II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1833 

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain 

land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. BENNET, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. 

MARKEY) 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 land, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2017’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL DEPOSITS 

Sec. 101. Limitation on patents. 


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Sec. 102. Fees. 

Sec. 103. Limitations. 

TITLE II—ROYALTIES 

Sec. 201. Royalty. 

Sec. 202. Royalty relief. 

Sec. 203. Enforcement. 

Sec. 204. Review. 

TITLE III—MINERAL ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 301. Permits. 

Sec. 302. Exploration permits. 

Sec. 303. Mining permits. 

Sec. 304. Financial assurances. 

Sec. 305. Transfer, assignment, or sale of right. 

Sec. 306. Operation and reclamation. 

Sec. 307. Land open to location. 

Sec. 308. State law. 

Sec. 309. Inspection and monitoring. 

TITLE IV—HARDROCK MINERALS RECLAMATION FUND 

Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund. 

Sec. 402. Use and objectives of the Fund. 

Sec. 403. Abandoned mine land reclamation fee. 

TITLE V—TRANSITION RULES, ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS, 

AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Transition rules. 

Sec. 502. Enforcement. 

Sec. 503. Judicial review. 

Sec. 504. Uncommon varieties. 

Sec. 505. Review of uranium development on Federal land. 

Sec. 506. Effect. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE STATE.—The 

4 term ‘‘abandoned hardrock mine State’’ means each 

5 of the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colo6 rado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North 

7 Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, 

8 and Wyoming. 


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1 (2) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 

2 any person that applies for— 

3 (A) a permit under this Act; or 

4 (B) a modification to, or a renewal of, a 

5 permit issued under this Act. 

6 (3) BENEFICIATION.—The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) the crushing and grinding of locatable 

9 mineral ore; and 

10 (B) any processes that are employed to 

11 free the mineral from other constituents, includ12 ing physical and chemical separation tech13 niques. 

14 (4) CASUAL USE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 

16 means mineral activities that ordinarily result 

17 in no or negligible disturbance of Federal land 

18 or resources. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 

20 includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil, 

21 or mineral specimens using hand tools, hand 

22 panning, or nonmotorized sluicing. 

23 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 

24 does not include— 


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1 (i) the use of mechanized earth-mov2 ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo3 sives; 

4 (ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 

5 closed to off-road vehicles; 

6 (iii) the construction of roads or drill 

7 pads; or 

8 (iv) the use of toxic or hazardous ma9 terials or explosives. 

10 (5) CLAIM HOLDER.—The term ‘‘claim holder’’ 

11 means a person holding a mining claim, millsite, or 

12 tunnel site that is— 

13 (A) located under the general mining laws; 

14 and 

15 (B) maintained in compliance with the 

16 general mining laws and this Act. 

17 (6) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means hav18 ing the ability to determine the manner in which an 

19 entity conducts mineral activities. 

20 (7) EXPLORATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 

22 means creating a surface disturbance (other 

23 than casual use) to evaluate the type, extent, 

24 quantity, or quality of minerals present. 


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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 

2 includes mineral activities associated with sam3 pling, drilling, or developing surface or under4 ground workings to evaluate locatable mineral 

5 values. 

6 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘explo7 ration’’ does not include the extraction of min8 eral material for commercial use or sale. 

9 (8) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

10 means any land and any interest in land that is— 

11 (A) owned by the United States; and 

12 (B) open to location of mining claims 

13 under the general mining laws and this Act. 

14 (9) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

15 Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund established by 

16 section 401(a). 

17 (10) HARDROCK MINERAL.—The term 

18 ‘‘hardrock mineral’’ has the meaning given the term 

19 ‘‘locatable mineral’’ except that— 

20 (A) legal and beneficial title to the mineral 

21 need not be held by the United States; and 

22 (B) paragraph (13)(B) does not apply to 

23 this paragraph. 

24 (11) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

25 means land that is— 


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1 (A) held in trust for the benefit of an In2 dian tribe or member of an Indian tribe; or 

3 (B) held by an Indian tribe or member of 

4 an Indian tribe, subject to a restriction by the 

5 United States against alienation. 

6 (12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

7 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

8 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

10 (13) LOCATABLE MINERAL.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘locatable 

12 mineral’’ means any mineral— 

13 (i) the legal and beneficial title to 

14 which remains in the United States; and 

15 (ii) that is not subject to disposition 

16 under— 

17 (I) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

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

19 (II) the Geothermal Steam Act of 

20 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

21 (III) the Act of July 31, 1947 

22 (commonly known as the ‘‘Materials 

23 Act of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601 et 

24 seq.); or 


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1 (IV) the Act of August 7, 1947 

2 (commonly known as the ‘‘Mineral 

3 Leasing Act for Acquired Lands’’) (30 

4 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 

5 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘locatable 

6 mineral’’ does not include any mineral that is— 

7 (i) subject to a restriction against 

8 alienation imposed by the United States; 

9 and 

10 (ii) held in trust by the United States 

11 for, or owned by, any Indian tribe or mem12 ber of an Indian tribe, as defined in sec13 tion 2 of the Indian Mineral Development 

14 Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101). 

15 (14) MINERAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘mineral 

16 activity’’ means any activity on a mining claim, mill17 site, or tunnel site, or Federal land used in conjunc18 tion with the activity, for, relating to, or incidental 

19 to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, proc20 essing, or reclamation activities for any locatable 

21 mineral. 

22 (15) NATIONAL CONSERVATION SYSTEM

23 UNIT.—The term ‘‘National Conservation System 

24 unit’’ means— 

25 (A) any unit of— 


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1 (i) the National Park System; 

2 (ii) the National Wildlife Refuge Sys3 tem; or 

4 (iii) the National Wild and Scenic 

5 Rivers System; 

6 (B) a National Monument; or 

7 (C) a National Conservation Area. 

8 (16) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) any person proposing, or authorized by 

11 a permit, to conduct mineral activities under 

12 this Act; and 

13 (B) any agent of a person described in 

14 subparagraph (A). 

15 (17) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 

16 (A) an individual, Indian tribe, partner17 ship, association, society, joint venture, joint 

18 stock company, firm, company, corporation, co19 operative, trust, consortium, or other organiza20 tion; and 

21 (B) any instrumentality of a State or local 

22 government, including any publicly owned util23 ity or publicly owned corporation of a State or 

24 local government. 

25 (18) PROCESSING.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 

2 means processes downstream of beneficiation 

3 used to prepare locatable mineral ore into the 

4 final marketable product. 

5 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 

6 includes smelting and electrolytic refining. 

7 (19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

8 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 (20) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

10 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

11 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

12 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 

13 respect to National Forest System land; and 

14 (B) the Secretary of the Interior (acting 

15 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

16 Management), with respect to land managed by 

17 the Bureau of Land Management or other Fed18 eral land. 

19 (21) TEMPORARY CESSATION.—The term ‘‘tem20 porary cessation’’ means a halt in mine related pro21 duction activities for a continuous period of not 

22 longer than 5 years. 

23 (22) UNDUE DEGRADATION.—The term ‘‘undue 

24 degradation’’ means substantial irreparable harm to 


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1 significant scientific, cultural, or environmental re2 sources on public land. 

3 TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL 

4 DEPOSITS 

5 SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON PATENTS. 

6 (a) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—No patent shall 

7 be issued by the United States for any mining claim, mill8 site, or tunnel site located under the general mining laws 

9 unless the Secretary determines that— 

10 (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec11 retary with respect to the claim not later than Sep12 tember 30, 1994; and 

13 (2) all requirements applicable to the patent ap14 plication under law were fully complied with by the 

15 date described in paragraph (1). 

16 (b) RIGHT TO PATENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

18 and notwithstanding subsection (c), if the Secretary 

19 makes the determinations under paragraphs (1) and 

20 (2) of subsection (a) with respect to a mining claim, 

21 millsite, or tunnel site, the claim holder shall be enti22 tled to the issuance of a patent in the same manner 

23 and degree to which the claim holder would have 

24 been entitled to a patent before the date of enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (2) WITHDRAWAL.—The claim holder shall not 

2 be entitled to the issuance of a patent if the deter3 minations under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub4 section (a) are withdrawn or invalidated by the Sec5 retary or, on review, by a court of the United States. 

6 (c) REPEAL.—Section 2325 of the Revised Statutes 

7 (30 U.S.C. 29) is repealed. 

8 SEC. 102. FEES. 

9 (a) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 31, 

11 2018, and each August 31 thereafter, the holder of 

12 each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 

13 site shall pay to the Secretary a maintenance fee of 

14 $150 for each claim, millsite, or tunnel site. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The maintenance fees re16 quired under paragraph (1) shall be in lieu of— 

17 (A) the assessment work requirements 

18 under the general mining laws; and 

19 (B) the related filing requirements under 

20 subsections (a) and (c) of section 314 of the 

21 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

22 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744). 

23 (3) TIMING OF INITIAL PAYMENT.—Notwith24 standing paragraph (1), the maintenance fee payable 

25 for the initial assessment year in which the location 


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1 is made shall be paid at the time the location notice 

2 is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management. 

3 (4) CLAIM RELOCATION.— 

4 (A) DEFINITION OF RELATED PARTY.—In 

5 this paragraph and paragraph (5), the term 

6 ‘‘related party’’ means— 

7 (i) the spouse and qualifying child (as 

8 defined in section 152 of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986) of the claim holder; 

10 and 

11 (ii) a person affiliated with the claim 

12 holder, including— 

13 (I) a person controlled by, con14 trolling, or under common control 

15 with, the claim holder; or 

16 (II) a subsidiary, parent com17 pany, partner, director, or officer of 

18 the claim holder. 

19 (B) LIMITS ON RELOCATION.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—No claim, millsite, 

21 or tunnel site, or portion of a claim or site, 

22 may be relocated by a person or related 

23 party if the person or related party held 

24 the claim or site and subsequently relinVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1833.IS S1833

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1 quished the claim or site or allowed the 

2 claim or site to become null and void. 

3 (ii) DURATION.—The prohibition on 

4 relocation shall extend for a period of 10 

5 years beginning on the date the claim or 

6 site was relinquished or became null and 

7 void. 

8 (5) WAIVER.—The maintenance fee required 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be waived for a claim 

10 holder who certifies in writing to the Secretary that 

11 on the date the maintenance fee was due, the claim 

12 holder and all related parties— 

13 (A) held not more than 10 mining claims, 

14 millsites, tunnel sites, or any combination of 

15 claims and sites on Federal land; and 

16 (B) can demonstrate that the claim holder 

17 and all related parties have performed assess18 ment work required under section 2324 of the 

19 Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) to maintain 

20 the mining claims and sites held by the claim 

21 holder and all related parties for the assessment 

22 year ending on noon of September 1 of the cal23 endar year in which payment of the mainte24 nance fee was due. 

25 (6) ADJUSTMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), beginning on the date that is 5 

3 years after the date of enactment of this Act 

4 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

5 adjust the amount of maintenance fees required 

6 under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 

7 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 

8 published by the Department of Labor. 

9 (B) MORE FREQUENT ADJUSTMENTS.— 

10 The Secretary may adjust the amount of the 

11 maintenance fees more frequently than specified 

12 in subparagraph (A) to reflect changes in the 

13 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 

14 published by the Department of Labor if the 

15 Secretary determines an adjustment to be rea16 sonable. 

17 (C) NOTICE.—Not later than July 1 of any 

18 year in which an adjustment is made under this 

19 paragraph, the Secretary shall provide claim 

20 holders notice of the adjustment. 

21 (D) APPLICATION.—An adjustment under 

22 this paragraph shall apply beginning in the first 

23 calendar year after the calendar year in which 

24 the adjustment is made. 


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1 (7) APPLICABLE LAW.—The co-ownership pro2 visions of section 2324 of the Revised Statutes (30 

3 U.S.C. 28) shall remain in effect, except that the an4 nual maintenance fee, as applicable, shall replace ap5 plicable assessment requirements and expenditures. 

6 (8) USE AND OCCUPANCY OF CLAIMS.—Timely 

7 performance of required assessment work or pay8 ment of the maintenance fee under this subsection 

9 satisfies any obligation the claim holder has under 

10 the pedis possessio doctrine for any claim properly 

11 located in accordance with the general mining laws 

12 and applicable State law. 

13 (b) LOCATION FEES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

15 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 

16 each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 

17 site located after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 the locator shall, at the time the location notice is 

19 recorded with the Bureau of Land Management, pay 

20 to the Secretary a location fee of $50 for each claim 

21 for each location notice recorded with the Bureau of 

22 Land Management. 

23 (2) ADJUSTMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), beginning on the date that is 5 


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1 years after the date of enactment of this Act 

2 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

3 adjust the amount of location fees required 

4 under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 

5 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 

6 published by the Department of Labor. 

7 (B) MORE FREQUENT ADJUSTMENTS.— 

8 The Secretary may adjust the amount of the lo9 cation fees more frequently than specified in 

10 subparagraph (A) to reflect changes in the Con11 sumer Price Index for all urban consumers pub12 lished by the Department of Labor if the Sec13 retary determines an adjustment to be reason14 able. 

15 (C) NOTICE.—Not later than July 1 of any 

16 year in which an adjustment is made under this 

17 paragraph, the Secretary shall provide claim 

18 holders notice of the adjustment. 

19 (D) APPLICATION.—An adjustment under 

20 this paragraph shall apply beginning in the first 

21 calendar year after the calendar year in which 

22 the adjustment is made. 

23 (3) EFFECT ON MAINTENANCE FEE.—The loca24 tion fee required under paragraph (1) shall be in adVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1833.IS S1833

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1 dition to the maintenance fee required under sub2 section (a). 

3 (c) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts received under 

5 this section shall be used to pay the costs of admin6 istering program operations under sections 2318 

7 through 2352 of the Revised Statutes (commonly 

8 known as the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 21 

9 et seq.) and this Act, without further appropriation. 

10 (2) EXCESS AMOUNTS.—Any amounts in excess 

11 of the costs described in paragraph (1) for any fiscal 

12 year shall be deposited in the Fund. 

13 (d) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section 

14 changes or modifies— 

15 (1) section 314(b) of the Federal Land Policy 

16 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)); 

17 or 

18 (2) the provisions of subsection (c) of section 

19 314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

20 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744) relating to filings re21 quired by subsection (b) of that section. 

22 (e) AMENDMENT TO REVISED STATUTES.—Section 

23 2324 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended 

24 by inserting ‘‘or section 102(a)(5) of the Hardrock Mining 


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1 and Reclamation Act of 2017’’ after ‘‘Omnibus Budget 

2 Reconciliation Act of 1993’’. 

3 SEC. 103. LIMITATIONS. 

4 (a) FAILURE TO COMPLY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The failure of the claim 

6 holder to perform assessment work or to pay a 

7 maintenance fee if required under section 102(a), to 

8 pay a location fee under section 102(b), or to file a 

9 timely notice of location shall— 

10 (A) conclusively constitute a forfeiture of 

11 the mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site; and 

12 (B) make the claim or site null and void by 

13 operation of law. 

14 (2) EFFECT.—Forfeiture under paragraph (1) 

15 shall not relieve any person of any obligation under 

16 this Act and applicable regulations, including rec17 lamation, and other applicable law. 

18 (b) RELINQUISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claim holder deciding not 

20 to pursue mineral activities on a mining claim, mill21 site, or tunnel site, may relinquish the claim or site 

22 by notifying the Secretary of the intent to relinquish 

23 the claim or site. 

24 (2) EFFECT.—A claim holder relinquishing a 

25 claim, millsite, or tunnel site under paragraph (1) 


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1 shall be responsible for any obligation under this Act 

2 and applicable regulations, including reclamation, 

3 and other applicable law. 

4 (c) USE OF MINING CLAIM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The continued use, occu6 pancy, and retention of any mining claim, millsite, 

7 or tunnel site subject to this Act shall be exclusively 

8 for mineral activities as authorized under this Act. 

9 (2) FAILURE TO USE FOR MINERAL ACTIVI10 TIES.—If the claim holder cannot demonstrate to 

11 the Secretary that the mining claim, millsite, or tun12 nel site has been used exclusively for mineral activi13 ties, the Secretary shall declare the claim, millsite, 

14 or tunnel site null and void. 

15 TITLE II—ROYALTIES 

16 SEC. 201. ROYALTY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) and sec18 tion 202, production of all locatable minerals from any 

19 mining claim located under the general mining laws and 

20 maintained in compliance with this Act shall be subject 

21 to a royalty established by the Secretary by regulation of 

22 not less than 2 percent, and not more than 5 percent, of 

23 the gross income from mining for production of all 

24 locatable minerals. 


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1 (b) ROYALTY RATE.—The regulation shall establish 

2 a reasonable royalty rate for each locatable mineral sub3 ject to a royalty under this section that may vary based 

4 on the locatable mineral concerned. 

5 (c) NO ROYALTY FOR FEDERAL LAND SUBJECT TO

6 EXISTING PERMIT.—No royalty under subsection (a) shall 

7 be required for production on Federal land that— 

8 (1) is subject to an approved plan of operations 

9 or an operations permit on the date of the enact10 ment of this Act; and 

11 (2) produces valuable locatable minerals in com12 mercial quantities on the date of enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (d) FEDERAL LAND NOT SUBJECT TO EXISTING OP15 ERATIONS PERMIT.—Production from any Federal land 

16 not specifically approved for mineral extraction under a 

17 plan of operations or an operations permit in existence on 

18 the date of enactment of this Act shall be subject to the 

19 royalty described in subsection (a). 

20 (e) DEPOSIT.—Amounts received by the United 

21 States as royalties under this section shall be deposited 

22 in the Fund. 

23 SEC. 202. ROYALTY RELIEF. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), in order 

25 to promote the greatest ultimate recovery pursuant to a 


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1 mining permit or a plan of operations under which produc2 tion in commercial quantities has occurred and in the in3 terest of conservation of natural resources, the Secretary 

4 may reduce any royalty otherwise required for all or part 

5 of a mining operation, on a showing by clear and con6 vincing evidence by the person conducting mineral activi7 ties under the operations or mining permit or plan of oper8 ations that, without the reduction in royalty, production 

9 would not occur. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Any reduction in a royalty 

11 provided for by this section shall not be effective until 60 

12 days after the date on which the Secretary— 

13 (1) publishes public notice of the royalty reduc14 tion; and 

15 (2) submits to the Committee on Energy and 

16 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

17 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa18 tives notice and a statement of the reasons for 

19 granting the royalty reduction. 

20 SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT. 

21 (a) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a comprehensive inspection, collection, fiscal, and 

24 production accounting and auditing system— 


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1 (A) to accurately determine royalties, in2 terest, fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other 

3 payments owed under this title and section 403; 

4 and 

5 (B) to collect and account for such pay6 ments in a timely manner. 

7 (2) INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary shall estab8 lish procedures to ensure that authorized and prop9 erly identified representatives of the Secretary will 

10 inspect at least once annually each mining claim 

11 that— 

12 (A) is producing or expected to produce a 

13 significant quantity of locatable minerals in any 

14 year; or 

15 (B) has a history of noncompliance with 

16 this Act. 

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

18 TRANSPORTERS.— 

19 (1) PAYMENT OF ROYALTIES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person who is re21 quired to make any royalty or other payment 

22 under this title or section 403 shall make pay23 ment to the United States at such times and in 

24 such manner as the Secretary may by rule pre25 scribe. 


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1 (B) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENTS.— 

2 (i) DESIGNEES.—Any person who 

3 pays, offsets, or credits funds, makes ad4 justments, requests and receives refunds, 

5 or submits reports with respect to pay6 ments another person is required to make 

7 shall be considered the designee of the 

8 other person under this title or section 

9 403. 

10 (ii) LIABILITY.—A designee shall be 

11 liable for any payment obligation under 

12 this title or section 403 of any person on 

13 whose behalf the designee undertakes the 

14 activities described in clause (i). 

15 (iii) PRO RATA SHARE.—The person 

16 owning an interest in a claim, millsite, or 

17 tunnel site, or production from the claim 

18 or site, shall be liable for the pro rata 

19 share of the person of payment obligations 

20 under this title or section 403. 

21 (2) SITE SECURITY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person conducting 

23 mineral activities shall develop and comply with 

24 the site security provisions in the mining permit 

25 designed to protect from theft the locatable 


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1 minerals that are produced or stored on a min2 ing claim. 

3 (B) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—The provi4 sions shall conform with such minimum stand5 ards as the Secretary may prescribe by rule, 

6 taking into account the variety of circumstances 

7 on mining claims. 

8 (C) NOTIFICATION OF COMMENCEMENT OR

9 RESUMPTION OF PRODUCTION.—Not later than 

10 the fifth business day after production begins in 

11 any place on a mining claim or production re12 sumes after more than 90 days after production 

13 ceased or was suspended, the person conducting 

14 mineral activities shall notify the Secretary, in 

15 the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the 

16 date on which the production has begun or re17 sumed. 

18 (c) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE19 MENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claim holder, operator, or 

21 other person directly or indirectly involved in devel22 oping, producing, processing, transporting, pur23 chasing, or selling locatable or hardrock minerals, 

24 subject to this Act, through the point of first sale, 

25 the point of royalty or fee computation, or the point 


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1 of smelting or other processing, whichever is later, 

2 shall establish and maintain any records, make any 

3 reports, and provide any information that the Sec4 retary may reasonably require for the purposes of 

5 implementing this title or section 403 or determining 

6 compliance with rules or orders under this title or 

7 section 403. 

8 (2) ACCESS.—On the request of any officer or 

9 employee duly designated by the Secretary con10 ducting an audit or investigation pursuant to this 

11 section, the appropriate records, reports, or informa12 tion that may be required by this section shall be 

13 made available for inspection and duplication by the 

14 officer or employee. 

15 (3) DURATION OF RECORDKEEPING REQUIRE16 MENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Records required by 

18 the Secretary under this section shall be main19 tained for 7 years after the records are gen20 erated or amended unless the Secretary notifies 

21 the claim holder, operator, other person re22 ferred to in paragraph (1), or record holder 

23 that the Secretary has initiated an audit or in24 vestigation involving the records and that the 

25 records must be maintained for a longer period. 


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1 (B) ONGOING AUDIT OR INVESTIGATION.— 

2 In any case in which an audit or investigation 

3 is underway, records shall be maintained until 

4 the Secretary releases the claim holder, oper5 ator, other person referred to in paragraph (1), 

6 or record holder subject to the recordkeeping 

7 and requirements of this Act of the obligation 

8 to maintain the records. 

9 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary may conduct such au10 dits of all claim holders, operators, producers, trans11 porters, purchasers, processors, or other persons directly 

12 or indirectly involved in the production or sales of 

13 locatable or hardrock minerals covered by this Act, as the 

14 Secretary considers necessary for the purposes of ensuring 

15 compliance with the requirements of this title or section 

16 403. 

17 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

19 into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of 

20 Agriculture— 

21 (A) to share information concerning the 

22 royalty management of locatable minerals; 

23 (B) to carry out inspection, auditing, in24 vestigation, or enforcement (not including the 

25 collection of royalties, civil or criminal penalties, 


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1 or other payments) activities under this section 

2 in cooperation with the Secretary; and 

3 (C) to carry out any other activity de4 scribed in this section. 

5 (2) ACCESS.—Subject to paragraph (3) and 

6 pursuant to a cooperative agreement, the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture shall, on request, have access to all 

8 royalty or fee accounting information in the posses9 sion of the Secretary relating to the production, re10 moval, or sale of locatable minerals from claims on 

11 Federal land. 

12 (3) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Trade secrets, propri14 etary information, and other confidential infor15 mation protected from disclosure under section 

16 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

17 known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), 

18 shall be made available by the Secretary to 

19 other Federal agencies as necessary to ensure 

20 compliance with this Act and other Federal 

21 laws. 

22 (B) PROTECTION BY OTHER FEDERAL OF23 FICIALS.—The Secretary, the Secretary of Agri24 culture, and other Federal officials shall ensure 

25 that information described in subparagraph (A) 


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1 is provided protection in accordance with sec2 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (f) INTEREST.— 

4 (1) DEFINITION OF UNDERPAYMENT.—In this 

5 subsection, the term ‘‘underpayment’’ means the dif6 ference between the royalty on the value of the pro7 duction or the fee under section 403 that should 

8 have been received by the Secretary and the royalty 

9 on the value of the production or the fee under sec10 tion 403 that was received by the Secretary, if the 

11 royalty or fee that should have been received is 

12 greater than the royalty or fee that was received. 

13 (2) NONPAYMENT AND UNDERPAYMENT.— 

14 (A) NONPAYMENT.—In the case of mining 

15 claims or operations with respect to which roy16 alty payments or the fee under section 403 are 

17 not received by the Secretary by the date that 

18 the payments are due, the Secretary shall 

19 charge interest on the nonpayment at the rate 

20 specified under subparagraph (C). 

21 (B) UNDERPAYMENT.—In the case of an 

22 underpayment, interest shall be computed and 

23 charged only on the amount of the deficiency 

24 and not on the total amount, at the rate speci25 fied under subparagraph (C). 


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1 (C) INTEREST RATE.—In the case of non2 payment or underpayment, interest shall be 

3 charged at the rate applicable under section 

4 6621(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986. 

6 (g) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per7 son liable for royalty payments under this section shall 

8 be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable 

9 minerals lost or wasted from a mining claim located under 

10 the general mining laws and maintained in compliance 

11 with this Act if the loss or waste is due to negligence on 

12 the part of any such person or due to the failure to comply 

13 with any rule, regulation, or order issued under this sec14 tion. 

15 (h) HEARINGS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—In carrying 

16 out this title and section 403, the Secretary may— 

17 (1) conduct any investigation or other inquiry 

18 necessary and appropriate; 

19 (2) conduct, after notice, any necessary and ap20 propriate hearing or audit under rules prescribed by 

21 the Secretary; and 

22 (3) administer oaths and issue subpoenas in 

23 conducting such proceedings. 

24 (i) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE

2 LAW, RULES OR REGULATIONS, OR TO PERMIT IN3 SPECTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), a person shall be liable for 

6 a penalty of up to $500 per violation for each 

7 day the violation continues, dating from the 

8 date of the notice or report, if the person— 

9 (i) after due notice of violation or 

10 after the violation has been reported under 

11 subparagraph (B)(i), fails or refuses to 

12 comply with any requirement of this title 

13 or section 403 or any rule or regulation 

14 under this title or section 403; or 

15 (ii) fails or refuses to permit inspec16 tion authorized under this title. 

17 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—A penalty under this 

18 paragraph may not be applied to any person 

19 who is otherwise liable for a violation of sub20 paragraph (A) if— 

21 (i) the violation was discovered and 

22 reported to the Secretary or the authorized 

23 representative of the Secretary by the lia24 ble person and corrected within 20 days 


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1 after the report (or such longer period to 

2 which the Secretary may agree); or 

3 (ii) after the due notice of violation 

4 required under subparagraph (A)(i) has 

5 been given to the person by the Secretary 

6 or the authorized representative of the Sec7 retary, the person has corrected the viola8 tion within 20 days of the notification (or 

9 such longer period to which the Secretary 

10 may agree). 

11 (2) FAILURE TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

12 If corrective action is not taken within 40 days (or 

13 a longer period to which the Secretary may agree), 

14 after due notice or submission of a report referred 

15 to in paragraph (1)(A)(i), the person shall be liable 

16 for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per viola17 tion for each day the violation continues, dating 

18 from the date of the notice or report. 

19 (3) FAILURE TO MAKE PAYMENT OR TO PERMIT

20 LAWFUL ENTRY, INSPECTION, OR AUDIT.—A person 

21 shall be liable for a penalty of up to $10,000 per vio22 lation for each day the violation continues if the per23 son— 

24 (A) knowingly or willfully fails to make 

25 any payment of any royalty under this title or 


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1 fee under section 403 by the date as specified 

2 by law (including regulation or order); 

3 (B) fails or refuses to permit lawful entry, 

4 inspection, or audit; or 

5 (C) knowingly or willfully fails to comply 

6 with subsection (b)(2)(C). 

7 (4) FALSE INFORMATION; UNAUTHORIZED RE8 MOVAL OF LOCATABLE MINERAL.—A person shall be 

9 liable for a penalty of up to $25,000 per violation 

10 for each day the violation continues in any case in 

11 which the person, in violation of this title or section 

12 403— 

13 (A) knowingly or willfully prepares, main14 tains, or submits false, inaccurate, or mis15 leading reports, notices, affidavits, records, 

16 data, or other written information; 

17 (B) knowingly or willfully takes or re18 moves, transports, uses or diverts any locatable 

19 mineral from any land covered by a mining 

20 claim without having valid legal authority to do 

21 so; or 

22 (C) purchases, accepts, sells, transports, or 

23 conveys to another, any locatable mineral know24 ing or having reason to know that the locatable 


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1 mineral was stolen or unlawfully removed or di2 verted. 

3 (5) HEARING.—No penalty under this sub4 section shall be assessed until the person charged 

5 with a violation has been given the opportunity for 

6 a hearing on the record. 

7 (6) DEDUCTION OF PENALTY FROM SUMS

8 OWED BY UNITED STATES.—The amount of any 

9 penalty under this subsection, as finally determined, 

10 may be deducted from any sums owed by the United 

11 States to the person charged. 

12 (7) COMPROMISE OR REDUCTION OF PEN13 ALTIES.—On a case-by-case basis, the Secretary 

14 may compromise or reduce civil penalties under this 

15 subsection. 

16 (8) NOTICE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notice under this sub18 section shall be by personal service by an au19 thorized representative of the Secretary or by 

20 registered mail. 

21 (B) DESIGNEE FOR RECEIPT OF NO22 TICE.—Any person may, in the manner pre23 scribed by the Secretary, designate a represent24 ative to receive any notice under this sub25 section. 


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1 (9) REASONS ON RECORD FOR AMOUNT OF

2 PENALTY.—In determining the amount of the pen3 alty under this subsection, whether the penalty 

4 should be remitted or reduced, and by what amount, 

5 the Secretary shall state on the record the reasons 

6 for the determinations of the Secretary. 

7 (10) REVIEW.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who has re9 quested a hearing in accordance with paragraph 

10 (5) within the time the Secretary has prescribed 

11 for such a hearing and who is aggrieved by a 

12 final order of the Secretary under this sub13 section may seek review of the order in the 

14 United States district court for the judicial dis15 trict in which the violation allegedly took place. 

16 (B) BASIS FOR REVIEW.—Review by the 

17 district court shall be only on the administrative 

18 record and not de novo. 

19 (C) DEADLINE.—An action under this 

20 paragraph shall be barred unless the action is 

21 filed not later than the date that is 90 days 

22 after the date of issuance of the final order of 

23 the Secretary. 

24 (11) FAILURE TO PAY PENALTY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graphs (B) and (C), if any person fails to pay 

3 an assessment of a civil penalty under this Act, 

4 the court shall have jurisdiction to award the 

5 amount assessed plus interest from the date of 

6 the expiration of the 90-day period referred to 

7 in paragraph (10)(C). 

8 (B) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A) ap9 plies— 

10 (i) after the order making the assess11 ment has become a final order and if the 

12 person does not file a petition for judicial 

13 review of the order in accordance with 

14 paragraph (10); or 

15 (ii) after a court in an action brought 

16 under paragraph (10) has entered a final 

17 judgment in favor of the Secretary. 

18 (C) ORDER TO PAY.—Judgment by the 

19 court shall include an order to pay. 

20 (j) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who commits 

21 an act for which a civil penalty is provided under sub22 section (i)(4) shall, on conviction, be punished by a fine 

23 of not more than $50,000 or by imprisonment for not 

24 more than 2 years, or both. 

25 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sec2 tion 201(b) with respect to the payment of royalties, 

3 the royalty required under section 201 or fee re4 quired under section 403 shall take effect with re5 spect to the production of minerals on or after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) INITIAL PRODUCTION.—Any royalty pay8 ments or fee payments under section 403 attrib9 utable to production during the 1-year period begin10 ning on the date of enactment of this Act shall be 

11 payable at the expiration of the 1-year period, to12 gether with interest at the rate required under sub13 section (f)(2)(C). 

14 (l) INJUNCTION AND SPECIFIC ENFORCEMENT AU15 THORITY.— 

16 (1) CIVIL ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—In 

17 addition to any other remedy under law, the Attor18 ney General or the designee of the Attorney General 

19 may bring a civil action in a district court of the 

20 United States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

21 such actions— 

22 (A) to restrain any violation of this title or 

23 section 403; or 

24 (B) to compel the taking of any action re25 quired by or under this title or section 403. 


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1 (2) VENUE.—A civil action described in para2 graph (1) may be brought only in the United States 

3 district court for the judicial district in which the 

4 act, omission, or transaction constituting a violation 

5 under this title or section 403 occurred, or in which 

6 the defendant is found or transacts business. 

7 SEC. 204. REVIEW. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, 

10 the Secretary shall complete a review and submit to the 

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen12 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

13 of Representatives a report addressing collections and im14 pacts of the royalty and fees provided for by this Act. 

15 (b) TOPICS.—The report shall address— 

16 (1) the total revenues received (by category) on 

17 an annual basis as— 

18 (A) claim maintenance fees; 

19 (B) location fees; 

20 (C) land use fees; 

21 (D) royalties and related payments; and 

22 (E) abandoned mine land fees; 

23 (2) the disposition of the fees and royalties, in24 cluding— 


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1 (A) the amount used for mining law pro2 gram administration; and 

3 (B) the amount used for abandoned mine 

4 land reclamation, including allocation by State 

5 and Indian tribe; 

6 (3) the effectiveness of the program under this 

7 Act in addressing abandoned mine land problems on 

8 Federal and non-Federal land; 

9 (4) any impact on domestic locatable mineral 

10 exploration and production as a result of the fees 

11 and royalties; and 

12 (5) any recommendations with respect to 

13 changes in Federal law (including regulations) relat14 ing to the amount or method of collection (including 

15 auditing, compliance, and enforcement) of the fees 

16 and royalties. 

17 TITLE III—MINERAL ACTIVITIES 

18 SEC. 301. PERMITS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 

20 501(a)(2), no person may engage in mineral activities on 

21 Federal land that may cause a disturbance of surface re22 sources, including land, air, water, and fish and wildlife, 

23 unless a permit authorizing the activities was issued to 

24 the person under this title. 


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1 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 

2 permit under this title shall not be required for mineral 

3 activities that are a casual use of the Federal land. 

4 (c) NO MODIFICATION.—Nothing in this section en5 larges, diminishes, establishes, repeals, or otherwise modi6 fies any requirement of law that a mining claim, millsite, 

7 or tunnel site be valid in order for mineral activities to 

8 be undertaken. 

9 (d) COORDINATION WITH NEPA PROCESS.—To the 

10 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary concerned 

11 shall conduct the permit processes under this Act in co12 ordination with the timing and other requirements of sec13 tion 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

14 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

15 SEC. 302. EXPLORATION PERMITS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 

17 501(a)(2), an exploration permit shall be required prior 

18 to conducting any exploration activities on Federal land 

19 that involve more than the casual use of the Federal land. 

20 (b) LIMITATIONS.—An exploration permit under sub21 section (a) shall not authorize the person to— 

22 (1) remove any mineral for sale; or 

23 (2) conduct any activity other than an activity 

24 required for— 

25 (A) exploration for locatable minerals; or 


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1 (B) reclamation. 

2 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for an explo3 ration permit, a person shall submit to the Secretary con4 cerned, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary con5 cerned, an application for an exploration permit that con6 tains— 

7 (1) an exploration plan demonstrating that— 

8 (A) the applicant will operate in accord9 ance with this Act and applicable regulations; 

10 (B) the formation of acid mine drainage 

11 will be avoided to the maximum extent prac12 ticable; and 

13 (C) mineral activities will be conducted in 

14 a manner that uses best management practices; 

15 (2) a description of potential impacts to 

16 groundwater and surface water, including appro17 priate hydrological assessments and analyses, as rea18 sonably required by the Secretary; 

19 (3) a reclamation plan for the proposed explo20 ration activity demonstrating that the applicant will 

21 conduct reclamation activities in accordance with 

22 section 306; 

23 (4) evidence of adequate financial assurance in 

24 accordance with section 304; 


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1 (5) the necessary documentation to demonstrate 

2 that the proposed exploration activity will comply 

3 with applicable Federal and State environmental 

4 laws (including regulations); 

5 (6) a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure 

6 compliance with reclamation and other requirements 

7 of this Act; and 

8 (7) any other relevant information determined 

9 by the Secretary to be necessary to satisfy the re10 quirements of this Act and other applicable law. 

11 (d) PERMIT ISSUANCE.— 

12 (1) APPROVAL.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graph (B), the Secretary concerned shall ap15 prove an application and issue an exploration 

16 permit if the Secretary concerned determines 

17 that the application is in compliance with— 

18 (i) this Act; 

19 (ii) any regulations promulgated 

20 under this Act; and 

21 (iii) any other applicable laws. 

22 (B) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary con23 cerned may reasonably condition the approval 

24 of such a permit to satisfy the requirements of 

25 this Act and applicable regulations. 


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1 (2) DENIAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 

2 deny the issuance of an exploration permit if the 

3 Secretary concerned determines that the permit does 

4 not meet the requirements of— 

5 (A) this Act; 

6 (B) any regulations promulgated under 

7 this Act; or 

8 (C) other applicable laws. 

9 (3) NOTICE.—Before approving or denying an 

10 exploration permit under this subsection, the Sec11 retary concerned— 

12 (A) shall provide public notice and an op13 portunity for written comment; and 

14 (B) may hold a public hearing. 

15 (e) MODIFICATIONS TO PERMIT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The permit holder may sub17 mit to the Secretary concerned an application to 

18 modify an exploration permit. 

19 (2) APPROVAL.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether 

21 to approve or disapprove a proposed modifica22 tion to an exploration permit, the Secretary 

23 concerned shall make the same determinations 

24 as are required in the case of the original per25 mit. 


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1 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 

2 shall not apply to minor modifications to an ex3 ploration permit or instances in which the na4 ture of the modifications make compliance with 

5 the requirements unnecessary, as determined by 

6 the Secretary concerned. 

7 (3) MODIFICATIONS FROM SECRETARY CON8 CERNED.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con10 cerned may require reasonable modification to 

11 any permit on a determination that the require12 ments of this Act or other applicable law cannot 

13 be met if the permit is followed as approved. 

14 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINA15 TION.—A determination under subparagraph 

16 (A) shall be— 

17 (i) based on a written finding; and 

18 (ii) subject to notice and hearing re19 quirements established by the Secretary 

20 concerned. 

21 SEC. 303. MINING PERMITS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 

23 501(a)(2), a mining permit shall be required prior to con24 ducting mineral activities on Federal land, other than cas25 ual use or exploration on the Federal land. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for a mining per2 mit, a person shall submit to the Secretary concerned, in 

3 a manner prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an appli4 cation for a mining permit that contains— 

5 (1) a description of the condition of the land 

6 and water resources of the area before mining activi7 ties are initiated; 

8 (2) an operations plan demonstrating that— 

9 (A) the applicant will operate in accord10 ance with this Act and applicable regulations; 

11 (B) the formation of acid mine drainage 

12 will be avoided to the maximum extent prac13 ticable; and 

14 (C) mineral activities will be conducted in 

15 a manner that uses best management practices; 

16 (3) a description of potential impacts to 

17 groundwater and surface water, including appro18 priate hydrological assessments and analyses, as rea19 sonably required by the Secretary; 

20 (4) a reclamation plan for the proposed mineral 

21 activities demonstrating that the applicant will con22 duct reclamation activities in accordance with sec23 tion 306; 


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1 (5) evidence of adequate financial assurance 

2 under section 304, including, if required, a trust 

3 fund as required under section 304(i); 

4 (6) the necessary documentation to demonstrate 

5 that the proposed mineral activities will comply with 

6 applicable Federal and State environmental laws (in7 cluding regulations); 

8 (7) a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure 

9 compliance with reclamation and other requirements 

10 of this Act; and 

11 (8) any other relevant information determined 

12 by the Secretary concerned to be necessary to satisfy 

13 the requirements of this Act and other applicable 

14 law. 

15 (c) PERMIT ISSUANCE.— 

16 (1) APPROVAL.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), the Secretary concerned shall ap19 prove a permit application and issue a mining 

20 permit if the Secretary concerned determines 

21 that the application is in compliance with— 

22 (i) this Act; 

23 (ii) any regulations promulgated 

24 under this Act; and 

25 (iii) other applicable laws. 


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1 (B) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary con2 cerned may reasonably condition the approval 

3 of such a permit to satisfy the requirements of 

4 this Act and applicable regulations. 

5 (2) DENIAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 

6 deny the issuance of a mining permit if the Sec7 retary concerned determines that the permit does 

8 not meet the requirements of— 

9 (A) this Act; 

10 (B) any regulations promulgated under 

11 this Act; or 

12 (C) other applicable laws. 

13 (3) NOTICE.—Before approving or denying a 

14 mining permit under this subsection, the Secretary 

15 concerned— 

16 (A) shall provide public notice and an op17 portunity for written comment; and 

18 (B) may hold a public hearing. 

19 (d) TERM OF PERMIT; CONTINUATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An operations permit 

21 shall— 

22 (A) be for a term of 30 years; and 

23 (B) continue for so long thereafter as 

24 locatable minerals are produced in commercial 

25 quantities from the permit area in compliance 


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1 with the requirements of this Act and other ap2 plicable law. 

3 (2) CONTINUATION.—No permit shall expire be4 cause operations or production have ceased pursuant 

5 to an approved temporary cessation or been sus6 pended pursuant to any order of, or with the consent 

7 of, the Secretary concerned. 

8 (e) MODIFICATIONS TO PERMIT.— 

9 (1) REQUEST FROM PERMIT HOLDER.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A mining permit holder 

11 may submit to the Secretary concerned an ap12 plication to modify the mining permit. 

13 (B) APPROVAL.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—In determining 

15 whether to approve or disapprove a pro16 posed modification to a mining permit, the 

17 Secretary concerned shall make the same 

18 determinations as are required in the case 

19 of an original mining permit. 

20 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 

21 not apply to minor modifications to a min22 ing permit or instances in which the nature 

23 of the modifications make compliance with 

24 the requirements unnecessary, as deter25 mined by the Secretary concerned. 


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1 (2) MODIFICATIONS FROM SECRETARY CON2 CERNED.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con4 cerned may require reasonable modification to 

5 any permit on a determination that the require6 ments of this Act or other applicable law cannot 

7 be met if the permit is followed as approved. 

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINA9 TION.—A determination under subparagraph 

10 (A) shall be— 

11 (i) based on a written finding; and 

12 (ii) subject to notice and hearing re13 quirements established by the Secretary 

14 concerned. 

15 (f) LAND USE FEES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of Federal land 

17 included in a mining permit approved under this sec18 tion after the date of enactment of this Act, or Fed19 eral land added pursuant to a modification to a per20 mit or plan of operations if the modification is ap21 proved after the date of enactment of this Act, not 

22 later than August 31 of each year, the operator shall 

23 pay a land use fee in an amount established by the 

24 Secretary by regulation that is equal to 4 times the 

25 claim maintenance fee imposed section 102(a)(1) for 


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1 each 20 acres of Federal land that is included within 

2 the mine permit area. 

3 (2) ADDITIONAL FEE.—The land use fee im4 posed under this subsection shall be in addition to 

5 the claim maintenance fees imposed under section 

6 102(a). 

7 (3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Upon approval 

8 by the Secretary concerned of a mining permit and 

9 upon payment of the land use fee as required by this 

10 subsection, the operator may use and occupy all 

11 Federal land within the mine permit area for such 

12 uses as are approved in the mining permit if the 

13 uses are undertaken in accordance with all applica14 ble law. 

15 (4) ADJUSTMENT.—Land use fees imposed 

16 under this subsection shall be adjusted as necessary 

17 to correspond to any adjustment in the claim main18 tenance fees imposed under section 102(a). 

19 (5) DISPOSITION OF FUNDS.—Any amounts re20 ceived under this subsection shall be deposited in the 

21 Fund. 

22 (g) TEMPORARY CESSATION OF OPERATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An operator conducting min24 eral activities under this title may not temporarily 


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1 cease mineral activities for a period of greater than 

2 180 days unless— 

3 (A) the Secretary concerned has approved 

4 the temporary cessation; or 

5 (B) the temporary cessation is permitted 

6 under the exploration or mining permit. 

7 (2) MULTIPLE TEMPORARY CESSATIONS.—The 

8 Secretary concerned may approve more than 1 tem9 porary cessation for mineral activities under a per10 mit. 

11 (3) INTERIM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Any oper12 ator temporarily ceasing mineral activities shall fol13 low an interim management plan approved by the 

14 Secretary concerned. 

15 SEC. 304. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before beginning any mineral ac17 tivities requiring an exploration or mining permit under 

18 this Act, an operator shall provide to the Secretary con19 cerned evidence of a bond, surety, or other financial assur20 ance approved by the Secretary concerned in an amount 

21 determined, after public notice and comment, by the Sec22 retary concerned to be sufficient to ensure the completion 

23 of reclamation under section 306 and the restoration of 

24 any land or water adversely affected by the mineral activi25 ties if the work (including any interim stabilization and 


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1 infrastructure maintenance activities) would be performed 

2 by the Secretary concerned (or a third party retained by 

3 the Secretary concerned) in the event of forfeiture. 

4 (b) LAND AND WATER COVERED.—The financial as5 surance shall cover— 

6 (1) all land within the initial permit area; 

7 (2) all affected water that may require restora8 tion, treatment, or other management as a result of 

9 mineral activities; and 

10 (3) all land added and water affected pursuant 

11 to any permit modification. 

12 (c) REVIEW.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

13 on which an operator provides financial assurance in an 

14 amount determined under subsection (a) and not later 

15 than every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary concerned 

16 shall— 

17 (1) review the financial assurance to determine 

18 if the amount of the financial assurance is adequate 

19 for purposes of this section; and 

20 (2) if the Secretary concerned determines that 

21 the amount of the financial assurance is not ade22 quate, adjust the amount of the financial assurance 

23 in accordance with this section. 

24 (d) REDUCTION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

2 may reduce the amount of the financial assurance 

3 required if the Secretary concerned determines that 

4 a portion of the reclamation is completed in accord5 ance with section 306. 

6 (2) NOTICE.—Before reducing or releasing the 

7 amount of financial assurance pursuant to this sub8 section, the Secretary concerned shall provide public 

9 notice and a reasonable opportunity for public notice 

10 and comment in accordance with subsection (g). 

11 (e) INCREMENTAL FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

13 may authorize amounts of financial assurance for in14 cremental mineral activities if— 

15 (A) no mineral activities are allowed be16 yond the activities for which financial assurance 

17 is provided; 

18 (B) the financial assurance for an incre19 ment covers all reclamation costs within the 

20 permit area for the increment; and 

21 (C) the amount and terms of the financial 

22 assurance for each increment are reviewed an23 nually. 

24 (2) REVIEW.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), 

25 the Secretary concerned shall— 


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1 (A) review at least on an annual basis the 

2 amount and terms of the financial assurance 

3 for any increment; and 

4 (B) adjust the financial assurance as ap5 propriate. 

6 (f) DURATION.—The financial assurance required 

7 under this section shall be held for the duration of the 

8 mineral activities and for an additional period to cover the 

9 responsibility of the operator for reclamation, long-term 

10 maintenance, and effluent treatment as specified in sub11 section (h). 

12 (g) RELEASE.—Subject to subsections (h) and (i), 

13 the Secretary concerned may, after public notice and a 

14 reasonable opportunity for public comment and after in15 spection, release in whole or in part the financial assur16 ance required under this section if the Secretary concerned 

17 determines that— 

18 (1) reclamation covered by the financial assur19 ance has been accomplished as required by this Act 

20 and other applicable law; and 

21 (2) the terms and conditions of any other appli22 cable Federal and State requirements have been ful23 filled. 

24 (h) RELEASE OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR

25 WATER.—If the Secretary concerned does not require the 


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1 establishment of a trust fund or other long-term funding 

2 mechanism under subsection (i), the portion of the finan3 cial assurance attributable to the estimated cost of treat4 ment of any discharge or other water-related condition re5 sulting from mineral activities shall not be released until 

6 the public has been provided notice and an opportunity 

7 to comment in accordance with subsection (g) and— 

8 (1) the discharge has ceased for a period of at 

9 least 5 years, as determined through ongoing moni10 toring and testing; or 

11 (2) if the discharge continues, the operator has 

12 met all applicable effluent limitations and water 

13 quality standards for a period of at least 5 years. 

14 (i) LONG-TERM FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsections 

16 (d) and (g), if any discharge or other water-related 

17 condition resulting from mineral activities requires 

18 treatment in order to meet the applicable effluent 

19 limitations and water quality standards, the finan20 cial assurance shall cover the estimated cost of 

21 maintaining the treatment for the period that will be 

22 needed after the cessation of mineral activities. 

23 (2) LONG-TERM FUNDING MECHANISMS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con25 cerned shall, if determined necessary by the 


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1 Secretary concerned, require the operator to es2 tablish a trust fund or other funding mecha3 nism to provide financial assurances to ensure 

4 the continuation of long-term treatment or 

5 other management to achieve water quality 

6 standards and for other long-term, post-mining 

7 maintenance or monitoring requirements. 

8 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount of funding 

9 shall be adequate to provide for construction, 

10 long-term operation, maintenance, or replace11 ment of any treatment facilities and infrastruc12 ture, for as long as the treatment and facilities 

13 are needed after mine closure. 

14 (C) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this para15 graph allows any person to transfer any liability 

16 arising from mineral activities to any other per17 son. 

18 (j) REPORT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

21 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and 

22 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency, shall conduct a review and submit to the 

24 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

25 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 


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1 the House of Representatives a report regarding the 

2 sufficiency of financial assurances for locatable min3 erals activities (including exploration and mining) on 

4 Federal land. 

5 (2) TOPICS.—The report shall address— 

6 (A) methods for establishing financial as7 surances levels; 

8 (B) the type, level, and adequacy of finan9 cial assurances required for exploration activi10 ties; 

11 (C) for each mine on Federal land— 

12 (i) the dates of approval of any plan 

13 of operation or mining permit; 

14 (ii) the acreage involved; 

15 (iii) the expected life of the mine; 

16 (iv) the type, level, and adequacy of fi17 nancial assurance; and 

18 (v) whether the mine is expected to 

19 require long-term water treatment or 

20 maintenance after mine closure; 

21 (D) the effectiveness of various types of fi22 nancial assurances; and 

23 (E) the availability of and costs associated 

24 with various types of financial assurances. 


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1 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report shall in2 clude any recommendations for modifications to 

3 Federal law or applicable regulations to improve the 

4 effectiveness of financial assurances for locatable 

5 mineral activities described in paragraph (1). 

6 SEC. 305. TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF RIGHT. 

7 The Secretary concerned shall approve the transfer, 

8 assignment, or sale of rights of an exploration or mining 

9 permit only if the successor in interest agrees in writing 

10 to assume the liability and reclamation responsibilities (in11 cluding the financial assurance requirements under section 

12 304 (including applicable regulations)) established by the 

13 permit under this Act, without affecting the liability of the 

14 transferor under any other law or exploration or mining 

15 permit. 

16 SEC. 306. OPERATION AND RECLAMATION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The operator shall restore land 

18 and water subject to mineral activities carried out under 

19 a permit issued under this title to a condition capable of 

20 supporting— 

21 (1) the uses that the land and water was capa22 ble of supporting before surface disturbance by the 

23 operator; or 

24 (2) other beneficial uses that conform to appli25 cable land use plans (including, if appropriate, the 


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1 generation of renewable energy), as determined by 

2 the Secretary concerned. 

3 (b) TIMING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Reclamation activities shall 

5 be carried out as contemporaneously as practicable 

6 with the conduct of mineral activities. 

7 (2) TEMPORARY CESSATION.—If mineral activi8 ties are ceased for a period other than a temporary 

9 cessation as approved by the Secretary concerned, 

10 reclamation activities shall begin immediately. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF LAND.—Notwithstanding 

12 section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage13 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)), the first section 

14 of the Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly known as the ‘‘Or15 ganic Act of 1897’’) (16 U.S.C. 478), or the Forest and 

16 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), and in accordance with this title 

18 and applicable law, unless expressly stated otherwise in 

19 this Act, the Secretary concerned— 

20 (1) shall ensure that mineral activities on any 

21 Federal land that is subject to a mining claim, mill22 site claim, or tunnel site claim are carefully con23 trolled to prevent undue degradation of public land 

24 and resources; and 


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1 (2) shall not grant permission to engage in min2 eral activities if the Secretary concerned, after con3 sidering the evidence, makes a determination that 

4 undue degradation would result from those activi5 ties. 

6 (d) OPERATION AND RECLAMATION STANDARDS.— 

7 The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall joint8 ly promulgate regulations that carry out this Act. 

9 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The require10 ments of this Act shall be in addition to any requirements 

11 applicable to mineral activities under— 

12 (1) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

13 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

14 (2) the National Forest Management Act of 

15 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.); and 

16 (3) the Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly known 

17 as the ‘‘Organic Act of 1897’’) (16 U.S.C. 473–482, 

18 551). 

19 SEC. 307. LAND OPEN TO LOCATION. 

20 Section 202(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Man21 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(e)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘removed 

23 from or restored to the operation of the Mining Law 

24 of 1872, as amended (R.S. 2318–2352; 30 U.S.C. 

25 21 et seq.) or’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(4) REVIEW OF LAND.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

5 each Secretary concerned, acting through the 

6 local Federal land manager, shall, consistent 

7 with the respective jurisdiction of each Sec8 retary concerned, undertake and complete a re9 view of— 

10 ‘‘(i) public land designated as a wil11 derness study area or National Forest Sys12 tem land identified as suitable for wilder13 ness designation; 

14 ‘‘(ii) areas of critical environmental 

15 concern; 

16 ‘‘(iii) Federal land in which mineral 

17 activities pose a reasonable likelihood of 

18 substantial adverse impacts on National 

19 Conservation system units; 

20 ‘‘(iv)(I) areas designated for inclusion 

21 in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 

22 System pursuant to the Wild and Scenic 

23 Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(II) areas designated for potential 

2 addition to the System pursuant to section 

3 5(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)); and 

4 ‘‘(III) areas determined to be eligible 

5 for inclusion in the System pursuant to 

6 section 5(d) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 1276(d)); and 

8 ‘‘(v) the areas identified in the set of 

9 inventoried roadless area maps contained 

10 in the Forest Service Roadless Areas Con11 servation, Final Environmental Impact 

12 Statement, volume 2, dated November 

13 2000. 

14 ‘‘(5) WITHDRAWALS OF LAND.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsequent to review 

16 in accordance with paragraph (4), in addition to 

17 withdrawals made pursuant to section 204 and 

18 subject to valid existing rights, tracts of Fed19 eral land may, pursuant to this paragraph, be 

20 removed from operation of sections 2318 

21 through 2352 of the Revised Statutes (com22 monly known and referred to in this subsection 

23 as the ‘Mining Law of 1872’) (30 U.S.C. 21 et 

24 seq.) if the Secretary, based on the analysis of 

25 the local Federal land manager, and in the case 


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1 of National Forest System land, on the rec2 ommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture 

3 based on the analysis of the local Federal land 

4 manager, determines that the action is appro5 priate after application of the criteria estab6 lished under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(B) REVISION OF LAND USE PLANS.— 

8 The Secretary concerned, acting through the 

9 local Federal land manager, shall revise or 

10 amend the applicable land use plan, as appro11 priate, to provide for removal of land, subject to 

12 valid existing rights, from operation of the Min13 ing Law of 1872 on a determination by the Sec14 retary under subparagraph (A) that the land 

15 should be removed from operation of that Act. 

16 ‘‘(C) SEGREGATION FROM GENERAL MIN17 ING LAWS PENDING COMPLETION.—On a deter18 mination by the Secretary that the land should 

19 be removed from operation of the Mining Law 

20 of 1872, the land shall be immediately seg21 regated from operation of the Mining Law of 

22 1872 until the plan amendment or revision is 

23 completed. 

24 ‘‘(D) COMPLETION DEADLINE.—Any 

25 amendment or revision of a land use plan shall 


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1 be completed not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of the determination of the Secretary 

3 under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(6) PETITION FOR REVIEW.—The Governor of 

5 a State, the head of an Indian tribe, or an appro6 priate local government official may petition— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary concerned to direct the 

8 local Federal land manager to undertake a re9 view under paragraph (4); and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Secretary to determine whether 

11 land within the State should be removed from 

12 operation of the Mining Law of 1872, subject 

13 to valid existing rights, pursuant to paragraph 

14 (5).’’. 

15 SEC. 308. STATE LAW. 

16 Any reclamation, environmental, public health protec17 tion, bonding, or inspection standard or requirement in 

18 State law (including regulations) that meets or exceeds the 

19 requirements of this Act shall not be considered to be in20 consistent with this Act. 

21 SEC. 309. INSPECTION AND MONITORING. 

22 (a) INSPECTIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

24 shall make inspections of mineral activities to ensure 

25 compliance with this Act. 


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1 (2) TIMING.—The Secretary concerned shall es2 tablish the frequency of inspections for mineral ac3 tivities conducted under a permit issued under this 

4 Act, with the Secretary concerned requiring not less 

5 than 1 complete inspection per calendar quarter. 

6 (3) ANNUAL INSPECTIONS.—After revegetation 

7 has been established in accordance with a reclama8 tion plan, the Secretary concerned shall conduct not 

9 less than 2 complete inspections per year. 

10 (4) SEASONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary con11 cerned shall have the discretion to modify the in12 spection frequency for mineral activities that are 

13 conducted on a seasonal basis, except that the Sec14 retary concerned shall require not less than 2 com15 plete inspections per calendar year. 

16 (5) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—Inspections shall 

17 continue under this subsection until the final release 

18 of financial assurance. 

19 (b) MONITORING.—The Secretary concerned shall re20 quire all operators— 

21 (1) to develop and maintain a monitoring and 

22 evaluation system to identify compliance with all re23 quirements of a permit approved under this Act; and 

24 (2) to submit such reports as may be required 

25 by the Secretary concerned. 


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1 TITLE IV—HARDROCK 

2 MINERALS RECLAMATION FUND 

3 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

5 Treasury of the United States a separate account, to be 

6 known as the ‘‘Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund’’, 

7 consisting of— 

8 (1) any amounts received by the United States 

9 under section 101; 

10 (2) any amounts collected under section 102 

11 (subject to the requirements of section 102(c)(1)); 

12 (3) any amounts donated to the Fund by per13 sons, corporations, associations, and foundations; 

14 (4) any amounts collected under section 201; 

15 (5) any amounts collected under section 303(e); 

16 (6) any amounts collected under section 403; 

17 (7) any amounts collected under sections 203 

18 and 502; and 

19 (8) any income on investments under subsection 

20 (b). 

21 (b) INVESTMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall notify 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury of any portion of the 

24 Fund that the Secretary determines is not required 

25 to meet current withdrawals. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary of 

2 the Treasury shall invest portions of the Fund iden3 tified under paragraph (1) in public debt securities 

4 with maturities suitable for the needs of the Fund. 

5 (3) INTEREST.—Investments in public debt se6 curities shall bear interest at rates determined by 

7 the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consider8 ation current market yields on outstanding market9 place obligations of the United States of comparable 

10 maturity. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be adminis12 tered by the Secretary, acting through the Director of the 

13 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. 

14 (d) EXPENDITURES.—Subject to section 402, 

15 amounts in the Fund may, without fiscal year limitation 

16 and without further appropriation— 

17 (1) be expended by the Secretary for the pur18 poses described in section 402; 

19 (2) be transferred by the Secretary to the Di20 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, the 

21 Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the Na22 tional Park Service, the Director of the United 

23 States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the head of any 

24 other Federal agency, that develops, implements, 


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1 and has the ability to carry out all or a significant 

2 portion of a reclamation program under this title; or 

3 (3) be transferred by the Secretary to an Indian 

4 tribe or a State with an approved reclamation pro5 gram, as provided in subsection (e). 

6 (e) STATE AND TRIBAL RECLAMATION PROGRAMS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State having within 

8 the borders of the State, or tribe having within the 

9 borders of the reservation of the tribe, mined land 

10 that is eligible for reclamation under this title may 

11 submit to the Secretary a reclamation program for 

12 the land. 

13 (2) APPROVAL.—If the Secretary determines 

14 that a State or tribe has developed and submitted a 

15 program for reclamation of abandoned mines con16 sistent with the priorities established under section 

17 402(c) and has the ability and necessary State or 

18 tribal legislation to implement this title, the Sec19 retary shall— 

20 (A) approve the program; and 

21 (B) grant to the State or tribe the exclu22 sive responsibility and authority to implement 

23 the approved program. 

24 (3) WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—The Sec25 retary shall withdraw the approval and authorization 


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1 if the Secretary determines that the State or tribal 

2 program is not in compliance with procedures, 

3 guidelines, and requirements established by the Sec4 retary. 

5 (4) APPROVAL OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—Sub6 ject to paragraph (3), any State program in an 

7 abandoned hardrock mine State or tribal program 

8 for reclamation of abandoned mines approved under 

9 title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclama10 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) before the 

11 date of enactment of this Act and in good standing 

12 with the Secretary as of that date shall be consid13 ered approved under this title. 

14 SEC. 402. USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND. 

15 (a) USE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, without 

17 fiscal year limitation and without further appropria18 tion, use amounts in the Fund for the reclamation 

19 and restoration of land and water resources ad20 versely affected by past hardrock minerals and min21 ing and related activities in abandoned hardrock 

22 mine States and on Indian land located within the 

23 exterior boundaries of abandoned hardrock mine 

24 States, including the conduct of activities— 

25 (A) to protect public health and safety; 


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1 (B) to prevent, abate, treat, and control 

2 water pollution created by abandoned mine 

3 drainage, including activities conducted in wa4 tersheds; 

5 (C) to reclaim and restore abandoned sur6 face and underground mined areas; 

7 (D) to reclaim and restore abandoned mill8 ing and processing areas; 

9 (E) to backfill, seal, or otherwise control 

10 abandoned underground mine entries; 

11 (F) to revegetate land adversely affected 

12 by past mining activities— 

13 (i) to prevent erosion and sedimenta14 tion; and 

15 (ii) for any other reclamation purpose; 

16 (G) to control surface subsidence due to 

17 abandoned underground mines; and 

18 (H) to enhance fish and wildlife habitat. 

19 (2) DETERMINATION.—Before expending 

20 amounts in the Fund for the purposes described in 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a deter22 mination that there is no continuing reclamation re23 sponsibility of the claim holder, operator, or other 

24 person who abandoned the site before completion of 

25 the required reclamation under Federal or State law. 


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1 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts deposited in the 

2 Fund each fiscal year— 

3 (1) 20 percent shall be allocated by the Sec4 retary for expenditure by the Secretary or, if a State 

5 or Indian tribe has an approved program pursuant 

6 to section 401(e), by the State or Indian tribe, in 

7 the States in which, or on Indian land on which, 

8 hardrock minerals are produced, based on a formula 

9 reflecting existing production in the State or on the 

10 land of the Indian tribe; 

11 (2) 30 percent shall be allocated by the Sec12 retary for expenditure by the Secretary or, if a State 

13 or Indian tribe has an approved program pursuant 

14 to section 401(e), by the State or Indian tribe, in 

15 the States and on Indian land using a formula based 

16 on the quantity of hardrock minerals historically 

17 produced in the State or from the Indian land before 

18 the date of enactment of this Act; 

19 (3) 25 percent shall be allocated by the Sec20 retary for expenditure on Federal land; 

21 (4) 10 percent shall be available to the Sec22 retary for grants under subsection (e); 

23 (5) 10 percent shall be available to the Sec24 retary for grants under subsection (f); and 


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1 (6) 5 percent shall be available for administra2 tive expenses of the United States, Indian tribes, 

3 and the States to accomplish the purposes of this 

4 title. 

5 (c) PRIORITIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

7 expenditures from the Fund shall be based on the 

8 following priorities: 

9 (A) The conduct of activities to protect 

10 public health and safety from the adverse ef11 fects of past hardrock mineral mining activities, 

12 including activities addressing surface water 

13 and groundwater contaminants. 

14 (B) The conduct of activities to restore 

15 land, water, and fish and wildlife resources de16 graded by the adverse effects of past hardrock 

17 mineral mining activities, including restoration 

18 activities in watershed areas. 

19 (2) MULTIPLE PRIORITIES.—In complying with 

20 the priorities established under this subsection, 

21 funds may be expended for reclamation activities 

22 under paragraph (1)(B) before the completion of all 

23 reclamation projects under paragraph (1)(A) if the 

24 expenditure of the funds for reclamation activities 


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1 under paragraph (1)(B) is made in conjunction with 

2 reclamation activities under paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (3) MINIMUM EXPENDITURE.—Notwithstanding 

4 paragraphs (1) and (2), not less than 25 percent of 

5 the expenditures by the Secretary on Federal lands 

6 for any year shall be for the purposes described in 

7 paragraph (1)(B). 

8 (d) ELIGIBLE LAND AND WATER.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts may be expended 

10 for reclamation activities under this section only 

11 with respect to land or water resources if the land 

12 or water resources have been— 

13 (A) affected by hardrock mineral mining 

14 activities; and 

15 (B) abandoned or left in an inadequate 

16 reclamation status. 

17 (2) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGI18 BLE.—Section 411(d) of the Surface Mining Control 

19 and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1240a(d)) 

20 shall apply to expenditures from the Fund. 

21 (3) INVENTORY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

23 (i) prepare and maintain a publicly 

24 available inventory of abandoned hardrock 

25 minerals mines on Federal land, State 


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1 land, other publicly owned land, private 

2 land, and any abandoned mine on Indian 

3 land that may be eligible for expenditures 

4 under this section; and 

5 (ii) submit to Congress an annual re6 port that describes the progress in reclaim7 ing the sites listed on the inventory. 

8 (B) MAXIMUM EXPENDITURE.—The Sec9 retary shall expend not more than $5,000,000 

10 to carry out the inventory required by this 

11 paragraph. 

12 (e) GRANTS TO CERTAIN STATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

14 amounts made available under subsection (b)(4) to 

15 make grants to States, other than abandoned 

16 hardrock mine States, to carry out reclamation and 

17 restoration of land and water resources adversely af18 fected by past hardrock minerals and mining activi19 ties, including the conduct of activities described in 

20 subsection (a)(1). 

21 (2) DETERMINATION.—Before awarding a 

22 grant under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

23 make a determination that there is no continuing 

24 reclamation responsibility of any person who abanVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1833.IS S1833

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1 doned the site before completion of required rec2 lamation under Federal or State law. 

3 (3) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 by regulation the procedures and criteria for award5 ing grants under this subsection, which shall in6 clude— 

7 (A) consistency with the priorities estab8 lished under subsection (c)(1); and 

9 (B) priority for those projects for which 

10 Federal funding is not available under other 

11 laws or programs. 

12 (f) GRANTS TO PUBLIC ENTITIES AND NONPROFIT

13 ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary shall use amounts made 

14 available under subsection (b)(5) to make grants to public 

15 entities (including State fish and game agencies and local 

16 governments) and nonprofit organizations (based on cri17 teria established by the Secretary by regulation) to carry 

18 out activities that support collaborative restoration 

19 projects to improve fish and wildlife habitat affected by 

20 past hardrock minerals and mining activities, including ac21 tivities that— 

22 (1) improve water quality and quantity; 

23 (2) restore watersheds in which historic mining 

24 dewatered or otherwise fragmented stream habitats; 


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1 (3) restore instream habitat conditions nec2 essary to support aquatic species; 

3 (4) restore vegetative cover and streamside 

4 areas to control erosion and improve conditions for 

5 fish and wildlife; 

6 (5) control and remove noxious weeds and 

7 invasive species associated with historic mining dis8 turbances that affect fish and wildlife; 

9 (6) restore fish and wildlife habitat in cases in 

10 which previous hardrock minerals and mining activ11 ity limits fish and wildlife productivity; 

12 (7) protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat 

13 in areas affected by historic minerals and mining ac14 tivity; and 

15 (8) mitigate impacts to watersheds affected by 

16 past hardrock minerals and mining activities. 

17 (g) RESPONSE OR REMOVAL ACTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Reclamation and restoration 

19 activities conducted under this section that con20 stitute a removal or remedial action under section 

21 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

22 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

23 9601) shall be conducted only with the concurrence 

24 of the Administrator of the Environmental Protec25 tion Agency. 


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1 (2) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

2 Secretary and the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency shall enter into a memo4 randum of understanding to establish procedures for 

5 consultation, concurrence, training, the exchange of 

6 technical expertise, and the conduct of joint activi7 ties, as appropriate, that provide assurances that 

8 reclamation or restoration activities under this sec9 tion shall not be conducted in a manner that— 

10 (A) increases the costs or likelihood of re11 moval or remedial actions under the Com12 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa13 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 

14 et seq.); or 

15 (B) to the maximum extent practicable, 

16 avoids oversight by multiple agencies. 

17 SEC. 403. ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION FEE. 

18 (a) IMPOSITION OF FEE.—Each operator of a 

19 hardrock minerals mining operation shall pay to the Sec20 retary, for deposit in the Fund, a reclamation fee in an 

21 amount established by the Secretary by regulation of not 

22 less than 0.6 percent, and not more than 2.0 percent, of 

23 the value of the production from the hardrock minerals 

24 mining operation for each calendar year. 


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1 (b) VALUE OF PRODUCTION.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the Secretary shall determine the value of produc3 tion in the same manner as provided under section 201(a). 

4 (c) PAYMENT DEADLINE.—The reclamation fee shall 

5 be paid not later than 60 days after the end of each cal6 endar year beginning with the first calendar year occur7 ring after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (d) DEPOSIT OF REVENUES.—Amounts received by 

9 the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be deposited into 

10 the Fund. 

11 (e) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section requires a re12 duction in, or otherwise affects, any similar fee required 

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

14 TITLE V—TRANSITION RULES, 

15 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVI16 SIONS, AND MISCELLANEOUS 

17 PROVISIONS 

18 SEC. 501. TRANSITION RULES. 

19 (a) APPLICABILITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), section 201(b), and section 303(f), the re22 quirements of this Act apply to any mining claim, 

23 millsite, or tunnel site located under the general 

24 mining laws, before, on, or after the date of enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (2) PREEXISTING CLAIM.—If a plan of oper2 ations is approved or a notice of operations is filed 

3 for mineral activities on any claim or site referred to 

4 in paragraph (1) before the date of enactment of 

5 this Act— 

6 (A) during the 10-year period beginning on 

7 the date of enactment of this Act— 

8 (i) mineral activities at the claim or 

9 site shall be subject to the plan of oper10 ations or notice of operations; and 

11 (ii) if the Secretary concerned deter12 mines that any modifications to the plan of 

13 operations are minor, modification may be 

14 made in accordance with the laws applica15 ble before the date of enactment of this 

16 Act; and 

17 (B) the operator shall bring the mineral 

18 activities into compliance with this Act (includ19 ing implementing regulations) by the end of the 

20 10-year period beginning on the date of enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (3) FEES.—Except as provided in sections 

23 201(b) and 303(f), all fees required to be paid under 

24 this Act shall apply beginning on the date of enact25 ment of this Act to— 


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1 (A) any mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 

2 site located under the general mining laws (in3 cluding production from the claim or site) be4 fore, on, or after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act; 

6 (B) all land covered by a plan of oper7 ations or a notice of operations, exploration per8 mit, or mining permit; and 

9 (C) with respect to the fee established by 

10 section 403, any production on or after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act from any hardrock 

12 minerals mining operation. 

13 (b) APPLICATION OF ACT TO BENEFICIATION AND

14 PROCESSING OF NON-FEDERAL MINERALS ON FEDERAL

15 LAND.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act (including the sur17 face management and operation requirements of title 

18 III) shall apply in the same manner and to the same 

19 extent to mining claims, millsites, and tunnel sites 

20 used for beneficiation or processing activities for any 

21 mineral without regard to whether the legal and ben22 eficial title to the mineral is held by the United 

23 States. 

24 (2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies 

25 only to minerals that— 


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1 (A) are locatable minerals; or 

2 (B) would be locatable minerals if the legal 

3 and beneficial title to the minerals were held by 

4 the United States. 

5 SEC. 502. ENFORCEMENT. 

6 (a) ORDERS.— 

7 (1) NOTICE OF VIOLATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary con9 cerned determines that any person is in viola10 tion of any surface management or operation 

11 requirement under title III or any regulation 

12 promulgated to carry out such a requirement or 

13 any permit condition required pursuant to title 

14 III, the Secretary concerned shall provide to the 

15 person a notice that describes the violation and 

16 any necessary corrective actions. 

17 (B) ABATEMENT PERIOD.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

19 (ii), a person that receives notice under 

20 subparagraph (A) shall have not more than 

21 90 days after the date of receipt of the no22 tice to abate the violation. 

23 (ii) EXTENSION.—The Secretary con24 cerned may extend the period described in 

25 clause (i) if the person shows good cause 


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1 for the extension, as determined by the 

2 Secretary concerned. 

3 (2) CESSATION ORDER.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con5 cerned shall immediately order a cessation of 

6 mineral activities if the Secretary concerned de7 termines that any condition or practice exists, 

8 or any person is in violation of any requirement 

9 of a permit approved, or notice of operations 

10 submitted, under this Act, that is causing, or 

11 can reasonably be expected to cause— 

12 (i) an imminent danger to the health 

13 or safety of the public; or 

14 (ii) significant, imminent harm to 

15 land, air, water, or fish or wildlife re16 sources. 

17 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—A cessation order 

19 issued under subparagraph (A) shall re20 main in effect until the Secretary con21 cerned— 

22 (I) determines that the condition, 

23 practice, or violation has been abated; 

24 or 


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1 (II) modifies, vacates, or termi2 nates the cessation order. 

3 (ii) ABATEMENT.—In any cessation 

4 order issued under subparagraph (A), the 

5 Secretary concerned shall— 

6 (I) identify the steps necessary to 

7 abate the violation in the most expedi8 tious manner practicable; and 

9 (II) require appropriate financial 

10 assurances to ensure that the abate11 ment obligations are met. 

12 (C) ENFORCEMENT.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the required 

14 abatement has not been completed by the 

15 date that is 30 days after the date on 

16 which an order is issued under subpara17 graph (A), the Secretary concerned shall 

18 bring against the person failing to com19 plete the abatement an enforcement action 

20 that is most likely to bring about abate21 ment in the most expeditious manner prac22 ticable, including seeking appropriate in23 junctive relief to bring about abatement. 

24 (ii) EFFECT.—Nothing in this sub25 paragraph precludes the Secretary conVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1833.IS S1833

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1 cerned from taking alternative enforcement 

2 action before the date described in clause 

3 (i). 

4 (3) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary concerned 

5 may modify, vacate, or terminate any notice or order 

6 issued under paragraph (1) or (2). 

7 (4) FORFEITURE.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a person fails to 

9 abate a violation or defaults on the terms of the 

10 permit, the Secretary concerned shall forfeit the 

11 financial assurance for the permit as necessary 

12 to ensure abatement and reclamation under this 

13 Act. 

14 (B) ALTERNATIVES.—The Secretary con15 cerned may prescribe conditions under which a 

16 surety may perform reclamation in accordance 

17 with the approved permit and applicable law in18 stead of forfeiture. 

19 (C) LIABILITY.—In the event of forfeiture, 

20 the claim holder or operator, or a subsidiary, 

21 parent company, corporation, or partner of the 

22 claim holder, or operator shall be jointly and 

23 severally liable for any remaining reclamation 

24 obligations under this Act. 

25 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 any person that violates any surface management or 

3 operation requirement under title III, any regulation 

4 promulgated to carry out such a requirement, or any 

5 permit condition required pursuant to title III may 

6 be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary con7 cerned. 

8 (2) CESSATION ORDER.—If the violation leads 

9 to the issuance of a cessation order under subsection 

10 (a)(2), the Secretary concerned shall assess the civil 

11 penalty. 

12 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The penalty shall not 

13 exceed $5,000 for each violation. 

14 (4) CONTINUING VIOLATIONS.—Each day of 

15 continuing violation may be considered a separate 

16 violation for purposes of penalty assessments. 

17 (5) FACTORS AFFECTING AMOUNT.—In deter18 mining the amount of the penalty for a violation by 

19 a person, the Secretary concerned shall consider— 

20 (A) the history of the person of previous 

21 violations; 

22 (B) the seriousness of the violation, includ23 ing any irreparable harm to the environment 

24 and any hazard to the health or safety of the 

25 public; 


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1 (C) whether the person was negligent; and 

2 (D) the demonstrated good faith of the 

3 person charged in attempting to achieve rapid 

4 compliance after notification of the violation. 

5 (6) CORPORATE LIABILITY.—If a corporate per6 mittee is in violation of a requirement of any surface 

7 management or operations requirement under title 

8 III of this Act, any regulation promulgated to carry 

9 out such a requirement, or any permit condition re10 quired pursuant to title III, or fails or refuses to 

11 comply with a notice or an order issued under sub12 section (a), any director, officer, or agent of the cor13 poration who willfully and knowingly authorized, or14 dered, or carried out the violation, failure, or refusal 

15 shall be subject to civil penalties, fines, and impris16 onment that may be imposed under a person under 

17 this subsection, subsection (d) or (e). 

18 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

19 (1) COMPLIANCE ORDER.—Any person issued a 

20 notice of violation or a cessation order under sub21 section (a) may apply to the Secretary concerned for 

22 review of the notice or order by the date that is not 

23 later than 30 days after receipt of the notice or 

24 order. 


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1 (2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who is sub2 ject to a civil penalty assessed by the Secretary con3 cerned under this section may apply to the Secretary 

4 concerned for review of the penalty by the date that 

5 is not later than 30 days after the date on which the 

6 person receives notice of the penalty. 

7 (3) HEARING.—The Secretary concerned shall 

8 provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record 

9 subject to section 554 of title 5, United States Code, 

10 at the request of any person that is— 

11 (A) issued a notice of violation under sub12 section (a)(1); 

13 (B) issued a cessation order under sub14 section (a)(2); or 

15 (C) subject to civil penalties under sub16 section (b). 

17 (d) CIVIL ACTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 

19 may submit to the Attorney General a request to 

20 bring a civil action for relief, including a permanent 

21 or temporary injunction or restraining order and the 

22 imposition of civil penalties, in any appropriate dis23 trict court of the United States, if a person— 


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1 (A) violates, fails, or refuses to comply 

2 with any notice or order issued by the Secretary 

3 concerned under subsection (a); or 

4 (B) interferes with, hinders, or delays the 

5 Secretary concerned in carrying out an inspec6 tion under section 309. 

7 (2) RELIEF.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The court hearing a 

9 civil action brought under paragraph (1) shall 

10 have the jurisdiction to provide any relief that 

11 the court determines to be appropriate. 

12 (B) REVIEW.—Any relief granted by the 

13 court to enforce an order under paragraph (1) 

14 shall continue in effect until the date on which 

15 all proceedings for review of the order are com16 pleted or terminated unless the court granting 

17 the relief sets the relief aside. 

18 (e) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

19 (1) FALSE STATEMENTS; TAMPERING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person shall, on con21 viction, be punished by a fine of not more than 

22 $25,000, imprisonment for not more than 1 

23 year, or fine and imprisonment if the person 

24 willfully and knowingly— 


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1 (i) makes any false material state2 ment, representation, or certification in, 

3 omits or conceals material information 

4 from, or unlawfully alters, any mining 

5 claim, notice of location, application, 

6 record, report, plan, or other document 

7 filed or required to be maintained under 

8 this Act; or 

9 (ii) falsifies, tampers with, renders in10 accurate, or fails to install any monitoring 

11 device or method required to be maintained 

12 under this Act. 

13 (B) SECOND VIOLATION.—If a conviction 

14 of a person under subparagraph (A) is for a 

15 violation committed after a first conviction of 

16 the person under that subparagraph, punish17 ment shall be by a fine of not more than 

18 $50,000, imprisonment of not more than 2 

19 years, or fine and imprisonment. 

20 (2) KNOWING VIOLATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person shall, on con22 viction, be punished by a fine of not more than 

23 $25,000, imprisonment for not more than 1 

24 year, or both if the person willfully and know25 ingly— 


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1 (i) engages in mineral activities with2 out a permit if required under section 302 

3 or 303; or 

4 (ii) violates any surface management 

5 or operation requirement under title III 

6 (including any regulation promulgated to 

7 carry out the requirement) or any require8 ment, condition, or limitation of a permit 

9 issued under this Act. 

10 (B) SECOND VIOLATION.—If a conviction 

11 of a person under subparagraph (A) is for a 

12 violation committed after the first conviction of 

13 the person under that subparagraph, punish14 ment shall be a fine of not more than $50,000, 

15 imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or 

16 both. 

17 (f) DELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, the Secretary may use personnel of the Office 

19 of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement or the 

20 Bureau of Land Management to ensure compliance with 

21 this Act. 

22 SEC. 503. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

23 (a) RULEMAKING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following shall be sub2 ject to judicial review only in the United States 

3 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: 

4 (A) Any final action by the Secretary con5 cerned in promulgating regulations to carry out 

6 this Act. 

7 (B) Any other final actions considered to 

8 be a rulemaking to carry out this Act. 

9 (2) DEADLINE.—A petition for review of any 

10 action subject to judicial review under paragraph (1) 

11 shall be filed not later than 60 days after the date 

12 of the action unless the petition is based solely on 

13 grounds arising after the 60-day period. 

14 (b) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Except as provided in 

15 subsection (a), final agency action under this Act shall be 

16 subject to judicial review in the district courts of the 

17 United States in accordance with section 1391 of title 28, 

18 United States Code. 

19 SEC. 504. UNCOMMON VARIETIES. 

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

21 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 3. No deposit’’ and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 3. COMMON VARIETIES OF MINERAL MATERIALS. 

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No deposit’’; 


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1 (2) in the first sentence— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘mineral materials, in3 cluding’’ after ‘‘varieties of’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘or cinders’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘cinders, and clay’’; 

6 (3) by striking ‘‘ ‘Common varieties’ as used in 

7 this Act does not’’ and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

9 ‘‘(1) COMMON VARIETIES.—The term ‘common 

10 varieties’ does not’’; 

11 (4) by striking ‘‘ ‘Petrified wood’ as used in this 

12 Act means’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) PETRIFIED WOOD.—The term ‘petrified 

14 wood’ means’’; and 

15 (5) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(b) DISPOSAL OF MINERAL MATERIALS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF VALID EXISTING

19 RIGHTS.—In this subsection, the term ‘valid existing 

20 rights’ means rights to a mining claim located for 

21 any mineral material that— 

22 ‘‘(A) had and still has some property giv23 ing mineral material the distinct and special 

24 value referred to in this section or, as the case 


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1 may be, met the definition of block pumice re2 ferred to in subsection (c)(1); 

3 ‘‘(B) was properly located and maintained 

4 under the general mining laws prior to the date 

5 of enactment of this subsection; 

6 ‘‘(C) was supported by a discovery of a val7 uable mineral deposit within the meaning of the 

8 general mining laws as in effect immediately 

9 prior to the date of enactment of this sub10 section; and 

11 ‘‘(D) continues to be valid under this Act. 

12 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL.—Subject to valid existing 

13 rights, effective beginning on the date of enactment 

14 of this subsection, notwithstanding the references to 

15 the term common varieties in this section and to the 

16 exception to the term relating to a deposit of mate17 rials with some property giving it distinct and spe18 cial value, all deposits of mineral materials referred 

19 to in this section (including the block pumice re20 ferred to in subsection (c)(1)) shall be subject to dis21 posal only under the terms and conditions of the Act 

22 of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the ‘Materials 

23 Act of 1947’) (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The first section of 

25 the Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the ‘‘MateVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:48 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1833.IS S1833

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1 rials Act of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601), is amended in the 

2 first sentence by striking ‘‘common varieties of’’. 

3 SEC. 505. REVIEW OF URANIUM DEVELOPMENT ON FED4 ERAL LAND. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL LAND.—In this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘Federal land’’ means land administered 

7 by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture. 

8 (b) REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall 

12 enter into an arrangement under which the National 

13 Academy of Sciences shall conduct a study of ura14 nium development on Federal land. 

15 (2) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The study 

16 shall describe and analyze— 

17 (A) the laws applicable to the development 

18 of uranium on Federal land and the agencies 

19 responsible for administering and enforcing 

20 those laws; 

21 (B) the requirements relating to the devel22 opment of uranium under sections 2318 

23 through 2352 of the Revised Statutes (com24 monly known and referred to in this section as 


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1 the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 21 et 

2 seq.); 

3 (C) the requirements relating to the devel4 opment of uranium under the Atomic Energy 

5 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

6 (D) the uranium leasing program adminis7 tered by the Department of Energy under that 

8 Act; 

9 (E) the requirements relating to the ap10 proval of uranium in-situ leasing recovery and 

11 the licensing process required by the Nuclear 

12 Regulatory Commission; 

13 (F) the efficacy of bonds or other forms of 

14 financial surety in ensuring the reclamation of 

15 Federal land and associated waters impacted by 

16 the development of uranium; and 

17 (G) the efficacy of Federal law in pro18 tecting public health and safety and the envi19 ronment from impacts due to the development 

20 of uranium on Federal land. 

21 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The study shall— 

22 (1) analyze the effectiveness of current Federal 

23 requirements applicable to the exploration, develop24 ment, and production of uranium on Federal land in 

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1 ing protection of public health and safety and the 

2 environment; and 

3 (2) make recommendations as to changes, if 

4 any, to Federal law (including regulations) and 

5 agency procedures relating to the development of 

6 uranium resources on Federal land to allow for the 

7 production of uranium while ensuring protection of 

8 public health and safety and the environment, in9 cluding specific recommendations on whether— 

10 (A) future development of uranium on 

11 Federal land should be— 

12 (i) removed from operation of the 

13 Mining Law of 1872; and 

14 (ii) subject to leasing; 

15 (B) additional requirements (including ad16 ditional financial assurances or fees) should be 

17 applicable to ensure reclamation of uranium 

18 mine sites, including abandoned uranium mine 

19 sites; and 

20 (C) whether additional land should be 

21 withdrawn from location and entry of uranium 

22 mining claims by the Secretary. 

23 (d) COMPLETION OF STUDY.—The National Acad24 emy of Sciences shall— 


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1 (1) not later than 18 months after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, submit the findings and rec3 ommendations of the study to the Secretary and the 

4 Secretary of Agriculture; and 

5 (2) on completion of the study, make the results 

6 of the study available to the public. 

7 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 

8 the results of the study, the Secretary, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Com10 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

11 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

12 of Representatives a report on— 

13 (1) the findings and recommendations of the 

14 study; 

15 (2) the agreement or disagreement of the Secre16 taries with each of the findings and recommenda17 tions of the study; and 

18 (3)(A) a plan and timeframe for implementing 

19 those recommendations of the study that do not re20 quire legislation; or 

21 (B) if the Secretary declines to implement a 

22 recommendation, the justification for declining to 

23 implement the recommendation. 


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1 SEC. 506. EFFECT. 

2 (a) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF GENERAL MINING

3 LAWS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act repeals 

5 or modifies any Federal law (including regulations), 

6 order, or land use plan in effect before the date of 

7 enactment of this Act that prohibits or restricts the 

8 application of the general mining laws, including 

9 laws that provide for special management criteria for 

10 operations under the general mining laws as in ef11 fect before the date of enactment of this Act, and 

12 laws that provide protections of natural and cultural 

13 resources and the environment that are equal to or 

14 greater than the protections required under this Act. 

15 (2) EXISTING LAWS.—Any law described in 

16 paragraph (1) shall remain in force and effect with 

17 respect to claims and sites located or proposed to be 

18 located under this Act. 

19 (3) MINERAL INVESTIGATIONS.—Nothing in 

20 this Act applies to or limits mineral investigations, 

21 studies, or other mineral activities conducted by any 

22 Federal or State agency acting in a governmental 

23 capacity under other authorities. 

24 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act af25 fects or limits any assessment, investigation, evaluation, 

26 or listing under— 


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1 (1) the Comprehensive Environmental Re2 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

3 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); or 

4 (2) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 3251 et seq.). 

6 (c) EFFECT ON GENERAL MINING LAWS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act supersedes the gen8 eral mining laws, except for the provisions of the 

9 general mining laws relating to the location of min10 ing claims that are not expressly modified by this 

11 Act. 

12 (2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act super13 sedes, modifies, amends, or repeals any provision of 

14 Federal law not expressly superseded, modified, 

15 amended, or repealed by this Act, other than the 

16 general mining laws. 

Æ 


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