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 cer-
tain problems regarding subsurface estates, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MINING CLAIMS ON STOCK RAISING HOME-
STEAD ACT LANDS.
(a) MINERAL ENTRY UNDER THE STOCK RAISING
HOMESTEAD ACT.—Section 9 of the Act of December 29,
1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock-raising home-
steads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C. 29), is amend-
ed by adding the following at the end thereof:
‘‘(b) EXPLORATION; LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS;
NOTICES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Notwithstanding sub-
section (a) and any other provision of law to the
contrary, after the effective date of this subsection
no person other than the surface owner may enter
lands subject to this Act to explore for, or to locate,
a mining claim on such lands without—
‘‘(i) filing a notice of intention to locate a
mining claim pursuant to paragraph (2); and
‘‘(ii) providing notice to the surface owner
pursuant to paragraph (3).
‘‘(B) Any person who has complied with the re-
quirements referred to in subparagraph (A) may,
during the authorized exploration period, in order to
locate a mining claim, enter lands subject to this Act
to undertake mineral activities related to exploration
that cause no more than a minimal disturbance of
surface resources and do not involve the use of
mechanized earthmoving equipment, explosives, the
construction of roads, drill pads, or the use of toxic
or hazardous materials.
‘‘(C) The authorized exploration period referred
to in subparagraph (B) shall begin 30 days after no-
tice is provided under paragraph (3) with respect to
lands subject to such notice and shall end with the
expiration of the 90-day period referred to in para-
graph (2)(A) or any extension provided under para-
graph (2).
‘‘(2) NOTICE OF INTENTION TO LOCATE A MIN-
ING CLAIM.—Any person seeking to locate a mining
claim on lands subject to this Act in order to engage
in the mineral activities relating to exploration re-
ferred to under paragraph (1)(B) shall file with the
Secretary of the Interior a notice of intention to lo-
cate a claim on the lands concerned. The notice shall
be in such form as the Secretary shall prescribe. The
notice shall contain the name and mailing address of
the person filing the notice and a legal description
of the lands to which the notice applies. The legal
description shall be based on the public land survey
or on such other description as is sufficient to per-
mit the Secretary to record the notice on the land
status records of the Secretary. Whenever any per-
son has filed a notice under this paragraph with re-
spect to any lands, during the 90-day period follow-
ing the date of such filing, or any extension thereof
pursuant to this paragraph, no other person (includ-
ing the surface owner) may—
‘‘(A) file such a notice with respect to any
portions of such lands;
‘‘(B) explore for minerals or locate a min-
ing claim on any portion of such lands; or
‘‘(C) file an application to acquire any in-
terest in any portion of such lands pursuant to
section 209 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1719).
If, within such 90-day period, the person who filed
a notice under this paragraph files a plan of oper-
ations with the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f),
such 90-day period shall be extended until the ap-
proval or disapproval of the plan by the Secretary
pursuant to subsection (f).
‘‘(3) NOTICE TO SURFACE OWNER.—Any per-
son who has filed a notice of intention to locate a
mining claim under paragraph (2) for any lands sub-
ject to this Act shall provide written notice of such
filing, by registered or certified mail with return re-
ceipt, to the surface owner (as evidenced by local tax
records) of the lands covered by the notice under
paragraph (2). The notice shall be provided at least
30 days before entering such lands and shall contain
each of the following:
‘‘(A) A brief description of the proposed
mineral activities.
‘‘(B) A map and legal description of the
lands to be subject to mineral exploration.
‘‘(C) The name, address and phone num-
ber of the person managing such activities.
‘‘(D) A statement of the dates on which
such activities will take place.
‘‘(4) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—The total acre-
age covered at any time by notices of intention to lo-
cate a mining claim under paragraph (2) filed by
any person and by affiliates of such person may not
exceed 6,400 acres of lands subject to this Act in
any one State and 1,280 acres of such lands for a
single surface owner. For purposes of this para-
graph, the term ‘affiliate’ means, with respect to any
person, any other person which controls, is con-
trolled by, or is under common control with, such
person.
‘‘(c) CONSENT.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) and
any other provision of law, after the effective date of this
subsection no person may engage in the conduct of min-
eral activities (other than those relating to exploration re-
ferred to in subsection (b)(1)B)) on a mining claim located
on lands subject to this Act without the written consent
of the surface owner thereof unless the Secretary has au-
thorized the conduct of such activities under subsection
(d).
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED MINERAL ACTIVITIES.—The Sec-
retary shall authorize a person to conduct mineral activi-
ties (other than those relating to exploration referred to
in subsection (b)(1)(B)) on lands subject to this Act with-
out the consent of the surface owner thereof if such person
complies with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
‘‘(e) BOND.—(1) Before the Secretary may authorize
any person to conduct mineral activities the Secretary
shall require such person to post a bond or other financial
guarantee in an amount to insure the completion of rec-
lamation pursuant to this Act. Such bond or other finan-
cial guarantee shall ensure—
‘‘(A) payment to the surface owner, after the
completion of such mineral activities and reclama-
tion, compensation for any permanent damages to
crops and tangible improvements of the surface
owner that resulted from mineral activities; and
‘‘(B) payment to the surface owner of com-
pensation for any permanent loss of income of the
surface owner due to loss or impairment of grazing,
or other uses of the land by the surface owner to the
extent that reclamation required by the plan of oper-
ations would not permit such uses to continue at the
level existing prior to the commencement of mineral
activities.
‘‘(2) In determining the bond amount to cover perma-
nent loss of income under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary
shall consider, where appropriate, the potential loss of
value due to the estimated permanent reduction in utiliza-
tion of the land.
‘‘(f) PLAN OR OPERATIONS.—(1) Before the Sec-
retary may authorize any person to conduct mineral activi-
ties on lands subject to this Act, the Secretary shall re-
quire such person to submit a plan of operations. Such
plan shall include procedures for—
‘‘(A) the minimization of damages to crops and
tangible improvements of the surface owner;
‘‘(B) the minimization of disruption to grazing
or other uses of the land by the surface owner; and
‘‘(C) payment of a fee for the use of surface
during mineral activities equivalent to the loss of in-
come to the ranch operation as established pursuant
to subsection (g).
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall provide a copy of the pro-
posed plan of operations to the surface owner at least 45
days prior to the date the Secretary makes a determina-
tion as to whether such plan complies with the require-
ments of this subsection. During such 45-day period the
surface owner may submit comments and recommend
modifications to the proposed plan of operations to the
Secretary.
‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall, within 60 days of receipt
of the plan, approve the plan of operations if it complies
with the requirements of this Act, including each of the
following:
‘‘(i) The proposed plan of operations is com-
plete and accurate.
‘‘(ii) The person submitting the proposed plan
of operations has demonstrated that all other appli-
cable Federal and State requirements have been
met.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall notify the person submit-
ting a plan of operations of any modifications to such plan
required to bring it into compliance with the requirements
of this Act. If the person submitting the plan agrees to
modify such plan in a manner acceptable to the Secretary,
the Secretary shall approve the plan as modified. In the
event no agreement can be reached on the modifications
to the plan which, in the opinion of the Secretary, will
bring such plan into compliance with the requirements of
this Act, then the Secretary shall disapprove the plan and
notify both the surface owner and the person submitting
the plan of the decision.
‘‘(C) The 60-day period referred to in subparagraph
(A) may be extended by the Secretary where additional
time is required to comply with other applicable require-
ments of law.
‘‘(D) The Secretary shall suspend or revoke a plan
of operation whenever the Secretary determines, on the
Secretary’s own motion or on a motion made by the sur-
face owner, that the person conducting mineral activities
is in substantial noncompliance with the terms and condi-
tions of an approved plan of operations and has failed to
remedy a violation after notice from the Secretary within
the time required by the Secretary.
‘‘(4) Final approval of a plan of operations under this
subsection shall be conditioned upon compliance with sub-
sections (e) and (g).
‘‘(g) FEE.—The fee referred to in subsection (f)(1)
shall be—
‘‘(1) paid to the surface owner by the person
submitting the plan of operations;
‘‘(2) paid in advance of any mineral activities or
at such other time or times as may be agreed to by
the surface owner and the person conducting such
activities; and
‘‘(3) established by the Secretary taking into
account the acreage involved and the degree of po-
tential disruption to existing surface uses during
mineral activities (including the loss of income to the
surface owner and such surface owner’s operations
due to the loss or impairment of existing surface
uses for the duration of the mineral activities), ex-
cept that such fee shall not exceed the fair market
value for the surface of the land.
‘‘(h) RECLAMATION.—Lands affected by mineral ac-
tivities under a plan of operations approved pursuant to
subsection (f)(3) shall be reclaimed, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, to a condition capable of supporting the
uses to which such lands were capable of supporting prior
to surface disturbance. Reclamation shall proceed as con-
temporaneously as practicable with the conduct of mineral
activities.
‘‘(i) STATE LAW.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as affecting any reclamation, bonding, inspec-
tion, enforcement, air or water quality standard or re-
quirement of any State law or regulation which may be
applicable to mineral activities on lands subject to this Act
to the extent that such law or regulation is not inconsist-
ent with this title.
‘‘(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affect-
ing in any way the right of any person to enforce or pro-
tect, under applicable law, the interest of such person in
water resources affected by mineral activities.
‘‘(j) INSPECTIONS.—Should any surface owner of
land subject to this Act have reason to believe that they
are or may be adversely affected by mineral activities due
to any violation of the terms and conditions of a plan of
operations approved under subsection (f), such surface
owner may request an inspection of such lands. The Sec-
retary shall determine within 10 days of the receipt of the
request whether the request states a reason to believe that
a violation exists, except in the event the surface owner
alleges and provides reason to believe that an imminent
danger exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the
inspection conducted immediately. When an inspection is
conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary shall notify
the surface owner and such surface owner shall be allowed
to accompany the inspector on the inspection.
‘‘(k) DAMAGES
FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.—(1)
Whenever the surface owner of any land subject to this
Act has suffered any permanent damages to crops or tan-
gible improvements of the surface owner, or any perma-
nent loss of income due to loss or impairment of grazing,
or other uses of the land by the surface owner, if such
damages or loss result from—
‘‘(A) any mineral activity undertaken without
the consent of the surface owner under subsection
(c) or an authorization by the Secretary under sub-
section (d); or
‘‘(B) the failure of the person conducting min-
eral activities to remedy to the satisfaction of the
Secretary any substantial noncompliance with the
terms and conditions of a plan under subsection (f);
the surface owner may bring an action in the appropriate
United States district court for, and the court may award,
double damages plus costs for willful misconduct or gross
negligence.
‘‘(2) The surface owner of any land subject to this
Act may also bring an action in the appropriate United
States district court for double damages plus costs for
willful misconduct or gross negligence against any person
undertaking any mineral activities on lands subject to this
Act in violation of any requirement of subsection (b).
‘‘(3) Any double damages plus costs awarded by the
court under this subsection shall be reduced by the
amount of any compensation which the surface owner has
received (or is eligible to receive) pursuant to the bond
or financial guarantee required under subsection (e).
‘‘(l) PAYMENT
OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEE.—The
surface owner of any land subject to this Act may petition
the Secretary for payment of all or any portion of a bond
or other financial guarantee required under subsection (e)
as compensation for any permanent damages to crops and
tangible improvements of the surface owner, or any per-
manent loss of income due to loss or impairment of graz-
ing, or other uses of the land by the surface owner. Pursu-
ant to such a petition, the Secretary may use such bond
or other guarantee to provide compensation to the surface
owner for such damages and to insure the required rec-
lamation.
‘‘(m) BOND RELEASE.—The Secretary shall release
the bond or other financial guarantee required under sub-
section (e) upon the successful completion of all require-
ments pursuant to a plan of operations approved under
subsection (f).
‘‘(n) CONVEYANCE TO SURFACE OWNER.—The Sec-
retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to sim-
plify the procedures which must be complied with by sur-
face owners of lands subject to this Act who apply to the
Secretary to obtain title to interests in such lands owned
by the United States.
‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of subsections
(b) through (n)—
‘‘(1) The term ‘mineral activities’ means any
activity for, related to or incidental to mineral explo-
ration, mining, and beneficiation activities for any
locatable mineral on a mining claim. When used
with respect to this term—
‘‘(A) the term ‘exploration’ means those
techniques employed to locate the presence of a
locatable mineral deposit and to establish its
nature, position, size, shape, grade and value;
‘‘(B) the term ‘mining’ means the proc-
esses employed for the extraction of a locatable
mineral from the earth; and
‘‘(C) the term ‘beneficiation’ means the
crushing and grinding of locatable mineral ore
and such processes are employed to free the
mineral from the other constituents, including
but not necessarily limited to, physical and
chemical separation techniques.
‘‘(2) The term ‘mining claim’ means a claim lo-
cated under the general mining laws of the United
States (which generally comprise 30 U.S.C. chapters
2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162) subject
to the terms and conditions of subsections (b)
through (p) of this section.
‘‘(3) The term ‘tangible improvements’ includes
agricultural, residential and commercial improve-
ments, including improvements made by residential
subdividers.
‘‘(p) MINERALS COVERED.—Subsections (b) through
(o) of this section apply only to minerals not subject to
disposition under—
‘‘(1) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181
and following);
‘‘(2) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30
U.S.C. 100 and following); or
‘‘(3) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly
known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601
and following).’’.
(b) TECHNICAL CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec-
tion 9 of the Act of December 29, 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act
to provide for stock-raising homesteads, and for other pur-
poses’’ (43 U.S.C. 299) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) GEN-
ERAL PROVISIONS.—’’ before the words ‘‘That all entries
made’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enact-
ment.
(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior
shall issue final regulations to implement the amendments
made by this Act not later than the effective date of this
Act. Failure to promulgate these regulations by reason of
any appeal or judicial review shall not delay the effective
date as specified in paragraph (c).
SEC. 2. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FOREIGN MINERAL IN-
TEREST.
(a) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Interior is di-
rected to submit a report to the Congress within 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act on the acquisition
of mineral interests made after the date of enactment of
this Act by foreign firms on lands subject to the Act of
December 29, 1916, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for stock-
raising homesteads, and for other purposes’’ (43 U.S.C.
299).
(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘foreign firm’’ means a business entity that conducts
business operations in the United States and is 51 percent
or more owned and controlled by a foreign person or
entity.
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