II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 504

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

MARCH 6, 1995

Mr. BUMPERS (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. AKAKA, Mr.

LEVIN, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. KOHL, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. PELL) 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 referred to as

5 the ‘‘Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 1995’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 101. Definitions, references, and coverage.
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Sec. 102. Lands open to location; rights under this Act.

Sec. 103. Location of mining claims.

Sec. 104. Claim maintenance requirements.

Sec. 105. Penalties.

Sec. 106. Preemption.

Sec. 107. Limitation on patent issuance.

Sec. 108. Multiple mineral development and surface resources.

Sec. 109. Mineral materials.

TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 201. Surface management.

Sec. 202. Inspection and enforcement.

Sec. 203. State law and regulation.

Sec. 204. Unsuitability review.

Sec. 205. Lands not open to location.

TITLE III—ABANDONED MINERALS MINE RECLAMATION FUND

Sec. 301. Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund.

Sec. 302. Use and objectives of the fund.

Sec. 303. Eligible areas.

Sec. 304. Fund allocation and expenditures.

Sec. 305. State reclamation programs.

Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Policy functions.

Sec. 402. User fees.

Sec. 403. Regulations; effective dates.

Sec. 404. Transitional rules; mining claims and mill sites.

Sec. 405. Transitional rules; surface management requirements.

Sec. 406. Basis for contest.

Sec. 407. Savings clause claims.

Sec. 408. Severability.

Sec. 409. Purchasing power adjustment.

Sec. 410. Royalty.

Sec. 411. Savings clause.

Sec. 412. Public records.

1 TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND

2 DEVELOPMENT

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS, REFERENCES, AND COVERAGE.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap6 plying for a plan of operations under this Act or a
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1 modification to or a renewal of a plan of operations

2 under this Act.

3 (2) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means the holder

4 of a mining claim located or converted under this

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

6 holder.

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

8 plans required under section 202 of the Federal

9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

10 U.S.C. 1712) or the land management plans for Na11 tional Forest System units required under section 6

12 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

13 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604), whichever

14 is applicable.

15 (4) The term ‘‘legal subdivisions’’ means an ali16 quot quarter section of land as established by the of17 ficial records of the public land survey system, or a

18 single lot as established by the official records of the

19 public land survey system if the pertinent section is

20 irregular and contains fractional lots, as the case

21 may be.

22 (5) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ means any

23 mineral not subject to disposition under any of the

24 following:
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1 (A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

2 181 and following);

3 (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

4 (30 U.S.C. 100 and following);

5 (C) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

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

7 601 and following); or

8 (D) the Mineral Leasing for Acquired

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

10 (6) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any

11 activity for, related to or incidental to mineral explo12 ration, mining, beneficiation and processing activi13 ties for any locatable mineral, including access.

14 When used with respect to this term—

15 (A) the term ‘‘exploration’’ means those

16 techniques employed to locate the presence of a

17 locatable mineral deposit and to establish its

18 nature, position, size, shape, grade, and value;

19 (B) the term ‘‘mining’’ means the proc20 esses employed for the extraction of a locatable

21 mineral from the earth;

22 (C) the term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the

23 crushing and grinding of locatable mineral ore

24 and such processes which are employed to free

25 the mineral from other constituents, including
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1 but not necessarily limited to, physical and

2 chemical separation techniques; and

3 (D) the term ‘‘processing’’ means proc4 esses downstream of beneficiation employed to

5 prepare locatable mineral ore into the final

6 marketable product, including but not limited

7 to, smelting and electrolytic refining.

8 (7) The term ‘‘mining claim’’ means a claim for

9 the purposes of mineral activities.

10 (8) The term ‘‘National Conservation System

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

12 National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and

13 Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, or a

14 national conservation area, national recreation area,

15 or a national forest monument.

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

17 partnership, or corporation with a plan of operations

18 approved under this Act.

19 (10) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means, unless oth20 erwise provided in this Act—

21 (A) the Secretary of the Interior for the

22 purposes of title I and title III;

23 (B) the Secretary of the Interior with re24 spect to land under the jurisdiction of such Sec25 retary and all other lands subject to this Act
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1 (except for lands under the jurisdiction of the

2 Secretary of Agriculture) for the purposes of

3 title II; and

4 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture with re5 spect to lands under the jurisdiction of the Sec6 retary of Agriculture for the purposes of title

7 II.

8 (11) The term ‘‘substantial legal and financial

9 commitments’’ means significant investments that

10 have been made to develop mining claims under the

11 general mining laws such as: long-term contracts for

12 minerals produced; processing, beneficiation, or ex13 traction facilities and transportation infrastructure;

14 or other capital-intensive activities. Costs of acquir15 ing the mining claim or claims, or the right to mine

16 alone without other significant investments as de17 tailed above, are not sufficient to constitute substan18 tial legal and financial commitments.

19 (12) The term ‘‘surface management require20 ments’’ means the requirements and standards of

21 section 201, section 203, and section 204 of this

22 Act, and such other standards as are established by

23 the Secretary governing mineral activities and rec24 lamation.
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1 (b) REFERENCES.—(1) Any reference in this Act to

2 the term ‘‘general mining laws’’ is a reference to those

3 Acts which generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16,

4 and sections 161 and 162 of title 30, United States Code.

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

6 1955’’, is a reference to the Act of July 23, 1955, entitled

7 ‘‘An Act to amend the Act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat.

8 681), and the mining laws to provide for multiple use of

9 the surface of the same tracts of the public lands, and

10 for other purposes.’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 and following).

11 (c) COVERAGE.—This Act shall apply only to mineral

12 activities and reclamation on lands and interests in land

13 which are open to location as provided in this Act.

14 SEC. 102. LANDS OPEN TO LOCATION; RIGHTS UNDER THIS

15 ACT.

16 (a) OPEN LANDS.—Mining claims may be located

17 under this Act on lands and interests in lands owned by

18 the United States to the extent that—

19 (1) such lands and interests were open to the

20 location of mining claims under the general mining

21 laws on the date of enactment of this Act;

22 (2) such lands and interests are opened to the

23 location of mining claims by reason of section 204(f)

24 or section 205 of this Act; and
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1 (3) such lands and interests are opened to the

2 location of mining claims after the date of enact3 ment of this Act by reason of any administrative ac4 tion or statute.

5 (b) RIGHTS.—The holder of a mining claim located

6 or converted under this Act and maintained in compliance

7 with this Act shall have the exclusive right of possession

8 and use of the claimed land for mineral activities, includ9 ing the right of ingress and egress to such claimed lands

10 for such activities, subject to the rights of the United

11 States under section 108 and title II.

12 SEC. 103. LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS.

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

14 claim covering lands open to the location of mining claims

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

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

17 the date and hour of location and posting), and a legal

18 description of the claim. The notice of location shall be

19 posted on a conspicuous, durable monument erected as

20 near as practicable to the northeast corner of the mining

21 claim. No person who is not a citizen, or a corporation

22 organized under the laws of the United States or of any

23 State or the District of Columbia, may locate or hold a

24 claim under this Act.
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1 (b) USE OF PUBLIC LAND SURVEY.—Except as pro2 vided in subsection (c), each mining claim located under

3 this Act shall—

4 (1) be located in accordance with the public

5 land survey system, and

6 (2) conform to the legal subdivisions thereof.

7 Except as provided in subsection (c), the legal de8 scription of the mining claim shall be based on the

9 public land survey system and its legal subdivisions.

10 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) If only a protracted survey ex11 ists for the public lands concerned, each of the following

12 shall apply in lieu of subsection (b):

13 (A) The legal description of the mining claim

14 shall be based on the protracted survey and the min15 ing claim shall be located as near as practicable in

16 conformance with a protracted legal subdivision.

17 (B) The mining claim shall be monumented on

18 the ground by the erection of a conspicuous durable

19 monument at each corner of the claim.

20 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

21 shall include a reference to any existing survey

22 monument, or where no such monument can be

23 found within a reasonable distance, to a permanent

24 natural object.
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1 (2) If no survey exists for the public lands concerned,

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

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

4 with each side laid out in cardinal directions, forty

5 acres in size.

6 (B) The claim shall be monumented on the

7 ground by the erection of a conspicuous durable

8 monument at each corner of the claim.

9 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

10 shall be expressed in metes and bounds and shall in11 clude a reference to any existing survey monument,

12 or where no such monument can be found within a

13 reasonable distance, to a permanent natural object.

14 Such description shall be of sufficient accuracy and

15 completeness to permit recording of the claim upon

16 the public land records and to permit the Secretary

17 and other parties to find the claim upon the ground.

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

19 of a mining claim as monumented on the ground and the

20 description of such claim in the notice of location referred

21 to in subsection (a), the notice of location shall be deter22 minative.

23 (d) FILING WITH SECRETARY.—(1) Within thirty

24 days after the location of a mining claim pursuant to this

25 section, a copy of the notice of location referred to in sub-
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1 section (a) shall be filed with the Secretary in an office

2 designated by the Secretary.

3 (2) Whenever the Secretary receives a copy of a no4 tice of location of a mining claim under this Act, the Sec5 retary shall assign a serial number to the mining claim,

6 and immediately return a copy of the notice of location

7 to the locator of the claim, together with a certificate set8 ting forth the serial number, a description of the claim,

9 and the claim maintenance requirements of section 104.

10 The Secretary shall enter the claim on the public land

11 records.

12 (e) LANDS COVERED BY CLAIM.—A mining claim lo13 cated under this Act shall include all lands and interests

14 in lands open to location within the boundaries of the

15 claim, subject to any prior mining claim referenced under

16 subsections (c) and (d) of section 404.

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

18 under this Act shall be effective based upon the time of

19 location.

20 (g) CONFLICTING LOCATIONS.—Any conflicts be21 tween the holders of mining claims located or converted

22 under this Act relating to relative superiority under the

23 provisions of this Act may be resolved in adjudication pro24 ceedings before the Secretary. Such adjudication shall be

25 determined on the record after opportunity for hearing.
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1 It shall be incumbent upon the holder of a mining claim

2 asserting superior rights in such proceedings to dem3 onstrate to the Secretary that such person was the senior

4 locator, or if such person is the junior locator, that prior

5 to the location of the claim by such locator—

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

7 notice of location within the time provided under

8 subsection (d); or

9 (2) the amount of rental paid by the senior lo10 cator was less than the amount required to be paid

11 by such locator pursuant to section 104.

12 (h) EXTENT OF MINERAL DEPOSIT.—The bound13 aries of a mining claim located under this Act shall extend

14 vertically downward.

15 SEC. 104. CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) In order to maintain a mining

17 claim under this Act a claim holder shall pay to the Sec18 retary an annual rental fee. The rental fee shall be paid

19 on the basis of all land within the boundaries of a mining

20 claim at a rate established by the Secretary of not less

21 than—

22 (A) $5 per acre in each of the first through

23 fifth years following location of the claim;

24 (B) $10 per acre in each of the sixth through

25 tenth years following location of the claim;
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1 (C) $15 per acre in each of the eleventh

2 through fifteenth years following location of the

3 claim;

4 (D) $20 per acre in each of the sixteenth

5 through twentieth years following location of the

6 claim; and

7 (E) $25 per acre in the twenty-first diligence

8 year following location of the claim, and each year

9 thereafter.

10 (2) The rental fee shall be due and payable at a time

11 and in a manner as prescribed by the Secretary.

12 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—(1) If a claim holder fails

13 to pay the rental fee as required by this section, the Sec14 retary shall immediately provide notice thereof to the

15 claim holder and after thirty days from the date of such

16 notice the claim shall be deemed forfeited and such claim

17 shall be null and void by operation of the law, except as

18 provided under paragraphs (2) and (3). Such notice shall

19 be sent to the claim holder by registered or certified mail

20 to the address provided by such claim holder in the notice

21 of location referred to in section 103(a) or in the most

22 recent instrument filed by the claim holder pursuant to

23 this section. In the event such notice is returned as unde24 livered, the Secretary shall be deemed to have fulfilled the

25 notice requirements of this paragraph.
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1 (2) No claim may be deemed forfeited and null and

2 void due to a failure to comply with the requirements of

3 this section if the claim holder corrects such failure to the

4 satisfaction of the Secretary within ten days after the date

5 such claim holder was required to pay the rental fee.

6 (3) No claim may be deemed forfeited and null and

7 void due to a failure to comply with the requirements of

8 this section if, within ten days after date of the notice re9 ferred to in paragraph (1), the claim holder corrects such

10 failure to the satisfaction of the Secretary, and if the Sec11 retary determines that such failure was justifiable.

12 (c) PROHIBITION.—The claim holder shall be prohib13 ited from locating a new claim on the lands included in

14 a forfeited claim for one year from the date such claim

15 is deemed forfeited and null and void, except as provided

16 in subsection (d).

17 (d) RELINQUISHMENT.—A claim holder deciding not

18 to pursue mineral activity on a claim may relinquish such

19 claim by notifying the Secretary. A claim holder relin20 quishing a claim is responsible for reclamation as required

21 by section 201 of this Act and all other applicable require22 ments. A claim holder who relinquishes a claim shall not

23 be subject to the prohibition of subsection (c) of this sec24 tion; however, if the Secretary determines that a claim is

25 being relinquished and relocated for the purpose of avoid-
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1 ing compliance with any provision of this Act, including

2 payment of the applicable annual rental fee, the claim

3 holder shall be subject to the prohibition in subsection (c)

4 of this section.

5 (e) SUSPENSION.—Payment of the annual rental fee

6 required by this section shall be suspended upon the pay7 ment of the royalty required by section 410 of this Act

8 in an amount equal to or greater than the applicable an9 nual rental fee. During any subsequent period of non-pro10 duction, or period when the royalty required by section

11 410 of this Act is an amount less than the applicable an12 nual rental fee, the claimant shall pay to the Secretary

13 a total amount equal to the applicable annual rental fee.

14 (f) FEE DISPOSITION.—The Secretary shall deposit

15 all moneys received from rental fees collected under this

16 subsection into the Fund referred to in title III.

17 SEC. 105. PENALTIES.

18 (a) VIOLATION.—Any claim holder who knowingly or

19 willfully posts on a mining claim or files a notice of loca20 tion with the Secretary under section 103 that contains

21 false, inaccurate or misleading statements shall be liable

22 for a penalty of not more than $5,000 per violation. Each

23 day of continuing violation may be deemed a separate vio24 lation for purposes of penalty assessments.
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1 (b) REVIEW.—No civil penalty under this section

2 shall be assessed until the claim holder charged with the

3 violation has been given the opportunity for a hearing on

4 the record under section 202(f).

5 SEC. 106. PREEMPTION.

6 The requirements of this title shall preempt any con7 flicting requirements of any State, or political subdivision

8 thereof relating to the location and maintenance of mining

9 claims as provided for by this Act. The filing requirements

10 of section 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage11 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1744) shall not apply with respect

12 to any mining claim located or converted under this Act.

13 SEC. 107. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

14 (a) MINING CLAIMS.—After January 4, 1995, no pat15 ent shall be issued by the United States for any mining

16 claim located under the general mining laws unless the

17 Secretary of the Interior determines that, for the claim

18 concerned—

19 (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec20 retary on or before October 1, 1994; and

21 (2) all requirements established under sections

22 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C.

23 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections

24 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes

25 (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims were
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1 fully complied with by that date. If the Secretary

2 makes the determinations referred to in paragraphs

3 (1) and (2) for any mining claim, the holder of the

4 claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent in

5 the same manner and degree to which such claim

6 holder would have been entitled to prior to the en7 actment of this Act, unless and until such deter8 minations are withdrawn or invalidated by the Sec9 retary or by a court of the United States.

10 (b) MILL SITES.—After October 1, 1994, no patent

11 shall be issued by the United States for any mill site claim

12 located under the general mining laws unless the Secretary

13 of the Interior determines that for the mill site con14 cerned—

15 (1) a patent application for such land was filed

16 with the Secretary on or before October 1, 1994;

17 and

18 (2) all requirements applicable to such patent

19 application were fully complied with by that date. If

20 the Secretary makes the determinations referred to

21 in paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mill site claim,

22 the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the issu23 ance of a patent in the same manner and degree to

24 which such claim holder would have been entitled to

25 prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and until
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1 such determinations are withdrawn or invalidated by

2 the Secretary or by a court of the United States.

3 SEC. 108. MULTIPLE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUR4 FACE RESOURCES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sections 4 and

6 6 of the Act of August 13, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 524 and 526),

7 commonly known as the Multiple Minerals Development

8 Act, and the provisions of section 4 of the Act of July

9 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 612) shall apply to all mining claims

10 located or converted under this Act.

11 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior,

12 or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, shall

13 take such actions as may be necessary to ensure the com14 pliance by claim holders with section 4 of the Act of July

15 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 612).

16 SEC. 109. MINERAL MATERIALS.

17 (a) DETERMINATIONS.—Section 3 of the Act of July

18 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended as follows:

19 (1) Insert ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence.

20 (2) Strike ‘‘or cinders’’ and insert in lieu there21 of ‘‘cinders, or clay’’.

22 (3) Add the following new subsection at the end

23 thereof:

24 ‘‘(b)(1) Subject to valid existing rights, after the date

25 of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Development
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1 Act of 1995, all deposits of mineral materials referred to

2 in subsection (a), including the block pumice referred to

3 in such subsection, shall only be subject to disposal under

4 the terms and conditions of the Materials Act of 1947.

5 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘valid

6 existing rights’ means that a mining claim located for any

7 such mineral material had some property giving it the dis8 tinct and special value referred to in subsection (a), or

9 as the case may be, met the definition of block pumice

10 referred to in such subsection, was properly located and

11 maintained under the general mining laws prior to the

12 date of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Devel13 opment Act of 1995, and was supported by a discovery

14 of a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of the

15 general mining laws on the date of enactment of the Min16 eral Exploration and Development Act of 1995 and that

17 such claim continues to be valid.’’.

18 (b) MINERAL MATERIALS DISPOSAL CLARIFICA19 TION.—Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

20 612), is amended as follows:

21 (1) In subsection (b) insert ‘‘and mineral mate22 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.

23 (2) In subsection (c) insert ‘‘and mineral mate24 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the

2 Act of July 31, 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the

3 disposal of materials on the public lands of the United

4 States’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by

5 striking ‘‘common varieties of’’ in the first sentence.

6 (d) SHORT TITLES.—

7 (1) SURFACE RESOURCES.—The Act of July

8 23, 1955, is amended by inserting after section 7

9 the following new section.

10 ‘‘SEC. 8. This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Re11 sources Act of 1955’.’’.

12 (2) MINERAL MATERIALS.—The Act of July 31,

13 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of

14 materials on the public lands of the United States’’

15 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by insert16 ing after section 4 the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 5. This Act may be cited as the ‘Materials Act

18 of 1947’.’’.

19 (e) REPEAL.—(1) The Act of August 4, 1892 (27

20 Stat. 348) commonly known as the Building Stone Act

21 is hereby repealed.

22 (2) The Act of January 31, 1901 (30 U.S.C. 162)

23 commonly known as the Saline Placer Act is hereby re24 pealed.
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1 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDER2 ATIONS OF MINERAL EXPLORATION

3 AND DEVELOPMENT

4 SEC. 201. SURFACE MANAGEMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the last sentence

6 of section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage7 ment Act of 1976, and in accordance with this title and

8 other applicable law, the Secretary shall require that min9 eral activities and reclamation be conducted so as to mini10 mize adverse impacts to the environment.

11 (b) PLANS OF OPERATION.—(1) Except as provided

12 under paragraph (2), no person may engage in mineral

13 activities that may cause a disturbance of surface re14 sources unless such person has filed a plan of operations

15 with, and received approval of such plan of operations,

16 from the Secretary.

17 (2)(A) A plan of operations may not be required for

18 mineral activities related to exploration that cause a neg19 ligible disturbance of surface resources not involving the

20 use of mechanized earth moving equipment, suction dredg21 ing, explosives, the use of motor vehicles in areas closed

22 to off-road vehicles, the construction of roads, drill pads,

23 or the use of toxic or hazardous materials.

24 (B) A plan of operations may not be required for min25 eral activities related to exploration that, after notice to
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1 the Secretary, involve only a minimal and readily reclaim2 able disturbance of surface resources related to and in3 cluding initial test drilling not involving the construction

4 of access roads, except activities under notice shall not

5 commence until an adequate financial guarantee is estab6 lished for such activities pursuant to subsection (1).

7 (c) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Each proposed plan of

8 operations shall include a mining permit application and

9 a reclamation plan together with such documentation as

10 necessary to ensure compliance with applicable Federal

11 and State environmental laws and regulations.

12 (d) MINING PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIRE13 MENTS.—The mining permit referred to in subsection (c)

14 shall include such terms and conditions as prescribed by

15 the Secretary, and each of the following:

16 (1) The name and mailing address of—

17 (A) the applicant for the mining permit;

18 (B) the operator if different than the ap19 plicant;

20 (C) each claim holder of the lands subject

21 to the plan of operations if different than the

22 applicant;

23 (D) any subsidiary, affiliate, or person con24 trolled by or under common control with the ap-
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1 plicant, or the operator or each claim holder, if

2 different than the applicant; and

3 (E) the owner or owners of any land, or in4 terests in any such land, not subject to this Act,

5 within or adjacent to the proposed mineral ac6 tivities.

7 (2) A statement of any plans of operation held

8 by the applicant, operator or each claim holder if

9 different than the applicant, or any subsidiary, affili10 ate, or person controlled by or under common con11 trol with the applicant, operator or each claim holder

12 if different than the applicant.

13 (3) A statement of whether the applicant, oper14 ator or each claim holder if different than the appli15 cant, and any subsidiary, affiliate, or person con16 trolled by or under common control with the appli17 cant, operator or each claim holder if different than

18 the applicant has an outstanding violation of this

19 Act, any surface management requirements, or ap20 plicable air and water quality laws and regulations

21 and if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved,

22 including identification of the site and the nature of

23 the violation.

24 (4) A description of the type and method of

25 mineral activities proposed, the engineering tech-
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1 niques proposed to be used and the equipment pro2 posed to be used.

3 (5) The anticipated starting and termination

4 dates of each phase of the mineral activities pro5 posed.

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

7 showing the land to be affected by the proposed min8 eral activities.

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

10 surface and ground water resources within and

11 along the boundaries of, and adjacent to, the area

12 subject to mineral activities based on twelve months

13 of pre-disturbance monitoring.

14 (8) A description of the biological resources

15 found in or adjacent to the area subject to mineral

16 activities, including vegetation, fish and wildlife, ri17 parian and wetland habitats.

18 (9) A description of the monitoring systems to

19 be used to detect and determine whether compliance

20 has and is occurring consistent with the surface

21 management requirements and to regulate the ef22 fects of mineral activities and reclamation on the

23 site and surrounding environment, including but not

24 limited to, groundwater, surface water, air and soils.
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1 (10) Accident contingency plans that include,

2 but are not limited to, immediate response strate3 gies, corrective measures to mitigate impacts to fish

4 and wildlife, ground and surface waters, notification

5 procedures and waste handling and toxic material

6 neutralization.

7 (11) Any measures to comply with any condi8 tions on minerals activities and reclamation that

9 may be required in the applicable land use plan, in10 cluding any condition stipulated pursuant to section

11 204(d)(1)(B).

12 (12) A description of measures planned to ex13 clude fish and wildlife resources from the area sub14 ject to mineral activities by covering, containment,

15 or fencing of open waters, beneficiation, and process16 ing materials; or maintenance of all facilities in a

17 condition that is not harmful to fish and wildlife.

18 (13) Such environmental baseline data as the

19 Secretary, by rule, shall require sufficient to validate

20 the determinations required for plan approval under

21 this Act.

22 (e) RECLAMATION PLAN APPLICATION REQUIRE23 MENTS.—The reclamation plan referred to in subsection

24 (c) shall include such terms and conditions as prescribed

25 by the Secretary, and each of the following:
26

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

2 subject to the mining permit prior to the commence3 ment of any mineral activities.

4 (2) A description of reclamation measures pro5 posed pursuant to the requirements of subsections

6 (m) and (n).

7 (3) The engineering techniques to be used in

8 reclamation and the equipment proposed to be used.

9 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

10 dates of each phase of the reclamation proposed.

11 (5) A description of the proposed condition of

12 the land following the completion of reclamation.

13 (6) A description of the maintenance measures

14 that will be necessary to meet the surface manage15 ment requirements of this Act, such as, but not lim16 ited to, drainage water treatment facilities, or liner

17 maintenance and control.

18 (7) The consideration which has been given to

19 making the condition of the land after the comple20 tion of mineral activities and final reclamation con21 sistent with the applicable land use plan.

22 (f) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—(1) Concurrent with

23 submittal of a plan of operations, or a renewal application

24 for a plan of operations, the applicant shall publish a no25 tice in a newspaper of local circulation for four consecutive
27

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1 weeks that shall include: the name of the applicant, the

2 location of the proposed mineral activities, the type and

3 expected duration of the proposed mineral activities, and

4 the intended use of the land after the completion of min5 eral activities and reclamation. The Secretary shall also

6 notify in writing other Federal, State and local govern7 ment agencies that regulate mineral activities or land

8 planning decisions in the area subject to mineral activities.

9 (2) Copies of the complete proposed plan of oper10 ations shall be made available for public review for thirty

11 days at the office of the responsible Federal surface man12 agement agency located nearest to the location of the pro13 posed mineral activities, and at the county courthouse of

14 the county in which the mineral activities are proposed

15 to be located, prior to final decision by the Secretary. Dur16 ing this period, any person and the authorized representa17 tive of a Federal, State or local governmental agency shall

18 have the right to file written comments relating to the ap19 proval or disapproval of the plan of operations. The Sec20 retary shall immediately make such comments available to

21 the applicant.

22 (3) Any person that is or may be adversely affected

23 by the proposed mineral activities may request, after filing

24 written comments pursuant to paragraph (2), a public

25 hearing to be held in the county in which the mineral ac-
28

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1 tivities are proposed. If a hearing is requested, the Sec2 retary shall conduct a hearing. When a hearing is to be

3 held, notice of such hearing shall be published in a news4 paper of local circulation for two weeks prior to the hear5 ing date.

6 (g) PLAN APPROVAL.—(1) After providing notice and

7 opportunity for public comment and hearing, the Sec8 retary may approve, require modifications to, or deny a

9 proposed plan of operations, except as provided in section

10 405. To approve a plan of operations, the Secretary shall

11 make each of the following determinations:

12 (A) The mining permit application and reclama13 tion plan are complete and accurate.

14 (B) The applicant has demonstrated that rec15 lamation as required by this Act can be accom16 plished under the reclamation plan and would have

17 a high probability of success based on an analysis of

18 such reclamation measures in areas of similar geo19 chemistry, topography and hydrology.

20 (C) The proposed mineral activities, reclama21 tion and condition of the land after the completion

22 of mineral activities and final reclamation would be

23 consistent with the land use plan applicable to the

24 area subject to mineral activities.
29

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1 (D) The area subject to the proposed plan of

2 operations is not included within an area designated

3 unsuitable under section 204 for the types of min4 eral activities proposed.

5 (E) The applicant has demonstrated that the

6 plan of operations will be in compliance with the re7 quirements of all other applicable Federal require8 ments, and any State requirements agreed to by the

9 Secretary pursuant to subsection 203(c).

10 (2) Final approval of a plan of operations under this

11 subsection shall be conditioned upon compliance with sub12 section (1) and, based on information supplied by the ap13 plicant, a determination of the probable hydrologic con14 sequences of the proposed mineral activities and reclama15 tion.

16 (3)(A) A plan of operations under this section shall

17 not be approved if the applicant, operator, or any claim

18 holder if different than the applicant, or any subsidiary,

19 affiliate, or person controlled by or under common control

20 with the applicant, operator or each claim holder if dif21 ferent than the applicant, is currently in violation of this

22 Act, any surface management requirement or of any appli23 cable air and water quality laws and regulations at any

24 site where mineral activities have occurred or are occur25 ring.
30

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1 (B) The Secretary shall suspend an approved plan

2 of operations if the Secretary determines that any of the

3 entities described in section 201(d)(1) were in violation of

4 the surface management requirements at the time the plan

5 of operations was approved.

6 (C) A plan of operations referred to in this subsection

7 shall not be approved or reinstated, as the case may be,

8 until the applicant submits proof that the violation has

9 been corrected or is in the process of being corrected to

10 the satisfaction of the Secretary; except that no proposed

11 plan of operations, after opportunity for a hearing, shall

12 be approved for any applicant, operator or each claim

13 holder if different than the applicant with a demonstrated

14 pattern of willful violations of the surface management re15 quirements of such nature and duration and with such re16 sulting irreparable damage to the environment as to clear17 ly indicate an intent not to comply with the surface man18 agement requirements.

19 (h) TERM OF PERMIT; RENEWAL.—(1) The approval

20 of a plan of operations shall be for a stated term. The

21 term shall be no greater than that necessary to accomplish

22 the proposed operations, and in no case for more than ten

23 years, unless the applicant demonstrates that a specified

24 longer term is reasonably needed to obtain financing for

25 equipment and the opening of the operation.
31

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1 (2) Failure by the operator to commence mineral ac2 tivities within one year of the date scheduled in an ap3 proved plan of operations shall be deemed to require a

4 modification of the plan.

5 (3) A plan of operations shall carry with it the right

6 of successive renewal upon expiration only with respect to

7 operations on areas within the boundaries of the existing

8 plan of operations, as approved. An application for re9 newal of such plan of operations shall be approved unless

10 the Secretary determines, in writing, any of the following:

11 (A) The terms and conditions of the existing

12 plan of operations are not being met.

13 (B) Mineral activities and reclamation activities

14 as approved under the plan of operations are not in

15 compliance with the surface management require16 ments of this Act.

17 (C) The operator has not demonstrated that the

18 financial guarantee would continue to apply in full

19 force and effect for the renewal term.

20 (D) Any additional revised or updated informa21 tion required by the Secretary has not been pro22 vided.

23 (E) The applicant has not demonstrated that

24 the plan of operations will be in compliance with the

25 requirements of all other applicable Federal require-
32

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1 ments, and any State requirements agreed to by the

2 Secretary pursuant to subsection 203(c).

3 (4) A renewal of a plan of operations shall be for a

4 term not to exceed the period of the original plan as pro5 vided in paragraph (1). Application for plan renewal shall

6 be made at least one hundred and twenty days prior to

7 the expiration of an approved plan.

8 (5) Any person that is, or may be, adversely affected

9 by the proposed mineral activities may request a public

10 hearing to be held in the county in which the mineral ac11 tivities are proposed. If a hearing is requested, the Sec12 retary shall conduct a hearing. When a hearing is held,

13 notice of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper

14 of local circulation for two weeks prior to the hearing date.

15 (i) PLAN MODIFICATION.—(1) Except as provided

16 under section 405, during the term of a plan of operations

17 the operator may submit an application to modify the

18 plan. To approve a proposed modification to a plan of op19 erations the Secretary shall make the determinations set

20 forth under subsection (g)(1). The Secretary shall estab21 lish guidelines regarding the extent to which requirements

22 for plans of operations under this section shall apply to

23 applications to modify a plan of operations based on

24 whether such modifications are deemed significant or

25 minor; except that—
33

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1 (A) any significant modifications shall at a min2 imum be subject to subsection (f), and

3 (B) any modification proposing to extend the

4 area covered by the plan of operations (except for in5 cidental boundary revisions) must be made by appli6 cation for a new plan of operations.

7 (2) The Secretary may, upon a review of a plan of

8 operations or renewal application, require reasonable

9 modification to such plan upon a determination that the

10 requirements of this Act cannot be met if the plan is fol11 lowed as approved. Such determination shall be based on

12 a written finding and subject to notice and hearing re13 quirements established by the Secretary.

14 (j) TEMPORARY CESSATION OF OPERATIONS.—(1)

15 Before temporarily ceasing mineral activities or reclama16 tion for a period of one hundred and eighty days or more

17 under an approved plan of operations or portions thereof,

18 an operator shall first submit a complete application for

19 temporary cessation of operations to the Secretary for ap20 proval.

21 (2) The application for approval of temporary ces22 sation of operations shall include such terms and condi23 tions as prescribed by the Secretary, including but not lim24 ited to the steps that shall be taken during the cessation

25 of operations period to minimize impacts on the environ-
34

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1 ment. After receipt of a complete application for tem2 porary cessation of operations the Secretary shall conduct

3 an inspection of the area for which temporary cessation

4 of operations has been requested.

5 (3) To approve an application for temporary ces6 sation of operations, the Secretary shall make each of the

7 following determinations:

8 (A) The methods for securing surface facilities

9 and restricting access to the permit area, or relevant

10 portions thereof, shall effectively ensure against haz11 ards to the health and safety of the public and fish

12 and wildlife.

13 (B) Reclamation is contemporaneous with min14 eral activities as required under the approved rec15 lamation plan, except in those areas specifically des16 ignated in the application for temporary cessation of

17 operations for which a delay in meeting such stand18 ards is necessary to facilitate the resumption of op19 erations.

20 (C) The amount of financial assurance filed

21 with the plan of operations is sufficient to assure

22 completion of the reclamation plan in the event of

23 forfeiture.

24 (D) Any outstanding notices of violation and

25 cessation orders incurred in connection with the plan
35

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1 of operations for which temporary cessation is being

2 requested are either stayed pursuant to an adminis3 trative or judicial appeal proceeding or are in the

4 process of being abated to the satisfaction of the

5 Secretary.

6 (k) REVIEW.—Any decision made by the Secretary

7 under subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), or (l) shall be subject

8 to review under section 202(f).

9 (l) BONDS.—(1) Before any plan of operations is ap10 proved pursuant to this Act, or any mineral activities are

11 conducted pursuant to subsection (b)(2), the operator

12 shall file with the Secretary financial assurance payable

13 to the United States and conditional upon faithful per14 formance of all requirements of this Act. The financial as15 surance shall be provided in the form of a surety bond,

16 trust fund, cash, or equivalent. The amount of the finan17 cial assurance shall be sufficient to assure the completion

18 of reclamation satisfying the requirements of this Act if

19 the work had to be performed by the Secretary in the

20 event of forfeiture, and the calculation shall take into ac21 count the maximum level of financial exposure which shall

22 arise during the mineral activity including, but not limited

23 to, provision for accident contingencies.

24 (2) The financial assurance shall be held for the du25 ration of the mineral activities and for an additional period
36

S 504 IS

1 to cover the operator’s responsibility for revegetation

2 under subsection (n)(6)(B).

3 (3) The amount of the financial assurance and the

4 terms of the acceptance of the assurance shall be adjusted

5 by the Secretary from time to time as the area requiring

6 coverage is increased or decreased, or where the costs of

7 reclamation or treatment change, but the financial assur8 ance must otherwise be in compliance with this section.

9 The Secretary shall specify periodic times, or set a sched10 ule, for reevaluating or adjusting the amount of financial

11 assurance.

12 (4) Upon request, and after notice and opportunity

13 for public comment, the Secretary may release in whole

14 or in part the financial assurance if the Secretary deter15 mines each of the following:

16 (A) Reclamation covered by the financial assur17 ance has been accomplished as required by this Act.

18 (B) The operator has declared that the terms

19 and conditions of any other applicable Federal re20 quirements, and State requirements pursuant to

21 subsection 203(b), have been fulfilled.

22 (5) The release referred to in paragraph (4) shall be

23 according to the following schedule:

24 (A) After the operator has completed the back25 filling, regrading and drainage control of an area
37

S 504 IS

1 subject to mineral activities and covered by the fi2 nancial assurance, and has commenced revegetation

3 on the regraded areas subject to mineral activities in

4 accordance with the approved plan of operations, 50

5 percent of the total financial assurance secured for

6 the area subject to mineral activities may be re7 leased.

8 (B) After the operator has completed success9 fully all mineral activities and reclamation activities

10 and all requirements of the plan of operations and

11 the reclamation plan and all the requirements of this

12 Act have in fact been fully met, the remaining por13 tion of the financial assurance may be released.

14 (6) During the period following release of the finan15 cial assurance as specified in paragraph (5)(A), until the

16 remaining portion of the financial assurance is released

17 as provided in paragraph (5)(B), the operator shall be re18 quired to meet all applicable standards of this Act and

19 the plan of operations and the reclamation plan.

20 (7) Where any discharge from the area subject to

21 mineral activities requires treatment in order to meet the

22 applicable effluent limitations, the treatment shall be mon23 itored during the conduct of mineral activities and rec24 lamation and shall be fully covered by financial assurance

25 and no financial assurance or portion thereof for the plan
38

S 504 IS

1 of operations shall be released until the operator has met

2 all applicable effluent limitations and water quality stand3 ards for one full year without treatment.

4 (8) Jurisdiction under this Act shall terminate upon

5 release of the final bond. If the Secretary determines, after

6 final bond release, that an environmental hazard resulting

7 from the mineral activities exists, or the terms and condi8 tions of the plan of operations or the surface management

9 requirements of this Act were not fulfilled in fact at the

10 time of release, the Secretary shall reassert jurisdiction

11 and all applicable surface management and enforcement

12 provisions shall apply for correction of the condition.

13 (m) RECLAMATION.—(1) Except as provided under

14 paragraphs (5) and (7) of subsection (n), lands subject

15 to mineral activities shall be restored to a condition capa16 ble of supporting the uses to which such lands were capa17 ble of supporting prior to surface disturbance, or other

18 beneficial uses, provided such other uses are not inconsist19 ent with applicable land use plans.

20 (2) All required reclamation shall proceed as contem21 poraneously as practicable with the conduct of mineral ac22 tivities and shall use the best technology currently avail23 able.

24 (n) RECLAMATION STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall

25 establish reclamation standards which shall include, but
39

S 504 IS

1 not necessarily be limited to, provisions to require each

2 of the following:

3 (1) SOILS.—(A) Topsoil removed from lands

4 subject to mineral activities shall be segregated from

5 other spoil material and protected for later use in

6 reclamation. If such topsoil is not replaced on a

7 backfill area within a timeframe short enough to

8 avoid deterioration of the topsoil, vegetative cover, or

9 other means shall be used so that the topsoil is pre10 served from wind and water erosion, remains free of

11 any contamination by acid or other toxic material,

12 and is in a usable condition for sustaining vegetation

13 when restored during reclamation.

14 (B) In the event the topsoil from lands subject

15 to mineral activities is of insufficient quantity or of

16 inferior quality for sustaining vegetation, and other

17 suitable growth media removed from the lands sub18 ject to the mineral activities are available that shall

19 support vegetation, the best available growth me20 dium shall be removed, segregated, and preserved in

21 a like manner as under subparagraph (A) for sus22 taining vegetation when restored during reclamation.

23 (C) Mineral activities shall be conducted to pre24 vent any contamination or toxification of soils. If

25 any contamination or toxification occurs in violation
40

S 504 IS

1 of this subparagraph, the operator shall neutralize

2 the toxic material, decontaminate the soil, and dis3 pose of any toxic or acid materials in a manner

4 which complies with this section and any other appli5 cable Federal or State law.

6 (2) STABILIZATION.—All surface areas subject

7 to mineral activities, including spoil material piles,

8 waste material piles, ore piles, subgrade ore piles,

9 and open or partially backfilled mine pits which

10 meet the requirements of paragraph (5) shall be sta11 bilized and protected during mineral activities and

12 reclamation so as to effectively control erosion and

13 minimize attendant air and water pollution.

14 (3) EROSION.—Facilities such as but not lim15 ited to basins, ditches, streambank stabilization, di16 versions or other measures, shall be designed, con17 structed and maintained where necessary to control

18 erosion and drainage of the area subject to mineral

19 activities, including spoil material piles and waste

20 material piles prior to the use of such material to

21 comply with the requirements of paragraph (5) and

22 for the purposes of paragraph (7), and including ore

23 piles and subgrade ore piles.

24 (4) HYDROLOGIC BALANCE.—(A) Mineral ac25 tivities shall be conducted to minimize disturbances
41

S 504 IS

1 to the prevailing hydrologic balance of the area sub2 ject to mineral activities and adjacent areas and to

3 the quality and quantity of water in surface and

4 ground water systems, including stream flow, in the

5 area subject to mineral activities and adjacent areas,

6 and in all cases the operator shall comply with appli7 cable Federal or State effluent limitations and water

8 quality standards.

9 (B) Mineral activities shall prevent the genera10 tion of acid or toxic drainage during the mineral ac11 tivities and reclamation, to the extent possible using

12 the best available demonstrated control technology;

13 and the operator shall prevent any contamination of

14 surface and ground water with acid or other toxic

15 mine drainage and shall prevent or remove water

16 from contact with acid or toxic producing deposits.

17 (C) Reclamation shall, to the extent possible,

18 also include restoration of the recharge capacity of

19 the area subject to mineral activities to approximate

20 premining condition.

21 (D) Where surface or underground water

22 sources used for domestic or agricultural use have

23 been diminished, contaminated or interrupted as a

24 proximate result of mineral activities, such water re25 source shall be restored or replaced.
42

S 504 IS

1 (5) GRADING.—(A) Except as provided under

2 this paragraph (7), the surface area disturbed by

3 mineral activities shall be backfilled, graded and

4 contoured to its natural topography.

5 (B) The requirement of subparagraph (A) shall

6 not apply with respect to an open mine pit if the

7 Secretary finds that such open pit or partially

8 backfilled pit would not pose a threat to the public

9 health or safety or have an adverse effect on the en10 vironment in terms of surface or groundwater pollu11 tion.

12 (C) In instances where complete backfilling of

13 an open pit is not required, the pit shall be graded

14 to blend with the surrounding topography as much

15 as practicable and revegetated in accordance with

16 paragraph (6).

17 (6) REVEGETATION.—(A) Except in such in18 stances where the complete backfill of an open mine

19 pit is not required under paragraph (5), the area

20 subject to mineral activities, including any excess

21 spoil material pile and excess waste pile, shall be

22 revegetated in order to establish a diverse, effective

23 and permanent vegetative cover of the same seasonal

24 variety native to the area subject to mineral activi25 ties, capable of self-regeneration and plant succes-
43

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1 sion and at least equal in extent of cover to the nat2 ural revegetation of the surrounding area.

3 (B) In order to insure compliance with subpara4 graph (A), the period for determining successful

5 revegetation shall be for a period of five full years

6 after the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing,

7 irrigation or other work, except that such period

8 shall be ten full years where the annual average pre9 cipitation is 26 inches or less.

10 (7) EXCESS SPOIL AND WASTE.—(A) Spoil ma11 terial and waste material in excess of that required

12 to comply with paragraph (5) shall be transported

13 and placed in approved areas, in a controlled man14 ner in such a way so as to assure long-term mass

15 stability and to prevent mass movement. In addition

16 to the measures described under paragraph (3), in17 ternal drainage systems shall be employed, as may

18 be required, to control erosion and drainage. The de19 sign of such excess spoil material piles and excess

20 waste material piles shall be certified by a qualified

21 professional engineer.

22 (B) Excess spoil material piles and excess waste

23 material piles shall be graded and contoured to

24 blend with the surrounding topography as much as
44

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1 practicable and revegetated in accordance with para2 graph (6).

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

4 the surface associated with underground mineral ac5 tivities, shall be sealed when no longer needed for

6 the conduct of mineral activities to ensure protection

7 of the public, fish and wildlife, and the environment.

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

9 equipment constructed, used or improved during

10 mineral activities shall be removed, unless the Sec11 retary determines that the buildings, structures or

12 equipment shall be of beneficial use in accomplishing

13 the postmining uses or for environmental monitor14 ing.

15 (10) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—All fish and wildlife

16 habitat in areas subject to mineral activities shall be

17 restored in a manner commensurate with or superior

18 to habitat conditions which existed prior to the min19 eral activities, including such conditions as may be

20 prescribed by the Director, Fish and Wildlife Serv21 ice.

22 (o) ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.—The Secretary may,

23 by regulation, establish additional standards to address

24 the specific environmental impacts of selected methods of
45

S 504 IS

1 mineral activities, such as, but not limited to, cyanide

2 leach mining.

3 (p) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsections (m) and

4 (n):

5 (1) The term ‘‘best technology currently avail6 able’’ means equipment, devices, systems, methods,

7 or techniques which are currently available anywhere

8 even if not in routine use in mineral activities. The

9 term includes, but is not limited to, construction

10 practices, siting requirements, vegetative selection

11 and planting requirements, scheduling of activities

12 and design of sedimentation ponds. Within the con13 straints of the surface management requirements of

14 this Act, the Secretary shall have the discretion to

15 determine the best technology currently available on

16 a case-by-case basis.

17 (2) The term ‘‘best available demonstrated con18 trol technology’’ means equipment, devices, systems,

19 methods, or techniques which have demonstrated en20 gineering and economic feasibility and practicality in

21 preventing disturbances to hydrologic balance during

22 mineral activities and reclamation. Such techniques

23 will have shown to be effective and practical methods

24 of acid and other mine water pollution elimination or

25 control, and other pollution affecting water quality.
46

S 504 IS

1 The ‘‘best available demonstrated control tech2 nology’’ will not generally be in routine use in min3 eral activities. Within the constraints of the surface

4 management requirements of this Act, the Secretary

5 shall have the discretion to determine the best avail6 able demonstrated control technology on a case-by7 case basis.

8 (3) The term ‘‘spoil material’’ means the over9 burden, or nonmineralized material of any nature,

10 consolidated or unconsolidated, that overlies a de11 posit of any locatable mineral that is removed in

12 gaining access to, and extracting, any locatable min13 eral, or any such material disturbed during the con14 duct of mineral activities.

15 (4) The term ‘‘waste material’’ means the mate16 rial resulting from mineral activities involving

17 beneficiation, including but not limited to tailings,

18 and such material resulting from mineral activities

19 involving processing, to the extent such material is

20 not subject to subtitle C of the Resource Conserva21 tion and Recovery Act of 1976 or the Uranium Mill

22 Tailings Radiation Control Act.

23 (5) The term ‘‘ore piles’’ means ore stockpiled

24 for beneficiation prior to the completion of mineral

25 activities and reclamation.
47

S 504 IS

1 (6) The term ‘‘subgrade ore’’ means ore that is

2 too low in grade to be of economic value at the time

3 of extraction but which could reasonable be economi4 cal in the foreseeable future.

5 (7) The term ‘‘excess spoil’’ means spoil mate6 rial that may be excess of the amount necessary to

7 comply with the requirements of subsection (m)(3).

8 (8) The term ‘‘excess waste’’ means waste ma9 terial that may be excess of the amount necessary to

10 comply with the requirements of subsection (m)(3).

11 SEC. 202. INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.

12 (a) INSPECTIONS AND MONITORING.—(1) The Sec13 retary shall make such inspections of mineral activities so

14 as to ensure compliance with the surface management re15 quirements. The Secretary shall establish a frequency of

16 inspections for mineral activities conducted under an ap17 proved plan of operations, but in no event shall such in18 spection frequency be less than one complete inspection

19 per calendar quarter or two complete inspections annually

20 for a plan of operations for which the Secretary approves

21 an application under section 201(j).

22 (2) (A) Any person who has reason to believe they

23 are or may be adversely affected by mineral activities due

24 to any violation of the surface management requirements

25 may request an inspection. The Secretary shall determine
48

S 504 IS

1 within ten days of receipt of the request whether the re2 quest states a reason to believe that a violation exists, ex3 cept in the event the person alleges and provides reason

4 to believe that an imminent danger as provided by sub5 section (b)(2) exists, the ten-day period shall be waived

6 and the inspection conducted immediately. When an in7 spection is conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary

8 shall notify the person filing the complaint and such per9 son shall be allowed to accompany the inspector during

10 the inspection. The identity of the person supplying infor11 mation to the Secretary relating to a possible violation or

12 imminent danger or harm shall remain confidential with

13 the Secretary if so requested by that person, unless that

14 person elects to accompany an inspector on the inspection.

15 (B) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro16 cedures for the review of any decision by his authorized

17 representative not to inspect or by a refusal by such rep18 resentative to ensure remedial actions are taken with re19 spect to any alleged violation. The Secretary shall furnish

20 such persons requesting the review a written statement of

21 the reasons for the Secretary’s final disposition of the

22 case.

23 (3)(A) The Secretary shall require all operators to de24 velop and maintain a monitoring and evaluation system
49

S 504 IS

1 which shall be capable of identifying compliance with all

2 surface management requirements.

3 (B) Monitoring shall be conducted as close as tech4 nically feasible to the mineral activity or reclamation in5 volved, and in all cases the monitoring shall be conducted

6 within the area affected by mineral activities and reclama7 tion.

8 (C) The point of compliance shall be as close to the

9 mineral activity involved as is technically feasible, but in

10 any event shall be located to comply with applicable State

11 and Federal standards. In no event shall the point of com12 pliance be outside the area affected by mineral activities

13 and reclamation.

14 (D) The operator shall file reports with the Secretary

15 on a quarterly basis on the results of the monitoring and

16 evaluation process except that if the monitoring and eval17 uation show a violation of the surface management re18 quirements, it shall be reported immediately to the Sec19 retary.

20 (E) The Secretary shall determine what information

21 must be reported by the operator pursuant to subpara22 graph (B). A failure to report as required by the Secretary

23 shall constitute a violation of this Act and subject the op24 erator to enforcement action pursuant to this section.
50

S 504 IS

1 (F) The Secretary shall evaluate the reports submit2 ted pursuant to this paragraph, and based on those re3 ports and any necessary inspection shall take enforcement

4 action pursuant to this section.

5 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—(1) If the Secretary or author6 ized representative determines, on the basis of an inspec7 tion that an operator, or any person conducting mineral

8 activities under section 201(b)(2), is in violation of any

9 surface management requirement, the Secretary or au10 thorized representative shall issue a notice of violation to

11 the operator or person describing the violation and the cor12 rective measures to be taken. The Secretary or authorized

13 representative shall provide such operator or person with

14 a reasonable period of time to abate the violation. If, upon

15 the expiration of time provided for such abatement, the

16 Secretary or authorized representative finds that the viola17 tion has not been abated he shall immediately order a ces18 sation of all mineral activities or the portion thereof rel19 evant to the violation.

20 (2) If the Secretary or authorized representative de21 termines, on the basis of an inspection, that any condition

22 or practice exists, or that an operator, or any person con23 ducting mineral activities under section 201(b)(2), is in

24 violation of the surface management requirements, and
51

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1 such condition, practice or violation is causing, or can rea2 sonably be expected to cause—

3 (A) an imminent danger to the health or safety

4 of the public; or

5 (B) significant, imminent environmental harm

6 to land, air or water resources;

7 the Secretary or authorized representative shall imme8 diately order a cessation of mineral activities or the por9 tion thereof relevant to the condition, practice or violation.

10 (3)(A) A cessation order by the Secretary or author11 ized representative pursuant to paragraphs (1) or (2) shall

12 remain in effect until the Secretary or authorized rep13 resentative determines that the condition, practice or vio14 lation has been abated, or until modified, vacated or termi15 nated by the Secretary or authorized representative. In

16 any such order, the Secretary or authorized representative

17 shall determine the steps necessary to abate the violation

18 in the most expeditious manner possible, and shall include

19 the necessary measures in the order. The Secretary shall

20 require appropriate financial assurances to insure that the

21 abatement obligations are met.

22 (B) Any notice or order issued pursuant to para23 graphs (1) or (2) may be modified, vacated or terminated

24 by the Secretary or authorized representative. An opera25 tor, or person conducting mineral activities under section
52

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1 201(b)(2), issued any such notice or order shall be entitled

2 to a hearing on the record pursuant to subsection (f).

3 (4) If, after thirty days of the date of the order re4 ferred to in paragraph (3)(A), the required abatement has

5 not occurred the Secretary shall take such alternative en6 forcement action against the responsible parties as will

7 most likely bring about abatement in the most expeditious

8 manner possible. Such alternative enforcement action shall

9 include, but is not necessarily limited to, seeking appro10 priate injunctive relief to bring about abatement.

11 (5) In the event an operator, or person conducting

12 mineral activities under section 201(b)(2), is unable to

13 abate a violation or defaults on the terms of the plan of

14 operation the Secretary shall forfeit the financial assur15 ance for the plan of operations if necessary to ensure

16 abatement and reclamation under this Act.

17 (6) The Secretary shall not forfeit the financial assur18 ance while a review is pending pursuant to subsections (f)

19 and (g).

20 (c) COMPLIANCE.—(1) The Secretary may request

21 the Attorney General to institute a civil action for relief,

22 including a permanent or temporary injunction or re23 straining order, in the district court of the United States

24 for the district in which the mineral activities are located
53

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1 whenever an operator, or person conducting mineral activi2 ties under section 201(b)(2)—

3 (A) violates, fails or refuses to comply with any

4 order issued by the Secretary under subsection (b);

5 or

6 (B) interferes with, hinders or delays the Sec7 retary in carrying out an inspection under sub8 section (a). Such court shall have jurisdiction to pro9 vide such relief as may be appropriate. Any relief

10 granted by the court to enforce an order under

11 clause (A) shall continue in effect until the comple12 tion or final termination of all proceedings for review

13 of such order under subsections (f) and (g), unless

14 the district court granting such relief sets it aside or

15 modifies it.

16 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

17 Secretary shall utilize enforcement personnel from the Of18 fice of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to

19 augment personnel of the Bureau of Land Management

20 and the Forest Service to ensure compliance with the sur21 face management requirements, and inspection require22 ments of subsection (a). The Bureau of Land Management

23 and the Forest Service shall each enter into a memoran24 dum of understanding with the Office of Surface Mining

25 Reclamation and Enforcement for this purpose.
54

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1 (d) PENALTIES.—(1) Any operator, or person con2 ducting mineral activities under section 201(b)(2), who

3 fails to comply with the surface management requirements

4 shall be liable for a penalty of not more than $5,000 per

5 violation. Each day of continuing violation may be deemed

6 a separate violation for purposes of penalty assessments.

7 No civil penalty under this subsection shall be assessed

8 until the operator charged with the violation has been

9 given the opportunity for a hearing under subsection (f).

10 (2) An operator, or person conducting mineral activi11 ties under section 201(b)(2), who fails to correct a viola12 tion for which a cessation order has been issued under

13 subsection (b) within the period permitted for its correc14 tion shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than

15 $1,000 per violation for each day during which such fail16 ure continues, but in no event shall such assessment ex17 ceed a thirty-day period.

18 (3) Whenever a corporation is in violation of the sur19 face management requirements or fails or refuses to com20 ply with an order issued under subsection (b), any direc21 tor, officer or agent of such corporation who knowingly

22 authorized, ordered, or carried out such violation, failure

23 or refusal shall be subject to the same penalties that may

24 be imposed upon an operator under paragraph (1).
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1 (e) CITIZEN SUITS.—(1) Except as provided under

2 paragraph (2), any person having an interest which is or

3 may be adversely affected may commence a civil action

4 on his or her own behalf to compel compliance—

5 (A) against the Secretary where there is alleged

6 a violation of any of the provisions of this Act or any

7 regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act or

8 terms and conditions of any plan of operations ap9 proved pursuant to this Act;

10 (B) against any other person alleged to be in

11 violation of any of the provisions of this Act or any

12 regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act or

13 terms and conditions of any plan of operations ap14 proved pursuant to this Act;

15 (C) against the Secretary where there is alleged

16 a failure of the Secretary to perform any act or duty

17 under this Act or any regulation promulgated pursu18 ant to this Act which is not within the discretion of

19 the Secretary; or

20 (D) against the Secretary where it is alleged

21 that the Secretary acts arbitrarily or capriciously or

22 in a manner inconsistent with this Act or any regu23 lation promulgated pursuant to this Act. The United

24 States district courts shall have jurisdiction, without
56

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1 regard to the amount in controversy or the citizen2 ship of the parties.

3 (2) No action may be commenced except as follows:

4 (A) Under paragraph (1)(A) prior to sixty days

5 after the plaintiff has given notice in writing of such

6 alleged violation to the Secretary, or to the person

7 alleged to be in violation; except no action may be

8 commenced against any person alleged to be in viola9 tion if the Secretary has commenced and is dili10 gently prosecuting a civil action in a court of the

11 United States to require compliance with the provi12 sions of this title (but in any such action in a court

13 of the United States the person making the allega14 tion may intervene as a matter of right.)

15 (B) Under paragraph (1)(B) prior to sixty days

16 after the plaintiff has given notice in writing of such

17 action to the Secretary, in such manner as the Sec18 retary shall by regulation prescribe, except that such

19 action may be brought immediately after such notifi20 cation in the case where the violation or order com21 plained of constitutes an imminent threat to the en22 vironment or to the health or safety of the public or

23 would immediately affect a legal interest of the

24 plaintiff.
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1 (3) Venue of all actions brought under this subsection

2 shall be determined in accordance with section 1391(a) of

3 title 28, United States Code.

4 (4) The court, in issuing any final order in any action

5 brought pursuant to paragraph (1) may award costs of

6 litigation (including attorney and export witness fees) to

7 any party whenever the court determines such award is

8 appropriate. The court may, if a temporary restraining

9 order or preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing

10 of a bond or equivalent security in accordance with the

11 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

12 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict any right

13 which any person (or class of persons) may have under

14 any statute or common law to seek enforcement of any

15 of the provisions of this Act and the regulations there16 under, or to seek any other relief, including relief against

17 the Secretary.

18 (f) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—(1)(A) Any operator,

19 or person conducting mineral activities under section

20 201(b)(2), issued a notice of violation or cessation order

21 under subsection (b), or any person having an interest

22 which is or may be adversely affected by such decisions,

23 notice or order, may apply to the Secretary for review of

24 the notice or order within thirty days of receipt thereof,
58

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1 or as the case may be, within thirty days of such notice

2 or order being modified, vacated or terminated.

3 (B) Any operator, or person conducting mineral ac4 tivities under section 201(b)(2), who is subject to a pen5 alty under subsection (d) or section 105 may apply to the

6 Secretary for review of the assessment within thirty days

7 of notification of such penalty.

8 (C) Any person having an interest which is or may

9 be adversely affected by a decision made by the Secretary

10 under subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), and (l) of section 201,

11 or subsection 202(a)(2), or subsection 204(g), may apply

12 to the Secretary for review of the decision within thirty

13 days after it is made.

14 (2) The Secretary shall provide an opportunity for

15 a public hearing at the request of any party. Any hearing

16 conducted pursuant to this subsection shall be on record

17 and shall be subject to section 554 of title 5, United States

18 Code. The filing of an application for review under this

19 subsection shall not operate as a stay of any order or no20 tice issued under subsection (b).

21 (3) Following the hearing referred to in paragraph

22 (2), if requested, but in any event the Secretary shall make

23 findings of fact and shall issue a written decision incor24 porating therein an order vacating, affirming, modifying

25 or terminating the notice, order or decision, or with re-
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1 spect to an assessment, the amount of penalty that is war2 ranted. Where the application for review concerns a ces3 sation order issued under subsection (b), the Secretary

4 shall issue the written decision within thirty days of the

5 receipt of the application for review, unless temporary re6 lief has been granted by the Secretary under paragraph

7 (4).

8 (4) Pending completion of any proceedings under this

9 subsection, the applicant may file with the Secretary a

10 written request that the Secretary grant temporary relief

11 from any order issued under subsection (b) together with

12 a detailed statement giving reasons for such relief. The

13 Secretary shall expeditiously issue an order or decision

14 granting or denying such relief. The Secretary may grant

15 such relief under such conditions as he may prescribe only

16 if such relief shall not adversely affect the health or safety

17 of the public or cause significant, imminent environmental

18 harm to land, air or water resources.

19 (5) The availability of review under this subsection

20 shall not be construed to limit the operation of rights es21 tablished under subsection (e).

22 (g) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(1) Any action by the Sec23 retary in promulgating regulations to implement this Act,

24 or any other actions constituting rulemaking by the Sec25 retary to implement this Act, shall be subject to judicial
60

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1 review in the United States District Court for the District

2 of Columbia. Any action subject to judicial review under

3 this subsection shall be affirmed unless the court con4 cludes that such action is arbitrary, capricious, or other5 wise inconsistent with law. A petition for review of any

6 action subject to judicial review under this subsection shall

7 be filed in the United States District Court for the District

8 of Columbia within sixty days from the date of such ac9 tion, or after such date if the petition is based solely on

10 grounds arising after the sixtieth day. Any such petition

11 may be made by any person who commented or otherwise

12 participated in the rulemaking or who may be adversely

13 affected by the action of the Secretary.

14 (2) Final agency action under this Act, including

15 such final action on those matters described under sub16 section (f), shall be subject to judicial review in accordance

17 with paragraph (4) and pursuant to section 1391(a) of

18 title 28, United States Code on or before sixty days from

19 the date of such final action.

20 (3) The availability of judicial review established in

21 this subsection shall not be construed to limit the oper22 ations of rights established under subsection (e).

23 (4) The court shall hear any petition or complaint

24 filed under this subsection solely on the record made be25 fore the Secretary. The court may affirm, vacate, or mod-
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1 ify any order or decision or may remand the proceedings

2 to the Secretary for such further action as it may direct.

3 (5) The commencement of a proceeding under this

4 section shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court,

5 operate as a stay of the action, order or decision of the

6 Secretary.

7 (h) PROCEEDINGS.—Whenever a proceeding occurs

8 under subsection (a), (f), or (g), or under section 201, or

9 under section 204(g), at the request of any person, a sum

10 equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses

11 (including attorney fees) as determined by the Secretary

12 or the court to have been reasonably incurred by such per13 son for or in connection with participation in such pro14 ceedings, including any judicial review of the proceeding,

15 may be assessed against either party as the court, result16 ing from judicial review or the Secretary, resulting from

17 administrative proceedings, deems proper.

18 SEC. 203. STATE LAW AND REGULATION.

19 (a) STATE LAW.—(1) Any reclamation standard or

20 requirement in State law or regulation that meets or ex21 ceeds the requirements of subsections (m) and (n) of sec22 tion 201 shall not be construed to be inconsistent with

23 any such standard.

24 (2) Any bonding standard or requirement in State

25 law or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements
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1 of section 201(1) shall not be construed to be inconsistent

2 with such requirements.

3 (3) Any inspection standard or requirement in State

4 law or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements

5 of section 202 shall not be construed to be inconsistent

6 with such requirements.

7 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATE REQUIRE8 MENTS.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as af9 fecting any air or water quality standard or requirement

10 of any State law or regulation which may be applicable

11 to mineral activities on lands subject to this Act.

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

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

14 under applicable law, such person’s interest in water re15 sources affected by mineral activities on lands subject to

16 this Act.

17 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) Any State

18 may enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary

19 for the purposes of the Secretary applying such standards

20 and requirements referred to in subsection (a) and sub21 section (b) to mineral activities or reclamation on lands

22 subject to this Act.

23 (2) In such instances where the proposed mineral ac24 tivities would affect lands not subject to this Act in addi25 tion to lands subject to this Act, in order to approve a
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1 plan of operations the Secretary shall enter into a coopera2 tive agreement with the State that sets forth a common

3 regulatory framework consistent with the surface manage4 ment requirements of this Act for the purposes of such

5 plan of operations.

6 (3) The Secretary shall not enter into a cooperative

7 agreement with any State under this section until after

8 notice in the Federal Register and opportunity for public

9 comment.

10 (d) PRIOR AGREEMENTS.—Any cooperative agree11 ment or such other understanding between the Secretary

12 and any State, or political subdivision thereof, relating to

13 the surface management of mineral activities on lands

14 subject to this Act that was in existence on the date of

15 enactment of this Act may only continue in force until the

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

17 conditions of any such agreement or understanding shall

18 only be applicable to plans of operations approved by the

19 Secretary prior to the effective date of this Act except as

20 provided under section 405.

21 (e) DELEGATION.—The Secretary shall not delegate

22 to any State, or political subdivision thereof, the Sec23 retary’s authorities, duties and obligations under this Act,

24 including with respect to any cooperative agreements en25 tered into under this section.
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1 SEC. 204. UNSUITABILITY REVIEW.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior in

3 preparing land use plans under the Federal Land Policy

4 and Management Act of 1976, and the Secretary of Agri5 culture in preparing land use plans under the Forest and

6 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as

7 amended by the National Forest Management Act of

8 1976, shall each conduct a review of lands that are subject

9 to this Act in order to determine whether there are any

10 areas which are unsuitable for all or certain types of min11 eral activities pursuant to the standards set forth under

12 subsection (e). In the event such a determination is made,

13 the review shall be included in the applicable land use

14 plan.

15 (b) SPECIFIC AREAS.—Not later than ninety days

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

17 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, on the basis

18 of any information available, shall each publish a notice

19 in the Federal Register identifying and listing the lands

20 subject to this Act which are or may be determined to

21 be unsuitable for all or certain types of mineral activities

22 according to the standards set forth in subsection (e).

23 After opportunity for public comment and proposals for

24 modifications to such listing, but not later than the effec25 tive date of this Act, each Secretary shall begin to review

26 the lands identified pursuant to this subsection to deter-
65

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1 mine whether such lands are unsuitable for all or certain

2 types of mineral activities according to the standards set

3 forth in subsection (e).

4 (c) LAND USE PLANS.—(1) At such time as the Sec5 retary revises or amends a land use plan pursuant to the

6 provisions of law other than this Act, the Secretary shall

7 identify lands determined to be unsuitable for all or cer8 tain types of mineral activities according to the standards

9 set forth in subsection (e). The Secretary shall incorporate

10 such determinations in the applicable land use plans.

11 (2) If lands covered by a proposed plan of operations

12 have not been reviewed pursuant to this section at the time

13 of submission of a plan of operations, the Secretary shall,

14 prior to the consideration of the proposed plan of oper15 ations, review the areas that would be affected by the pro16 posed mineral activities to determine whether the area is

17 unsuitable for all or certain types of mineral activities ac18 cording to the standards set forth in subsection (e). The

19 Secretary shall use such review in the next revision or

20 amendment to the applicable land use plan to the extent

21 necessary to reflect the unsuitability of such lands for all

22 or certain types of mineral activities according to the

23 standards set forth in subsection (e).

24 (3) This section does not require land use plans to

25 be amended until such plans are adopted, revised, or
66

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1 amended pursuant to provisions of law other than this

2 Act.

3 (d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—(1) If the Sec4 retary determines an area to be unsuitable under this sec5 tion for all or certain types of mineral activities, he shall

6 do one of the following:

7 (A) In any instance where a determination is

8 made that an area is unsuitable for all types of min9 eral activities, the Secretary of the Interior, with the

10 consent of the Secretary of Agriculture for lands

11 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agri12 culture, shall withdraw such area pursuant to sec13 tion 204 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage14 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714).

15 (B) In any instance where a determination is

16 made that an area is unsuitable for certain types of

17 mineral activities, the Secretary shall take appro18 priate steps to limit or prohibit such types of min19 eral activities.

20 (2) Nothing in this section may be construed as af21 fecting lands where mineral activities under approved

22 plans of operations or under notice (as provided for in the

23 regulations of the Secretary of the Interior in effect prior

24 to the effective date of this Act relating to operations that

25 cause a cumulative disturbance of five acres or less) were
67

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1 being conducted on the effective date of this Act, except

2 as provided under subsection (g).

3 (3) Nothing in this section may be construed as pro4 hibiting mineral activities not subject to paragraph (2)

5 where substantial legal and financial commitments in such

6 mineral activities were in existence on the effective date

7 of this Act, but nothing in this section may be construed

8 as limiting any existing authority of the Secretary to regu9 late such activities.

10 (4) Any unsuitability determination under this sec11 tion shall not prevent the types of mineral activities re12 ferred to in section 201(b)(2)(A), but nothing in this sec13 tion shall be construed as authorizing such activities in

14 areas withdrawn pursuant to section 204 of the Federal

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

16 1714).

17 (e) REVIEW STANDARDS.—(1) An area containing

18 lands that are subject to this Act shall be determined to

19 be unsuitable for all or certain types of mineral activities

20 if the Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity

21 for public comment, that reclamation pursuant to the

22 standards set forth in subsections (m) and (n) of section

23 201 would not be technologically and economically feasible

24 for any such mineral activities in such area and where—
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1 (A) such mineral activities would substantially

2 impair water quality or supplies within the area sub3 ject to the mining plan or adjacent lands, such as

4 impacts on aquifers and aquifer recharge areas;

5 (B) such mineral activities would occur on

6 areas of unstable geology that could if undertaken

7 substantially endanger life and property;

8 (C) such mineral activities would adversely af9 fect publicly-owned places which are listed on or are

10 eligible for listing on the National Register of His11 toric Places, unless the Secretary and the State ap12 prove all or certain mineral activities, in which case

13 the area shall not be determined to be unsuitable for

14 such approved mineral activities;

15 (D) such mineral activities would cause loss of

16 or damage to riparian areas;

17 (E) such mineral activities would impair the

18 productivity of the land subject to such mineral ac19 tivities;

20 (F) such mineral activities would adversely af21 fect candidate species for threatened and endangered

22 species status; or

23 (G) such mineral activities would adversely af24 fect lands designated as National Wildlife Refuges.
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1 (2) An area may be determined to be unsuitable for

2 all or certain mineral activities if the Secretary, after no3 tice and opportunity for public comment, determines that

4 reclamation pursuant to the standards set forth in sub5 sections (m) and (n) of section 201 would not be techno6 logically and economically feasible for any such mineral

7 activities in such area and where—

8 (A) such mineral activities could result in sig9 nificant damage to important historic, cultural, sci10 entific, and aesthetic values or to natural systems;

11 (B) such mineral activities could adversely af12 fect lands of outstanding aesthetic qualities and sce13 nic Federal lands designated as Class I under sec14 tion 162 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 and

15 following);

16 (C) such mineral activities could adversely af17 fect lands which are high priority habitat for migra18 tory bird species or other important fish and wildlife

19 species as determined by the Secretary in consulta20 tion with the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Serv21 ice and the appropriate agency head for the State in

22 which the lands are located;

23 (D) such mineral activities could adversely af24 fect lands which include wetlands if mineral activi25 ties would result in loss of wetland values;
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1 (E) such mineral activities could adversely af2 fect National Conservation System Units; or

3 (F) such mineral activities could adversely af4 fect lands containing other resource values as the

5 Secretary may consider.

6 (f) WITHDRAWAL REVIEW.—In conjunction with con7 ducting an unsuitability review under this section, the Sec8 retary shall review all administrative withdrawals of land

9 from the location of mining claims to determine whether

10 the revocation or modification of such withdrawal for the

11 purpose of allowing such lands to be opened to the location

12 of mining claims under this Act would be appropriate as

13 a result of any of the following:

14 (1) The imposition of any conditions referred to

15 in subsection (d)(1)(B).

16 (2) The surface management requirements of

17 section 201.

18 (3) The limitation of section 107.

19 (g) CITIZEN PETITION.—In any instance where a

20 land use plan has not been amended or completed to re21 flect the review referred to in subsection (a), any person

22 having an interest that may be adversely affected by po23 tential mineral activities on lands subject to this Act cov24 ered by such plan shall have the right to petition the Sec25 retary to determine such lands to be unsuitable for all or
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1 certain types of mineral activities. Such petition shall con2 tain allegations of fact with respect to potential mineral

3 activities and with respect to the unsuitability of such

4 lands for all or certain mineral activities according to the

5 standards set forth in subsection (e) with supporting evi6 dence that would tend to establish the allegations.

7 (2) Petitions received prior to the date of the submis8 sion of a proposed plan of operations under this Act, shall

9 stay consideration of the proposed plan of operations

10 pending review of the petition.

11 (3) Within four months after receipt of a petition to

12 determine lands to be unsuitable for all or certain types

13 of mining in areas where a land use plan has not been

14 amended or completed to reflect the review referred to in

15 subsection (a), the Secretary shall hold a public hearing

16 on the petition in the locality of the area in question. After

17 a petition has been filed and prior to the public hearing,

18 any person may support or oppose the determination

19 sought by the petition by filing written allegations of facts

20 and supporting evidence.

21 (4) Within sixty days after a public hearing held pur22 suant to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall issue a written

23 decision regarding the petition which shall state the rea24 sons for granting or denying the requested determination.
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1 (5) Reviews conducted pursuant to this subsection

2 shall be consistent with paragraphs (3) and (4) of sub3 section (d) and with subsection (e).

4 SEC. 205. LANDS NOT OPEN TO LOCATION.

5 (a) LANDS.—Subject to valid existing rights, each of

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

7 claims under this Act on the date of enactment of this

8 Act:

9 (1) Lands recommended for wilderness designa10 tion by the agency managing the surface, pending a

11 final determination by the Congress of the status of

12 such lands.

13 (2) Lands being managed by the Bureau of

14 Land Management as wilderness study areas on the

15 date of enactment of this Act except where the loca16 tion of mining claims is specifically allowed to con17 tinue by the statute designating the study area,

18 pending a final determination by the Congress of the

19 status of such lands.

20 (3) Lands within Wild and Scenic River System

21 and lands under study for inclusion in such system,

22 pending a final determination by the Congress of the

23 status of such lands.
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1 (4) Lands identified by the Bureau of Land

2 Management as Areas of Critical Environmental

3 Concern.

4 (5) Lands identified by the Secretary of Agri5 culture as Research Natural Areas.

6 (6) Lands designated by the Fish and Wildlife

7 Service as critical habitat for threatened or endan8 gered species.

9 (7) Lands administered by the Fish and Wild10 life Service.

11 (8) Lands which the Secretary shall designate

12 for withdrawal under authority of other law, includ13 ing lands which the Secretary of Agriculture may

14 propose for withdrawal by the Secretary of the Inte15 rior under authority of other law.

16 (b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

17 ‘‘valid existing rights’’ means that a mining claim located

18 on lands referred to in subsection (a) was properly located

19 and maintained under the general mining laws prior to

20 the date of enactment of this Act, and was supported by

21 a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within the mean22 ing of the general mining laws on the date of enactment

23 of this Act, and that such claim continues to be valid.
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1 TITLE III—ABANDONED MINERALS MINE

2 RECLAMATION FUND

3 SEC. 301. ABANDONED MINERALS MINE RECLAMATION

4 FUND.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established on

6 the books of the Treasury of the United States a trust

7 fund to be known as the Abandoned Minerals Mine Rec8 lamation Fund (hereinafter in this title referred to as the

9 ‘‘Fund’’). The Fund shall be administered by the Sec10 retary of the Interior acting through the Director, Bureau

11 of Land Management.

12 (2) The Secretary of the Interior shall notify the Sec13 retary of the Treasury as to what portion of the Fund

14 is not, in his judgment, required to meet current with15 drawals. The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such

16 portion of the Fund in public debt securities with matu17 rities suitable for the needs of such Fund and bearing in18 terest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treas19 ury, taking into consideration current market yields on

20 outstanding marketplace obligations of the United States

21 of comparable maturities. The income on such investments

22 shall be credited to, and form a part of, the Fund.

23 (b) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts shall be cred24 ited to the Fund for the purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) All moneys received from the collection of

2 rental fees under section 104 of this Act.

3 (2) Amounts collected pursuant to sections 105

4 and 202(d) of this Act.

5 (3) All moneys received from the disposal of

6 mineral materials pursuant to section 3 of the Mate7 rials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 603) to the extent such

8 moneys are not specifically dedicated to other pur9 poses under other authority of law.

10 (4) Donations by persons, corporations, associa11 tions, and foundations for the purposes of this title.

12 (5) Amounts referred to in section 410(e)(1) of

13 this Act.

14 SEC. 302. USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to use

16 moneys in the Fund for the reclamation and restoration

17 of land and water resources adversely affected by past

18 mineral (other than coal and fluid minerals) and mineral

19 material mining, including but not limited to, any of the

20 following:

21 (1) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

22 surface mined areas.

23 (2) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

24 milling and processing areas.
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1 (3) Sealing, filling, and grading abandoned deep

2 mine entries.

3 (4) Planting of land adversely affected by past

4 mining to prevent erosion and sedimentation.

5 (5) Prevention, abatement, treatment and con6 trol of water pollution created by abandoned mine

7 drainage.

8 (6) Control of surface subsidence due to aban9 doned deep mines.

10 (7) Such expenses as may be necessary to ac11 complish the purposes of this title.

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

13 Fund shall reflect the following priorities in the order

14 stated:

15 (1) The protection of public health, safety, gen16 eral welfare and property from extreme danger from

17 the adverse effects of past minerals and mineral ma18 terials mining practices.

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

20 general welfare from the adverse effects of past min21 erals and mineral materials mining practices.

22 (3) The restoration of land and water resources

23 previously degraded by the adverse effects of past

24 minerals and mineral materials mining practices.
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1 SEC. 303. ELIGIBLE AREAS.

2 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Lands and waters eligible for rec3 lamation expenditures under this Act shall be those within

4 the boundaries of States that have lands subject to this

5 Act and the Materials Act of 1947—

6 (1) which were mined or processed for minerals

7 and mineral materials or which were affected by

8 such mining or processing, and abandoned or left in

9 an inadequate reclamation status prior to the date

10 of enactment of this title;

11 (2) for which the Secretary makes a determina12 tion that there is no continuing reclamation respon13 sibility under State or Federal laws; and

14 (3) for which it can be established that such

15 lands do not contain minerals which could economi16 cally be extracted through the reprocessing or

17 remining of such lands, unless such consideration

18 are in conflict with the priorities set forth under

19 paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 302(b).

20 In determining the eligibility under this subsection of Fed21 eral lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the Forest

22 Service or Bureau of Land Management in lieu of the date

23 referred to in paragraph (1), the applicable date shall be

24 August 28, 1974, and November 26, 1980, respectively.

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

26 Sites and areas designated for remedial action pursuant
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1 to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of

2 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 and following) or which have been

3 listed for remedial action pursuant to the Comprehensive

4 Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

5 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 and following) shall not be eligi6 ble for expenditures from the Fund under this title.

7 SEC. 304. FUND ALLOCATION AND EXPENDITURES.

8 (a) ALLOCATIONS.—(1) Moneys available for expend9 iture from the Fund shall be allocated on an annual basis

10 by the Secretary in the form of grants to eligible States,

11 or in the form of expenditures under subsection (b), to

12 accomplish the purposes of this title.

13 (2) The Secretary shall distribute moneys from the

14 Fund based on the greatest need for such moneys pursu15 ant to the priorities stated in section 302(b).

16 (b) DIRECT FEDERAL EXPENDITURES.—Where a

17 State is not eligible, or in instances where the Secretary

18 determines that the purposes of this title may best be ac19 complished otherwise, moneys available from the Fund

20 may be expended directly by the Director, Bureau of Land

21 Management. The Director may also make such money

22 available through grants made to the Chief of the United

23 States Forest Service, the Director of the National Park

24 Service, and any public entity that volunteers to develop

25 and implement, and that has the ability to carry out, all
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1 or a significant portion of a reclamation program, or

2 through cooperative agreements between eligible States

3 and the entities referred to in this subsection.

4 SEC. 305. STATE RECLAMATION PROGRAMS.

5 (a) ELIGIBLE STATES.—For the purposes of section

6 304(a), ‘‘eligible States’’ are those States for which the

7 Secretary determines meets each of the following require8 ments:

9 (1) Within the State there are mined lands, wa10 ters, and facilities eligible for reclamation pursuant

11 to section 303.

12 (2) The State has developed an inventory of

13 such areas following the priorities established under

14 section 302(b).

15 (3) The State has established, and the Sec16 retary has approved, a State abandoned minerals

17 and mineral materials mine reclamation program for

18 the purpose of receiving and administering grants

19 under this subtitle.

20 (b) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor the

21 expenditure of State grants to ensure they are being uti22 lized to accomplish the purposes of this title.

23 (c) STATE PROGRAMS.—(1) The Secretary shall ap24 prove any State abandoned minerals mine reclamation

25 program submitted to the Secretary by a State under this
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1 title if the Secretary finds that the State has the ability

2 and necessary State legislation to implement such pro3 gram and that the program complies with the provisions

4 of this title and the regulations of the Secretary under

5 this title.

6 (2) No State, or a contractor for such State engaged

7 in approved reclamation work under this title, or a public

8 entity referred to in section 304(b), shall be liable under

9 any provision of Federal law for any costs or damages as

10 a result of action taken or omitted in the course of carry11 ing out an approved State abandoned minerals mine rec12 lamation program under this section. This paragraph shall

13 not preclude liability for costs or damages as a result of

14 gross negligence or intentional misconduct by the State.

15 For purposes of the proceeding sentence, reckless, willful,

16 or wanton misconduct shall constitute gross negligence.

17 SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 Amounts credited to the Fund are authorized to be

19 appropriated for the purpose of this title without fiscal

20 year limitation.

21 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND

22 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

23 SEC. 401. POLICY FUNCTIONS.

24 (a) MINERALS POLICY.—The Mining and Minerals

25 Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a) is amended by adding
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1 at the end thereof the following: ‘‘It shall also be the re2 sponsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out

3 the policy provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this

4 Act.’’.

5 (b) MINERAL DATA.—Section 5(e)(3) of the National

6 Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development

7 Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by inserting

8 before the period the following: ‘‘, except that for National

9 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture shall

10 promptly initiate actions to improve the availability and

11 analysis of mineral data in Federal land use decisionmak12 ing’’.

13 SEC. 402. USER FEES.

14 The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture are

15 authorized to establish and collect from persons subject

16 to the requirements of this Act such user fees as may be

17 necessary to reimburse the United States for a portion of

18 the expenses incurred in administering such requirements.

19 Fees may be assessed and collected under this section only

20 in such matter as may reasonably be expected to result

21 in an aggregate amount of the fees collected during any

22 fiscal year which does not exceed the aggregate amount

23 of administrative expenses referred to in this section.
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1 SEC. 403. REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATES.

2 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect

3 one year after the date of enactment of this Act, except

4 as otherwise provided in this Act.

5 (b) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary of the Interior

6 shall issue final regulations to implement title I, such re7 quirements of sections 402 and 409 as may be applicable

8 to such title, title III and sections 404, 406, and 407 not

9 later than the effective date of this Act specified in sub10 section (a).

11 (2) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

12 of Agriculture shall each issue final regulations to imple13 ment their respective responsibilities under title II, such

14 requirements of section 402 as may be applicable to such

15 title, and sections 405 and 409 not later than the effective

16 date of this Act referred to in subsection (a). The Sec17 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

18 shall coordinate the promulgation of such regulations.

19 (3) Failure to promulgate the regulations specified in

20 this subsection by the effective date of this Act by reason

21 of any appeal or judicial review shall not delay the effec22 tive date of this Act as specified in subsection (a).

23 (c) NOTICE.—Within sixty days after the publication

24 of regulations referred to in subsection (b)(1), the Sec25 retary of the Interior shall give notice to holders of mining

26 claims and mill sites maintained under the general mining
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1 laws as to the requirements of section 404. Procedures

2 for providing such notice shall be established as part of

3 the regulations.

4 (d) NEW MINING CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any

5 other provision of law, after the effective date of this Act,

6 a mining claim for a locatable mineral on lands subject

7 to this Act—

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

9 Act,

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

11 Act, and

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

13 Act.

14 SEC. 404. TRANSITIONAL RULES; MINING CLAIMS AND MILL

15 SITES.

16 (a) CLAIMS UNDER THE GENERAL MINING LAWS.—

17 (1) CONVERTED MINING CLAIMS.—Nothwithstanding any

18 other provision of law, within the three-year period after

19 the effective date of this Act, the holder of any unpatented

20 mining claim which was located under the general mining

21 laws before the effective date of this Act may elect to con22 vert the claim under this paragraph by filing an election

23 to do so with the Secretary of the Interior that references

24 the Bureau of Land Management serial number of that

25 claim in the office designated by such Secretary. The pro-
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1 visions of title I (other than subsections (a), (b), (c),

2 (d)(1), (f), and (h) of section 103) shall apply to any such

3 claim, effective upon the making of such election, and the

4 filing of such election shall constitute notice to the Sec5 retary for purposes of section 103(d)(2). Once a mining

6 claim has been converted, there shall be no distinction

7 made as to whether such claim was originally located as

8 a lode or placer claim.

9 (2) UNCONVERTED MINING CLAIMS.—Notwithstand10 ing any other provision of law, any claim referred to in

11 paragraph (1) that has not converted within the three-year

12 period referred to in such paragraph shall be deemed for13 feited and declared null and void.

14 (3) CONVERTED MILL SITE CLAIMS.—

15 Nothwithstanding any other provision of law, within the

16 three-year period after the effective date of this Act, the

17 holder of any unpatented mill site which was located under

18 the general mining laws before the effective date of this

19 Act may elect to convert the site under this paragraph

20 by filing an election to do so with the Secretary of the

21 Interior that references the Bureau of Land Management

22 serial number of that mill site in the office designated by

23 such Secretary. The provisions of title I (other than sub24 sections (a), (b), (c), (d)(1), and (f) of section 103) shall

25 apply to any such claim, effective upon the making of such
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1 election, and the filing of such election shall constitute no2 tice to the Secretary for purposes of section 103(d)(2).

3 A mill site converted under this paragraph shall be deemed

4 a mining claim under this Act.

5 (4) UNCONVERTED MILL SITE CLAIMS.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of law, any mill site referred

7 to in paragraph (3) that has not converted within the

8 three-year period referred to in such paragraph shall be

9 deemed forfeited and declared null and void.

10 (5) TUNNEL SITES.—Any tunnel site located under

11 the general mining laws on or before the effective date

12 of this Act shall not be recognized as valid unless con13 verted pursuant to paragraph (1). No tunnel sites may

14 be located under the general mining laws after the effec15 tive date of this Act.

16 (b) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.—For

17 mining claims and mill sites converted under this section

18 each of the following shall apply:

19 (1) For the purposes of complying with the re20 quirements of section 103(d)(2), whenever the Sec21 retary receives an election under paragraphs (1) or

22 (3) of subsection (a), as the case may be, he shall

23 provide the certificate referenced in section

24 103(d)(2) to the holder of the mining claim or mill

25 site.
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1 (2) The first diligence year applicable to mining

2 claims and mill sites converted under this section

3 shall commence on the first day of the first month

4 following the date the holder of such claim or mill

5 site files an election to convert with the Secretary

6 under paragraphs (1) or (3) of subsection (a), as the

7 case may be, and subsequent diligence years shall

8 commence on the first day of that month each year

9 thereafter.

10 (3) For the purposes of determining the bound11 aries of a mining claim to which the rental require12 ments of section 104 apply for a mining claim or

13 mill site converted under this section, the rental fee

14 shall be paid on the basis of land within the bound15 aries of the converted mining claim or mill site as

16 described in the notice of location or certificate of lo17 cation filed under section 314 of the Federal Land

18 Policy and Management Act of 1976.

19 (c) PRECONVERSION.—Any unpatented mining claim

20 or mill site located under the general mining laws shall

21 be deemed to be a prior claim for the purposes of section

22 103(e) during the three-year period referred to in sub23 sections (a)(1) or (a)(3).

24 (d) POSTCONVERSION.—Any unpatented mining

25 claim or mill site located under the general mining laws
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1 shall be deemed to be a prior claim for the purposes of

2 section 103(e) if converted pursuant to subsections (a)(1)

3 or (a)(3).

4 (e) DISPOSITION OF LAND.—In the event a mining

5 claim is located under this Act for lands encumbered by

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

7 mining laws, such lands shall become part of the claim

8 located under this Act if the claim or mill site located

9 under the general mining laws is declared null and void

10 under this section or otherwise becomes null and void

11 thereafter.

12 (f) PRE-ACT CONFLICTS.—(1) Any conflicts in exist13 ence on or before the date of enactment of this Act be14 tween holders of mining claims located under the general

15 mining laws may be resolved in accordance with applicable

16 laws governing such conflicts in effect on the date of en17 actment of this Act in a court with proper jurisdiction.

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

19 under section 103(g) between the holders of a mining

20 claim located under this Act and a mining claim or mill

21 located under the general mining laws arising either before

22 or after the conversion of any such claim or site under

23 this section shall be resolved in a court with proper juris24 diction.
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1 SEC. 405. TRANSITIONAL RULES; SURFACE MANAGEMENT

2 REQUIREMENTS.

3 (a) NEW CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, any mining claim for a locatable mineral on

5 lands subject to this Act located after the date of enact6 ment of this Act, but prior to the effective date of this

7 Act, shall be subject to such surface management require8 ments as may be applicable to the mining claim in effect

9 prior to the date of enactment of this Act until the effec10 tive date of this Act, at which time such claim shall be

11 subject to the requirements of title II.

12 (b) PREEXISTING CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any

13 other provision of law, any unpatented mining claim or

14 mill site located under the general mining laws shall be

15 subject to the requirements of title II as follows:

16 (1) In the event a plan of operations had not

17 been approved for mineral activities on any such

18 claim or site prior to the effective date of this Act,

19 the claim or site shall be subject to the requirements

20 of title II upon the effective date of this Act.

21 (2) In the event a plan of operations had been

22 approved for mineral activities on any such claim or

23 site prior to the effective date of this Act, such plan

24 of operations shall continue in force for a period of

25 five years after the effective date of this Act, after

26 which time the requirements of title II shall apply,
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1 except as provided under subsection (c), subject to

2 the limitations of section 204(d)(2). In order to meet

3 the requirements of section 201, the person conduct4 ing mineral activities under such plan of operations

5 shall apply for a modification under section 201(i).

6 During such five-year period the provisions of sec7 tion 202 shall apply on the basis of the surface man8 agement requirements applicable to such plans of

9 operations prior to the effective date of this Act.

10 (3) In the event a notice had been filed with the

11 authorized officer in the applicable district office of

12 the Bureau of Land Management (as provided for in

13 the regulations of the Secretary of the Interior in ef14 fect prior to the date of enactment of this Act relat15 ing to operations that cause a cumulative disturb16 ance of five acres or less) prior to the date of enact17 ment of this Act, mineral activities may continue

18 under such notice for a period of two years after the

19 effective date of this Act, after which time the re20 quirements of title II shall apply, except as provided

21 under subsection (c), subject to the limitations of

22 section 204(d)(2). In order to meet the requirements

23 of section 201, the person conducting mineral activi24 ties under such notice must apply for a modification

25 under section 201(i) unless such mineral activities
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1 are conducted pursuant to section 201(b)(2). During

2 such two-year period the provisions of section 202

3 shall apply on the basis of the surface management

4 requirements applicable to such notices prior to the

5 effective date of this Act.

6 (4) In the event a notice (as described in para7 graph (3)) had not been filed with the authorized of8 ficer in the applicable district office of the Bureau

9 of Land Management prior to the date of enactment

10 of this Act, the claim or site shall be subject to the

11 surface management requirements in effect prior to

12 the effective date of this Act at which time such

13 claims shall be subject to the requirements of title

14 II.

15 SEC. 406. BASIS FOR CONTEST.

16 (a) DISCOVERY.—After the effective date of this Act,

17 a mining claim may not be contested or challenged on the

18 basis of discovery under the general mining laws, except

19 as follows:

20 (1) Any claim located on or before the effective

21 date of this Act may be contested by the United

22 States on the basis of discovery under the general

23 mining laws as in effect prior to the effective date

24 of this Act if such claim is located within units of

25 the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge
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1 System, National Wilderness Preservation System,

2 Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails Sys3 tem, or National Recreation Areas designated by an

4 Act of Congress, or within an area referred to in

5 section 205 pending a final determination referenced

6 in such section.

7 (2) Any mining claim located on or before the

8 effective date of this Act may be contested by the

9 United States on the basis of discovery under the

10 general mining laws as in effect prior to the effective

11 date of this Act if such claim was located for a min12 eral material that purportedly has a property giving

13 it distinct and special value within the meaning of

14 section 3(a) of the Act of July 23, 1955, or if such

15 claim was located for a mineral that was not

16 locatable under the general mining laws on or before

17 the effective date of this Act.

18 (b) The Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of

19 Agriculture, as the case may be, may initiate contest pro20 ceedings against those mining claims referred to in sub21 section (a) at any time, except that nothing in this section

22 may be construed as requiring the Secretary to inquire

23 into or contest the validity of a mining claim for the pur24 pose of the conversion referred to in section 404.
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1 (c) Nothing in this section may be construed as limit2 ing any contest proceedings initiated by the United States

3 under this section on issues other than discovery.

4 SEC. 407. SAVINGS CLAUSE CLAIMS.

5 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ex6 cept as provided under subsection (b), an unpatented min7 ing claim referred to in section 37 of the Mineral Leasing

8 Act (30 U.S.C. 193) may not be converted under section

9 404 until the Secretary of the Interior determines the

10 claim was valid on the date of enactment of the Mineral

11 Leasing Act and has been maintained in compliance with

12 the general mining laws.

13 (b) Immediately after the date of enactment of this

14 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall initiate contest pro15 ceedings challenging the validity of all unpatented claims

16 referred to in subsection (a), including those claims for

17 which a patent application has not been filed. If a claim

18 is determined to be invalid, the Secretary shall promptly

19 declare the claim to be null and void.

20 (c) No claim referred to in subsection (a) shall be

21 declared null and void under section 404 during the period

22 such claim is subject to a proceeding under subsection (b).

23 If, as a result of such proceeding, a claim is determined

24 valid, the holder of such claim may comply with the re25 quirements of section 404(a)(1), except that the three-year
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1 period referred to in such section shall commence with the

2 date of the completion of the contest proceeding.

3 SEC. 408. SEVERABILITY.

4 If any provision of this Act or the applicability there5 of to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the re6 mainder of this Act and the application of such provision

7 to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

8 thereby.

9 SEC. 409. PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.

10 The Secretary shall adjust all rental rates, penalty

11 amounts, and other dollar amounts established in this Act

12 for changes in the purchasing power of the dollar every

13 ten years following the date of enactment of this Act, em14 ploying the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers

15 published by the Department of Labor as the basis for

16 adjustment, and rounding according to the adjustment

17 process of conditions of the Federal Civil Penalties Infla18 tion Adjustment Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 890).

19 SEC. 410. ROYALTY.

20 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Production of

21 locatable minerals (including associated minerals) from

22 any mining claim located or converted under this Act, or

23 mineral concentrates derived from locatable minerals pro24 duced from any mining claim located or converted under

25 this Act, as the case may be, shall be subject to a royalty
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1 of not less than 8 percent of the gross income from the

2 production of such locatable minerals or concentrates, as

3 the case may be.

4 (b) ROYALTY PAYMENTS.—Royalty payments shall

5 be made to the United States not later than thirty days

6 after the end of the month in which the product is pro7 duced and placed in its first marketable condition, consist8 ent with prevailing practices in the industry.

9 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—All persons hold10 ing claims under this Act shall be required to provide such

11 information as determined necessary by the Secretary to

12 ensure compliance with this section, including, but not

13 limited to, quarterly reports, records, documents, and

14 other data. Such reports may also include, but not be lim15 ited to, pertinent technical and financial data relating to

16 the quantity, quality, and amount of all minerals extracted

17 from the mining claim.

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

19 such audits of all persons holding claims under this Act

20 as he deems necessary for the purposes of ensuring com21 pliance with the requirements of this section.

22 (e) DISPOSITION OF RECEIPTS.—All receipts from

23 royalties collected pursuant to this section shall be distrib24 uted as follows:
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1 (1) 50 percent shall be deposited into the Fund

2 referred to in title III.

3 (2) 25 percent collected in any State shall be

4 paid to the State in the same manner as are pay5 ments to States under section 35 of the Mineral

6 Leasing Act.

7 (3) 25 percent shall be deposited into the

8 Treasury of the United States.

9 (f) COMPLIANCE.—Any person holding claims under

10 this Act who knowingly or willfully prepares, maintains,

11 or submits false, inaccurate, or misleading information re12 quired by this section, or fails or refuses to submit such

13 information, shall be subject to the enforcement provisions

14 of section 202 of this Act and forfeiture of the claim.

15 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate

16 regulations to establish gross income for royalty purposes

17 under subsection (a) and to ensure compliance with this

18 section.

19 (h) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the Con20 gress an annual report on the implementation of this sec21 tion. The information to be included in the report shall

22 include, but not be limited to, aggregate and State-by23 State production data, and projections of mid-term and

24 long-term hard rock mineral production and trends on

25 public lands.
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1 SEC. 411. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

2 (a) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF MINING LAWS.—Noth3 ing in this Act shall be construed as repealing or modify4 ing any Federal law, regulation, order or land use plan,

5 in effect prior to the effective date of this Act that pro6 hibits or restricts the application of the general mining

7 laws, including such laws that provide for special manage8 ment criteria for operations under the general mining laws

9 as in effect prior to the effective date of this Act, to the

10 extent such laws provide environmental protection greater

11 than required under this title.

12 (b) OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act

13 shall be construed as superseding, modifying, amending

14 or repealing any provision of Federal law not expressly

15 superseded, modified, amended or repealed by this Act, in16 cluding but not necessarily limited to, all of the following

17 laws:

18 (1) The Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 and

19 following).

20 (2) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 and fol21 lowing).

22 (3) Title IX of the Public Health Service Act

23 (the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f and

24 following)).

25 (4) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

26 U.S.C. 1531 and following).
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1 (5) The National Environmental Policy Act of

2 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 and following).

3 (6) The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.

4 2011 and following).

5 (7) The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Con6 trol Act (42 U.S.C. 7901 to 7942).

7 (8) The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of

8 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 and following).

9 (9) The Solid Waste Disposal Act 942 U.S.C.

10 6901 and following).

11 (10) The Comprehensive Environmental Re12 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

13 U.S.C. 9601 and following).

14 (11) The Act commonly known as the False

15 Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729 to 3731).

16 (12) The National Historic Preservation Act

17 (16 U.S.C. 470 and following).

18 (13) The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C.

19 706 and following).

20 (14) The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re21 sources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the

22 National Forest Management Act of 1976.

23 (c) PROTECTION OF CONSERVATION AREAS.—In

24 order to protect the resources and values of Denali Na25 tional Park and Preserve, and all other National Con-
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1 servation System units, the Secretary of the Interior or

2 other appropriate Secretary shall utilize authority under

3 this Act and other applicable law to the fullest extent nec4 essary to prevent mineral activities within the boundaries

5 of such units that could have an adverse impact on the

6 resources of values of such units.

7 SEC. 412. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC RECORDS.

8 Copies of records, reports, inspection materials or in9 formation obtained by the Secretary under this Act shall

10 be made immediately available to the public, consistent

11 with section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in central

12 and sufficient locations in the county, multicounty, and

13 State area of mineral activity or reclamation so that such

14 items are conveniently available to residents in the area

15 proposed or approved for mineral activities or reclamation.

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