H. R. 4168
One Hundred Fourth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six
An Act
To amend the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary to enter into agreements
with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helium Privatization Act of
1996’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF HELIUM ACT.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act
an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall
be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the
Helium Act (50 U.S.C. 167–167n).
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.
Sections 3, 4, and 5 are amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.
‘‘(a) EXTRACTION
AND
DISPOSAL
OF
HELIUM
ON
FEDERAL
LANDS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into agree-
ments with private parties for the recovery and disposal of
helium on Federal lands upon such terms and conditions as
the Secretary deems fair, reasonable, and necessary.
‘‘(2) LEASEHOLD RIGHTS.—The Secretary may grant lease-
hold rights to any such helium.
‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not enter into any
agreement by which the Secretary sells such helium other
than to a private party with whom the Secretary has an agree-
ment for recovery and disposal of helium.
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Agreements under paragraph (1) may
be subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by the
Secretary.
‘‘(5) EXISTING RIGHTS.—An agreement under paragraph (1)
shall be subject to any rights of any affected Federal oil and
gas lessee that may be in existence prior to the date of the
agreement.
‘‘(6) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An agreement under para-
graph (1) (and any extension or renewal of an agreement)
shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary may
consider appropriate.
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‘‘(7) PRIOR AGREEMENTS.—This subsection shall not in any
manner affect or diminish the rights and obligations of the
Secretary and private parties under agreements to dispose of
helium produced from Federal lands in existence on the date
of enactment of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996 except
to the extent that such agreements are renewed or extended
after that date.
‘‘(b) STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND SALE.—The Secretary may
store, transport, and sell helium only in accordance with this Act.
‘‘SEC. 4. STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND WITHDRAWAL OF CRUDE
HELIUM.
‘‘(a) 
STORAGE, 
TRANSPORTATION, 
AND
WITHDRAWAL.—The
Secretary may store, transport, and withdraw crude helium and
maintain and operate crude helium storage facilities, in existence
on the date of enactment of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996
at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field, and related helium transpor-
tation and withdrawal facilities.
‘‘(b) CESSATION OF PRODUCTION, REFINING, AND MARKETING.—
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Helium
Privatization Act of 1996, the Secretary shall cease producing, refin-
ing, and marketing refined helium and shall cease carrying out
all other activities relating to helium which the Secretary was
authorized to carry out under this Act before the date of enactment
of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996, except activities described
in subsection (a).
‘‘(c) DISPOSAL OF FACILITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (5), not later than
24 months after the cessation of activities referred to in sub-
section (b) of this section, the Secretary shall designate as
excess property and dispose of all facilities, equipment, and
other real and personal property, and all interests therein,
held by the United States for the purpose of producing, refining
and marketing refined helium.
‘‘(2) APPLICABLE LAW.—The disposal of such property shall
be in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949.
‘‘(3) PROCEEDS.—All proceeds accruing to the United States
by reason of the sale or other disposal of such property shall
be treated as moneys received under this chapter for purposes
of section 6(f).
‘‘(4) COSTS.—All costs associated with such sale and
disposal (including costs associated with termination of person-
nel) and with the cessation of activities under subsection (b)
shall be paid from amounts available in the helium production
fund established under section 6(f).
‘‘(5) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any
facilities, equipment, or other real or personal property, or
any interest therein, necessary for the storage, transportation,
and withdrawal of crude helium or any equipment, facilities,
or other real or personal property, required to maintain the
purity, quality control, and quality assurance of crude helium
in the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field.
‘‘(d) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All contracts that were entered into by
any person with the Secretary for the purchase by the person
from the Secretary of refined helium and that are in effect
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on the date of the enactment of the Helium Privatization Act
of 1996 shall remain in force and effect until the date on
which the refining operations cease, as described in subsection
(b).
‘‘(2) COSTS.—Any costs associated with the termination of
contracts described in paragraph (1) shall be paid from the
helium production fund established under section 6(f).
‘‘SEC. 5. FEES FOR STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND WITHDRAWAL.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Secretary provides helium
storage withdrawal or transportation services to any person, the
Secretary shall impose a fee on the person to reimburse the Sec-
retary for the full costs of providing such storage, transportation,
and withdrawal.
‘‘(b) TREATMENT.—All fees received by the Secretary under sub-
section (a) shall be treated as moneys received under this Act
for purposes of section 6(f).’’.
SEC. 4. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM.
(a) Subsection 6(a) is amended by striking ‘‘from the Secretary’’
and inserting ‘‘from persons who have entered into enforceable
contracts to purchase an equivalent amount of crude helium from
the Secretary’’.
(b) Subsection 6(b) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘crude’’ before ‘‘helium’’; and
(2) by adding the following at the end: ‘‘Except as may
be required by reason of subsection (a), sales of crude helium
under this section shall be in amounts as the Secretary deter-
mines, in consultation with the helium industry, necessary
to carry out this subsection with minimum market disruption.’’.
(c) Subsection 6(c) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘crude’’ after ‘‘Sales of’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘together with interest as provided in this
subsection’’ and all that follows through the end of the sub-
section and inserting ‘‘all funds required to be repaid to the
United States as of October 1, 1995 under this section (referred
to in this subsection as ‘repayable amounts’). The price at
which crude helium is sold by the Secretary shall not be less
than the amount determined by the Secretary by—
‘‘(1) dividing the outstanding amount of such repayable
amounts by the volume (in million cubic feet) of crude helium
owned by the United States and stored in the Bureau of Mines
Cliffside Field at the time of the sale concerned, and
‘‘(2) adjusting the amount determined under paragraph
(1) by the Consumer Price Index for years beginning after
December 31, 1995.’’.
(d) Subsection 6(d) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) EXTRACTION
OF HELIUM FROM DEPOSITS
ON FEDERAL
LANDS.—All moneys received by the Secretary from the sale or
disposition of helium on Federal lands shall be paid to the Treasury
and credited against the amounts required to be repaid to the
Treasury under subsection (c).’’.
(e) Subsection 6(e) is repealed.
(f) Subsection 6(f) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)(1)’’; and
(2) by adding the following at the end:
‘‘(2)(A) Within 7 days after the commencement of each fiscal
year after the disposal of the facilities referred to in section 4(c),
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all amounts in such fund in excess of $2,000,000 (or such lesser
sum as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out this Act during
such fiscal year) shall be paid to the Treasury and credited as
provided in paragraph (1).
‘‘(B) On repayment of all amounts referred to in subsection
(c), the fund established under this section shall be terminated
and all moneys received under this Act shall be deposited in the
general fund of the Treasury.’’.
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.
Section 8 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.
‘‘(a) STOCKPILE SALES.—
‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT.—Not later than January 1, 2005,
the Secretary shall commence offering for sale crude helium
from helium reserves owned by the United States in such
amounts as would be necessary to dispose of all such helium
reserves in excess of 600,000,000 cubic feet on a straight-
line basis between such date and January 1, 2015.
‘‘(2) TIMES
OF
SALE.—The sales shall be at such times
during each year and in such lots as the Secretary determines,
in consultation with the helium industry, to be necessary to
carry out this subsection with minimum market disruption.
‘‘(3) PRICE.—The price for all sales under paragraph (1),
as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the helium
industry, shall be such price as will ensure repayment of the
amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under section
6(c).
‘‘(b) DISCOVERY OF ADDITIONAL RESERVES.—The discovery of
additional helium reserves shall not affect the duty of the Secretary
to make sales of helium under subsection (a).’’.
SEC. 6. LAND CONVEYANCE IN POTTER COUNTY, TEXAS.
Section 12 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 12. LAND CONVEYANCE IN POTTER COUNTY, TEXAS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall transfer
all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the
parcel of land described in subsection (b) to the Texas Plains Girl
Scout Council for consideration of $1, reserving to the United States
such easements as may be necessary for pipeline rights-of-way.
‘‘(b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The parcel of land referred to in sub-
section (a) is all those certain lots, tracts or parcels of land lying
and being situated in the County of Potter and State of Texas,
and being the East Three Hundred Thirty-One (E331) acres out
of Section Seventy-eight (78) in Block Nine (9), B.S. & F. Survey,
(some times known as the G.D. Landis pasture) Potter County,
Texas, located by certificate No. 1/39 and evidenced by letters
patents Nos. 411 and 412 issued by the State of Texas under
date of November 23, 1937, and of record in Vol. 66A of the Patent
Records of the State of Texas. The metes and bounds description
of such lands is as follows:
‘‘(1) FIRST TRACT.—One Hundred Seventy-one (171) acres
of land known as the North part of the East part of said
survey Seventy-eight (78) aforesaid, described by metes and
bounds as follows:
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‘‘Beginning at a stone 20 x 12 x 3 inches marked
X, set by W.D. Twichell in 1905, for the Northeast corner
of this survey and the Northwest corner of Section 59;
‘‘Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East with the
West line of said Section 59, 999.4 varas to the Northeast
corner of the South 160 acres of East half of Section 78;
‘‘Thence, North 89 degrees 47 minutes West with the
North line of the South 150 acres of the East half, 956.8
varas to a point in the East line of the West half Section
78;
‘‘Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes West with the
East line of the West half 999.4 varas to a stone 18 x
14 x 3 inches in the middle of the South line of Section
79;
‘‘Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965 varas
to the place of beginning.
‘‘(2) SECOND
TRACT.—One Hundred Sixty (160) acres of
land known as the South part of the East part of said survey
No. Seventy-eight (78) described by metes and bounds as
follows:
‘‘Beginning at the Southwest corner of Section 59, a
stone marked X and a pile of stones; Thence, North 89
degrees 47 minutes West with the North line of Section
77, 966.5 varas to the Southeast corner of the West half
of Section 78; Thence, North 0 degrees 10 minutes West
with the East line of the West half of Section 78;
‘‘Thence, South 89 degrees 47 minutes East 965.8 varas
to a point in the East line of Section 78;
‘‘Thence, South 0 degrees 12 minutes East 934.6 varas
to the place of beginning.
‘‘Containing an area of 331 acres, more or less.’’.
SEC. 7. REPORT ON HELIUM.
Section 15 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 15. REPORT ON HELIUM.
‘‘(a) NAS STUDY
AND REPORT.—Not later than three years
before the date on which the Secretary commences offering for
sale crude helium under section 8, the Secretary shall enter into
appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences
to study and report on whether such disposal of helium reserves
will have a substantial adverse effect on United States scientific,
technical, biomedical, or national security interests.
‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 months
before the date on which the Secretary commences offering for
sale crude helium under section 8, the Secretary shall transmit
to the Congress—
‘‘(1) the report of the National Academy under subsection
(a);
‘‘(2) the findings of the Secretary, after consideration of
the conclusions of the National Academy under subsection (a)
and after consultation with the United States helium industry
and with heads of affected Federal agencies, as to whether
the disposal of the helium reserve under section 8 will have
a substantial adverse effect on the United States helium indus-
try, United States, helium market or United States, scientific,
technological, biomedical, or national security interests; and
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‘‘(3) if the Secretary determines that selling the crude
helium reserves under the formula established in section 8
will have a substantial adverse effect on the United States
helium industry, the United States helium market or United
States scientific, technological, biomedical, or national security
interest, the Secretary shall make recommendations, including
recommendations for proposed legislation, as may be necessary
to avoid such adverse effects.’’.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.