Union Calendar No. 20

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 239

[Report No. 103–44]

A BILL

To amend the Stock Raising Homestead Act to retates, and for other purposes. solve certain problems regarding subsurface esMARCH 29, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 20

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 239

[Report No. 103–44]

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

MARCH 29, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 5, 1993]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. MINING CLAIMS ON STOCK RAISING HOME2 STEAD ACT LANDS.

3 (a) MINERAL ENTRY UNDER THE STOCK RAISING

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

5 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock-raising home6 steads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C. 29), is amended

7 by adding the following at the end thereof:

8 ‘‘(b) EXPLORATION; LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS;

9 NOTICES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Notwithstanding sub11 section (a) and any other provision of law to the con12 trary, after the effective date of this subsection no per13 son other than the surface owner may enter lands sub14 ject to this Act to explore for, or to locate, a mining

15 claim on such lands without—

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

17 mining claim pursuant to paragraph (2); and

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

19 pursuant to paragraph (3).

20 ‘‘(B) Any person who has complied with the re21 quirements referred to in subparagraph (A) may,

22 during the authorized exploration period, in order to

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

24 to undertake mineral activities related to exploration

25 that cause no more than a minimal disturbance of

26 surface resources and do not involve the use of mecha-
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1 nized earthmoving equipment, explosives, the con2 struction of roads, drill pads, or the use of toxic or

3 hazardous materials.

4 ‘‘(C) The authorized exploration period referred

5 to in subparagraph (B) shall begin 30 days after no6 tice is provided under paragraph (3) with respect to

7 lands subject to such notice and shall end with the ex8 piration of the 90-day period referred to in para9 graph (2)(A) or any extension provided under para10 graph (2).

11 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF INTENTION TO LOCATE A MINING

12 CLAIM.—Any person seeking to locate a mining claim

13 on lands subject to this Act in order to engage in the

14 mineral activities relating to exploration referred to

15 under paragraph (1)(B) shall file with the Secretary

16 of the Interior a notice of intention to locate a claim

17 on the lands concerned. The notice shall be in such

18 form as the Secretary shall prescribe. The notice shall

19 contain the name and mailing address of the person

20 filing the notice and a legal description of the lands

21 to which the notice applies. The legal description shall

22 be based on the public land survey or on such other

23 description as is sufficient to permit the Secretary to

24 record the notice on the land status records of the Sec25 retary. Whenever any person has filed a notice under
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1 this paragraph with respect to any lands, during the

2 90-day period following the date of such filing, or any

3 extension thereof pursuant to this paragraph, no other

4 person (including the surface owner) may—

5 ‘‘(A) file such a notice with respect to any

6 portions of such lands;

7 ‘‘(B) explore for minerals or locate a min8 ing claim on any portion of such lands; or

9 ‘‘(C) file an application to acquire any in10 terest in any portion of such lands pursuant to

11 section 209 of the Federal Land Policy and Man12 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1719).

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

14 notice under this paragraph files a plan of operations

15 with the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f), such

16 90-day period shall be extended until the approval or

17 disapproval of the plan by the Secretary pursuant to

18 subsection (f).

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO SURFACE OWNER.—Any person

20 who has filed a notice of intention to locate a mining

21 claim under paragraph (2) for any lands subject to

22 this Act shall provide written notice of such filing, by

23 registered or certified mail with return receipt, to the

24 surface owner (as evidenced by local tax records) of

25 the lands covered by the notice under paragraph (2).
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1 The notice shall be provided at least 30 days before

2 entering such lands and shall contain each of the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the proposed

5 mineral activities.

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

7 lands to be subject to mineral exploration.

8 ‘‘(C) The name, address and phone number

9 of the person managing such activities.

10 ‘‘(D) A statement of the dates on which such

11 activities will take place.

12 ‘‘(4) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—The total acreage

13 covered at any time by notices of intention to locate

14 a mining claim under paragraph (2) filed by any

15 person and by affiliates of such person may not ex16 ceed 6,400 acres of lands subject to this Act in any

17 one State and 1,280 acres of such lands for a single

18 surface owner. For purposes of this paragraph, the

19 term ‘affiliate’ means, with respect to any person,

20 any other person which controls, is controlled by, or

21 is under common control with, such person.

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

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

24 subsection no person may engage in the conduct of mineral

25 activities (other than those relating to exploration referred
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1 to in subsection (b)(1)(B)) on a mining claim located on

2 lands subject to this Act without the written consent of the

3 surface owner thereof unless the Secretary has authorized

4 the conduct of such activities under subsection (d).

5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The Sec6 retary shall authorize a person to conduct mineral activities

7 (other than those relating to exploration referred to in sub8 section (b)(1)(B)) on lands subject to this Act without the

9 consent of the surface owner thereof if such person complies

10 with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).

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

12 any person to conduct mineral activities the Secretary shall

13 require such person to post a bond or other financial guar14 antee in an amount to insure the completion of reclamation

15 pursuant to this Act. Such bond or other financial guaran16 tee shall ensure—

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

18 completion of such mineral activities and reclama19 tion, compensation for any permanent damages to

20 crops and tangible improvements of the surface owner

21 that resulted from mineral activities; and

22 ‘‘(B) payment to the surface owner of compensa23 tion for any permanent loss of income of the surface

24 owner due to loss or impairment of grazing or other

25 uses of the land by the surface owner to the extent
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1 that reclamation required by the plan of operations

2 would not permit such uses to continue at the level

3 existing prior to the commencement of mineral activi4 ties.

5 ‘‘(2) In determining the bond amount to cover perma6 nent loss of income under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary

7 shall consider, where appropriate, the potential loss of value

8 due to the estimated permanent reduction in utilization of

9 the land.

10 ‘‘(f) PLAN OR OPERATIONS.—(1) Before the Secretary

11 may authorize any person to conduct mineral activities on

12 lands subject to this Act, the Secretary shall require such

13 person to submit a plan of operations. Such plan shall in14 clude procedures for—

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

16 tangible improvements of the surface owner;

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

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

19 ‘‘(C) payment of a fee for the use of surface dur20 ing mineral activities equivalent to the loss of income

21 to the existing surface operation as established pursu22 ant to subsection (g).

23 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall provide a copy of the proposed

24 plan of operations to the surface owner at least 45 days

25 prior to the date the Secretary makes a determination as
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1 to whether such plan complies with the requirements of this

2 subsection. During such 45-day period the surface owner

3 may submit comments and recommend modifications to the

4 proposed plan of operations to the 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 fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(i) The proposed plan of operations is complete

10 and accurate.

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

12 operations has demonstrated that all other applicable

13 Federal and State requirements have been met.

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall notify the person submitting

15 a plan of operations of any modifications to such plan re16 quired to bring it into compliance with the requirements

17 of this Act. If the person submitting the plan agrees to mod18 ify such plan in a manner acceptable to the Secretary, the

19 Secretary shall approve the plan as modified. In the event

20 no agreement can be reached on the modifications to the

21 plan which, in the opinion of the Secretary, will bring such

22 plan into compliance with the requirements of this Act, then

23 the Secretary shall disapprove the plan and notify both the

24 surface owner and the person submitting the plan of the

25 decision.
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1 ‘‘(C) The 60-day period referred to in subparagraph

2 (A) may be extended by the Secretary where additional time

3 is required to comply with other applicable requirements

4 of law.

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

6 operation whenever the Secretary determines, on the Sec7 retary’s own motion or on a motion made by the surface

8 owner, that the person conducting mineral activities is in

9 substantial noncompliance with the terms and conditions

10 of an approved plan of operations and has failed to remedy

11 a violation after notice from the Secretary within the time

12 required by the Secretary.

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

14 subsection shall be conditioned upon compliance with sub15 sections (e) and (g).

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

17 be—

18 ‘‘(1) paid to the surface owner by the person sub19 mitting the plan of operations;

20 ‘‘(2) paid in advance of any mineral activities

21 or at such other time or times as may be agreed to

22 by the surface owner and the person conducting such

23 activities; and

24 ‘‘(3) established by the Secretary taking into ac25 count the acreage involved and the degree of potential
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1 disruption to existing surface uses during mineral ac2 tivities (including the loss of income to the surface

3 owner and such surface owner’s operations due to the

4 loss or impairment of existing surface uses for the du5 ration of the mineral activities), except that such fee

6 shall not exceed the fair market value for the surface

7 of the land.

8 ‘‘(h) RECLAMATION.—Lands affected by mineral ac9 tivities under a plan of operations approved pursuant to

10 subsection (f)(3) shall be reclaimed, to the maximum extent

11 practicable, to a condition capable of supporting the uses

12 to which such lands were capable of supporting prior to

13 surface disturbance. Reclamation shall proceed as contem14 poraneously as practicable with the conduct of mineral ac15 tivities.

16 ‘‘(i) STATE LAW.—(1) Nothing in subsections (b)

17 through (p) of this section shall be construed as affecting

18 any reclamation, bonding, inspection, enforcement, air or

19 water quality standard or requirement of any State law

20 or regulation which may be applicable to mineral activities

21 on lands subject to this Act to the extent that such law or

22 regulation is not inconsistent with subsections (b) through

23 (p) of this section.

24 ‘‘(2) Nothing in subsections (b) through (p) of this sec25 tion shall be construed as affecting in any way the right
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1 of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law,

2 the interest of such person in water resources affected by

3 mineral activities.

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

5 subject to this Act have reason to believe that they are or

6 may be adversely affected by mineral activities due to any

7 violation of the terms and conditions of a plan of operations

8 approved under subsection (f), such surface owner may re9 quest an inspection of such lands. The Secretary shall deter10 mine within 10 days of the receipt of the request whether

11 the request states a reason to believe that a violation exists,

12 except in the event the surface owner alleges and provides

13 reason to believe that an imminent danger exists, the 10-

14 day period shall be waived and the inspection conducted

15 immediately. When an inspection is conducted under this

16 paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the surface owner and

17 such surface owner shall be allowed to accompany the in18 spector on the inspection.

19 ‘‘(k) DAMAGES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.—(1) When20 ever the surface owner of any land subject to this Act has

21 suffered any permanent damages to crops or tangible im22 provements of the surface owner, or any permanent loss of

23 income due to loss or impairment of grazing, or other uses

24 of the land by the surface owner, if such damages or loss

25 result from—
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1 ‘‘(A) any mineral activity undertaken without

2 the consent of the surface owner under subsection (c)

3 or an authorization by the Secretary under subsection

4 (d); or

5 ‘‘(B) the failure of the person conducting mineral

6 activities to remedy to the satisfaction of the Sec7 retary any substantial noncompliance with the terms

8 and conditions of a plan under subsection (f);

9 the surface owner may bring an action against the person

10 undertaking any mineral activities on lands subject to this

11 Act in the appropriate United States district court for, and

12 the court may award, double damages plus costs for willful

13 misconduct or gross negligence.

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

15 may also bring an action in the appropriate United States

16 district court for double damages plus costs for willful mis17 conduct or gross negligence against any person undertaking

18 any mineral activities on lands subject to this Act in viola19 tion of any requirement of subsection (b).

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

21 court under this subsection shall be reduced by the amount

22 of any compensation which the surface owner has received

23 (or is eligible to receive) pursuant to the bond or financial

24 guarantee required under subsection (e).
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1 ‘‘(l) PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.—The sur2 face owner of any land subject to this Act may petition the

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

4 other financial guarantee required under subsection (e) as

5 compensation for any permanent damages to crops and

6 tangible improvements of the surface owner, or any perma7 nent loss of income due to loss or impairment of grazing,

8 or other uses of the land by the surface owner. Pursuant

9 to such a petition, the Secretary may use such bond or other

10 guarantee to provide compensation to the surface owner for

11 such damages and to insure the required reclamation.

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

13 bond or other financial guarantee required under subsection

14 (e) upon the successful completion of all requirements pur15 suant to a plan of operations approved under subsection

16 (f).

17 ‘‘(n) CONVEYANCE TO SURFACE OWNER.—The Sec18 retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to sim19 plify the procedures which must be complied with by surface

20 owners of lands subject to this Act who apply to the Sec21 retary to obtain title to interests in such lands owned by

22 the United States.

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

24 (b) through (n)—
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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘mineral activities’ means any ac2 tivity for, related to or incidental to mineral explo3 ration, mining, and beneficiation activities for any

4 locatable mineral on a mining claim. When used with

5 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 na9 ture, position, size, shape, grade and value;

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘mining’ means the processes

11 employed for the extraction of a locatable min12 eral 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 min16 eral from the other constituents, including but

17 not necessarily limited to, physical and chemical

18 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 to

23 the terms and conditions of subsections (b) through

24 (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 dis7 position 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 known

13 as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and fol14 lowing).’’.

15 (b) TECHNICAL CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9

16 of the Act of December 29, 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide

17 for stock-raising homesteads, and for other purposes’’ (43

18 U.S.C. 299) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) GENERAL PROVI19 SIONS.—’’ before the words ‘‘That all entries made’’.

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

21 Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.

22 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall

23 issue final regulations to implement the amendments made

24 by this Act not later than the effective date of this Act. Fail25 ure to promulgate these regulations by reason of any appeal
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1 or judicial review shall not delay the effective date as speci2 fied in paragraph (c).

3 SEC. 2. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FOREIGN MINERAL IN4 TEREST.

5 (a) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Interior is directed

6 to submit a report to the Congress within 2 years after the

7 date of enactment of this Act on the acquisition of mineral

8 interests made after the date of enactment of this Act by

9 foreign firms on lands subject to the Act of December 29,

10 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock-raising home11 steads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C. 299).

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

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

14 business operations in the United States and is 51 percent

15 or more owned and controlled by a foreign person or entity.

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