number to the mining claim,

13 and immediately return a copy of the notice of location to

14 the locator of the claim, together with a certificate setting

15 forth the serial number, a description of the claim, and the

16 claim maintenance requirements of section 105. The Sec17 retary shall enter the claim on the public land records.

18 (B) Return of the copy of the notice of location and

19 provision of the certificate under subparagraph (A) shall

20 not constitute a determination by the Secretary that a

21 claim is valid. Failure by the Secretary to provide such

22 copy and certificate shall not constitute a defense against

23 cancellation of a claim for failure to follow applicable re24 quirements of this Act.
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1 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for

2 every unpatented mining claim located after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the locator shall, at the time the loca4 tion notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Manage5 ment, pay a location fee of $25.00 per claim. The location

6 fee shall be in addition to the claim maintenance fee pay7 able under section 105.

8 (4) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 314 of the Federal

9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

10 1744(b)) are repealed.

11 (e) CONVERTED CLAIMS.—For mining claims and mill

12 sites deemed converted under this Act, for the purposes of

13 complying with the requirements of subsection (d), upon re14 ceipt of the initial claim maintenance fee required under

15 section 105, the Secretary shall issue a certificate referenced

16 in subsection (d)(2) to the holder of the mining claim or

17 mill site.

18 (f) DATE OF LOCATION.—A mining claim located

19 under this Act shall be effective based upon the time of loca20 tion.

21 (g) LANDS COVERED BY CLAIM.—A mining claim lo22 cated or converted under this Act shall include all lands

23 and interests in lands open to location within the bound24 aries of the claim, subject to any prior mining claim located

25 or converted under this Act.
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1 (h) CONFLICTING LOCATIONS.—Any conflicts between

2 the holders of mining claims located or converted under this

3 Act relating to relative superiority under the provisions of

4 this Act may be resolved in adjudication proceedings in a

5 court with proper jurisdiction, including, as appropriate,

6 State courts. It shall be incumbent upon the holder of a

7 mining claim asserting superior rights in such proceedings

8 to demonstrate that such person was the senior locator, or

9 if such person is the junior locator, that prior to the location

10 of the claim by such locator—

11 (1) the senior locator failed to file a copy of the

12 notice of location within the time provided under sub13 section (d); or

14 (2) the amount of claim maintenance fee paid by

15 the senior locator at the time of filing the location no16 tice referred to in subsection (d) was less than the

17 amount required to be paid by such locator.

18 (i) EXTENT OF MINERAL DEPOSIT.—The boundaries

19 of a mining claim located under this Act shall extend verti20 cally downward.

21 SEC. 104. CONVERSION OF EXISTING CLAIMS.

22 (a) EXISTING CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any other

23 provision of law, on the effective date of this Act any

24 unpatented mining claim for a locatable mineral located

25 under the general mining laws prior to the date of enact-
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1 ment of this Act shall become subject to this Act’s provisions

2 and shall be deemed a converted mining claim under this

3 Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect

4 extralateral rights in any valid lode mining claim existing

5 on the date of enactment of this Act. After the effective date

6 of this Act, there shall be no distinction made as to whether

7 such claim was originally located as a lode or placer claim.

8 (b) MILL AND TUNNEL SITES.—On the effective date

9 of this Act, any unpatented mill or tunnel site located under

10 the general mining laws before the date of enactment of this

11 Act shall become subject to this Act’s provisions and shall

12 be deemed a converted mining claim under this Act.

13 (c) POSTCONVERSION.—Any unpatented mining claim

14 or mill site located under the general mining laws shall be

15 deemed to be a prior claim for the purposes of section 103(g)

16 when converted pursuant to subsection (a) or (b).

17 (d) DISPOSITION OF LAND.—In the event a mining

18 claim is located under this Act for lands encumbered by

19 a prior mining claim or mill site located under the general

20 mining laws, such lands shall become part of the claim lo21 cated under this Act if the claim or mill site located under

22 the general mining laws is declared null and void under

23 this section or is otherwise declared null and void thereafter.

24 (e) CONFLICTS.—(1) Any conflicts in existence before

25 the effective date of this Act between holders of mining
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1 claims, mill sites and tunnel sites located under the general

2 mining laws shall be subject to, and shall be resolved in

3 accordance with, applicable laws governing such conflicts

4 in effect before the effective date of enactment of this Act

5 in a court of proper jurisdiction.

6 (2) Any conflicts not relating to matters provided for

7 under section 103(h) between the holders of a mining claim

8 located under this Act and a mining claim, mill, or tunnel

9 site located under the general mining laws arising either

10 before or after the conversion of any such claim or site

11 under this section shall be resolved in a court with proper

12 jurisdiction.

13 SEC. 105. CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The holder of each mining

15 claim converted pursuant to this Act shall pay to the Sec16 retary an annual claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim.

17 (2) The holder of each mining claim located pursuant

18 to this Act shall pay to the Secretary an annual claim

19 maintenance fee of $200 per claim.

20 (b) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The claim maintenance fee

21 payable pursuant to subsection (a) for any year shall be

22 paid on or before August 31 of each year, except that in

23 the case of claims referred to in subsection (a)(2), for the

24 initial calendar year in which the location is made, the lo25 cator shall pay the initial claim maintenance fee at the
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1 time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land

2 Management.

3 (c) OIL SHALE CLAIMS SUBJECT TO CLAIM MAINTE4 NANCE FEES UNDER ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992.—This

5 section shall not apply to any oil shale claims for which

6 a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2) of the

7 Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486; 106 Stat.

8 3111; 30 U.S.C. 242).

9 (d) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES PAYABLE UNDER 1993

10 ACT.—The claim maintenance fees payable under this sec11 tion for any period with respect to any claim shall be re12 duced by the amount of the claim maintenance fees paid

13 under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

14 Act of 1993 with respect to that claim and with respect

15 to the same period.

16 (e) WAIVER.—(1) The claim maintenance fee required

17 under this section may be waived for a claim holder who

18 certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the date the

19 payment was due, the claim holder and all related parties

20 held not more than 10 mining claims on lands open to loca21 tion. Such certification shall be made on or before the date

22 on which payment is due.

23 (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), with respect to any

24 claim holder, the term ‘‘related party’’ means each of the

25 following:
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1 (A) The spouse and dependent children (as de2 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of

3 1986), of the claim holder.

4 (B) Any affiliate of the claim holder.

5 (f) CO-OWNERSHIP.—Upon the failure of any one or

6 more of several co-owners to contribute such co-owner or

7 owners’ portion of the fee under this section, any co-owner

8 who has paid such fee may, after the payment due date,

9 give the delinquent co-owner or owners notice of such failure

10 in writing (or by publication in the newspaper nearest the

11 claim for at least once a week for at least 90 days). If at

12 the expiration of 90 days after such notice in writing or

13 by publication, any delinquent co-owner fails or refuses to

14 contribute his portion, his interest in the claim shall become

15 the property of the co-owners who have paid the required

16 fee.

17 (g) FUND.—All monies received under this section

18 shall be deposited in the Abandoned Locatable Minerals

19 Mine Reclamation Fund established under title III of this

20 Act.

21 (h) CREDIT AGAINST ROYALTY.—The amount of the

22 annual claim maintenance fee required to be paid under

23 this section for any claim for any period shall be credited

24 against the amount of royalty required to be paid under

25 section 306 for the same period with respect to that claim.
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1 SEC. 106. FAILURE TO COMPLY.

2 (a) FORFEITURE.—The failure of the claim holder to

3 file the notice of location, to pay the location fee, or to pay

4 the claim maintenance fee for a mining claim as required

5 by this title shall be deemed conclusively to constitute for6 feiture of the mining claim by operation of law. Forfeiture

7 shall not relieve any person of any obligation created under

8 this Act, including reclamation.

9 (b) PROHIBITION.—No claim holder may locate a new

10 claim on the lands such claim holder included in a forfeited

11 claim for 1 year from the date such claim is deemed for12 feited.

13 (c) RELINQUISHMENT.—A claim holder deciding not

14 to pursue mineral activities on a claim may relinquish such

15 claim by notifying the Secretary. A claim holder relinquish16 ing a claim is responsible for reclamation as required by

17 section 207 of this Act and all other applicable require18 ments. A claim holder who relinquishes a claim shall not

19 be subject to the prohibition of subsection (b) of this section

20 unless the Secretary determines that the claim is being re21 linquished and relocated for the purpose of avoiding compli22 ance with any provision of this Act, including payment of

23 the claim maintenance fee.

24 SEC. 107. BASIS FOR CONTEST.

25 (a) DISCOVERY.—(1) After the effective date of this

26 Act, a mining claim may not be contested or challenged
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1 on the basis of discovery under the general mining laws,

2 except as follows:

3 (A) Any claim located before the effective date of

4 this Act may be contested by the United States on the

5 basis of discovery under the general mining laws as

6 in effect prior to the effective date of this Act if such

7 claim is located within any National Conservation

8 System unit, or within any area referred to in section

9 101(b).

10 (B) Any mining claim located before the effective

11 date of this Act may be contested by the United States

12 on the basis of discovery under the general mining

13 laws as in effect prior to the effective date of this Act

14 if such claim was located for a mineral material that

15 purportedly has a property giving it distinct and spe16 cial value within the meaning of section 3(a) of the

17 Act of July 23, 1955 (as in effect prior to the date

18 of enactment of this Act), or if such claim was located

19 for a mineral that was not locatable under the general

20 mining laws before the effective date of this Act.

21 (2) The Secretary may initiate contest proceedings

22 against those mining claims referred to in paragraph (1)

23 at any time, except that nothing in this subsection may

24 be construed as requiring the Secretary to inquire into, or

25 contest, the validity of a mining claim for the purpose of
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1 the conversion referred to in section 104, except as provided

2 in section 412.

3 (3) Nothing in this subsection may be construed as

4 limiting any contest proceedings initiated by the United

5 States on issues other than discovery, or any contest pro6 ceedings filed before the effective date of this Act.

7 (4) Any contest proceeding initiated pursuant to para8 graph (1) shall determine whether the mining claim or

9 claims subject to such proceeding supported a discovery of

10 a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of the gen11 eral mining laws on the effective date of this Act.

12 (b) CONTINUED SUFFICIENCY OF MINING CLAIM.—(1)

13 At any time, upon request of the Secretary, the claim holder

14 shall demonstrate that the continued retention of a mining

15 claim located or converted under this Act is exclusively re16 lated to mineral activities at the site.

17 (2) Where the Secretary requests demonstration of the

18 continuing sufficiency of any mining claim under this sec19 tion, the claim holder shall have the burden of showing each

20 of the following:

21 (A) The lands or interests in lands included in

22 the mining claim are not used predominantly for rec23 reational, residential or other purposes rather than

24 for mineral activities and are being held in good faith

25 for the ultimate exploration for, development of, or
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1 production of locatable minerals, as demonstrated by

2 the claimholder or his or her assigns through

3 showings satisfactory to the Secretary.

4 (B) The claim holder or operator does not re5 strict access to the lands or interests in lands included

6 in the mining claim in a manner that is not required

7 for mineral activities.

8 (C) The mineral being or to be mined on the

9 mining claim is a locatable mineral (unless such

10 lands are used for beneficiation or processing).

11 (D) The claim holder or operator has not con12 structed, improved, maintained or used a structure lo13 cated on a mining claim in a manner not specifically

14 authorized by the Secretary in accordance with this

15 Act.

16 (3) Any mining claim for which the claim holder fails

17 to demonstrate continued sufficiency, in the determination

18 of the Secretary, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section,

19 shall thereupon be deemed forfeited and be declared null and

20 void.

21 (c) REMEDIES.—(1) The Secretary may assess a civil

22 penalty of not more than $5,000 per claim against the

23 claimholder upon declaring a mining claim null and void

24 pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
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1 (2) Upon declaring a mining claim null and void pur2 suant to subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide a rea3 sonable opportunity for the mining claim holder or operator

4 to remove any real or personal property which such person

5 had previously placed upon the claim. If the property is

6 not removed within the time provided, the Secretary may

7 retain the property or provide for its disposition or destruc8 tion.

9 (d) OTHER LAW.—The Secretary shall take such ac10 tions as may be necessary to ensure the compliance by claim

11 holders with section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

12 612), consistent with this section.

13 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CON14 SIDERATIONS OF MINERAL

15 EXPLORATION AND DEVELOP16 MENT

17 SEC. 201. SURFACE MANAGEMENT STANDARD.

18 Notwithstanding the last sentence of section 302(b) of

19 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, and

20 in accordance with this title and other applicable law, the

21 Secretary, and for National Forest System lands the Sec22 retary of Agriculture, shall require that mineral activities

23 on Federal lands conducted by any person minimize ad24 verse impacts to the environment.
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1 SEC. 202. PERMITS.

2 (a) PERMITS REQUIRED.—No person may engage in

3 mineral activities on Federal lands that may cause a dis4 turbance of surface resources, including but not limited to,

5 land, air, ground water and surface water, fish, wildlife,

6 and biota unless—

7 (1) the claim was properly located or converted

8 under this Act and properly maintained; and

9 (2) a permit was issued to such person under

10 this title authorizing such activities.

11 (b) NEGLIGIBLE DISTURBANCE.—Notwithstanding

12 subsection (a)(2), a permit under this title shall not be re13 quired for mineral activities related to exploration, or gath14 ering of data, required to comply with section 203 or 204

15 that cause a negligible disturbance of surface resources and

16 do not involve any of the following:

17 (1) The use of mechanized earth moving equip18 ment, suction dredging, explosives.

19 (2) The use of motor vehicles in areas closed to

20 off-road vehicles.

21 (3) The construction of roads, drill pads, or the

22 use of toxic or hazardous materials.

23 Persons engaging in such activities shall provide prior writ24 ten notice. The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture

25 may provide, by joint regulations the manner in which such

26 notice shall be provided.
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1 SEC. 203. EXPLORATION PERMITS.

2 (a) AUTHORIZED EXPLORATION ACTIVITY.—Any

3 claim holder may apply for an exploration permit for any

4 mining claim authorizing the claim holder to remove a rea5 sonable amount of the locatable minerals from the claim

6 for analysis, study and testing. Such permit shall not au7 thorize the claim holder to remove any mineral for sale nor

8 to conduct any activities other than those required for explo9 ration for locatable minerals and reclamation.

10 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An appli11 cation for an exploration permit under this section shall

12 be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary or,

13 for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agri14 culture, and shall contain an exploration plan, a reclama15 tion plan for the proposed exploration, such documentation

16 as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable Federal

17 and State environmental laws and regulations, and each

18 of the following:

19 (1) The name, mailing address, and social secu20 rity number or tax identification number, as applica21 ble, of each of the following:

22 (A) The applicant for the permit and any

23 agent of the applicant.

24 (B) The operator (if different than the ap25 plicant) of the claim concerned.
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1 (C) Each claim holder (if different than the

2 applicant) of the claim concerned.

3 (2) A statement of whether any person referred

4 to in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1)

5 is currently in violation of, or was, during the 3-year

6 period preceding the date of the application, found to

7 be in violation of, any of the following and, if so, a

8 brief explanation of the facts involved, including iden9 tification of the site and nature of the violation:

10 (A) Any provision of this Act or any regu11 lation under this Act.

12 (B) Any applicable solid waste, air or

13 water quality law or regulation at any site

14 where mining, beneficiation, or processing activi15 ties are occurring or have occurred.

16 (C) The Surface Mining Control and Rec17 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and fol18 lowing) or any regulation under that Act at any

19 site where surface coal mining operations have

20 occurred or are occurring.

21 (3) A description of the type and method of ex22 ploration activities proposed, the engineering tech23 niques proposed to be used and the equipment pro24 posed to be used.
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1 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

2 dates of each phase of the exploration activities pro3 posed, including any planned temporary cessation of

4 exploration.

5 (5) A map, to an appropriate scale, clearly

6 showing the land to be affected by the proposed explo7 ration.

8 (6) Information determined necessary by the Sec9 retary concerned to assess the cumulative impacts, as

10 may be required to comply with the National Envi11 ronmental Policy Act.

12 (7) Evidence of appropriate financial assurance

13 as specified in section 206.

14 (c) RECLAMATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The rec15 lamation plan required to be included in a permit applica16 tion under subsection (b) shall include such provisions as

17 may be jointly prescribed by the Secretary and the Sec18 retary of Agriculture and each of the following:

19 (1) A description of the condition of the land

20 subject to the permit prior to the commencement of

21 any exploration activities.

22 (2) A description of reclamation measures pro23 posed pursuant to the requirements of section 207.

24 (3) The engineering techniques to be used in rec25 lamation and the equipment proposed to be used.
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1 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

2 dates of each phase of the reclamation proposed.

3 (5) A description of the proposed condition of the

4 land following the completion of reclamation.

5 (d) PERMIT ISSUANCE OR DENIAL.—The Secretary, or

6 for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agri7 culture, shall issue an exploration permit pursuant to an

8 application under this section if such Secretary makes each

9 of the following determinations, and such Secretary shall

10 deny a permit which he or she finds does not fully meet

11 the requirements of this subsection:

12 (1) The permit application, the exploration plan

13 and reclamation plan are complete and accurate.

14 (2) The applicant has demonstrated that pro15 posed reclamation can be accomplished.

16 (3) The proposed exploration activities and con17 dition of the land after the completion of exploration

18 activities and final reclamation would conform with

19 the land use plan applicable to the area subject to

20 mineral activities.

21 (4) The area subject to the proposed permit is

22 not included within an area designated unsuitable

23 under section 209 or not open to location under sec24 tion 101(b) for the types of exploration activities pro25 posed.
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1 (5) The applicant has demonstrated that the ex2 ploration plan and reclamation plan will be in com3 pliance with the requirements of this Act and all

4 other applicable Federal requirements, and any State

5 requirements agreed to by the Secretary of the Inte6 rior (or Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate)

7 pursuant to a cooperative agreement under section

8 208.

9 (6) The applicant has fully complied with the re10 quirements of section 206 (relating to financial assur11 ance).

12 (e) TERM OF PERMIT.—An exploration permit shall

13 be for a stated term. The term shall be no greater than that

14 necessary to accomplish the proposed exploration, and in

15 no case for more than 5 years.

16 (f) PERMIT MODIFICATION.—During the term of an ex17 ploration permit the permit holder may submit an applica18 tion to modify the permit. To approve a proposed modifica19 tion to the permit, the Secretary concerned shall make the

20 same determinations as are required in the case of an origi21 nal permit, except that the Secretary and the Secretary of

22 Agriculture may specify by joint rule the extent to which

23 requirements for initial exploration permits under this sec24 tion shall apply to applications to modify an exploration
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1 permit based on whether such modifications are deemed sig2 nificant or minor.

3 (g) FEES.—Each application for a permit pursuant

4 to this section shall be accompanied by a fee payable to

5 the Secretary of the Interior in such amount as may be

6 established by the Secretary of the Interior. Such amount

7 shall be equal to the actual or anticipated cost to the Sec8 retary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be,

9 of reviewing, administering, and enforcing such permit, as

10 determined by such Secretary. All moneys received under

11 this subsection shall be deposited in the Abandoned

12 Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund established

13 under title III of this Act.

14 (h) TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF RIGHTS.—

15 (1) No transfer, assignment, or sale of rights granted by

16 a permit issued under this section shall be made without

17 the prior written approval of the Secretary or for National

18 Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture.

19 (2) Such Secretary may allow a person holding a per20 mit to transfer, assign, or sell rights under the permit to

21 a successor, if the Secretary finds, in writing, that the suc22 cessor—

23 (A) is eligible to receive a permit in accordance

24 with section 205;
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1 (B) has submitted evidence of financial assur2 ance satisfactory under section 206; and

3 (C) meets any other requirements specified by the

4 Secretary.

5 (3) The successor in interest shall assume the liability

6 and reclamation responsibilities established by the existing

7 permit and shall conduct the mineral activities in full com8 pliance with this Act, and the terms and conditions of the

9 permit as in effect at the time of transfer, assignment, or

10 sale.

11 (4) Each application for approval of a permit transfer,

12 assignment, or sale pursuant to this subsection shall be ac13 companied by a fee payable to the Secretary of the Interior

14 in such amount as may be established by such Secretary.

15 Such amount shall be equal to the actual or anticipated

16 cost to the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as ap17 propriate, of reviewing and approving or disapproving such

18 transfer, assignment, or sale, as determined by the Sec19 retary of the Interior. All moneys received under this sub20 section shall be deposited in the Abandoned Locatable Min21 erals Mine Reclamation Fund established under title III of

22 this Act.

23 SEC. 204. OPERATIONS PERMIT.

24 (a) OPERATIONS PERMIT.—Any claim holder may

25 apply to the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands,
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1 the Secretary of Agriculture, for an operations permit au2 thorizing the claim holder to carry out mineral activities

3 on Federal lands. The permit shall include such terms and

4 conditions as prescribed by such Secretary to carry out this

5 title.

6 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An appli7 cation for an operations permit under this section shall be

8 submitted in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary con9 cerned and shall contain an operations plan, a reclamation

10 plan, such documentation as necessary to ensure compliance

11 with applicable Federal and State environmental laws and

12 regulations, and each of the following:

13 (1) The name, mailing address, and social secu14 rity number or tax identification number, as applica15 ble, of each of the following:

16 (A) The applicant for the permit and any

17 agent of the applicant.

18 (B) The operator (if different than the ap19 plicant) at the claim concerned.

20 (C) Each claim holder (if different than the

21 applicant) of the claim concerned.

22 (D) Each affiliate and each officer or direc23 tor of the applicant.

24 (2) A statement of whether a person referred to

25 in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1)
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1 is currently in violation of, or was, during the 3-year

2 period preceding the date of application, found to be

3 in violation of, any of the following and if so, a brief

4 explanation of the facts involved, including identifica5 tion of the site and the nature of the violation:

6 (A) Any provision of this Act or any regu7 lation under this Act.

8 (B) Any applicable solid waste, air or

9 water quality law or and regulation at any site

10 where mining, beneficiation, or processing activi11 ties are occurring or have occurred.

12 (C) The Surface Mining Control and Rec13 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and fol14 lowing) or any regulation under that Act at any

15 site where surface coal mining operations have

16 occurred or are occurring.

17 (3) A statement of any current or previous per18 mits or plans of operations issued under the Surface

19 Mining Control and Reclamation Act or the Federal

20 Land Policy and Management Act.

21 (4) A description of the type and method of min22 eral activities proposed, the engineering techniques

23 proposed to be used and the equipment proposed to be

24 used.
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1 (5) The anticipated starting and termination

2 dates of each phase of the mineral activities proposed,

3 including any planned temporary cessation of oper4 ations.

5 (6) Maps, to an appropriate scale, clearly show6 ing the lands, watersheds, and surface waters, to be

7 affected by the proposed mineral activities; surface

8 and mineral ownership; facilities, including roads

9 and other man-made structures; proposed disturb10 ances; soils and vegetation; topography; and water

11 supply intakes and surface water bodies.

12 (7) A description of the biological resources in or

13 associated with the area subject to mineral activities,

14 including vegetation, fish and wildlife, riparian and

15 wetland habitats.

16 (8) A description of measures planned to exclude

17 fish and wildlife resources from the area subject to

18 mineral activities by covering, containment, or fenc19 ing of open waters, beneficiation, and processing ma20 terials; or maintenance of all facilities in a condition

21 that is not harmful to fish and wildlife.

22 (9) A description of the quantity and quality of

23 surface and ground water resources in or associated

24 with the area subject to mineral activities, based on
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1 pre-disturbance monitoring sufficient to establish sea2 sonal variations.

3 (10) An analysis of the probable hydrologic con4 sequences of the mineral activities, both on and off the

5 area subject to mineral activities, with respect to the

6 hydrologic regime, quantity and quality of water in

7 surface and ground water systems including the dis8 solved and suspended solids under seasonal flow con9 ditions and the collection of sufficient data for the

10 mine site and surrounding areas so that an assess11 ment can be made by the Secretary concerned of the

12 probable cumulative impacts of the anticipated min13 eral activities in the area upon the hydrology of the

14 area and particularly upon water availability.

15 (11) A description of the monitoring systems to

16 be used to detect and determine whether compliance

17 has and is occurring consistent with the surface man18 agement requirements and to monitor the effects of

19 mineral activities on the site and surrounding envi20 ronment, including but not limited to, ground water,

21 surface water, air and soils.

22 (12) Accident contingency plans that include,

23 but are not limited to, immediate response strategies

24 and corrective measures to mitigate environmental
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1 impacts and appropriate insurance to cover accident

2 contingencies.

3 (13) Any measures to comply with any condi4 tions on minerals activities that may be required in

5 the applicable land use plan or any condition stipu6 lated pursuant to section 209.

7 (14) Information determined necessary by the

8 Secretary concerned to assess the cumulative impacts

9 of mineral activities, as may be required to comply

10 with the National Environmental Policy Act.

11 (15) Such other environmental baseline data as

12 the Secretaries, by joint regulation, shall require suffi13 cient to validate the determinations required for issu14 ance of a permit under this Act.

15 (16) Evidence of appropriate financial assurance

16 as specified in section 206.

17 (17) A description of the site security provisions

18 designed to protect from theft the locatable minerals,

19 concentrates or products derived therefrom which will

20 be produced or stored on a mining claim.

21 (18) A full characterization of soils and geology

22 in the area to be affected by mineral activities.

23 (19) A copy of the applicant’s advertisement to

24 be published as required by section 403 (relating to

25 public participation).
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1 (c) RECLAMATION PLAN APPLICATION REQUIRE2 MENTS.—The reclamation plan referred to in subsection (b)

3 shall include such reclamation measures as prescribed by

4 the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec5 retary of Agriculture, and each of the following:

6 (1) A description of the condition of the land

7 subject to the permit prior to the commencement of

8 any mineral activities.

9 (2) A description of reclamation measures pro10 posed pursuant to the requirements of section 207.

11 (3) The engineering techniques to be used in rec12 lamation and the equipment proposed to be used.

13 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

14 dates of each phase of the reclamation proposed.

15 (5) A description of the proposed condition of the

16 land following the completion of reclamation.

17 (6) A description of the maintenance measures

18 that will be necessary to meet the surface management

19 requirements of this Act, such as, but not limited to,

20 drainage water treatment facilities, or liner mainte21 nance and control.

22 (7) The consideration which has been given to

23 making the condition of the land after the completion

24 of mineral activities and final reclamation consistent

25 with the applicable land use plan.
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1 (d) PERMIT ISSUANCE OR DENIAL.—(1) After provid2 ing notice and opportunity for public comment and hear3 ing, the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the

4 Secretary of Agriculture, shall issue an operations permit

5 if such Secretary makes each of the following determina6 tions in writing, and such Secretary shall deny a permit

7 which he or she finds does not fully meet the requirements

8 of this paragraph:

9 (A) The permit application, operations plan,

10 and reclamation plan are complete and accurate.

11 (B) The applicant has demonstrated that the

12 proposed reclamation in the reclamation plan can be

13 accomplished.

14 (C) The proposed mineral activities and condi15 tion of the land after the completion of mineral ac16 tivities and final reclamation conform to the land use

17 plan applicable to the area subject to mineral activi18 ties.

19 (D) The area subject to the proposed plan is not

20 included within an area designated unsuitable or not

21 open to location for the types of mineral activities

22 proposed.

23 (E) The applicant has demonstrated that the

24 mineral activities will be in compliance with this Act

25 and all other applicable Federal requirements, and
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1 any State requirements agreed to by the appropriate

2 Secretary pursuant to cooperative agreements under

3 section 208.

4 (F) The assessment of the probable cumulative

5 impact of all anticipated mining in the area on the

6 hydrologic balance specified in subsection (b)(10) has

7 been made and the proposed operation has been de8 signed to minimize disturbances to the prevailing hy9 drologic balance of the permit area.

10 (G) The applicant has fully complied with the

11 requirements of section 206 (relating to financial as12 surance).

13 (2) Issuance of an operations permit under this section

14 shall be based on information supplied by the applicant and

15 the applicant shall have the burden of establishing that the

16 application complies with paragraph (1).

17 (e) TERM OF PERMIT; RENEWAL.—(1) An operations

18 permit shall be for a stated term. The term shall be no great19 er than that necessary to accomplish the proposed mineral

20 activities subject to the permit, and in no case for more

21 than 10 years, unless the applicant demonstrates to the sat22 isfaction of the Secretary, or for National Forest System

23 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, that a specified longer

24 term is reasonably needed for such mineral activities.
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1 (2) Failure by the operator to commence mineral ac2 tivities within one year of the date scheduled in an oper3 ations permit shall require a modification of the permit un4 less the Secretary concerned determines that the delay was

5 beyond the control of the applicant.

6 (3) An operations permit shall carry with it the right

7 of successive renewal upon expiration only with respect to

8 operations on areas within the boundaries of the existing

9 permit as issued. A renewal of such permit shall not be is10 sued if such Secretary determines, in writing, any of the

11 following:

12 (A) The terms and conditions of the existing per13 mit are not being met.

14 (B) The operator has not demonstrated that the

15 financial assurance would continue to apply in full

16 force and effect for the renewal term.

17 (C) Any additional revised or updated informa18 tion required by the Secretary concerned has not been

19 provided.

20 (D) The applicant has not demonstrated that the

21 mineral activities will be in compliance with the re22 quirements of all other applicable Federal require23 ments, and any State requirements agreed to by the

24 Secretary concerned pursuant to cooperative agree25 ments under section 208.
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1 (4) A renewal of an operations permit shall be for a

2 term of 10 years or for such additional term as the Sec3 retary concerned deems appropriate. Application for re4 newal shall be made at least one year prior to the expiration

5 of the existing permit. Where a renewal application has

6 been timely submitted and a permit expires prior to Sec7 retarial action on the renewal application, reclamation

8 shall and other mineral activities may continue in accord9 ance with the terms of the expired permit until the Sec10 retary concerned makes a decision on the renewal applica11 tion.

12 (f) PERMIT MODIFICATION.—(1) During the term of

13 an operations permit the operator may submit an applica14 tion to modify the permit (including the operations plan

15 or reclamation plan, or both). To approve a proposed modi16 fication, the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall make the same deter18 minations as are required in the case of an original oper19 ations permit, except that the Secretaries may establish

20 joint rules regarding the extent to which requirements for

21 original permits under this section shall apply to applica22 tions to modify a permit based on whether such modifica23 tions are deemed significant or minor. Such rules shall pro24 vide that all requirements applicable to a new permit shall
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1 apply to any extension of the area covered by the permit

2 (except for incidental boundary revisions).

3 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

4 the Secretary of Agriculture, may, at any time, require rea5 sonable modification to any operations plan or reclamation

6 plan upon a determination that the requirements of this

7 Act cannot be met if the plan is followed as approved. Such

8 determination shall be based on a written finding and sub9 ject to notice and hearing requirements established by the

10 Secretary concerned.

11 (g) TEMPORARY CESSATION OF OPERATIONS.—(1) No

12 operator conducting mineral activities under an operations

13 permit in effect under this title may temporarily cease min14 eral activities for a period of 180 days or more under an

15 operations permit unless the Secretary concerned has ap16 proved such temporary cessation or unless the temporary

17 cessation is permitted under the original permit. Any oper18 ator temporarily ceasing mineral activities for a period of

19 180 days or more under an existing operations permit shall

20 submit, before the expiration of such 180-day period, a com21 plete application for temporary cessation of operations to

22 the Secretary concerned for approval unless the temporary

23 cessation is permitted under the original permit.

24 (2) An application for approval of temporary cessation

25 of operations shall include such provisions as prescribed by
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1 the Secretary concerned, including but not limited to the

2 steps that shall be taken during the cessation of operations

3 period to minimize impacts on the environment. After re4 ceipt of a complete application for temporary cessation of

5 operations such Secretary shall conduct an inspection of the

6 area for which temporary cessation of operations has been

7 requested.

8 (3) To approve an application for temporary cessation

9 of operations, the Secretary concerned shall make each of

10 the following determinations:

11 (A) A determination that the methods for secur12 ing surface facilities and restricting access to the per13 mit area, or relevant portions thereof, will effectively

14 ensure against hazards to the health and safety of the

15 public and fish and wildlife.

16 (B) A determination that reclamation is in com17 pliance with the approved reclamation plan, except in

18 those areas specifically designated in the application

19 for temporary cessation of operations for which a

20 delay in meeting such standards is necessary to facili21 tate the resumption of operations.

22 (C) A determination that the amount of finan23 cial assurance filed with the permit application is

24 sufficient to assure completion of the reclamation ac-
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1 tivities identified in the approved reclamation plan

2 in the event of forfeiture.

3 (D) A determination that any outstanding no4 tices of violation and cessation orders incurred in

5 connection with the plan for which temporary ces6 sation is being requested are either stayed pursuant

7 to an administrative or judicial appeal proceeding or

8 are in the process of being abated to the satisfaction

9 of the Secretary concerned.

10 (h) PERMIT REVIEWS.—The Secretary, or for National

11 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall re12 view each permit issued under this section every 3 years

13 during the term of such permit and, based upon a written

14 finding, such Secretary may require the operator to take

15 such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to assure that

16 mineral activities conform to the permit, including adjust17 ment of financial assurance requirements.

18 (i) FEES.—Each application for a permit pursuant

19 to this section shall be accompanied by a fee payable to

20 the Secretary of the Interior in such amount as may be

21 established by such Secretary. Such amount shall be equal

22 to the actual or anticipated cost to the Secretary, or for

23 National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture,

24 of reviewing, administering, and enforcing such permit, as

25 determined by the Secretary of the Interior. All moneys re-
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1 ceived under this subsection shall be deposited in the Aban2 doned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund estab3 lished under title III of this Act.

4 (j) TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF RIGHTS.—

5 (1) No transfer, assignment, or sale of rights granted by

6 a permit under this section shall be made without the prior

7 written approval of the Secretary, or for National Forest

8 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture.

9 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, may allow a person holding

11 a permit to transfer, assign, or sell rights under the permit

12 to a successor, if such Secretary finds, in writing, that the

13 successor—

14 (A) is eligible to receive a permit in accordance

15 with section 205;

16 (B) has submitted evidence of financial assur17 ance satisfactory under section 206; and

18 (C) meets any other requirements specified by

19 such Secretary.

20 (3) The successor in interest shall assume the liability

21 and reclamation responsibilities established by the existing

22 permit and shall conduct the mineral activities in full com23 pliance with this Act, and the terms and conditions of the

24 permit as in effect at the time of transfer, assignment, or

25 sale.
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1 (4) Each application for approval of a permit transfer,

2 assignment, or sale pursuant to this subsection shall be ac3 companied by a fee payable to the Secretary of the Interior

4 in such amount as may be established by such Secretary.

5 Such amount shall be equal to the actual or anticipated

6 cost to the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture of re7 viewing and approving or disapproving such transfer, as8 signment, or sale, as determined by the Secretary of the In9 terior. All moneys received under this subsection shall be

10 deposited in the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Rec11 lamation Fund established under title III of this Act.

12 SEC. 205. PERSONS INELIGIBLE FOR PERMITS.

13 (a) CURRENT VIOLATIONS.—Unless corrective action

14 has been taken in accordance with subsection (c), no permit

15 under this title shall be issued or transferred to an appli16 cant if the applicant or any agent of the applicant, the op17 erator (if different than the applicant) of the claim con18 cerned, any claim holder (if different than the applicant)

19 of the claim concerned, or any affiliate or officer or director

20 of the applicant is currently in violation of any of the fol21 lowing:

22 (1) A provision of this Act or any regulation

23 under this Act.

24 (2) An applicable solid waste, air, or water qual25 ity law or regulation at any site where mining,
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1 beneficiation, or processing activities are occurring or

2 have occurred.

3 (3) The Surface Mining Control and Reclama4 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and following) or

5 any regulation implementing that Act at any site

6 where surface coal mining operations have occurred

7 or are occurring.

8 (b) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary, or for National For9 est System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall suspend

10 an exploration permit or an operations permit, in whole

11 or in part, if such Secretary determines that any of the

12 entities described in subsection (a) were in violation of any

13 requirement listed in subsection (a) at the time the permit

14 was issued.

15 (c) CORRECTION.—(1) The Secretary, or for National

16 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may issue

17 or reinstate a permit under this title if the applicant sub18 mits proof that the violation referred to in subsection (a)

19 or (b) has been corrected or is in the process of being cor20 rected to the satisfaction of such Secretary or if the appli21 cant submits proof that the violator has filed and is pres22 ently pursuing, a direct administrative or judicial appeal

23 to contest the existence of the violation. For purposes of this

24 section, an appeal of any applicant’s relationship to an af-
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1 filiate shall not constitute a direct administrative or judi2 cial appeal to contest the existence of the violation.

3 (2) Any permit which is issued or reinstated based

4 upon proof submitted under this subsection shall be condi5 tionally approved or conditionally reinstated, as the case

6 may be. If the violation is not successfully abated or the

7 violation is upheld on appeal, the permit shall be suspended

8 or revoked.

9 (d) PATTERN OF WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—No permit

10 under this Act may be issued to any applicant if there is

11 a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of the surface

12 management requirements of this Act by the applicant, any

13 affiliate of the applicant, or the operator or claim holder

14 if different than the applicant, and such violations are of

15 such nature and duration, and with such resulting irrep16 arable damage to the environment, as to clearly indicate

17 an intent not to comply with the surface management re18 quirements.

19 SEC. 206. FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.

20 (a) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE REQUIRED.—(1) Before

21 any permit is issued under this title, the operator shall file

22 with the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the

23 Secretary of Agriculture, evidence of financial assurance

24 payable to the United States on a form prescribed and fur25 nished by such Secretary and conditional upon faithful per-
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1 formance of such permit and all other requirements of this

2 Act. The financial assurance shall be provided in the form

3 of a surety bond, trust fund, letters of credits, government

4 securities, cash or equivalent.

5 (2) The financial assurance shall cover all lands with6 in the initial permit area and shall be extended to cover

7 all lands added pursuant to any permit modification made

8 under section 203(f), section 204(f), or section 204(h). The

9 financial assurance shall cover all lands to be affected by

10 mineral activities as described and depicted in the permit

11 application.

12 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the financial assurance

13 required under this section shall be sufficient to assure the

14 completion of reclamation satisfying the requirements of

15 this Act if the work were to be performed by the Secretary

16 concerned in the event of forfeiture. The calculation of such

17 amount shall take into account the maximum level of finan18 cial exposure which shall arise during the mineral activity.

19 (c) DURATION.—The financial assurance required

20 under this section shall be held for the duration of the min21 eral activities and for an additional period to cover the op22 erator’s responsibility for revegetation as specified under

23 subsection 207(b)(6)(B), and effluent treatment as specified

24 in subsection (g).
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1 (d) ADJUSTMENTS.—The amount of the financial as2 surance and the terms of the acceptance of the assurance

3 may be adjusted by the Secretary concerned from time to

4 time as the area requiring coverage is increased or de5 creased, or where the costs of reclamation or treatment

6 change, or pursuant to section 204(h), but the financial as7 surance must otherwise be in compliance with this section.

8 The Secretary concerned shall specify periodic times, or set

9 a schedule, for reevaluating or adjusting the amount of fi10 nancial assurance.

11 (e) RELEASE.—Upon request, and after notice and op12 portunity for public comment, and after inspection by the

13 Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec14 retary of Agriculture, such Secretary may release in whole

15 or in part the financial assurance required under this sec16 tion if the Secretary makes both of the following determina17 tions:

18 (1) A determination that reclamation covered by

19 the financial assurance has been accomplished as re20 quired by this Act.

21 (2) A determination that the operator has de22 clared that the terms and conditions of any other ap23 plicable Federal requirements, and State requirements

24 applicable pursuant to cooperative agreements under

25 section 208, have been fulfilled.
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1 (f) RELEASE SCHEDULE.—The release referred to in

2 subsection (e) shall be according to the following schedule:

3 (1) After the operator has completed any re4 quired backfilling, regrading and drainage control of

5 an area subject to mineral activities and covered by

6 the financial assurance, and has commenced

7 revegetation on the regraded areas subject to mineral

8 activities in accordance with the approved plan, that

9 portion of the total financial assurance secured for the

10 area subject to mineral activities attributable to the

11 completed activities may be released.

12 (2) After the operator has completed successfully

13 all remaining mineral activities and reclamation ac14 tivities and all requirements of the operations plan

15 and the reclamation plan (including the provisions of

16 section 207(b)(6)(B) relating to revegetation and ef17 fluent treatment required by subsection (g)), and all

18 other requirements of this Act have in fact been fully

19 met, the remaining portion of the financial assurance

20 may be released.

21 During the period following release of the financial assur22 ance as specified in paragraph (1), until the remaining

23 portion of the financial assurance is released as provided

24 in paragraph (2), the operator shall be required to comply

25 with the permit issued under this title.
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1 (g) EFFLUENT.—Where any discharge resulting from

2 the mineral activities requires treatment in order to meet

3 the applicable effluent limitations, the financial assurance

4 shall includes the estimated cost of maintaining such treat5 ment for the projected period that will be needed after the

6 cessation of mineral activities. The portion of the financial

7 assurance attributable to such estimated cost of treatment

8 shall not be released until the discharge has ceased, or, if

9 the discharge continues, until the operator has met all ap10 plicable effluent limitations and water quality standards

11 for 5 full years without treatment.

12 (h) ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.—If the Secretary, or

13 for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri14 culture, determines, after final release of financial assur15 ance, that an environmental hazard resulting from the min16 eral activities exists, or the terms and conditions of the op17 erations permit of this Act were not fulfilled in fact at the

18 time of release, such Secretary shall issue an order under

19 section 407 requiring the claimholder or operator (or any

20 person who controls the claimholder or operator) to correct

21 the condition.

22 SEC. 207. RECLAMATION.

23 (a) GENERAL RULE.—(1) Except as provided under

24 paragraphs (5) and (7) of subsection (b), the operator shall

25 restore lands subject to mineral activities carried out under
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1 a permit issued under this title to a condition capable of

2 supporting—

3 (A) the uses to which such lands were capable of

4 supporting prior to surface disturbance by the opera5 tor, or

6 (B) other beneficial uses which conform to appli7 cable land use plans as determined by the Secretary

8 or for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of

9 Agriculture.

10 (2) Reclamation shall proceed as contemporaneously

11 as practicable with the conduct of mineral activities and

12 shall use, with respect to this subsection and subsection (b),

13 the best technology currently available.

14 (b) RECLAMATION STANDARDS.—Mineral activities

15 shall be conducted in accordance with the following stand16 ards; as well as any additional standards the Secretaries

17 may jointly promulgate under section 201 and subsection

18 (a) of this section to address specific environmental impacts

19 of selected methods of mining:

20 (1) SOILS.—(A) Soils, including top soils and

21 subsoils removed from lands subject to mineral activi22 ties shall be segregated from waste material and pro23 tected for later use in reclamation. If such soil is not

24 replaced on a backfill area within a time-frame short

25 enough to avoid deterioration of the topsoil, vegetative
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1 cover or other means shall be used so that the soil is

2 preserved from wind and water erosion, remains free

3 of contamination by acid or other toxic material, and

4 is in a usable condition for sustaining vegetation

5 when restored during reclamation.

6 (B) In the event the topsoil from lands subject to

7 mineral activities is of insufficient quantity or of in8 ferior quality for sustaining vegetation, and other

9 suitable growth media removed from the lands subject

10 to the mineral activities are available that shall sup11 port vegetation, the best available growth medium

12 shall be removed, segregated and preserved in a like

13 manner as under subparagraph (A) for sustaining

14 vegetation when restored during reclamation.

15 (C) In the event the soil (other than topsoil) from

16 lands subject to mineral activities is of insufficient

17 quantity or of inferior quality for sustaining vegeta18 tion, and other suitable growth media removed from

19 the lands subject to the mineral activities are avail20 able that support revegetation, these substitute mate21 rials shall be removed, segregated or preserved in a

22 like manner as under subparagraph (A) for later use

23 in reclamation.

24 (D) Mineral activities shall be conducted to pre25 vent contamination of soils to the extent possible
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1 using the best technology currently available. If con2 tamination occurs, the operator shall decontaminate

3 or dispose of any contaminated soils which have re4 sulted from the mineral activities.

5 (2) STABILIZATION.—All surface areas subject to

6 mineral activities, including segregated soils or other

7 growth medium, waste material piles, ore piles,

8 subgrade ore piles, and open or partially backfilled

9 mine pits which meet the requirements of paragraph

10 (5) shall be stabilized and protected during mineral

11 activities so as to effectively control fugitive dust and

12 erosion and minimize attendant air and water pollu13 tion.

14 (3) SEDIMENTS, EROSION, AND DRAINAGE.—Fa15 cilities such as but not limited to basins, ditches,

16 stream bank stabilization, diversions or other meas17 ures, shall be designed, constructed and maintained

18 where necessary to control sediments, erosion, and

19 drainage of the area subject to mineral activities.

20 (4) HYDROLOGIC BALANCE.—(A) Mineral activi21 ties shall be conducted to minimize disturbances to

22 the prevailing hydrologic balance of the permit area

23 and surrounding watershed existing prior to the min24 eral activities in the permit area and in the sur25 rounding watershed, as established by the baseline in-
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1 formation provided pursuant to section 204(b)(10).

2 Hydrologic balance includes the quality and quantity

3 of ground water and surface water and their inter4 relationships, including recharge and discharge rates.

5 In all cases, the operator shall comply with Federal

6 and State laws related to the quality and quantity of

7 such waters.

8 (B) Mineral activities shall be conducted using

9 the technology standard referred to in subsection

10 (a)(2) to prevent where possible the formation of acid11 ic, toxic or other contaminated water. Where the for12 mation of acidic, toxic or other contaminated water

13 occurs despite the use of such technology standard,

14 mineral activities shall be conducted using such tech15 nology so as to minimize the formation of acidic,

16 toxic or other contaminated water.

17 (C) Mineral activities shall prevent any con18 tamination of surface and ground water with acid or

19 other toxic mine pollutants and shall prevent or re20 move water from contact with acid or toxic producing

21 deposits.

22 (D) Reclamation shall restore approximate hy23 drologic balance existing prior to the mineral activi24 ties.
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1 (E) Where the quality of surface water or ground

2 water used for domestic, municipal, agricultural, or

3 industrial purposes is adversely impacted by mineral

4 activities, such water shall be treated, or replaced

5 with the same quantity and approximate quality of

6 water, comparable to premining conditions as estab7 lished in paragraph (10) of section 204(b).

8 (5) SURFACE RESTORATION.—(A) Except as pro9 vided in paragraph (7), the surface area disturbed by

10 mineral activities shall be revegetated and shaped,

11 graded, and contoured to the extent practicable to

12 blend with the surrounding topography. Backfilling of

13 an open pit mine shall be required only if the Sec14 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec15 retary of Agriculture, finds that such open pit or par16 tially backfilled, graded, or contoured pit would pose

17 a significant threat to the public health safety or have

18 a significant adverse effect on the environment in

19 terms of surface water or groundwater pollution.

20 (B) In instances where complete backfilling of an

21 open pit is not required, the pit shall be graded to

22 blend with the surrounding topography as much as

23 practicable and revegetated in accordance with para24 graph (6).
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1 (6) VEGETATION.—(A) The area subject to min2 eral activities shall be vegetated in order to establish

3 a diverse, effective and permanent vegetative cover of

4 the same seasonal variety native to the area subject

5 to mineral activities, capable of self-regeneration and

6 plant succession and at least equal in extent of cover

7 to the natural revegetation of the surrounding area,

8 except that introduced species may be used at the dis9 cretion of the Secretary, or for National Forest Sys10 tem lands the Secretary of Agriculture, if such intro11 duction of such species is consistent with subsection

12 (a). In such instances where the complete backfill of

13 an open mine pit is not required under paragraph

14 (5), such Secretary shall prescribe such vegetation re15 quirements as conform to the applicable land use

16 plan.

17 (B) In order to insure compliance with subpara18 graph (A), the period for determining successful

19 revegetation shall be for a period of 5 full years after

20 the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing, irriga21 tion or other work, except that such period shall be

22 10 full years where the annual average precipitation

23 is 26 inches or less. The period may be for a longer

24 time at the discretion of the Secretary concerned

25 where the average precipitation is 26 inches or less.
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1 (7) EXCESS WASTE.—(A) Waste material in ex2 cess of that required to comply with paragraph (5)

3 shall be transported and placed in approved areas, in

4 a controlled manner in such a way so as to assure

5 long-term mass stability, to prevent mass movement

6 and to facilitate reclamation. In addition to the

7 measures described under paragraph (3), internal

8 drainage systems shall be employed, as may be re9 quired, to control erosion and drainage. The design of

10 such excess waste material piles shall be certified by

11 a qualified professional engineer.

12 (B) Excess waste material piles shall be graded

13 and contoured to blend with the surrounding topog14 raphy as much as practicable and revegetated in ac15 cordance with paragraph (6).

16 (8) SEALING.—All drill holes, and openings on

17 the surface associated with underground mineral ac18 tivities, shall be backfilled, sealed or otherwise con19 trolled when no longer needed for the conduct of min20 eral activities to ensure protection of the public and

21 the environment, and management of fish and wild22 life and livestock.

23 (9) STRUCTURES.—All buildings, structures or

24 equipment constructed, used or improved during min25 eral activities shall be removed, unless the Secretary
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1 concerned in consultation with the affected land man2 aging agency, determines that use of the buildings,

3 structures or equipment would be consistent with sub4 section (a) or for environmental monitoring and the

5 Secretary concerned takes ownership of such struc6 tures.

7 (10) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Fish and wildlife

8 habitat in areas subject to mineral activities shall be

9 restored in a manner commensurate with or superior

10 to habitat conditions which existed prior to the min11 eral activities, including such conditions as may be

12 prescribed by the Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

13 (c) APPLICATION OF RECLAMATION STANDARDS TO

14 EXPLORATION.—The provisions of this section shall apply

15 to mineral exploration pursuant to a permit under this Act,

16 except that paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (b) shall

17 not apply during any interim periods between completion

18 of the approved exploration and the commencement of fur19 ther mineral activities, not to exceed 2 years, if the operator

20 maintains a sufficient financial assurance to reclaim the

21 disturbed surface should further mineral activities not be

22 authorized. The Secretary concerned shall prescribe stand23 ards for interim stabilization and revegetation.

24 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—A modified reclamation plan

25 shall not be required for mineral activities related to rec-
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1 lamation where a mining claim is forfeited, relinquished

2 or lapsed, or a plan is revoked or suspended or has expired

3 in any such case. Reclamation activities shall continue only

4 as approved by the Secretary, or for National Forest System

5 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, pursuant to the pre6 viously approved reclamation plan.

7 (e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

8 (1) The term ‘‘best technology currently avail9 able’’ means equipment, devices, systems, methods, or

10 techniques which have demonstrated engineering and

11 economic feasibility, success and practicality. Within

12 the constraints of the surface management require13 ments of this Act, the Secretary, or for National For14 est System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall

15 have the discretion to determine the best technology

16 currently available on a case-by-case basis.

17 (2) The term ‘‘waste material’’ means the mate18 rial resulting from mineral activities involving ex19 traction, beneficiation and processing, including but

20 not limited to tailings, and such material resulting

21 from mineral activities involving processing, to the

22 extent such material is not subject to subtitle C of the

23 Solid Waste Disposal Act or the Uranium Mill

24 Tailings Radiation Control Act.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘ore piles’’ means ore stockpiled for

2 beneficiation prior to the completion of mineral ac3 tivities.

4 (4) The term ‘‘subgrade ore’’ means ore that is

5 too low in grade to be processed at the time of extrac6 tion but which could reasonably be processed in the

7 foreseeable future.

8 (5) The term ‘‘soil’’ means the earthy or sandy

9 layer, ranging in thickness from a few inches to sev10 eral feet, composed of finely divided rock debris, of

11 whatever origin, mixed with decomposing vegetal and

12 animal matter, which forms the surface of the ground

13 and in which plants grow or may grow.

14 SEC. 208. STATE LAW AND REGULATION.

15 (a) STATE LAW.—(1) Any reclamation standard or re16 quirement in State law or regulation that meets or exceeds

17 the requirements of section 207 shall not be construed to

18 be inconsistent with any such standard.

19 (2) Any bonding standard or requirement in State law

20 or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements of sec21 tion 206 shall not be construed to be inconsistent with such

22 requirements.

23 (3) Any inspection standard or requirement in State

24 law or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements
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1 of section 404 shall not be construed to be inconsistent with

2 such requirements.

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATE REQUIRE4 MENTS.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as af5 fecting any solid waste, or air or water quality, standard

6 or requirement of any State law or regulation, or of tribal

7 law or regulation, which may be applicable to mineral ac8 tivities on lands subject to this Act.

9 (2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting

10 in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect,

11 under applicable law, such person’s interest in water re12 sources affected by mineral activities on lands subject to this

13 Act.

14 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) Any State may

15 enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary, or

16 for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri17 culture, for the purposes of such Secretary applying such

18 standards and requirements referred to in subsection (a)

19 and subsection (b) to mineral activities or reclamation on

20 lands subject to this Act.

21 (2) In such instances where the proposed mineral ac22 tivities would affect lands not subject to this Act in addition

23 to lands subject to this Act, in order to approve a plan of

24 operations the Secretary concerned shall enter into a coop25 erative agreement with the State that sets forth a common
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1 regulatory framework consistent with the surface manage2 ment requirements of this Act for the purposes of such plan

3 of operations.

4 (3) The Secretary concerned shall not enter into a co5 operative agreement with any State under this section until

6 after notice in the Federal Register and opportunity for

7 public comment.

8 (d) PRIOR AGREEMENTS.—Any cooperative agreement

9 or such other understanding between the Secretary con10 cerned and any State, or political subdivision thereof, relat11 ing to the surface management of mineral activities on

12 lands subject to this Act that was in existence on the date

13 of enactment of this Act may only continue in force until

14 the effective date of this Act, after which time the terms and

15 conditions of any such agreement or understanding shall

16 only be applicable to plans of operations approved by the

17 Secretary concerned prior to the effective date of this Act.

18 (e) DELEGATION.—The Secretary, or for National For19 est System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall not del20 egate to any State, or political subdivision thereof, the Sec21 retary’s authorities, duties and obligations under this Act,

22 including with respect to any cooperative agreements en23 tered into under this section.

24 (f) PREEMPTION.—The requirements of this Act shall

25 preempt any conflicting requirements of any State, or polit-
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1 ical subdivision thereof relating to mineral activities for

2 locatable minerals.

3 SEC. 209. UNSUITABILITY REVIEW.

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—(1) As provided for in this section,

5 the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the Secretary’s

6 responsibilities under the Federal Land Policy and Man7 agement Act of 1976, and the Secretary of Agriculture, in

8 carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under the For9 est and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

10 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act

11 of 1976, shall each review lands that are subject to this Act

12 in order to determine, in accordance with the provisions

13 of subsection (b), whether there are any areas on such lands

14 which are either unsuitable for all types of mineral activi15 ties or conditionally suitable for certain types of mineral

16 activities.

17 (2) Any determination made in accordance with sub18 section (b) shall be immediately effective. Such determina19 tion shall be incorporated into the applicable land use plan

20 when such plan is adopted, revised, or significantly amend21 ed pursuant to provisions of law other than this Act.

22 (3) In any instance where a determination is made

23 in accordance with subsection (b) that an area is condi24 tionally suitable for all or certain mineral activities, the

25 Secretary concerned shall take appropriate steps to notify
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1 the public that any operations permit application relevant

2 to that area shall be conditioned accordingly.

3 (b) SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS.—(1) The Secretary,

4 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri5 culture, shall determine that an area open to location is

6 unsuitable for all or certain mineral activities if such Sec7 retary finds that such activities would result in significant,

8 permanent and irreparable damage to special characteris9 tics as described in paragraph (3) which cannot be pre10 vented by the imposition of conditions in the operations

11 permit required under section 204 (b).

12 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

13 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, may determine, after

14 notice and opportunity for public comment, that an area

15 is conditionally suitable for all or certain types of mineral

16 activities, if the Secretary concerned determines that any

17 of the special characteristics of such area, as listed in para18 graph (3), require protection from the effects of mineral ac19 tivities.

20 (3) Any of the following shall be considered special

21 characteristics of an area which contains lands or interests

22 in lands open to location under this Act:

23 (A) The existence of significant water quality or

24 supplies in or associated with such area, such as

25 aquifers and aquifer recharge areas.
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1 (B) The presence in such area of publicly owned

2 places which are listed on or are determined eligible

3 for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

4 (C) The designation of all or any portion of such

5 area or any adjacent area as a National Conservation

6 System unit.

7 (D) The designation of all or any portion of such

8 area or any adjacent area as critical habitat for

9 threatened or endangered species under the Endan10 gered Species Act.

11 (E) The designation of all or any portion of such

12 area as Class I under section 162 of the Clean Air Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 7401).

14 (F) The presence of such other resource values as

15 the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands,

16 the Secretary of Agriculture, may, by joint rule,

17 specify based upon field testing that verifies such cri18 teria.

19 (c) PERMIT APPLICATION PRIOR TO REVIEW.—(1) If

20 an area covered by an application for a permit required

21 under section 204, has not been reviewed pursuant to sub22 section (a) prior to submission of the application, the Sec23 retary, or for National Forest System lands, the Secretary

24 of Agriculture, shall review the area that would be affected

25 by the proposed mineral activities to determine, according
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1 to the provisions of subsection (b), whether the area is un2 suitable for all types of mineral activities or conditionally

3 suitable for certain types of mineral activities. Such review

4 and determination shall precede the final decision on the

5 permit application.

6 (2) The Secretary concerned shall use such review in

7 the next revision or significant amendment to the applicable

8 land use plan to the extent necessary to reflect the

9 unsuitability or conditional suitability of such lands.

10 (d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—(1) In any instance

11 in which a determination of unsuitability is made for any

12 area in accordance with subsection (b)(1), all mineral ac13 tivities shall be prohibited in such area, and the Secretary

14 shall (with the consent of the Secretary of Agriculture for

15 National Forest System lands) withdraw such area pursu16 ant to section 204 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage17 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714). The Secretary’s deter18 mination under this section shall constitute the documenta19 tion required to be provided under section 204(c)(12) of the

20 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

21 U.S.C. 1714).

22 (2) In any instance where the Secretary, or for Na23 tional Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture,

24 determines in accordance with subsection (b)(2) that, by

25 reason of any of the special characteristics listed in sub-
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1 section (b)(3), an area is conditionally suitable for all or

2 certain mineral activities, the Secretary concerned shall in3 clude such additional conditions in each permit for mineral

4 activities in such area as necessary to limit or control min5 eral activities to the extent necessary to protect the special

6 characteristics concerned.

7 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affect8 ing lands where mineral activities were being conducted on

9 the date of enactment of this Act under approved plans of

10 operations or under notice (as provided for in the regula11 tions of the Secretary of the Interior in effect prior to the

12 date of enactment of this Act relating to operations that

13 cause a cumulative disturbance of 5 acres or less).

14 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as pro15 hibiting mineral activities at a specific site, where substan16 tial legal and financial commitments in such mineral ac17 tivities were in existence on the date of enactment of this

18 Act, but nothing in this section shall be construed as prohib19 iting either Secretary from regulating such activities in ac20 cordance with other authority of law. As used in this para21 graph, the term ‘‘substantial legal and financial commit22 ments’’ means, with respect to a specific site, significant

23 investments, expenditures, or undertakings that have been

24 made to explore or develop any mining claim or and mill25 site located at such site under the general mining laws or
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1 converted under this Act, such as but not limited to: con2 tracts for minerals produced; construction; contracts for the

3 construction; or commitment to raise capital for the con4 struction of processing, beneficiation, extraction, or refining

5 facilities, or transportation or utility infrastructure; explo6 ration activities conducted to delineate proven or probable

7 ore reserves; acquisition of mining claims (but only if such

8 acquisition is part of other significant investments specified

9 in this paragraph); and such other costs or expenditures

10 related to mineral activities at such site as are similar to

11 the foregoing itemized costs or expenditures and as may be

12 specified by the Secretaries by joint rule.

13 (e) WITHDRAWAL REVIEW.—(1) In carrying out the

14 responsibilities referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary

15 or, for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agri16 culture, shall review all administrative withdrawals of land

17 under such Secretary’s jurisdiction (other than wilderness

18 study areas) to determine whether the revocation or modi19 fication of such withdrawal for the purpose of allowing such

20 lands to be opened to the location of mining claims under

21 this Act is appropriate as a result of either of the following:

22 (A) The imposition of any conditions imposed as

23 part of the land use planning process or the imposi24 tion of any conditions as a result to the review proc25 ess under subsection (a).
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1 (B) The limitation of section 417 (relating to

2 limitation on patent issuance).

3 (2) The Secretary concerned shall publish the review

4 referred to in paragraph (1) in the Federal Register no later

5 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. After

6 providing notice and opportunity for comment, the Sec7 retary may issue a revocation or modification of such ad8 ministrative withdrawals as he deems appropriate by rea9 son of the criteria listed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of

10 paragraph (1).

11 (f) EXPLORATION REVIEWS.—In conjunction with re12 view of a permit application submitted pursuant to section

13 203, and upon request of the applicant, the Secretary, or

14 for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agri15 culture, shall review the area proposed to be affected by

16 mineral activities to determine whether the area would be

17 unsuitable or conditionally suitable for all or certain min18 eral activities.

19 SEC. 210. CERTAIN MINERAL ACTIVITIES COVERED BY

20 OTHER LAW.

21 This title shall not apply to any mineral activities

22 which are subject to the Stock Raising Homestead Act.
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1 TITLE III—ABANDONED

2 LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE

3 RECLAMATION FUND

4 SEC. 301. ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE REC5 LAMATION.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established on the

7 books of the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to

8 be known as the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Rec9 lamation Fund (hereinafter in this title referred to as the

10 ‘Fund’). The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary

11 acting through the Director of the Office of Surface Mining

12 Reclamation and Enforcement.

13 (2) The Secretary shall notify the Secretary of the

14 Treasury as to what portion of the Fund is not, in the Sec15 retary’s judgment, required to meet current withdrawals.

16 The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such portion of

17 the Fund in public debt securities with maturities suitable

18 for the needs of such Fund and bearing interest at rates

19 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into

20 consideration current market yields on outstanding market21 place obligations of the United States of comparable matu22 rities. The income on such investments shall be credited to,

23 and form a part of, the Fund.

24 (b) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts shall be cred25 ited to the Fund:
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1 (1) All moneys received from the collection of

2 claim maintenance fees under section 105.

3 (2) All moneys collected pursuant to section 106

4 (relating to failure to comply), section 407 (relating

5 to enforcement) and section 405 (relating to citizens

6 suits).

7 (3) All permit fees and transfer fees received

8 under sections 203 and 204.

9 (4) All donations by persons, corporations, asso10 ciations, and foundations for the purposes of this

11 title.

12 (5) All amounts referred to in section 306 (relat13 ing to royalties and penalties for underreporting).

14 (6) All other receipts from fees, royalties, pen15 alties and other sources collected under this Act.

16 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—(1) In calculating the

17 amount to be deposited in the Fund during any fiscal year

18 under subsection (b), the enacted appropriation of the De19 partment of the Interior during the preceding year attrib20 utable to administering this Act shall be deducted from the

21 total of the amounts listed in subsection (b) prior to the

22 transfer of such amounts to the Fund.

23 (2) The amount deducted under paragraph (1) of this

24 section shall be available to the Secretary, subject to appro25 priation, for payment of the costs of administering this Act.
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1 SEC. 302. USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized, subject

3 to appropriations, to use moneys in the Fund for the rec4 lamation and restoration of land and water resources ad5 versely affected by past mineral activities on lands the legal

6 and beneficial title to which resides in the United States,

7 land within the exterior boundary of any national forest

8 system unit, or other lands described in subsection (d) or

9 section 303, including any of the following:

10 (1) Prevention, abatement, treatment and control

11 of water pollution created by abandoned mine drain12 age.

13 (2) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

14 surface and underground mined areas.

15 (3) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

16 milling and processing areas.

17 (4) Backfilling, sealing, or otherwise controlling,

18 abandoned underground mine entries.

19 (5) Revegetation of land adversely affected by

20 past mineral activities to prevent erosion and sedi21 mentation and to enhance wildlife habitat.

22 (6) Control of surface subsidence due to aban23 doned underground mines.

24 (b) PRIORITIES.—Expenditure of moneys from the

25 Fund shall reflect the following priorities in the order

26 stated:
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1 (1) The protection of public health, safety, gen2 eral welfare and property from extreme danger from

3 the adverse effects of past mineral activities, espe4 cially as relates to surface water and groundwater

5 contaminates.

6 (2) The protection of public health, safety, and

7 general welfare from the adverse effects of past min8 eral activities.

9 (3) The restoration of land and water resources

10 previously degraded by the adverse effects of past

11 mineral activities.

12 (c) HABITAT.—Reclamation and restoration activities

13 under this title, particularly those identified under sub14 section (a)(4), shall include appropriate mitigation meas15 ures to provide for the continuation of any established habi16 tat for wildlife in existence prior to the commencement of

17 such activities.

18 (d) OTHER AFFECTED LANDS.—Where mineral explo19 ration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or reclamation

20 activities has been carried out with respect to any mineral

21 which would be a locatable mineral if the legal and bene22 ficial title to the mineral were in the United States, if such

23 activities directly affect lands managed by the Bureau of

24 Land Management as well as other lands and if the legal

25 and beneficial title to more than 50 percent of the affected
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1 lands resides in the United States, the Secretary is author2 ized, subject to appropriations, to use moneys in the fund

3 for reclamation and restoration under subsection (a) for all

4 directly affected lands.

5 SEC. 303. ELIGIBLE LANDS AND WATERS.

6 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Reclamation expenditures under

7 this title may only be made with respect to Federal lands

8 or Indian lands or water resources that traverse or are con9 tiguous to Federal lands or Indian lands where such lands

10 or waters resources have been affected by past mineral ac11 tivities, including any of the following:

12 (1) Lands and water resources which were used

13 for, or affected by, mineral activities and abandoned

14 or left in an inadequate reclamation status before the

15 effective date of this Act.

16 (2) Lands for which the Secretary makes a deter17 mination that there is no continuing reclamation re18 sponsibility of a claim holder, operator, or other per19 son who abandoned the site prior to completion of re20 quired reclamation under State or other Federal laws.

21 (3) Lands for which it can be established that

22 such lands do not contain locatable minerals which

23 could economically be extracted through the reprocess24 ing or remining of such lands, unless such consider-
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1 ations are in conflict with the priorities set forth

2 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 302(b).

3 (b) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGIBLE.—The

4 provisions of section 411(d) of the Surface Mining Control

5 and Reclamation Act of 1977 shall apply to expenditures

6 made from the Fund established under this title.

7 (c) INVENTORY.—The Secretary shall prepare and

8 maintain an inventory of abandoned locatable minerals

9 mines on Federal lands and any abandoned mine on In10 dian lands which may be eligible for expenditures under

11 this title.

12 SEC. 304. FUND EXPENDITURES.

13 Moneys available from the Fund may be expended for

14 the purposes specified in section 302 directly by the Director

15 of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce16 ment. The Director may also make such money available

17 for such purposes to the Director of the Bureau of Land

18 Management, the Chief of the United States Forest Service,

19 the Director of the National Park Service, Director of the

20 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to any other agen21 cy of the United States, to an Indian tribe, or to any public

22 entity that volunteers to develop and implement, and that

23 has the ability to carry out, all or a significant portion

24 of a reclamation program under this title.
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1 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Amounts credited to the Fund are authorized to be ap3 propriated for the purpose of this title without fiscal year

4 limitation.

5 SEC. 306. ROYALTY.

6 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Production of all

7 locatable minerals from any mining claim located or con8 verted under this Act, or mineral concentrates or products

9 derived from locatable minerals from any mining claim lo10 cated or converted under this Act, as the case may be, shall

11 be subject to a royalty of 8 percent of the net smelter return

12 from such production. The claimholder and any operator

13 to whom the claimholder has assigned the obligation to

14 make royalty payments under the claim and any person

15 who controls such claimholder or operator shall be jointly

16 and severally liable for payment of such royalties.

17 (b) DUTIES OF CLAIM HOLDERS, OPERATORS, AND

18 TRANSPORTERS.—(1) A person—

19 (A) who is required to make any royalty pay20 ment under this section shall make such payments to

21 the United States at such times and in such manner

22 as the Secretary may by rule prescribe; and

23 (B) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and

24 manner as may be specified by the Secretary, of any

25 assignment that such person may have made of the
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1 obligation to make any royalty or other payment

2 under a mining claim.

3 (2) Any person paying royalties under this section

4 shall file a written instrument, together with the first roy5 alty payment, affirming that such person is liable to the

6 Secretary for making proper payments for all amounts due

7 for all time periods for which such person as a payment

8 responsibility. Such liability for the period referred to in

9 the preceding sentence shall include any and all additional

10 amounts billed by the Secretary and determined to be due

11 by final agency or judicial action. Any person liable for

12 royalty payments under this section who assigns any pay13 ment obligation shall remain jointly and severally liable

14 for all royalty payments due for the claim for the period.

15 (3) A person conducting mineral activities shall—

16 (A) develop and comply with the site security

17 provisions in operations permit designed to protect

18 from theft the locatable minerals, concentrates or

19 products derived therefrom which are produced or

20 stored on a mining claim, and such provisions shall

21 conform with such minimum standards as the Sec22 retary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the

23 variety of circumstances on mining claims; and

24 (B) not later than the 5th business day after pro25 duction begins anywhere on a mining claim, or pro-
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1 duction resumes after more than 90 days after pro2 duction was suspended, notify the Secretary, in the

3 manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date on

4 which such production has begun or resumed.

5 (4) The Secretary may by rule require any person en6 gaged in transporting a locatable mineral, concentrate, or

7 product derived therefrom to carry on his or her person,

8 in his or her vehicle, or in his or her immediate control,

9 documentation showing, at a minimum, the amount, ori10 gin, and intended destination of the locatable mineral, con11 centrate, or product derived therefrom in such cir12 cumstances as the Secretary determines is appropriate.

13 (c) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE14 MENTS.—(1) A claim holder, operator, or other person di15 rectly involved in developing, producing, processing, trans16 porting, purchasing, or selling locatable minerals, con17 centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to this Act,

18 through the point of royalty computation shall establish and

19 maintain any records, make any reports, and provide any

20 information that the Secretary may reasonably require for

21 the purposes of implementing this section or determining

22 compliance with rules or orders under this section. Such

23 records shall include, but not be limited to, periodic reports,

24 records, documents, and other data. Such reports may also

25 include, but not be limited to, pertinent technical and fi-
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1 nancial data relating to the quantity, quality, composition

2 volume, weight, and assay of all minerals extracted from

3 the mining claim. Upon the request of any officer or em4 ployee duly designated by the Secretary or any State con5 ducting an audit or investigation pursuant to this section,

6 the appropriate records, reports, or information which may

7 be required by this section shall be made available for in8 spection and duplication by such officer or employee or

9 State.

10 (2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec11 tion shall be maintained for 6 years after release of finan12 cial assurance under section 206 unless the Secretary noti13 fies the operator that he or she has initiated an audit or

14 investigation involving such records and that such records

15 must be maintained for a longer period. In any case when

16 an audit or investigation is underway, records shall be

17 maintained until the Secretary releases the operator of the

18 obligation to maintain such records.

19 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct

20 such audits of all claim holders, operators, transporters,

21 purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi22 rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov23 ered by this Act, as the Secretary deems necessary for the

24 purposes of ensuring compliance with the requirements of

25 this section. For purposes of performing such audits, the
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1 Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon request, have

2 access to, and may copy, all books, papers and other docu3 ments that relate to compliance with any provision of this

4 section by any person.

5 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Secretary is

6 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

7 Secretary of Agriculture to share information concerning

8 the royalty management of locatable minerals, concentrates,

9 or products derived therefrom, to carry out inspection, au10 diting, investigation, or enforcement (not including the col11 lection of royalties, civil or criminal penalties, or other pay12 ments) activities under this section in cooperation with the

13 Secretary, and to carry out any other activity described in

14 this section.

15 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (4)(A) of this

16 subsection (relating to trade secrets), and pursuant to a co17 operative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall,

18 upon request, have access to all royalty accounting informa19 tion in the possession of the Secretary respecting the pro20 duction, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, concentrates,

21 or products derived therefrom from claims on lands open

22 to location under this Act.

23 (3) Trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential

24 information shall be made available by the Secretary pursu-
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1 ant to a cooperative agreement under this subsection to the

2 Secretary of Agriculture upon request only if—

3 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture consents in

4 writing to restrict the dissemination of the informa5 tion to those who are directly involved in an audit or

6 investigation under this section and who have a need

7 to know;

8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture accepts liability

9 for wrongful disclosure; and

10 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture demonstrates

11 that such information is essential to the conduct of an

12 audit or investigation under this subsection.

13 (f) INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING

14 ASSESSMENTS.—(1) In the case of mining claims where

15 royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the

16 date that such payments are due, the Secretary shall charge

17 interest on such underpayments at the same interest rate

18 as is applicable under section 6621(a)(2) of the Internal

19 Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an underpayment, in20 terest shall be computed and charged only on the amount

21 of the deficiency and not on the total amount.

22 (2) If there is any underreporting of royalty owed on

23 production from a claim for any production month by any

24 person liable for royalty payments under this section, the
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1 Secretary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the amount

2 of that underreporting.

3 (3) If there is a substantial underreporting of royalty

4 owed on production from a claim for any production month

5 by any person responsible for paying the royalty, the Sec6 retary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the amount

7 of that underreporting.

8 (4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘sub9 stantial underreporting’’ means the difference between the

10 royalty on the value of the production which should have

11 been reported and the royalty on the value of the production

12 which was reported, if the value which should have been

13 reported is greater than the value which was reported. An

14 underreporting constitutes a ‘‘substantial underreporting’’

15 if such difference exceeds 10 percent of the royalty on the

16 value of production which should have been reported.

17 (5) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment pro18 vided in paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection if the per19 son liable for royalty payments under this section corrects

20 the underreporting before the date such person receives no21 tice from the Secretary that an underreporting may have

22 occurred, or before 90 days after the date of the enactment

23 of this section, whichever is later.

24 (6) The Secretary shall waive any portion of an assess25 ment under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection attrib-
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1 utable to that portion of the underreporting for which the

2 person responsible for paying the royalty demonstrates

3 that—

4 (A) such person had written authorization from

5 the Secretary to report royalty on the value of the

6 production on basis on which it was reported, or

7 (B) such person had substantial authority for re8 porting royalty on the value of the production on the

9 basis on which it was reported, or

10 (C) such person previously had notified the Sec11 retary, in such manner as the Secretary may by rule

12 prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts affecting the

13 royalty treatment of specific production which led to

14 the underreporting, or

15 (D) such person meets any other exception which

16 the Secretary may, by rule, establish.

17 (7) All penalties collected under this subsection shall

18 be deposited in the Fund.

19 (g) DELEGATION.—For the purposes of this section, the

20 term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior acting

21 through the Director of the Minerals Management Service.

22 (h) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each person

23 liable for royalty payments under this section shall be joint24 ly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable minerals,

25 concentrates, or products derived therefrom lost or wasted
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1 from a mining claim located or converted under this section

2 when such loss or waste is due to negligence on the part

3 of any person or due to the failure to comply with any rule,

4 regulation, or order issued under this section.

5 (i) EXCEPTION.—No royalty shall be payable under

6 subsection (a) with respect to minerals processed at a facil7 ity by the same person or entity which extracted the min8 erals if an urban development action grant has been made

9 under section 119 of the Housing and Community Develop10 ment Act of 1974 with respect to any portion of such facil11 ity.

12 (j) DEFINITION.—For the proposes of this section, for

13 any locatable mineral, the term ‘‘net smelter return’’ shall

14 have the same meaning as the term defined in section

15 613(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

16 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this section

17 shall take effect with respect to the production of locatable

18 minerals after the enactment of this Act, but any royalty

19 payments attributable to production during the first 12 cal20 endar months after the enactment of this Act shall be pay21 able at the expiration of such 12-month period.
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1 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND

2 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

3 Subtitle A—Administrative

4 Provisions

5 SEC. 401. POLICY FUNCTIONS.

6 (a) MINERALS POLICY.—Section 2 of the Mining and

7 Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a) is amended

8 by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘It shall also

9 be the responsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture to carry

10 out the policy provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this

11 section.’’.

12 (b) MINERAL DATA.—Section 5(e)(3) of the National

13 Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development

14 Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by inserting before

15 the period the following: ‘‘, except that for National Forest

16 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture shall promptly

17 initiate actions to improve the availability and analysis

18 of mineral data in Federal land use decisionmaking’’.

19 SEC. 402. USER FEES.

20 The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture are

21 each authorized to establish and collect from persons subject

22 to the requirements of this Act such user fees as may be

23 necessary to reimburse the United States for the expenses

24 incurred in administering such requirements. Fees may be

25 assessed and collected under this section only in such man-
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1 ner as may reasonably be expected to result in an aggregate

2 amount of the fees collected during any fiscal year which

3 does not exceed the aggregate amount of administrative ex4 penses referred to in this section.

5 SEC. 403. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.

6 (a) OPERATIONS PERMIT.—(1) Concurrent with sub7 mittal of an application for an operations permit under

8 section 204 or a renewal or significant modification thereof,

9 the applicant shall publish a notice in a newspaper of local

10 circulation at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. The

11 notice shall include: the name of the applicant, the location

12 of the proposed mineral activities, the type and expected

13 duration of the proposed mineral activities, the proposed

14 use of the land after the completion of mineral activities

15 and a location where such plans are publicly available. The

16 applicant shall also notify in writing other Federal, State

17 and local government agencies and Indian tribes that regu18 late mineral activities or land planning decisions in the

19 area subject to mineral activities or that manage lands ad20 jacent to the area subject to mineral activities. The appli21 cant shall provide proof of such notification to the Sec22 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

23 of Agriculture.

24 (2) The applicant for an operations permit shall make

25 copies of the complete permit application available for pub-
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1 lic review at the office of the responsible Federal surface

2 management agency located nearest to the location of the

3 proposed mineral activities, and at such other public loca4 tions deemed appropriate by the State or local government

5 for the county in which the proposed mineral activities will

6 occur prior to final decision by the Secretary, or for Na7 tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture.

8 Any person, and the authorized representative of a Federal,

9 State or local governmental agency or Indian tribe, shall

10 have the right to file written comments relating to the ap11 proval or disapproval of the permit application until 30

12 days after the last day of newspaper publication. The Sec13 retary concerned shall promptly make such comments avail14 able to the applicant.

15 (3) Any person may file written comments during the

16 comment period specified in paragraph (2) and any person

17 who is, or may be, adversely affected by the proposed min18 eral activities may request a nonadjudicatory public hear19 ing to be held in the county in which the mineral activities

20 are proposed. The Secretary concerned shall consider all

21 written comments filed during such period. If a hearing is

22 requested by any person who is, or may be, adversely af23 fected by the proposed mineral activities, the Secretary con24 cerned shall consider such request and may conduct such

25 hearing. When a hearing is to be held, notice of such hearing
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1 shall be published in a newspaper of local circulation at

2 least once a week for 2 weeks prior to the hearing date.

3 SEC. 404. INSPECTION AND MONITORING.

4 (a) INSPECTIONS.—(1) The Secretary, or for National

5 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall

6 make inspections of mineral activities so as to ensure com7 pliance with the surface management requirements of title

8 II.

9 (2) The Secretary concerned shall establish a frequency

10 of inspections for mineral activities conducted under a per11 mit issued under title II, but in no event shall such inspec12 tion frequency be less than one complete inspection per cal13 endar quarter or, two per calendar quarter in the case of

14 a permit for which the Secretary concerned approves an

15 application under section 204(g) (relating to temporary ces16 sation of operations). After revegetation has been established

17 in accordance with a reclamation plan, such Secretary shall

18 conduct annually 2 complete inspections. Such Secretary

19 shall have the discretion to modify the inspection frequency

20 for mineral activities that are conducted on a seasonal

21 basis. Inspections shall continue under this subsection until

22 final release of financial assurance.

23 (3)(A) Any person who has reason to believe he or she

24 is or may be adversely affected by mineral activities due

25 to any violation of the surface management requirements
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1 may request an inspection. The Secretary, or for National

2 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall de3 termine within 10 working days of receipt of the request

4 whether the request states a reason to believe that a viola5 tion exists. If the person alleges and provides reason to be6 lieve that an imminent danger to the health or safety of

7 the public exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the

8 inspection shall be conducted immediately. When an inspec9 tion is conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary con10 cerned shall notify the person requesting the inspection, and

11 such person shall be allowed to accompany the Secretary

12 concerned or the Secretary’s authorized representative dur13 ing the inspection. The Secretary shall not incur any liabil14 ity for allowing such person to accompany an authorized

15 representative. The identity of the person supplying infor16 mation to the Secretary relating to a possible violation or

17 imminent danger or harm shall remain confidential with

18 the Secretary if so requested by that person, unless that per19 son elects to accompany an authorized representative on the

20 inspection.

21 (B) The Secretaries shall, by joint rule, establish proce22 dures for the review of (i) any decision by an authorized

23 representative not to inspect or (ii) any refusal by such rep24 resentative to ensure that remedial actions are taken with

25 respect to any alleged violation. The Secretary concerned
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1 shall furnish such persons requesting the review a written

2 statement of the reasons for the Secretary’s final disposition

3 of the case.

4 (b) MONITORING.—(1) The Secretary, or for National

5 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall re6 quire all operators to develop and maintain a monitoring

7 and evaluation system which shall identify compliance with

8 all surface management requirements.

9 (2) Monitoring shall be conducted as close as tech10 nically feasible to the mineral activity involved, and in all

11 cases such monitoring shall be conducted within the permit

12 area.

13 (3) The point of compliance referred to in paragraph

14 (1) shall be as close to the mineral activity involved as is

15 technically feasible, but in any event shall be located to com16 ply with applicable State and Federal standards. In no

17 event shall the point of compliance be outside the permit

18 area.

19 (4) The Secretary concerned may require additional

20 monitoring be conducted as necessary to assure compliance

21 with the reclamation and other environmental standards of

22 this Act.

23 (5) The operator shall file reports with the Secretary,

24 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri25 culture, on a frequency determined by the Secretary con-
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1 cerned, on the results of the monitoring and evaluation

2 process, except that if the monitoring and evaluation show

3 a violation of the surface management requirements, it shall

4 be reported immediately to the Secretary concerned. Infor5 mation received pursuant to this subsection from any natu6 ral person shall not be used against any such natural per7 son in any criminal case, except a prosecution for perjury

8 or for giving a false statement. The Secretary shall evaluate

9 the reports submitted pursuant to this paragraph, and

10 based on those reports and any necessary inspection shall

11 take enforcement action pursuant to this section.

12 (6) The Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

13 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall determine what informa14 tion must be reported by the operator pursuant to para15 graph (5). A failure to report as required by the Secretary

16 concerned shall constitute a violation of this Act and subject

17 the operator to enforcement action pursuant to section 407.

18 SEC. 405. CITIZENS SUITS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

20 (b), any person having an interest which is or may be ad21 versely affected may commence a civil action on his or her

22 own behalf to compel compliance—

23 (1) against any person (including the Secretary

24 or the Secretary of Agriculture) alleged to have vio25 lated (if there is evidence the alleged violation has
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1 been repeated), or to be in violation of, any of the

2 provisions of title II or section 404 of this Act or any

3 regulation promulgated pursuant to title II or section

4 404 of this Act or any term or condition of any per5 mit issued under title II of this Act; or

6 (2) against the Secretary or the Secretary of Ag7 riculture where there is alleged a failure of such Sec8 retary to perform any act or duty under title II or

9 section 404 of this Act, or to promulgate any regula10 tion under title II or section 404 of this Act, which

11 is not within the discretion of the Secretary con12 cerned.

13 The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction

14 over actions brought under this section, without regard to

15 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties,

16 including actions brought to apply any civil penalty under

17 this Act. The district courts of the United States shall have

18 jurisdiction to compel agency action unreasonably delayed,

19 except that an action to compel agency action reviewable

20 under section 406 may only be filed in a United States

21 District Court within the circuit in which such action

22 would be reviewable under section 406.

23 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) No action may be commenced

24 under subsection (a) prior to 60 days after the plaintiff has

25 given notice in writing of such alleged violation to the Sec-
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1 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

2 of Agriculture, except that any such action may be brought

3 immediately after such notification if the violation com4 plained of constitutes an imminent threat to the environ5 ment or to the health or safety of the public.

6 (2) No action may be brought against any person other

7 than the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture under

8 subsection (a)(1) if such Secretary has commenced and is

9 diligently prosecuting a civil or criminal action in a court

10 of the United States to require compliance.

11 (3) No action may be commenced under paragraph (2)

12 of subsection (a) against either Secretary to review any rule

13 promulgated by, or to any permit issued or denied by such

14 Secretary if such rule or permit issuance or denial is judi15 cially reviewable under section 406 or under any other pro16 vision of law at any time after such promulgation, issuance,

17 or denial is final.

18 (c) VENUE.—Venue of all actions brought under this

19 section shall be determined in accordance with title 28

20 U.S.C. 1391.

21 (d) INTERVENTION; NOTICE.—(1) In any action under

22 this section, the Secretary, or for National Forest System

23 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may intervene as a mat24 ter of right at any time. A judgment in an action under
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1 this section to which the United States is not a party shall

2 not have any binding effect upon the United States.

3 (2) Whenever an action is brought under this section

4 the plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint on the At5 torney General of the United States and on the Secretary,

6 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri7 culture. No consent judgment shall be entered in an action

8 brought under this section in which the United States is

9 not a party prior to 45 days following the date on which

10 a copy of the proposed consent judgment is submitted to

11 the Attorney General and the Secretary, or for National

12 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture. During

13 such 45-day period the Attorney General or such Secretary

14 may submit comments on the proposed consent judgment

15 to the court and parties or may intervene as a matter of

16 right.

17 (e) COSTS.—The court, in issuing any final order in

18 any action brought pursuant to this section may award

19 costs of litigation (including attorney and expert witness

20 fees) to any prevailing party whenever the court determines

21 such award is appropriate. The court may, if a temporary

22 restraining order or preliminary injunction is sought, re23 quire the filing of a bond or equivalent security in accord24 ance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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1 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall re2 strict any right which any person (or class of persons) may

3 have under chapter 7 of title 5 of the United States Code,

4 under section 406 of this Act or under any other statute

5 or common law to bring an action to seek any relief against

6 the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture or against any

7 other person, including any action for any violation of this

8 Act or of any regulation or permit issued under this Act

9 or for any failure to act as required by law. Nothing in

10 this section shall affect the jurisdiction of any court under

11 any provision of title 28 of the United States Code, includ12 ing any action for any violation of this Act or of any regu13 lation or permit issued under this Act or for any failure

14 to act as required by law.

15 SEC. 406. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

16 (a) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—(1)(A) Any person is17 sued a notice of violation or cessation order under section

18 407, or any person having an interest which is or may be

19 adversely affected by such notice or order, may apply to

20 the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec21 retary of Agriculture, for review of the notice or order with22 in 30 days of receipt thereof, or as the case may be, within

23 30 days of such notice or order being modified, vacated or

24 terminated.
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1 (B) Any person who is subject to a penalty assessed

2 under section 106, section 107(c), or section 407 may apply

3 to the Secretary concerned for review of the assessment with4 in 30 days of notification of such penalty.

5 (C) Any person having an interest which is or may

6 be adversely affected by a decision made by the Secretary

7 or the Secretary of Agriculture under section 203, 204, 205,

8 206, 209, or 404(a)(3) may apply to such Secretary for re9 view of the decision within 30 days after it is made.

10 (2) The Secretary concerned shall provide an oppor11 tunity for a public hearing at the request of any party to

12 the proceeding as specified in paragraph (1). The filing of

13 an application for review under this subsection shall not

14 operate as a stay of any order or notice issued under section

15 407.

16 (3) For any review proceeding under this subsection,

17 the Secretary concerned shall make findings of fact and

18 shall issue a written decision incorporating therein an

19 order vacating, affirming, modifying or terminating the no20 tice, order or decision, or with respect to an assessment,

21 the amount of penalty that is warranted. Where the appli22 cation for review concerns a cessation order issued under

23 section 407, the Secretary concerned shall issue the written

24 decision within 30 days of the receipt of the application

25 for review or within 30 days after the conclusion of any
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1 hearing referred to in paragraph (2), whichever is later,

2 unless temporary relief has been granted by the Secretary

3 concerned under paragraph (4).

4 (4) Pending completion of any review proceedings

5 under this subsection, the applicant may file with the Sec6 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

7 of Agriculture, a written request that the Secretary grant

8 temporary relief from any order issued under section 407

9 together with a detailed statement giving reasons for such

10 relief. The Secretary concerned shall expeditiously issue an

11 order or decision granting or denying such relief. The Sec12 retary concerned may grant such relief under such condi13 tions as he may prescribe only if such relief shall not ad14 versely affect the health or safety of the public or cause sig15 nificant, imminent environmental harm to land, air or

16 water resources.

17 (5) The availability of review under this subsection

18 shall not be construed to limit the operation of rights under

19 section 405.

20 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(1) Any final action by the

21 Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture in promulgating

22 regulations to implement this Act, or any other final ac23 tions constituting rulemaking to implement this Act, shall

24 be subject to judicial review only in the United States Court

25 of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Any action subject
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1 to judicial review under this subsection shall be affirmed

2 unless the court concludes that such action is arbitrary, ca3 pricious, or otherwise inconsistent with law. A petition for

4 review of any action subject to judicial review under this

5 subsection shall be filed within 60 days from the date of

6 such action, or after such date if the petition is based solely

7 on grounds arising after the sixtieth day. Any such petition

8 may be made by any person who commented or otherwise

9 participated in the rulemaking or any person who may be

10 adversely affected by the action of the Secretaries.

11 (2) Final agency action under this Act, including such

12 final action on those matters described under subsection (a),

13 shall be subject to judicial review in accordance with para14 graph (4) and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391 of the United

15 States Code on or before 60 days from the date of such final

16 action. Any action subject to judicial review under this sub17 section shall be affirmed unless the court concludes that such

18 action is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise inconsistent

19 with law.

20 (3) The availability of judicial review established in

21 this subsection shall not be construed to limit the operations

22 of rights under section 405 (relating to citizens suits).

23 (4) The court shall hear any petition or complaint

24 filed under this subsection solely on the record made before

25 the Secretary or Secretaries concerned. The court may af-
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1 firm or vacate any order or decision or may remand the

2 proceedings to the Secretary or Secretaries for such further

3 action as it may direct.

4 (5) The commencement of a proceeding under this sec5 tion shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, oper6 ate as a stay of the action, order or decision of the Secretary

7 or Secretaries concerned.

8 (c) COSTS.—Whenever a proceeding occurs under sub9 section (a) or (b), at the request of any person, a sum equal

10 to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including

11 attorney fees) as determined by the Secretary or Secretaries

12 concerned or the court to have been reasonably incurred by

13 such person for or in connection with participation in such

14 proceedings, including any judicial review of the proceed15 ing, may be assessed against either party as the court, in

16 the case of judicial review, or the Secretary or Secretaries

17 concerned in the case of administrative proceedings, deems

18 proper if it is determined that such party prevailed in

19 whole or in part, achieving some success on the merits, and

20 that such party made a substantial contribution to a full

21 and fair determination of the issues.

22 SEC. 407. ENFORCEMENT.

23 (a) ORDERS.—(1) If the Secretary, or for National

24 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, or an au25 thorized representative of such Secretary, determines that
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1 any person is in violation of any surface management or

2 monitoring requirement, such Secretary or authorized rep3 resentative shall issue to such person a notice of violation

4 describing the violation and the corrective measures to be

5 taken. The Secretary concerned, or the authorized represent6 ative of such Secretary, shall provide such person with a

7 period of time not to exceed 30 days to abate the violation.

8 Such period of time may be extended by the Secretary con9 cerned upon a showing of good cause by such person. If,

10 upon the expiration of time provided for such abatement,

11 the Secretary concerned, or the authorized representative of

12 such Secretary, finds that the violation has not been abated

13 he shall immediately order a cessation of all mineral activi14 ties or the portion thereof relevant to the violation.

15 (2) If the Secretary concerned, or the authorized rep16 resentative of the Secretary concerned, determines that any

17 condition or practice exists, or that any person is in viola18 tion of any surface management or monitoring require19 ment, and such condition, practice or violation is causing,

20 or can reasonably be expected to cause—

21 (A) an imminent danger to the health or safety

22 of the public; or

23 (B) significant, imminent environmental harm

24 to land, air or water resources;
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1 such Secretary or authorized representative shall imme2 diately order a cessation of mineral activities or the portion

3 thereof relevant to the condition, practice or violation.

4 (3)(A) A cessation order pursuant to paragraphs (1)

5 or (2) shall remain in effect until such Secretary, or author6 ized representative, determines that the condition, practice

7 or violation has been abated, or until modified, vacated or

8 terminated by the Secretary or authorized representative.

9 In any such order, the Secretary or authorized representa10 tive shall determine the steps necessary to abate the viola11 tion in the most expeditious manner possible and shall in12 clude the necessary measures in the order. The Secretary

13 concerned shall require appropriate financial assurances to

14 ensure that the abatement obligations are met.

15 (B) Any notice or order issued pursuant to paragraphs

16 (1) or (2) may be modified, vacated or terminated by the

17 Secretary concerned or an authorized representative of such

18 Secretary. Any person to whom any such notice or order

19 is issued shall be entitled to a hearing on the record.

20 (4) If, after 30 days of the date of the order referred

21 to in paragraph (3)(A) the required abatement has not oc22 curred the Secretary concerned shall take such alternative

23 enforcement action against the claimholder or operator (or

24 any person who controls the claimholder or operator) as

25 will most likely bring about abatement in the most expedi-
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1 tious manner possible. Such alternative enforcement action

2 may include, but is not necessarily limited to, seeking ap3 propriate injunctive relief to bring about abatement. Noth4 ing in this paragraph shall preclude the Secretary, or for

5 National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture,

6 from taking alternative enforcement action prior to the ex7 piration of 30 days.

8 (5) If a claimholder or operator (or any person who

9 controls the claimholder or operator) fails to abate a viola10 tion or defaults on the terms of the permit, the Secretary,

11 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri12 culture, shall forfeit the financial assurance for the plan

13 as necessary to ensure abatement and reclamation under

14 this Act. The Secretary concerned may prescribe conditions

15 under which a surety may perform reclamation in accord16 ance with the approved plan in lieu of forfeiture.

17 (6) The Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

18 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall not cause forfeiture of

19 the financial assurance while administrative or judicial re20 view is pending.

21 (7) In the event of forfeiture, the claim holder, opera22 tor, or any affiliate thereof, as appropriate as determined

23 by the Secretary by rule, shall be jointly and severally liable

24 for any remaining reclamation obligations under this Act.
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1 (b) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary, or for National For2 est System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may request

3 the Attorney General to institute a civil action for relief,

4 including a permanent or temporary injunction or re5 straining order, or any other appropriate enforcement

6 order, including the imposition of civil penalties, in the dis7 trict court of the United States for the district in which

8 the mineral activities are located whenever a person—

9 (1) violates, fails or refuses to comply with any

10 order issued by the Secretary concerned under sub11 section (a); or

12 (2) interferes with, hinders or delays the Sec13 retary concerned in carrying out an inspection under

14 section 404.

15 Such court shall have jurisdiction to provide such relief as

16 may be appropriate. Any relief granted by the court to en17 force an order under paragraph (1) shall continue in effect

18 until the completion or final termination of all proceedings

19 for review of such order unless the district court granting

20 such relief sets it aside.

21 (c) DELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi22 sion of law, the Secretary may utilize personnel of the Office

23 of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to ensure

24 compliance with the requirements of this Act.
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1 (d) PENALTIES.—(1) Any person who fails to comply

2 with any surface management requirement shall be liable

3 for a penalty of not more than $25,000 per violation. Each

4 day of violation may be deemed a separate violation for

5 purposes of penalty assessments.

6 (2) A person who fails to correct a violation for which

7 a cessation order has been issued under subsection (a) with8 in the period permitted for its correction shall be assessed

9 a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 per violation for each

10 day during which such failure continues, but in no event

11 shall such assessment exceed a 30-day period.

12 (3) Whenever a corporation is in violation of a surface

13 management requirement or fails or refuses to comply with

14 an order issued under subsection (a), any director, officer

15 or agent of such corporation who knowingly authorized, or16 dered, or carried out such violation, failure or refusal shall

17 be subject to the same penalties as may be imposed upon

18 the person referred to in paragraph (1).

19 (e) SUSPENSIONS OR REVOCATIONS.—The Secretary,

20 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri21 culture, may suspend or revoke a permit issued under title

22 II, in whole or in part, if the operator or person conducting

23 mineral activities—

24 (1) knowingly made or knowingly makes any

25 false, inaccurate, or misleading material statement in
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1 any mining claim, notice of location, application,

2 record, report, plan, or other document filed or re3 quired to be maintained under this Act;

4 (2) fails to abate a violation covered by a ces5 sation order issued under subsection (a);

6 (3) fails to comply with an order of the Sec7 retary concerned;

8 (4) refuses to permit an audit pursuant to this

9 Act;

10 (5) fails to maintain an adequate financial as11 surance under section 206;

12 (6) fails to pay claim maintenance fees or other

13 moneys due and owing under this Act; or

14 (7) with regard to plans conditionally approved

15 under section 205(c)(2), fails to abate a violation to

16 the satisfaction of the Secretary concerned, or if the

17 validity of the violation is upheld on the appeal

18 which formed the basis for the conditional approval.

19 (f) FALSE STATEMENTS; TAMPERING.—Any person

20 who knowingly—

21 (1) makes any false material statement, rep22 resentation, or certification in, or omits or conceals

23 material information from, or unlawfully alters, any

24 mining claim, notice of location, application, record,
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1 report, plan, or other documents filed or required to

2 be maintained under this Act; or

3 (2) falsifies, tampers with, renders inaccurate, or

4 fails to install any monitoring device or method be re5 quired to be maintained under this Act,

6 shall upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more

7 than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2

8 years, or by both. If a conviction of a person is for a viola9 tion committed after a first conviction of such person under

10 this paragraph, punishment shall be by a fine of not more

11 than $20,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment of

12 not more than 4 years, or both. Each day of continuing

13 violation may be deemed a separate violation for purposes

14 of penalty assessments.

15 (g) KNOWING VIOLATIONS.—Any person who know16 ingly—

17 (1) engages in mineral activities without a per18 mit required under title II, or

19 (2) violates any other surface management re20 quirement of this Act or any provision of a permit

21 issued under this Act (including any exploration or

22 operations plan on which such permit is based), or

23 condition or limitation thereof,

24 shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than

25 $5,000 nor more than $50,000 per day of violation, or by
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1 imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both. If a con2 viction of a person is for a violation committed after the

3 first conviction of such person under this paragraph, pun4 ishment shall be a fine of not less than $10,000 per day

5 of violation, or by imprisonment of not more than 6 years,

6 or both.

7 (h) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ROYALTY REQUIRE8 MENTS.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with the re9 quirements of section 306 or any regulation or order issued

10 to implement section 306 shall be liable for a civil penalty

11 under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man12 agement Act (30 U.S.C. 1719) to the same extent as if the

13 claim located or converted under this Act were a lease under

14 that Act.

15 (2) Any person who knowingly and willfully commits

16 an act for which a civil penalty is provided in paragraph

17 (1) shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more

18 than $50,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2

19 years, or both.

20 (i) DEFINITION. For purposes of this section, the term

21 ‘‘person’’ includes a person as defined in section 3(a) and

22 any officer, agent, or employee of any such person.
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1 SEC. 408. REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATES.

2 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this Act

3 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act, except

4 as otherwise provided in this Act.

5 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary

6 of Agriculture may issue such regulations as may be nec7 essary under this Act. The regulations implementing title

8 II and the provisions of title IV which affect United States

9 Forest Service shall be joint regulations issued by both Sec10 retaries.

11 (c) NOTICE.—Within 180 days after the date of enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall give notice to holders

13 of mining claims and mill sites maintained under the gen14 eral mining laws as to the requirements of sections 104,

15 105, and 106.

16 Subtitle B—Miscellaneous

17 Provisions

18 SEC. 411. TRANSITIONAL RULES; SURFACE MANAGEMENT

19 REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) NEW CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law, any mining claim for a locatable mineral on

22 lands subject to this Act located after the date of enactment

23 of this Act shall be subject to the requirements of title II.

24 (b) PREEXISTING CLAIMS.—(1) Notwithstanding any

25 other provision of law, any unpatented mining claim or

26 mill site located under the general mining laws before the
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1 date of enactment of this Act for which a plan of operation

2 has not been approved or a notice filed prior to the date

3 of enactment shall upon the effective date of this Act, be

4 subject to the requirements of title II, except as provided

5 in paragraphs (2) and (3).

6 (2)(A) If a plan of operations had been approved for

7 mineral activities on any claim or site referred to in para8 graph (1) prior to the date of enactment this Act, for a

9 period of 5 years after the effective date of this Act mineral

10 activities at such claim or site shall be subject to such plan

11 of operations (or a modification or amendment thereto pre12 pared in accordance with the provisions of law applicable

13 prior to the enactment of this Act). During such 5-year pe14 riod, modifications of, or amendments to, any such plan

15 may be made in accordance with the provisions of law ap16 plicable prior to the enactment of this Act if such modifica17 tions or amendments are deemed minor by the Secretary

18 concerned. After such 5-year period the requirements of title

19 II shall apply, subject to the limitations of section 209. In

20 order to meet the requirements of title II, the person con21 ducting mineral activities under such plan of operations

22 (or modified or amended plan) shall apply for a modifica23 tion under section 203(f) and 204(f) no later than 3 years

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of this

25 paragraph, any modification or amendment which extends
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1 the area covered by the plan (except for incidental boundary

2 revisions) or which significantly increases the risk of ad3 verse effects on the environment shall not be subject to this

4 paragraph and shall be subject to other provisions of this

5 Act.

6 (B) During the 5-year period referred to in subpara7 graph (A) the provisions of section 404 (relating to inspec8 tion and monitoring) and section 407 (relating to enforce9 ment) shall apply on the basis of the surface management

10 requirements applicable to such plans of operations prior

11 to the effective date of this Act.

12 (C) Where an application for modification or amend13 ment of a plan of operations referred to in subparagraph

14 (A) has been timely submitted and an approved plan ex15 pires prior to Secretarial action on the application, mineral

16 activities and reclamation may continue in accordance

17 with the terms of the expired plan until the Secretary makes

18 an administrative decision on the application.

19 (3)(A) If a substantially complete application for ap20 proval of a plan of operations or for a modification of, or

21 amendment to, a plan of operations had been submitted by

22 November 3, 1993 and either a scoping document or an En23 vironmental Assessment prepared for purposes of compli24 ance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

25 had been published with respect to such plan, modification,
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1 or amendment before the date of the enactment of this Act

2 but the submitted plan of operations or modification or

3 amendment had not been approved for mineral activities

4 on any claim or site referred to in paragraph (1) prior

5 to such date of enactment, for a period of 5 years after the

6 effective date of this Act mineral activities at such claim

7 or site shall be subject to the provisions of law applicable

8 prior to the enactment of this Act. During such 5-year pe9 riod, subsequent modifications of, or amendments to, any

10 such plan may be made in accordance with the provisions

11 of law applicable prior to the enactment of this Act if such

12 subsequent modifications or amendments are deemed minor

13 by the Secretary concerned. After such 5-year period, the

14 requirements of title II shall apply, subject to the limita15 tions of section 209. For purposes of this paragraph, any

16 subsequent modification or amendment which extends the

17 area covered by the plan (except for incidental boundary

18 revisions) or which significantly increases the risk of ad19 verse effects on the environment shall not be subject to this

20 paragraph and shall be subject to other provisions of this

21 Act.

22 (B) In order to meet the requirements of title II, the

23 person conducting mineral activities under a plan of oper24 ations (or modified or amended plan referred to in subpara25 graph (A)) shall apply for a modification under section
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1 203(f) and 204(f) no later than 3 years after the date of

2 enactment of this Act. During such 5-year period the provi3 sions of section 404 (relating to inspection and monitoring)

4 and section 407 (relating to enforcement) shall apply on

5 the basis of the surface management requirements applica6 ble to such plans of operations prior to the effective date

7 of this Act.

8 (C) Where an application for modification or amend9 ment of a plan of operations referred to in subparagraph

10 (A) has been timely submitted and an approved plan ex11 pires prior to Secretarial action on the application, mineral

12 activities and reclamation may continue in accordance

13 with the terms of the expired plan until the Secretary makes

14 an administrative decision on the application.

15 (4) If a notice or notice of intent had been filed with

16 the authorized officer in the applicable office of the Bureau

17 of Land Management or the United States Forest Service

18 (as provided for in the regulations of the Secretary of the

19 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, respectively, in ef20 fect prior to the date of enactment of this Act) prior to the

21 date of enactment this Act, mineral activities may continue

22 under such notice or notice of intent for a period of 2 years

23 after the effective date of this Act, after which time the re24 quirements of title II shall apply, subject to the limitations

25 of section 209(d)(2). In order to meet the requirements of
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1 title II, the person conducting mineral activities under such

2 notice or notice of intent must apply for a permit under

3 section 203 or 204 no later than 18 months after the effec4 tive date of this Act, unless such mineral activities are con5 ducted pursuant to section 202(b). During such 2-year pe6 riod the provisions of section 404 (relating to inspection

7 and monitoring) and 407 (relating to enforcement) shall

8 apply on the basis of the surface management requirements

9 applicable to such notices prior to the effective date of this

10 Act.

11 SEC. 412. CLAIMS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL RULES.

12 (a) CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT CONVERTED.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, except as provided

14 under subsection (c), an unpatented mining claim referred

15 to in section 37 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 193)

16 shall not be converted under section 104 of this Act until

17 the Secretary determines that the claim was valid on the

18 date of enactment of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and

19 has been maintained in compliance with the general mining

20 laws.

21 (b) CONTEST PROCEEDINGS.—As soon as practicable

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

23 initiate contest proceedings challenging the validity of all

24 unpatented claims referred to in subsection (a), including

25 those claims for which a patent application has not been
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1 filed. If a claim is determined to be invalid, the Secretary

2 shall promptly declare the claim to be null and void. If,

3 as a result of such proceeding, a claim is determined valid,

4 the claim shall be converted and thereby become subject to

5 this Act’s provisions on the date of the completion of the

6 contest proceeding.

7 (c) OIL SHALE CLAIMS.—(1) The provisions of section

8 411 shall apply to oil shale claims referred to in section

9 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law

10 102–486).

11 (2) Section 2511(f) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992

12 (Public Law 102–486) is amended as follows:

13 (A) Strike ‘‘as prescribed by the Secretary’’.

14 (B) Insert the following before the period: ‘‘in the

15 same manner as if such claims were subject to title

16 II of the Mineral Exploration and Development Act

17 of 1993’’.

18 SEC. 413. PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.

19 The Secretary shall adjust all location fees, claim

20 maintenance rates, penalty amounts, and other dollar

21 amounts established in this Act for changes in the purchas22 ing power of the dollar every 10 years following the date

23 of enactment of this Act, employing the Consumer Price

24 Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department

25 of Labor as the basis for adjustment, and rounding accord-
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1 ing to the adjustment process of conditions of the Federal

2 Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (104 Stat.

3 890).

4 SEC. 414. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

5 (a) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF MINING LAWS.—Noth6 ing in this Act shall be construed as repealing or modifying

7 any Federal law, regulation, order or land use plan, in ef8 fect prior to the date of enactment of this Act that prohibits

9 or restricts the application of the general mining laws, in10 cluding laws that provide for special management criteria

11 for operations under the general mining laws as in effect

12 prior to the date of enactment of this Act, to the extent such

13 laws provide environmental protection greater than re14 quired under this Act, and any such prior law shall remain

15 in force and effect with respect to claims located (or pro16 posed to be located) or converted under this Act. Nothing

17 in this Act shall be construed as applying to or limiting

18 mineral investigations, studies, or other mineral activities

19 conducted by any Federal or State agency acting in its gov20 ernmental capacity pursuant to other authority.

21 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.—The provi22 sions of this Act shall supersede the general mining laws,

23 but, except for the general mining laws, nothing in this Act

24 shall be construed as superseding, modifying, amending or

25 repealing any provision of Federal law not expressly super-
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1 seded, modified, amended or repealed by this Act. Nothing

2 in this Act shall be construed as modifying or affecting any

3 provision of the Native American Graves Protection and

4 Repatriation Act (Public Law 101-601) or any provision

5 of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C.

6 1996).

7 (c) PROTECTION OF CONSERVATION AREAS.—In order

8 to protect the resources and values of National Conservation

9 System units, the Secretary, as appropriate, shall utilize

10 authority under this Act and other applicable law to the

11 fullest extent necessary to prevent mineral activities within

12 the boundaries of such units that could have an adverse im13 pact on the resources or values for which such units were

14 established.

15 SEC. 415. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC RECORDS.

16 Copies of records, reports, inspection materials or in17 formation obtained by the Secretary or the Secretary of Ag18 riculture under this Act shall be made immediately avail19 able to the public, consistent with section 552 of title 5 of

20 the United States Code, in central and sufficient locations

21 in the county, multi county, and State area of mineral ac22 tivity or reclamation so that such items are conveniently

23 available to residents in the area proposed or approved for

24 mineral activities.
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1 SEC. 416. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out his or her duties

3 under this Act, the Secretary, or for National Forest System

4 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may conduct any inves5 tigation, inspection, or other inquiry necessary and appro6 priate and may conduct, after notice, any hearing or audit,

7 necessary and appropriate to carrying out his duties.

8 (b) ANCILLARY POWERS.—In connection with any

9 hearing, inquiry, investigation, or audit under this Act, the

10 Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec11 retary of Agriculture, is authorized to take any of the fol12 lowing actions:

13 (1) Require, by special or general order, any per14 son to submit in writing such affidavits and answers

15 to questions as the Secretary concerned may reason16 ably prescribe, which submission shall be made within

17 such reasonable period and under oath or otherwise,

18 as may be necessary.

19 (2) Administer oaths.

20 (3) Require by subpoena the attendance and tes21 timony of witnesses and the production of all books,

22 papers, records, documents, matter, and materials, as

23 such Secretary may request.

24 (4) Order testimony to be taken by deposition be25 fore any person who is designated by such Secretary

26 and who has the power to administer oaths, and to
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1 compel testimony and the production of evidence in

2 the same manner as authorized under paragraph (3)

3 of this subsection.

4 (5) Pay witnesses the same fees and mileage as

5 are paid in like circumstances in the courts of the

6 United States.

7 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—In cases of refusal to obey a sub8 poena served upon any person under this section, the dis9 trict court of the United States for any district in which

10 such person is found, resides, or transacts business, upon

11 application by the Attorney General at the request of the

12 Secretary concerned and after notice to such person, shall

13 have jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person

14 to appear and produce documents before the Secretary con15 cerned. Any failure to obey such order of the court may

16 be punished by such court as contempt thereof and subject

17 to a penalty of up to $10,000 a day.

18 (d) ENTRY AND ACCESS.—Without advance notice and

19 upon presentation of appropriate credentials, the Secretary,

20 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri21 culture, or any authorized representative thereof—

22 (1) shall have the right of entry to, upon, or

23 through the site of any claim, mineral activities, or

24 any premises in which any records required to be

25 maintained under this Act are located;
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1 (2) may at reasonable times, and without delay,

2 have access to any copy any records, inspect any

3 monitoring equipment or method of operation re4 quired under this Act;

5 (3) may engage in any work and to do all things

6 necessary or expedient to implement and administer

7 the provisions of this Act;

8 (4) may, on any mining claim located or con9 verted under this Act, and without advance notice,

10 stop and inspect any motorized form of transpor11 tation that he has probable cause to believe is carry12 ing locatable minerals, concentrates, or products de13 rived therefrom from a claim site for the purpose of

14 determining whether the operator of such vehicle has

15 documentation related to such locatable minerals, con16 centrates, or products derived therefrom as required

17 by law, if such documentation is required under this

18 Act; and

19 (5) may, if accompanied by any appropriate law

20 enforcement officer, or an appropriate law enforce21 ment officer alone may stop and inspect any motor22 ized form of transportation which is not on a claim

23 site if he has probable cause to believe such vehicle is

24 carrying locatable minerals, concentrates, or products

25 derived therefrom from a claim site on Federal lands
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1 or allocated to such claim site. Such inspection shall

2 be for the purpose of determining whether the operator

3 of such vehicle has the documentation required by

4 law, if such documentation is required under this Act.

5 SEC. 417. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

6 (a) MINING CLAIMS.—After January 5, 1993, no pat7 ent shall be issued by the United States for any mining

8 claim located under the general mining laws or under this

9 Act unless the Secretary determines that, for the claim con10 cerned—

11 (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec12 retary on or before January 5, 1993; and

13 (2) all requirements established under sections

14 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29

15 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections 2329,

16 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes (30

17 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims were fully

18 complied with by that date.

19 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

20 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mining claim, the holder

21 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

22 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

23 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

24 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn
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1 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

2 States.

3 (b) MILL SITES.—After January 5, 1993, no patent

4 shall be issued by the United States for any mill site claim

5 located under the general mining laws unless the Secretary

6 determines that for the mill site concerned—

7 (1) a patent application for such land was filed

8 with the Secretary on or before January 5, 1993; and

9 (2) all requirements applicable to such patent

10 application were fully complied with by that date.

11 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

12 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mill site claim, the holder

13 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

14 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

15 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

16 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn

17 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

18 States.

19 SEC. 418. MULTIPLE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUR20 FACE RESOURCES.

21 The provisions of sections 4 and 6 of the Act of August

22 13, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 524 and 526), commonly known as

23 the Multiple Minerals Development Act, and the provisions

24 of section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 612),
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1 shall apply to all mining claims located or converted under

2 this Act.

3 SEC. 419. MINERAL MATERIALS.

4 (a) DETERMINATIONS.—Section 3 of the Act of July

5 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended as follows:

6 (1) Insert ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence.

7 (2) Insert ‘‘mineral materials, including but not

8 limited to’’ after ‘‘varieties of’’ in the first sentence.

9 (3) Strike ‘‘or cinders’’ and insert in lieu thereof

10 ‘‘cinders, and clay’’.

11 (4) Add the following new subsection at the end

12 thereof:

13 ‘‘(b)(1) Subject to valid existing rights, after the date

14 of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Development

15 Act of 1993, notwithstanding the reference to common vari16 eties in subsection (a) and to the exception to such term

17 relating to a deposit of materials with some property giving

18 it distinct and special value, all deposits of mineral mate19 rials referred to in such subsection, including the block

20 pumice referred to in such subsection, shall be subject to

21 disposal only under the terms and conditions of the Mate22 rials Act of 1947.

23 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘valid

24 existing rights’ means that a mining claim located for any

25 such mineral material had some property giving it the dis-
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1 tinct and special value referred to in subsection (a), or as

2 the case may be, met the definition of block pumice referred

3 to in such subsection, was properly located and maintained

4 under the general mining laws prior to the date of enact5 ment of the Mineral Exploration and Development Act of

6 1993, and was supported by a discovery of a valuable min7 eral deposit within the meaning of the general mining laws

8 as in effect immediately prior to the date of enactment of

9 the Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 1993 and

10 that such claim continues to be valid under this Act.’’.

11 (b) MINERAL MATERIALS DISPOSAL CLARIFICA12 TION.—Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

13 612), is amended as follows:

14 (1) In subsection (b) insert ‘‘and mineral mate15 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.

16 (2) In subsection (c) insert ‘‘and mineral mate17 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the Act

19 of July 31, 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the dis20 posal of materials on the public lands of the United States’’

21 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘common varieties of’’ in the first sentence.

23 (d) SHORT TITLES.—
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1 (1) SURFACE RESOURCES.—The Act of July 23,

2 1955, is amended by inserting after section 7 the fol3 lowing new section:

4 ‘‘SEC. 8. This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Re5 sources Act of 1955’.’’.

6 (2) MINERAL MATERIALS.—The Act of July 31,

7 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of

8 materials on the public lands of the United States’’

9 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by insert10 ing after section 4 the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 5. This Act may be cited as the ‘Materials Act

12 of 1947’.’’.

13 (e) REPEALS.—(1) Subject to valid existing rights, the

14 Act of August 4, 1892 (27 Stat. 348, 30 U.S.C. 161) com15 monly known as the Building Stone Act is hereby repealed.

16 (2) Subject to valid existing rights, the Act of January

17 31, 1901 (30 U.S.C. 162) commonly known as the Saline

18 Placer Act is hereby repealed.

19 SEC. 420. APPLICATION OF ACT TO BENEFICIATION AND

20 PROCESSING OF NONFEDERAL MINERALS ON

21 FEDERAL LANDS.

22 The provisions of this Act (including the surface man23 agement requirements of title II) shall apply in the same

24 manner and to the same extent to Federal lands used for

25 beneficiation or processing activities for any mineral with-
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1 out regard to whether or not the legal and beneficial title

2 to the mineral is held by the United States. This section

3 applies only to minerals which are locatable minerals or

4 minerals which would be locatable minerals if the legal and

5 beneficial title to such minerals were held by the United

6 States.

7 SEC. 421. SEVERABILITY.

8 If any provision of this Act or the applicability thereof

9 to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remain10 der of this Act and the application of such provision to

11 other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

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