Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/30/184
Timestamp: 2018-05-20 14:15:24
Document Index: 656236469

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 184', '§ 184', '§\u202f27', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f6', '§\u202f6', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f3', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f11', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f2', '§\u202f3', '§\u202f352', '§\u202f41', '§\u202f7', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f1', '§\u202f11', '§\u202f11', '§\u202f15', '§\u202f2', '§\u202f11', '§\u202f201', '§\u202f2', '§\u202f1', 'art 3040']

30 U.S. Code § 184 - Limitations on leases held, owned or controlled by persons, associations or corporations | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
U.S. Code › Title 30 › Chapter 3A › Subchapter I › § 184
Limitations on leases held, owned or controlled by persons, associations or corporations
No person, association, or corporation, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, shall take, hold, own or control at one time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary under this chapter, or otherwise, oil or gas leases (including options for such leases or interests therein) on land held under the provisions of this chapter exceeding in the aggregate two hundred forty-six thousand and eighty acres in any one State other than Alaska [1]Provided, however, That acreage held in special tar sand areas, and acreage under any lease any portion of which has been committed to a federally approved unit or cooperative plan or communitization agreement or for which royalty (including compensatory royalty or royalty in-kind) was paid in the preceding calendar year, shall not be chargeable against such State limitations. In the case of the State of Alaska, the limit shall be three hundred thousand acres in the northern leasing district and three hundred thousand acres in the southern leasing district, and the boundary between said two districts shall be the left limit of the Tanana River from the border between the United States and Canada to the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon Rivers, and the left limit of the Yukon River from said confluence to its principal southern mouth.
No person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own, or control at one time options to acquire interests in oil or gas leases under the provisions of this chapter which involve, in the aggregate, more than two hundred thousand acres of land in any one State other than Alaska, or, in the case of Alaska, more than two hundred thousand acres in each of its two leasing districts, as hereinbefore described. No option to acquire any interest in such an oil or gas lease shall be enforcible if entered into for a period of more than three years (which three years shall be inclusive of any renewal period if a right to renew is reserved by any party to the option) without the prior approval of the Secretary. In any case in which an option to acquire the optionor’s entire interest in the whole or a part of the acreage under a lease is entered into, the acreage to which the option is applicable shall be charged both to the optionor and to the optionee, but the charge to the optionor shall cease when the option is exercised. In any case in which an option to acquire a part of the optionor’s interest in the whole or a part of the acreage under a lease is entered into, the acreage to which the option is applicable shall be fully charged to the optionor and a share thereof shall also be charged to the optionee, as his interest may appear, but after the option is exercised said acreage shall be charged to the parties pro rata as their interests may appear. In any case in which an assignment is made of a part of a lessee’s interest in the whole or part of the acreage under a lease or an application for a lease, the acreage shall be charged to the parties pro rata as their interests may appear. No option or renewal thereof shall be enforcible until notice thereof has been filed with the Secretary or an officer or employee of the Department of the Interior designated by him to receive the same. Each such notice shall include, in addition to any other matters prescribed by the Secretary, the names and addresses of the parties thereto, the serial number of the lease or application for a lease to which the option is applicable, and a statement of the number of acres covered thereby and of the interests and obligations of the parties thereto and shall be subscribed by all parties to the option or their duly authorized agents. An option which has not been exercised shall remain charged as hereinbefore provided until notice of its relinquishment or surrender has been filed, by either party, with the Secretary or any officer or employee of the Department of the Interior designated by him to receive the same. In addition, each holder of any such option shall file with the Secretary or an officer or employee of the Department of the Interior as aforesaid within ninety days after the 30th day of June and the 31st day of December in each year a statement showing, in addition to any other matters prescribed by the Secretary, his name, the name and address of each grantor of an option held by him, the serial number of every lease or application for a lease to which such an option is applicable, the number of acres covered by each such option, the total acreage in each State to which such options are applicable, and his interest and obligation under each such option. The failure of the holder of an option so to file shall render the option unenforcible [2] by him. The unenforcibility [3] of any option under the provisions of this paragraph shall not diminish the number of acres deemed to be held under option by any person, association, or corporation in computing the amount chargeable under the first sentence of this paragraph and shall not relieve any party thereto of any liability to cancellation, forfeiture, forced disposition, or other sanction provided by law. The Secretary may prescribe forms on which the notice and statements required by this paragraph shall be made.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if any lands or deposits subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be subleased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device permanently, temporarily, directly, indirectly, tacitly, or in any manner whatsoever, so that they form a part of or are in any wise controlled by any combination in the form of an unlawful trust, with the consent of the lessee, optionee, or permittee, or form the subject of any contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade in the mining or selling of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gilso­nite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons), gas, or sodium entered into by the lessee, optionee, or permittee or any agreement or understanding, written, verbal, or otherwise, to which such lessee, optionee, or permittee shall be a party, of which his or its output is to be or become the subject, to control the price or prices thereof or of any holding of such lands by any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or control in excess of the amounts of lands provided in this chapter, the lease, option, or permit shall be forfeited by appropriate court proceedings.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 27, 41 Stat. 448; Apr. 30, 1926, ch. 197, 44 Stat. 373; July 3, 1930, ch. 854, § 1, 46 Stat. 1007; Mar. 4, 1931, ch. 506, 46 Stat. 1524; Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 6, 60 Stat. 954; June 1, 1948, ch. 365, 62 Stat. 285; June 3, 1948, ch. 379, § 6, 62 Stat. 291; Aug. 2, 1954, ch. 650, 68 Stat. 648; Pub. L. 85–122, Aug. 13, 1957, 71 Stat. 341; Pub. L. 85–698, Aug. 21, 1958, 72 Stat. 688; Pub. L. 86–294, § 1, Sept. 21, 1959, 73 Stat. 571; Pub. L. 86–391, § 1(c), Mar. 18, 1960, 74 Stat. 8; Pub. L. 86–705, § 3, Sept. 2, 1960, 74 Stat. 785; Pub. L. 88–526, § 1, Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 710; Pub. L. 88–548, Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 754; Pub. L. 94–377, §§ 11, 15, Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090, 1091; Pub. L. 97–78, § 1(2), (5), Nov. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1070; Pub. L. 106–191, § 2, Apr. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 232; Pub. L. 106–463, § 3, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 2011; Pub. L. 109–58, title III, § 352, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 714.)
[2]  So in original. Probably should be “unenforceable”.
[3]  So in original. Probably should be “unenforceability”.
The Federal Trade Commission Act, referred to in subsec. (l)(4)(C), is act Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717, as amended, which is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of Title 15. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of Title 15 and Tables.
In subsec. (l)(2), “subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5” substituted for “the Administrative Procedure Act” on authority of Pub. L. 89–554, § 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
2005—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 109–58 inserted “, and acreage under any lease any portion of which has been committed to a federally approved unit or cooperative plan or communitization agreement or for which royalty (including compensatory royalty or royalty in-kind) was paid in the preceding calendar year,” after “acreage held in special tar sand areas”.
1981—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 97–78, § 1(5), inserted proviso that acreage held in special tar sand areas not be chargeable against State limitations.
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 97–78, § 1(2), substituted “gilso­nite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons)” for “native asphalt, solid and semisolid bitumen, bituminous rock”.
1976—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 94–377, § 11(a), inserted “or any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control with such person, association, or corporation” before “shall take, hold, own or control”, “and in no case greater than an aggregate of one hundred thousand acres in the United States” after “in any one State,” proviso relating to non-relinquishment of leases or permits by an entity owning or controlling more than an aggregate of one hundred thousand acres, and proviso prohibiting ownership or control of further Federal leases or permits until reduction to below an aggregate of one hundred thousand acres.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 94–377, § 11(b), struck out par. (2) providing for application, hearing and granting of additional acreage, not to exceed 5120 acres in any one State, to a person, association or corporation requiring such extra acreage to carry on business economically, and the subsequent reevaluation of such entity’s continuing need for such extra acreage.
Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 94–377, § 15, added subsec. (l).
1964—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 88–526 struck out “, except as otherwise provided in this subsection,” after “corporation” and increased aggregate number of acres from 10,240 to 46,080 acres.
1960—Pub. L. 86–705 generally revised provisions and divided them into subsecs. (a) to (k). Other changes concerned: maximum acreage in Alaska, unreported options, their unenforceability, form for notice of options, party to give notice, inclusion of options in acreage determinations, charge of association or corporate holdings against principal stockholders, hearings requirement based upon prima facie evidence of violations, running of time against a lease and the payment of rentals during a waiver or suspension of a lessee’s rights.
1958—Pub. L. 85–698 increased limitation on acreage which may be taken or held under coal leases or permits in any one State from 5,120 to 10,240 acres, permitted applications for additional coal leases or permits not exceeding 5,120 additional acres in the State, provided for hearings on such applications, authorized reevaluation and cancellation of leases and permits for additional acreage, and prohibited assignment, transfer, or sale of any of the additional acreage without the Secretary’s approval.
Pub. L. 86–294, § 2, Sept. 21, 1959, 73 Stat. 571, provided that:
“The rights granted by the second and third sentences of the amendment contained within section 1 of this Act [amending this section to provide that holder of interest in lease has right to be dismissed from cancellation or forfeiture proceedings upon showing he acquired his interest as bona fide purchaser and without violation of provisions, and to provide right to have his lease extended if rights thereunder to drill and to assign are suspended or waived during such proceedings and it is determined he is not in violation of provisions] shall apply with respect to any proceeding now pending or initiated after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 21, 1959].”
Pub. L. 94–377, § 11(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090, provided in part that the repeal by section 11(b) of subsec. (a)(2) of this section is subject to valid existing rights.
Functions of Secretary of the Interior, referred to in subsec. (l), to promulgate regulations under this chapter relating to the fostering of competition for Federal leases, the implementation of alternative bidding systems authorized for the award of Federal leases, the establishment of diligence requirements for operations conducted on Federal leases, the setting of rates for production of Federal leases, and the specifying of the procedures, terms, and conditions for the acquisition and disposition of Federal royalty interests taken in kind, transferred to Secretary of Energy by section 7152(b) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Section 7152(b) of Title 42 was repealed by Pub. L. 97–100, title II, § 201, Dec. 23, 1981, 95 Stat. 1407, and functions of Secretary of Energy returned to Secretary of the Interior. See House Report No. 97–315, pp. 25, 26, Nov. 5, 1981.
Pub. L. 106–463, § 2, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 2010, provided that:
Federal land contains commercial deposits of coal, the Nation’s largest deposits of coal being located on Federal land in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming;
coal is mined on Federal land through Federal coal leases under the Act of February 25, 1920 (commonly known as the ‘Mineral Leasing Act’) (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.);
the sub-bituminous coal from these mines is low in sulfur, making it the cleanest burning coal for energy production;
the Mineral Leasing Act sets for each leasable mineral a limitation on the amount of acreage of Federal leases any 1 producer may hold in any 1 State or nationally;
the present acreage limitation for Federal coal leases has been in place since 1976;
currently the coal lease acreage limit of 46,080 acres per State is less than the per-State Federal lease acreage limit for potash (96,000 acres) and oil and gas (246,080 acres);
coal producers in Wyoming and Utah are operating mines on Federal leaseholds that contain total acreage close to the coal lease acreage ceiling;
the same reasons that Congress cited in enacting increases for State lease acreage caps applicable in the case of other minerals—the advent of modern mine technology, changes in industry economics, greater global competition, and the need to conserve Federal resources—apply to coal;
existing coal mines require additional lease acreage to avoid premature closure, but those mines cannot relinquish mined-out areas to lease new acreage because those areas are subject to 10-year reclamation plans, and the reclaimed acreage is counted against the State and national acreage limits;
to enable them to make long-term business decisions affecting the type and amount of additional infrastructure investments, coal producers need certainty that sufficient acreage of leasable coal will be available for mining in the future; and
to maintain the vitality of the domestic coal industry and ensure the continued flow of valuable revenues to the Federal and State governments and of energy to the American public from coal production on Federal land, the Mineral Leasing Act should be amended to increase the acreage limitation for Federal coal leases.”
Pub. L. 106–191, § 1, Apr. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 231, provided that:
The Federal lands contain commercial deposits of trona, with the world’s largest body of this mineral located on such lands in southwestern Wyoming.
Trona is mined on Federal lands through Federal sodium leases issued under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.].
The primary product of trona mining is soda ash (sodium carbonate), a basic industrial chemical that is used for glass making and a variety of consumer products, including baking soda, detergents, and pharmaceuticals.
The Mineral Leasing Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.] sets for each leasable mineral limitations on the amount of acreage of Federal leases any one producer may hold in any one State or nationally.
The present acreage limitation for Federal sodium (trona) leases has been in place for over five decades, since 1948, and is the oldest acreage limitation in the Mineral Leasing Act. Over this time frame Congress and/or the BLM has revised acreage limits for other minerals to meet the needs of the respective industries. Currently, the sodium lease acreage limitation of 15,360 acres per State is approximately one-third of the per State Federal lease acreage cap for coal (46,080 acres) and potassium (51,200 acres) and one-sixteenth that of oil and gas (246,080 acres).
Three of the four trona producers in Wyoming are operating mines on Federal leaseholds that contain total acreage close to the sodium lease acreage ceiling.
The same reasons that Congress cited in enacting increases in other minerals’ per State lease acreage caps apply to trona: the advent of modern mine technology, changes in industry economics, greater global competition, and need to conserve the Federal resource.
Existing trona mines require additional lease acreage to avoid premature closure, and are unable to relinquish mined-out areas to lease new acreage because those areas continue to be used for mine access, ventilation, and tailings disposal and may provide future opportunities for secondary recovery by solution mining.
Existing trona producers are having to make long term business decisions affecting the type and amount of additional infrastructure investments based on the certainty that sufficient acreage of leaseable [sic] trona will be available for mining in the future.
To maintain the vitality of the domestic trona industry and ensure the continued flow of valuable revenues to the Federal and State governments and products to the American public from trona production on Federal lands, the Mineral Leasing Act should be amended to increase the acreage limitation for Federal sodium leases.”
43 CFR Part 3040