lands resides in the United States, the Secretary is author-
ized, subject to appropriations, to use moneys in the fund
for reclamation and restoration under subsection (a) for all
directly affected lands.
SEC. 303. ELIGIBLE LANDS AND WATERS.
(a) ELIGIBILITY.—Reclamation expenditures under
this title may only be made with respect to Federal lands
or Indian lands or water resources that traverse or are con-
tiguous to Federal lands or Indian lands where such lands
or waters resources have been affected by past mineral ac-
tivities, including any of the following:
(1) Lands and water resources which were used
for, or affected by, mineral activities and abandoned
or left in an inadequate reclamation status before the
effective date of this Act.
(2) Lands for which the Secretary makes a deter-
mination that there is no continuing reclamation re-
sponsibility of a claim holder, operator, or other per-
son who abandoned the site prior to completion of re-
quired reclamation under State or other Federal laws.
(3) Lands for which it can be established that
such lands do not contain locatable minerals which
could economically be extracted through the reprocess-
ing or remining of such lands, unless such consider-
ations are in conflict with the priorities set forth
under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 302(b).
(b) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGIBLE.—The
provisions of section 411(d) of the Surface Mining Control
and Reclamation Act of 1977 shall apply to expenditures
made from the Fund established under this title.
(c) INVENTORY.—The Secretary shall prepare and
maintain an inventory of abandoned locatable minerals
mines on Federal lands and any abandoned mine on In-
dian lands which may be eligible for expenditures under
this title.
SEC. 304. FUND EXPENDITURES.
Moneys available from the Fund may be expended for
the purposes specified in section 302 directly by the Director
of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce-
ment. The Director may also make such money available
for such purposes to the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management, the Chief of the United States Forest Service,
the Director of the National Park Service, Director of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to any other agen-
cy of the United States, to an Indian tribe, or to any public
entity that volunteers to develop and implement, and that
has the ability to carry out, all or a significant portion
of a reclamation program under this title.
SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Amounts credited to the Fund are authorized to be ap-
propriated for the purpose of this title without fiscal year
limitation.
SEC. 306. ROYALTY.
(a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Production of all
locatable minerals from any mining claim located or con-
verted under this Act, or mineral concentrates or products
derived from locatable minerals from any mining claim lo-
cated or converted under this Act, as the case may be, shall
be subject to a royalty of 8 percent of the net smelter return
from such production. The claimholder and any operator
to whom the claimholder has assigned the obligation to
make royalty payments under the claim and any person
who controls such claimholder or operator shall be jointly
and severally liable for payment of such royalties.
(b) DUTIES OF CLAIM HOLDERS, OPERATORS, AND
TRANSPORTERS.—(1) A person—
(A) who is required to make any royalty pay-
ment under this section shall make such payments to
the United States at such times and in such manner
as the Secretary may by rule prescribe; and
(B) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and
manner as may be specified by the Secretary, of any
assignment that such person may have made of the
obligation to make any royalty or other payment
under a mining claim.
(2) Any person paying royalties under this section
shall file a written instrument, together with the first roy-
alty payment, affirming that such person is liable to the
Secretary for making proper payments for all amounts due
for all time periods for which such person as a payment
responsibility. Such liability for the period referred to in
the preceding sentence shall include any and all additional
amounts billed by the Secretary and determined to be due
by final agency or judicial action. Any person liable for
royalty payments under this section who assigns any pay-
ment obligation shall remain jointly and severally liable
for all royalty payments due for the claim for the period.
(3) A person conducting mineral activities shall—
(A) develop and comply with the site security
provisions in operations permit designed to protect
from theft the locatable minerals, concentrates or
products derived therefrom which are produced or
stored on a mining claim, and such provisions shall
conform with such minimum standards as the Sec-
retary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the
variety of circumstances on mining claims; and
(B) not later than the 5th business day after pro-
duction begins anywhere on a mining claim, or pro-
duction resumes after more than 90 days after pro-
duction was suspended, notify the Secretary, in the
manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date on
which such production has begun or resumed.
(4) The Secretary may by rule require any person en-
gaged in transporting a locatable mineral, concentrate, or
product derived therefrom to carry on his or her person,
in his or her vehicle, or in his or her immediate control,
documentation showing, at a minimum, the amount, ori-
gin, and intended destination of the locatable mineral, con-
centrate, or product derived therefrom in such cir-
cumstances as the Secretary determines is appropriate.
(c) RECORDKEEPING
AND
REPORTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—(1) A claim holder, operator, or other person di-
rectly involved in developing, producing, processing, trans-
porting, purchasing, or selling locatable minerals, con-
centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to this Act,
through the point of royalty computation shall establish and
maintain any records, make any reports, and provide any
information that the Secretary may reasonably require for
the purposes of implementing this section or determining
compliance with rules or orders under this section. Such
records shall include, but not be limited to, periodic reports,
records, documents, and other data. Such reports may also
include, but not be limited to, pertinent technical and fi-
nancial data relating to the quantity, quality, composition
volume, weight, and assay of all minerals extracted from
the mining claim. Upon the request of any officer or em-
ployee duly designated by the Secretary or any State con-
ducting an audit or investigation pursuant to this section,
the appropriate records, reports, or information which may
be required by this section shall be made available for in-
spection and duplication by such officer or employee or
State.
(2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec-
tion shall be maintained for 6 years after release of finan-
cial assurance under section 206 unless the Secretary noti-
fies the operator that he or she has initiated an audit or
investigation involving such records and that such records
must be maintained for a longer period. In any case when
an audit or investigation is underway, records shall be
maintained until the Secretary releases the operator of the
obligation to maintain such records.
(d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct
such audits of all claim holders, operators, transporters,
purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi-
rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov-
ered by this Act, as the Secretary deems necessary for the
purposes of ensuring compliance with the requirements of
this section. For purposes of performing such audits, the
Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon request, have
access to, and may copy, all books, papers and other docu-
ments that relate to compliance with any provision of this
section by any person.
(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Secretary is
authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the
Secretary of Agriculture to share information concerning
the royalty management of locatable minerals, concentrates,
or products derived therefrom, to carry out inspection, au-
diting, investigation, or enforcement (not including the col-
lection of royalties, civil or criminal penalties, or other pay-
ments) activities under this section in cooperation with the
Secretary, and to carry out any other activity described in
this section.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4)(A) of this
subsection (relating to trade secrets), and pursuant to a co-
operative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall,
upon request, have access to all royalty accounting informa-
tion in the possession of the Secretary respecting the pro-
duction, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, concentrates,
or products derived therefrom from claims on lands open
to location under this Act.
(3) Trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential
information shall be made available by the Secretary pursu-
ant to a cooperative agreement under this subsection to the
Secretary of Agriculture upon request only if—
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture consents in
writing to restrict the dissemination of the informa-
tion to those who are directly involved in an audit or
investigation under this section and who have a need
to know;
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture accepts liability
for wrongful disclosure; and
(C) the Secretary of Agriculture demonstrates
that such information is essential to the conduct of an
audit or investigation under this subsection.
(f) INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING
ASSESSMENTS.—(1) In the case of mining claims where
royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the
date that such payments are due, the Secretary shall charge
interest on such underpayments at the same interest rate
as is applicable under section 6621(a)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an underpayment, in-
terest shall be computed and charged only on the amount
of the deficiency and not on the total amount.
(2) If there is any underreporting of royalty owed on
production from a claim for any production month by any
person liable for royalty payments under this section, the
Secretary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the amount
of that underreporting.
(3) If there is a substantial underreporting of royalty
owed on production from a claim for any production month
by any person responsible for paying the royalty, the Sec-
retary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the amount
of that underreporting.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘sub-
stantial underreporting’’ means the difference between the
royalty on the value of the production which should have
been reported and the royalty on the value of the production
which was reported, if the value which should have been
reported is greater than the value which was reported. An
underreporting constitutes a ‘‘substantial underreporting’’
if such difference exceeds 10 percent of the royalty on the
value of production which should have been reported.
(5) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment pro-
vided in paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection if the per-
son liable for royalty payments under this section corrects
the underreporting before the date such person receives no-
tice from the Secretary that an underreporting may have
occurred, or before 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this section, whichever is later.
(6) The Secretary shall waive any portion of an assess-
ment under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection attrib-
utable to that portion of the underreporting for which the
person responsible for paying the royalty demonstrates
that—
(A) such person had written authorization from
the Secretary to report royalty on the value of the
production on basis on which it was reported, or
(B) such person had substantial authority for re-
porting royalty on the value of the production on the
basis on which it was reported, or
(C) such person previously had notified the Sec-
retary, in such manner as the Secretary may by rule
prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts affecting the
royalty treatment of specific production which led to
the underreporting, or
(D) such person meets any other exception which
the Secretary may, by rule, establish.
(7) All penalties collected under this subsection shall
be deposited in the Fund.
(g) DELEGATION.—For the purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior acting
through the Director of the Minerals Management Service.
(h) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each person
liable for royalty payments under this section shall be joint-
ly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable minerals,
concentrates, or products derived therefrom lost or wasted
from a mining claim located or converted under this section
when such loss or waste is due to negligence on the part
of any person or due to the failure to comply with any rule,
regulation, or order issued under this section.
(i) EXCEPTION.—No royalty shall be payable under
subsection (a) with respect to minerals processed at a facil-
ity by the same person or entity which extracted the min-
erals if an urban development action grant has been made
under section 119 of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 with respect to any portion of such facil-
ity.
(j) DEFINITION.—For the proposes of this section, for
any locatable mineral, the term ‘‘net smelter return’’ shall
have the same meaning as the term defined in section
613(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this section
shall take effect with respect to the production of locatable
minerals after the enactment of this Act, but any royalty
payments attributable to production during the first 12 cal-
endar months after the enactment of this Act shall be pay-
able at the expiration of such 12-month period.
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Administrative
Provisions
SEC. 401. POLICY FUNCTIONS.
(a) MINERALS POLICY.—Section 2 of the Mining and
Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a) is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘It shall also
be the responsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture to carry
out the policy provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
section.’’.
(b) MINERAL DATA.—Section 5(e)(3) of the National
Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development
Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by inserting before
the period the following: ‘‘, except that for National Forest
System lands the Secretary of Agriculture shall promptly
initiate actions to improve the availability and analysis
of mineral data in Federal land use decisionmaking’’.
SEC. 402. USER FEES.
The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture are
each authorized to establish and collect from persons subject
to the requirements of this Act such user fees as may be
necessary to reimburse the United States for the expenses
incurred in administering such requirements. Fees may be
assessed and collected under this section only in such man-
ner as may reasonably be expected to result in an aggregate
amount of the fees collected during any fiscal year which
does not exceed the aggregate amount of administrative ex-
penses referred to in this section.
SEC. 403. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) OPERATIONS PERMIT.—(1) Concurrent with sub-
mittal of an application for an operations permit under
section 204 or a renewal or significant modification thereof,
the applicant shall publish a notice in a newspaper of local
circulation at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. The
notice shall include: the name of the applicant, the location
of the proposed mineral activities, the type and expected
duration of the proposed mineral activities, the proposed
use of the land after the completion of mineral activities
and a location where such plans are publicly available. The
applicant shall also notify in writing other Federal, State
and local government agencies and Indian tribes that regu-
late mineral activities or land planning decisions in the
area subject to mineral activities or that manage lands ad-
jacent to the area subject to mineral activities. The appli-
cant shall provide proof of such notification to the Sec-
retary, or for National Forest System lands the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(2) The applicant for an operations permit shall make
copies of the complete permit application available for pub-
lic review at the office of the responsible Federal surface
management agency located nearest to the location of the
proposed mineral activities, and at such other public loca-
tions deemed appropriate by the State or local government
for the county in which the proposed mineral activities will
occur prior to final decision by the Secretary, or for Na-
tional Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture.
Any person, and the authorized representative of a Federal,
State or local governmental agency or Indian tribe, shall
have the right to file written comments relating to the ap-
proval or disapproval of the permit application until 30
days after the last day of newspaper publication. The Sec-
retary concerned shall promptly make such comments avail-
able to the applicant.
(3) Any person may file written comments during the
comment period specified in paragraph (2) and any person
who is, or may be, adversely affected by the proposed min-
eral activities may request a nonadjudicatory public hear-
ing to be held in the county in which the mineral activities
are proposed. The Secretary concerned shall consider all
written comments filed during such period. If a hearing is
requested by any person who is, or may be, adversely af-
fected by the proposed mineral activities, the Secretary con-
cerned shall consider such request and may conduct such
hearing. When a hearing is to be held, notice of such hearing
shall be published in a newspaper of local circulation at
least once a week for 2 weeks prior to the hearing date.
SEC. 404. INSPECTION AND MONITORING.
(a) INSPECTIONS.—(1) The Secretary, or for National
Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall
make inspections of mineral activities so as to ensure com-
pliance with the surface management requirements of title
II.
(2) The Secretary concerned shall establish a frequency
of inspections for mineral activities conducted under a per-
mit issued under title II, but in no event shall such inspec-
tion frequency be less than one complete inspection per cal-
endar quarter or, two per calendar quarter in the case of
a permit for which the Secretary concerned approves an
application under section 204(g) (relating to temporary ces-
sation of operations). After revegetation has been established
in accordance with a reclamation plan, such Secretary shall
conduct annually 2 complete inspections. Such Secretary
shall have the discretion to modify the inspection frequency
for mineral activities that are conducted on a seasonal
basis. Inspections shall continue under this subsection until
final release of financial assurance.
(3)(A) Any person who has reason to believe he or she
is or may be adversely affected by mineral activities due
to any violation of the surface management requirements
100
may request an inspection. The Secretary, or for National
Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall de-
termine within 10 working days of receipt of the request
whether the request states a reason to believe that a viola-
tion exists. If the person alleges and provides reason to be-
lieve that an imminent danger to the health or safety of
the public exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the
inspection shall be conducted immediately. When an inspec-
tion is conducted under this paragraph, the Secretary con-
cerned shall notify the person requesting the inspection, and
such person shall be allowed to accompany the Secretary
concerned or the Secretary’s authorized representative dur-
ing the inspection. The Secretary shall not incur any liabil-
ity for allowing such person to accompany an authorized
representative. The identity of the person supplying infor-
mation to the Secretary relating to a possible violation or
imminent danger or harm shall remain confidential with
the Secretary if so requested by that person, unless that per-
son elects to accompany an authorized representative on the
inspection.
(B) The Secretaries shall, by joint rule, establish proce-
dures for the review of (i) any decision by an authorized
representative not to inspect or (ii) any refusal by such rep-
resentative to ensure that remedial actions are taken with
respect to any alleged violation. The Secretary concerned
101
shall furnish such persons requesting the review a written
statement of the reasons for the Secretary’s final disposition
of the case.
(b) MONITORING.—(1) The Secretary, or for National
Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture, shall re-
quire all operators to develop and maintain a monitoring
and evaluation system which shall identify compliance with
all surface management requirements.
(2) Monitoring shall be conducted as close as tech-
nically feasible to the mineral activity involved, and in all
cases such monitoring shall be conducted within the permit
area.
(3) The point of compliance referred to in paragraph
(1) shall be as close to the mineral activity involved as is
technically feasible, but in any event shall be located to com-
ply with applicable State and Federal standards. In no
event shall the point of compliance be outside the permit
area.
(4) The Secretary concerned may require additional
monitoring be conducted as necessary to assure compliance
with the reclamation and other environmental standards of
this Act.
(5) The operator shall file reports with the Secretary,
or for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agri-
culture, on a frequency determined by the Secretary con-