I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4168
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 25, 1996
Mr. COX of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary to
enter into agreements with private parties for the recov-
ery and disposal of helium on Federal lands, 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 ‘‘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 provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a
section or other provision of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C.
167 to 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 agreements 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 leasehold 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 agreement for recovery
and disposal of helium.
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Agreements under para-
graph (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 paragraph (1) (and any extension or renewal
of an agreement) shall contain such terms and con-
ditions as the Secretary may consider appropriate.
‘‘(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 enact-
ment 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 ac-
cordance with this Act.
‘‘SEC. 4. STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND WITHDRAWAL
OF CRUDE HELIUM.
‘‘(a) STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, 
AND
WITH-
DRAWAL.—The Secretary may store, transport, and with-
draw 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 transportation
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, refining, and marketing
refined helium and shall cease carrying out all other activi-
ties 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 ac-
tivities referred to in subsection (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 personnel) and with the cessation of
activities under subsection (b) shall be paid from
amounts available in the helium production fund es-
tablished 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 en-
tered into by any person with the Secretary for the
purchase by the person from the Secretary of refined
helium and that are in effect on the date of the en-
actment 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 ter-
mination of contracts described in paragraph (1)
shall be paid from the helium production fund estab-
lished under section 6(f).
‘‘SEC. 5. FEES FOR STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND WITH-
DRAWAL.
‘‘(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 Secretary for the full costs of providing
such storage, transportation, and withdrawal.
‘‘(b) TREATMENT.—All fees received by the Secretary
under subsection (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 determines, in consulta-
tion 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 pro-
vided in this subsection’’ and all that follows
through the end of the subsection 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 sub-
section (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), 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 sub-
section (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 Janu-
ary 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 nec-
essary to dispose of all such helium reserves in ex-
cess 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 he-
lium industry, to be necessary to carry out this sub-
section 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 re-
quired 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 sub-
section (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 consider-
ation 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 re-
ferred to in subsection (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 fol-
lows:
‘‘(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) afore-
said, described by metes and bounds as follows:
‘‘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 mid-
dle 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) de-
scribed 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 min-
utes 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 3
years before the date on which the Secretary commences
offering for sale crude helium under section 8, the Sec-
retary 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 sub-
stantial adverse effect on United States scientific, tech-
nical, biomedical, or national security interests.
‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than
18 months before the date on which the Secretary com-
mences 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 consider-
ation of the conclusions of the National Academy
under subsection (a) and after consultation with the
United States helium industry and with heads of af-
fected Federal agencies, as to whether the disposal
of the helium reserve under section 8 will have a
substantial adverse effect on the United States he-
lium industry, United States helium market or Unit-
ed States scientific, technological, biomedical, or na-
tional security interests; and
‘‘(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 inter-
est, the Secretary shall make recommendations, in-
cluding recommendations for proposed legislation, as
may be necessary to avoid such adverse effects.’’.
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