I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 357

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain

lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. MILLER of Califronia, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. VENTO,

Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr DEFAZIO, and Mr. KLECZKA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals

on public domain lands, consistent with the principles

of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

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

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions and references.
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TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 101. Lands open to location.

Sec. 102. Rights under this act.

Sec. 103. Location of mining claims.

Sec. 104. Conversion of existing claims.

Sec. 105. Claim maintenance requirements.

Sec. 106. Failure to comply.

Sec. 107. Basis for contest.

TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 201. Surface management standard.

Sec. 202. Permits.

Sec. 203. Exploration permits.

Sec. 204. Operations permit.

Sec. 205. Persons ineligible for permits.

Sec. 206. Financial assurance.

Sec. 207. Reclamation.

Sec. 208. State law and regulation.

Sec. 209. Unsuitability review.

Sec. 210. Certain mineral activities covered by other law.

TITLE III—ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE

RECLAMATION FUND

Sec. 301. Abandoned locatable minerals mine reclamation.

Sec. 302. Use and objectives of the fund.

Sec. 303. Eligible lands and waters.

Sec. 304. Fund expenditures.

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 306. Royalty.

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SUBTITLE A—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Policy functions.

Sec. 402. User fees.

Sec. 403. Public participation requirements.

Sec. 404. Inspection and monitoring.

Sec. 405. Citizens suits.

Sec. 406. Administrative and judicial review.

Sec. 407. Enforcement.

Sec. 408. Regulations; effective dates.

SUBTITLE B—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 411. Transitional rules; surface management requirements.

Sec. 412. Claims subject to special rules.

Sec. 413. Purchasing power adjustment.

Sec. 414. Savings clause.

Sec. 415. Availability of public records.

Sec. 416. Miscellaneous powers.

Sec. 417. Limitation on patent issuance.

Sec. 418. Multiple mineral development and surface resources.
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Sec. 419. Mineral materials.

Sec. 420. Application of Act to beneficiation and processing of nonFederal minerals on Federal lands.

Sec. 421. Compliance with Buy American Act.

Sec. 422. Severability.

Sec. 423. Award of Compensation for takings from Fund.

Sec. 424. Report to Congress on mining claims in the United States held by

foreign firms.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares the fol3 lowing:

4 (1) The general mining laws, commonly re5 ferred to as the Mining Law of 1872, at one time

6 promoted the development of the West and provided

7 a framework for the exploitation of Federal mineral

8 resources.

9 (2) Congress recognized that the public interest

10 was no longer being advanced under the Mining Law

11 of 1872 when, in 1920, it removed energy minerals

12 and minerals chiefly valuable for agricultural use,

13 and in 1955, removed common varieties of mineral

14 materials, from the scope of the general mining laws

15 and made such minerals available under regimes

16 which provide for a financial return to the public for

17 the disposition of such minerals and which better

18 safeguard the environment.

19 (3) The Mining Law of 1872 no longer fosters

20 the efficient and diligent development of those min21 eral resources still under its scope, giving rise to
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1 speculation and nonmining uses of lands chiefly val2 uable for minerals.

3 (4) The Mining Law of 1872 does not provide

4 for a financial return to the American people for use

5 by claim holders of public domain lands or for the

6 disposition of valuable mineral resources from such

7 lands.

8 (5) The Mining Law of 1872 continues to

9 transfer lands valuable for mineral resources from

10 the public domain to private ownership for less than

11 the fair market value of such lands and mineral re12 sources.

13 (6) There are a substantial number of acres of

14 land throughout the Nation disturbed by mining ac15 tivities conducted under the Mining Law of 1872 on

16 which little or no reclamation was conducted, and

17 the impacts from these unreclaimed lands pose a

18 threat to the public health, safety, and general wel19 fare and to environmental quality.

20 (7) Activities under the Mining Law of 1872

21 continue to result in disturbances of surface areas

22 and water resources which burden and adversely af23 fect the public welfare by destroying or diminishing

24 the utility of public domain lands for other appro-
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1 priate uses and by creating hazards dangerous to

2 the public health and safety and to the environment.

3 (8) Existing Federal law and regulations, as

4 well as applicable State laws, have proven to be in5 adequate to ensure that active mining operations

6 under the Mining Law of 1872 will not leave to fu7 ture generations a new legacy of hazards associated

8 with unreclaimed mined lands.

9 (9) The public interest is no longer being served

10 by archaic features of the Mining Law of 1872 that

11 thwart the efficient exploration and development of

12 those minerals which remain under its scope and

13 which conflict with modern public land use manage14 ment philosophies.

15 (10) The public is justified in expecting the dili16 gent development of its mineral resources, a finan17 cial return for the use of public domain lands for

18 mineral activities as well as for the disposition of

19 valuable mineral resources from such lands.

20 (11) It is not in the public interest for public

21 domain lands to be sold far below fair market value

22 nor does this aspect of the Mining Law of 1872

23 comport with modern Federal land policy which is

24 grounded on the retention of public domain lands

25 under the principles of multiple use.
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1 (12) Mining and reclamation technology is now

2 developed so that effective and reasonable regulation

3 of operations by the Federal Government in accord4 ance with this Act is an appropriate and necessary

5 means to minimize so far as practicable the adverse

6 social, economic and environmental effects of such

7 mining operations.

8 (13) Mining activities on public domain lands

9 affect interstate commerce, contribute to the eco10 nomic well-being, security and general welfare of the

11 Nation and should be conducted in an environ12 mentally sound manner.

13 (14) It is necessary that any revision of the

14 general mining laws insure that a domestic supply of

15 hardrock minerals be made available to the domestic

16 economy of the United States.

17 (15) America’s economy still depends heavily on

18 hardrock minerals and a strong environmentally

19 sound mining industry is critical to the domestic

20 minerals supply.

21 (16) Many of the deposits of hardrock minerals

22 remain to be discovered on the Federal public do23 main.
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1 (17) Private enterprise must be given adequate

2 incentive to engage in a capital-intensive industry

3 such as hardrock mining.

4 (18) The United States, as owner of the public

5 domain, has a dual interest in insuring a fair return

6 for mining on the public domain and insuring that

7 any royalty and fees charged do not discourage es8 sential mining activity on the public domain.

9 (19) The domestic mining industry provides

10 thousands of jobs directly and indirectly to the do11 mestic economy and those jobs must be preserved

12 and encouraged by a sound Federal policy regarding

13 mining on Federal lands.

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

15 (1) to devise a more socially, fiscally and envi16 ronmentally responsible regime to govern the use of

17 public domain lands for the exploration and develop18 ment of those minerals not subject to mineral leas19 ing acts or mineral materials statutes;

20 (2) to provide for a fair return to the public for

21 the use of public domain lands for mineral activities

22 and for the disposition of minerals from such lands;

23 (3) to foster the diligent development of mineral

24 resources on public domain lands in a manner that
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1 is compatible with other resource values and envi2 ronmental quality;

3 (4) to promote the restoration of mined areas

4 left without adequate reclamation prior to the enact5 ment of this Act and which continue, in their

6 unreclaimed condition, to substantially degrade the

7 quality of the environment, prevent the beneficial

8 use of land or water resources, and endanger the

9 health and safety of the public;

10 (5) to assure that appropriate procedures are

11 provided for public participation in the development,

12 revision and enforcement of regulations, standards

13 and programs established under this Act; and

14 (6) to, whenever necessary, exercise the full

15 reach of Federal constitutional powers to ensure the

16 protection of the public interest through the effective

17 control of mineral exploration and development ac18 tivities.

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES.

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

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

22 any person, any of the following:

23 (A) Any person who controls, is controlled

24 by, or is under common control with such per25 son.
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1 (B) Any partner of such person.

2 (C) Any person owning at least 10 percent

3 of the voting shares of such person.

4 (2) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap5 plying for a permit under this Act or a modification

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

7 (3) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crush8 ing and grinding of locatable mineral ore and such

9 processes as are employed to free the mineral from

10 other constituents, including but not necessarily lim11 ited to, physical and chemical separation techniques.

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

13 holding a mining claim located or converted under

14 this Act. Such term may include an agent of a claim

15 holder.

16 (5) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the abil17 ity, directly or indirectly, to determine (without re18 gard to whether exercised through one or more cor19 porate structures) the manner in which an entity

20 conducts mineral activities, through any means, in21 cluding without limitation, ownership interest, au22 thority to commit the entity’s real or financial as23 sets, position as a director, officer, or partner of the

24 entity, or contractual arrangement. The Secretary

25 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly pro-
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1 mulgate such rules as may be necessary under this

2 paragraph.

3 (6) The term ‘‘exploration’’ means those tech4 niques employed to locate the presence of a locatable

5 mineral deposit and to establish its nature, position,

6 size, shape, grade and value not associated with min7 ing, beneficiation, processing or marketing of min8 erals.

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

10 in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe or individ11 ual or held by an Indian tribe or individual subject

12 to a restriction by the United States against alien13 ation.

14 (8) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

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

16 or community, including any Alaska Native village

17 or regional corporation as defined in or established

18 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

19 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recognized as

20 eligible for the special programs and services pro21 vided by the United States to Indians because of

22 their status as Indians.

23 (9) The term ‘‘land use plans’’ means those

24 plans required under section 202 of the Federal

25 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
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1 U.S.C. 1712) or the land management plans for Na2 tional Forest System units required under section 6

3 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

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

5 is applicable.

6 (10) The term ‘‘legal subdivisions’’ means an

7 aliquot quarter quarter section of land as established

8 by the official records of the public land survey sys9 tem, or a single lot as established by the official

10 records of the public land survey system if the perti11 nent section is irregular and contains fractional lots,

12 as the case may be.

13 (11)(A) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ means

14 any mineral, the legal and beneficial title to which

15 remains in the United States and which is not sub16 ject to disposition under any of the following:

17 (i) The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

18 181 and following).

19 (ii) The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

20 (30 U.S.C. 1001 and following).

21 (iii) The Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

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

23 601 and following).

24 (iv) The Mineral Leasing for Acquired

25 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 and following).
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1 (B) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ does not in2 clude any mineral held in trust by the United States

3 for any Indian or Indian tribe, as defined in section

4 2 of the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982

5 (25 U.S.C. 2101), or any mineral owned by any In6 dian or Indian tribe, as defined in that section, that

7 is subject to a restriction against alienation imposed

8 by the United States.

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

10 activity on Federal lands for, related to, or inciden11 tal to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation,

12 processing, or reclamation activities for any locatable

13 mineral.

14 (13) The term ‘‘mining’’ means the processes

15 employed for the extraction of a locatable mineral

16 from the earth.

17 (14) The term ‘‘mining claim’’ means a claim

18 for the purposes of mineral activities.

19 (15) The term ‘‘National Conservation System

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

21 National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and

22 Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, or a

23 National Conservation Area, National Recreation

24 Area, a National Forest Monument or any unit of

25 the National Wilderness Preservation System.
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1 (16) The term ‘‘operator’’ means any person,

2 conducting mineral activities subject to this Act or

3 any agent of such a person.

4 (17) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual,

5 Indian tribe, partnership, association, society, joint

6 venture, joint stock company, firm, company, cor7 poration, cooperative or other organization and any

8 instrumentality of State or local government includ9 ing any publicly owned utility or publicly owned cor10 poration of State or local government.

11 (18) The term ‘‘processing’’ means processes

12 downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare

13 locatable mineral ore into the final marketable prod14 uct, including but not limited to, smelting and elec15 trolytic refining.

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

17 of the Interior, unless otherwise specified.

18 (20) The term ‘‘surface management require19 ments’’ means the requirements and standards of

20 title II, and such other standards as are established

21 by the Secretary governing mineral activities pursu22 ant to this Act.

23 (b) REFERENCES.—(1) Any reference in this Act to

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

25 Acts which generally comprise chapters 2, 12A, and 16,
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1 and sections 161 and 162 of title 30 of the United States

2 Code.

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

4 1955’’, is a reference to the Act of July 23, 1955, entitled

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

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

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

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

9 TITLE I—MINERAL EXPLO10 RATION AND DEVELOPMENT

11 SEC. 101. LANDS OPEN TO LOCATION.

12 (a) LANDS OPEN TO LOCATION.—Except as provided

13 in subsection (b), mining claims may be located under this

14 Act on lands and interests in lands owned by the United

15 States if—

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

17 location of mining claims under the general mining

18 laws on the date of enactment of this Act; or

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

20 location of mining claims after the date of enact21 ment of this Act by reason of any administrative ac22 tion or statute.

23 (b) LANDS NOT OPEN TO LOCATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

25 provision of law and subject to valid existing rights,
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1 each of the following shall not be open to the loca2 tion of mining claims under this Act on or after the

3 date of enactment of this Act:

4 (A) Lands recommended for wilderness

5 designation by the agency managing the sur6 face, pending a final determination by the Con7 gress of the status of such recommended lands.

8 (B) Lands being managed by the Sec9 retary, acting through Bureau of Land Manage10 ment, as wilderness study areas on the date of

11 enactment of this Act except where the location

12 of mining claims is specifically allowed to con13 tinue by the statute designating the study area,

14 pending a final determination by the Congress

15 of the status of such lands.

16 (C)(i) Lands under study for inclusion in

17 the National Wild and Scenic River System

18 pursuant to section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic

19 Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)), pending a final

20 determination by the Congress of the status of

21 such lands, and (ii) lands determined by a Fed22 eral agency under section 5(d) of such Act to

23 be eligible for inclusion in such system, pending

24 a final determination by the Congress of the

25 status of such lands.
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1 (D) Lands withdrawn from mineral activi2 ties under authority of other law.

3 (2) DEFINITION.—(A) As used in this sub4 section, the term ‘‘valid existing rights’’ refers to a

5 mining claim located on lands described in para6 graph (1) of subsection (a) that—

7 (i) was properly located and maintained

8 under this Act prior to and on the applicable

9 date, or

10 (ii) was properly located and maintained

11 under the general mining laws prior to the ap12 plicable date, and

13 (I) was supported by a discovery of a

14 valuable mineral deposit within the mean15 ing of the general mining laws on the ap16 plicable date, and

17 (II) continues to be valid under this

18 Act.

19 (B) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘appli20 cable date’’ means one of the following:

21 (i) In the case of lands described in para22 graph (1)(A), such term means the date of the

23 recommendation referred to in paragraph

24 (1)(A) if such recommendation is made on or

25 after the enactment of this Act.
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1 (ii) In the case of lands described in para2 graph (1)(A), if the recommendation referred to

3 in paragraph (1)(A) was made before the enact4 ment of this Act, such term means the earlier

5 of (I) the date of enactment of this Act or (II)

6 the date of any withdrawal of such lands from

7 mineral activities.

8 (iii) For lands described in paragraph

9 (1)(B), such term means the date of the enact10 ment of this Act.

11 (iv) For lands referred to in paragraph

12 (1)(C)(i), such term means the date of the en13 actment of the amendment to the Wild and Sce14 nic Rivers Act listing the river segment for

15 study and for lands referred to in paragraph

16 (1)(C)(ii), such term means the date of the eli17 gibility determination.

18 (v) For lands referred to in paragraph

19 (1)(D), such term means the date of the with20 drawal.

21 SEC. 102. RIGHTS UNDER THIS ACT.

22 The holder of a mining claim located or converted

23 under this Act and maintained in compliance with this Act

24 shall have the exclusive right of possession and use of the

25 claimed land for mineral activities, including the right of
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1 ingress and egress to such claimed lands for such activi2 ties, subject to the rights of the United States under this

3 Act and other applicable Federal law. Such rights of the

4 claim holder shall terminate upon completion of mineral

5 activities of lands to the satisfaction of the Secretary. In

6 cases where an area is determined unsuitable under sec7 tion 209, holders of claims converted or located under this

8 Act shall be entitled to receive a refund of claim mainte9 nance fees.

10 SEC. 103. LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS.

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

12 claim covering lands open to the location of mining claims

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

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

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

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

17 posted on a suitable, durable monument erected as near

18 as practicable to the northeast corner of the mining claim.

19 No person who is not a citizen of the United States, or

20 a corporation organized under the laws of the United

21 States or of any State or the District of Columbia may

22 locate or hold a claim under this Act. On or after the en23 actment of this Act, a mining claim for a locatable mineral

24 on lands open to location—
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1 (1) may be located only in accordance with this

2 Act,

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

4 Act, and

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

6 Act.

7 (b) USE OF PUBLIC LAND SURVEY.—Except as pro8 vided in subsection (c), each mining claim located under

9 this Act shall (1) be located in accordance with the public

10 land survey system, and (2) conform to the legal subdivi11 sions thereof. Except as provided in subsection (c)(1), the

12 legal description of the mining claim shall be based on the

13 public land survey system and its legal subdivisions.

14 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) If only a protracted survey ex15 ists for the public lands concerned, each of the following

16 shall apply in lieu of subsection (b):

17 (A) The legal description of the mining claim

18 shall be based on the protracted survey and the min19 ing claim shall be located as near as practicable in

20 conformance with a protracted legal subdivision.

21 (B) The mining claim shall be monumented on

22 the ground by the erection of a suitable, durable

23 monument at each corner of the claim.

24 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

25 shall include a reference to any existing survey
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1 monument, or where no such monument can be

2 found within a reasonable distance, to a permanent

3 and conspicuous natural object.

4 (2) If no survey exists for the public lands concerned,

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

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

7 with each side laid out in cardinal directions, 40

8 acres in size.

9 (B) The claim shall be monumented on the

10 ground by the erection of a suitable durable monu11 ment at each corner of the claim.

12 (C) The legal description of the mining claim

13 shall be expressed in metes and bounds and shall be

14 defined by and referenced to the closest existing sur15 vey monument, or where no such monument can be

16 found within a reasonable distance, to a permanent

17 and conspicuous natural object. Such description

18 shall be of sufficient accuracy and completeness to

19 permit recording of the claim upon the public land

20 records and to permit the claim to be readily found

21 upon the ground.

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

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

24 description of such claim in the notice of location referred

25 to in subsection (a), the notice of location shall be deter-
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1 minative, except where determined otherwise by the Sec2 retary.

3 (d) FILING WITH SECRETARY.—(1) Within 30 days

4 after the location of a mining claim pursuant to this sec5 tion, a copy of the notice of location referred to in sub6 section (a) shall be filed with the Secretary in an office

7 designated by the Secretary.

8 (2)(A) Whenever the Secretary receives a copy of a

9 notice of location of a mining claim under this Act, the

10 Secretary shall assign a serial number to the mining claim,

11 and immediately return a copy of the notice of location

12 to the locator of the claim, together with a certificate set13 ting forth the serial number, a description of the claim,

14 and the claim maintenance requirements of section 105.

15 The Secretary shall enter the claim on the public land

16 records.

17 (B) Return of the copy of the notice of location and

18 provision of the certificate under subparagraph (A) shall

19 not constitute a determination by the Secretary that a

20 claim is valid. Failure by the Secretary to provide such

21 copy and certificate shall not constitute a defense against

22 cancellation of a claim for failure to follow applicable re23 quirements of this Act.

24 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for

25 every unpatented mining claim located after the date of
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1 enactment of this Act, the locator shall, at the time the

2 location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Man3 agement, pay a location fee of $25.00 per claim. The loca4 tion fee shall be in addition to the claim maintenance fee

5 payable under section 105.

6 (4) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 314 of the Fed7 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

8 1744(b)) are repealed.

9 (e) CONVERTED CLAIMS.—For mining claims and

10 mill sites deemed converted under this Act, for the pur11 poses of complying with the requirements of subsection

12 (d), upon receipt of the initial claim maintenance fee re13 quired under section 105, the Secretary shall issue a cer14 tificate referenced in subsection (d)(2) to the holder of the

15 mining claim or mill site.

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

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

18 location.

19 (g) LANDS COVERED BY CLAIM.—A mining claim lo20 cated or converted under this Act shall include all lands

21 and interests in lands open to location within the bound22 aries of the claim, subject to any prior mining claim lo23 cated or converted under this Act.

24 (h) CONFLICTING LOCATIONS.—Any conflicts be25 tween the holders of mining claims located or converted
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1 under this Act relating to relative superiority under the

2 provisions of this Act may be resolved in adjudication pro3 ceedings in a court with proper jurisdiction, including, as

4 appropriate, State courts. It shall be incumbent upon the

5 holder of a mining claim asserting superior rights in such

6 proceedings to demonstrate that such person was the sen7 ior locator, or if such person is the junior locator, that

8 prior to the location of the claim by such locator—

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

10 notice of location within the time provided under

11 subsection (d); or

12 (2) the amount of claim maintenance fee paid

13 by the senior locator at the time of filing the loca14 tion notice referred to in subsection (d) was less

15 than the amount required to be paid by such locator.

16 (i) EXTENT OF MINERAL DEPOSIT.—The boundaries

17 of a mining claim located under this Act shall extend verti18 cally downward.

19 SEC. 104. CONVERSION OF EXISTING CLAIMS.

20 (a) EXISTING CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any other

21 provision of law, on the effective date of this Act any

22 unpatented mining claim for a locatable mineral located

23 under the general mining laws prior to the date of enact24 ment of this Act shall become subject to this Act’s provi25 sions and shall be deemed a converted mining claim under
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1 this Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect

2 extralateral rights in any valid lode mining claim existing

3 on the date of enactment of this Act. After the effective

4 date of this Act, there shall be no distinction made as to

5 whether such claim was originally located as a lode or

6 placer claim.

7 (b) MILL AND TUNNEL SITES.—On the effective date

8 of this Act, any unpatented mill or tunnel site located

9 under the general mining laws before the date of enact10 ment of this Act shall become subject to this Act’s provi11 sions and shall be deemed a converted mining claim under

12 this Act.

13 (c) POSTCONVERSION.—Any unpatented mining

14 claim or mill site located under the general mining laws

15 shall be deemed to be a prior claim for the purposes of

16 section 103(g) when converted pursuant to subsection (a)

17 or (b).

18 (d) DISPOSITION OF LAND.—In the event a mining

19 claim is located under this Act for lands encumbered by

20 a prior mining claim or mill site located under the general

21 mining laws, such lands shall become part of the claim

22 located under this Act if the claim or mill site located

23 under the general mining laws is declared null and void

24 under this section or is otherwise declared null and void

25 thereafter.
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1 (e) CONFLICTS.—(1) Any conflicts in existence before

2 the effective date of this Act between holders of mining

3 claims, mill sites and tunnel sites located under the gen4 eral mining laws shall be subject to, and shall be resolved

5 in accordance with, applicable laws governing such con6 flicts in effect before the effective date of enactment of

7 this Act in a court of proper jurisdiction.

8 (2) Any conflicts not relating to matters provided for

9 under section 103(h) between the holders of a mining

10 claim located under this Act and a mining claim, mill, or

11 tunnel site located under the general mining laws arising

12 either before or after the conversion of any such claim or

13 site under this section shall be resolved in a court with

14 proper jurisdiction.

15 SEC. 105. CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The holder of each mining

17 claim converted pursuant to this Act shall pay to the Sec18 retary an annual claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim.

19 (2) The holder of each mining claim located pursuant

20 to this Act shall pay to the Secretary an annual claim

21 maintenance fee of $200 per claim.

22 (b) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The claim maintenance fee

23 payable pursuant to subsection (a) for any year shall be

24 paid on or before August 31 of each year, except that in

25 the case of claims referred to in subsection (a)(2), for the
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1 initial calendar year in which the location is made, the

2 locator shall pay the initial claim maintenance fee at the

3 time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of

4 Land Management.

5 (c) OIL SHALE CLAIMS SUBJECT TO CLAIM MAINTE6 NANCE FEES UNDER ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992.—

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

8 which a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2)

9 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486;

10 106 Stat. 3111; 30 U.S.C. 242).

11 (d) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES PAYABLE UNDER

12 1993 ACT.—The claim maintenance fees payable under

13 this section for any period with respect to any claim shall

14 be reduced by the amount of the claim maintenance fees

15 paid under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Rec16 onciliation Act of 1993 with respect to that claim and with

17 respect to the same period.

18 (e) WAIVER.—(1) The claim maintenance fee re19 quired under this section may be waived for a claim holder

20 who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the date

21 the payment was due, the claim holder and all related par22 ties held not more than 10 mining claims on lands open

23 to location. Such certification shall be made on or before

24 the date on which payment is due.
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1 (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), with respect to

2 any claim holder, the term ‘‘related party’’ means each

3 of the following:

4 (A) The spouse and dependent children (as de5 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of

6 1986), of the claim holder.

7 (B) Any affiliate of the claim holder.

8 (f) CO-OWNERSHIP.—Upon the failure of any one or

9 more of several co-owners to contribute such co-owner or

10 owners’ portion of the fee under this section, any co-owner

11 who has paid such fee may, after the payment due date,

12 give the delinquent co-owner or owners notice of such fail13 ure in writing (or by publication in the newspaper nearest

14 the claim for at least once a week for at least 90 days).

15 If at the expiration of 90 days after such notice in writing

16 or by publication, any delinquent co-owner fails or refuses

17 to contribute his portion, his interest in the claim shall

18 become the property of the co-owners who have paid the

19 required fee.

20 (g) FUND.—All monies received under this section

21 shall be deposited in the Abandoned Locatable Minerals

22 Mine Reclamation Fund established under title III of this

23 Act.

24 (h) CREDIT AGAINST ROYALTY.—The amount of the

25 annual claim maintenance fee required to be paid under
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•HR 357 IH

1 this section for any claim for any period shall be credited

2 against the amount of royalty required to be paid under

3 section 306 for the same period with respect to that claim.

4 SEC. 106. FAILURE TO COMPLY.

5 (a) FORFEITURE.—The failure of the claim holder to

6 file the notice of location, to pay the location fee, or to

7 pay the claim maintenance fee for a mining claim as re8 quired by this title shall be deemed conclusively to con9 stitute forfeiture of the mining claim by operation of law.

10 Forfeiture shall not relieve any person of any obligation

11 created under this Act, including reclamation.

12 (b) PROHIBITION.—No claim holder may locate a new

13 claim on the lands such claim holder included in a for14 feited claim for 1 year from the date such claim is deemed

15 forfeited.

16 (c) RELINQUISHMENT.—A claim holder deciding not

17 to pursue mineral activities on a claim may relinquish such

18 claim by notifying the Secretary. A claim holder relin19 quishing a claim is responsible for reclamation as required

20 by section 207 of this Act and all other applicable require21 ments. A claim holder who relinquishes a claim shall not

22 be subject to the prohibition of subsection (b) of this sec23 tion unless the Secretary determines that the claim is

24 being relinquished and relocated for the purpose of avoid-
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•HR 357 IH

1 ing compliance with any provision of this Act, including

2 payment of the claim maintenance fee.

3 SEC. 107. BASIS FOR CONTEST.

4 (a) DISCOVERY.—(1) After the effective date of this

5 Act, a mining claim may not be contested or challenged

6 on the basis of discovery under the general mining laws,

7 except as follows:

8 (A) Any claim located before the effective date

9 of this Act may be contested by the United States

10 on the basis of discovery under the general mining

11 laws as in effect prior to the effective date of this

12 Act if such claim is located within any National

13 Conservation System unit, or within any area re14 ferred to in section 101(b).

15 (B) Any mining claim located before the effec16 tive date of this Act may be contested by the United

17 States on the basis of discovery under the general

18 mining laws as in effect prior to the effective date

19 of this Act if such claim was located for a mineral

20 material that purportedly has a property giving it

21 distinct and special value within the meaning of sec22 tion 3(a) of the Act of July 23, 1955 (as in effect

23 prior to the date of enactment of this Act), or if

24 such claim was located for a mineral that was not
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•HR 357 IH

1 locatable under the general mining laws before the

2 effective date of this Act.

3 (2) The Secretary may initiate contest proceedings

4 against those mining claims referred to in paragraph (1)

5 at any time, except that nothing in this subsection may

6 be construed as requiring the Secretary to inquire into,

7 or contest, the validity of a mining claim for the purpose

8 of the conversion referred to in section 104, except as pro9 vided in section 412.

10 (3) Nothing in this subsection may be construed as

11 limiting any contest proceedings initiated by the United

12 States on issues other than discovery, or any contest pro13 ceedings filed before the effective date of this Act.

14 (4) Any contest proceeding initiated pursuant to

15 paragraph (1) shall determine whether the mining claim

16 or claims subject to such proceeding supported a discovery

17 of a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of the

18 general mining laws on the effective date of this Act.

19 (b) CONTINUED SUFFICIENCY OF MINING CLAIM.—

20 (1) At any time, upon request of the Secretary, the claim

21 holder shall demonstrate that the continued retention of

22 a mining claim located or converted under this Act is ex23 clusively related to mineral activities at the site.

24 (2) Where the Secretary requests demonstration of

25 the continuing sufficiency of any mining claim under this
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1 section, the claim holder shall have the burden of showing

2 each of the following:

3 (A) The lands or interests in lands included in

4 the mining claim are not used predominantly for rec5 reational, residential or other purposes rather than

6 for mineral activities and are being held in good

7 faith for the ultimate exploration for, development

8 of, or production of locatable minerals, as dem9 onstrated by the claimholder or his or her assigns

10 through showings satisfactory to the Secretary.

11 (B) The claim holder or operator does not re12 strict access to the lands or interests in lands in13 cluded in the mining claim in a manner that is not

14 required for mineral activities.

15 (C) The mineral being or to be mined on the

16 mining claim is a locatable mineral (unless such

17 lands are used for beneficiation or processing).

18 (D) The claim holder or operator has not con19 structed, improved, maintained or used a structure

20 located on a mining claim in a manner not specifi21 cally authorized by the Secretary in accordance with

22 this Act.

23 (3) Any mining claim for which the claim holder fails

24 to demonstrate continued sufficiency, in the determination

25 of the Secretary, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section,
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•HR 357 IH

1 shall thereupon be deemed forfeited and be declared null

2 and void.

3 (c) REMEDIES.—(1) The Secretary may assess a civil

4 penalty of not more than $5,000 per claim against the

5 claimholder upon declaring a mining claim null and void

6 pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

7 (2) Upon declaring a mining claim null and void pur8 suant to subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide a rea9 sonable opportunity for the mining claim holder or opera10 tor to remove any real or personal property which such

11 person had previously placed upon the claim. If the prop12 erty is not removed within the time provided, the Sec13 retary may retain the property or provide for its disposi14 tion or destruction.

15 (d) OTHER LAW.—The Secretary shall take such ac16 tions as may be necessary to ensure the compliance by

17 claim holders with section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955

18 (30 U.S.C. 612), consistent with this section.

19 TITLE II—ENVIRONMENTAL CON20 SIDERATIONS OF MINERAL

21 EXPLORATION AND DEVELOP22 MENT

23 SEC. 201. SURFACE MANAGEMENT STANDARD.

24 Notwithstanding the last sentence of section 302(b)

25 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,
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1 and in accordance with this title and other applicable law,

2 the Secretary, and for National Forest System lands the

3 Secretary of Agriculture, shall require that mineral activi4 ties on Federal lands conducted by any person minimize

5 adverse impacts to the environment.

6 SEC. 202. PERMITS.

7 (a) PERMITS REQUIRED.—No person may engage in

8 mineral activities on Federal lands that may cause a dis9 turbance of surface resources, including but not limited

10 to, land, air, ground water and surface water, fish, wild11 life, and biota unless—

12 (1) the claim was properly located or converted

13 under this Act and properly maintained; and

14 (2) a permit was issued to such person under

15 this title authorizing such activities.

16 (b) NEGLIGIBLE DISTURBANCE.—Notwithstanding

17 subsection (a)(2), a permit under this title shall not be

18 required for mineral activities related to exploration, or

19 gathering of data, required to comply with section 203 or

20 204 that cause a negligible disturbance of surface re21 sources and do not involve any of the following:

22 (1) The use of mechanized earth moving equip23 ment, suction dredging, explosives.

24 (2) The use of motor vehicles in areas closed to

25 off-road vehicles.
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•HR 357 IH

1 (3) The construction of roads, drill pads, or the

2 use of toxic or hazardous materials.

3 Persons engaging in such activities shall provide prior

4 written notice. The Secretary and the Secretary of Agri5 culture may provide, by joint regulations the manner in

6 which such notice shall be provided.

7 (c) WAIVER OF THE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY OF IN8 DIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary is authorized to require In9 dian tribes to waive sovereign immunity as a condition of

10 obtaining a permit under this Act.

11 SEC. 203. EXPLORATION PERMITS.

12 (a) AUTHORIZED EXPLORATION ACTIVITY.—Any

13 claim holder may apply for an exploration permit for any

14 mining claim authorizing the claim holder to remove a rea15 sonable amount of the locatable minerals from the claim

16 for analysis, study and testing. Such permit shall not au17 thorize the claim holder to remove any mineral for sale

18 nor to conduct any activities other than those required for

19 exploration for locatable minerals and reclamation.

20 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An ap21 plication for an exploration permit under this section shall

22 be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary

23 or, for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Ag24 riculture, and shall contain an exploration plan, a reclama25 tion plan for the proposed exploration, such documenta-
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•HR 357 IH

1 tion as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable

2 Federal and State environmental laws and regulations,

3 and each of the following:

4 (1) The name, mailing address, and social secu5 rity number or tax identification number, as applica6 ble, of each of the following:

7 (A) The applicant for the permit and any

8 agent of the applicant.

9 (B) The operator (if different than the ap10 plicant) of the claim concerned.

11 (C) Each claim holder (if different than

12 the applicant) of the claim concerned.

13 (2) A statement of whether any person referred

14 to in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph

15 (1) is currently in violation of, or was, during the 3-

16 year period preceding the date of the application,

17 found to be in violation of, any of the following and,

18 if so, a brief explanation of the facts involved, in19 cluding identification of the site and nature of the

20 violation:

21 (A) Any provision of this Act or any regu22 lation under this Act.

23 (B) Any applicable toxic substance, solid

24 waste, air, water quality, or fish and wildlife

25 conservation law or regulation at any site where
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•HR 357 IH

1 mining, beneficiation, or processing activities

2 are occurring or have occurred.

3 (C) The Surface Mining Control and Rec4 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and fol5 lowing) or any regulation under that Act at any

6 site where surface coal mining operations have

7 occurred or are occurring.

8 (3) A description of the type and method of ex9 ploration activities proposed, the engineering tech10 niques proposed to be used and the equipment pro11 posed to be used.

12 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

13 dates of each phase of the exploration activities pro14 posed, including any planned temporary cessation of

15 exploration.

16 (5) A map, to an appropriate scale, clearly

17 showing the land to be affected by the proposed ex18 ploration.

19 (6) Information determined necessary by the

20 Secretary concerned to assess the cumulative im21 pacts, as required to comply with the National Envi22 ronmental Policy Act.

23 (7) Evidence of appropriate financial assurance

24 as specified in section 206.
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•HR 357 IH

1 (c) RECLAMATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The rec2 lamation plan required to be included in a permit applica3 tion under subsection (b) shall include such provisions as

4 may be jointly prescribed by the Secretary and the Sec5 retary of Agriculture and each of the following:

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

7 including the fish and wildlife resources and habitat

8 contained thereon, subject to the permit prior to the

9 commencement of any exploration activities.

10 (2) A description of reclamation measures pro11 posed pursuant to the requirements of section 207.

12 (3) The engineering techniques to be used in

13 reclamation and the equipment proposed to be used.

14 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

15 dates of each phase of the reclamation proposed.

16 (5) A description of the proposed condition of

17 the land, including the fish and wildlife resources

18 and habitat contained thereon, following the comple19 tion of reclamation.

20 (d) PERMIT ISSUANCE OR DENIAL.—The Secretary,

21 or for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Ag22 riculture, shall issue an exploration permit pursuant to an

23 application under this section if such Secretary makes

24 each of the following determinations, and such Secretary
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•HR 357 IH

1 shall deny a permit which he or she finds does not fully

2 meet the requirements of this subsection:

3 (1) The permit application, the exploration plan

4 and reclamation plan are complete and accurate.

5 (2) The applicant has demonstrated that pro6 posed reclamation can be accomplished.

7 (3) The proposed exploration activities and con8 dition of the land after the completion of exploration

9 activities and final reclamation would conform with

10 the land use plan applicable to the area subject to

11 mineral activities.

12 (4) The area subject to the proposed permit is

13 not included within an area designated unsuitable

14 under section 209 or not open to location under sec15 tion 101(b) for the types of exploration activities

16 proposed.

17 (5) The applicant has demonstrated that the

18 exploration plan and reclamation plan will be in

19 compliance with the requirements of this Act and all

20 other applicable Federal requirements, and any

21 State requirements agreed to by the Secretary of the

22 Interior (or Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate)

23 pursuant to a cooperative agreement under section

24 208.
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•HR 357 IH

1 (6) The applicant has fully complied with the

2 requirements of section 206 (relating to financial as3 surance).

4 (e) TERM OF PERMIT.—An exploration permit shall

5 be for a stated term. The term shall be no greater than

6 that necessary to accomplish the proposed exploration,

7 and in no case for more than 5 years.

8 (f) PERMIT MODIFICATION.—During the term of an

9 exploration permit the permit holder may submit an appli10 cation to modify the permit. To approve a proposed modi11 fication to the permit, the Secretary concerned shall make

12 the same determinations as are required in the case of

13 an original permit, except that the Secretary and the Sec14 retary of Agriculture may specify by joint rule the extent

15 to which requirements for initial exploration permits under

16 this section shall apply to applications to modify an explo17 ration permit based on whether such modifications are

18 deemed significant or minor.

19 (g) FEES.—Each application for a permit pursuant

20 to this section shall be accompanied by a fee payable to

21 the Secretary of the Interior in such amount as may be

22 established by the Secretary of the Interior. Such amount

23 shall be equal to the actual or anticipated cost to the Sec24 retary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may

25 be, of reviewing, administering, and enforcing such permit,
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1 as determined by such Secretary. All moneys received

2 under this subsection shall be deposited in the Abandoned

3 Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund established

4 under title III of this Act.

5 (h) TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF

6 RIGHTS.—(1) No transfer, assignment, or sale of rights

7 granted by a permit issued under this section shall be

8 made without the prior written approval of the Secretary

9 or for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Ag10 riculture.

11 (2) Such Secretary may allow a person holding a per12 mit to transfer, assign, or sell rights under the permit to

13 a successor, if the Secretary finds, in writing, that the suc14 cessor—

15 (A) is eligible to receive a permit in accordance

16 with section 205;

17 (B) has submitted evidence of financial assur18 ance satisfactory under section 206; and

19 (C) meets any other requirements specified by

20 the Secretary.

21 (3) The successor in interest shall assume the liability

22 and reclamation responsibilities established by the existing

23 permit and shall conduct the mineral activities in full com24 pliance with this Act, and the terms and conditions of the
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1 permit as in effect at the time of transfer, assignment,

2 or sale.

3 (4) Each application for approval of a permit trans4 fer, assignment, or sale pursuant to this subsection shall

5 be accompanied by a fee payable to the Secretary of the

6 Interior in such amount as may be established by such

7 Secretary. Such amount shall be equal to the actual or

8 anticipated cost to the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri9 culture, as appropriate, of reviewing and approving or dis10 approving such transfer, assignment, or sale, as deter11 mined by the Secretary of the Interior. All moneys re12 ceived under this subsection shall be deposited in the

13 Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund

14 established under title III of this Act.

15 SEC. 204. OPERATIONS PERMIT.

16 (a) OPERATIONS PERMIT.—Any claim holder may

17 apply to the Secretary, or for National Forest System

18 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, for an operations per19 mit authorizing the claim holder to carry out mineral ac20 tivities on Federal lands. The permit shall include such

21 terms and conditions as prescribed by such Secretary to

22 carry out this title.

23 (b) PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An ap24 plication for an operations permit under this section shall

25 be submitted in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary
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1 concerned and shall contain an operations plan, a reclama2 tion plan, such documentation as necessary to ensure com3 pliance with applicable Federal and State environmental

4 laws and regulations, and each of the following:

5 (1) The name, mailing address, and social secu6 rity number or tax identification number, as applica7 ble, of each of the following:

8 (A) The applicant for the permit and any

9 agent of the applicant.

10 (B) The operator (if different than the ap11 plicant) at the claim concerned.

12 (C) Each claim holder (if different than

13 the applicant) of the claim concerned.

14 (D) Each affiliate and each officer or di15 rector of the applicant.

16 (2) A statement of whether a person referred to

17 in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1)

18 is currently in violation of, or was, during the 3-year

19 period preceding the date of application, found to be

20 in violation of, any of the following and if so, a brief

21 explanation of the facts involved, including identi22 fication of the site and the nature of the violation:

23 (A) Any provision of this Act or any regu24 lation under this Act.
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1 (B) Any applicable toxic substance, solid

2 waste, air, water quality, or fish and wildlife

3 conservation law or regulation at any site where

4 mining, beneficiation, or processing activities

5 are occurring or have occurred.

6 (C) The Surface Mining Control and Rec7 lamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and fol8 lowing) or any regulation under that Act at any

9 site where surface coal mining operations have

10 occurred or are occurring.

11 (3) A statement of any current or previous per12 mits or plans of operations issued under the Surface

13 Mining Control and Reclamation Act or the Federal

14 Land Policy and Management Act.

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

16 mineral activities proposed, the engineering tech17 niques proposed to be used and the equipment pro18 posed to be used.

19 (5) The anticipated starting and termination

20 dates of each phase of the mineral activities pro21 posed, including any planned temporary cessation of

22 operations.

23 (6) Maps, to an appropriate scale, clearly show24 ing the lands, watersheds, and surface waters, to be

25 affected by the proposed mineral activities; surface
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1 and mineral ownership; facilities, including roads

2 and other man-made structures; proposed disturb3 ances; soils and vegetation; topography; and water

4 supply intakes and surface water bodies.

5 (7) A description of the biological resources in

6 or associated with the area subject to mineral activi7 ties, including vegetation, fish and wildlife, riparian

8 and wetland habitats.

9 (8) A description of measures planned to ex10 clude fish and wildlife resources from the area sub11 ject to mineral activities by covering, containment,

12 or fencing of open waters, beneficiation, and process13 ing materials; or maintenance of all facilities in a

14 condition that is not harmful to fish and wildlife.

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

16 surface and ground water resources in or associated

17 with the area subject to mineral activities, based on

18 pre-disturbance monitoring sufficient to establish

19 seasonal variations.

20 (10) An analysis of the probable hydrologic con21 sequences of the mineral activities, both on and off

22 the area subject to mineral activities, with respect to

23 the hydrologic regime, quantity and quality of water

24 in surface and ground water systems including the

25 dissolved and suspended solids under seasonal flow
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1 conditions and the collection of sufficient data for

2 the mine site and surrounding areas so that an as3 sessment can be made by the Secretary concerned of

4 the probable cumulative impacts of the anticipated

5 mineral activities in the area upon the hydrology of

6 the area and particularly upon water availability.

7 (11) A description of the monitoring systems to

8 be used to detect and determine whether compliance

9 has and is occurring consistent with the surface

10 management requirements and to monitor the ef11 fects of mineral activities on the site and surround12 ing environment, including but not limited to,

13 ground water, surface water, air, soils, and fish and

14 wildlife resources.

15 (12) Accident contingency plans that include,

16 but are not limited to, immediate response strategies

17 and corrective measures to mitigate environmental

18 impacts and appropriate insurance to cover accident

19 contingencies.

20 (13) Any measures to comply with any condi21 tions on minerals activities that may be required in

22 the applicable land use plan or any condition stipu23 lated pursuant to section 209.

24 (14) Information determined necessary by the

25 Secretary concerned to assess the cumulative im-
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1 pacts of mineral activities, as required to comply

2 with the National Environmental Policy Act.

3 (15) Such other environmental baseline data as

4 the Secretaries, by joint regulation, shall require suf5 ficient to validate the determinations required for is6 suance of a permit under this Act.

7 (16) Evidence of appropriate financial assur8 ance as specified in section 206.

9 (17) A description of the site security provisions

10 designed to protect from theft the locatable min11 erals, concentrates or products derived therefrom

12 which will be produced or stored on a mining claim.

13 (18) A full characterization of soils and geology

14 in the area to be affected by mineral activities.

15 (19) A copy of the applicant’s advertisement to

16 be published as required by section 403 (relating to

17 public participation).

18 (c) RECLAMATION PLAN APPLICATION REQUIRE19 MENTS.—The reclamation plan referred to in subsection

20 (b) shall include such reclamation measures as prescribed

21 by the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the

22 Secretary of Agriculture, and each of the following:

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

24 including the fish and wildlife resources and habitat
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•HR 357 IH

1 contained thereon, subject to the permit prior to the

2 commencement of any mineral activities.

3 (2) A description of reclamation measures pro4 posed pursuant to the requirements of section 207.

5 (3) The engineering techniques to be used in

6 reclamation and the equipment proposed to be used.

7 (4) The anticipated starting and termination

8 dates of each phase of the reclamation proposed.

9 (5) A description of the proposed condition of

10 the land, including the fish and wildlife resources

11 and habitat contained thereon, following the comple12 tion of reclamation.

13 (6) A description of the maintenance measures

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

17 maintenance and control.

18 (7) The consideration which has been given to

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

22 (d) PERMIT ISSUANCE OR DENIAL.—(1) After pro23 viding notice and opportunity for public comment and

24 hearing, the Secretary, or for National Forest System

25 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall issue an oper-
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•HR 357 IH

1 ations permit if such Secretary makes each of the follow2 ing determinations in writing, and such Secretary shall

3 deny a permit which he or she finds does not fully meet

4 the requirements of this paragraph:

5 (A) The permit application, operations plan,

6 and reclamation plan are complete and accurate.

7 (B) The applicant has demonstrated that the

8 proposed reclamation in the reclamation plan can be

9 accomplished.

10 (C) The proposed mineral activities and condi11 tion of the land including the fish and wildlife re12 sources and habitat contained thereon, after the

13 completion of mineral activities and final reclama14 tion conform to the land use plan applicable to the

15 area subject to mineral activities.

16 (D) The area subject to the proposed plan is

17 not included within an area designated unsuitable or

18 not open to location for the types of mineral activi19 ties proposed.

20 (E) The applicant has demonstrated that the

21 mineral activities will be in compliance with this Act

22 and all other applicable Federal requirements, and

23 any State requirements agreed to by the appropriate

24 Secretary pursuant to cooperative agreements under

25 section 208.
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1 (F) The assessment of the probable cumulative

2 impact of all anticipated mining in the area on the

3 hydrologic balance specified in subsection (b)(10)

4 has been made and the proposed operation has been

5 designed to minimize disturbances to the prevailing

6 hydrologic balance of the permit area.

7 (G) The applicant has fully complied with the

8 requirements of section 206 (relating to financial as9 surance).

10 (2) Issuance of an operations permit under this sec11 tion shall be based on information supplied by the appli12 cant or other interested parties and the applicant shall

13 have the burden of establishing that the application com14 plies with paragraph (1).

15 (3) With respect to any activities specified in the rec16 lamation plan referred to in subsection (b) which con17 stitute a removal or remedial action under section 101 of

18 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa19 tion and Liability Act of 1980, the Secretary shall consult

20 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection

21 Agency prior to the issuance of an operating permit. To

22 the extent practicable, the Administrator shall ensure that

23 the reclamation plan does not require activities which

24 would increase the costs or likelihood of removal or reme25 dial actions under Comprehensive Environmental Re-
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•HR 357 IH

1 sponse, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 or correc2 tive actions under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.

3 (e) TERM OF PERMIT; RENEWAL.—(1) An operations

4 permit shall be for a stated term. The term shall be no

5 greater than that necessary to accomplish the proposed

6 mineral activities subject to the permit, and in no case

7 for more than 10 years, unless the applicant demonstrates

8 to the satisfaction of the Secretary, or for National Forest

9 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, that a specified

10 longer term is reasonably needed for such mineral activi11 ties.

12 (2) Failure by the operator to commence mineral ac13 tivities within one year of the date scheduled in an oper14 ations permit shall require a modification of the permit

15 unless the Secretary concerned determines that the delay

16 was beyond the control of the applicant.

17 (3) An operations permit shall carry with it the right

18 of successive renewal upon expiration only with respect to

19 operations on areas within the boundaries of the existing

20 permit as issued. A renewal of such permit shall not be

21 issued if such Secretary determines, in writing, any of the

22 following:

23 (A) The terms and conditions of the existing

24 permit are not being met.
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•HR 357 IH

1 (B) The operator has not demonstrated that

2 the financial assurance would continue to apply in

3 full force and effect for the renewal term.

4 (C) Any additional revised or updated informa5 tion required by the Secretary concerned has not

6 been provided.

7 (D) The applicant has not demonstrated that

8 the mineral activities will be in compliance with the

9 requirements of all other applicable Federal require10 ments, and any State requirements agreed to by the

11 Secretary concerned pursuant to cooperative agree12 ments under section 208.

13 (4) A renewal of an operations permit shall be for

14 a term of 10 years or for such additional term as the Sec15 retary concerned deems appropriate. Application for re16 newal shall be made at least one year prior to the expira17 tion of the existing permit. Where a renewal application

18 has been timely submitted and a permit expires prior to

19 Secretarial action on the renewal application, reclamation

20 shall and other mineral activities may continue in accord21 ance with the terms of the expired permit until the Sec22 retary concerned makes a decision on the renewal applica23 tion.

24 (f) PERMIT MODIFICATION.—(1) During the term of

25 an operations permit the operator may submit an applica-
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1 tion to modify the permit (including the operations plan

2 or reclamation plan, or both). To approve a proposed

3 modification, the Secretary, or for National Forest System

4 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall make the same

5 determinations as are required in the case of an original

6 operations permit, except that the Secretaries may estab7 lish joint rules regarding the extent to which requirements

8 for original permits under this section shall apply to appli9 cations to modify a permit based on whether such modi10 fications are deemed significant or minor. Such rules shall

11 provide that all requirements applicable to a new permit

12 shall apply to any extension of the area covered by the

13 permit (except for incidental boundary revisions).

14 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

15 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may, at any time, re16 quire reasonable modification to any operations plan or

17 reclamation plan upon a determination that the require18 ments of this Act cannot be met if the plan is followed

19 as approved. Such determination shall be based on a writ20 ten finding and subject to notice and hearing requirements

21 established by the Secretary concerned.

22 (g) TEMPORARY CESSATION OF OPERATIONS.—(1)

23 No operator conducting mineral activities under an oper24 ations permit in effect under this title may temporarily

25 cease mineral activities for a period of 180 days or more
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•HR 357 IH

1 under an operations permit unless the Secretary concerned

2 has approved such temporary cessation or unless the tem3 porary cessation is permitted under the original permit.

4 Any operator temporarily ceasing mineral activities for a

5 period of 180 days or more under an existing operations

6 permit shall submit, before the expiration of such 180-day

7 period, a complete application for temporary cessation of

8 operations to the Secretary concerned for approval unless

9 the temporary cessation is permitted under the original

10 permit.

11 (2) An application for approval of temporary ces12 sation of operations shall include such provisions as pre13 scribed by the Secretary concerned, including but not lim14 ited to the steps that shall be taken during the cessation

15 of operations period to minimize impacts on the environ16 ment. After receipt of a complete application for tem17 porary cessation of operations such Secretary shall con18 duct an inspection of the area for which temporary ces19 sation of operations has been requested.

20 (3) To approve an application for temporary ces21 sation of operations, the Secretary concerned shall make

22 each of the following determinations:

23 (A) A determination that the methods for se24 curing surface facilities and restricting access to the

25 permit area, or relevant portions thereof, will effec-
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•HR 357 IH

1 tively ensure against hazards to the health and safe2 ty of the public and fish and wildlife.

3 (B) A determination that reclamation is in com4 pliance with the approved reclamation plan, except

5 in those areas specifically designated in the applica6 tion for temporary cessation of operations for which

7 a delay in meeting such standards is necessary to fa8 cilitate the resumption of operations.

9 (C) A determination that the amount of finan10 cial assurance filed with the permit application is

11 sufficient to assure completion of the reclamation ac12 tivities identified in the approved reclamation plan in

13 the event of forfeiture.

14 (D) A determination that any outstanding no15 tices of violation and cessation orders incurred in

16 connection with the plan for which temporary ces17 sation is being requested are either stayed pursuant

18 to an administrative or judicial appeal proceeding or

19 are in the process of being abated to the satisfaction

20 of the Secretary concerned.

21 (h) PERMIT REVIEWS.—The Secretary, or for Na22 tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture,

23 shall review each permit issued under this section every

24 3 years during the term of such permit and, based upon

25 a written finding, such Secretary may require the operator
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•HR 357 IH

1 to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to

2 assure that mineral activities conform to the permit, in3 cluding adjustment of financial assurance requirements.

4 (i) FEES.—Each application for a permit pursuant

5 to this section shall be accompanied by a fee payable to

6 the Secretary of the Interior in such amount as may be

7 established by such Secretary. Such amount shall be equal

8 to the actual or anticipated cost to the Secretary, or for

9 National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri10 culture, of reviewing, administering, and enforcing such

11 permit, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. All

12 moneys received under this subsection shall be deposited

13 in the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation

14 Fund established under title III of this Act.

15 (j) TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF RIGHTS.—

16 (1) No transfer, assignment, or sale of rights granted by

17 a permit under this section shall be made without the prior

18 written approval of the Secretary, or for National Forest

19 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture.

20 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

21 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may allow a person

22 holding a permit to transfer, assign, or sell rights under

23 the permit to a successor, if such Secretary finds, in writ24 ing, that the successor—
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•HR 357 IH

1 (A) is eligible to receive a permit in accordance

2 with section 205;

3 (B) has submitted evidence of financial assur4 ance satisfactory under section 206; and

5 (C) meets any other requirements specified by

6 such Secretary.

7 (3) The successor in interest shall assume the liability

8 and reclamation responsibilities established by the existing

9 permit and shall conduct the mineral activities in full com10 pliance with this Act, and the terms and conditions of the

11 permit as in effect at the time of transfer, assignment,

12 or sale.

13 (4) Each application for approval of a permit trans14 fer, assignment, or sale pursuant to this subsection shall

15 be accompanied by a fee payable to the Secretary of the

16 Interior in such amount as may be established by such

17 Secretary. Such amount shall be equal to the actual or

18 anticipated cost to the Secretary or the Secretary of Agri19 culture of reviewing and approving or disapproving such

20 transfer, assignment, or sale, as determined by the Sec21 retary of the Interior. All moneys received under this sub22 section shall be deposited in the Abandoned Locatable

23 Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund established under title

24 III of this Act.
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1 SEC. 205. PERSONS INELIGIBLE FOR PERMITS.

2 (a) CURRENT VIOLATIONS.—Unless corrective action

3 has been taken in accordance with subsection (c), no per4 mit under this title shall be issued or transferred to an

5 applicant if the applicant or any agent of the applicant,

6 the operator (if different than the applicant) of the claim

7 concerned, any claim holder (if different than the appli8 cant) of the claim concerned, or any affiliate or officer

9 or director of the applicant is currently in violation of any

10 of the following:

11 (1) A provision of this Act or any regulation

12 under this Act.

13 (2) An applicable toxic substance, solid waste,

14 air, water quality, or fish and wildlife conservation

15 law or regulation at any site where mining,

16 beneficiation, or processing activities are occurring

17 or have occurred.

18 (3) The Surface Mining Control and Reclama19 tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 and following) or

20 any regulation implementing that Act at any site

21 where surface coal mining operations have occurred

22 or are occurring.

23 (b) SUSPENSION.—The Secretary, or for National

24 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall

25 suspend an exploration permit or an operations permit,

26 in whole or in part, if such Secretary determines that any
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1 of the entities described in subsection (a) were in violation

2 of any requirement listed in subsection (a) at the time the

3 permit was issued.

4 (c) CORRECTION.—(1) The Secretary, or for National

5 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may

6 issue or reinstate a permit under this title if the applicant

7 submits proof that the violation referred to in subsection

8 (a) or (b) has been corrected or is in the process of being

9 corrected to the satisfaction of such Secretary or if the

10 applicant submits proof that the violator has filed and is

11 presently pursuing, a direct administrative or judicial ap12 peal to contest the existence of the violation. For purposes

13 of this section, an appeal of any applicant’s relationship

14 to an affiliate shall not constitute a direct administrative

15 or judicial appeal to contest the existence of the violation.

16 (2) Any permit which is issued or reinstated based

17 upon proof submitted under this subsection shall be condi18 tionally approved or conditionally reinstated, as the case

19 may be. If the violation is not successfully abated or the

20 violation is upheld on appeal, the permit shall be sus21 pended or revoked.

22 (d) PATTERN OF WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—No permit

23 under this Act may be issued to any applicant if there

24 is a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of the sur25 face management requirements of this Act by the appli-
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1 cant, any affiliate of the applicant, or the operator or

2 claim holder if different than the applicant, and such vio3 lations are of such nature and duration, and with such

4 resulting irreparable damage to the environment, as to

5 clearly indicate an intent not to comply with the surface

6 management requirements.

7 SEC. 206. FINANCIAL ASSURANCE.

8 (a) FINANCIAL ASSURANCE REQUIRED.—(1) Before

9 any permit is issued under this title, the operator shall

10 file with the Secretary, or for National Forest System

11 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, evidence of financial

12 assurance payable to the United States on a form pre13 scribed and furnished by such Secretary and conditional

14 upon faithful performance of such permit and all other

15 requirements of this Act. The financial assurance shall be

16 provided in the form of a surety bond, trust fund, letters

17 of credits, government securities, cash or equivalent.

18 (2) The financial assurance shall cover all lands with19 in the initial permit area and shall be extended to cover

20 all lands added pursuant to any permit modification made

21 under section 203(f), section 204(f), or section 204(h).

22 The financial assurance shall cover all lands to be affected

23 by mineral activities as described and depicted in the per24 mit application.
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1 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the financial assur2 ance required under this section shall be sufficient to as3 sure the completion of reclamation satisfying the require4 ments of this Act if the work were to be performed by

5 the Secretary concerned in the event of forfeiture. The cal6 culation of such amount shall take into account the maxi7 mum level of financial exposure which shall arise during

8 the mineral activity.

9 (c) DURATION.—The financial assurance required

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

11 mineral activities and for an additional period to cover the

12 operator’s responsibility for revegetation as specified

13 under subsection 207(b)(6)(B), and effluent treatment as

14 specified in subsection (g).

15 (d) ADJUSTMENTS.—The amount of the financial as16 surance and the terms of the acceptance of the assurance

17 may be adjusted by the Secretary concerned from time to

18 time as the area requiring coverage is increased or de19 creased, or where the costs of reclamation or treatment

20 change, or pursuant to section 204(h), but the financial

21 assurance must otherwise be in compliance with this sec22 tion. The Secretary concerned shall specify periodic times,

23 or set a schedule, for reevaluating or adjusting the amount

24 of financial assurance.
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1 (e) RELEASE.—Upon request, and after notice and

2 opportunity for public comment, and after inspection by

3 the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the

4 Secretary of Agriculture, such Secretary may, after con5 sultation with the Administrator of the Environmental

6 Protection Agency, release in whole or in part the financial

7 assurance required under this section if the Secretary

8 makes both of the following determinations:

9 (1) A determination that reclamation covered

10 by the financial assurance has been accomplished as

11 required by this Act.

12 (2) A determination that the operator has de13 clared that the terms and conditions of any other

14 applicable Federal requirements, and State require15 ments applicable pursuant to cooperative agreements

16 under section 208, have been fulfilled.

17 (f) RELEASE SCHEDULE.—The release referred to in

18 subsection (e) shall be according to the following schedule:

19 (1) After the operator has completed any re20 quired backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of

21 an area subject to mineral activities and covered by

22 the financial assurance, and has commenced

23 revegetation on the regraded areas subject to min24 eral activities in accordance with the approved plan,

25 that portion of the total financial assurance secured
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1 for the area subject to mineral activities attributable

2 to the completed activities may be released.

3 (2) After the operator has completed success4 fully all remaining mineral activities and reclamation

5 activities and all requirements of the operations plan

6 and the reclamation plan (including the provisions of

7 section 207(b)(6)(B) relating to revegetation and ef8 fluent treatment required by subsection (g)), and all

9 other requirements of this Act have in fact been

10 fully met, the remaining portion of the financial as11 surance may be released.

12 During the period following release of the financial assur13 ance as specified in paragraph (1), until the remaining

14 portion of the financial assurance is released as provided

15 in paragraph (2), the operator shall be required to comply

16 with the permit issued under this title.

17 (g) EFFLUENT.—Where any discharge resulting from

18 the mineral activities requires treatment in order to meet

19 the applicable effluent limitations, the financial assurance

20 shall include the estimated cost of maintaining such treat21 ment for the projected period that will be needed after

22 the cessation of mineral activities. The portion of the fi23 nancial assurance attributable to such estimated cost of

24 treatment shall not be released until the discharge has

25 ceased, or, if the discharge continues, until the operator
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1 has met all applicable effluent limitations and water qual2 ity standards for 5 full years without treatment.

3 (h) ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.—If the Secretary,

4 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri5 culture, determines, after final release of financial assur6 ance, that an environmental hazard resulting from the

7 mineral activities exists, or the terms and conditions of

8 the operations permit of this Act were not fulfilled in fact

9 at the time of release, such Secretary shall issue an order

10 under section 407 requiring the claimholder or operator

11 (or any person who controls the claimholder or operator)

12 to correct the condition.

13 SEC. 207. RECLAMATION.

14 (a) GENERAL RULE.—(1) Except as provided under

15 paragraphs (5) and (7) of subsection (b), the operator

16 shall restore lands subject to mineral activities carried out

17 under a permit issued under this title to a condition capa18 ble of supporting—

19 (A) the uses, including fish and wildlife habitat

20 uses, which such lands were capable of supporting

21 prior to surface disturbance by the operator, or

22 (B) other beneficial uses which conform to ap23 plicable land use plans as determined by the Sec24 retary or for National Forest System lands, the Sec25 retary of Agriculture.
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1 (2) Reclamation shall proceed as contemporaneously

2 as practicable with the conduct of mineral activities and

3 shall use, with respect to this subsection and subsection

4 (b), the best technology currently available. To the extent

5 practicable, reclamation shall be conducted in a manner

6 that does not increase the costs or likelihood of a removal

7 or remedial action under section 101 of the Comprehensive

8 Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

9 of 1980 or a corrective action under the Solid Waste Dis10 posal Act.

11 (b) RECLAMATION STANDARDS.—Mineral activities

12 shall be conducted in accordance with the following stand13 ards; as well as any additional standards the Secretaries

14 may jointly promulgate under section 201 and subsection

15 (a) of this section to address specific environmental im16 pacts of selected methods of mining:

17 (1) SOILS.—(A) Soils, including top soils and

18 subsoils removed from lands subject to mineral ac19 tivities shall be segregated from waste material and

20 protected for later use in reclamation. If such soil is

21 not replaced on a backfill area within a time-frame

22 short enough to avoid deterioration of the topsoil,

23 vegetative cover or other means shall be used so that

24 the soil is preserved from wind and water erosion,

25 remains free of contamination by acid or other toxic
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•HR 357 IH

1 material, and is in a usable condition for sustaining

2 vegetation when restored during reclamation.

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

4 to mineral activities is of insufficient quantity or of

5 inferior quality for sustaining vegetation, and other

6 suitable growth media removed from the lands sub7 ject to the mineral activities are available that shall

8 support vegetation, the best available growth me9 dium shall be removed, segregated and preserved in

10 a like manner as under subparagraph (A) for sus11 taining vegetation when restored during reclamation.

12 (C) In the event the soil (other than topsoil)

13 from lands subject to mineral activities is of insuffi14 cient quantity or of inferior quality for sustaining

15 vegetation, and other suitable growth media removed

16 from the lands subject to the mineral activities are

17 available that support revegetation, these substitute

18 materials shall be removed, segregated or preserved

19 in a like manner as under subparagraph (A) for

20 later use in reclamation.

21 (D) Mineral activities shall be conducted to pre22 vent contamination of soils to the extent possible

23 using the best technology currently available. If con24 tamination occurs, the operator shall decontaminate
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1 or dispose of any contaminated soils which have re2 sulted from the mineral activities.

3 (2) STABILIZATION.—All surface areas subject

4 to mineral activities, including segregated soils or

5 other growth medium, waste material piles, ore piles,

6 subgrade ore piles, and open or partially backfilled

7 mine pits which meet the requirements of paragraph

8 (5) shall be stabilized and protected during mineral

9 activities so as to effectively control fugitive dust

10 and erosion and otherwise comply with toxic sub11 stance, solid waste, air and water pollution control

12 laws and other environmental laws.

13 (3) SEDIMENTS, EROSION, AND DRAINAGE.—

14 Facilities such as but not limited to basins, ditches,

15 stream bank stabilization, diversions or other meas16 ures, shall be designed, constructed and maintained

17 where necessary to control sediments, erosion, and

18 drainage of the area subject to mineral activities.

19 (4) HYDROLOGIC BALANCE.—(A) Mineral ac20 tivities shall be conducted to minimize disturbances

21 to the prevailing hydrologic balance of the permit

22 area and surrounding watershed existing prior to the

23 mineral activities in the permit area and in the sur24 rounding watershed, as established by the baseline

25 information provided pursuant to section
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1 204(b)(10). Hydrologic balance includes the quality

2 and quantity of ground water and surface water and

3 their interrelationships, including recharge and dis4 charge rates. In all cases, the operator shall comply

5 with Federal and State laws related to the quality

6 and quantity of such waters.

7 (B) Mineral activities shall be conducted using

8 the technology standard referred to in subsection

9 (a)(2) to prevent where possible the formation of

10 acidic, toxic or other contaminated water. Where the

11 formation of acidic, toxic or other contaminated

12 water occurs despite the use of such technology

13 standard, mineral activities shall be conducted using

14 such technology so as to minimize the formation of

15 acidic, toxic or other contaminated water.

16 (C) Mineral activities shall prevent any con17 tamination of surface and ground water with acid or

18 other toxic mine pollutants and shall prevent or re19 move water from contact with acid or toxic produc20 ing deposits.

21 (D) Reclamation shall restore approximate hy22 drologic balance existing prior to the mineral activi23 ties.

24 (E) Where the quality of surface water or

25 ground water used for domestic, municipal, agricul-
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1 tural, or industrial purposes is adversely impacted

2 by mineral activities, such water shall be treated, or

3 replaced with the same quantity and approximate

4 quality of water, comparable to premining conditions

5 as established in paragraph (10) of section 204(b).

6 (5) SURFACE RESTORATION.—(A) The surface

7 area disturbed by mineral activities shall be shaped,

8 graded, and contoured to its natural topography.

9 Backfilling of an open pit mine shall be required

10 only if the Secretary, or for National Forest System

11 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, finds that such

12 open pit or partially backfilled, graded, or contoured

13 pit would pose a significant threat to the public

14 health safety or have a significant adverse effect on

15 the environment in terms of surface water or

16 groundwater pollution.

17 (B) In instances where complete backfilling of

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

19 to blend with the surrounding topography as much

20 as practicable and revegetated in accordance with

21 paragraph (6).

22 (6) VEGETATION.—(A) The area subject to

23 mineral activities shall be vegetated in order to es24 tablish a diverse, effective and permanent vegetative

25 cover of the same seasonal variety native to the area
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1 subject to mineral activities, capable of self-regen2 eration and plant succession and at least equal in

3 extent of cover to the natural revegetation of the

4 surrounding area, except that introduced species

5 may be used at the discretion of the Secretary, or

6 for National Forest System lands the Secretary of

7 Agriculture, in consultation with the Director, Fish

8 and Wildlife Service, if such introduction of such

9 species is necessary as an interim step in, and is

10 part of a program to restore a native plant commu11 nity. In such instances where the complete backfill

12 of an open mine pit is not required under paragraph

13 (5), such Secretary shall prescribe such vegetation

14 requirements as conform to the applicable land use

15 plan.

16 (B) In order to insure compliance with subpara17 graph (A), the period for determining successful

18 revegetation shall be for a period of 5 full years

19 after the last year of augmented seeding, fertilizing,

20 irrigation or other work, except that such period

21 shall be 10 full years where the annual average pre22 cipitation is 26 inches or less. The period may be for

23 a longer time at the discretion of the Secretary con24 cerned where the average precipitation is 26 inches

25 or less.
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1 (7) EXCESS WASTE.—(A) Waste material in ex2 cess of that required to comply with paragraph (5)

3 shall be transported and placed in approved areas,

4 in a controlled manner in such a way so as to assure

5 long-term mass stability, to prevent mass movement

6 and to facilitate reclamation. In addition to the

7 measures described under paragraph (3), internal

8 drainage systems shall be employed, as may be re9 quired, to control erosion and drainage. The design

10 of such excess waste material piles shall be certified

11 by a qualified professional engineer.

12 (B) Excess waste material piles shall be graded

13 and contoured to blend with the surrounding topog14 raphy as much as practicable and revegetated in ac15 cordance with paragraph (6).

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

17 the surface associated with underground mineral ac18 tivities, shall be backfilled, sealed or otherwise con19 trolled when no longer needed for the conduct of

20 mineral activities to ensure protection of the public

21 and the environment, and management of fish and

22 wildlife and livestock.

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

24 equipment constructed, used or improved during

25 mineral activities shall be removed, unless the Sec-
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1 retary concerned in consultation with the affected

2 land managing agency, determines that use of the

3 buildings, structures or equipment would be consist4 ent with subsection (a) or for environmental mon5 itoring and the Secretary concerned takes ownership

6 of such structures.

7 (10) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Fish and wildlife

8 habitat in areas subject to mineral activities shall be

9 restored in a manner commensurate with or superior

10 to habitat conditions which existed prior to the min11 eral activities, including such conditions as may be

12 prescribed by the Director, Fish and Wildlife

13 Service.

14 (c) APPLICATION OF RECLAMATION STANDARDS TO

15 EXPLORATION.—The provisions of this section shall apply

16 to mineral exploration pursuant to a permit under this

17 Act, except that paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (b)

18 shall not apply during any interim periods between com19 pletion of the approved exploration and the commence20 ment of further mineral activities, not to exceed 2 years,

21 if the operator maintains a sufficient financial assurance

22 to reclaim the disturbed surface should further mineral ac23 tivities not be authorized. The Secretary concerned shall

24 prescribe standards for interim stabilization and

25 revegetation.
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1 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—A modified reclamation plan

2 shall not be required for mineral activities related to rec3 lamation where a mining claim is forfeited, relinquished

4 or lapsed, or a plan is revoked or suspended or has expired

5 in any such case. Reclamation activities shall continue

6 only as approved by the Secretary, or for National Forest

7 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, pursuant to the

8 previously approved reclamation plan.

9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

10 (1) The term ‘‘best technology currently avail11 able’’ means equipment, devices, systems, methods,

12 or techniques which have demonstrated engineering

13 and economic feasibility, success and practicality.

14 Within the constraints of the surface management

15 requirements of this Act, the Secretary, or for Na16 tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri17 culture, shall have the discretion to determine the

18 best technology currently available on a case-by-case

19 basis.

20 (2) The term ‘‘waste material’’ means the mate21 rial resulting from mineral activities involving ex22 traction, beneficiation and processing, including but

23 not limited to tailings, and such material resulting

24 from mineral activities involving processing, to the

25 extent such material is not subject to subtitle C of
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1 the Solid Waste Disposal Act or the Uranium Mill

2 Tailings Radiation Control Act.

3 (3) The term ‘‘ore piles’’ means ore stockpiled

4 for beneficiation prior to the completion of mineral

5 activities.

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

7 too low in grade to be processed at the time of ex8 traction but which could reasonably be processed in

9 the foreseeable future.

10 (5) The term ‘‘soil’’ means the earthy or sandy

11 layer, ranging in thickness from a few inches to sev12 eral feet, composed of finely divided rock debris, of

13 whatever origin, mixed with decomposing vegetal and

14 animal matter, which forms the surface of the

15 ground and in which plants grow or may grow.

16 SEC. 208. STATE LAW AND REGULATION.

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

18 requirement in State law or regulation that meets or ex19 ceeds the requirements of section 207 shall not be con20 strued to be inconsistent with any such standard.

21 (2) Any bonding standard or requirement in State

22 law or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements

23 of section 206 shall not be construed to be inconsistent

24 with such requirements.
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1 (3) Any inspection standard or requirement in State

2 law or regulation that meets or exceeds the requirements

3 of section 404 shall not be construed to be inconsistent

4 with such requirements.

5 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATE REQUIRE6 MENTS.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as af7 fecting any toxic substance, solid waste, or air or water

8 quality, standard or requirement of any State law or regu9 lation, or of tribal law or regulation, which may be applica10 ble to mineral activities on lands subject to this Act.

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

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

13 under applicable law, such person’s interest in water re14 sources affected by mineral activities on lands subject to

15 this Act.

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

17 may enter into a cooperative agreement with the Sec18 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

19 of Agriculture, for the purposes of such Secretary applying

20 such standards and requirements referred to in subsection

21 (a) and subsection (b) to mineral activities or reclamation

22 on lands subject to this Act.

23 (2) In such instances where the proposed mineral ac24 tivities would affect lands not subject to this Act in addi25 tion to lands subject to this Act, in order to approve a
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1 plan of operations the Secretary concerned shall enter into

2 a cooperative agreement with the State that sets forth a

3 common regulatory framework consistent with the surface

4 management requirements of this Act for the purposes of

5 such plan of operations.

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

7 cooperative agreement with any State under this section

8 until after notice in the Federal Register and opportunity

9 for public comment.

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

12 concerned and any State, or political subdivision thereof,

13 relating to the surface management of mineral activities

14 on lands subject to this Act that was in existence on the

15 date of enactment of this Act may only continue in force

16 until the effective date of this Act, after which time the

17 terms and conditions of any such agreement or under18 standing shall only be applicable to plans of operations

19 approved by the Secretary concerned prior to the effective

20 date of this Act.

21 (e) DELEGATION.—The Secretary, or for National

22 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall

23 not delegate to any State, or political subdivision thereof,

24 the Secretary’s authorities, duties and obligations under
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1 this Act, including with respect to any cooperative agree2 ments entered into under this section.

3 (f) PREEMPTION.—Subject to section 414(b), the re4 quirements of this Act shall preempt any conflicting re5 quirements of any State, or political subdivision thereof

6 relating to mineral activities for locatable minerals.

7 SEC. 209. UNSUITABILITY REVIEW.

8 (a) AUTHORITY.—(1) As provided for in this section,

9 the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the Sec10 retary’s responsibilities under the Federal Land Policy

11 and Management Act of 1976, and the Secretary of Agri12 culture, in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities

13 under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

14 Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest

15 Management Act of 1976, shall each review lands that are

16 subject to this Act in order to determine, in accordance

17 with the provisions of subsection (b), whether there are

18 any areas on such lands which are either unsuitable for

19 all types of mineral activities or conditionally suitable for

20 certain types of mineral activities.

21 (2) Any determination made in accordance with sub22 section (b) shall be immediately effective. Such determina23 tion shall be incorporated into the applicable land use plan

24 when such plan is adopted, revised, or significantly amend25 ed pursuant to provisions of law other than this Act.
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1 (3) In any instance where a determination is made

2 in accordance with subsection (b) that an area is condi3 tionally suitable for all or certain mineral activities, the

4 Secretary concerned shall take appropriate steps to notify

5 the public that any operations permit application relevant

6 to that area shall be conditioned accordingly.

7 (b) SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS.—(1) The Secretary,

8 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri9 culture, shall determine that an area open to location is

10 unsuitable for all or certain mineral activities if such Sec11 retary finds that such activities would result in significant,

12 permanent and irreparable damage to special characteris13 tics as described in paragraph (3) which cannot be pre14 vented by the imposition of conditions in the operations

15 permit required under section 204 (b).

16 (2) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

17 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, may determine, after

18 notice and opportunity for public comment, that an area

19 is conditionally suitable for all or certain types of mineral

20 activities, if the Secretary concerned determines that any

21 of the special characteristics of such area, as listed in

22 paragraph (3), require protection from the effects of min23 eral activities.
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1 (3) Any of the following shall be considered special

2 characteristics of an area which contains lands or interests

3 in lands open to location under this Act:

4 (A) The existence of significant water quality or

5 supplies in or associated with such area, such as

6 aquifers and aquifer recharge areas.

7 (B) The presence in such area of publicly

8 owned places which are listed on or are determined

9 eligible for listing on the National Register of His10 toric Places.

11 (C) The designation of all or any portion of

12 such area or any adjacent area as a National Con13 servation System unit.

14 (D) The designation of all or any portion of

15 such area or any adjacent area as critical habitat for

16 threatened or endangered species under the Endan17 gered Species Act.

18 (E) The designation of all or any portion of

19 such area as Class I under section 162 of the Clean

20 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401).

21 (F) The presence of such other resource values

22 as the Secretary, or for National Forest System

23 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, may, by joint

24 rule, specify based upon field testing that verifies

25 such criteria.
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1 (c) PERMIT APPLICATION PRIOR TO REVIEW.—(1) If

2 an area covered by an application for a permit required

3 under section 204, has not been reviewed pursuant to sub4 section (a) prior to submission of the application, the Sec5 retary, or for National Forest System lands, the Secretary

6 of Agriculture, shall review the area that would be affected

7 by the proposed mineral activities to determine, according

8 to the provisions of subsection (b), whether the area is

9 unsuitable for all types of mineral activities or condi10 tionally suitable for certain types of mineral activities.

11 Such review and determination shall precede the final de12 cision on the permit application.

13 (2) The Secretary concerned shall use such review in

14 the next revision or significant amendment to the applica15 ble land use plan to the extent necessary to reflect the

16 unsuitability or conditional suitability of such lands.

17 (d) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—(1) In any in18 stance in which a determination of unsuitability is made

19 for any area in accordance with subsection (b)(1), all min20 eral activities shall be prohibited in such area, and the

21 Secretary shall (with the consent of the Secretary of Agri22 culture for National Forest System lands) withdraw such

23 area pursuant to section 204 of the Federal Land Policy

24 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714). The Sec25 retary’s determination under this section shall constitute
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1 the documentation required to be provided under section

2 204(c)(12) of the Federal Land Policy and Management

3 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714).

4 (2) In any instance where the Secretary, or for Na5 tional Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture,

6 determines in accordance with subsection (b)(2) that, by

7 reason of any of the special characteristics listed in sub8 section (b)(3), an area is conditionally suitable for all or

9 certain mineral activities, the Secretary concerned shall in10 clude such additional conditions in each permit for mineral

11 activities in such area as necessary to limit or control min12 eral activities to the extent necessary to protect the special

13 characteristics concerned.

14 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as af15 fecting lands where mineral activities were being con16 ducted on the date of enactment of this Act under ap17 proved plans of operations or under notice (as provided

18 for in the regulations of the Secretary of the Interior in

19 effect prior to the date of enactment of this Act relating

20 to operations that cause a cumulative disturbance of 5

21 acres or less).

22 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as pro23 hibiting mineral activities at a specific site, where substan24 tial legal and financial commitments in such mineral ac25 tivities were in existence on the date of enactment of this
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1 Act, but nothing in this section shall be construed as pro2 hibiting either Secretary from regulating such activities in

3 accordance with other authority of law. As used in this

4 paragraph, the term ‘‘substantial legal and financial com5 mitments’’ means, with respect to a specific site, signifi6 cant investments, expenditures, or undertakings that have

7 been made to explore or develop any mining claim or and

8 millsite located at such site under the general mining laws

9 or converted under this Act, such as but not limited to:

10 contracts for minerals produced; construction; contracts

11 for the construction; or commitment to raise capital for

12 the construction of processing, beneficiation, extraction, or

13 refining facilities, or transportation or utility infrastruc14 ture; exploration activities conducted to delineate proven

15 or probable ore reserves; acquisition of mining claims (but

16 only if such acquisition is part of other significant invest17 ments specified in this paragraph); and such other costs

18 or expenditures related to mineral activities at such site

19 as are similar to the foregoing itemized costs or expendi20 tures and as may be specified by the Secretaries by joint

21 rule.

22 (e) WITHDRAWAL REVIEW.—(1) In carrying out the

23 responsibilities referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary

24 or, for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Ag25 riculture, shall review all administrative withdrawals of
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1 land under such Secretary’s jurisdiction (other than wil2 derness study areas) to determine whether the revocation

3 or modification of such withdrawal for the purpose of al4 lowing such lands to be opened to the location of mining

5 claims under this Act is appropriate as a result of either

6 of the following:

7 (A) The imposition of any conditions imposed

8 as part of the land use planning process or the im9 position of any conditions as a result to the review

10 process under subsection (a).

11 (B) The limitation of section 417 (relating to

12 limitation on patent issuance).

13 (2) The Secretary concerned shall publish the review

14 referred to in paragraph (1) in the Federal Register no

15 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

16 After providing notice and opportunity for comment, the

17 Secretary may issue a revocation or modification of such

18 administrative withdrawals as he deems appropriate by

19 reason of the criteria listed in subparagraph (A) or (B)

20 of paragraph (1).

21 (f) EXPLORATION REVIEWS.—In conjunction with re22 view of a permit application submitted pursuant to section

23 203, and upon request of the applicant, the Secretary, or

24 for National Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agri25 culture, shall review the area proposed to be affected by
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1 mineral activities to determine whether the area would be

2 unsuitable or conditionally suitable for all or certain min3 eral activities.

4 SEC. 210. CERTAIN MINERAL ACTIVITIES COVERED BY

5 OTHER LAW.

6 This title shall not apply to any mineral activities

7 which are subject to the Stock Raising Homestead Act.

8 TITLE III—ABANDONED LOCAT9 ABLE MINERALS MINE REC10 LAMATION FUND

11 SEC. 301. ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS MINE REC12 LAMATION.

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

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

15 fund to be known as the Abandoned Locatable Minerals

16 Mine Reclamation Fund (hereinafter in this title referred

17 to as the ‘‘Fund’’). The Fund shall be administered by

18 the Secretary acting through the Director of the Office

19 of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

20 (2) The Secretary shall notify the Secretary of the

21 Treasury as to what portion of the Fund is not, in the

22 Secretary’s judgment, required to meet current withdraw23 als. The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such por24 tion of the Fund in public debt securities with maturities

25 suitable for the needs of such Fund and bearing interest
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1 at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, tak2 ing into consideration current market yields on outstand3 ing marketplace obligations of the United States of com4 parable maturities. The income on such investments shall

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

6 (b) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts shall be cred7 ited to the Fund:

8 (1) All moneys received from the collection of

9 claim maintenance fees under section 105.

10 (2) All moneys collected pursuant to section

11 106 (relating to failure to comply), section 407 (re12 lating to enforcement) and section 405 (relating to

13 citizens suits).

14 (3) All permit fees and transfer fees received

15 under sections 203 and 204.

16 (4) All donations by persons, corporations, as17 sociations, and foundations for the purposes of this

18 title.

19 (5) All amounts referred to in section 306 (re20 lating to royalties and penalties for underreporting).

21 (6) All other receipts from fees, royalties, pen22 alties and other sources collected under this Act.

23 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—(1) In calculating the

24 amount to be deposited in the Fund during any fiscal year

25 under subsection (b), the enacted appropriation of the De-
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1 partment of the Interior during the preceding year attrib2 utable to administering this Act shall be deducted from

3 the total of the amounts listed in subsection (b) prior to

4 the transfer of such amounts to the Fund.

5 (2) The amount deducted under paragraph (1) of this

6 section shall be available to the Secretary, subject to ap7 propriation, for payment of the costs of administering this

8 Act.

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

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized, sub11 ject to appropriations, to use moneys in the Fund for the

12 reclamation and restoration of land and water resources

13 adversely affected by past mineral activities on lands the

14 legal and beneficial title to which resides in the United

15 States, land within the exterior boundary of any national

16 forest system unit, or other lands described in subsection

17 (d) or section 303, including any of the following:

18 (1) Prevention, abatement, treatment and con19 trol of water pollution created by abandoned mine

20 drainage.

21 (2) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

22 surface and underground mined areas.

23 (3) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

24 milling and processing areas.
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1 (4) Backfilling, sealing, or otherwise control2 ling, abandoned underground mine entries.

3 (5) Revegetation of land adversely affected by

4 past mineral activities to prevent erosion and sedi5 mentation and to enhance wildlife habitat.

6 (6) Control of surface subsidence due to aban7 doned underground mines.

8 Moneys in the Fund shall also be available for purposes

9 of compensation (and other payments) under section 422.

10 (b) PRIORITIES.—To the extent that moneys in the

11 fund are in excess of the amount of compensation (and

12 other payments) paid under section 422, expenditures of

13 moneys from the Fund shall reflect the following priorities

14 in the order stated:

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

17 the adverse effects of past mineral activities, espe18 cially as relates to surface water and groundwater

19 contaminates.

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

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

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

24 wildlife resources previously degraded by the adverse

25 effects of past mineral activities.
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1 (c) HABITAT.—Reclamation and restoration activities

2 under this title, particularly those identified under sub3 section (a)(4), shall include appropriate mitigation meas4 ures to provide for the continuation of any established

5 habitat for wildlife in existence prior to the commencement

6 of such activities.

7 (d) OTHER AFFECTED LANDS.—Where mineral ex8 ploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or reclamation

9 activities has been carried out with respect to any mineral

10 which would be a locatable mineral if the legal and bene11 ficial title to the mineral were in the United States, if such

12 activities directly affect lands managed by the Bureau of

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

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

15 lands resides in the United States, the Secretary is author16 ized, subject to appropriations, to use moneys in the fund

17 for reclamation and restoration under subsection (a) for

18 all directly affected lands.

19 (e) RESPONSE OR REMOVAL ACTIONS.—Reclamation

20 and restoration activities under this title which constitute

21 a removal or remedial action under section 101 of the

22 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation

23 and Liability Act of 1980, shall be conducted with the con24 currence of the Administrator of the Environmental Pro25 tection Agency. The Secretary and the Administrator shall
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1 enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to establish

2 procedures for consultation, concurrence, training, ex3 change of technical expertise and joint activities under the

4 appropriate circumstances, which provide assurances that

5 reclamation or restoration activities under this title, to the

6 extent practicable, shall not be conducted in a manner that

7 increases the costs or likelihood of removal or remedial

8 actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Re9 sponse, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, and

10 which avoid oversight by multiple agencies to the maxi11 mum extent practicable.

12 SEC. 303. ELIGIBLE LANDS AND WATERS.

13 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Reclamation expenditures under

14 this title may only be made with respect to Federal lands

15 or Indian lands or water resources that traverse or are

16 contiguous to Federal lands or Indian lands where such

17 lands or waters resources have been affected by past min18 eral activities, including any of the following:

19 (1) Lands and water resources which were used

20 for, or affected by, mineral activities and abandoned

21 or left in an inadequate reclamation status before

22 the effective date of this Act.

23 (2) Lands for which the Secretary makes a de24 termination that there is no continuing reclamation

25 responsibility of a claim holder, operator, or other
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1 person who abandoned the site prior to completion

2 of required reclamation under State or other Federal

3 laws.

4 (3) Lands for which it can be established that

5 such lands do not contain locatable minerals which

6 could economically be extracted through the reproc7 essing or remining of such lands, unless such consid8 erations are in conflict with the priorities set forth

9 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 302(b).

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

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

12 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 shall apply to ex13 penditures made from the Fund established under this

14 title.

15 (c) INVENTORY.—The Secretary shall prepare and

16 maintain an inventory of abandoned locatable minerals

17 mines on Federal lands and any abandoned mine on In18 dian lands which may be eligible for expenditures under

19 this title.

20 SEC. 304. FUND EXPENDITURES.

21 Moneys available from the Fund may be expended for

22 the purposes specified in section 302 directly by the Direc23 tor of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and En24 forcement. The Director may also make such money avail25 able for such purposes to the Director of the Bureau of
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1 Land Management, the Chief of the United States Forest

2 Service, the Director of the National Park Service, Direc3 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to any

4 other agency of the United States, to an Indian tribe, or

5 to any public entity that volunteers to develop and imple6 ment, and that has the ability to carry out, all or a signifi7 cant portion of a reclamation program under this title.

8 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 Amounts credited to the Fund are authorized to be

10 appropriated for the purpose of this title without fiscal

11 year limitation.

12 SEC. 306. ROYALTY.

13 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Production of all

14 locatable minerals from any mining claim located or con15 verted under this Act, or mineral concentrates or products

16 derived from locatable minerals from any mining claim lo17 cated or converted under this Act, as the case may be,

18 shall be subject to a royalty of 8 percent of the net smelter

19 return from such production. The claimholder and any op20 erator to whom the claimholder has assigned the obliga21 tion to make royalty payments under the claim and any

22 person who controls such claimholder or operator shall be

23 jointly and severally liable for payment of such royalties.

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

25 TRANSPORTERS.—(1) A person—
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1 (A) who is required to make any royalty pay2 ment under this section shall make such payments

3 to the United States at such times and in such man4 ner as the Secretary may by rule prescribe; and

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

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

7 assignment that such person may have made of the

8 obligation to make any royalty or other payment

9 under a mining claim.

10 (2) Any person paying royalties under this section

11 shall file a written instrument, together with the first roy12 alty payment, affirming that such person is liable to the

13 Secretary for making proper payments for all amounts due

14 for all time periods for which such person has a payment

15 responsibility. Such liability for the period referred to in

16 the preceding sentence shall include any and all additional

17 amounts billed by the Secretary and determined to be due

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

19 royalty payments under this section who assigns any pay20 ment obligation shall remain jointly and severally liable

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

22 (3) A person conducting mineral activities shall—

23 (A) develop and comply with the site security

24 provisions in operations permit designed to protect

25 from theft the locatable minerals, concentrates or
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1 products derived therefrom which are produced or

2 stored on a mining claim, and such provisions shall

3 conform with such minimum standards as the Sec4 retary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the

5 variety of circumstances on mining claims; and

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

7 production begins anywhere on a mining claim, or

8 production resumes after more than 90 days after

9 production was suspended, notify the Secretary, in

10 the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date

11 on which such production has begun or resumed.

12 (4) The Secretary may by rule require any person en13 gaged in transporting a locatable mineral, concentrate, or

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

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

16 documentation showing, at a minimum, the amount, ori17 gin, and intended destination of the locatable mineral, con18 centrate, or product derived therefrom in such cir19 cumstances as the Secretary determines is appropriate.

20 (c) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE21 MENTS.—(1) A claim holder, operator, or other person di22 rectly involved in developing, producing, processing, trans23 porting, purchasing, or selling locatable minerals, con24 centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to this

25 Act, through the point of royalty computation shall estab-
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1 lish and maintain any records, make any reports, and pro2 vide any information that the Secretary may reasonably

3 require for the purposes of implementing this section or

4 determining compliance with rules or orders under this

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

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

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

8 technical and financial data relating to the quantity, qual9 ity, composition volume, weight, and assay of all minerals

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

11 officer or employee duly designated by the Secretary or

12 any State conducting an audit or investigation pursuant

13 to this section, the appropriate records, reports, or infor14 mation which may be required by this section shall be

15 made available for inspection and duplication by such offi16 cer or employee or State.

17 (2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec18 tion shall be maintained for 6 years after release of finan19 cial assurance under section 206 unless the Secretary noti20 fies the operator that he or she has initiated an audit or

21 investigation involving such records and that such records

22 must be maintained for a longer period. In any case when

23 an audit or investigation is underway, records shall be

24 maintained until the Secretary releases the operator of the

25 obligation to maintain such records.
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1 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct

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

3 purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi4 rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov5 ered by this Act, as the Secretary deems necessary for the

6 purposes of ensuring compliance with the requirements of

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

8 Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon request,

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

10 documents that relate to compliance with any provision

11 of this section by any person.

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

13 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

14 Secretary of Agriculture to share information concerning

15 the royalty management of locatable minerals, con16 centrates, or products derived therefrom, to carry out in17 spection, auditing, investigation, or enforcement (not in18 cluding the collection of royalties, civil or criminal pen19 alties, or other payments) activities under this section in

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

21 activity described in this section.

22 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (4)(A) of this

23 subsection (relating to trade secrets), and pursuant to a

24 cooperative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall,

25 upon request, have access to all royalty accounting infor-
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1 mation in the possession of the Secretary respecting the

2 production, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, con3 centrates, or products derived therefrom from claims on

4 lands open to location under this Act.

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

6 information shall be made available by the Secretary pur7 suant to a cooperative agreement under this subsection to

8 the Secretary of Agriculture upon request only if—

9 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture consents in

10 writing to restrict the dissemination of the informa11 tion to those who are directly involved in an audit

12 or investigation under this section and who have a

13 need to know;

14 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture accepts liabil15 ity for wrongful disclosure; and

16 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture demonstrates

17 that such information is essential to the conduct of

18 an audit or investigation under this subsection.

19 (f) INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING

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

21 royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the

22 date that such payments are due, the Secretary shall

23 charge interest on such underpayments at the same inter24 est rate as is applicable under section 6621(a)(2) of the

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an
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1 underpayment, interest shall be computed and charged

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

3 amount.

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

5 production from a claim for any production month by any

6 person liable for royalty payments under this section, the

7 Secretary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the

8 amount of that underreporting.

9 (3) If there is a substantial underreporting of royalty

10 owed on production from a claim for any production

11 month by any person responsible for paying the royalty,

12 the Secretary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the

13 amount of that underreporting.

14 (4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term

15 ‘‘substantial underreporting’’ means the difference be16 tween the royalty on the value of the production which

17 should have been reported and the royalty on the value

18 of the production which was reported, if the value which

19 should have been reported is greater than the value which

20 was reported. An underreporting constitutes a ‘‘substan21 tial underreporting’’ if such difference exceeds 10 percent

22 of the royalty on the value of production which should

23 have been reported.

24 (5) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment

25 provided in paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection if the
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1 person liable for royalty payments under this section cor2 rects the underreporting before the date such person re3 ceives notice from the Secretary that an underreporting

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

5 the enactment of this section, whichever is later.

6 (6) The Secretary shall waive any portion of an as7 sessment under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection

8 attributable to that portion of the underreporting for

9 which the person responsible for paying the royalty dem10 onstrates that—

11 (A) such person had written authorization from

12 the Secretary to report royalty on the value of the

13 production on basis on which it was reported, or

14 (B) such person had substantial authority for

15 reporting royalty on the value of the production on

16 the basis on which it was reported, or

17 (C) such person previously had notified the Sec18 retary, in such manner as the Secretary may by rule

19 prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts affecting the

20 royalty treatment of specific production which led to

21 the underreporting, or

22 (D) such person meets any other exception

23 which the Secretary may, by rule, establish.

24 (7) All penalties collected under this subsection shall

25 be deposited in the Fund.
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1 (g) DELEGATION.—For the purposes of this section,

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

3 acting through the Director of the Minerals Management

4 Service.

5 (h) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per6 son liable for royalty payments under this section shall

7 be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable

8 minerals, concentrates, or products derived therefrom lost

9 or wasted from a mining claim located or converted under

10 this section when such loss or waste is due to negligence

11 on the part of any person or due to the failure to comply

12 with any rule, regulation, or order issued under this sec13 tion.

14 (i) EXCEPTION.—No royalty shall be payable under

15 subsection (a) with respect to minerals processed at a fa16 cility by the same person or entity which extracted the

17 minerals if an urban development action grant has been

18 made under section 119 of the Housing and Community

19 Development Act of 1974 with respect to any portion of

20 such facility.

21 (j) DEFINITION.—For the proposes of this section,

22 for any locatable mineral, the term ‘‘net smelter return’’

23 shall have the same meaning as the term defined in section

24 613(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
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1 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this sec2 tion shall take effect with respect to the production of

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

4 royalty payments attributable to production during the

5 first 12 calendar months after the enactment of this Act

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

7 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND

8 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

9 Subtitle A—Administrative

10 Provisions

11 SEC. 401. POLICY FUNCTIONS.

12 (a) MINERALS POLICY.—Section 2 of the Mining and

13 Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a) is amended

14 by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘It shall also

15 be the responsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture to

16 carry out the policy provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2)

17 of this section.’’.

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

19 Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development

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

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

22 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture shall

23 promptly initiate actions to improve the availability and

24 analysis of mineral data in Federal land use decisionmak25 ing’’.
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1 SEC. 402. USER FEES.

2 The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture are

3 each authorized to establish and collect from persons sub4 ject to the requirements of this Act such user fees as may

5 be necessary to reimburse the United States for the ex6 penses incurred in administering such requirements. Fees

7 may be assessed and collected under this section only in

8 such manner as may reasonably be expected to result in

9 an aggregate amount of the fees collected during any fiscal

10 year which does not exceed the aggregate amount of ad11 ministrative expenses referred to in this section.

12 SEC. 403. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.

13 (a) OPERATIONS PERMIT.—(1) Concurrent with sub14 mittal of an application for an operations permit under

15 section 204 or a renewal or significant modification there16 of, the applicant shall publish a notice in a newspaper of

17 local circulation at least once a week for 4 consecutive

18 weeks. The notice shall include: the name of the applicant,

19 the location of the proposed mineral activities, the type

20 and expected duration of the proposed mineral activities,

21 the proposed use of the land after the completion of min22 eral activities and a location where such plans are publicly

23 available. The applicant shall also notify in writing other

24 Federal, State and local government agencies and Indian

25 tribes that regulate mineral activities or land planning de26 cisions in the area subject to mineral activities or that
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1 manage lands adjacent to the area subject to mineral ac2 tivities. The applicant shall provide proof of such notifica3 tion to the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands

4 the Secretary of Agriculture.

5 (2) The applicant for an operations permit shall make

6 copies of the complete permit application available for

7 public review at the office of the responsible Federal sur8 face management agency located nearest to the location

9 of the proposed mineral activities, and at such other public

10 locations deemed appropriate by the State or local govern11 ment for the county in which the proposed mineral activi12 ties will occur prior to final decision by the Secretary, or

13 for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri14 culture. Any person, and the authorized representative of

15 a Federal, State or local governmental agency or Indian

16 tribe, shall have the right to file written comments relating

17 to the approval or disapproval of the permit application

18 until 30 days after the last day of newspaper publication.

19 The Secretary concerned shall promptly make such com20 ments available to the applicant.

21 (3) Any person may file written comments during the

22 comment period specified in paragraph (2) and any person

23 who is, or may be, adversely affected by the proposed min24 eral activities may request a nonadjudicatory public hear25 ing to be held in the county in which the mineral activities
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1 are proposed. The Secretary concerned shall consider all

2 written comments filed during such period. If a hearing

3 is requested by any person who is, or may be, adversely

4 affected by the proposed mineral activities, the Secretary

5 concerned shall consider such request and may conduct

6 such hearing. When a hearing is to be held, notice of such

7 hearing shall be published in a newspaper of local circula8 tion at least once a week for 2 weeks prior to the hearing

9 date.

10 SEC. 404. INSPECTION AND MONITORING.

11 (a) INSPECTIONS.—(1) The Secretary, or for Na12 tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture,

13 shall make inspections of mineral activities so as to ensure

14 compliance with the surface management requirements of

15 title II.

16 (2) The Secretary concerned shall establish a fre17 quency of inspections for mineral activities conducted

18 under a permit issued under title II, but in no event shall

19 such inspection frequency be less than one complete in20 spection per calendar quarter or, two per calendar quarter

21 in the case of a permit for which the Secretary concerned

22 approves an application under section 204(g) (relating to

23 temporary cessation of operations). After revegetation has

24 been established in accordance with a reclamation plan,

25 such Secretary shall conduct annually 2 complete inspec-
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1 tions. Such Secretary shall have the discretion to modify

2 the inspection frequency for mineral activities that are

3 conducted on a seasonal basis. Inspections shall continue

4 under this subsection until final release of financial assur5 ance.

6 (3)(A) Any person who has reason to believe he or

7 she is or may be adversely affected by mineral activities

8 due to any violation of the surface management require9 ments may request an inspection. The Secretary, or for

10 National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri11 culture, shall determine within 10 working days of receipt

12 of the request whether the request states a reason to be13 lieve that a violation exists. If the person alleges and pro14 vides reason to believe that an imminent threat to the en15 vironment or danger to the health or safety of the public

16 exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the inspec17 tion shall be conducted immediately. When an inspection

18 is conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary con19 cerned shall notify the person requesting the inspection,

20 and such person shall be allowed to accompany the Sec21 retary concerned or the Secretary’s authorized representa22 tive during the inspection. The Secretary shall not incur

23 any liability for allowing such person to accompany an au24 thorized representative. The identity of the person supply25 ing information to the Secretary relating to a possible vio-
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1 lation or imminent danger or harm shall remain confiden2 tial with the Secretary if so requested by that person, un3 less that person elects to accompany an authorized rep4 resentative on the inspection.

5 (B) The Secretaries shall, by joint rule, establish pro6 cedures for the review of (i) any decision by an authorized

7 representative not to inspect or (ii) any refusal by such

8 representative to ensure that remedial actions are taken

9 with respect to any alleged violation. The Secretary con10 cerned shall furnish such persons requesting the review

11 a written statement of the reasons for the Secretary’s final

12 disposition of the case.

13 (b) MONITORING.—(1) The Secretary, or for Na14 tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture,

15 shall require all operators to develop and maintain a mon16 itoring and evaluation system which shall identify compli17 ance with all surface management requirements.

18 (2) Monitoring shall be conducted as close as tech19 nically feasible to the mineral activity involved, and in all

20 cases such monitoring shall be conducted within the per21 mit area.

22 (3) The point of compliance referred to in paragraph

23 (1) shall be as close to the mineral activity involved as

24 is technically feasible, but in any event shall be located

25 to comply with applicable State and Federal standards.
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1 In no event shall the point of compliance be outside the

2 permit area.

3 (4) The Secretary concerned may require additional

4 monitoring be conducted as necessary to assure compli5 ance with the reclamation and other environmental stand6 ards of this Act.

7 (5) The operator shall file reports with the Secretary,

8 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri9 culture, on a frequency determined by the Secretary con10 cerned, on the results of the monitoring and evaluation

11 process, except that if the monitoring and evaluation show

12 a violation of the surface management requirements, it

13 shall be reported immediately to the Secretary concerned.

14 Information received pursuant to this subsection from any

15 natural person shall not be used against any such natural

16 person in any criminal case, except a prosecution for per17 jury or for giving a false statement. The Secretary shall

18 evaluate the reports submitted pursuant to this para19 graph, and based on those reports and any necessary in20 spection shall take enforcement action pursuant to this

21 section.

22 (6) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

23 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall determine what

24 information must be reported by the operator pursuant

25 to paragraph (5). A failure to report as required by the
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1 Secretary concerned shall constitute a violation of this Act

2 and subject the operator to enforcement action pursuant

3 to section 407.

4 SEC. 405. CITIZENS SUITS.

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

6 (b), any person having an interest which is or may be ad7 versely affected may commence a civil action on his or her

8 own behalf to compel compliance—

9 (1) against any person (including the Secretary

10 or the Secretary of Agriculture) alleged to have vio11 lated (if there is evidence the alleged violation has

12 been repeated), or to be in violation of, any of the

13 provisions of title II or section 404 of this Act or

14 any regulation promulgated pursuant to title II or

15 section 404 of this Act or any term or condition of

16 any permit issued under title II of this Act; or

17 (2) against the Secretary or the Secretary of

18 Agriculture where there is alleged a failure of such

19 Secretary to perform any act or duty under title II

20 or section 404 of this Act, or to promulgate any reg21 ulation under title II or section 404 of this Act,

22 which is not within the discretion of the Secretary

23 concerned.

24 The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction

25 over actions brought under this section, without regard to
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1 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties,

2 including actions brought to apply any civil penalty under

3 this Act. The district courts of the United States shall

4 have jurisdiction to compel agency action unreasonably de5 layed, except that an action to compel agency action

6 reviewable under section 406 may only be filed in a United

7 States District Court within the circuit in which such ac8 tion would be reviewable under section 406.

9 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) No action may be commenced

10 under subsection (a) prior to 60 days after the plaintiff

11 has given notice in writing of such alleged violation to the

12 Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec13 retary of Agriculture, except that any such action may be

14 brought immediately after such notification if the violation

15 complained of constitutes an imminent threat to the envi16 ronment or to the health or safety of the public.

17 (2) No action may be brought against any person

18 other than the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture

19 under subsection (a)(1) if such Secretary has commenced

20 and is diligently prosecuting a civil or criminal action in

21 a court of the United States to require compliance.

22 (3) No action may be commenced under paragraph

23 (2) of subsection (a) against either Secretary to review any

24 rule promulgated by, or to any permit issued or denied

25 by such Secretary if such rule or permit issuance or denial
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1 is judicially reviewable under section 406 or under any

2 other provision of law at any time after such promulga3 tion, issuance, or denial is final.

4 (c) VENUE.—Venue of all actions brought under this

5 section shall be determined in accordance with title 28

6 U.S.C. 1391.

7 (d) INTERVENTION; NOTICE.—(1) In any action

8 under this section, the Secretary, or for National Forest

9 System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may intervene

10 as a matter of right at any time. A judgment in an action

11 under this section to which the United States is not a

12 party shall not have any binding effect upon the United

13 States.

14 (2) Whenever an action is brought under this section

15 the plaintiff shall serve a copy of the complaint on the

16 Attorney General of the United States and on the Sec17 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

18 of Agriculture. No consent judgment shall be entered in

19 an action brought under this section in which the United

20 States is not a party prior to 45 days following the date

21 on which a copy of the proposed consent judgment is sub22 mitted to the Attorney General and the Secretary, or for

23 National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri24 culture. During such 45-day period the Attorney General

25 or such Secretary may submit comments on the proposed
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1 consent judgment to the court and parties or may inter2 vene as a matter of right.

3 (e) COSTS.—The court, in issuing any final order in

4 any action brought pursuant to this section may award

5 costs of litigation (including attorney and expert witness

6 fees) to any prevailing party whenever the court deter7 mines such award is appropriate. The court may, if a tem8 porary restraining order or preliminary injunction is

9 sought, require the filing of a bond or equivalent security

10 in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

11 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall

12 restrict any right which any person (or class of persons)

13 may have under chapter 7 of title 5 of the United States

14 Code, under section 406 of this Act or under any other

15 statute or common law to bring an action to seek any relief

16 against the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture or

17 against any other person, including any action for any vio18 lation of this Act or of any regulation or permit issued

19 under this Act or for any failure to act as required by

20 law. Nothing in this section shall affect the jurisdiction

21 of any court under any provision of title 28 of the United

22 States Code, including any action for any violation of this

23 Act or of any regulation or permit issued under this Act

24 or for any failure to act as required by law. Nothing in

25 this Act shall be construed to be a waiver of the sovereign
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1 immunity of an Indian tribe except as provided for in sec2 tion 202(c).

3 SEC. 406. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

4 (a) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—(1)(A) Any person is5 sued a notice of violation or cessation order under section

6 407, or any person having an interest which is or may

7 be adversely affected by such notice or order, may apply

8 to the Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the

9 Secretary of Agriculture, for review of the notice or order

10 within 30 days of receipt thereof, or as the case may be,

11 within 30 days of such notice or order being modified, va12 cated or terminated.

13 (B) Any person who is subject to a penalty assessed

14 under section 106, section 107(c), or section 407 may

15 apply to the Secretary concerned for review of the assess16 ment within 30 days of notification of such penalty.

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

18 be adversely affected by a decision made by the Secretary

19 or the Secretary of Agriculture under section 203, 204,

20 205, 206, 209, or 404(a)(3) may apply to such Secretary

21 for review of the decision within 30 days after it is made.

22 (2) The Secretary concerned shall provide an oppor23 tunity for a public hearing at the request of any party

24 to the proceeding as specified in paragraph (1). The filing

25 of an application for review under this subsection shall not
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1 operate as a stay of any order or notice issued under sec2 tion 407.

3 (3) For any review proceeding under this subsection,

4 the Secretary concerned shall make findings of fact and

5 shall issue a written decision incorporating therein an

6 order vacating, affirming, modifying or terminating the

7 notice, order or decision, or with respect to an assessment,

8 the amount of penalty that is warranted. Where the appli9 cation for review concerns a cessation order issued under

10 section 407, the Secretary concerned shall issue the writ11 ten decision within 30 days of the receipt of the applica12 tion for review or within 30 days after the conclusion of

13 any hearing referred to in paragraph (2), whichever is

14 later, unless temporary relief has been granted by the Sec15 retary concerned under paragraph (4).

16 (4) Pending completion of any review proceedings

17 under this subsection, the applicant may file with the Sec18 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

19 of Agriculture, a written request that the Secretary grant

20 temporary relief from any order issued under section 407

21 together with a detailed statement giving reasons for such

22 relief. The Secretary concerned shall expeditiously issue

23 an order or decision granting or denying such relief. The

24 Secretary concerned may grant such relief under such con25 ditions as he may prescribe only if such relief shall not
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1 adversely affect the health or safety of the public or cause

2 significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air or

3 water resources.

4 (5) The availability of review under this subsection

5 shall not be construed to limit the operation of rights

6 under section 405.

7 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(1) Any final action by the

8 Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture in promulgat9 ing regulations to implement this Act, or any other final

10 actions constituting rulemaking to implement this Act,

11 shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States

12 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Any action

13 subject to judicial review under this subsection shall be

14 affirmed unless the court concludes that such action is ar15 bitrary, capricious, or otherwise inconsistent with law. A

16 petition for review of any action subject to judicial review

17 under this subsection shall be filed within 60 days from

18 the date of such action, or after such date if the petition

19 is based solely on grounds arising after the sixtieth day.

20 Any such petition may be made by any person who com21 mented or otherwise participated in the rulemaking or any

22 person who may be adversely affected by the action of the

23 Secretaries.

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

25 such final action on those matters described under sub-
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1 section (a), shall be subject to judicial review in accord2 ance with paragraph (4) and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391

3 of the United States Code on or before 60 days from the

4 date of such final action. Any action subject to judicial

5 review under this subsection shall be affirmed unless the

6 court concludes that such action is arbitrary, capricious,

7 or otherwise inconsistent with law.

8 (3) The availability of judicial review established in

9 this subsection shall not be construed to limit the oper10 ations of rights under section 405 (relating to citizens

11 suits).

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

13 filed under this subsection solely on the record made be14 fore the Secretary or Secretaries concerned. The court

15 may affirm or vacate any order or decision or may remand

16 the proceedings to the Secretary or Secretaries for such

17 further action as it may direct.

18 (5) The commencement of a proceeding under this

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

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

21 Secretary or Secretaries concerned.

22 (c) COSTS.—Whenever a proceeding occurs under

23 subsection (a) or (b), at the request of any person, a sum

24 equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses

25 (including attorney fees) as determined by the Secretary
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1 or Secretaries concerned or the court to have been reason2 ably incurred by such person for or in connection with par3 ticipation in such proceedings, including any judicial re4 view of the proceeding, may be assessed against either

5 party as the court, in the case of judicial review, or the

6 Secretary or Secretaries concerned in the case of adminis7 trative proceedings, deems proper if it is determined that

8 such party prevailed in whole or in part, achieving some

9 success on the merits, and that such party made a sub10 stantial contribution to a full and fair determination of

11 the issues.

12 SEC. 407. ENFORCEMENT.

13 (a) ORDERS.—(1) If the Secretary, or for National

14 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, or an

15 authorized representative of such Secretary, determines

16 that any person is in violation of any surface management

17 or monitoring requirement, such Secretary or authorized

18 representative shall issue to such person a notice of viola19 tion describing the violation and the corrective measures

20 to be taken. The Secretary concerned, or the authorized

21 representative of such Secretary, shall provide such person

22 with a period of time not to exceed 30 days to abate the

23 violation. Such period of time may be extended by the Sec24 retary concerned upon a showing of good cause by such

25 person. If, upon the expiration of time provided for such
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1 abatement, the Secretary concerned, or the authorized

2 representative of such Secretary, finds that the violation

3 has not been abated he shall immediately order a cessation

4 of all mineral activities or the portion thereof relevant to

5 the violation.

6 (2) If the Secretary concerned, or the authorized rep7 resentative of the Secretary concerned, determines that

8 any condition or practice exists, or that any person is in

9 violation of any surface management or monitoring re10 quirement, and such condition, practice or violation is

11 causing, or can reasonably be expected to cause—

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

13 of the public; or

14 (B) significant, imminent environmental harm

15 to land, air, water, fish or wildlife resources;

16 such Secretary or authorized representative shall imme17 diately order a cessation of mineral activities or the por18 tion thereof relevant to the condition, practice or violation.

19 (3)(A) A cessation order pursuant to paragraphs (1)

20 or (2) shall remain in effect until such Secretary, or au21 thorized representative, determines that the condition,

22 practice or violation has been abated, or until modified,

23 vacated or terminated by the Secretary or authorized rep24 resentative. In any such order, the Secretary or authorized

25 representative shall determine the steps necessary to abate
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1 the violation in the most expeditious manner possible and

2 shall include the necessary measures in the order. The

3 Secretary concerned shall require appropriate financial as4 surances to ensure that the abatement obligations are met.

5 (B) Any notice or order issued pursuant to para6 graphs (1) or (2) may be modified, vacated or terminated

7 by the Secretary concerned or an authorized representa8 tive of such Secretary. Any person to whom any such no9 tice or order is issued shall be entitled to a hearing on

10 the record.

11 (4) If, after 30 days of the date of the order referred

12 to in paragraph (3)(A) the required abatement has not

13 occurred the Secretary concerned shall take such alter14 native enforcement action against the claimholder or oper15 ator (or any person who controls the claimholder or opera16 tor) as will most likely bring about abatement in the most

17 expeditious manner possible. Such alternative enforcement

18 action may include, but is not necessarily limited to, seek19 ing appropriate injunctive relief to bring about abatement.

20 Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the Secretary,

21 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri22 culture, from taking alternative enforcement action prior

23 to the expiration of 30 days.

24 (5) If a claimholder or operator (or any person who

25 controls the claimholder or operator) fails to abate a viola-
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1 tion or defaults on the terms of the permit, the Secretary,

2 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri3 culture, shall forfeit the financial assurance for the plan

4 as necessary to ensure abatement and reclamation under

5 this Act. The Secretary concerned may prescribe condi6 tions under which a surety may perform reclamation in

7 accordance with the approved plan in lieu of forfeiture.

8 (6) The Secretary, or for National Forest System

9 lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall not cause forfeit10 ure of the financial assurance while administrative or judi11 cial review is pending.

12 (7) In the event of forfeiture, the claim holder, opera13 tor, or any affiliate thereof, as appropriate as determined

14 by the Secretary by rule, shall be jointly and severally lia15 ble for any remaining reclamation obligations under this

16 Act.

17 (b) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary, or for National

18 Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may re19 quest the Attorney General to institute a civil action for

20 relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction or

21 restraining order, or any other appropriate enforcement

22 order, including the imposition of civil penalties, in the dis23 trict court of the United States for the district in which

24 the mineral activities are located whenever a person—
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1 (1) violates, fails or refuses to comply with any

2 order issued by the Secretary concerned under sub3 section (a); or

4 (2) interferes with, hinders or delays the Sec5 retary concerned in carrying out an inspection under

6 section 404.

7 Such court shall have jurisdiction to provide such relief

8 as may be appropriate. Any relief granted by the court

9 to enforce an order under paragraph (1) shall continue

10 in effect until the completion or final termination of all

11 proceedings for review of such order unless the district

12 court granting such relief sets it aside.

13 (c) DELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, the Secretary may utilize personnel of the Of15 fice of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to

16 ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act.

17 (d) PENALTIES.—(1) Any person who fails to comply

18 with any surface management requirement shall be liable

19 for a penalty of not more than $25,000 per violation. Each

20 day of violation may be deemed a separate violation for

21 purposes of penalty assessments.

22 (2) A person who fails to correct a violation for which

23 a cessation order has been issued under subsection (a)

24 within the period permitted for its correction shall be as25 sessed a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 per violation
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1 for each day during which such failure continues, but in

2 no event shall such assessment exceed a 30-day period.

3 (3) Whenever a corporation is in violation of a surface

4 management requirement or fails or refuses to comply

5 with an order issued under subsection (a), any director,

6 officer or agent of such corporation who knowingly author7 ized, ordered, or carried out such violation, failure or re8 fusal shall be subject to the same penalties as may be im9 posed upon the person referred to in paragraph (1).

10 (e) SUSPENSIONS OR REVOCATIONS.—The Secretary,

11 or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri12 culture, may suspend or revoke a permit issued under title

13 II, in whole or in part, if the operator or person conduct14 ing mineral activities—

15 (1) knowingly made or knowingly makes any

16 false, inaccurate, or misleading material statement

17 in any mining claim, notice of location, application,

18 record, report, plan, or other document filed or re19 quired to be maintained under this Act;

20 (2) fails to abate a violation covered by a ces21 sation order issued under subsection (a);

22 (3) fails to comply with an order of the Sec23 retary concerned;

24 (4) refuses to permit an audit pursuant to this

25 Act;
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1 (5) fails to maintain an adequate financial as2 surance under section 206;

3 (6) fails to pay claim maintenance fees or other

4 moneys due and owing under this Act; or

5 (7) with regard to plans conditionally approved

6 under section 205(c)(2), fails to abate a violation to

7 the satisfaction of the Secretary concerned, or if the

8 validity of the violation is upheld on the appeal

9 which formed the basis for the conditional approval.

10 (f) FALSE STATEMENTS; TAMPERING.—Any person

11 who knowingly—

12 (1) makes any false material statement, rep13 resentation, or certification in, or omits or conceals

14 material information from, or unlawfully alters, any

15 mining claim, notice of location, application, record,

16 report, plan, or other documents filed or required to

17 be maintained under this Act; or

18 (2) falsifies, tampers with, renders inaccurate,

19 or fails to install any monitoring device or method

20 be required to be maintained under this Act,

21 shall upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more

22 than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2

23 years, or by both. If a conviction of a person is for a viola24 tion committed after a first conviction of such person

25 under this paragraph, punishment shall be by a fine of
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1 not more than $20,000 per day of violation, or by impris2 onment of not more than 4 years, or both. Each day of

3 continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation

4 for purposes of penalty assessments.

5 (g) KNOWING VIOLATIONS.—Any person who know6 ingly—

7 (1) engages in mineral activities without a per8 mit required under title II, or

9 (2) violates any other surface management re10 quirement of this Act or any provision of a permit

11 issued under this Act (including any exploration or

12 operations plan on which such permit is based), or

13 condition or limitation thereof,

14 shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less

15 than $5,000 nor more than $50,000 per day of violation,

16 or by imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both.

17 If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed

18 after the first conviction of such person under this para19 graph, punishment shall be a fine of not less than $10,000

20 per day of violation, or by imprisonment of not more than

21 6 years, or both.

22 (h) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ROYALTY REQUIRE23 MENTS.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with the re24 quirements of section 306 or any regulation or order is25 sued to implement section 306 shall be liable for a civil
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1 penalty under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Roy2 alty Management Act (30 U.S.C. 1719) to the same extent

3 as if the claim located or converted under this Act were

4 a lease under that Act.

5 (2) Any person who knowingly and willfully commits

6 an act for which a civil penalty is provided in paragraph

7 (1) shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not

8 more than $50,000, or by imprisonment for not more than

9 2 years, or both.

10 (i) DEFINITION. For purposes of this section, the

11 term ‘‘person’’ includes a person as defined in section 3(a)

12 and any officer, agent, or employee of any such person.

13 SEC. 408. REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATES.

14 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this Act

15 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act, ex16 cept as otherwise provided in this Act.

17 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary

18 of Agriculture may issue such regulations as may be nec19 essary under this Act. The regulations implementing title

20 II and the provisions of title IV which affect United States

21 Forest Service shall be joint regulations issued by both

22 Secretaries.

23 (c) NOTICE.—Within 180 days after the date of en24 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall give notice to hold25 ers of mining claims and mill sites maintained under the
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1 general mining laws as to the requirements of sections

2 104, 105, and 106.

3 Subtitle B—Miscellaneous

4 Provisions

5 SEC. 411. TRANSITIONAL RULES; SURFACE MANAGEMENT

6 REQUIREMENTS.

7 (a) NEW CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, any mining claim for a locatable mineral on

9 lands subject to this Act located after the date of enact10 ment of this Act shall be subject to the requirements of

11 title II.

12 (b) PREEXISTING CLAIMS.—(1) Notwithstanding any

13 other provision of law, any unpatented mining claim or

14 mill site located under the general mining laws before the

15 date of enactment of this Act for which a plan of operation

16 has not been approved or a notice filed prior to the date

17 of enactment shall upon the effective date of this Act, be

18 subject to the requirements of title II, except as provided

19 in paragraphs (2) and (3).

20 (2)(A) If a plan of operations had been approved for

21 mineral activities on any claim or site referred to in para22 graph (1) prior to the date of enactment this Act, for a

23 period of 5 years after the effective date of this Act min24 eral activities at such claim or site shall be subject to such

25 plan of operations (or a modification or amendment there-
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1 to prepared in accordance with the provisions of law appli2 cable prior to the enactment of this Act). During such 5-

3 year period, modifications of, or amendments to, any such

4 plan may be made in accordance with the provisions of

5 law applicable prior to the enactment of this Act if such

6 modifications or amendments are deemed minor by the

7 Secretary concerned. After such 5-year period the require8 ments of title II shall apply, subject to the limitations of

9 section 209. In order to meet the requirements of title II,

10 the person conducting mineral activities under such plan

11 of operations (or modified or amended plan) shall apply

12 for a modification under section 203(f) and 204(f) no later

13 than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. For

14 purposes of this paragraph, any modification or amend15 ment which extends the area covered by the plan (except

16 for incidental boundary revisions) or which significantly

17 increases the risk of adverse effects on the environment

18 shall not be subject to this paragraph and shall be subject

19 to other provisions of this Act.

20 (B) During the 5-year period referred to in subpara21 graph (A) the provisions of section 404 (relating to inspec22 tion and monitoring) and section 407 (relating to enforce23 ment) shall apply on the basis of the surface management

24 requirements applicable to such plans of operations prior

25 to the effective date of this Act.
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1 (C) Where an application for modification or amend2 ment of a plan of operations referred to in subparagraph

3 (A) has been timely submitted and an approved plan ex4 pires prior to Secretarial action on the application, mineral

5 activities and reclamation may continue in accordance

6 with the terms of the expired plan until the Secretary

7 makes an administrative decision on the application.

8 (3)(A) If a substantially complete application for ap9 proval of a plan of operations or for a modification of,

10 or amendment to, a plan of operations had been submitted

11 by January 5, 1995 and either a scoping document or an

12 Environmental Assessment prepared for purposes of com13 pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of

14 1969 had been published with respect to such plan, modi15 fication, or amendment before the date of the enactment

16 of this Act but the submitted plan of operations or modi17 fication or amendment had not been approved for mineral

18 activities on any claim or site referred to in paragraph

19 (1) prior to such date of enactment, for a period of 5 years

20 after the effective date of this Act mineral activities at

21 such claim or site shall be subject to the provisions of law

22 applicable prior to the enactment of this Act. During such

23 5-year period, subsequent modifications of, or amend24 ments to, any such plan may be made in accordance with

25 the provisions of law applicable prior to the enactment of
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1 this Act if such subsequent modifications or amendments

2 are deemed minor by the Secretary concerned. After such

3 5-year period, the requirements of title II shall apply, sub4 ject to the limitations of section 209. For purposes of this

5 paragraph, any subsequent modification or amendment

6 which extends the area covered by the plan (except for

7 incidental boundary revisions) or which significantly in8 creases the risk of adverse effects on the environment shall

9 not be subject to this paragraph and shall be subject to

10 other provisions of this Act.

11 (B) In order to meet the requirements of title II, the

12 person conducting mineral activities under a plan of oper13 ations (or modified or amended plan referred to in sub14 paragraph (A)) shall apply for a modification under sec15 tion 203(f) and 204(f) no later than 3 years after the date

16 of enactment of this Act. During such 5-year period the

17 provisions of section 404 (relating to inspection and mon18 itoring) and section 407 (relating to enforcement) shall

19 apply on the basis of the surface management require20 ments applicable to such plans of operations prior to the

21 effective date of this Act.

22 (C) Where an application for modification or amend23 ment of a plan of operations referred to in subparagraph

24 (A) has been timely submitted and an approved plan ex25 pires prior to Secretarial action on the application, mineral
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1 activities and reclamation may continue in accordance

2 with the terms of the expired plan until the Secretary

3 makes an administrative decision on the application.

4 (4) If a notice or notice of intent had been filed with

5 the authorized officer in the applicable office of the Bu6 reau of Land Management or the United States Forest

7 Service (as provided for in the regulations of the Secretary

8 of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, respec9 tively, in effect prior to the date of enactment of this Act)

10 prior to the date of enactment this Act, mineral activities

11 may continue under such notice or notice of intent for a

12 period of 2 years after the effective date of this Act, after

13 which time the requirements of title II shall apply, subject

14 to the limitations of section 209(d)(2). In order to meet

15 the requirements of title II, the person conducting mineral

16 activities under such notice or notice of intent must apply

17 for a permit under section 203 or 204 no later than 18

18 months after the effective date of this Act, unless such

19 mineral activities are conducted pursuant to section

20 202(b). During such 2-year period the provisions of sec21 tion 404 (relating to inspection and monitoring) and 407

22 (relating to enforcement) shall apply on the basis of the

23 surface management requirements applicable to such no24 tices prior to the effective date of this Act.
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1 SEC. 412. CLAIMS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL RULES.

2 (a) CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT CONVERTED.—Notwith3 standing any other provision of law, except as provided

4 under subsection (c), an unpatented mining claim referred

5 to in section 37 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

6 193) shall not be converted under section 104 of this Act

7 until the Secretary determines that the claim was valid

8 on the date of enactment of the Mineral Leasing Act of

9 1920 and has been maintained in compliance with the gen10 eral mining laws.

11 (b) CONTEST PROCEEDINGS.—As soon as practicable

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

13 initiate contest proceedings challenging the validity of all

14 unpatented claims referred to in subsection (a), including

15 those claims for which a patent application has not been

16 filed. If a claim is determined to be invalid, the Secretary

17 shall promptly declare the claim to be null and void. If,

18 as a result of such proceeding, a claim is determined valid,

19 the claim shall be converted and thereby become subject

20 to this Act’s provisions on the date of the completion of

21 the contest proceeding.

22 (c) OIL SHALE CLAIMS.—(1) The provisions of sec23 tion 411 shall apply to oil shale claims referred to in sec24 tion 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public

25 Law 102–486)
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1 (2) Section 2511(f) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992

2 (Public Law 102–486) is amended as follows:

3 (A) Strike ‘‘as prescribed by the Secretary’’.

4 (B) Insert the following before the period: ‘‘in

5 the same manner as if such claims were subject to

6 title II of the Mineral Exploration and Development

7 Act of 1995’’.

8 SEC. 413. PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.

9 The Secretary shall adjust all location fees, claim

10 maintenance rates, penalty amounts, and other dollar

11 amounts established in this Act for changes in the pur12 chasing power of the dollar every 10 years following the

13 date of enactment of this Act, employing the Consumer

14 Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the De15 partment of Labor as the basis for adjustment, and round16 ing according to the adjustment process of conditions of

17 the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of

18 1990 (104 Stat. 890).

19 SEC. 414. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

20 (a) SPECIAL APPLICATION OF MINING LAWS.—Noth21 ing in this Act shall be construed as repealing or modify22 ing any Federal law, regulation, order or land use plan,

23 in effect prior to the date of enactment of this Act that

24 prohibits or restricts the application of the general mining

25 laws, including laws that provide for special management
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1 criteria for operations under the general mining laws as

2 in effect prior to the date of enactment of this Act, to

3 the extent such laws provide environmental protection

4 greater than required under this Act, and any such prior

5 law shall remain in force and effect with respect to claims

6 located (or proposed to be located) or converted under this

7 Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as applying

8 to or limiting mineral investigations, studies, or other min9 eral activities conducted by any Federal or State agency

10 acting in its governmental capacity pursuant to other au11 thority. Nothing in this Act shall affect or limit any as12 sessment, investigation, evaluation or listing pursuant to

13 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa14 tion and Liability Act of 1980, or the Solid Waste Dis15 posal Act.

16 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.—The provi17 sions of this Act shall supersede the general mining laws,

18 but, except for the general mining laws, nothing in this

19 Act shall be construed as superseding, modifying, amend20 ing or repealing any provision of Federal law not expressly

21 superseded, modified, amended or repealed by this Act.

22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering, affect23 ing, amending, modifying, or changing, directly or indi24 rectly, any law which refers to and provides authorities

25 or responsibilities for, or is administered by, the Environ-
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1 mental Protection Agency or the Administrator of the En2 vironmental Protection Agency, including the Federal

3 Water Pollution Control Act, title XIV of the Public

4 Health Service Act (the Safe Drinking Water Act), the

5 Clean Air Act, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, the

6 Toxic Substances Control Act, the Federal Insecticide,

7 Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Federal Food, Drug,

8 and Cosmetic Act, the Motor Vehicle Information and

9 Cost Savings Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act,

10 the Atomic Energy Act, the Noise Control Act of 1972,

11 the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Comprehensive Environ12 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of

13 1980, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization

14 Act of 1986, the Ocean Dumping Act, the Environmental

15 Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization

16 Act, the Pollution Prosecution Act of 1990, and the Fed17 eral Facilities Compliance Act of 1992, or any statute con18 taining amendment to any of such Acts. Nothing in this

19 Act shall be construed as modifying or affecting any provi20 sion of the Native American Graves Protection and Repa21 triation Act (Public Law 101–601) or any provision of the

22 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C.

23 1996).

24 (c) PROTECTION OF CONSERVATION AREAS.—In

25 order to protect the resources and values of National Con-
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1 servation System units, the Secretary, as appropriate,

2 shall utilize authority under this Act and other applicable

3 law to the fullest extent necessary to prevent mineral ac4 tivities within the boundaries of such units that could have

5 an adverse impact on the resources or values for which

6 such units were established.

7 SEC. 415. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC RECORDS.

8 Copies of records, reports, inspection materials or in9 formation obtained by the Secretary or the Secretary of

10 Agriculture under this Act shall be made immediately

11 available to the public, consistent with section 552 of title

12 5 of the United States Code, in central and sufficient loca13 tions in the county, multi county, and State area of min14 eral activity or reclamation so that such items are conven15 iently available to residents in the area proposed or ap16 proved for mineral activities.

17 SEC. 416. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out his or her duties

19 under this Act, the Secretary, or for National Forest Sys20 tem lands the Secretary of Agriculture, may conduct any

21 investigation, inspection, or other inquiry necessary and

22 appropriate and may conduct, after notice, any hearing

23 or audit, necessary and appropriate to carrying out his

24 duties.
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1 (b) ANCILLARY POWERS.—In connection with any

2 hearing, inquiry, investigation, or audit under this Act, the

3 Secretary, or for National Forest System lands the Sec4 retary of Agriculture, is authorized to take any of the fol5 lowing actions:

6 (1) Require, by special or general order, any

7 person to submit in writing such affidavits and an8 swers to questions as the Secretary concerned may

9 reasonably prescribe, which submission shall be

10 made within such reasonable period and under oath

11 or otherwise, as may be necessary.

12 (2) Administer oaths.

13 (3) Require by subpoena the attendance and

14 testimony of witnesses and the production of all

15 books, papers, records, documents, matter, and ma16 terials, as such Secretary may request.

17 (4) Order testimony to be taken by deposition

18 before any person who is designated by such Sec19 retary and who has the power to administer oaths,

20 and to compel testimony and the production of evi21 dence in the same manner as authorized under para22 graph (3) of this subsection.

23 (5) Pay witnesses the same fees and mileage as

24 are paid in like circumstances in the courts of the

25 United States.
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1 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—In cases of refusal to obey a

2 subpoena served upon any person under this section, the

3 district court of the United States for any district in which

4 such person is found, resides, or transacts business, upon

5 application by the Attorney General at the request of the

6 Secretary concerned and after notice to such person, shall

7 have jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person

8 to appear and produce documents before the Secretary

9 concerned. Any failure to obey such order of the court may

10 be punished by such court as contempt thereof and subject

11 to a penalty of up to $10,000 a day.

12 (d) ENTRY AND ACCESS.—Without advance notice

13 and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, the Sec14 retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary

15 of Agriculture, or any authorized representative thereof—

16 (1) shall have the right of entry to, upon, or

17 through the site of any claim, mineral activities, or

18 any premises in which any records required to be

19 maintained under this Act are located;

20 (2) may at reasonable times, and without delay,

21 have access to any copy any records, inspect any

22 monitoring equipment or method of operation re23 quired under this Act;
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1 (3) may engage in any work and to do all

2 things necessary or expedient to implement and ad3 minister the provisions of this Act;

4 (4) may, on any mining claim located or con5 verted under this Act, and without advance notice,

6 stop and inspect any motorized form of transpor7 tation that he has probable cause to believe is carry8 ing locatable minerals, concentrates, or products de9 rived therefrom from a claim site for the purpose of

10 determining whether the operator of such vehicle has

11 documentation related to such locatable minerals,

12 concentrates, or products derived therefrom as re13 quired by law, if such documentation is required

14 under this Act; and

15 (5) may, if accompanied by any appropriate law

16 enforcement officer, or an appropriate law enforce17 ment officer alone may stop and inspect any motor18 ized form of transportation which is not on a claim

19 site if he has probable cause to believe such vehicle

20 is carrying locatable minerals, concentrates, or prod21 ucts derived therefrom from a claim site on Federal

22 lands or allocated to such claim site. Such inspection

23 shall be for the purpose of determining whether the

24 operator of such vehicle has the documentation re-
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1 quired by law, if such documentation is required

2 under this Act.

3 SEC. 417. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

4 (a) MINING CLAIMS.—After January 4, 1995, no pat5 ent shall be issued by the United States for any mining

6 claim located under the general mining laws or under this

7 Act unless the Secretary determines that, for the claim

8 concerned—

9 (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec10 retary on or before January 4, 1995; and

11 (2) all requirements established under sections

12 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C.

13 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections

14 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes

15 (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims were

16 fully complied with by that date.

17 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mining claim, the holder

19 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

20 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

21 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

22 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn

23 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

24 States.
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1 (b) MILL SITES.—After January 4, 1995, no patent

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

3 located under the general mining laws unless the Secretary

4 determines that for the mill site concerned—

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

6 with the Secretary on or before January 4, 1995;

7 and

8 (2) all requirements applicable to such patent

9 application were fully complied with by that date.

10 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

11 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mill site claim, the holder

12 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

13 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

14 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

15 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn

16 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

17 States.

18 SEC. 418. MULTIPLE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUR19 FACE RESOURCES.

20 The provisions of sections 4 and 6 of the Act of Au21 gust 13, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 524 and 526), commonly known

22 as the Multiple Minerals Development Act, and the provi23 sions of section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

24 612), shall apply to all mining claims located or converted

25 under this Act.
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1 SEC. 419. MINERAL MATERIALS.

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

3 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended as follows:

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

5 (2) Insert ‘‘mineral materials, including but not

6 limited to’’ after ‘‘varieties of’’ in the first sentence.

7 (3) Strike ‘‘or cinders’’ and insert in lieu there8 of ‘‘cinders, and clay’’.

9 (4) Add the following new subsection at the end

10 thereof:

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

12 of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Development

13 Act of 1995, notwithstanding the reference to common va14 rieties in subsection (a) and to the exception to such term

15 relating to a deposit of materials with some property giv16 ing it distinct and special value, all deposits of mineral

17 materials referred to in such subsection, including the

18 block pumice referred to in such subsection, shall be sub19 ject to disposal only under the terms and conditions of

20 the Materials Act of 1947.

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

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

23 such mineral material had some property giving it the dis24 tinct and special value referred to in subsection (a), or

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

26 referred to in such subsection, was properly located and
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1 maintained under the general mining laws prior to the

2 date of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Devel3 opment Act of 1995, and was supported by a discovery

4 of a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of the

5 general mining laws as in effect immediately prior to the

6 date of enactment of the Mineral Exploration and Devel7 opment Act of 1995 and that such claim continues to be

8 valid under this Act.’’.

9 (b) MINERAL MATERIALS DISPOSAL CLARIFICA10 TION.—Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C.

11 612), is amended as follows:

12 (1) In subsection (b) insert ‘‘and mineral mate13 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.

14 (2) In subsection (c) insert ‘‘and mineral mate15 rial’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’.

16 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the

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

18 disposal of materials on the public lands of the United

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

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

21 (d) SHORT TITLES.—

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

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

24 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 8. This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Re2 sources Act of 1955’.’’.

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

4 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of

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

6 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following) is amended by insert7 ing after section 4 the following new section:

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

9 of 1947’.’’.

10 (e) REPEALS.—(1) Subject to valid existing rights,

11 the Act of August 4, 1892 (27 Stat. 348, 30 U.S.C. 161)

12 commonly known as the Building Stone Act is hereby re13 pealed.

14 (2) Subject to valid existing rights, the Act of Janu15 ary 31, 1901 (30 U.S.C. 162) commonly known as the

16 Saline Placer Act is hereby repealed.

17 SEC. 420. APPLICATION OF ACT TO BENEFICIATION AND

18 PROCESSING OF NONFEDERAL MINERALS ON

19 FEDERAL LANDS.

20 The provisions of this Act (including the surface

21 management requirements of title II) shall apply in the

22 same manner and to the same extent to Federal lands

23 used for beneficiation or processing activities for any min24 eral without regard to whether or not the legal and bene25 ficial title to the mineral is held by the United States. This
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1 section applies only to minerals which are locatable min2 erals or minerals which would be locatable minerals if the

3 legal and beneficial title to such minerals were held by the

4 United States.

5 SEC. 421. COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.

6 No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may be

7 expended by an entity unless the entity agrees that in ex8 pending the funds the entity will comply with section 2

9 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a–

10 10c), popularly known as the ‘‘Buy American Act’’.

11 SEC. 308. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

12 In the case of any equipment or products purchased

13 with funding provided under this Act, it is the sense of

14 the Congress that such funding should be used to pur15 chase only American-made equipment and products.

16 SEC. 309. PROHIBITION OF CONTRACTS.

17 If it has been finally determined by a court of Federal

18 agency that any person intentionally affixed a label bear19 ing a ‘‘Made in America’’ inscription, or any inscription

20 with the same meaning, to any product sold in or shipped

21 to the United States that is not made in the United

22 States, such person shall be ineligible to receive any con23 tract or subcontract made with funds provided pursuant

24 to this Act, pursuant to the debarment, suspension, and
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1 ineligibility procedures described in sections 9.400 through

2 9.409 of title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

3 SEC. 422. SEVERABILITY.

4 If any provision of this Act or the applicability there5 of to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the re6 mainder of this Act and the application of such provision

7 to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

8 thereby.

9 SEC. 423. AWARD OF COMPENSATION FOR TAKINGS FROM

10 FUND.

11 To the extent a court of competent jurisdiction, after

12 adjudication, finds that Federal action undertaken pursu13 ant to this Act effects a taking under the Fifth Amend14 ment of the United States Constitution and enters a final

15 judgment against the United States, the court shall award

16 just compensation to the plaintiff, from the fund estab17 lished under title III, subject to appropriation, together

18 with appropriate reasonable fees and expenses to the ex19 tent provided by section 304 of the Uniform Relocation

20 Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of

21 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4654(c)). In any case in which the Attor22 ney General effects a settlement of any proceeding brought

23 under section 1346(a)(2) or 1491 of title 28 of the United

24 States Code alleging that any Federal action undertaken

25 pursuant to this Act effects a taking under the Fifth
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1 Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Attor2 ney General shall use amounts available in the Fund sub3 ject to appropriations to pay any award necessary pursu4 ant to such settlement.

5 SEC. 424. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MINING CLAIMS IN

6 THE UNITED STATES HELD BY FOREIGN

7 FIRMS.

8 (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date

9 of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Sec10 retary of the Interior shall submit a report to the Congress

11 describing the percentage of each mining claim held by

12 a foreign firm.

13 (b) FOREIGN FIRM.—(1) For the purposes of this

14 section, the term ‘‘foreign firm’’ means any firm that is

15 not a domestic firm.

16 (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘do17 mestic firm’’ means a business entity—

18 (A) that is incorporated or organized in the

19 United States;

20 (B) that conducts business operations in the

21 United States; and

22 (C) the assets of which at least 50 percent are

23 held by United States citizens, permanent resident

24 aliens, or other domestic firms.

Æ
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