II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1340 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to improve coal leasing, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2015 

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to improve coal leasing, 

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 ‘‘Coal Oversight and Leasing Reform Act of 2015’’ or the 

6 ‘‘COAL Reform Act of 2015’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Deferred bonus payments. 

Sec. 3. Confidentiality requirements for consultants. 

Sec. 4. Exploration data. 

Sec. 5. Fair market value. 


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Sec. 6. Public availability data. 

Sec. 7. Lease modifications. 

Sec. 8. Findings necessary for coal lease modifications. 

Sec. 9. Size of coal leasing modifications. 

Sec. 10. Coal leasing program. 

Sec. 11. Rental rates. 

Sec. 12. Primary term of lease. 

Sec. 13. Minimum value. 

Sec. 14. Inspection and enforcement. 

Sec. 15. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 16. Moratorium on new coal lease sales pending implementation. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFERRED BONUS PAYMENTS. 

2 Section 2(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

3 201(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the second 

5 and third sentences; and 

6 (2) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5). 

7 SEC. 3. CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULT8 ANTS. 

9 Section 2(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

10 201(a)) (as amended by section 2(2)) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following:— 

12 ‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

13 CONSULTANTS.—If the Secretary uses an inde14 pendent consultant in evaluating a lease sale, the 

15 independent consultant shall be subject to a non16 disclosure agreement and any other confidentiality 

17 requirements the Secretary determines necessary.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. EXPLORATION DATA. 

19 Section 2(b)(3) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

20 U.S.C. 202(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 


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1 following: ‘‘Subject to applicable penalties for submitting 

2 false data, the licensee shall certify the accuracy of the 

3 data submitted under this paragraph. The Secretary shall 

4 consider whether to independently verify the data sub5 mitted under this paragraph. The Secretary shall conduct 

6 and document any inspections of exploration activities 

7 conducted under this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. FAIR MARKET VALUE. 

9 Section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act is amended by 

10 inserting after subsection (d) (30 U.S.C. 202a) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(e) FAIR MARKET VALUE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A proposed lease sale shall 

14 not be held under this section until the date on 

15 which the Secretary of the Interior (acting through 

16 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management) 

17 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Secretary’), in 

18 consultation with the applicable Bureau of Land 

19 Management field office with jurisdiction over the 

20 leasing tract subject to the proposed lease sale and 

21 the Office of Valuation Services of the Department 

22 of Interior, makes a determination with respect to 

23 the fair market value of the coal to be extracted 

24 under the proposed lease. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 In making a determination of fair market value 

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) shall account for the export poten5 tial of the coal to be extracted under the pro6 posed lease, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) conducting an analysis of wheth8 er the coal extracted under the proposed 

9 lease would be exported, the potential ex10 port markets for the coal, and the price at 

11 which the coal could be sold in export mar12 kets; and 

13 ‘‘(II) providing in the appraisal report 

14 under paragraph (4) an assessment of ex15 port activity for coal extracted from other 

16 leases under this section; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of the analysis under 

18 clause (i)(I) and the assessment under clause 

19 (i)(II), may consult with other agencies with 

20 relevant expertise relating to coal exports, such 

21 as the Energy Information Administration; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall use a comparable lease sale ap23 proach and income approach for purposes of 

24 calculating fair market value; 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall not rely on any information 

2 from lease sales conducted more than 5 years 

3 before the date of the proposed lease sale for 

4 purposes of calculating fair market value; and 

5 ‘‘(D) shall consider domestic coal reserve 

6 estimates. 

7 ‘‘(3) APPRAISAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

8 include a fair market value determination with re9 spect to a lease under paragraph (1) in a formal, 

10 documented appraisal report that provides 

11 verification of the consultation required under that 

12 paragraph by including the signatures of the individ13 uals representing the offices consulted under that 

14 paragraph in the completed appraisal report. 

15 ‘‘(4) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

17 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub18 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re19 port that describes whether the Secretary has com20 plied with the requirements of paragraph (2)(A) in 

21 making fair market value determinations of leases 

22 under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM BIDS.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of this Act, the Secretary may not 

25 accept a bid for a lease to extract coal under this 


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1 Act that is less than the fair market value of the 

2 coal to be extracted under the lease, even if a bid 

3 is above the minimum bid requirement.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA. 

5 Section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (as amended 

6 by section 5) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF APPRAISAL RE9 PORTS.—Any appraisal report conducted under this sec10 tion shall be made publicly available on the website of the 

11 Bureau of Land Management, with appropriate redactions 

12 of or protections for confidential material or information. 

13 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF LEASE SALES, HIGH

14 BIDS, ROYALTY PAYMENTS, AND REVENUE.—The Sec15 retary shall track and make publicly available on the 

16 website of the Bureau of Land Management information 

17 on individual and total lease sales, high bids, royalty pay18 ments, and revenue relating to activities conducted under 

19 this section.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. LEASE MODIFICATIONS. 

21 Section 3(a)(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

22 U.S.C. 203(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and on com23 pletion of a fair market value determination under sub24 section (e)(1) with respect to the modifications’’ after 

25 ‘‘under paragraph (2)’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR COAL LEASE MODIFICA2 TIONS. 

3 Section 3(a)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

4 U.S.C. 203(a)(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

6 after the semicolon at the end; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

8 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) would not result in a reduction of rev11 enue.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. SIZE OF COAL LEASING MODIFICATIONS. 

13 Section 3(a)(3)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

14 U.S.C. 203(a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘960 acres’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘160 acres’’. 

16 SEC. 10. COAL LEASING PROGRAM. 

17 The Mineral Leasing Act is amended by inserting 

18 after section 3 (30 U.S.C. 203) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4. COAL LEASING PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare, pe21 riodically revise, and maintain a coal leasing program to 

22 implement this Act. 

23 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The leasing program shall consist 

24 of a schedule of proposed lease sales indicating, as pre25 cisely as practicable, the size, timing, and location of leas26 ing activity that the Secretary determines will best meet 


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1 national needs for the 5-year period following the approval 

2 or reapproval of the program. 

3 ‘‘(c) PRINCIPLES.—The leasing program shall be pre4 pared and maintained in a manner consistent with the fol5 lowing principles: 

6 ‘‘(1) Leasing activities for coal subject to this 

7 Act shall be conducted— 

8 ‘‘(A) to ensure receipt of fair market value 

9 for the land leased and the rights conveyed by 

10 the Federal Government; 

11 ‘‘(B) to maximize competition for Federal 

12 coal leases; and 

13 ‘‘(C) to maximize the financial return per 

14 ton of coal leased for taxpayers of the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘(2) Management of coal subject to this Act 

17 shall be conducted in a manner that considers— 

18 ‘‘(A) the economic, social, and environ19 mental values of Federal land and the coal re20 source; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the potential impact of coal leasing 

22 on other resource values and the natural and 

23 human environments. 

24 ‘‘(3) Timing and location of exploration, devel25 opment, and production of coal among or within the 


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1 coal-bearing physiographic regions shall be based on 

2 a consideration of— 

3 ‘‘(A) existing information concerning the 

4 geographical, geological, and ecological charac5 teristics of the regions; 

6 ‘‘(B) an equitable sharing of developmental 

7 benefits and environmental risks among or 

8 within the various regions; 

9 ‘‘(C) the location of the regions with re10 spect to, and the relative needs of, regional and 

11 national energy markets; 

12 ‘‘(D) the location of the regions with re13 spect to other anticipated uses of the resources 

14 and space of the regions; 

15 ‘‘(E) the interest of potential coal pro16 ducers in the development of coal resources as 

17 indicated by exploration or nomination; 

18 ‘‘(F) laws, goals, and policies of affected 

19 States that have been specifically identified by 

20 the Governors of the States as relevant matters 

21 for the consideration of the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(G) the relative environmental sensitivity 

23 and natural productivity of different areas con24 taining the coal; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) relevant environmental and predictive 

2 information for the different areas. 

3 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall select the timing and 

4 location of leasing, to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, so as to obtain a proper balance between— 

6 ‘‘(A) the potential for environmental dam7 age; 

8 ‘‘(B) the potential for the discovery of coal; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(C) the potential for adverse impact on 

11 areas containing the coal. 

12 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall develop the plan and 

13 manage coal leasing and development in a manner 

14 that considers the impact of coal leasing and devel15 opment on climate change. 

16 ‘‘(d) ESTIMATED APPROPRIATIONS AND STAFF.— 

17 The leasing program shall include estimates of the appro18 priations and staff required— 

19 ‘‘(1) to obtain resource information and any 

20 other information needed to prepare the leasing pro21 gram required by this section; 

22 ‘‘(2) to analyze and interpret the exploratory 

23 data and any other information that may be com24 piled under this Act; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to conduct environmental studies and pre2 pare any environmental impact statement required 

3 in accordance with this Act and section 102(2)(C) of 

4 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

5 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)); and 

6 ‘‘(4) to supervise operations conducted pursuant 

7 to each lease in the manner necessary to ensure due 

8 diligence in the exploration and development of the 

9 lease area and compliance with the requirement of 

10 applicable laws (including regulations) and with the 

11 terms of the lease. 

12 ‘‘(e) PROPOSED LEASING PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the preparation of 

14 any proposed leasing program under this section, the 

15 Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall invite and consider suggestions 

17 for the program from— 

18 ‘‘(i) any interested Federal agency, in19 cluding the Department of Justice, in con20 sultation with the Federal Trade Commis21 sion; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Governor of any State that 

23 may become an affected State under the 

24 proposed program; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may invite or consider any sugges2 tions from— 

3 ‘‘(i) the executive of any affected local 

4 government in an affected State, which 

5 have been previously submitted to the Gov6 ernor of the State; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) any other person. 

8 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND COMMENTS BY AFFECTED

9 STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After preparation and 

11 at least 60 days before publication of a pro12 posed leasing program in the Federal Register 

13 pursuant to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall 

14 submit a copy of the proposed program to the 

15 Governor of each affected State for review and 

16 comment. 

17 ‘‘(B) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Gov18 ernor of a State may solicit comments from the 

19 executives of local governments in the State 

20 that the Governor, at the discretion of the Gov21 ernor, determines will be affected by the pro22 posed program. 

23 ‘‘(C) REPLY BY SECRETARY.—If any com24 ment by a Governor is received by the Secretary 

25 at least 15 days before submission to Congress 


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1 pursuant to such paragraph (3) and includes a 

2 request for any modification of the proposed 

3 program, the Secretary shall reply in writing— 

4 ‘‘(i)(I) granting or denying the re5 quest in whole or in part; or 

6 ‘‘(II) granting the request in such 

7 modified form as the Secretary considers 

8 appropriate; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) stating the reasons for the ac10 tions of the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(D) CORRESPONDENCE.—All correspond12 ence between the Secretary and Governor of 

13 any affected State under this paragraph, to14 gether with any additional information and data 

15 relating to the correspondence, shall accompany 

16 the proposed program when the proposed pro17 gram is submitted to Congress. 

18 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

20 days after the date of enactment of the COAL 

21 Reform Act of 2015, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) submit a proposed leasing pro23 gram to Congress, the Attorney General, 

24 and the Governors of affected States; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) publish the proposed program in 

2 the Federal Register. 

3 ‘‘(B) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—A Governor 

4 shall, on request, submit a copy of the proposed 

5 leasing program to the executive of any local 

6 government affected by the proposed program. 

7 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

9 after the date of publication of a proposed leasing 

10 program, the Attorney General may, after consulta11 tion with the Federal Trade Commission, submit 

12 comments on the anticipated effects of the proposed 

13 program on competition. 

14 ‘‘(2) OTHER COMMENTS.—Any State, local gov15 ernment, or other person may submit comments and 

16 recommendations as to any aspect of the proposed 

17 program. 

18 ‘‘(3) RESPONSE BY SECRETARY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least 60 days be20 fore approving a proposed leasing program, the 

21 Secretary shall submit the proposed program to 

22 the President and Congress, together with any 

23 comments received. 

24 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The submis25 sion shall indicate why any specific recVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:53 May 20, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1340.IS S1340

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1 ommendation of the Attorney General or a 

2 State or local government was not accepted. 

3 ‘‘(4) NEW LEASES.— 

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

5 subparagraph (B), after the leasing program 

6 has been approved by the Secretary or the date 

7 that is 18 months after the date of enactment 

8 of the COAL Reform Act of 2015 (whichever 

9 first occurs), no lease shall be issued under this 

10 Act unless the lease— 

11 ‘‘(i) is for an area included in the ap12 proved leasing program; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) contains provisions that are con14 sistent with the approved leasing program. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED LEASING.—Leasing shall 

16 be permitted to continue until the program is 

17 approved and while the program is under judi18 cial or administrative review pursuant to this 

19 Act. 

20 ‘‘(g) REVIEW AND REVISION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review the 

22 leasing program approved under this section at least 

23 once each year. 

24 ‘‘(2) REVISIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re2 vise and reapprove the leasing program at any 

3 time. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall 

5 revise and reapprove the leasing program in the 

6 same manner at the original plan unless the re7 vision is not significant, as determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(h) PROCEDURES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by 

11 regulation, establish procedures for— 

12 ‘‘(A) receipt and consideration of nomina13 tions for any area to be offered for lease or to 

14 be excluded from leasing; 

15 ‘‘(B) public notice of and participation in 

16 development of the leasing program; 

17 ‘‘(C) review by State and local govern18 ments that may be impacted by the proposed 

19 leasing; and 

20 ‘‘(D) periodic consultation with State and 

21 local governments, coal lessees and permittees, 

22 and representatives of other individuals or orga23 nizations engaged in activity in areas covered 

24 by leases. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVISIONS.—The procedures shall be ap2 plicable to any significant revision or reapproval of 

3 the leasing program. 

4 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION REQUESTED BY SECRETARY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may obtain 

6 from public sources, or purchase from private 

7 sources, any survey, data, report, or other informa8 tion (including interpretations of such data, survey, 

9 report, or other information) that may be necessary 

10 to assist the Secretary in preparing any environ11 mental impact statement and in making other eval12 uations required by this Act. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Data of a classified 

15 nature provided to the Secretary under this 

16 subsection shall remain confidential for such pe17 riod of time as agreed to by the head of the de18 partment or agency from whom the information 

19 is requested. 

20 ‘‘(B) PERIOD.—The Secretary shall main21 tain the confidentiality of all privileged or pro22 prietary data or information for such period of 

23 time as is provided for in this Act, established 

24 by regulation, or agreed to by the parties. 


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1 ‘‘(j) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY OTHER FEDERAL

2 AGENCIES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of a Federal de4 partment or agency— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall provide the Secretary with any 

6 nonprivileged or nonproprietary information the 

7 Secretary requests to assist the Secretary in 

8 preparing the leasing program; and 

9 ‘‘(B) may provide the Secretary with any 

10 privileged or proprietary information the Sec11 retary requests to assist the Secretary in pre12 paring the leasing program. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—Privileged 

14 or proprietary information provided to the Secretary 

15 under this subsection shall remain confidential for 

16 such period of time as agreed to by the head of the 

17 department or agency from whom the information is 

18 requested. 

19 ‘‘(3) EXISTING RESOURCES.—In carrying out 

20 this subsection, the Secretary may use the existing 

21 capabilities and resources of a Federal department 

22 or agency by appropriate agreement. 

23 ‘‘(k) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of enactment of the COAL Reform Act of 2015, 

25 the Secretary shall issue such regulations as are necessary 


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1 to carry out this section, including regulations that (to the 

2 maximum extent practicable)— 

3 ‘‘(1) minimize discretion by State offices of the 

4 Department of the Interior in conducting lease sales; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) maximize the financial return for tax7 payers of the United States.’’. 

8 SEC. 11. RENTAL RATES. 

9 Section 7(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

10 207) is amended in the third sentence by inserting ‘‘at 

11 a rental rate of not less than $100 per acre (as reviewed 

12 and, if appropriate, adjusted by the Secretary every 5 

13 years)’’ before the period at the end. 

14 SEC. 12. PRIMARY TERM OF LEASE. 

15 Section 7 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘twenty’’ and inserting ‘‘10’’; 

20 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

21 ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’; and 

22 (C) in the sixth sentence— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘twenty’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘10’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘ten’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘5’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘20’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘10’’. 

5 SEC. 13. MINIMUM VALUE. 

6 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in sections 7(a) and 14 (30 U.S.C. 207(a), 

223), by striking ‘‘121 9 ⁄2 per centum’’ each place it 

10 appears and inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’; 

11 (2) in section 17 (30 U.S.C. 226)— 

12 (A) in subsection (b)— 

13 (i) in paragraph (1)(A), in the fifth 

14 sentence, by striking ‘‘12.5 percent’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’; and 

16 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)— 

(I) by striking ‘‘121 17 ⁄2 per cen18 tum’’ and inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’; 

19 and 

20 (II) by striking ‘‘(k)(1)(c)’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘(k)(1)(C)’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (c)(1), in the second sen23 tence, by striking ‘‘12.5 percent’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘18.75 percent’’; and 


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1 (C) in subsections (l) and (n)(1)(C), by 

striking ‘‘121 2 ⁄2 per centum’’ each place it ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’; 

4 (3) in section 18 (41 Stat. 443), by striking 

‘‘121 5 ⁄2 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’; 

6 and 

7 (4) in sections 19, 20, and 31(f)(4) (30 U.S.C. 

228, 229, 188(f)(4)), by striking ‘‘121 8 ⁄2 per centum’’ 

9 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘18.75 percent’’. 

10 SEC. 14. INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

11 Section 41 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

12 195) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(g) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau 

15 of Land Management shall promulgate regulations 

16 for inspections and enforcement of coal operations 

17 carried out under this Act to ensure consistent and 

18 effective inspections and enforcement. 

19 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The regulations promul20 gated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) provide for oversight of State inspec22 tion and enforcement programs for coal oper23 ations by the Washington, District of Columbia 

24 office of the Bureau of Land Management; 


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1 ‘‘(B) standardize inspection and enforce2 ment practices for all State offices of the Bu3 reau of Land Management; 

4 ‘‘(C) require documentation of inspection 

5 and enforcement activities and the recordation 

6 of all inspection results in a central database; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) require periodic unannounced inspec9 tions.’’. 

10 SEC. 15. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

11 Section 41 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

12 195) (as amended by section 14) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(h) BLM AUTHORITY TO ASSESS CIVIL PEN15 ALTIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau 

17 of Land Management may include in a notice of 

18 noncompliance issued to a person subject to the re19 quirements of this Act an assessment of a civil pen20 alty in accordance with paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Subject to para22 graph (3), a penalty assessed pursuant to paragraph 

23 (1) shall not exceed $100,000 per incident per day. 

24 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may in25 crease the maximum amount described in paragraph 


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1 (2) after notice and opportunity for public com2 ment.’’. 

3 SEC. 16. MORATORIUM ON NEW COAL LEASE SALES PEND4 ING IMPLEMENTATION. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec6 retary of the Interior shall not conduct a new lease sale, 

7 or enter into a new lease, for coal subject to the Mineral 

8 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) until the Secretary 

9 certifies to Congress that this Act and the amendments 

10 made by this Act have been implemented. 

Æ 


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