I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7580 
To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain 
lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2022 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 
BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. PORTER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. LEVIN of California, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals 
on public domain lands, consistent with the principles 
of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act of 2022’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions and references. 
Sec. 3. Application rules. 
TITLE I—MINERAL LEASING, EXPLORATION, AND DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 101. Closure to entry and location. 
Sec. 102. Limitation on patents. 
Sec. 103. Prospecting license and hardrock leases. 
Sec. 104. Competitive leasing. 
Sec. 105. Small miners leases. 
Sec. 106. Lands containing nonhardrock minerals; other uses. 
Sec. 107. Royalty. 
Sec. 108. Existing production. 
Sec. 109. Hardrock mining claim maintenance fee. 
Sec. 110. Effect of payments for use and occupancy of claims. 
Sec. 111. Protection of special places. 
Sec. 112. Suitability determination. 
TITLE II—CONSULTATION PROCEDURE 
Sec. 201. Requirement for consultation. 
Sec. 202. Timing. 
Sec. 203. Scoping stage consultation. 
Sec. 204. Decision stage procedures. 
Sec. 205. Documentation and reporting. 
Sec. 206. Implementation. 
Sec. 207. Sensitive Tribal information. 
TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL 
EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 301. General standard for hardrock mining on Federal land. 
Sec. 302. Permits. 
Sec. 303. Exploration permit. 
Sec. 304. Operations permit. 
Sec. 305. Persons ineligible for permits. 
Sec. 306. Financial assurance. 
Sec. 307. Operation and reclamation. 
Sec. 308. State law and regulation. 
TITLE IV—ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE RECLAMATION 
Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund. 
Sec. 402. Contents of Fund. 
Sec. 403. Displaced material reclamation fee. 
Sec. 404. Use of the Fund. 
TITLE V—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 501. Policy functions. 
Sec. 502. User fees and inflation adjustment. 
Sec. 503. Inspection and monitoring. 
Sec. 504. Citizens suits. 
Sec. 505. Administrative and judicial review. 
Sec. 506. Reporting requirements. 
Sec. 507. Enforcement. 
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Sec. 508. Regulations. 
Sec. 509. Oil shale claims. 
Sec. 510. Savings clause. 
Sec. 511. Availability of public records. 
Sec. 512. Miscellaneous powers. 
Sec. 513. Mineral materials. 
Sec. 514. Effective date. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘adjacent land’’ means any land 
not more than two miles from the boundary of a de-
scribed land tract. 
(2) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means, with respect to 
any person, any of the following: 
(A) Any person who controls, is controlled 
by, or is under common control with such per-
son. 
(B) Any partner of such person. 
(C) Any person owning at least 10 percent 
of the voting shares of such person. 
(3) The term ‘‘agency’’ means any authority of 
the United States that is an ‘‘agency’’ under section 
3502(1) of title 44, United States Code. 
(4) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap-
plying for a permit, license, or lease under this Act 
or a modification to or a renewal of a permit, li-
cense, or lease under this Act. 
(5) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crush-
ing and grinding of hardrock mineral ore and such 
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processes as are employed to free the mineral from 
other constituents, including physical and chemical 
separation techniques. 
(6) The term ‘‘casual use’’— 
(A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
means mineral activities that do not ordinarily 
result in any disturbance of public lands and re-
sources; 
(B) includes collection of geochemical, 
rock, 
soil, 
or 
mineral 
specimens 
using 
handtools, hand panning, or nonmotorized sluic-
ing; and 
(C) does not include— 
(i) the use of mechanized earth-mov-
ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo-
sives; 
(ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 
closed to off-road vehicles; 
(iii) the construction of roads or drill 
pads; and 
(iv) the use of toxic or hazardous ma-
terials. 
(7) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means a person 
holding a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site 
claim located under the general mining laws and 
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