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
documents 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, con-
centrates, or products derived therefrom, to carry out in-
spection, auditing, investigation, or enforcement (not in-
cluding the collection of royalties, civil or criminal pen-
alties, or other payments) 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
cooperative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall,
upon request, have access to all royalty accounting infor-
mation in the possession of the Secretary respecting the
production, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, con-
centrates, or products derived therefrom from claims on
lands open to location under the general mining laws.
(3) Trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential
information shall be made available by the Secretary pur-
suant 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 liabil-
ity 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 under payments at the same inter-
est rate as is applicable under section 6621(a)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an under-
payment, interest 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 Secretary may assess an additional penalty of 10 per-
cent of the amount of that underreporting.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term
‘‘underreporting’’ means the difference between the roy-
alty 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
provided in paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection if the
person liable for royalty payments under this section cor-
rects the underreporting before the date such person re-
ceives notice 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 as-
sessment under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection
attributable to that portion of the underreporting for
which the person responsible for paying the royalty dem-
onstrates 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
reporting 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 Treasury.
(g) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per-
son liable for royalty payments under this section shall
be jointly 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 sec-
tion.
(h) EXCEPTION.—No royalty shall be payable under
subsection (a) with respect to minerals processed at a fa-
cility by the same person or entity which extracted the
minerals if an urban development action grant has been
made under section 119 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 with respect to any portion of
such facility.
(i) DISBURSEMENT
OF REVENUES.—The receipts
from royalties collected under this section with respect to
any mining claim shall be disbursed in the same manner
as provided in section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 181 and following).
(j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this sec-
tion 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 calendar months after the enactment of this Act
shall be payable at the expiration of such 12-month period.
SEC. 4. PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.
The Secretary shall adjust all dollar amounts estab-
lished in this Act for changes in the purchasing power of
the dollar every 10 years following the date of enactment
of this Act, employing the Consumer Price Index for all-
urban consumers published by the Department of Labor
as the basis for adjustment, and rounding according to
the adjustment process of conditions of the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (104 Stat.
890).
SEC. 5. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as repealing
or modifying any Federal law, regulation, order or land
use plan, in effect prior to the effective date of this Act,
that prohibits or restricts the application of the general
mining laws, including such laws that provide for special
management criteria for operations under the general
mining laws as in effect prior to the effective date of this
Act, to the extent such laws provide environmental protec-
tion greater than required under this Act.