I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 239

To amend the Stock Raising Homestead Act to resolve certain problems

regarding subsurface estates, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. LEHMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Stock Raising Homestead Act to resolve certain problems regarding subsurface estates, 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. MINING CLAIMS ON STOCK RAISING HOME4 STEAD ACT LANDS.

5 (a) MINERAL ENTRY UNDER THE STOCK RAISING

6 HOMESTEAD ACT.—Section 9 of the Act of December 29,

7 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock-raising home8 steads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C. 29), is amend9 ed by adding the following at the end thereof:
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1 ‘‘(b) EXPLORATION; LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS;

2 NOTICES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Notwithstanding sub4 section (a) and any other provision of law to the

5 contrary, after the effective date of this subsection

6 no person other than the surface owner may enter

7 lands subject to this Act to explore for, or to locate,

8 a mining claim on such lands without—

9 ‘‘(i) filing a notice of intention to locate a

10 mining claim pursuant to paragraph (2); and

11 ‘‘(ii) providing notice to the surface owner

12 pursuant to paragraph (3).

13 ‘‘(B) Any person who has complied with the re14 quirements referred to in subparagraph (A) may,

15 during the authorized exploration period, in order to

16 locate a mining claim, enter lands subject to this Act

17 to undertake mineral activities related to exploration

18 that cause no more than a minimal disturbance of

19 surface resources and do not involve the use of

20 mechanized earthmoving equipment, explosives, the

21 construction of roads, drill pads, or the use of toxic

22 or hazardous materials.

23 ‘‘(C) The authorized exploration period referred

24 to in subparagraph (B) shall begin 30 days after no25 tice is provided under paragraph (3) with respect to
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1 lands subject to such notice and shall end with the

2 expiration of the 90-day period referred to in para3 graph (2)(A) or any extension provided under para4 graph (2).

5 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF INTENTION TO LOCATE A MIN6 ING CLAIM.—Any person seeking to locate a mining

7 claim on lands subject to this Act in order to engage

8 in the mineral activities relating to exploration re9 ferred to under paragraph (1)(B) shall file with the

10 Secretary of the Interior a notice of intention to lo11 cate a claim on the lands concerned. The notice shall

12 be in such form as the Secretary shall prescribe. The

13 notice shall contain the name and mailing address of

14 the person filing the notice and a legal description

15 of the lands to which the notice applies. The legal

16 description shall be based on the public land survey

17 or on such other description as is sufficient to per18 mit the Secretary to record the notice on the land

19 status records of the Secretary. Whenever any per20 son has filed a notice under this paragraph with re21 spect to any lands, during the 90-day period follow22 ing the date of such filing, or any extension thereof

23 pursuant to this paragraph, no other person (includ24 ing the surface owner) may—
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1 ‘‘(A) file such a notice with respect to any

2 portions of such lands;

3 ‘‘(B) explore for minerals or locate a min4 ing claim on any portion of such lands; or

5 ‘‘(C) file an application to acquire any in6 terest in any portion of such lands pursuant to

7 section 209 of the Federal Land Policy and

8 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1719).

9 If, within such 90-day period, the person who filed

10 a notice under this paragraph files a plan of oper11 ations with the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f),

12 such 90-day period shall be extended until the ap13 proval or disapproval of the plan by the Secretary

14 pursuant to subsection (f).

15 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO SURFACE OWNER.—Any per16 son who has filed a notice of intention to locate a

17 mining claim under paragraph (2) for any lands sub18 ject to this Act shall provide written notice of such

19 filing, by registered or certified mail with return re20 ceipt, to the surface owner (as evidenced by local tax

21 records) of the lands covered by the notice under

22 paragraph (2). The notice shall be provided at least

23 30 days before entering such lands and shall contain

24 each of the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the proposed

2 mineral activities.

3 ‘‘(B) A map and legal description of the

4 lands to be subject to mineral exploration.

5 ‘‘(C) The name, address and phone num6 ber of the person managing such activities.

7 ‘‘(D) A statement of the dates on which

8 such activities will take place.

9 ‘‘(4) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—The total acre10 age covered at any time by notices of intention to lo11 cate a mining claim under paragraph (2) filed by

12 any person and by affiliates of such person may not

13 exceed 6,400 acres of lands subject to this Act in

14 any one State and 1,280 acres of such lands for a

15 single surface owner. For purposes of this para16 graph, the term ‘affiliate’ means, with respect to any

17 person, any other person which controls, is con18 trolled by, or is under common control with, such

19 person.

20 ‘‘(c) CONSENT.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) and

21 any other provision of law, after the effective date of this

22 subsection no person may engage in the conduct of min23 eral activities (other than those relating to exploration re24 ferred to in subsection (b)(1)B)) on a mining claim located

25 on lands subject to this Act without the written consent
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1 of the surface owner thereof unless the Secretary has au2 thorized the conduct of such activities under subsection

3 (d).

4 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The Sec5 retary shall authorize a person to conduct mineral activi6 ties (other than those relating to exploration referred to

7 in subsection (b)(1)(B)) on lands subject to this Act with8 out the consent of the surface owner thereof if such person

9 complies with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).

10 ‘‘(e) BOND.—(1) Before the Secretary may authorize

11 any person to conduct mineral activities the Secretary

12 shall require such person to post a bond or other financial

13 guarantee in an amount to insure the completion of rec14 lamation pursuant to this Act. Such bond or other finan15 cial guarantee shall ensure—

16 ‘‘(A) payment to the surface owner, after the

17 completion of such mineral activities and reclama18 tion, compensation for any permanent damages to

19 crops and tangible improvements of the surface

20 owner that resulted from mineral activities; and

21 ‘‘(B) payment to the surface owner of com22 pensation for any permanent loss of income of the

23 surface owner due to loss or impairment of grazing,

24 or other uses of the land by the surface owner to the

25 extent that reclamation required by the plan of oper-
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1 ations would not permit such uses to continue at the

2 level existing prior to the commencement of mineral

3 activities.

4 ‘‘(2) In determining the bond amount to cover perma5 nent loss of income under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary

6 shall consider, where appropriate, the potential loss of

7 value due to the estimated permanent reduction in utiliza8 tion of the land.

9 ‘‘(f) PLAN OR OPERATIONS.—(1) Before the Sec10 retary may authorize any person to conduct mineral activi11 ties on lands subject to this Act, the Secretary shall re12 quire such person to submit a plan of operations. Such

13 plan shall include procedures for—

14 ‘‘(A) the minimization of damages to crops and

15 tangible improvements of the surface owner;

16 ‘‘(B) the minimization of disruption to grazing

17 or other uses of the land by the surface owner; and

18 ‘‘(C) payment of a fee for the use of surface

19 during mineral activities equivalent to the loss of in20 come to the ranch operation as established pursuant

21 to subsection (g).

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall provide a copy of the pro23 posed plan of operations to the surface owner at least 45

24 days prior to the date the Secretary makes a determina25 tion as to whether such plan complies with the require-
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1 ments of this subsection. During such 45-day period the

2 surface owner may submit comments and recommend

3 modifications to the proposed plan of operations to the

4 Secretary.

5 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall, within 60 days of receipt

6 of the plan, approve the plan of operations if it complies

7 with the requirements of this Act, including each of the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(i) The proposed plan of operations is com10 plete and accurate.

11 ‘‘(ii) The person submitting the proposed plan

12 of operations has demonstrated that all other appli13 cable Federal and State requirements have been

14 met.

15 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall notify the person submit16 ting a plan of operations of any modifications to such plan

17 required to bring it into compliance with the requirements

18 of this Act. If the person submitting the plan agrees to

19 modify such plan in a manner acceptable to the Secretary,

20 the Secretary shall approve the plan as modified. In the

21 event no agreement can be reached on the modifications

22 to the plan which, in the opinion of the Secretary, will

23 bring such plan into compliance with the requirements of

24 this Act, then the Secretary shall disapprove the plan and
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1 notify both the surface owner and the person submitting

2 the plan of the decision.

3 ‘‘(C) The 60-day period referred to in subparagraph

4 (A) may be extended by the Secretary where additional

5 time is required to comply with other applicable require6 ments of law.

7 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall suspend or revoke a plan

8 of operation whenever the Secretary determines, on the

9 Secretary’s own motion or on a motion made by the sur10 face owner, that the person conducting mineral activities

11 is in substantial noncompliance with the terms and condi12 tions of an approved plan of operations and has failed to

13 remedy a violation after notice from the Secretary within

14 the time required by the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(4) Final approval of a plan of operations under this

16 subsection shall be conditioned upon compliance with sub17 sections (e) and (g).

18 ‘‘(g) FEE.—The fee referred to in subsection (f)(1)

19 shall be—

20 ‘‘(1) paid to the surface owner by the person

21 submitting the plan of operations;

22 ‘‘(2) paid in advance of any mineral activities or

23 at such other time or times as may be agreed to by

24 the surface owner and the person conducting such

25 activities; and
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1 ‘‘(3) established by the Secretary taking into

2 account the acreage involved and the degree of po3 tential disruption to existing surface uses during

4 mineral activities (including the loss of income to the

5 surface owner and such surface owner’s operations

6 due to the loss or impairment of existing surface

7 uses for the duration of the mineral activities), ex8 cept that such fee shall not exceed the fair market

9 value for the surface of the land.

10 ‘‘(h) RECLAMATION.—Lands affected by mineral ac11 tivities under a plan of operations approved pursuant to

12 subsection (f)(3) shall be reclaimed, to the maximum ex13 tent practicable, to a condition capable of supporting the

14 uses to which such lands were capable of supporting prior

15 to surface disturbance. Reclamation shall proceed as con16 temporaneously as practicable with the conduct of mineral

17 activities.

18 ‘‘(i) STATE LAW.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be

19 construed as affecting any reclamation, bonding, inspec20 tion, enforcement, air or water quality standard or re21 quirement of any State law or regulation which may be

22 applicable to mineral activities on lands subject to this Act

23 to the extent that such law or regulation is not inconsist24 ent with this title.
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1 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affect2 ing in any way the right of any person to enforce or pro3 tect, under applicable law, the interest of such person in

4 water resources affected by mineral activities.

5 ‘‘(j) INSPECTIONS.—Should any surface owner of

6 land subject to this Act have reason to believe that they

7 are or may be adversely affected by mineral activities due

8 to any violation of the terms and conditions of a plan of

9 operations approved under subsection (f), such surface

10 owner may request an inspection of such lands. The Sec11 retary shall determine within 10 days of the receipt of the

12 request whether the request states a reason to believe that

13 a violation exists, except in the event the surface owner

14 alleges and provides reason to believe that an imminent

15 danger exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the

16 inspection conducted immediately. When an inspection is

17 conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary shall notify

18 the surface owner and such surface owner shall be allowed

19 to accompany the inspector on the inspection.

20 ‘‘(k) DAMAGES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.—(1)

21 Whenever the surface owner of any land subject to this

22 Act has suffered any permanent damages to crops or tan23 gible improvements of the surface owner, or any perma24 nent loss of income due to loss or impairment of grazing,
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1 or other uses of the land by the surface owner, if such

2 damages or loss result from—

3 ‘‘(A) any mineral activity undertaken without

4 the consent of the surface owner under subsection

5 (c) or an authorization by the Secretary under sub6 section (d); or

7 ‘‘(B) the failure of the person conducting min8 eral activities to remedy to the satisfaction of the

9 Secretary any substantial noncompliance with the

10 terms and conditions of a plan under subsection (f);

11 the surface owner may bring an action in the appropriate

12 United States district court for, and the court may award,

13 double damages plus costs for willful misconduct or gross

14 negligence.

15 ‘‘(2) The surface owner of any land subject to this

16 Act may also bring an action in the appropriate United

17 States district court for double damages plus costs for

18 willful misconduct or gross negligence against any person

19 undertaking any mineral activities on lands subject to this

20 Act in violation of any requirement of subsection (b).

21 ‘‘(3) Any double damages plus costs awarded by the

22 court under this subsection shall be reduced by the

23 amount of any compensation which the surface owner has

24 received (or is eligible to receive) pursuant to the bond

25 or financial guarantee required under subsection (e).
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1 ‘‘(l) PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.—The

2 surface owner of any land subject to this Act may petition

3 the Secretary for payment of all or any portion of a bond

4 or other financial guarantee required under subsection (e)

5 as compensation for any permanent damages to crops and

6 tangible improvements of the surface owner, or any per7 manent loss of income due to loss or impairment of graz8 ing, or other uses of the land by the surface owner. Pursu9 ant to such a petition, the Secretary may use such bond

10 or other guarantee to provide compensation to the surface

11 owner for such damages and to insure the required rec12 lamation.

13 ‘‘(m) BOND RELEASE.—The Secretary shall release

14 the bond or other financial guarantee required under sub15 section (e) upon the successful completion of all require16 ments pursuant to a plan of operations approved under

17 subsection (f).

18 ‘‘(n) CONVEYANCE TO SURFACE OWNER.—The Sec19 retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to sim20 plify the procedures which must be complied with by sur21 face owners of lands subject to this Act who apply to the

22 Secretary to obtain title to interests in such lands owned

23 by the United States.

24 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of subsections

25 (b) through (n)—
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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘mineral activities’ means any

2 activity for, related to or incidental to mineral explo3 ration, mining, and beneficiation activities for any

4 locatable mineral on a mining claim. When used

5 with respect to this term—

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

7 techniques employed to locate the presence of a

8 locatable mineral deposit and to establish its

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

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘mining’ means the proc11 esses employed for the extraction of a locatable

12 mineral from the earth; and

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

14 crushing and grinding of locatable mineral ore

15 and such processes are employed to free the

16 mineral from the other constituents, including

17 but not necessarily limited to, physical and

18 chemical separation techniques.

19 ‘‘(2) The term ‘mining claim’ means a claim lo20 cated under the general mining laws of the United

21 States (which generally comprise 30 U.S.C. chapters

22 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162) subject

23 to the terms and conditions of subsections (b)

24 through (p) of this section.
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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘tangible improvements’ includes

2 agricultural, residential and commercial improve3 ments, including improvements made by residential

4 subdividers.

5 ‘‘(p) MINERALS COVERED.—Subsections (b) through

6 (o) of this section apply only to minerals not subject to

7 disposition under—

8 ‘‘(1) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181

9 and following);

10 ‘‘(2) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30

11 U.S.C. 100 and following); or

12 ‘‘(3) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

13 known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601

14 and following).’’.

15 (b) TECHNICAL CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec16 tion 9 of the Act of December 29, 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act

17 to provide for stock-raising homesteads, and for other pur18 poses’’ (43 U.S.C. 299) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) GEN19 ERAL PROVISIONS.—’’ before the words ‘‘That all entries

20 made’’.

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

22 this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enact23 ment.

24 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior

25 shall issue final regulations to implement the amendments
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1 made by this Act not later than the effective date of this

2 Act. Failure to promulgate these regulations by reason of

3 any appeal or judicial review shall not delay the effective

4 date as specified in paragraph (c).

5 SEC. 2. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FOREIGN MINERAL IN6 TEREST.

7 (a) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Interior is di8 rected to submit a report to the Congress within 2 years

9 after the date of enactment of this Act on the acquisition

10 of mineral interests made after the date of enactment of

11 this Act by foreign firms on lands subject to the Act of

12 December 29, 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock13 raising homesteads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C.

14 299).

15 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

16 term ‘‘foreign firm’’ means a business entity that conducts

17 business operations in the United States and is 51 percent

18 or more owned and controlled by a foreign person or

19 entity.

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