An Act to amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and for other purposes.
PL 94-377 (S.391), enacted 08/04/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1083 
Public Law 94-377 
94th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and for other purposes. 
Aug. 4, 1976 
[S. 391] 
Federal Coal 
Leasing 
Amendments Act 
of 1975. 
30 use 181 note. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America 
in Congress assembled^ That (a) this Act 
may be cited as the "Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975". 
(b) 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 of the ^lineral Lands Leasing 
Act, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other 
30 USC181 note 
provision of the Act of February 25,1920, entitled "An Act to promote 
the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, and sodium on the 
public domain" (41 Stat. 437). 
SEC. 2. The first sentence of section 2(a) of the Mineral Lands 
Leasing Act (oO U.S.C. 201(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
" (1) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to divide any lands 
•
• .. r. ^. • 
subject to this Act which have been classified for coal leasing into 
leasing tracts of such size as he finds appropriate and in the public 
interest and which will permit the mining of all coal which can be 
economically extracted in such tract and thereafter he shall, in his 
discretion, upon the request of any qualified applicant or on his own 
motion, from time to time, offer such lands for leasing and shall award 
leases thereon by competitive bidding. No less than 50 per centum of 
the total acreage offered for lease by the Secretary in any one year 
shall be leased under a system of deferred bonus payment. Upon 
default or cancellation of any coal lease for which bonus payments are 
due, any unpaid remainder of the bid shall be immediately payable 
to the United States. A reasonable number of leasing tracts shall be 
reserved and offered for lease in accordance with this section to public 
bodies, including Federal agencies, rural electric cooperatives, or non-
profit corporations controlled by any of such entities: Provided^ That 
the coal so offered for lease shall be for use by such entity or entities 
in implementing a definite plan to produce energy for their own use or 
for sale to their members or customers (except for short-term sales to 
others). No bid shall be accepted which is less than the fair market 
value, as determined by the Secretary, of the coal subject to the lease. 
Prior to his determination of the fair market value of the coal subject 
to the lease, the Secretary shall give opportunity for and consideration 
to public comments on the fair market value. Nothing in this section 
shall be construed to require the Secretary to make public his judgment 
as to the fair market value of the coal to be leased, or the comments 
he receives thereon prior to the issuance of the lease.". 
SEC. 3. The last sentence of section 2(a) of the Mineral Lands Leas-
ing Act (30 U.S.C. 201(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
"(2) (A) The Secretary shall not issue a lease or leases under the 
terms of this Act to any person, association, corporation, or any sub-
sidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control 
with such person, association, or corporation, where any such entity 
holds a lease or leases issued by the United States to coal deposits 
and has held such lease or leases for a period of ten years when such 
Fair market 
value. 
90 STAT. 1084 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
entity is not, except as provided for in section 7(b) of this Act, pro-
ducing coal from the lease deposits in commercial quantities. In com-
puting the ten-year period referred to in the preceding sentence, 
periods of time prior to the date of enactment of the Federal Coal 
; • * 
Leasing Amendments Act of 1975 shall not be counted. 
"(B) Any lease proposal which permits surface coal mining within 
the boundaries of a National Forest which the Secretary proposes to 
issue under this Act shall be submitted to the Governor of each State 
within which the coal deposits subject to such lease are located. No 
^ 
such lease may be issued under this Act before the expiration of the 
sixty-day period beginning on the date of such submission. If any 
j^;. 
Governor to whom a proposed lease was submitted under this sub-
paragraph objects to the issuance of such lease, such lease shall not 
''y^ 
be issued before the expiration of the six-month period beginning on 
the date the Secretary is notified by the Governor of such objection. 
During such six-month period, the Governor may submit to the Sec-
retary a statement of reasons why such lease should not be issued and 
the Secretary shall, on the basis of such statement, reconsider the 
issuance of such lease. 
Land-use plans. 
"(3) (A) (i) No lease sale shall be held unless the lands containing 
the coal deposits have been included in a comprehensive land-use plan 
and such sale is compatible with such plan. The Secretary of the 
Interior shall prepare such land-use plans on lands under his responsi-
bility where such plans have not been previously prepared. The 
Secretary of the Interior shall inform the Secretary of Agriculture of 
substantial development interest in coal leasing on lands within the 
National Forest System. Upon receipt of such notification from the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare 
a comprehensive land-use plan for such areas where such plans have 
V 
not been previously prepared. The plan of the Secretary of Agricul-
ture shall take into consideration the proposed coal development in 
these lands: Pro^ndecL That where the Secretary of the Interior finds 
. 
that because of non-Federal interest in the surface or because the coal 
resources are insufficient to justify the preparation costs of a Federal 
comprehensive land-use plan, the lease sale can be held if the lands 
containing the coal deposits have been included in either a compre-
hensive land-use plan prepared by the State within which the lands 
are located or a land use analysis prepared by the Secretary of the 
Interior. 
Proposed plans; 
" (ii) In preparing such land-use plans, the Secretary of the Interior 
hearing. 
or, in the case of lands within the National Forest System, the Secre-
tary of Agriculture, or in the case of a finding by the Secretary of 
the Interior that because of non-Federal interests in the surface or 
insufficient Federal coal, no Federal comprehensive land-use plans can 
be appropriately prepared, the responsible State entity shall consult 
with appropriate State agencies and local governments and the general 
public and shall provide an opportunity for public hearing on pro-
posed plans prior to their adoption, if requested by any person having 
an interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by the adoption 
of such plans. 
" (iii) Ijeases covering lands the surface of which is under the juris-
diction of any Federal agency other than the Department of the 
Interior may be issued only upon consent of the other Federal agency 
and upon such conditions as it may prescribe with respect to the use 
and protection of the nonmineral interests in those lands. 
"(B) Each land-use plan prepared by the Secretary (or in the 
case of lands within the National Forest System, the Secretary of 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1085 
Agriculture pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)) shall include an 
assessment of the amount of coal deposits in such land, identifying 
the amount of such coal which is recoverable by deep mining opera-
tions and the amount of such coal which is recoverable by surface 
mining operations. 
"(C) Prior to issuance of any coal lease, the Secretary shall con-
sider effects which mining of the proposed lease might have on an 
impacted community or area, including, but not limited to, impacts 
on the environment, on agricultural and other economic activities, and 
on public services. Prior to issuance of a lease, the Secretary shall 
evaluate and compare the effects of recovering coal by deep mining, 
by surface mining, and by any other method to determine which 
method or methods or sequence of methods achieves the maximum 
economic recovery of the coal within the proposed leasing tract. This 
evaluation and comparison by the Secretary shall be in writing but 
shall not prohibit the issuance of a lease; however, no mining operating 
plan shall be approved which is not found to achieve the maximum 
economic recovery of the coal within the tract. Public hearings in the 
area shall be held by the Secretary prior to the lease sale. 
"(D) No lease sale shall be held until after the notice of the pro-
posed offering for lease has been given once a week for three consecu-
tive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in 
which the lands are situated in accordance with regulations prescribed 
by the Secretary. 
"(E) Each coal lease shall contain provisions requiring compliance 
with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1151-1175) 
and the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 1857 and following).". 
SEC. 4. Subject to valid existing rights, section 2(b) of the Mineral 
Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201 (b)) is amended to read as follows: 
"(b) (1) The Secretary may, under such regulations as he may pre-
scribe, issue to any person an exploration license. No person may 
conduct coal exploration for commercial purposes for any coal on 
lands subject to this Act without such an exploration license. Each 
exploration license shall be for a term of not more than two years and 
shall be subject to a reasonable fee. An exploration license shall confer 
no right to a lease under this Act. The issuance of exploration licenses 
shall not preclude the Secretary from issuing coal leases at such times 
and locations and to such pei-sons as he deems appropriate. No explora-
tion license will be issued for any land on which a coal lease has been 
issued. A separate exploration license will be required for exploration 
in each State. An application for an exploration license shall identify 
general areas and probable methods of exploration. Each exploration 
license shall contain such reasonable conditions as the Secretary may 
require, including conditions to insure the protection of the environ-
ment, and shall be subject to all applicable Federal, State, and local 
laws and regulations. Upon violation of any such conditions or laws 
the Secretary may revoke the exploration license. 
" (2) A licensee may not cause substantial disturbance to the natural 
land surface. He may not remove any coal for sale but may remove a 
reasonable amount of coal from the lands subject to this Act included 
under his license for analysis and study. A licensee must comply with 
all applicable rules and regulations of the Federal agency having 
jurisdiction over the surface of the lands subject to this Act. Explora-
tion licenses covering lands the surface of which is under the juris-
diction of any Federal agency other than the Department of the 
Interior may be issued only upon such conditions as it may prescribe 
with respect to the use and protection of the nonmineral interests in 
those lands. 
Hearings. 
Notice, 
publication in 
newspaper. 
Compliance. 
33 u s e 1251 et 
seq. 
Exploration 
license, 
regulations. 
Conditions. 
Revocation. 
90 STAT. 1086 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
Data. 
Penalty. 
Notice and 
hearing. 
Repeal. 
30 use 201-1 
note. 
Logical mining 
unit. 
30 use 201. 
30 use 202a. 
Hearing. 
Reserves. 
Regulation. 
"(3) The licensee shall furnish to the Secretary copies of all data 
(including, but not limited to, geological, geophyscal, and core drill-
ing analyses) obtained during such exploration. The Secretary shall 
maintain the confidentiality of all data so obtained until after the 
areas involved have been leased or until such time as he determines 
that making the data available to the public would not damage the 
competitive position of the licensee, whichever comes first. 
"(4) Any person who willfully conducts coal exploration for com-
mercial purposes on lands subject to this Act without an exploration 
license issued hereunder shall be subject to a fine of not more than 
$1,000 for each day of violation. All data collected by said person 
on any li'ederal lands as a result of such violation shall be made 
immediately available to the Secretary, who shall make the data 
available to the public as soon as it is practicable. No penalty under 
this subsection shall be assessed unless such person is given notice and 
opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation.". 
SEC. 5. (a) Subject to valid existing rights, subsections 2(c) and 
2(d) of the Act of August 31, 1964 (78 Stat. 710; 30 U.S.C. 201-1) 
are hereby repealed. 
(b) Section 2 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act is amended by the 
addition of the following new subsection at the end thereof: 
"(d) (1) The Secretary, upon determining that maximum economic 
recovery of the coal deposit or deposits is served thereby, may approve 
the consolidation of coal leases into a logical mining unit. Such con-
solidation may only take place after a public hearing, if requested by 
any person whose interest is or may be adversely affected. A logical 
mining unit is an area of land in which the coal resources can be 
developed in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner as a unit 
with due regard to conservation of coal reserves and other resources. 
A logical mining unit may consist of one or more Federal leaseholds, 
and may include intervening or adjacent lands in which the United 
States does not own the coal resources, but all the lands in a logical 
mining unit must be under the eflfective control of a single operator, 
be able to be developed and operated as a single operation and be 
contiguous. 
" (2) After the Secretary has approved the establishment of a logical 
mining unit, any mining plan approved for that unit must require 
such diligent development, operation, and production that the reserves 
of the entire unit will be mined within a period established by the 
Secretary which shall not be more than forty years. 
" (3) In approving a logical mining unit, the Secretary may provide, 
among other things, that (i) diligent development, continuous opera-
tion, and production on any Federal lease or non-Federal land in the 
logical mining unit shall he. construed as occurring on all Federal 
leases in that logical mining unit, and (ii) the rentals and royalties 
for all Federal leases in a logical mining unit may be combined, and 
advanced royalties paid for any lease within a logical mining unit 
may be credited against such combined royalties. 
" (4) The Secretary may amend the provisions of any lease included 
in a logical mining unit so that mining under that lease will be con-
sistent with the requirements imposed on that logical mining unit. 
"(5) Leases issued before the date of enactment of this Act may be 
included with the consent of all lessees in such logical mining unit, 
and, if so included, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. 
"(6) By regulation the Secretary may require a lessee under this 
Act to form a logical mining unit, and may provide for determination 
of participating acreage within a unit. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1087 
"(7) No logical mining unit shall be approved by the Secretary if 
the total acreage (both Federal and non-Federal) of the unit would 
exceed twenty-live thousand acres. 
" (8) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive the acreage 
limitations for coal leases contained in section 27(a) of the Mineral 
Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 184(a)).". 
SEC. 6. Section 7 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207) 
is amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 7. (a) A coal lease shall be for a term of twenty years and 
for so long thereafter as coal is produced annually in commercial 
quantities from that lease. Any lease which is not producing in com-
mercial quantities at the end of ten years shall be terminated. The 
Secretary shall by regulation prescribe annual rentals on leases. A 
lease shall require payment of a royalty in such amount as the Sec-
retary shall determine of not less than I214 per centum of the value 
of coal as defined by regulation, except the Secretary may determine 
a lesser amount in the case of coal recovered by underground mining 
operations. Tlie lease shall include such other terms and conditions 
as the Secretary shall determine. Such rentals and royalties and other 
terms and conditions of the lease wall be subject to readjustment at 
the end of its primary term of twenty years and at the end of each 
ten-year period thereafter if the lease is extended. 
"(b) Each lease shall be subject to the conditions of diligent devel-
opment and continued operation of the mine or mines, except where 
operations under the lease are interrupted by strikes, the elements, 
or casualties not attributable to the lessee. The Secretary of the Inte-
rior, upon determining that the public interest will be served thereby, 
may suspend the condition of continued operation upon the payment 
of advance royalties. Such advance royalties shall be no less than the 
production royalty which would otherwise be paid and shall be com-
puted on a fixed reserve to production ratio (determined by the 
Secretary). The aggregate number of years during the period of any 
lease for which advance royalties may be accepted in lieu of the con-
dition of continued operation shall not exceed ten. The amount of any 
production royalty paid for any year shall be reduced (but not below 
0) by the amount of any advance royalties paid under such lease to 
the extent that such advance royalties have not been used to reduce 
production royalties for a prior j^ear. No advance royalty paid during 
the initial twenty-year term of a lease shall be used to reduce a pro-
duction royalty after the twentieth year of a lease. The Secretary may, 
upon six months' notification to the lessee cease to accept advance 
royalties in lieu of the requirement of continued operation. Nothing 
in this subsection shall be construed to affect the requirement contained 
in the second sentence of subsection (a) relating to commencement of 
production at the end of ten years. 
"(c) Prior to taking any action on a leasehold which might cause 
a significant disturbance of the environment, and not later than three 
years after a lease is issued, the lessee shall submit for the Secretary's 
approval an operation and reclamation plan. The Secretary shall 
approve or disapprove the plan or require that it be modified. "Where 
the land involved is under the surface jurisdiction of another Federal 
agency, that other agency must consent to the terms of such approval.". 
SEC. 7. The Mineral Lands Leasing Act is amended by inserting 
after section 8 the following new section 8A: 
"SEC. SA. (a) The Secretary is authorized and directed to conduct a 
comprehensive exploratory program designed to obtain sufficient data 
and information to evaluate the extent, location, and potential for 
developing the known recoverable coal resources within the coal lands 
Terms and 
conditions. 
Regulation. 
Royalty. 
Advance 
royalties. 
Operation and 
reclamation plan, 
submittal to 
Secretary. 
Exploratory 
program. 
30 u s e 208-1. 
89-194 O—78—pt. 1 
72 
90 STAT. 1088 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
Information, 
availability to 
public. 
Maps and 
reports, 
publication. 
subject to this Act. This program shall be designed to obtain the 
resource information necessaiy for determining whether commercial 
quantities of coal are present and the geographical extent of the coal 
fields and for estimating the amount of such coal which is recoverable 
by deep mining operations and the amount of such coal which is 
recoverable by surface mining operations in order to provide a basis 
for— 
"(1) developing a comprehensive land use plan pursuant to 
section 2; 
"(2) improving the information regarding the value of public 
resources and revenues which should be expected from leasing; 
"(3) increasing competition among producers of coal, or prod-
ucts derived from the conversion of coal, by providing data and 
information to all potential bidders equally and equitably; 
"(4) providing the public with information on the nature of 
the coal deposits and the associated stratum and the value of the 
public resources being offered for sale; and 
"(5) providing the basis for the assessment of the amount of 
coal deposits in those lands subject to this Act under subpara-
graph (B) of section 2(a) (3). 
"(b) The Secretary, through the United States Geological Survey, 
is authorized to conduct seismic, geophysical, geochemical, or strati-
graphic drilling, or to contract for or purchase the results of such 
exploratory activities from commercial or other sources which may 
be needed to implement the provisions of this section. 
"(c) Nothing in this section shall limit any person from conducting 
exploratory geophysical surveys including seismic, geophysical, chemi-
cal surveys to the extent permitted by section 2(b). The information 
obtained from the exploratory drilling carried out by a person not 
under contract with the United States Government for such drilling 
prior to award of a lease shall be provided the confidentiality pursuant 
to subsection (d). 
"(d) The Secretary shall make available to the public by appropriate 
means all data, information, maps, interpretations, and surveys which 
are obtained directly by the Department of the Interior or under a 
service contract pursuant to subsection (b). The Secretary shall main-
tain a confidentiality of all proprietary data or information pur-
chased from commercial sources while not under contract with the 
United States Government until after the areas involved have been 
leased. 
" (e) All Federal departments or agencies are authorized and directed 
to provide the Secretary with any information or data that may be 
deemed necessary to assist the Secretary in implementing the explora-
tory program pursuant to this section. Proprietaiy information or 
data provided to the Secretary under the provisions of this subsection 
shall remain confidential for such period of time as agreed to by the 
head of the department or agency from whom the information is 
requested. In addition, the Secretary is authorized and directed to 
utilize the existing capabilities and resources of other Federal depart-
ments and agencies by appropriate agreement. 
"(f) The Secretary is directed to prepare, publish, and keep current 
a series of detailed geological, and geophysical maps of, and reports 
concerning, all coal lands to be offered for leasing under this Act, 
based on data and information compiled pursuant to this section. Such 
maps and reports shall be prepared and revised at reasonable intervals 
beginning eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Such maps and reports shall be made available on a continuing basis 
to any person on request. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1089 
Report to 
Congress. 
30 use 208-2. 
"(g) Within six montlis after the date of enactment of this Act, Implementation 
the Secretary shall develop and transmit to Congress an implementa- plan, transmittal 
tion plan for the coal lands exploration program authorized by this *° Congress, 
section, including procedures for making the data and information 
available to the public pursuant to subsection (d), and maps and 
reports pursuant to subsection (f). The implementation plan shall 
include a projected schedule of exploratory activities and identifica-
tion of the regions and areas which will be explored under the coal 
lands exploration program during the first five years following the 
enactment of this section. In addition, the implementation plan shall 
include estimates of the appropriations and staffing required to imple-
ment the coal lands exploration program. 
"(h) The stratigraphic drilling authorized in subsection (b) shall 
be carried out in such a manner as to obtain information pertaining 
to all recoverable reserves. For the purpose of complying with sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall require all those authorized to conduct 
' _ 
^ 
stratigraphic drilling pursuant to subsection (b) to supply a state-
ment of the results of test boring of core sampling including logs of 
the drill holes; the thickness of the coal seams found; an analysis of 
the chemical properties of such coal: and an analysis of the strata 
j.. 
layers lying above all the seams of coal. All drilling activities shall 
be conducted using the best current technology and practices.". 
SEC. 8. The Mineral Lands Leasing Act is further amended by add-
ing after section 8A the following new section SB: 
"SEC. SB. Within six months after the end of each fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the leasing and 
production of coal lands subject to this Act during such fiscal year; a 
summary of management, supervision, and enforcement activities; and 
recommendations to the Congress for improvements in management, 
environmental safeguards, and amount of production in leasing and 
mining operations on coal lands subject to this Act. Each submission 
shall also contain a report by the Attorney- General of the United 
States on competition in the coal and energy industries, including an 
analysis of whether the antitrust provisions of this Act and the anti-
trust laws are effective in preserving or promoting competition in the 
coal or energy industry.". 
SEC. 9. (a) Section 35 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act, as amended 
(30 U.S.C. 191) is further amended by deleting "52i/^ per centum 
thereof shall be paid into, reserved" and inserting in lieu thereof: "40 
per centum thereof shall be paid into, reserved", and is further 
amended by striking the period at the end of the proviso and inserting 
in lieu thereof the following language: ": Provided further^ That an 
additional 12^/^ per centum of all moneys received from sales, bonuses, 
royalties, and rentals of public lands under the provisions of this Act 
and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 shall be paid by the Secretary 30 USC 1001 
of the Treasury as soon as practicable after December 31 and June 30 note, 
of each year to the State within the boundaries of which the leased 
lands or deposits are or were located; said additional 121^ per centum 
of all moneys paid to any State on or after January 1, 1976, shall be 
used by such State and its subdivisions as the legislature of the State 
may direct giving priority to those subdivisions of the State socially 
or economically impacted by development of minerals leased under 
this Act for (1) planning, (2) construction and maintenance of public 
facilities, and (3) provision of public services: Prori^ec?/wr/SAgr, That 
such funds now held or to be received, by the States of Colorado and 
Utah separately from the Department of the Interior oil shale test 
leases known as 'C-A'; 'C-B'; 'U-A' and 'U-B' shall be used by such 
States and subdivisions as the legislature of each State may direct 
90 STAT. 1090 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
; • 
giving priority to those subdivisions socially or economically impacted 
s 
by the development of minerals leased under this Act for (1) planning, 
(2) construction and maintenance of public facilities, and (3) 
provision of public services.". 
(b) In the first sentence of section 85 of the ]Mineral Lands Leasing 
30 use 191. 
Act, before the words "shall be paid into the Treasury of the United 
States" insert "and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, notwithstand-
ing the provisions of section 20 thereof,"; before the words "from lands 
within the naval petroleum reserves" insert "and the Geothermal 
Steam Act of 1970"; and, in the second sentence, before the words 
"not otherwise disposed of" insert "and the Geothermal Steam Act 
of 1970". 
Study. 
SEC. 10. The Director of the Office of Technology Assessment is 
30 use 201 note, authorized and directed to conduct a complete study of coal leases 
entered into by the United States under section 2 of the Act of Feb-
30 use 201. 
ruary 25, 1920 (commonly known as the jNIineral Lands Leasing Act). 
Such study shall include an analysis of all mining activities, present 
and potential value of said coal leases, receipts of the Federal Govern-
ment from said leases, and recommendations as to the feasibility of 
Submittal to 
the use of deep mining technology'' in said leased area. The Director 
Congress. 
shall submit the results of his study to the Congress within one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 11. (a) Section 27(a) (1) of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act 
(30 U.S.C. 184:(a) (1)), is amended to read as follows: 
"(1) No person, association, or corporation, or any subsidiary, affil-
iate, or persons controlled by or under common control with such 
person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, O
A
v
n or control at 
one time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary under this 
Act or otherwise, coal leases or permits on an aggregate of more than 
forty-six thousand and eighty acres in any one State and in no case 
greater than an aggregate of one hundred thousand acres in the United 
States: Provided, That any person, association, or corporation cur-
rently holding, OAvning, or controlling more than an aggregate of one 
hundred thousand acres in the United States on the date of enactment 
of this section shall not be required on account of this section to 
relinquish said leases or permits: Provided, further, That in no case 
shall such person, association, or corporation be permitted to take, 
hold, own, or control any further Federal coal leases or permits until 
such time as their holdings, OAvnership, or control of Federal leases or 
permits has been reduced below an aggregate of one hundred thousand 
acres within the United States.". 
Repeal. 
(b) Subject to valid existing rights, section 27(a) (2) of the Mineral 
30 use 184note. Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 184(a) (2)) is hereby repealed. 
SEC. 12. (a) Section 3 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 
Lands (30 U.S.C. 352) is amended by striking out "(b) set apart for 
military or naval purposes, or (c)" and insert in lieu thereof "or (b)". 
(b) Such section 3 is further amended by inserting the following 
after the first sentence thereof: "Coal or lignite under acquired lands 
set apart for military or naval purposes may be leased by the Secre-
tary, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, tp a govern-
mental entity (including any corporation primarily acting as an 
agency or instrumentality of a State) which produces electrical energy 
for sale to the public if such governmental entity is located in the State 
in whic^ such lands are located.". 
Repeal. 
SEC. 13. (a) Subject to valid existing rights, section 4 of the Mineral 
30 use 204 note. Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 204) is hereby repealed. 
(b) Subject to valid existing rights, section 3 of the Mineral Lands 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 203) is amended to read as follows: 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1091 
"SEC. 3, Any person, association, or corporation holding a lease of Lease 
coal lands or coal deposits under the provisions of this Act may with modifications, 
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, upon a finding by him 
that it would be in the interest of the United States, secure modifica-
tions of the original coal lease by including additional coal lands or coal 
deposits contiguous to those embraced in such lease, but in no event 
shall the total area added by such modifications to an existing coal 
lease exceed one hundred sixty acres, or add acreage larger than that 
in the original lease. The Secretary shall prescribe terms and condi- Terms and 
tions which shall be consistent with this Act and applicable to all of conditions, 
the acreage in such modified lease.". 
SEC. 14. Section 39 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
209) is amended by adding the following sentence at the end thereof: 
"Nothing in this section shall be construed as granting to the Secretary 
the authority to waive, suspend, or reduce advance royalties.". 
- = ' : 
SEC. 15. Section 27 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 (30 
U.S.C. 184) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
new subsection: 
"(1) (1) At each stage in the formulation and promulgation of rules Consultation, 
and regulations concerning coal leasing pursuant to this Act, and at 
each stage in the issuance, renewal, and readjustment of coal leases 
under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall consult with and 
give due consideration to the views and advice of the Attorney Gen-
eral of the United States. 
"(2) No coal lease may be issued, renewed, or readjusted under Notification, 
this Act until at least thirty days after the Secretary of the Interior 
notifies the Attorney General of the proposed issuance, renewal, or 
readjustment. Such notification shall contain such information as the 
Attorney General may require in order to advise the Secretary of the 
Interior as to whether such lease would create or maintain a situation 
inconsistent with the antitrust laws. If the Attorney General advises Hearing, 
the Secretary of the Interior that a lease would create or maintain 
such a situation, the Secretary of the Interior may not issue such 
lease, nor may he renew or readjust such lease for a period not to 
exceed one year, as the case may be, unless he thereafter conducts 
a public hearing on the record in accordance with the Administi'ative 
Procedures Act and finds therein that such issuance, renewal, or 
readjustment is necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act, that 
it is consistent with the public interest, and that there are no reasonable 
alternatives consistent with this Act, the antitrust laws, and the public 
interest. 
"(3) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to convey to any person, 
association, corporation, or other business organization immunity from 
civil or criminal liability, or to create defenses to actions, under any 
antitrust law. 
"(4) As used in this subsection, the term 'antitrust law' means— "Antitrust law." 
"(A) the Act entitled 'An Act to protect trade and commerce 
against unlawful restraints and monopolies', approved July 2, 
1890 (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), as amended; 
"(B) the Act entitled 'An Act to supplement existing laws 
against unlawful restraints and monopolies, and for other pur-
poses', approved October 15, 1914 (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.), as 
amended: 
5 use 551 prec. 
note. 
90 STAT. 1092 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
"(C) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), 
*' 
' 
as amended; 
"(D) sections 73 and 74 of the Act entitled 'An Act to reduce 
taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other 
purposes', approved August 27, 1894 (15 U.S.C. 8 and 9), as 
amended; or 
"(E) the Act of June 19,1936, chapter 592 (15 U.S.C. 13,13a, 
13b, and 21a).". 
30 use 201 note. 
SEC. 16. Nothing in this Act, or the Mineral Lands Leasing Act and 
^n TT«r if} "
*
*
*
*
' ^^^ Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands which are amended by 
30 use 351 note, ^j^jg ^^^^ shall be construed as authorizing coal mining on any area of 
the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the 
National Wilderness Preservation System, the National System of 
Trails, and the Wild and Scenic Bivers System, including study rivers 
16 use 1276. 
designated under section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 
CARL ALBERT 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
• fa!' -- 
. J 
LEE METCALF 
Acting President of the Senate pro tempore. 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 
August 3, 1976. 
The Senate having proceeded to reconsider the bill (S. 391) entitled 
"An Act to amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and jfor other 
purposes", returned by the President of the United States with his 
objections, to the Senate, in which it originated, it was 
Resolved, That the said bill pass, two-thirds of the Senators present 
having voted in the affirmative. 
Attest: 
FRANCIS R. VALEO 
Secretary. 
I certify that this Act originated in the Senate. 
FRANCIS R. VALEO 
Secretary. 
IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
August 4, 1976. 
The House of Representatives having proceeded to reconsider the bill 
(S. 391) entitled "An Act to amend the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and 
for other purposes", returned by the President of the United States with 
his objections, to the Senate, in which it originated, and passed by the 
Senate on reconsideration of the same, it was 
PUBLIC LAW 94-377—AUG. 4, 1976 
90 STAT. 1093 
Resolved, That the said bill pass, two-thirds of the House of Represent-
atives agreeing to pass the same. 
Attest: 
EDMUND L. HENSHAW, JR. 
Clerk. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 94-681 accompanying H.R. 6721 (Coram, on Interior and Insular 
Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 94-296 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 121 (1975): July 31, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 122 (1976): Jan. 21, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of 
H.R. 6721. 
June 21, Senate concurred in House amendment. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS: 
Vol. 12, No. 27 (1976): July 3, vetoed; Presidential message. 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 122 (1976): Aug. 3, Senate overrode veto. 
Aug. 4, House overrode veto.