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103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 240
To provide for the protection of the Bodie Bowl area of the State of
California, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. LEHMAN (for himself and Mr. MILLER of California) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To provide for the protection of the Bodie Bowl area of
the State of California, 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 ‘‘Bodie Protection Act
of 1992’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the historic Bodie gold mining district in
the State of California is the site of the largest and
best preserved authentic ghost town in the western
United States;
(2) the Bodie Bowl area contains important
natural, historical, and aesthetic resources;
(3) Bodie was designated a National Historical
Landmark in 1961 and a California State Historic
Park in 1962, is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, and is included in the Federal His-
toric American Buildings Survey;
(4) nearly 200,000 persons visit Bodie each
year, providing the local economy with important an-
nual tourism revenues;
(5) the town of Bodie is threatened by propos-
als to explore and extract minerals: mining in the
Bodie Bowl area may have adverse physical and aes-
thetic impacts on Bodie’s historical integrity, cul-
tural values, and ghosttown character as well as on
its recreational values and the area’s flora and
fauna;
(6) the California State Legislature, on Septem-
ber 4, 1990, requested the President and the Con-
gress to direct the Secretary of the Interior to pro-
tect the ghosttown character, ambience, historic
buildings, and scenic attributes of the town of Bodie
and nearby areas;
(7) the California State Legislature also re-
quested the Secretary, if necessary to protect the
Bodie Bowl area, to withdraw the Federal lands
within the area from all forms of mineral entry and
patent;
(8) the National Park Service listed Bodie as a
priority one endangered National Historic Landmark
in its fiscal year 1990 and 1991 report to Congress
entitled ‘‘Threatened and Damaged National His-
toric Landmarks’’ and recommended protection of
the Bodie area; and
(9) it is necessary and appropriate to provide
that all Federal lands within the Bodie Bowl area
are not subject to location, entry, and patent under
the mining laws of the United States, subject to
valid existing rights, and to direct the Secretary to
consult with the Governor of the State of California
before approving any mining activity plan within the
Bodie Bowl.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Bodie Bowl’’ means the Federal
lands and interests in lands within the area gen-
erally depicted on the map referred to in section
4(a).
(2) The term ‘‘mining’’ means any activity in-
volving mineral prospecting, exploration, extraction,
milling, beneficiation, processing, and reclamation.
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY OF MINERAL MINING, LEASING AND
DISPOSAL LAWS.
(a) RESTRICTION.—Subject to valid existing rights,
after the date of enactment of this Act Federal lands and
interests in lands within the area generally depicted on
the map entitled ‘‘Bodie Bowl’’ and dated June 12, 1992,
shall not be—
(1) open to the location of mining and mill site
claims under the general mining laws of the United
States;
(2) subject to any lease under the Mineral
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and
following), for lands within the Bodie Bowl; and
(3) available for disposal of mineral materials
under the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as
the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and fol-
lowing).
Such map shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in the Office of the Secretary, and appropriate offices
of the Bureau of Land Management and the National
Park Service. As soon as practicable after the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish a legal
description of the Bodie Bowl area in the Federal Reg-
ister.
(b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—As used in this sub-
section, the term ‘‘valid existing rights’’ in reference to
the general mining laws means that a mining claim located
on lands within the Bodie Bowl was properly located and
maintained under the general mining laws prior to the
date of enactment of this Act, was supported by a discov-
ery of a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of
the general mining laws on the date of enactment of this
Act, and that such claim continues to be valid.
(c) VALIDITY REVIEW.—The Secretary shall under-
take an expedited program to determine the validity of all
unpatented mining claims located within the Bodie Bowl.
The expedited program shall include an examination of all
unpatented mining claims, including those for which a pat-
ent application has not been filed. If a claim is determined
to be invalid, the Secretary shall promptly declare the
claim to be null and void, except that the Secretary shall
not challenge the validity of any claim located within the
Bodie Bowl for the failure to do assessment work for any
period after the date of enactment of this Act. The Sec-
retary shall make a determination with respect to the va-
lidity of each claim referred to under this subsection with-
in 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—
(1) MINING CLAIMS.—(A) After January 11,
1993, no patent shall be issued by the United States
for any mining claim located under the general min-
ing laws within the Bodie Bowl unless the Secretary
determines that, for the claim concerned—
(i) a patent application was filed with the
Secretary on or before such date; and
(ii) all requirements established under sec-
tions 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes
(30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims
and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of
the Revised Statues (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, 37) for
placer claims were fully complied with by that
date.
(B) If the Secretary makes the determinations
referred to in subparagraph (A) for any mining
claim, the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the
issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree
to which such claim holder would have been entitled
to prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and
until such determinations are withdrawn or invali-
regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation
with the Governor of the State of California, as the Sec-
retary deems necessary to ensure that such mineral activi-
ties are conducted—
(1) in accordance with the rules and regulations
promulgated under Public Law 94–429 (16 U.S.C.
1901 et seq.) as they relate to plan of operations,
reclamation requirements, and bonding; and
(2) in a manner that does not cause any ad-
verse effect on the historic, cultural, recreational and
natural resource values of the Bodie Bowl area.
(b) RESTORATION OF EFFECTS OF MINING EXPLO-
RATION.—As soon as possible after the date of enactment
of this Act, visible evidence or other effects of mining ex-
ploration activity within the Bodie Bowl conducted on or
after September 1, 1988, shall be reclaimed by the opera-
tor in accordance with regulations prescribed pursuant to
subsection (a).
(c) ANNUAL EXPENDITURES; FILING.—The require-
ments for annual expenditures on unpatented mining
claims imposed by Revised Statute 2324 (30 U.S.C. 28)
shall not apply to any such claim located within the Bodie
Bowl. In lieu of filing the affidavit of assessment work
referred to under section 314(a)(1) of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1744(a)(1)), the holder of any unpatented mining or mill
site claim located within the Bodie Bowl shall only be re-
quired to file the notice of intention to hold the mining
claim referred to in such section 314(a)(1).
(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate
the regulations referred to in this section within 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act. For the purposes
of this Act, the Bureau of Land Management shall pro-
mulgate and administer the rules and regulations referred
to in section 5(a).
SEC. 6. STUDY.
Beginning as soon as possible after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, through
the Director of the National Park Service, shall review
possible actions to preserve the scenic character, historical
integrity, cultural and recreational values, flora and fauna,
and ghost town characteristics of lands and structures
within the Bodie Bowl. No later than 3 years after the
date of such enactment, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the United States
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the United States Senate a re-
port that discusses the results of such review and makes
recommendations as to which steps (including but not lim-
ited to acquisition of lands or valid mining claims) should
be undertaken in order to achieve these objectives.
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