To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to increase the maximum acreage of Federal leases for sodium that may be held by an entity in any one State, and for other purposes.
PL 106-191 (H.R.3063), enacted 04/28/2000

PUBLIC LAW 106-191—APR. 28, 2000 
114 STAT. 231 
Public Law 106-191 
106th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to increase the maximum acreage of Federal 
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leases for sodium that may be held by an entity in any one State, and for 
^—: 
other purposes. 
[H.R. 3063] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
30 USC 184 note. 
The Congress finds and declares that— 
(1) TTie Federal lands contain commercial deposits of trona, 
with the world's largest body of this mineral located on such 
lands in southwestern Wyoming, 
(2) Trona is mined on Federal lands through Federal 
sodium leases issued under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. 
(3) 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. 
(4) The Mineral Leasing Act 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. 
(5) 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 minereds 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). 
(6) Three of the foiu* trona producers in Wyoming are 
operating mines on Federal leaseholds that contain total acre-
age close to the sodium lease acreage ceiling. 
(7) 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. 
(8) 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. 
114 STAT. 232 
PUBLIC LAW 106-191—APR. 28, 2000 
(9) Existing trona producers Eire having to make long term 
business decisions affecting the type and Eunount of additioned 
infrastructure investments based on the certainty that suffi-
cient acreage of leaseable trona will be available for mining 
in the future. 
(10) To maintain the vitality of the domestic trona industry 
and ensure the continued flow of valuable revenues to the 
Federal £ind State governments and products to the Americein 
public from trona production on Federal lands, the MinergJ 
Leasing Act should be £tmended to increase the acreage limita-
tion for Federal sodium leases. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF MINERAL LEASING ACT. 
Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 27 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (41 Stat. 448; 30 U.S.C. 184(b)(2)) is amended by 
striking "fifteen thouseind three hundred and sixty acres" and 
inserting "30,720 acres". 
Approved April 28, 2000. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3063: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-^69 (Comm. on Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 145 (1999): Nov. 16, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 146 (2000): Apr. 13, considered and passed Senate.