I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3844 
To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamation Foundation to encourage, 
obtain, and use gifts, devises, and bequests for projects to reclaim aban-
doned mine lands and orphan oil and gas well sites, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 28, 2015 
Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Energy and Minerals Reclamation Founda-
tion to encourage, obtain, and use gifts, devises, and 
bequests for projects to reclaim abandoned mine lands 
and orphan oil and gas well sites, 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. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy and Minerals 
Reclamation Foundation Establishment Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ABANDONED
MINE
LANDS.—The term 
‘‘abandoned mine lands’’ means all hardrock mines 
in the United States that were abandoned before 
January 1, 1981, and all coal mines in the United 
States that were abandoned before August 3, 1977, 
regardless of surface or mineral ownership. 
(2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 
Board of Directors of the Foundation. 
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Directors of the Board. 
(4) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 
means the Energy and Minerals Reclamation Foun-
dation established by this Act. 
(5) INTEREST IN REAL PROPERTY.—The term 
‘‘interest in real property’’ includes mineral rights, 
rights-of-way, and easements, appurtenant or in 
gross. 
(6) ORPHANED OIL AND GAS WELL SITES.— 
The term ‘‘orphaned oil and gas well sites’’ means 
all oil and gas wells in the United States that have 
no responsible or liable parties, regardless of surface 
or mineral ownership. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
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(8) SPLIT ESTATE LANDS.—The term ‘‘split es-
tate lands’’ means lands with respect to which the 
surface is or will be in non-Federal ownership and 
a mineral interest is owned by the United States. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ENERGY AND MINERALS REC-
LAMATION FOUNDATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Energy 
and Minerals Reclamation Foundation. The Foundation is 
a charitable and nonprofit corporation domiciled in the 
District of Columbia. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Foundation is to 
encourage, obtain, and use gifts, devises, and bequests of 
real and personal property for abandoned mine lands and 
orphaned oil and gas well site reclamation projects that 
further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, sci-
entific, educational, wildlife habitat, or recreational re-
sources. 
(c) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.—The Foundation may 
use gifts, devises, bequests, and matching funds from the 
Secretary under section 10(b) to make grants and award 
contracts for projects that are— 
(1) approved by the Board of the Foundation; 
and 
(2) consistent with the purpose of the Founda-
tion under subsection (b). 
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(d) LIMITATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall have 
no power, other than as an insubstantial part of its 
activities, to spend funds or engage in activities that 
are not in furtherance of subsection (b). 
(2) POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES.—The Foundation 
shall not participate or intervene in any political 
campaign on behalf of any candidate for public of-
fice. 
(3) CONFLICT OF INTERESTS.—No Director or 
officer or employee of the Foundation shall partici-
pate, directly or indirectly, in the consideration or 
determination of any question before the Foundation 
affecting— 
(A) the direct or indirect financial or per-
sonal interests of the Director, officer, or em-
ployee; or 
(B) the interests of any corporation part-
nership, entity, or organization in which such 
Director, officer, or employee— 
(i) is an officer, member of the board, 
or trustee; or 
(ii) has any direct financial interest. 
(e) LIMITATION
ON
ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENDI-
TURES.—Of the amount available to the Foundation for 
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expenditure each fiscal year, not more than 10 percent 
may be used for administrative expenses. 
SEC. 4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall have a 
governing Board of Directors (in this Act referred to 
as the ‘‘Board’’), which shall consist of 15 Directors. 
(2) EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE OF DIREC-
TORS.—The Directors must be educated or have ac-
tual experience in— 
(A) energy or minerals production; and 
(B) reclamation of mine lands or oil and 
gas fields; or 
(C) energy and mineral resource financing, 
law, or research. 
(3) REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE AREAS OF 
EXPERTISE.—To the extent practicable, the Direc-
tors shall represent diverse areas of expertise relat-
ing to mining and mine reclamation, and develop-
ment and reclamation of oil and gas fields. 
(4) EX OFFICIO DIRECTOR.—The Director of 
the Office of Surface Mining of the Department of 
the Interior shall be an ex officio, nonvoting Direc-
tor. 
(5) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—Within one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of the Interior, in consultation with the 
Interstate Mining Compact Commission and the 
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, 
shall appoint the initial Directors. Thereafter 
the Secretary shall no longer have such author-
ity, and subsequent appointments shall be made 
by the Chairman with the advice and consent of 
a majority of the Directors. 
(B) NON-FEDERAL STATUS.—Appointment 
and service as a Director of the Board shall not 
constitute employment by, or the holding of an 
office of, the United States for the purposes of 
any Federal law. 
(C) TERMS, GENERALLY.—Except as pro-
vided in subparagraph (D), each Director shall 
be appointed for a term of 6 years. 
(D) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the Di-
rectors initially appointed— 
(i) one-third shall be appointed for a 
term of 2 years; 
(ii) one-third shall be appointed for a 
term of 4 years; and 
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(iii) one-third shall be appointed for a 
term of 6 years. 
(E) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board 
shall be filled within 120 days after the occur-
rence of such vacancy. 
(F) LIMITATION.—No individual may serve 
more than 12 consecutive years as a Director. 
(6) REMOVAL.—If a Director misses three con-
secutive meetings of the Board, that individual may 
be removed from the Board by a majority vote of the 
Directors and that vacancy shall be filled in accord-
ance with this subsection. 
(b) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Board shall 
be elected by the Board from the Directors. An individual 
shall serve for a 2-year term as Chairman, and may be 
reelected to the post during the individual’s tenure as a 
Director. 
(c) QUORUM.—A majority of the current voting Di-
rectors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of 
business. 
(d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 
the Chairman at least once each year. 
(e) REIMBURSEMENT
OF
EXPENSES.—Directors 
shall serve without pay, but may be reimbursed by the 
Foundation for the actual and necessary traveling and 
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subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance 
of their duties for the Foundation. Such reimbursement 
may not exceed such amount as would be authorized under 
section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for the pay-
ment of expenses and allowances for individuals employed 
intermittently in Federal Government service. 
(f) GENERAL POWERS.—The Board may complete 
the organization of the Foundation by— 
(1) appointing officers and employees (subject 
to subsection (g)(1)); 
(2) adopting a constitution and bylaws con-
sistent with the purpose of the Foundation under 
section 3(b) and the other provisions of this Act; and 
(3) undertaking other such acts as may be nec-
essary to function and to carry out this Act. 
(g) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—Officers and em-
ployees of the Foundation— 
(1) may not be appointed until the Foundation 
has sufficient funds to pay for their services; 
(2) shall be appointed without regard to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointment in the competitive service; and 
(3) may be paid without regard to the provi-
sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 
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of such title relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates. 
SEC. 5. CORPORATE POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation— 
(1) shall have perpetual succession; 
(2) may conduct business throughout the sev-
eral States, territories, and possessions of the 
United States; 
(3) shall have a principle office in the metro-
politan area of the District of Columbia that shall 
at all times maintain a designated agent in the Dis-
trict of Columbia to accept service of process for the 
Foundation; and 
(4) may maintain as many offices as considered 
necessary by the Board outside of the metropolitan 
area of the District of Columbia. 
(b) NOTICE AND SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The serving 
of notice to, or service of process upon, the agent required 
under subsection (a)(3), or mailed to the business address 
of such agent, is deemed as service upon or notice to the 
Foundation. 
(c) SEAL.—The Foundation shall have an official seal 
selected by the Board, which shall be judicially noticed. 
(d) POWERS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out its purpose, the 
Foundation shall have, in addition to powers other-
wise authorized under this Act, the usual powers of 
a corporation acting as a trustee in the District of 
Columbia. 
(2) INCLUDED
POWERS.—The powers of the 
Foundation under this subsection include the power 
to— 
(A) accept, receive, solicit, hold, admin-
ister, and use any gift, devise, or bequest, either 
absolutely or in trust, of real or personal prop-
erty or any income therefrom or other interest 
therein; 
(B) unless otherwise required by the in-
strument of transfer by which the Foundation 
acquires property, sell, donate, lease, invest, re-
invest, retain, or otherwise dispose of any prop-
erty or income therefrom; 
(C) borrow money and issue bonds, deben-
tures, or other debt instruments; 
(D) sue and be sued, and complain and de-
fend itself in any court of competent jurisdic-
tion, except that the Directors shall not be per-
sonally liable except for gross negligence; 
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(E) enter into contracts or other arrange-
ments with public agencies, private organiza-
tions, and persons, and to make such payments 
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 
thereof; and 
(F) do any and all acts necessary and 
proper to carry out the purpose of the Founda-
tion under section 3(b). 
(e) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to its powers 
under subsection (d), the Foundation may acquire, 
hold, and dispose of lands, waters, or other interests 
in real property by donation, gift, devise, purchase 
or exchange. 
(2) EXEMPTION
FROM
CONDEMNATION.—No 
lands or waters, or interest therein, that are owned 
by the Foundation and are determined by the Sec-
retary to be valuable for energy and mineral produc-
tion, shall be subject to condemnation by any State 
or political subdivision, or any agent of instrumen-
tality thereof. 
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT. 
(a) STARTUP FUNDS.—For the purposes of assisting 
the Foundation in establishing an office and meeting ini-
tial administrative, project, and other startup expenses, 
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