II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1102

To amend the general mining laws to provide a reasonable royalty from

mineral activities on Federal lands, to specify reclamation requirements

for mineral activities on Federal lands, to create a State program for

the reclamation of abandoned hard rock mining sites on Federal lands,

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 31, 1997

Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. REID, Mr. BRYAN, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BURNS, Mr. HATCH, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. STEVENS, and Mr. KEMPTHORNE) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the general mining laws to provide a reasonable

royalty from mineral activities on Federal lands, to specify reclamation requirements for mineral activities on

Federal lands, to create a State program for the reclamation of abandoned hard rock mining sites on Federal

lands, 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,
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1 SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Law Reform

3 Act of 1997’’.

4 SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares that—

6 (1) a secure and reliable supply of locatable

7 minerals is essential to the industrial base of the

8 United States, national security, and balance of

9 trade;

10 (2) many of the deposits of locatable minerals

11 that may be commercially developed are on Federal

12 lands as that term is defined in this Act, and are

13 difficult and expensive to discover, mine, extract and

14 process;

15 (3) the national need for locatable minerals will

16 continue to expand, and without a strong mining in17 dustry the demand for the minerals will exceed do18 mestic sources of supply;

19 (4) mining of locatable minerals is an extremely

20 high-risk, capital-intensive endeavor, which, to at21 tract necessary investment, requires certainty and

22 predictability in access to Federal lands in establish23 ment of mining titles, and in the rights of owners of

24 mining claims or sites to develop minerals;

25 (5) it is in the national interest to foster and

26 encourage private enterprise in the development of a
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1 domestic minerals industry to maintain and create

2 high-paying jobs and the various Federal, State, and

3 local taxes paid by the mining industry in the

4 United States;

5 (6) the diversity in terrain, climate, biological,

6 chemical, and other physical conditions, and vari7 ation among the locatable minerals mined and the

8 methods of mining and processing, require that rec9 lamation standards be tailored to local and regional

10 conditions;

11 (7) there are extensive Federal and State envi12 ronmental standards that apply to mining operations

13 on Federal lands, including State programs for the

14 protection of groundwater quality;

15 (8) every State containing Federal lands has

16 enacted laws and regulations governing the reclama17 tion of mined lands and, subject to the Supremacy

18 Clause of the United States Constitution, these laws

19 and regulations, including financial assurance re20 quirements, apply to mineral activities on Federal

21 lands;

22 (9) changes in the general mining laws of the

23 United States to provide more direct economic re24 turn to the United States and greater protection of

25 public resources are desirable, so long as the
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1 changes do not act as a disincentive to development

2 of minerals, adversely affect employment in the min3 ing industry or in industries that provide goods and

4 services required for mining activities, interfere with

5 a secure and reliable domestic supply of minerals, or

6 adversely affect the balance of trade of the United

7 States; and

8 (10) mining claims, mill sites and tunnel sites

9 located under the general mining laws are property

10 interests, and any law or regulation that impairs ex11 isting property rights may expose the Federal Gov12 ernment to taking claims under the fifth amendment

13 to the United States Constitution.

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

15 (1) promote exploration for and the develop16 ment of a secure and reliable domestic source of

17 locatable minerals;

18 (2) provide for increased Federal revenue from

19 the location and production of locatable minerals

20 from Federal lands through fees, patent payments

21 and royalties;

22 (3) ensure that mineral activities on Federal

23 lands are conducted in compliance with all applicable

24 Federal and State environmental regulations and
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1 standards, including standards governing mined land

2 reclamation;

3 (4) ensure that all Federal lands affected by

4 mineral activities under the general mining laws are

5 reclaimed as required by applicable laws;

6 (5) establish a program to reclaim abandoned

7 locatable mine sites on Federal lands; and

8 (6) recognize that unpatented mining claims,

9 mill sites and tunnel sites are property rights in the

10 fullest sense and avoid, to the greatest extent pos11 sible, claims of takings of existing property rights

12 under the general mining laws that could require

13 compensation under the fifth amendment to the

14 United States Constitution.

15 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

16 When used in this Act:

17 (1) ‘‘Assessment year’’ means the annual period

18 commencing at 12 o’clock noon on the first day of

19 September and ending at 12 o’clock noon on the

20 first day of September of the following year.

21 (2) ‘‘Federal lands’’ means, except as provided

22 otherwise in title III, lands and interests in lands

23 owned by the United States that are open to mineral

24 location, or that were open to mineral location when
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1 a mining claim or site was located and which have

2 not been patented under the general mining laws.

3 (3) ‘‘General mining laws’’ means those Acts

4 which generally comprise chapters 2, 11, 12, 12A,

5 15, and 16, and sections 161 and 162, of title 30

6 of the United States Code, all Acts heretofore en7 acted which are amendatory of or supplementary to

8 any of the foregoing Acts, and the judicial and ad9 ministrative decisions interpreting such Acts.

10 (4) ‘‘Locatable minerals’’ means those minerals

11 owned by the United States and subject to location

12 and disposition under the general mining laws on or

13 after the effective date of this Act, but not including

14 any mineral held in trust by the United States for

15 any Indian or Indian tribe, as defined in section 2

16 of the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25

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

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

19 subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by

20 the United States, or any mineral owned by any in21 corporated Native group, village corporation, or re22 gional corporation and acquired by the group or cor23 poration under the provisions of the Alaska Native

24 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
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1 (5) ‘‘Mineral activities’’ means any activity on

2 Federal lands related to, or incidental to, exploration

3 for or development, mining, production,

4 beneficiation, or processing of any locatable mineral

5 or mineral that would be locatable if it were subject

6 to disposition under the general mining laws, or rec7 lamation of the impacts of such activities.

8 (6) ‘‘Mining claim or site’’, except where pro9 vided otherwise, means a lode mining claim, placer

10 mining claim, mill site or tunnel site.

11 (7) ‘‘Operator’’ means any person conducting

12 mineral activities subject to this Act.

13 (8) ‘‘Person’’ means an individual, Indian tribe,

14 partnership, association, society, joint venture, joint

15 stock company, firm, company, limited liability com16 pany, corporation, cooperative or other organization,

17 and any instrumentality of State or local govern18 ment, including any publicly owned utility or publicly

19 owned corporation of State or local government.

20 (9) ‘‘Secretary’’ means (i) in titles II and V, the

21 Secretary of the Interior acting through the Bureau

22 of Land Management, (ii) in title IV, the Secretary

23 of the Interior acting through the Bureau of Land

24 Management or the Minerals Management Service,

25 or both, and (iii) elsewhere in this Act, the Secretary
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1 of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service,

2 with respect to lands under the jurisdiction of the

3 Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the

4 Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Man5 agement, with respect to all other lands subject to

6 the requirements of this Act.

7 TITLE II—DISPOSITION OF

8 LOCATABLE MINERAL DEPOSITS

9 SEC. 201. CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

10 (a) MAINTENANCE FEE.—After the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the owner of each unpatented mining

12 claim or site located pursuant to the general mining laws,

13 whether located before or after the enactment of this Act,

14 shall pay in advance to the Secretary annually on or before

15 September 1, and until a patent has been issued therefor,

16 a maintenance fee of $100 per mining claim or site. The

17 owner of each unpatented mining claim or site located

18 after the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to the

19 general mining laws shall pay to the Secretary, at the time

20 the copy of the notice or certificate of location is filed with

21 the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to section

22 314(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act

23 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)), in addition to the location

24 fee required under subsection (f) of this section, an initial

25 maintenance fee of $100 per mining claim or site for the
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1 assessment year which includes the date of location of

2 such mining claim or site. If a mining claim or site is lo3 cated within ninety days before September 1 and the copy

4 of the notice or certificate of location is timely filed with

5 the Bureau of Land Management under subsection 314(b)

6 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

7 after September 1, the annual maintenance fee payable

8 under the first sentence of this subsection, for the follow9 ing assessment year, shall be paid at the time such notice

10 or certificate of location is filed, in addition to the location

11 fee and the initial $100 maintenance fee. No maintenance

12 fee shall be required if the fee is waived or the owner of

13 the mining claim or site is exempt as provided in section

14 202 of this Act.

15 (b) ASSESSMENT WORK REQUIREMENTS.—

16 (1) For the first five assessment years following

17 the assessment year which includes the date of loca18 tion of any unpatented mining claim or site located

19 on or after the date of enactment of this Act, or for

20 the first five assessment years following the assess21 ment year which includes the date of enactment of

22 this Act for any unpatented mining claim or site lo23 cated before the date of enactment, the annual

24 maintenance fee under subsection (a) of this section

25 shall be in lieu of the assessment work requirements
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1 of the general mining laws and of any other Federal

2 law. Beginning with the sixth assessment year fol3 lowing the assessment year which includes such date

4 of location or enactment, such assessment work re5 quirements shall apply in addition to such annual

6 maintenance fee, subject to any suspension or

7 deferment of annual assessment work provided by

8 law.

9 (2)(A) Section 1 of the Act of September 2,

10 1958 (30 U.S.C. 28–1), is amended by inserting

11 ‘‘mineral activities, environmental baseline monitor12 ing, and’’ after ‘‘without being limited to’’ and be13 fore ‘‘geological, geochemical and geophysical sur14 veys’’.

15 (B) Section 2(d) of the Act of September 2,

16 1958 (30 U.S.C. 28–2(d)), is amended by inserting

17 ‘‘environmental baseline monitoring or’’ after ‘‘expe18 rience to conduct’’ and before ‘‘geological, geo19 chemical or geophysical surveys’’.

20 (C) Section 2 of the Act of September 2, 1958

21 (30 U.S.C. 28–2), is amended by adding at the end

22 the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(e) The term ‘environmental baseline monitoring’

24 means activities for collecting, reviewing and analyzing in25 formation concerning soil, vegetation, wildlife, mineral,
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1 air, water, cultural, historical, archeological or other re2 sources related to planning for or complying with Federal

3 and State environmental or permitting requirements appli4 cable to potential or proposed mineral activities on the

5 claim(s).’’.

6 (c) MAINTENANCE FEE STATEMENT.—Each pay7 ment under subsection (a) of this section shall be accom8 panied by a statement which reasonably identifies the min9 ing claim or site for which the maintenance fee is being

10 paid. Such statement may include the name of the mining

11 claim or site, the serial number assigned by the Secretary

12 to such mining claim or site, the description of the book

13 and page in which the notice or certificate of location for

14 such mining claim or site is recorded under State law, any

15 combination of the foregoing, or any other information

16 that reasonably identifies the mining claim or site for

17 which the maintenance fee is being paid. The statement

18 required under this subsection shall be in lieu of any an19 nual filing requirements for mining claims or sites, under

20 any other Federal law, but shall not supersede any such

21 filing requirement under applicable State law.

22 (d) EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE AS AGAINST SUBSE23 QUENT LOCATORS.—

24 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (d)(2) of

25 this subsection, after the date of enactment of this
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1 Act, compliance with the requirements of this section

2 and sections 202 and 203(a) shall, from the time the

3 location notice or certificate is posted on the land

4 under applicable State law, confer upon the owner of

5 any unpatented mining claim or site, whether lo6 cated before or after the date of enactment of this

7 Act, an exclusive right of possession, as against sub8 sequent locators, of the land included in such mining

9 claim or site for the purposes described in subsection

10 203(a). If more than one mining claim or site owned

11 or controlled by the same claim or site owner covers

12 substantially the same land, by reason of the loca13 tion of one or more mining claims or sites on such

14 land, the amendment or relocation of any such min15 ing claim or site, or otherwise, such exclusive right

16 of possession shall extend to all such mining claims

17 or sites, effective from the time the location notice

18 or certificate for the initial mining claim or site was

19 posted on such land under applicable State law. The

20 order of location, amendment, or relocation of any

21 such mining claims or sites on such land shall not

22 affect the validity of any such mining claim or site.

23 Such owner of the mining claim or site shall not be

24 required to be in actual, physical occupation of such

25 land and shall not be required to exclude rival loca-
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1 tors from such land. Such exclusive right of posses2 sion shall be subject to applicable Federal law, in3 cluding the Multiple Mineral Development Act of

4 1954 (30 U.S.C. 521–31), the Materials Act of 1947

5 (30 U.S.C. 601–604) and the Surface Resources Act

6 of 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611–15) to the extent applicable,

7 and shall neither enlarge nor diminish any rights of

8 such owner of the mining claim or site as against

9 the United States in such land. This paragraph shall

10 supersede the common law doctrine of pedis

11 possessio.

12 (2) Conflicts over the right of exclusive posses13 sion of land included in any mining claim or site

14 shall be determined in proceedings between owners

15 of mining claims or sites under the provisions of sec16 tion 910 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 53) and

17 other applicable law, including but not limited to the

18 following:

19 (A) Any conflict based upon circumstances

20 existing as of the date of enactment of this Act

21 between mining claims or sites located before

22 the date of enactment of this Act, which shall

23 be resolved under the law in effect on the day

24 prior to the date of enactment of this Act, in-
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1 cluding the common law doctrine of pedis

2 possessio.

3 (B) Any conflict arising on or after the

4 date of enactment of this Act between mining

5 claims or sites located before, on or after the

6 date of enactment over whether either owner of

7 the mining claim or site has complied with the

8 requirements of this section or section 202 or

9 203(a), shall be resolved under this Act.

10 (e) FAILURE OF CO-OWNER TO CONTRIBUTE.—

11 Upon the failure of any one or more of several co-owners

12 of any mining claim or site to contribute such co-owner

13 or owners’ portion of the location or maintenance fee

14 under this section, any co-owner who has paid such fee

15 may, after the payment due date, serve the delinquent co16 owner or owners with notice of such failure in writing or,

17 if such delinquent co-owner or owners cannot be located

18 after reasonable efforts, by publication in a general cir19 culation newspaper published in a location nearest the

20 mining claim or site at least once a week for at least ninety

21 days. If at the expiration of ninety days after such notice

22 in writing or by publication, any delinquent co-owner fails

23 or refuses to contribute the owed portion, such co-owner

24 or owners’ interest shall become the property of the owner

25 or co-owners who have paid the required fee.
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1 (f) LOCATION FEE.—The owner of each unpatented

2 mining claim or site located on or after the date of enact3 ment of this Act pursuant to the general mining laws shall

4 pay to the Secretary, at the time the notice or certificate

5 of location is filed with the Bureau of Land Management

6 pursuant to subsection 314(b) of the Federal Land Policy

7 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)), a loca8 tion fee of $25 per claim.

9 (g) CREDIT AGAINST ROYALTY.—The annual claim

10 maintenance fee paid for any unpatented mining claim or

11 site on or before September 1 of any year shall be credited

12 against the amount of royalty required to be paid under

13 title IV for such mining claim or site during the following

14 assessment year.

15 (h) FEE ADJUSTMENTS AND DISPOSITION.—

16 (1) At the end of each period of five assessment

17 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the

18 Secretary shall adjust the maintenance fee and the

19 location fee required by this section by an amount

20 equal to the net adjustment in the implicit price

21 deflator for the gross national product established by

22 the United States Department of Commerce over the

23 preceding five-year period, rounded up or down to

24 the nearest dollar.
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1 (2) The Secretary shall provide owners of min2 ing claims or sites with notice by publication in the

3 Federal Register and in local widely circulated news4 papers of any adjustment made under paragraph (1)

5 not later than January 1 of any assessment year in

6 which the adjustment is made.

7 (3) A fee adjustment under paragraph (1) shall

8 apply to the payment due for the next assessment

9 year after the assessment year in which notice is

10 given under paragraph (2).

11 (4) Subject to appropriations, all maintenance

12 and location fees received by the Secretary under

13 this section shall be paid into a State Fund or Fed14 eral Fund in accordance with sections 501 and 502,

15 until termination as provided in section 506 of this

16 Act.

17 (i) OIL SHALE CLAIMS SUBJECT TO CLAIM MAINTE18 NANCE FEE UNDER ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992.—

19 This section shall not apply to any oil shale claims for

20 which a fee is required to be paid under paragraph

21 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C.

22 242(e)(2)).

23 (j) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The failure of the owner

24 of the mining claim or site to pay the claim maintenance

25 fee or location fee for a mining claim or site on or before
17

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1 the date such payment is due under subsection (a) or sub2 section (f) of this section shall constitute forfeiture of the

3 mining claim or site and such mining claim or site shall

4 be null and void, effective as of the day after the date

5 such payment is due: Provided, however, That, if such

6 maintenance fee or location fee is paid or tendered on or

7 before the thirtieth day after such payment was due under

8 subsection (a) or subsection (f) of this section, such min9 ing claim or site shall not be forfeited or null or void, and

10 such maintenance fee or location fee shall be deemed time11 ly paid.

12 (k) REPEAL OF OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILIATION

13 ACT FEE REQUIREMENTS.—Sections 10101 through

14 10106 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993

15 (30 U.S.C. 28f–28k) are hereby repealed.

16 (l) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The third sentence

17 of section 2324 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28)

18 is amended by adding the words ‘‘Except as provided in

19 paragraph 201(b)(1) of the Mining Law Reform Act of

20 1997,’’ at the beginning of such sentence and deleting the

21 words ‘‘that is granted a waiver under section 10101 of

22 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993,’’.

23 (m) AMENDMENT OF FLPMA FILING REQUIRE24 MENTS.—
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1 (1) Section 314(a) of the Federal Land Policy

2 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(a))

3 is hereby repealed.

4 (2) Section 314(c) of the Federal Land Policy

5 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(c))

6 is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(c) FAILURE TO FILE AS CONSTITUTING FORFEIT8 URE; DEFECTIVE OR UNTIMELY FILING.—The failure to

9 timely file the copy of the notice or certificate of location

10 as required by subsection (b) shall constitute forfeiture of

11 the mining claim and such claim shall be null and void

12 by operation of law: Provided, however, That it shall not

13 be considered a failure to file if the notice or certificate

14 of location is defective or not timely filed for record under

15 other State or Federal laws permitting or requiring the

16 filing or recording thereof, or if the copy of the notice or

17 certificate is filed by or on behalf of some but not all of

18 the owners of the claim.’’.

19 SEC. 202. WAIVER AND EXEMPTION.

20 (a) WAIVER OF FEE.—The maintenance fee provided

21 for in subsection 201(a) shall be waived for the owner of

22 a mining claim or site who certifies in writing to the Sec23 retary, on or before the date the payment is due, that,

24 as of the date such payment is due, such owner and all

25 related persons own not more than twenty-five unpatented
19

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1 mining claims or sites. Any owner of a mining claim or

2 site that is not required to pay a maintenance fee under

3 this subsection shall continue to be subject to the assess4 ment work requirements of the general mining laws or of

5 any other State or Federal law, subject to any suspension

6 or deferment of annual assessment work provided by law,

7 for the assessment year following the filing of the certifi8 cation, and paragraph 201(b)(1) of this Act shall not

9 apply.

10 (b) RELATED PERSONS.—As used in subsection (a),

11 the term ‘‘related persons’’ includes—

12 (1) the spouse and dependent children (as de13 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986), of the owner of the mining claim or site; and

15 (2) a person controlled by, controlling, or under

16 common control with the owner of the mining claim

17 or site.

18 (c) EXEMPTION.—The owner of any mining claim or

19 site who certifies in writing to the Secretary on or before

20 the first day of any assessment year that access to such

21 mining claim or site was denied or in any way impeded

22 during the prior assessment year by the action or inaction

23 of any local, State, or Federal governmental officer, agen24 cy, or court, or by any Indian tribal authority, shall be

25 exempt from the maintenance fee and assessment work re-
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1 quirements of subsections (a) and (b) of section 201 for

2 the assessment year following the filing of the certifi3 cation.

4 SEC. 203. GOOD FAITH REQUIREMENT AND RESIDENTIAL

5 OCCUPANCY; DIVESTMENT.

6 (a) GOOD FAITH HOLDING OF MINING CLAIM OR

7 SITE.—The location, maintenance, and use of an

8 unpatented mining claim or site, whether located before

9 or after enactment of this Act, shall be for the purpose

10 of conducting mineral activities in good faith.

11 (b) RESIDENTIAL OCCUPANCY.—The Secretary shall

12 not prohibit residential occupancy of an unpatented min13 ing claim or site and shall not require removal of equip14 ment or facilities until mineral activities are completed,

15 if such occupancy is shown in a notice of intent or plan

16 of operations to be reasonably required to accomplish the

17 mineral activities described therein.

18 SEC. 204. PATENTS.

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

20 (c), any patent issued by the United States under the gen21 eral mining laws after the date of enactment of this Act

22 shall be issued only—

23 (1) upon payment by the owner of the claim of

24 the fair market value for the interest in the land

25 owned by the United States exclusive of and without
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1 regard to the mineral deposits in the land or the use

2 of the land for mineral activities; and

3 (2) subject to reservation by the United States

4 of the royalty provided in title IV.

5 (b) RIGHT OF REENTRY.—

6 (1) Except as provided in subsection (c), and

7 notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

8 United States shall retain a right of reentry in lands

9 patented under this section.

10 (2) Such right of reentry of the United States

11 shall ripen if—

12 (A) the Secretary, after engaging in good

13 faith discussions with the patentee, or any sub14 sequent owners, about the use of the land, con15 cludes that the patentee, or any subsequent

16 owners, has used the land for any purpose other

17 than conducting mineral activities in good faith;

18 (B) the Secretary has served on the pat19 entee, or subsequent owners, in the manner pre20 scribed for service of summons and complaint

21 under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, no22 tice specifying such unauthorized use and pro23 viding at least 90 days in which such unauthor24 ized use must be terminated. The giving of such

25 notice shall constitute final agency action ap-
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1 pealable by the patentee, or any subsequent

2 owners;

3 (C) such use is not discontinued within the

4 time period specified by the Secretary in the no5 tice provided under subparagraph (B) or within

6 sixty days after all appeal rights have expired

7 and any appeals of such notice have been finally

8 determined; and

9 (D) the Secretary elects to assert the right

10 of reentry in accordance with paragraph (3).

11 (3) The ripened right of reentry retained by the

12 United States pursuant to subparagraph (2) shall

13 vest and all right, title and interest in such patented

14 estate shall revert to the United States only if—

15 (A) the Secretary files a declaration of re16 entry within 6 months of the requisite occur17 rences under paragraph (2) with the Office of

18 the Bureau of Land Management in the state

19 where the lands subject to such right of reentry

20 are situated; and

21 (B) the Secretary records such declaration

22 in the office of the county recorder of the coun23 ty in which the lands subject to such right of

24 reentry are situated within 30 days of the filing

25 under subparagraph (A).
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1 (4) One year after the patentee, or any subse2 quent owners, provides written notice to the Sec3 retary that all mineral activities are completed and

4 applicable reclamation is completed, the right of re5 entry held by the United States and created under

6 this subsection shall expire unless within such period

7 the Secretary notifies the patentee, or any subse8 quent owners, in writing that the right of reentry

9 held by the United States will be exercised. At such

10 time, ownership of the patented lands shall auto11 matically revert to the United States, notwithstand12 ing the provisions of paragraph (2). The Secretary

13 may decline to exercise the right of reentry and such

14 rights shall continue if—

15 (A) solid waste or hazardous substances

16 released on or from the patented estate may

17 pose a threat to public safety or the environ18 ment; or

19 (B) acceptance of title would expose the

20 United States to liability for past mineral ac21 tivities on the patented estate.

22 (c) PROTECTION OF VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—Not23 withstanding any other provision of law, the requirements

24 of this Act (except with respect to claim maintenance fees

25 in accordance with section 201)—
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1 (1) shall not apply to the mining claims and

2 sites contained within those mineral patent applica3 tions pending at the Department as of September

4 30, 1997, which shall be processed under the general

5 mining laws in effect immediately prior to the date

6 of enactment of this Act; and

7 (2) likewise shall not apply to the mining claims

8 or sites for which there is on the date of enactment

9 of this Act a vested possessory property right

10 against the United States under the general mining

11 laws in effect immediately prior to the date of enact12 ment of this Act.

13 TITLE III—SURFACE MANAGE14 MENT OF MINERAL ACTIVI15 TIES

16 SEC. 301. PURPOSE; APPLICABILITY; OPERATING AND REC17 LAMATION STANDARDS.

18 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to pro19 vide for mineral entry, exploration, location and operations

20 pursuant to the general mining laws in a manner that will

21 not unduly hinder such activities or diminish rights, in22 cluding but not limited to all statutory and common law

23 rights of access, obtained under the general mining laws

24 or other authorities, but will assure that such activities

25 are conducted in a manner that will prevent unnecessary
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1 and undue degradation of nonmineral surface resources on

2 Federal lands. Compliance with the provisions of this title

3 shall constitute a compliance with (i) the final sentence

4 of subsection 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Man5 agement Act (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)); and (ii) any standard

6 related to the management of surface resources within the

7 National Forest System contained in or derived from the

8 Organic Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 473 et seq.), the

9 Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528

10 et seq.), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

11 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), or any

12 other law applicable to Federal lands subject to this title

13 within the National Forest System.

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—This title shall apply only to

15 mineral activities on those Federal lands where the surface

16 estate is managed by the Bureau of Land Management

17 or the Forest Service.

18 (c) OPERATIONS.—All mineral activities on Federal

19 lands shall be conducted so as to prevent unnecessary and

20 undue degradation of Federal lands by complying with ap21 plicable requirements of Federal and State environmental

22 protection laws, including but not limited to—

23 (1) the Atomic Energy Act of 1952 (42 U.S.C.

24 2011 et seq.);

25 (2) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.);
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1 (3) the Comprehensive Environmental Re2 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

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

4 (4) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (14

5 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);

6 (5) the Federal Land Policy and Management

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

8 (6) the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of

9 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.);

10 (7) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

11 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Clean Water Act’’)

12 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

13 (8) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re14 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et

15 seq.);

16 (9) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C.

17 703 et seq.);

18 (10) the National Environmental Policy Act of

19 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);

20 (11) the National Historic Preservation Act (16

21 U.S.C. 470 et seq.);

22 (12) title XIV of the Public Health Service Act

23 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Safe Drinking Water

24 Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);
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1 (13) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

2 6901 et seq.);

3 (14) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

4 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and

5 (15) the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Con6 trol Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.).

7 (d) RECLAMATION.—In order to prevent unnecessary

8 and undue degradation of surface resources, Federal lands

9 disturbed by mineral activities shall be reclaimed, to the

10 extent economically and technically practicable, in compli11 ance with the provisions of section 304.

12 (e) DESIGNATED LANDS.—Where any mineral activi13 ties are to be conducted on Federal lands administered

14 by the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service

15 specifically designated by any special Act of Congress that

16 applies a specific land management, resource protection

17 or reclamation standard (such as wild and scenic rivers

18 and designated wilderness) to such lands, such manage19 ment or protection standard shall apply to the extent of

20 any conflict with the provisions of this title.

21 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION FOR MINERAL ACTIVITIES.

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

23 subsections (b) and (c) of this section, no person may en24 gage in mineral activities on Federal lands unless that per25 son has filed a plan of operations with, and received ap-
28

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1 proval of the plan from, the Secretary in accordance with

2 section 303.

3 (b) NOTICE REQUIRED.—

4 (1) A person may engage in mineral activities

5 on Federal lands that cause only minor, short term,

6 readily reclaimable impacts on surface resources, in7 cluding but not limited to initial exploratory test

8 hole drilling and road limited to initial exploratory

9 test hole drilling and road construction, only after

10 filing with the Secretary a notice of intent to con11 duct such activities.

12 (2) Such notice shall include—

13 (A) the name and mailing address of the

14 operator;

15 (B) when applicable, the name of the min16 ing claim(s) or site(s), and serial number(s) as17 signed to the mining claim(s) or site(s) on

18 which mineral activities are proposed;

19 (C) a statement describing the activities

20 proposed and their location in sufficient detail

21 to locate the operations on the ground, and giv22 ing the approximate date when activities will

23 begin. The statement shall include a description

24 and the location of any access routes to be con-
29

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1 structed or improved and the type of equipment

2 to be used in their construction;

3 (D) a statement that reclamation of all

4 areas will be completed as required by sub5 section 301(d), and that mineral activities will

6 comply with the operations standard as re7 quired by subsection 301(c); and

8 (E) evidence of financial assurance as re9 quired by section 306.

10 (3) Failure of the operator to conduct mineral

11 activities in conformance with the notice and the re12 quirements of this title may cause the operator to be

13 subject to enforcement pursuant to section 308.

14 (4) The Secretary shall review the notice within

15 thirty days of receipt. If the Secretary determines

16 that the proposed mineral activities will, or are likely

17 to cause more than minor, short term, readily re18 claimable impacts on surface resources, the Sec19 retary shall provide a statement of reasons explain20 ing why the mineral activities cannot proceed under

21 notice and shall require in writing that the operator

22 submit a proposed plan of operations in accordance

23 with the requirements of section 303. Failure of the

24 Secretary to respond in writing within thirty days of
30

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1 receipt of the notice shall be deemed to be approval

2 of the mineral activities proposed in the notice.

3 (5) The Secretary shall establish by regulation

4 from time to time additional categories of mineral

5 activities which may be conducted under notice

6 based on the amount of surface to be disturbed, the

7 type of equipment to be used, the time required for

8 reclamation, and other relevant factors.

9 (c) OTHER MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—Notwithstanding

10 the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), any person may

11 conduct mineral activities on Federal lands which cause

12 only a minimal disturbance of surface resources, including

13 but not limited to claim location; exploration; geological,

14 geophysical or geochemical surveys; environmental base15 line monitoring; activities related to the gathering of data

16 related to the preparation or analysis of a notice or plan

17 of operations under this title, or required under any other

18 applicable Federal or State environmental law or regula19 tion; and other activities designated by the Secretary,

20 without filing a notice or plan of operations with the Sec21 retary.

22 (d) TRANSFER OF RIGHTS.—An operator may trans23 fer, assign or sell any rights associated with a notice with24 out approval by the Secretary: Provided, That the succes25 sor in interest agrees in writing to assume the liabilities
31

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1 and reclamation responsibilities established under sub2 section (b) and provides evidence of financial assurance

3 as required under section 306. The transfer, assignment

4 or sale shall not become effective prior to the filing of such

5 writing and evidence of financial assurance with the Sec6 retary. The financial assurance of the transferee shall be

7 substituted for the assurance previously submitted by the

8 transferor and the financial assurance of the transferor

9 shall be fully released.

10 SEC. 303. PLAN OF OPERATIONS; CONTENT, REVIEW AND

11 APPROVAL.

12 (a) PLAN OF OPERATIONS REQUIREMENTS.—A plan

13 of operations required under this title shall contain—

14 (1) the name and mailing address of the opera15 tor;

16 (2) when applicable, the name of the mining

17 claim(s) or site(s), and serial number(s) assigned to

18 the mining claim(s) or site(s) on which mineral ac19 tivities are proposed;

20 (3) a general description of the mineral activi21 ties proposed, including the anticipated periods dur22 ing which the proposed mineral activities will occur;

23 (4) a map showing existing and/or proposed

24 routes of surface access, or other means of access,
32

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1 and identifying areas where surface disturbance will

2 occur;

3 (5) information describing the land and water

4 resources of the area expected to be disturbed by the

5 proposed mineral activities and any proposed mitiga6 tion measures necessary to comply with the require7 ments of this title;

8 (6) a reclamation plan which includes proposed

9 measures to reclaim Federal lands disturbed by the

10 proposed mineral activities as required under sub11 section 301(d);

12 (7) evidence of adequate financial assurance as

13 required under section 306; and

14 (8) a monitoring plan to assure compliance with

15 the requirements of the plan of operations.

16 (b) PLAN OF OPERATIONS REVIEW.—A proposed

17 plan of operations shall be submitted to the Secretary, who

18 shall promptly acknowledge receipt thereof to the opera19 tor. The Secretary shall promptly review the proposed plan

20 of operations and shall notify the operator within thirty

21 days—

22 (1) that the plan of operations has been ap23 proved as submitted;
33

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1 (2) of all changes in, or additions to the pro2 posed plan of operations necessary to comply with

3 the requirements of this title; or

4 (3) that a specified reasonable amount of time

5 is necessary to complete the review, setting forth the

6 circumstances which justify the additional time.

7 (c) MINERAL ACTIVITIES PENDING REVIEW.—Any

8 operator who has submitted a plan of operations under

9 this section may continue to conduct mineral activities

10 otherwise authorized pursuant to subsections (b) and (c)

11 of section 302 within the geographic area covered by the

12 proposed plan of operations pending its approval.

13 (d) PLAN OF OPERATIONS APPROVAL.—

14 (1) The Secretary shall approve a proposed

15 plan of operations within a reasonable period of time

16 if—

17 (A) the proposed plan of operations sub18 stantially complies with the requirements of this

19 title; and

20 (B) the applicant has complied with the re21 quirements of section 306 concerning financial

22 assurance.

23 (2) If, after review, the Secretary determines

24 that a proposed plan of operations will not substan25 tially comply with the requirements of this title, the
34

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1 Secretary shall specify all deficiencies in the pro2 posed plan, shall request the operator to modify the

3 proposed plan to comply with the requirements of

4 this title and shall specify all necessary modifications

5 to the proposed plan.

6 (e) MODIFICATIONS TO AN APPROVED PLAN OF OP7 ERATIONS.—

8 (1) MINOR MODIFICATIONS.—At any time dur9 ing which mineral activities are being conducted

10 under an approved plan of operations, an operator

11 may make minor modifications to the approved plan

12 of operations by notifying the Secretary. Failure of

13 the Secretary to respond in writing within thirty

14 days of receipt of the proposed minor modification

15 shall be deemed to be approval of the minor modi16 fication. For purposes of this title, a ‘‘minor modi17 fication’’ is a change to the approved plan of oper18 ations that is not likely to result in significant im19 pacts to surface resources different from those pre20 viously considered in the approved plan of oper21 ations.

22 (2) REVIEW OF MINOR MODIFICATIONS.—If the

23 Secretary determines that a proposed minor modi24 fication may be significant, the Secretary shall pro25 vide a statement of reasons and may require the op-
35

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1 erator to submit a significant modification to the

2 plan of operations pursuant to paragraph (3) of this

3 subsection.

4 (3) SIGNIFICANT MODIFICATION.—At any time

5 during activities under an approved plan of oper6 ations, the operator may propose a significant modi7 fication to the approved plan of operations. A sig8 nificant modification must be submitted, reviewed

9 and approved in the same manner as a plan of oper10 ations under this section, except that the modifica11 tion need not include information required under

12 subsection 303(a) if the modification requires no

13 change to such information: Provided, however, That

14 approval of such modification shall neither require

15 nor be denied or conditioned upon retrofit, redesign,

16 reconstruction, closure or change in the operation of

17 any facility, structure or mineral activity previously

18 approved. For purposes of this title, a ‘‘significant

19 modification’’ is a change to the approved plan of

20 operations which is likely to result in significant im21 pacts to surface resources different from those pre22 viously considered in the approved plan of oper23 ations.

24 (4) REQUEST BY SECRETARY.—At any time

25 during which mineral activities are being conducted
36

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1 under an approved plan of operations, the Secretary

2 may request that an operator submit a modification

3 to the approved plan of operations together with a

4 written determination that such modification is nec5 essary to prevent unnecessary and undue degrada6 tion of Federal lands as required by section 301.

7 The Secretary’s determination that a modification is

8 necessary shall be subject to notice to the operator

9 and a right to a hearing at the request of the opera10 tor. If the Secretary has requested a modification

11 under this paragraph, mineral activities may con12 tinue in accordance with the approved plan of oper13 ations until the modification is submitted, reviewed

14 and approved.

15 (f) TERM.—An approved plan of operations shall re16 main in effect as approved until the mineral activities sub17 ject to the approved plan of operations are completed or

18 until the plan of operations are completed or until the plan

19 of operations is modified.

20 (g) TRANSFER OF RIGHTS.—An operator may trans21 fer, assign or sell any rights associated with an approved

22 plan of operations without approval by the Secretary, pro23 vided that the successor in interest agrees in writing to

24 assume the liabilities and reclamation responsibilities es25 tablished by the approved plan of operations and provide
37

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1 evidence of financial assurance as required under section

2 306. The transfer, assignment or sale shall not become

3 effective prior to the filing of such writing and evidence

4 of financial assurance with the Secretary. The financial

5 assurance of the transferee shall be substituted for the as6 surance previously submitted by the transferor, and the

7 financial assurance of the transferor shall be fully re8 leased.

9 SEC. 304. RECLAMATION.

10 A reclamation plan submitted with a proposed plan

11 of operations pursuant to section 303 shall include appro12 priate measures to comply with substantive reclamation

13 requirements of the State in which the proposed mineral

14 activities will be located to the extent that those require15 ments are not in conflict with the purposes of the general

16 mining laws and this Act, and the applicable provisions

17 of State and Federal environmental protection laws, in18 cluding those Federal laws listed in subsection 301(c). A

19 proposed reclamation plan that complies with such State

20 and Federal requirements shall be deemed sufficient to

21 prevent unnecessary and undue degradation and to comply

22 with subsection 301(d), and certification or other approval

23 issued by a State or Federal agency of compliance with

24 such laws shall be deemed compliance with this section.
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1 SEC. 305. TRANSITION RULES.

2 (a) APPLICABILITY TO EXISTING OPERATIONS.—

3 Mineral activities for which an operator is authorized to

4 proceed under notice or for which a plan of operations has

5 been approved prior to the date of enactment of this Act

6 shall continue under the terms and conditions of such no7 tice or plan. Notices which were filed within thirty days

8 of the effective date of enactment of this Act, and plans

9 of operations which have been submitted before but not

10 approved on the date of enactment of this Act, shall be

11 reviewed based on the law existing on the day prior to

12 the date of enactment of this Act. Significant modifica13 tions to approved plans of operations shall be submitted,

14 reviewed, and approved pursuant to the applicable require15 ments of this title: Provided, however, That approval of

16 such modifications shall neither require nor be conditioned

17 upon retrofit, redesign, reconstruction, closure or change

18 in the operation of any facility, structure or mineral activ19 ity previously approved.

20 (b) ENFORCEMENT AND FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—

21 Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the en22 forcement provisions of section 308 shall apply to all min23 eral activities on the effective date of this Act and, within

24 one year after the effective date of this Act, all operators

25 operating under notice or a plan of operations shall submit
39

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1 to the Secretary evidence of adequate financial assurance

2 as may be required under section 306.

3 SEC. 306. FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.

4 (a) EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.—

5 (1) Prior to the commencement of any mineral

6 activities requiring a plan of operations, an operator

7 shall furnish evidence to the Secretary of a bond,

8 surety, self-insurance or other financial assurance

9 (including the use of bonding pools or a financial as10 surance instrument posted with a State or another

11 Federal agency) in an amount sufficient to cover the

12 reasonably estimated cost to complete reclamation as

13 required by the plan of operations.

14 (2)(A) Prior to conducing notice activities sub15 ject to subsection 302(b), the operator shall comply

16 with the financial assurance requirements promul17 gated by the Secretary applicable to such notice ac18 tivities. Such requirements shall allow operators or

19 owners of mining claims or sites to use bonding

20 pools or statewide or nationwide bonds. Statewide or

21 nationwide bonds shall be in amounts fixed by regu22 lation that cover notice activities at multiple loca23 tions statewide or nationwide, as appropriate.

24 (B) For such notice activities conducted be25 tween the date of enactment of this Act and the ef-
40

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1 fective date of such regulations, the operator or

2 owner of the mining claim or site shall provide evi3 dence of financial assurance, in the form and man4 ner authorized by the Secretary’s regulations in ef5 fect on the date of enactment of this Act, in an

6 amount sufficient to cover the reasonable estimated

7 cost of reclamation required as a result of such no8 tice activities.

9 (b) REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT.—Not later than five

10 years after the financial assurance is provided, and each

11 five years thereafter, or at the request of the operator,

12 the Secretary shall review its adequacy and may increase

13 or decrease the amount of the financial assurance based

14 upon changed circumstances, including a determination by

15 the Secretary that a portion of the reclamation has been

16 completed.

17 (c) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR INCREMENTS.—Fi18 nancial assurance for increments of mineral activities may

19 be authorized if the financial assurance for an increment

20 covers all reclamation costs within the area covered by the

21 notice or plan of operations for that increment. After rec22 lamation is completed, an operator may apply for, and the

23 Secretary may grant, release of the financial assurance for

24 the completed increment.
41

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1 SEC. 307. FEDERAL AND STATE AUTHORITY AND COOPERA2 TION.

3 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

4 (1) Upon request from a State, the Secretary

5 shall enter into a cooperative agreement with that

6 State for joint administration of the requirements of

7 this title relating to mineral activities requiring a no8 tice or plan of operations, financial assurances, rec9 lamation, inspection and enforcement if the Sec10 retary determines in writing that such State has the

11 capability to implement the agreement in a manner

12 consistent with the purposes of this title. A coopera13 tive agreement may cover (i) some or all of the re14 sponsibilities enumerated in this paragraph, and (ii)

15 some or all mineral activities on Federal lands with16 in a State.

17 (2) Under a cooperative agreement, a State and

18 the Secretary may jointly administer mineral activi19 ties on Federal lands. The State and the Secretary

20 shall make an independent and timely decision re21 garding individual plans of operation under this

22 title, but in no event shall the State’s authority

23 under applicable Federal environmental protection

24 statutes be restricted.

25 (3) Under a cooperative agreement, the State

26 may conduct inspections and monitoring activities,
42

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1 and take enforcement actions deemed necessary to

2 determine or require compliance with the require3 ments of this Act, other than recommending civil ac4 tions under section 308. The Secretary may not take

5 enforcement action where a State under a coopera6 tive agreement already has initiated appropriate en7 forcement action unless the State requests that the

8 Secretary recommend initiation of a civil action

9 under section 308.

10 (4) Under a cooperative agreement, the finan11 cial assurance sufficient to cover reclamation of Fed12 eral lands shall be calculated based on the comple13 tion of both the Federal and State reclamation re14 quirements, and may be held as one bond. The fi15 nancial assurance shall be approved by both the Sec16 retary and the State prior to approval of a plan of

17 operations, and the Secretary and the State may

18 agree that the financial assurance may not be re19 leased without Federal and State concurrence. Fi20 nancial assurance that duplicates financial assurance

21 required under other State or Federal law shall not

22 be required under this title.

23 (5) If a cooperative agreement is entered into

24 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall, subject

25 to appropriations, reimburse the State for its regu-
43

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1 latory costs in an amount approximating, but not ex2 ceeding, the reasonably estimated amount the Sec3 retary would have reasonably expended absent a co4 operative agreement.

5 (6) Each cooperative agreement entered into

6 pursuant to this section shall provide that (i) the

7 Secretary shall take appropriate action, including

8 termination of the agreement, upon a determination

9 that State performance under the agreement is not

10 in substantial compliance with the agreement or the

11 requirements of this title, and (ii) prior to taking

12 any such action, the Secretary shall provide notice to

13 the State allowing the State a reasonable time to

14 come into substantial compliance.

15 (b) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Any cooperative

16 agreement or memorandum of understanding between the

17 Secretary and any State related to the surface manage18 ment of mineral activities on Federal lands subject to this

19 Act in existence on the date of enactment of this Act shall

20 continue in force unless the Secretary determines such

21 agreement or memorandum of understanding is inconsist22 ent with the provisions of this title.
44

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1 SEC. 308. ENFORCEMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL

2 REVIEW.

3 (a) INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary, or a State if the

4 State has entered into a cooperative agreement pursuant

5 to section 307, shall conduct a minimum of one complete

6 inspection each year of mineral activities for which a plan

7 of operations or notice is required under section 302 to

8 ensure compliance with the terms of the plan or notice.

9 The operator shall grant access at reasonable times and

10 under reasonable circumstances to the appropriate des11 ignated representative of the Secretary or State when re12 quested. The Secretary or the State must give reasonable

13 notice to the operator before commencing any inspection.

14 The Secretary or the State may inspect more frequently,

15 if warranted, and may modify the inspection schedule as

16 necessary for mineral activities that are conducted on a

17 seasonal basis.

18 (b) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—

19 (1) Whenever, on the basis of any inspection

20 authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary finds

21 that the operator is in violation of any term or con22 dition of a plan of operations or notice, the Sec23 retary may issue an order requiring the operator to

24 comply with such requirement, or may request the

25 Attorney General to bring a civil action in accord26 ance with subsection (c): Provided, however, That
45

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1 the Secretary shall not request commencement of a

2 civil action if (i) the violation is corrected within

3 thirty days, and (ii) the violation is neither causing

4 nor likely to cause irreparable harm to the environ5 ment or a threat to human health or safety.

6 (2) Any order issued under this subsection shall

7 state with reasonable specificity the nature of the

8 violation and shall require compliance within a rea9 sonable period of time specified in the order. The

10 Secretary may extend the time specified for compli11 ance for a reasonable period, considering the serious12 ness of the violation and any good faith efforts to

13 comply with the terms and conditions of the plan of

14 operation.

15 (c) CIVIL ACTIONS.—At the request of the Secretary,

16 the Attorney General may institute a civil action in the

17 district court of the United States for the district in which

18 the affected operation is located for a temporary restrain19 ing order, injunction, civil penalties as provided in sub20 section (d), or other appropriate remedy, when the opera21 tor (i) violates or refuses to comply with an order issued

22 by the Secretary under subsection (b), or (ii) refuses to

23 allow an inspection authorized under subsection (a).

24 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—An operator that fails to

25 comply with the requirements applicable to mineral activi-
46

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1 ties conducted under notice pursuant to section 302 or the

2 terms or conditions of a plan of operations approved under

3 section 302, after notice of such failure and expiration of

4 a reasonable period allowed for abatement as specified

5 pursuant to subsection (b), is subject to a civil penalty

6 of not more than $5,000 for each day of the continuance

7 of such noncompliance. In determining the amount of the

8 penalty, the court shall consider the existence of previous

9 violations at the operation, the seriousness of the violation,

10 the likelihood of irreparable harm to the environment and

11 any hazard to the health or safety of the public, whether

12 the operator was negligent, and the good faith of the oper13 ator.

14 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—

15 (1) Any operator issued a compliance order

16 under this section may apply to the Secretary for re17 view of the order within thirty days of receipt there18 of, or as the case may be, within thirty days of such

19 order being modified.

20 (2) The Secretary shall provide an opportunity

21 for a hearing on the record at the request of the op22 erator.

23 (3) Pending completion of any review proceed24 ings under this subsection, the operator may file

25 with the Secretary a written request that the Sec-
47

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1 retary grant temporary relief from any order issued

2 under this section, supported by a detailed statement

3 of reasons for such relief. The Secretary shall expe4 ditiously issue an order or decision granting or deny5 ing such relief.

6 (f) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.— Final agency action

7 under this title shall be subject to judicial review pursuant

8 to 5 U.S.C. 701–706 and 28 U.S.C. 1331.

9 SEC. 309. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

10 The provisions of this title shall supersede any provi11 sion of the general mining laws or the Federal Land Policy

12 and Management Act, and any standard related to the

13 management of surface resources within the National For14 est System contained in or derived from the Organic Ad15 ministration Act (16 U.S.C. 473 et seq.), the Multiple16 Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et seq.),

17 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning

18 Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), or any other law

19 applicable to Federal lands subject to this title within the

20 National Forest System, and any rules promulgated under

21 such laws, only to the extent that such laws or rules con22 flict or are inconsistent with the provisions of this title.

23 Orders, rules and regulations in effect as of the date of

24 enactment of this Act which govern surface management
48

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1 of mineral activities shall remain in effect under the au2 thority of this title.

3 TITLE IV—ROYALTY

4 SEC. 401. ROYALTY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The production and sale of

6 locatable minerals (including associated minerals) from

7 any unpatented mining claim (other than those from Fed8 eral lands to which subsection 204(b) applies) or any min9 ing claim patented under subsection 204(a) shall be sub10 ject to a royalty of 5 percent of the Net Proceeds from

11 such production mined and sold from such claim.

12 (b) ROYALTY EXCLUSION.—

13 (1) The royalty payable under this title shall be

14 waived for any person with annual Net Proceeds

15 from mineral production subject to subsection (a) of

16 less than $50,000.

17 (2) The obligation to pay royalties hereunder

18 shall accrue only upon the sale of locatable minerals

19 or mineral products produced from a mining claim

20 subject to such royalty, and not upon the stockpiling

21 of the same for future processing.

22 (3) Where mining operations subject to this sec23 tion are conducted in two or more places by the

24 same person and qualify for a waiver under sub25 section 202(a) the operations shall be considered a
49

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1 single operation the aggregate Net Proceeds from

2 which shall be subject to the $50,000 limitation set

3 forth in this subsection.

4 (4) No royalty shall be payable pursuant to this

5 title with respect to minerals processed at a facility

6 by the same person or entity which extracted the

7 minerals if an urban development action grant has

8 been made under section 119 of the Housing and

9 Community Development Act of 1974 with respect

10 to any portion of such facility.

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this title, the

12 term:

13 (1) ‘‘Gross Yield’’ shall mean—

14 (A) in the case of sales of gold and silver

15 ore, concentrates or bullion, or the sales of

16 other locatable minerals in the form of ore or

17 concentrates, the actual proceeds of sale of such

18 ore, concentrates or bullion;

19 (B) in the case of sales of beneficiated

20 products from locatable minerals other than

21 those subject to section 401(c)(1)(A), such as

22 cathode, anode or copper rod or wire, or other

23 products fabricated from the locatable minerals,

24 the gross income from mining derived from the

25 first commercially marketable product deter-
50

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1 mined in the same manner as under section 613

2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

3 (C) in the event that ore, concentrates,

4 beneficiated or fabricated products or locatable

5 minerals are used or consumed and are not sold

6 in an arms length transaction, the reasonable

7 fair market value of the ore, concentrates,

8 beneficiated or fabricated products at the mine

9 or wellhead determined from the first applicable

10 of the following:

11 (i) published or other competitive sell12 ing prices of locatable minerals of like kind

13 and grade;

14 (ii) any proceeds of sale;

15 (iii) value received in exchange for any

16 thing or service; or

17 (iv) the value of any locatable min18 erals in kind or used or consumed in a

19 manufacturing process or in providing a

20 service; and

21 (D) without limiting the foregoing, the

22 profits or losses incurred in connection with for23 ward sales, futures or commodity options trad24 ing, metal loans, or any other price hedging or
51

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1 speculative activity or arrangement shall not be

2 included in Gross yield.

3 (2) ‘‘Net Proceeds’’ shall mean Gross Yield, less

4 the sum of the following allowable deductions for

5 costs incurred prior to sale or value determination,

6 and none other:

7 (A) The actual cost of extracting the

8 locatable mineral.

9 (B) The actual cost of transporting the

10 locatable mineral from the claim to the place or

11 places of reduction, beneficiation, refining, and

12 sale.

13 (C) The actual cost of reduction,

14 beneficiation, refining, and sale of the locatable

15 mineral.

16 (D) The actual cost of marketing and de17 livering the locatable mineral and the conver18 sion of the locatable mineral into money.

19 (E) The actual cost of maintenance and re20 pairs of—

21 (i) all machinery, equipment, appara22 tus, and facilities used in the mine;

23 (ii) all crushing, milling, leaching, re24 fining, smelting, and reduction works,

25 plants, and facilities; and
52

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1 (iii) all facilities and equipment for

2 transportation.

3 (F) The actual cost for support personnel

4 and support services at the mine site, including

5 without limitation, accounting, assaying, draft6 ing and mapping, computer services surveying,

7 housing, camp, and office expenses, safety, and

8 security.

9 (G) The actual cost of engineering, sam10 pling, and assaying pertaining to development

11 and production.

12 (H) The actual cost of permitting, rec13 lamation, environmental compliance and mon14 itoring.

15 (I) The actual cost of fire and other insur16 ance on the machinery, equipment, apparatus,

17 works, plants, and facilities mentioned in sub18 paragraph (E).

19 (J) Depreciation of the original capitalized

20 cost of the machinery, equipment, apparatus,

21 works, plants, and facilities listed in subpara22 graph (E). The annual depreciation charge shall

23 consist of amortization of the original cost in a

24 manner consistent with the Internal Revenue

25 Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.
53

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1 The probable life of the property represented by

2 the original cost must be considered in comput3 ing the depreciation charge.

4 (K) All money expended for premiums for

5 industrial insurance, and the owner paid cost of

6 hospital and medical attention and accident

7 benefits and group insurance for all employees

8 engaged in the production or processing of

9 locatable minerals.

10 (L) All money paid as contributions or

11 payments under State unemployment com12 pensation law, all money paid as contributions

13 under the Federal Social Security Act, and all

14 money paid to State government in real prop15 erty taxes and severance or other taxes meas16 ured or levied on production, or Federal excise

17 tax payments and payments as fees or charges

18 for use of the Federal lands from which the

19 locatable minerals are produced.

20 (M) The actual cost of developmental work

21 in or about the mine or upon a group of mines

22 when operated as a unit.

23 (d) LIMITATIONS AND ALLOCATIONS OF NET PRO24 CEEDS, GROSS YIELD, AND ALLOWABLE DEDUCTIONS.—
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1 (1) The several deductions listed in subpara2 graph (c)(2) are intended to allow a reasonable al3 lowance for overhead: Provided, That they do not in4 clude any expenditures for salaries, or any portion of

5 salaries, of any person not actually engaged in—

6 (A) the working of the mine;

7 (B) the operating of the leach pads, ponds,

8 plants, mills, smelters, or reduction works;

9 (C) the operating of the facilities or equip10 ment for transportation; or

11 (D) superintending the management of any

12 of those operations described in subparagraphs

13 (A)–(C).

14 (2) Ores or solutions of locatable minerals, sub15 ject to the royalty requirements of this title, may be

16 extracted from mines comprised of mining claims

17 and lands other than mining claims. Ore or solutions

18 of locatable minerals, subject to the royalty require19 ments of this section, may be commingled with ores

20 or solutions from lands other than mining claims. In

21 any such case, for the purposes of determining the

22 amount of royalties payable under this title—

23 (A) the operator shall first sample, weigh

24 or measure, and assay the same in accordance

25 with accepted industry standards; and
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1 (B) Gross Yield, allowable costs and Net

2 Proceeds for royalty purposes shall be allocated

3 in proportion to mineral products recovered

4 from the mining claims in accordance with ac5 cepted industry standards.

6 (e) LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS.—The

7 owner or co-owners of a mining claim subject to a royalty

8 under this title shall be liable for such royalty to the extent

9 of the interest in such claim owned. As used in this sub10 section, ‘‘owner’’ and ‘‘co-owner’’ mean the person or per11 sons owning the right to mine locatable minerals from

12 such claim and receiving the Net Proceeds of such sale.

13 No person who makes any royalty payment attributable

14 to the interest of the owner or co-owners liable therefor

15 shall become liable to the United States for such royalty

16 as a result of making such payment on behalf of such

17 owner or co-owners.

18 (f) TIME AND MANNER OF PAYMENTS.—

19 (1) Royalty payments for production from any

20 mining claim subject to a royalty under this title

21 shall be due to the United States at the end of the

22 month following the end of the calendar quarter in

23 which the Net Proceeds from the sale of such pro24 duction are received by the owner or co-owners. Roy25 alty payments may be made based upon good faith
56

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1 estimates of the Gross Yield, Net Proceeds and the

2 quantity of ore, concentrates, or other beneficiated

3 or fabricated products of locatable minerals, subject

4 to adjustment when the actual annual Gross Yield,

5 Net Proceeds and quantity are determined by the

6 owner or co-owners of the mining claim.

7 (2) Each royalty payment or adjustment shall

8 be accompanied by a statement containing each of

9 the following:

10 (A) the name and Bureau of Land Man11 agement serial number of the mining claim or

12 claims from which ores, concentrates, solutions

13 or beneficiated products of locatable minerals

14 subject to the royalty required in this section

15 were produced and sold for the period covered

16 by such payment or adjustment;

17 (B) the estimated (or actual, if deter18 mined) quantity of such ore, concentrates, solu19 tions or beneficiated or fabricated products pro20 duced and sold from such mining claim or

21 claims for such period;

22 (C) the estimated (or actual, if deter23 mined) Gross Yield from the production and

24 sale of such ore, concentrates, solutions or

25 beneficiated products for such period;
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1 (D) the estimated (or actual, if deter2 mined) Net Proceeds from the production and

3 sale of such ores, concentrates, solutions or

4 beneficiated products for such period, including

5 an itemization of the applicable deductions de6 scribed in paragraph (c)(2); and

7 (E) the estimated (or actual, if deter8 mined) royalty due to the United States, or ad9 justment due to the United States from such

10 owner or co-owners, for such period.

11 (3) In lieu of receiving a refund under sub12 section (h)(2), the owner of co-owners may elect to

13 apply any adjustment due to such owner or co-own14 ers as an offset against royalties due from such

15 owner or co-owners to the United States under this

16 Act, regardless of whether such royalties are due for

17 production and sale from the same mining claim or

18 claims.

19 (g) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE20 MENTS.—

21 (1) An owner, operator, or other person directly

22 involved in conducting mineral activities,

23 transportating, purchasing, or selling of locatable

24 minerals, concentrates, or products derived there25 from, subject to a royalty under this title, through
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1 the point of royalty computation, shall establish and

2 maintain any records, make any reports, and provide

3 any information that the Secretary may reasonably

4 require for the purposes of implementing this title or

5 determining compliance with regulations or orders

6 under this title. Upon the request of the Secretary

7 when conducting an audit or investigation pursuant

8 to subsection (i), the appropriate records, reports, or

9 information which may be required by this title shall

10 be made available for inspection and duplication by

11 the Secretary.

12 (2) Records required by the Secretary under

13 this title shall be maintained for three years after

14 the records are generated unless the Secretary noti15 fies the record holder that he or she has initiated an

16 audit or investigation specifically identifying and in17 volving such records and that such records must be

18 maintained for a longer period. When an audit or in19 vestigation is under way, such records shall be main20 tained until the earlier of the date that the Secretary

21 releases the record holder of the obligation to main22 tain such records or the date that the limitations pe23 riod applicable to such audit or investigation under

24 subsection (i) expires.

25 (h) INTEREST ASSESSMENTS.—
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1 (1) If any royalty payments under this title are

2 not received by the Secretary on the date that such

3 payments are due, or if such payments are less than

4 the amount due, the Secretary shall charge interest

5 on such unpaid amount. Interest under this sub6 section shall be computed at the rate published by

7 the Department of the Treasury as the ‘‘Treasury

8 Current Value of Funds Rate’’. In the case of an

9 underpayment or partial payment, interest shall be

10 computed and charged only on the amount of the de11 ficiency and not on the total amount, and only for

12 the number of days such payment is late. No other

13 late payment or underpayment charge or penalty

14 shall be charged with respect to royalties under this

15 title.

16 (2) In any case in which royalty payments are

17 made in excess of the amount due, or amounts are

18 held by the Secretary pending the outcome of any

19 appeal in which the Secretary does not prevail, the

20 Secretary shall promptly refund such overpayments

21 or pay such amounts to the person or persons enti22 tled thereto, together with interest thereon for the

23 number of days such overpayment or amounts were

24 held by the Secretary, with the addition of interest

25 charged against the United States computed at the
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1 rate published by the Department of the Treasury as

2 the ‘‘Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate’’.

3 (i) AUDITS, PAYMENT DEMANDS, AND LIMITA4 TIONS.—

5 (1) The Secretary may conduct, after notice,

6 any audit reasonably necessary and appropriate to

7 verify the royalty payment required under this title.

8 Notice of such audit shall be provided to all owners,

9 co-owners, and mine managers.

10 (2) The Secretary shall send or issue any billing

11 or demand letter for royalty due on locatable min12 erals produced and sold from any mining claim sub13 ject to a royalty under this title not later than three

14 years after the date such royalty was due and must

15 specifically identify the production involved, the roy16 alty allegedly due and the basis for the claim. No ac17 tion, proceeding or claim for royalty due on locatable

18 minerals produced and sold, or relating to such pro19 duction, may be brought by the United States, in20 cluding but not limited to any claim for additional

21 royalties or claim of the right to offset the amount

22 of such additional royalties against amounts owed to

23 any person by the United States, unless judicial suit

24 or administrative proceedings are commenced to re25 cover specific amounts claimed to be due prior to the
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1 expiration of three years from the date such royalty

2 is alleged to have been due.

3 (j) CONFIDENTIALTY.—The Secretary shall maintain

4 the confidentiality of all information obtained under this

5 title.

6 (k) TRANSITIONAL RULES.—Any mining claim for

7 which a patent is issued pursuant to subsection 204(c)

8 shall not be subject to the obligation to pay the royalty

9 pursuant to this section. Royalty payments for any claim

10 processed under subsection 204(c) shall be suspended

11 pending final determination of the right to patent. For

12 any claim that does not qualify for the issuance of a patent

13 under subsection 204(c), royalties shall be payable under

14 this title on production after the date of enactment of this

15 Act, plus interest computed at the rate published by the

16 Department of the Treasury as the ‘‘Treasury Current

17 Value of Funds Rate’’ on production after such date of

18 enactment and before the date of such determination.

19 (l) DISBURSEMENT OF REVENUES.—Subject to ap20 propriations, all receipts from royalties collected under

21 this section shall be paid into a State Fund or Federal

22 Fund in accordance with sections 501 and 502; until ter23 mination as provided in section 506 of this Act.

24 (m) NO IMPLIED COVENANTS.—The owner of a min25 ing claim subject to the provisions of this title shall have
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1 no obligation, expressed or implied, to explore for, develop,

2 produce or market locatable minerals as a result of the

3 obligation to pay royalty hereunder, and the timing, na4 ture, extent and manner of exploring, developing, mining

5 and marketing such locatable minerals shall be in the sole

6 discretion of the claim owner.

7 (n) PENALTIES.—Any person who withholds payment

8 or royalties under this title after a final, nonappealable

9 determination of liability may be liable for civil penalties

10 of up to $5,000 per day that payment is withheld after

11 becoming due.

12 TITLE V—ABANDONED LOCAT13 ABLE MINERALS MINE REC14 LAMATION PROGRAM

15 SEC. 501. ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERAL MINE REC16 LAMATION FUND.

17 (a) STATE FUND.—Any State within which royalties,

18 maintenance fees or location fees are collected pursuant

19 to this Act from a mining claim and which elects to be20 come eligible to receive such funds shall establish and

21 maintain an interest-bearing abandoned locatable mineral

22 mine reclamation fund (referred to in this Act as the

23 ‘‘State Fund’’) to accomplish the purposes of this title.

24 States with existing abandoned locatable mineral mine rec-
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1 lamation programs shall qualify to receive funds under

2 this Act.

3 (b) FEDERAL FUND.—There is established on the

4 books of the Treasury of the United States an interest5 bearing fund to be known as the Abandoned Locatable

6 Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (referred to in this Act

7 as the ‘‘Federal Fund’’) which shall consist of royalty pro8 ceeds, maintenance fees and location fees collected from

9 mining claims in a State where a State Fund has not been

10 established or maintained under subsection (a).

11 SEC. 502. ALLOCATION AND PAYMENTS.

12 (a) STATE FUND.—Royalties, maintenance fees and

13 location fees collected pursuant to this Act shall be paid

14 by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State Fund estab15 lished pursuant to subsection 501(a) for the State where

16 the mining is located. Payments to States under this sub17 section with respect to any funds received by the United

18 States, shall be made not later than the last business day

19 of the month in which such funds are warranted by the

20 United States Treasury to the Secretary of the Interior

21 as having been received, except for any portion of such

22 funds which is under challenge, which shall be placed in

23 a suspense account pending resolution of such challenge.

24 Such warrants shall be issued by the United States Treas25 ury not later than ten days after receipt of such funds
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1 by the Treasury. Funds placed in a suspense account

2 which are determined to be due the United States shall

3 be payable to a State Fund not later than fifteen days

4 after such challenge is resolved. Any such amount placed

5 in a suspense account pending resolution shall bear inter6 est until the challenge is resolved. In determining the

7 amount of payments to State Funds under this section,

8 the amount of such payments shall not be reduced by any

9 administrative or other costs incurred by the United

10 States.

11 (b) FEDERAL FUND.—Royalties, maintenance fees

12 and location fees collected pursuant to this Act from min13 ing claims located in a State which has not established

14 or maintained a State Fund, and such proceeds from min15 ing claims located in a State for which the Secretary’s au16 thority has expired under subsection 506(a), shall be cred17 ited to the Federal Fund and distributed in accordance

18 with subsection (c).

19 (c) TRANSITION.—Prior to the time a State estab20 lishes a State Fund pursuant to subsection 501(a), any

21 funds collected from a mining claim within such State

22 shall be deposited into the Federal Fund and allocated to

23 such State. Once a State establishes a State Fund under

24 subsection 501(a), the State allocation in the Federal

25 Fund with accrued interest shall be paid by the Secretary
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1 of the Treasury to the State Fund in accordance with sub2 section (a). Commencing three years after the date of en3 actment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall

4 distribute funds then accrued or which are thereafter cred5 ited to the Federal Fund equally among all States which

6 maintain a State Fund established under subsection

7 501(a), and for which the Secretary of the Treasury’s au8 thority has not expired under subsection 506(a).

9 SEC. 503. ELIGIBLE AREA.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), lands

11 and water eligible for reclamation under this title shall be

12 Federal lands that—

13 (1) have been adversely affected by past min14 eral activities on lands abandoned and left inad15 equately reclaimed prior to the date of enactment of

16 this Act; and

17 (2) for which the State determines there is no

18 identifiable party with a continuing reclamation re19 sponsibility under State or Federal laws.

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

21 The following areas shall not be eligible for expenditures

22 from a State Fund:

23 (1) Any area subject to a plan of operations

24 submitted or approved prior to, on or after the date

25 of enactment of this Act which includes remining or
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1 reclamation of the area adversely affected by past

2 locatable mineral activities.

3 (2) Any area affected by coal mining eligible for

4 reclamation expenditures pursuant to section 404 of

5 the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

6 (30 U.S.C. 1234),

7 (3) Any area designated for remedial action

8 pursuant to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation

9 Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7912), and

10 (4) Any area that was listed on the National

11 Priorities List pursuant to the Comprehensive Envi12 ronmental Response, Compensation and Liability

13 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605) prior to the date of

14 enactment of this Act, or where the Environmental

15 Protection Agency has initiated or caused to be initi16 ated a response action pursuant to that Act.

17 SEC. 504. USES AND OBJECTIVES OF FUNDS.

18 (a) USE OF FUNDS.— Moneys in a State Fund shall

19 be used for the reclamation of eligible areas. For purposes

20 of this section, reclamation includes—

21 (1) backfilling, fencing, sealing, or otherwise

22 controlling abandoned underground mine entries to

23 protect public health and safety;

24 (2) abatement, treatment or control of water

25 pollution;
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1 (3) shaping, grading, contouring and revegeta2 tion of land to prevent erosion and sedimentation, or

3 to enhance fish and wildlife habitat;

4 (4) removal or control of toxic or hazardous

5 materials;

6 (5) analysis, curation and preservation of struc7 tures, buildings, sites or objects listed or eligible for

8 listing pursuant to the National Historic Preserva9 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 470a); and

10 (6) control or reclamation of surface subsidence

11 due to abandoned underground mines.

12 (b) PRIORITIES.— Expenditures of moneys from a

13 State Fund shall reflect the following priorities in the

14 order stated, but shall not preclude, where feasible and

15 appropriate, a combination of these priorities for cost-ef16 fective reclamation:

17 (1) The protection of public health, safety, gen18 eral welfare and property from extreme danger from

19 the adverse effects of past mineral activities.

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

21 general welfare from the adverse effects of past min22 eral activities.

23 (c) LIABILITY.—No State, or a contractor for such

24 State engaged in approved reclamation work under this

25 title, or any other entity authorized by a State to conduct
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1 approved reclamation activities, shall be liable under any

2 provision of Federal law for any costs or damages as a

3 result of action taken or omitted in the course of carrying

4 out reclamation pursuant to this section. This subsection

5 shall not preclude liability for costs and damages as a re6 sult of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. For

7 purposes of the preceding sentence, reckless, willful or

8 wanton misconduct shall constitute gross negligence.

9 SEC. 505. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

10 Annually, each State with a State Fund shall submit

11 a report to the Congress providing an accounting of the

12 State Fund, including identifying sites for which moneys

13 in the State Fund have been spent during the preceding

14 year and sites for which moneys shall be allocated in the

15 following year, the amounts spent or expected to be spent

16 on each such site, and an estimate of the number of eligi17 ble areas that remain to be reclaimed in the State.

18 SEC. 506. SUNSET PROVISIONS.

19 (a) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— The Secretary

20 of the Treasury’s authority to allocate funds to a State

21 Fund under section 502 shall expire on the date that the

22 State submits a report to the Congress pursuant to section

23 505 which reports that there are no areas in the State

24 which remain to be reclaimed and the Secretary of the

25 Interior has verified such report.
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1 (b) TERMINATION OF FUND.— Upon the termination

2 of authority as provided in subsection (a) with respect to

3 all State Funds, the Federal Fund shall also be termi4 nated, and all funds thereafter shall be disbursed as fol5 lows:

6 (1) 50 percent of such funds shall be paid into

7 the Treasury of the United States and deposited as

8 miscellaneous receipts; and

9 (2) the remaining 50 percent of such funds

10 shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the

11 state in which the mining claim is located.

12 TITLE VI—MINERAL MATERIALS

13 SEC. 601. DETERMINATIONS.

14 Section 3 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

15 611), is amended as follows: Insert ‘‘(a)’’ before the first

16 sentence. Add the following new subsection at the end

17 thereof:

18 ‘‘(1) Subject to valid existing rights, after the

19 date of enactment of this subsection, notwithstand20 ing the reference to common varieties in subsection

21 (a) and to the exception to such term relating to a

22 deposit of materials with some property giving it dis23 tinct and special value, all deposits of mineral mate24 rials referred to in such subsection, including the

25 block pumice referred to in such subsection, shall be
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1 subject to disposal only under the terms and condi2 tions of the Materials Act of 1947.

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

4 ‘valid existing rights’ means that a mining claim lo5 cated for any such mineral material had some prop6 erty giving it the distinct and special value referred

7 to in subsection (a), or as the case may be, met the

8 definition of block pumice referred to in such sub9 section, was properly located and maintained under

10 the general mining laws prior to the date of the en11 actment of this subsection, and was supported by a

12 discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within the

13 meaning of the general mining laws as in effect im14 mediately prior to such date of enactment and that

15 such claim continues to be valid under this Act.’’.

16 SEC. 602. IDENTIFIED DEPOSITS.

17 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal

18 of materials on the public lands of the United States’’,

19 approved July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 602), is amended by

20 adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFIED DEPOSITS.—

22 ‘‘(1) Lands known to contain valuable deposits

23 of mineral materials subject to this Act and subse24 quent amendments and not covered by any contract,

25 permit, or lease, for uncommon varieties of mineral
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1 materials under this section or by a valid mining

2 claim for an uncommon variety of a mineral material

3 under the general mining laws shall be subject to

4 disposition by lease under this Act by the Secretary

5 through advertisement, competitive bidding, or such

6 other methods as he may by general regulations

7 adopt, and in such reasonably compact areas as he

8 shall fix.

9 ‘‘(2) All leases will be conditioned upon—

10 ‘‘(A) the payment by the lessee of such

11 royalty as may be fixed in the lease, not less

12 than two percent of the quantity or gross value

13 of the output of mineral materials, and

14 ‘‘(B) the payment in advance of a rental of

15 25 cents per acre for the first calendar year or

16 fraction thereof; 50 cents per acre for the sec17 ond, third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively;

18 and $1 per acre per annum thereafter during

19 the continuance of the lease, such rental for

20 that year being credited against royalties accru21 ing for that year.

22 ‘‘(3)(A) Any lease issued under this subsection

23 shall be for a term of 20 years and so long there24 after as the lessee complies with the terms and con25 ditions of the lease and upon the further condition
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1 that at the end of each 20-year period succeeding

2 the date of the lease such reasonable adjustment of

3 the terms and conditions thereof may be made there4 in as may be prescribed by the Secretary unless oth5 erwise provided by law at the expiration of such pe6 riods.

7 ‘‘(B) Leases shall be conditioned upon a mini8 mum annual production or the payment of a mini9 mum royalty in lieu thereof, except when production

10 is interrupted by strikes, the elements, or casualties

11 not attributable to the lessee.

12 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may permit suspension of

13 operations under any such leases when marketing

14 conditions are such that the leases cannot be oper15 ated except at a loss.

16 ‘‘(D) The Secretary upon application by the les17 see prior to the expiration of any existing lease in

18 good standing shall amend such lease to provide for

19 the same tenure and to contain the same conditions,

20 including adjustment at the end of each 20-year pe21 riod succeeding the date of said lease, as provided

22 for in this subsection.

23 ‘‘(c) OTHER LANDS.—

24 ‘‘(1) The Secretary is hereby authorized, under

25 such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to
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1 grant to any qualified applicant a prospecting permit

2 which shall give the exclusive right to prospect for

3 mineral materials in lands belonging to the United

4 States which are not subject to subsection (b), and

5 are not covered by a contract, permit, or lease under

6 this Act, except that a prospecting permit shall not

7 exceed a period of 2 years and the area to be in8 cluded in such a permit shall not exceed 2,560 acres

9 of land in reasonably compact form.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall reserve and may exer11 cise the authority to cancel any prospecting permit

12 upon failure by the permittee to exercise due dili13 gence in the prosecution of the prospecting work in

14 accordance with the terms and conditions stated in

15 the permit, and shall insert in every such permit is16 sued under the provisions of this Act appropriate

17 provisions for its cancellation by him,

18 ‘‘(3)(A) Upon showing to the satisfaction of the

19 Secretary that valuable deposits of one of the min20 eral materials subject to the Materials Act of 1947

21 have been discovered by the permittee within the

22 area covered by his permit, and that such land is

23 valuable therefor, the permittee shall be entitled to

24 a lease for any or all of the land embraced in the

25 prospecting permit, at a royalty of not less than two
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1 percent of the quantity or gross value of the output

2 of the mineral materials at the point of shipment to

3 market, such lease to be taken in compact form by

4 legal subdivisions of the public land surveys, or if

5 the land be not surveyed, by survey executed at the

6 cost of the permittee in accordance with regulations

7 prescribed by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(B) Persons holding valid mining claims for

9 uncommon varieties of mineral materials shall be en10 titled to receive a lease under this subsection.

11 ‘‘(d) MINERAL MATERIALS DISPOSAL CLARIFICA12 TION.—Section 4 July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 612), is

13 amended as follows:

14 ‘‘(1) In subsection (b) insert ‘and mineral mate15 rial’ after ‘vegetative’.

16 ‘‘(2) In subsection (c) insert ‘and mineral mate17 rial’ after ‘vegetative’.

18 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION FOR DISPOSAL OF MINERAL

19 MATERIALS BY CONTRACT.—Section 2(a) of the Act enti20 tled ‘An Act to provide for the disposal of materials on

21 the public lands of the United States’, approved July 31,

22 1947 (30 U.S.C. 602(a)), is amended—

23 ‘‘(1) by striking the period at the end of para24 graph (3) and inserting ‘or, if’, and
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1 ‘‘(2) by adding after paragraph (3) the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘ ‘(4) the material is a mineral material.’.’’.

4 TITLE VII—ADMINISTRATIVE

5 PROVISIONS

6 SEC. 701. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 The provisions of this Act shall take effect on the

8 date of enactment of this Act, except as otherwise provided

9 in this Act.

10 SEC. 702. EFFECT ON FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS.

11 (a) EFFECT ON THE GENERAL MINING LAWS.—The

12 provisions of this Act shall supersede the general mining

13 laws only to the extent such laws conflict with the require14 ments of this Act. Where so such conflict exists, the gen15 eral mining laws, including all judicial and administrative

16 decisions interpreting them, shall remain in full force and

17 effect.

18 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE

19 LAWS.—Except as provided in subsection (a), nothing in

20 this Act shall be construed—

21 (1) as superseding, modifying, amending or re22 pealing any other provision of Federal law, State law

23 or Federal or State regulation enacted pursuant

24 thereto, not expressly superseded, modified, amended

25 or repealed;
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1 (2) without limiting the foregoing, as affecting

2 or intended to affect or in any way interfere with or

3 modify the laws of the States relating to the owner4 ship, control, appropriation, use and distribution of

5 ground or surface waters or the regulation by States

6 of surface or ground water quality; and

7 (3) as affecting or modifying in any way the

8 rights, obligations or liabilities of any person under

9 other provision of law.

10 SEC. 703. SEVERABILITY.

11 If any provision of this Act or the applicability there12 of to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the re13 mainder of the Act and the application of such provision

14 to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

15 thereby.

Æ