II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 140 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

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. 

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 ‘‘Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 2009’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions and references. 

Sec. 3. Application rules. 


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TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Royalty. 

Sec. 102. Hardrock mining claim maintenance fee. 

Sec. 103. Reclamation fee. 

Sec. 104. Effect of payments for use and occupancy of claims. 

TITLE II—ABANDONED MINE CLEANUP FUND 

Sec. 201. Establishment of Fund. 

Sec. 202. Contents of Fund. 

Sec. 203. Use and objectives of the Fund. 

Sec. 204. Eligible lands and waters. 

Sec. 205. Expenditures. 

Sec. 206. Availability of amounts. 

TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 301. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this Act: 

3 (1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means with respect to 

4 any person, any of the following: 

5 (A) Any person who controls, is controlled 

6 by, or is under common control with such per7 son. 

8 (B) Any partner of such person. 

9 (C) Any person owning at least 10 percent 

10 of the voting shares of such person. 

11 (2) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap12 plying for a permit under this Act or a modification 

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

14 (3) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crush15 ing and grinding of locatable mineral ore and such 

16 processes as are employed to free the mineral from 


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1 other constituents, including but not necessarily lim2 ited to, physical and chemical separation techniques. 

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

4 holding a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site 

5 claim located under the general mining laws and 

6 maintained in compliance with such laws and this 

7 Act. Such term may include an agent of a claim 

8 holder. 

9 (5) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the abil10 ity, directly or indirectly, to determine (without re11 gard to whether exercised through one or more cor12 porate structures) the manner in which an entity 

13 conducts mineral activities, through any means, in14 cluding without limitation, ownership interest, au15 thority to commit the entity’s real or financial as16 sets, position as a director, officer, or partner of the 

17 entity, or contractual arrangement. 

18 (6) The term ‘‘exploration’’— 

19 (A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

20 means creating surface disturbance other than 

21 casual use, to evaluate the type, extent, quan22 tity, or quality of minerals present; 

23 (B) includes mineral activities associated 

24 with sampling, drilling, and analyzing locatable 

25 mineral values; and 


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1 (C) does not include extraction of mineral 

2 material for commercial use or sale. 

3 (7) The term ‘‘Federal land’’means any land, 

4 and any interest in land, that is owned by the 

5 United States and open to location of mining claims 

6 under the general mining laws. 

7 (8) The term ‘‘hardrock mineral’’ has the 

8 meaning given the term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ except 

9 that legal and beneficial title to the mineral need not 

10 be held by the United States. 

11 (9) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ means lands held 

12 in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe or indi13 vidual or held by an Indian tribe or individual sub14 ject to a restriction by the United States against 

15 alienation. 

16 (10) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian 

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

18 or community, including any Alaska Native village 

19 or regional corporation as defined in or established 

20 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

21 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is recognized as 

22 eligible for the special programs and services pro23 vided by the United States to Indians because of 

24 their status as Indians. 

25 (11) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’— 


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1 (A) subject to subparagraph (B), means 

2 any mineral, the legal and beneficial title to 

3 which remains in the United States and that is 

4 not subject to disposition under any of— 

5 (i) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 

7 (ii) the Geothermal Steam Act of 

8 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

9 (iii) the Act of July 31, 1947, com10 monly known as the Materials Act of 1947 

11 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 

12 (iv) the Mineral Leasing for Acquired 

13 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); and 

14 (B) does not include any mineral that is 

15 subject to a restriction against alienation im16 posed by the United States and is— 

17 (i) held in trust by the United States 

18 for any Indian or Indian tribe, as defined 

19 in section 2 of the Indian Mineral Develop20 ment Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101); or 

21 (ii) owned by any Indian or Indian 

22 tribe, as defined in that section. 

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

24 activity on a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel 

25 site claim for, related to, or incidental to, mineral 


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1 exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or rec2 lamation activities for any locatable mineral. 

3 (13) The term ‘‘operator’’means any person 

4 proposing or authorized by a permit issued under 

5 this Act to conduct mineral activities and any agent 

6 of such person. 

7 (14) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual, 

8 Indian tribe, partnership, association, society, joint 

9 venture, joint stock company, firm, company, cor10 poration, cooperative, or other organization and any 

11 instrumentality of State or local government includ12 ing any publicly owned utility or publicly owned cor13 poration of State or local government. 

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

15 downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare 

16 locatable mineral ore into the final marketable prod17 uct, including but not limited to smelting and elec18 trolytic refining. 

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

20 of the Interior, unless otherwise specified. 

21 (17) The term ‘‘temporary cessation’’means a 

22 halt in mine-related production activities for a con23 tinuous period of no longer than 5 years. 

24 (b) REFERENCES TO OTHER LAWS.—(1) Any ref25 erence in this Act to the term general mining laws is a 


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1 reference to those Acts that generally comprise chapters 

2 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162, of title 30, 

3 United States Code. 

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

5 1955, is a reference to the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to amend 

6 the Act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681) and the mining 

7 laws to provide for multiple use of the surface of the same 

8 tracts of the public lands, and for other purposes’’ (30 

9 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 3. APPLICATION RULES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act applies to any mining 

12 claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site claim located under 

13 the general mining laws, before, on, or after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, except as provided in subsection 

15 (b). 

16 (b) PREEXISTING CLAIMS.—(1) Any unpatented min17 ing claim or millsite claim located under the general min18 ing laws before the date of enactment of this Act for which 

19 a plan of operation has not been approved or a notice filed 

20 prior to the date of enactment shall, upon the effective 

21 date of this Act, be subject to the requirements of this 

22 Act, except as provided in paragraph (2). 

23 (2)(A) If a plan of operations is approved for mineral 

24 activities on any claim or site referred to in paragraph 

25 (1) prior to the date of enactment of this Act but such 


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1 operations have not commenced prior to the date of enact2 ment of this Act— 

3 (i) during the 10-year period beginning on the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, mineral activities at 

5 such claim or site shall be subject to such plan of 

6 operations; 

7 (ii) during such 10-year period, modifications of 

8 any such plan may be made in accordance with the 

9 provisions of law applicable prior to the enactment 

10 of this Act if such modifications are deemed minor 

11 by the Secretary concerned; and 

12 (iii) the operator shall bring such mineral ac13 tivities into compliance with this Act by the end of 

14 such 10-year period. 

15 (B) Where an application for modification of a plan 

16 of operations referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) has been 

17 timely submitted and an approved plan expires prior to 

18 Secretarial action on the application, mineral activities 

19 and reclamation may continue in accordance with the 

20 terms of the expired plan until the Secretary makes an 

21 administrative decision on the application. 

22 (c) FEDERAL LANDS SUBJECT TO EXISTING PER23 MIT.—(1) Any Federal land shall be subject to the require24 ments of section 101(a)(2) if the land is— 

25 (A) subject to an operations permit; and 


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1 (B) producing valuable locatable minerals in 

2 commercial quantities prior to the date of enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 (2) Any Federal land added through a plan modifica5 tion to an operations permit on Federal land that is sub6 mitted after the date of enactment of this Act shall be 

7 subject to the terms of section 101(a)(3). 

8 (d) APPLICATION OF ACT TO BENEFICIATION AND

9 PROCESSING OF NON-FEDERAL MINERALS ON FEDERAL

10 LANDS.—The provisions of this Act shall apply in the 

11 same manner and to the same extent to mining claims, 

12 millsite claims, and tunnel site claims used for 

13 beneficiation or processing activities for any mineral with14 out regard to whether or not the legal and beneficial title 

15 to the mineral is held by the United States. This sub16 section applies only to minerals that are locatable minerals 

17 or minerals that would be locatable minerals if the legal 

18 and beneficial title to such minerals were held by the 

19 United States. 

20 TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLO21 RATION AND DEVELOPMENT 

22 SEC. 101. ROYALTY. 

23 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2) and subject to paragraph (3), production 


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1 of all locatable minerals from any mining claim lo2 cated under the general mining laws and maintained 

3 in compliance with this Act, or mineral concentrates 

4 or products derived from locatable minerals from 

5 any such mining claim, as the case may be, shall be 

6 subject to a royalty of 8 percent of the gross income 

7 from mining. The claim holder or any operator to 

8 whom the claim holder has assigned the obligation 

9 to make royalty payments under the claim and any 

10 person who controls such claim holder or operator 

11 shall be liable for payment of such royalties. 

12 (2) ROYALTY FOR FEDERAL LANDS SUBJECT

13 TO EXISTING PERMIT.—The royalty under para14 graph (1) shall be 4 percent in the case of any Fed15 eral land that— 

16 (A) is subject to an operations permit on 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

18 (B) produces valuable locatable minerals in 

19 commercial quantities on the date of enactment 

20 of this Act. 

21 (3) FEDERAL LAND ADDED TO EXISTING OPER22 ATIONS PERMIT.—Any Federal land added through 

23 a plan modification to an operations permit that is 

24 submitted after the date of enactment of this Act 


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1 shall be subject to the royalty that applies to Fed2 eral land under paragraph (1). 

3 (4) DEPOSIT.—Amounts received by the United 

4 States as royalties under this subsection shall be de5 posited into the Abandoned Mine Cleanup Fund es6 tablished by section 201(a). 

7 (b) DUTIES OF CLAIM HOLDERS, OPERATORS, AND

8 TRANSPORTERS.—(1) A person— 

9 (A) who is required to make any royalty pay10 ment under this section shall make such payments 

11 to the United States at such times and in such man12 ner as the Secretary may by rule prescribe; and 

13 (B) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and 

14 manner as may be specified by the Secretary, of any 

15 assignment that such person may have made of the 

16 obligation to make any royalty or other payment 

17 under a mining claim. 

18 (2) Any person paying royalties under this section 

19 shall file a written instrument, together with the first roy20 alty payment, affirming that such person is responsible for 

21 making proper payments for all amounts due for all time 

22 periods for which such person has a payment responsi23 bility. Such responsibility for the periods referred to in the 

24 preceding sentence shall include any and all additional 

25 amounts billed by the Secretary and determined to be due 


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1 by final agency or judicial action. Any person liable for 

2 royalty payments under this section who assigns any pay3 ment obligation shall remain jointly and severally liable 

4 for all royalty payments due for the claim for the period. 

5 (3) A person conducting mineral activities shall— 

6 (A) develop and comply with the site security 

7 provisions in the operations permit designed to pro8 tect from theft the locatable minerals, concentrates 

9 or products derived therefrom which are produced or 

10 stored on a mining claim, and such provisions shall 

11 conform with such minimum standards as the Sec12 retary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the 

13 variety of circumstances on mining claims; and 

14 (B) not later than the 5th business day after 

15 production begins anywhere on a mining claim, or 

16 production resumes after more than 90 days after 

17 production was suspended, notify the Secretary, in 

18 the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date 

19 on which such production has begun or resumed. 

20 (4) The Secretary may by rule require any person en21 gaged in transporting a locatable mineral, concentrate, or 

22 product derived therefrom to carry on his or her person, 

23 in his or her vehicle, or in his or her immediate control, 

24 documentation showing, at a minimum, the amount, ori25 gin, and intended destination of the locatable mineral, conVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 centrate, or product derived therefrom in such cir2 cumstances as the Secretary determines is appropriate. 

3 (c) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE4 MENTS.—A claim holder, operator, or other person di5 rectly involved in developing, producing, processing, trans6 porting, purchasing, or selling locatable minerals, con7 centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to this 

8 Act, through the point of royalty computation shall estab9 lish and maintain any records, make any reports, and pro10 vide any information that the Secretary may reasonably 

11 require for the purposes of implementing this section or 

12 determining compliance with rules or orders under this 

13 section. Such records shall include, but not be limited to, 

14 periodic reports, records, documents, and other data. Such 

15 reports may also include, but not be limited to, pertinent 

16 technical and financial data relating to the quantity, qual17 ity, composition volume, weight, and assay of all minerals 

18 extracted from the mining claim. Upon the request of any 

19 officer or employee duly designated by the Secretary con20 ducting an audit or investigation pursuant to this section, 

21 the appropriate records, reports, or information that may 

22 be required by this section shall be made available for in23 spection and duplication by such officer or employee. Fail24 ure by a claim holder, operator, or other person referred 

25 to in the first sentence to cooperate with such an audit, 


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1 provide data required by the Secretary, or grant access 

2 to information may, at the discretion of the Secretary, re3 sult in involuntary forfeiture of the claim. 

4 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct 

5 such audits of all claim holders, operators, transporters, 

6 purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi7 rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov8 ered by this Act, as the Secretary deems necessary for the 

9 purposes of ensuring compliance with the requirements of 

10 this section. For purposes of performing such audits, the 

11 Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon request, 

12 have access to, and may copy, all books, papers and other 

13 documents that relate to compliance with any provision 

14 of this section by any person. 

15 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Secretary 

16 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the 

17 Secretary of Agriculture to share information concerning 

18 the royalty management of locatable minerals, con19 centrates, or products derived therefrom, to carry out in20 spection, auditing, investigation, or enforcement (not in21 cluding the collection of royalties, civil or criminal pen22 alties, or other payments) activities under this section in 

23 cooperation with the Secretary, and to carry out any other 

24 activity described in this section. 


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1 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this sub2 section (relating to trade secrets), and pursuant to a coop3 erative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall, upon 

4 request, have access to all royalty accounting information 

5 in the possession of the Secretary respecting the produc6 tion, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, concentrates, 

7 or products derived therefrom from claims on lands open 

8 to location under this Act. 

9 (3) Trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential 

10 information protected from disclosure under section 552 

11 of title 5, United States Code, popularly known as the 

12 Freedom of Information Act, shall be made available by 

13 the Secretary to other Federal agencies as necessary to 

14 assure compliance with this Act and other Federal laws. 

15 The Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Adminis16 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and other 

17 Federal officials shall ensure that such information is pro18 vided protection in accordance with the requirements of 

19 that section. 

20 (f) INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING

21 ASSESSMENTS.—(1) In the case of mining claims where 

22 royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the 

23 date that such payments are due, the Secretary shall 

24 charge interest on such underpayments at the same inter25 est rate as the rate applicable under section 6621(a)(2) 


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1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an 

2 underpayment, interest shall be computed and charged 

3 only on the amount of the deficiency and not on the total 

4 amount. 

5 (2) If there is any underreporting of royalty owed on 

6 production from a claim for any production month by any 

7 person liable for royalty payments under this section, the 

8 Secretary shall assess a penalty of not greater than 25 

9 percent of the amount of that underreporting. 

10 (3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

11 ‘‘underreporting’’ means the difference between the roy12 alty on the value of the production that should have been 

13 reported and the royalty on the value of the production 

14 which was reported, if the value that should have been 

15 reported is greater than the value that was reported. 

16 (4) The Secretary may waive or reduce the assess17 ment provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection if the 

18 person liable for royalty payments under this section cor19 rects the underreporting before the date such person re20 ceives notice from the Secretary that an underreporting 

21 may have occurred, or before 90 days after the date of 

22 the enactment of this section, whichever is later. 

23 (5) The Secretary shall waive any portion of an as24 sessment under paragraph (2) of this subsection attrib25 utable to that portion of the underreporting for which the 


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1 person responsible for paying the royalty demonstrates 

2 that— 

3 (A) such person had written authorization from 

4 the Secretary to report royalty on the value of the 

5 production on basis on which it was reported; 

6 (B) such person had substantial authority for 

7 reporting royalty on the value of the production on 

8 the basis on which it was reported; 

9 (C) such person previously had notified the Sec10 retary, in such manner as the Secretary may by rule 

11 prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts affecting the 

12 royalty treatment of specific production which led to 

13 the underreporting; or 

14 (D) such person meets any other exception 

15 which the Secretary may, by rule, establish. 

16 (6) All penalties collected under this subsection shall 

17 be deposited in the Abandoned Mine Cleanup Fund estab18 lished by section 201(a). 

19 (g) DELEGATION.—For the purposes of this section, 

20 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior 

21 acting through the Director of the Minerals Management 

22 Service. 

23 (h) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per24 son liable for royalty payments under this section shall 

25 be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable 


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1 minerals, concentrates, or products derived therefrom lost 

2 or wasted from a mining claim located under the general 

3 mining laws and maintained in compliance with this Act 

4 when such loss or waste is due to negligence on the part 

5 of any person or due to the failure to comply with any 

6 rule, regulation, or order issued under this section. 

7 (i) GROSS INCOME FROM MINING DEFINED.—For 

8 the purposes of this section, for any locatable mineral, the 

9 term ‘‘gross income from mining’’ has the same meaning 

10 as the term ‘‘gross income’’ in section 613(c) of the Inter11 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 

12 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this sec13 tion shall take effect with respect to the production of 

14 locatable minerals after the enactment of this Act, but any 

15 royalty payments attributable to production during the 

16 first 12 calendar months after the enactment of this Act 

17 shall be payable at the expiration of such 12-month period. 

18 (k) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ROYALTY REQUIRE19 MENTS.—Any person who fails to comply with the require20 ments of this section or any regulation or order issued to 

21 implement this section shall be liable for a civil penalty 

22 under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

23 Management Act (30 U.S.C. 1719) to the same extent as 

24 if the claim located under the general mining laws and 


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1 maintained in compliance with this Act were a lease under 

2 that Act. 

3 SEC. 102. HARDROCK MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE. 

4 (a) FEE.— 

5 (1) Except as provided in section 2511(e)(2) of 

6 the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (relating to oil shale 

7 claims), for each unpatented mining claim, mill or 

8 tunnel site on federally owned lands, whether located 

9 before, on, or after enactment of this Act, each 

10 claimant shall pay to the Secretary, on or before Au11 gust 31 of each year, a claim maintenance fee of 

12 $300 per claim to hold such unpatented mining 

13 claim, mill or tunnel site for the assessment year be14 ginning at noon on the next day, September 1. Such 

15 claim maintenance fee shall be in lieu of the assess16 ment work requirement contained in the Mining Law 

17 of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) and the related filing 

18 requirements contained in section 314(a) and (c) of 

19 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

20 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(a) and (c)). 

21 (2)(A) The claim maintenance fee required 

22 under this subsection shall be waived for a claimant 

23 who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the 

24 date the payment was due, the claimant and all re25 lated parties— 


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1 (i) held not more than 10 mining claims, 

2 mill sites, or tunnel sites, or any combination 

3 thereof, on public lands; and 

4 (ii) have performed assessment work re5 quired under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 

6 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) to maintain the mining 

7 claims held by the claimant and such related 

8 parties for the assessment year ending on noon 

9 of September 1 of the calendar year in which 

10 payment of the claim maintenance fee was due. 

11 (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), with re12 spect to any claimant, the term ‘‘all related parties’’ 

13 means— 

14 (i) the spouse and dependent children (as 

15 defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986), of the claimant; or 

17 (ii) a person affiliated with the claimant, 

18 including— 

19 (I) a person controlled by, controlling, 

20 or under common control with the claim21 ant; or 

22 (II) a subsidiary or parent company 

23 or corporation of the claimant. 

24 (3)(A) The Secretary shall adjust the fees re25 quired by this subsection to reflect changes in the 


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1 Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of 

2 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor every 

3 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, or 

4 more frequently if the Secretary determines an ad5 justment to be reasonable. 

6 (B) The Secretary shall provide claimants no7 tice of any adjustment made under this paragraph 

8 not later than July 1 of any year in which the ad9 justment is made. 

10 (C) A fee adjustment under this paragraph 

11 shall begin to apply the calendar year following the 

12 calendar year in which it is made. 

13 (4) Moneys received under this subsection that 

14 are not otherwise allocated for the administration of 

15 the mining laws by the Department of the Interior 

16 shall be deposited in the Abandoned Mine Cleanup 

17 Fund established by section 201(a). 

18 (b) LOCATION.— 

19 (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law, for 

20 every unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site 

21 located after the date of enactment of this Act and 

22 before September 30, 1998, the locator shall, at the 

23 time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau 

24 of Land Management, pay to the Secretary a locaVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 tion fee, in addition to the fee required by subsection 

2 (a) of $50 per claim. 

3 (2) Moneys received under this subsection that 

4 are not otherwise allocated for the administration of 

5 the mining laws by the Department of the Interior 

6 shall be deposited in the Abandoned Mine Cleanup 

7 Fund established by section 201(a). 

8 (c) TRANSFER.— 

9 (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law, for 

10 every unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site 

11 the ownership interest of which is transferred after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the transferee 

13 shall, at the time the transfer document is recorded 

14 with the Bureau of Land Management, pay to the 

15 Secretary a transfer fee, in addition to the fee re16 quired by subsection (a) of $100 per claim. 

17 (2) Moneys received under this subsection that 

18 are not otherwise allocated for the administration of 

19 the mining laws by the Department of the Interior 

20 shall be deposited in the Abandoned Mine Cleanup 

21 Fund established by section 201(a). 

22 (d) CO-OWNERSHIP.—The co-ownership provisions of 

23 the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) will remain 

24 in effect except that the annual claim maintenance fee, 


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1 where applicable, shall replace applicable assessment re2 quirements and expenditures. 

3 (e) FAILURE TO PAY.—Failure to pay the claim 

4 maintenance fee as required by subsection (a) shall conclu5 sively constitute a forfeiture of the unpatented mining 

6 claim, mill or tunnel site by the claimant and the claim 

7 shall be deemed null and void by operation of law. 

8 (f) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) Nothing in this section shall change or mod10 ify the requirements of section 314(b) of the Federal 

11 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

12 U.S.C. 1744(b)), or the requirements of section 

13 314(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

14 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(c)) related to filings 

15 required by section 314(b) of that Act, which remain 

16 in effect. 

17 (2) Section 2324 of the Revised Statutes of the 

18 United States (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended by insert19 ing ‘‘or section 102 of the Abandoned Mine Rec20 lamation Act of 2009’’ after ‘‘Act of 1993,’’. 

21 SEC. 103. RECLAMATION FEE. 

22 (a) IMPOSITION OF FEE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), each operator of a hardrock minerals 

25 mining operation shall pay to the Secretary, for deVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 posit in the Abandoned Mine Cleanup Fund estab2 lished by section 201(a), a reclamation fee of 0.3 

3 percent of the gross income of the hardrock minerals 

4 mining operation for each calendar year. 

5 (2) EXCEPTION.—With respect to any calendar 

6 year required under subsection (b), an operator of a 

7 hardrock minerals mining operation shall not be re8 quired to pay the reclamation fee under paragraph 

9 (1) if— 

10 (A) the gross annual income of the 

11 hardrock minerals mining operation for the cal12 endar year is an amount less than $500,000; 

13 and 

14 (B) the hardrock minerals mining oper15 ation is comprised of— 

16 (i) 1 or more hardrock mineral mines 

17 located in a single patented claim; or 

18 (ii) 2 or more contiguous patented 

19 claims. 

20 (b) PAYMENT DEADLINE.—The reclamation fee shall 

21 be paid not later than 60 days after the end of each cal22 endar year beginning with the first calendar year occur23 ring after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (c) DEPOSIT OF REVENUES.—Amounts received by 

25 the Secretary under subsection (a)(1) shall be deposited 


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1 into the Abandoned Mine Cleanup Fund established by 

2 section 201(a). 

3 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section requires a re4 duction in, or otherwise affects, any similar fee required 

5 under any law (including regulations) of any State. 

6 SEC. 104. EFFECT OF PAYMENTS FOR USE AND OCCUPANCY 

7 OF CLAIMS. 

8 Timely payment of the claim maintenance fee re9 quired by section 102(a) of this Act or any related law 

10 relating to the use of Federal land, asserts the claimant’s 

11 authority to use and occupy the Federal land concerned 

12 for prospecting and exploration, consistent with the re13 quirements of this Act and other applicable law. 

14 TITLE II—ABANDONED MINE 

15 CLEANUP FUND 

16 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established on the 

18 books of the Treasury of the United States a separate ac19 count to be known as the Abandoned Mine Cleanup Fund 

20 (hereinafter in this title referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

21 (b) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary shall notify the 

22 Secretary of the Treasury as to what portion of the Fund 

23 is not, in the Secretary’s judgment, required to meet cur24 rent withdrawals. The Secretary of the Treasury shall in25 vest such portion of the Fund in public debt securities 


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1 with maturities suitable for the needs of such Fund and 

2 bearing interest at rates determined by the Secretary of 

3 the Treasury, taking into consideration current market 

4 yields on outstanding marketplace obligations of the 

5 United States of comparable maturities. 

6 SEC. 202. CONTENTS OF FUND. 

7 The following amounts shall be credited to the Fund: 

8 (1) All donations by persons, corporations, as9 sociations, and foundations for the purposes of this 

10 title. 

11 (2) All amounts deposited in the Fund under 

12 section 101 (relating to royalties and penalties for 

13 underreporting). 

14 (3) All amounts received by the United States 

15 pursuant to section 102 as claim maintenance, loca16 tion, and transfer fees minus the moneys allocated 

17 for administration of the mining laws by the Depart18 ment of the Interior. 

19 (4) All amounts received by the Secretary in ac20 cordance with section 103(a). 

21 (5) All income on investments under section 

22 201(b). 

23 SEC. 203. USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized, with25 out further appropriation, to use moneys in the Fund for 


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1 the reclamation and restoration of land and water re2 sources adversely affected by past mineral activities on 

3 lands the legal and beneficial title to which resides in the 

4 United States, land within the exterior boundary of any 

5 national forest system unit, or other lands described in 

6 subsection (d), including any of the following: 

7 (1) Protecting public health and safety. 

8 (2) Preventing, abating, treating, and control9 ling water pollution created by abandoned mine 

10 drainage, including in river watershed areas. 

11 (3) Reclaiming and restoring abandoned surface 

12 and underground mined areas. 

13 (4) Reclaiming and restoring abandoned milling 

14 and processing areas. 

15 (5) Backfilling, sealing, or otherwise control16 ling, abandoned underground mine entries. 

17 (6) Revegetating land adversely affected by past 

18 mineral activities in order to prevent erosion and 

19 sedimentation, to enhance wildlife habitat, and for 

20 any other reclamation purpose. 

21 (7) Controlling of surface subsidence due to 

22 abandoned underground mines. 

23 (b) ALLOCATION.—Expenditures of moneys from the 

24 Fund shall reflect the following priorities in the order stat25 ed: 


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1 (1) The protection of public health and safety, 

2 from extreme danger from the adverse effects of 

3 past mineral activities, especially as relates to sur4 face water and groundwater contaminants. 

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

6 from the adverse effects of past mineral activities. 

7 (3) The restoration of land, water, and fish and 

8 wildlife resources previously degraded by the adverse 

9 effects of past mineral activities, which may include 

10 restoration activities in river watershed areas. 

11 (c) HABITAT.—Reclamation and restoration activities 

12 under this title, particularly those identified under sub13 section (a)(4), shall include appropriate mitigation meas14 ures to provide for the continuation of any established 

15 habitat for wildlife in existence prior to the commencement 

16 of such activities. 

17 (d) OTHER AFFECTED LANDS.—Where mineral ex18 ploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or reclamation 

19 activities have been carried out with respect to any mineral 

20 which would be a locatable mineral if the legal and bene21 ficial title to the mineral were in the United States, if such 

22 activities directly affect lands managed by the Bureau of 

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

24 and beneficial title to more than 50 percent of the affected 

25 lands resides in the United States, the Secretary is authorVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 ized, subject to appropriations, to use moneys in the Fund 

2 for reclamation and restoration under subsection (a) for 

3 all directly affected lands. 

4 (e) RESPONSE OR REMOVAL ACTIONS.—Reclamation 

5 and restoration activities under this title which constitute 

6 a removal or remedial action under section 101 of the 

7 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 

8 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601), shall be con9 ducted with the concurrence of the Administrator of the 

10 Environmental Protection Agency. The Secretary and the 

11 Administrator shall enter into a Memorandum of Under12 standing to establish procedures for consultation, concur13 rence, training, exchange of technical expertise and joint 

14 activities under the appropriate circumstances, that pro15 vide assurances that reclamation or restoration activities 

16 under this title shall not be conducted in a manner that 

17 increases the costs or likelihood of removal or remedial 

18 actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Re19 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

20 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), and that avoid oversight by multiple 

21 agencies to the maximum extent practicable. 

22 SEC. 204. ELIGIBLE LANDS AND WATERS. 

23 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Reclamation expenditures under 

24 this title may be made with respect to Federal, State, 

25 local, tribal, and private land or water resources that traVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 verse or are contiguous to Federal, State, local, tribal, or 

2 private land where such lands or water resources have 

3 been affected by past mineral activities, including any of 

4 the following: 

5 (1) Lands and water resources which were used 

6 for, or affected by, mineral activities and abandoned 

7 or left in an inadequate reclamation status before 

8 the effective date of this Act. 

9 (2) Lands for which the Secretary makes a de10 termination that there is no continuing reclamation 

11 responsibility of a claim holder, operator, or other 

12 person who abandoned the site prior to completion 

13 of required reclamation under State or other Federal 

14 laws. 

15 (b) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGIBLE.— 

16 The provisions of section 411(d) of the Surface Mining 

17 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 

18 1240a(d)) shall apply to expenditures made from the 

19 Fund. 

20 (c) INVENTORY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare 

22 and maintain a publicly available inventory of aban23 doned locatable minerals mines on public lands and 

24 any abandoned mine on Indian lands that may be el25 igible for expenditures under this title, and shall deVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:24 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S140.IS S140

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1 liver a yearly report to the Congress on the progress 

2 in cleanup of such sites. 

3 (2) PRIORITY.—In preparing and maintaining 

4 the inventory described in paragraph (1), the Sec5 retary shall give priority to abandoned locatable 

6 minerals mines in accordance with section 203(b). 

7 (3) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Not later than 5 

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

9 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall update 

10 the inventory described in paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 205. EXPENDITURES. 

12 Moneys available from the Fund may be expended for 

13 the purposes specified in section 203 directly by the Direc14 tor of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and En15 forcement. The Director may also make such money avail16 able for such purposes to the Director of the Bureau of 

17 Land Management, the Chief of the United States Forest 

18 Service, the Director of the National Park Service, or Di19 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to 

20 any other agency of the United States, to an Indian tribe, 

21 or to any public entity that volunteers to develop and im22 plement, and that has the ability to carry out, all or a 

23 significant portion of a reclamation program under this 

24 title. 


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1 SEC. 206. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS. 

2 Amounts credited to the Fund shall— 

3 (1) be available, without further appropriation, 

4 for obligation and expenditure; and 

5 (2) remain available until expended. 

6 TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE 

7 SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, except as otherwise provided in this Act. 

Æ 


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