An Act to amend the Helium Act of September 1, 1925, as amended, for the defense, security, and the general welfare of the United States
PL 86-777 (H.R.10548), enacted 09/13/1960

918 
PUBLIC LAW 86-777-SEPT. 13, 1960 
[74 ST A T . 
September 13,1960 
[H. R. 10548] 
Public Law 86-777 
AN ACT 
To amend the Helium Act of March 3,1925, as amended, for the defense, security, 
and the general welfare of the United States. 
H e l i u m 
Amendments 
1960. 
A c t 
o f 
SO u s e 
161et 
seg. 
Citation. 
Definition*. 
Helium 
conser-
vation. 
Right to acquire 
land, m a k e con-
tracts, etc. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled., That this Act may 
be cited as the "Helium Act Amendments of 1960." 
SEC. 2. The Act entitled "An Act authorizing the conservation, pro-
duction, and exploitation of helium gas, a mineral resource pertaining 
to the national defense, and to the development of commercial aero-
nautics, and for other purposes", approved March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 
1110), as amended, is amended to read as follows: 
"That this Act may be cited as the 'Helium Act'. 
"SEC. 2. As used in this Act: 
"(1) The term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior; 
"(2) The term 'person' means any individual, corporation, partner-
ship, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, or 
State or political subdivision thereof; and 
"(3) The terms 'helium-bearing natural gas' and 'helium-gas mix-
ture' mean, respectively, natural gas and gas mixtures containing 
three-tenths of 1 per centum or more of helium by volume. 
"SEC. 3. (a) For the purpose of conserving, producing, buying, and 
selling helium, the Secretary is authorized— 
"(1) to acquire by purchase, lease, gift, exchange, or eminent 
domain, lands or interests therein or options thereon, including 
but not limited to sites, rights-of-way, and oil or gas leases con-
taining obligations to pay rental in advance or damages arising 
out of the use and operation of such properties; but any such 
land or interest in lands may be acquired by eminent domain only 
when the Secretary determines (A) that he is unable to make a 
satisfactory agreement to acquire such land or interest in land, 
and (B) that such acquisition by eminent domain is necessary 
in the national interest; 
"(2) to make just and reasonable contracts and agreements for 
the acquisition, processing, transportation, or conservation of 
helium, helium-bearing natural gas, or helium-gas mixtures upon 
such terms and conditions, and for such periods, not exceeding 
twenty-five years, as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes 
of the Act, except that the Secretary shall not make such contracts 
and agreements which shall require payments by the Government 
in any one fiscal year aggregating more than the amount which 
shall be established initially in an appropriation Act and which 
may be increased from time to time in appropriation Acts, or 
if the Secretary— 
"(A) determines that the national interests require the 
conservation of certain helium or require certain helium-bear-
ing natural gas or certain helium-gas mixture for the produc-
tion or conservation of helium, and 
"(B) determines that he is unable to acquire such helium, 
helium-bearing natural gas, or helium-gas mixture upon 
reasonable terms and at the fair market value, 
he is authorized to acquire by eminent domain such helium and 
so much of such helium-bearing natural gas or helium-gas mix-
ture as is necessarily consumed in the extraction of such helium 
after removal from its place of deposit in nature and wherever 
found, or the temporary use of such helium-bearing natural gas 
or helium-gas mixture for the purpose of extracting helium, to-
gether with the appropriate interest in pipelines, equipment, 
74 ST AT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-777-SEPT. 13, 1960 
919 
installations, facilities, personal or real propertj'^, including 
reserves, easements or other rights necessary or incident to the 
acquisition of such helium, natural gas, or mixture, but the con-
demnation of any such helium, helium-bearing natural gas, or 
helium-gas mixture, shall be effected in the same manner and 
following the procedures established in section 8(a) of this Act, 
the just compensation for such condemnation to be measured by 
terms and prices determined to be commensurate with the fair 
market value, and in the temporary use of any helium-bearing 
natural gas or helium-gas mixture for the purpose of extracting 
helium the Secretary shall cause no delay in the delivery of 
natural gas to the owner, purchaser, or purchasers thereof, except 
that required by the extractive processes; 
"(3) to construct or acquire by purchase, lease, exchange, gift 
or eminent domain, plants, wells, pipelines, compressor stations, 
camp buildings, and other facilities, for the production, storage, 
purification, transportation, purchase, and sale of helium, helium-
bearing natural gas, and helium-gas mixtures: and to acquire 
patents or rights therein and reports of experimentation and 
research used in connection with the properties acquired or useful 
in the Government's helium operations; 
"(4) to dispose of, by lease or sale, property, including wells, 
lands, or interests therein, not valuable for helium production, and 
oil, gas, and byproducts, of helium operations not needed for 
Government use, except that property determined by the Secre-
tary to be 'excess' within the meaning of section 3(e) of the 
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of June 30, 
1949 (60 Stat. 378; 40 U.S.C. 472(e) )j as amended, shall be 
disposed of in accordance with the provisions of that Act; and 
to issue leases to the surface of lands or structures thereon for 
grazing or other purposes when the same may be done without 
interfering with the production of helium; and 
"(5) to accept equipment, money, and other contributions from 
public and private sources and to prosecute projects in coopera-
tion with other agencies. Federal, State, or private. 
"(b) Any known helium-gas-bearing land on the public domain righu.^ " ^ ^ * ^ ° " 
not covered at the time by leases or permits under the Mineral Lands 
Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as amended, may be reserved for 
30 ^tTsc"* 22-263 
the purposes of this Act, and any reservation of the ownership of ^^*'* 
helium may include the right to extract, or have extracted, such 
helium, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the 
Secretary, from all gas produced from lands so permitted, leased, or 
otherwise granted for development, except that in the extraction of 
helium from gas produced from such lands, it shall be extracted so as 
to cause no delay, except that required by the extraction process, in the 
delivery of gas produced from the well to the purchaser or purchasers 
thereof at the point of delivery specified in contracts for the purchase 
of such gas. If any reserved rights of ownership and extraction of 
helium are not exercised before production of any helium-bearing 
natural gas or any helium-gas mixture, the Secretary is authorized 
to acquire such helium in accordance with section 3(a)(2) of this 
Act. 
"(c) All contracts and agreements made by the Secretary for the 
acquisition of helium from a private plant shall contain a provision 
precluding the plant owner from selling any helium to any pur-
chaser other than the Secretary at a price lower than the lowest price 
paid by any Government agency for helium acquired from any pri-
vate plant under any contract entered into pursuant to this section 
and outstanding at the time of such sale. 
3Sim. 
920 
PUBLIC LAW 86-777-SEPT. 13, 1960 
[74 ST AT. 
Helium 
tion. 
Maintenance, op' 
eration, etc. 
Licensing 
rules 
and regulations. 
"Helium.» 
S u s p e n sion in 
time of war. 
produc- 
'"-SEC. 4. The Secretary is authorized to maintain and operate 
helium production and purification plants together with facilities 
and accessories thereto; to acquire, store, transport, sell, and con-
serve helium, helium-bearing natural gas, and helium-gas mixtures, 
to conduct exploration for and production of helium on and from 
the lands acquired, leased, or reserved; and to conduct or contract 
with public or private parties for experimentation and research to 
discover helium supplies and to improve processes and methods of 
helium production, purification, transportation, liquefaction, storage, 
and utilization: Provided^ however^ That all research contracted for, 
sponsored, cosponsored, or authorized under authority of this Act 
shall be provided for in such a manner that all information, uses, 
products, processes, patents and other developments resulting from 
such research developed by Government expenditure will (with such 
exceptions and limitations, if any, as the Secretary may find to be 
necessary in the interest of national defense) be available to the 
general public: And provided further^ That nothing contained here-
in shall be construed as to deprive the owner of any background 
patent relating thereto to such rights as he may have thereunder. 
"SEC. 5. (a) Whenever the President determines that the defense, 
security, and general welfare of the United States requires such action, 
the Secretary shall issue such regulations as he deems necessary for the 
licensing of sales and transportation of helium in interstate commerce 
after extraction from helium-bearing natural gas or helium-gas mix-
tures. 
Thereafter it shall be unlawful for any person to sell or 
transfer helium in interstate commerce except in accordance with 
such regulations or pursuant to the terms of a license issued by the 
Secretary, or in accordance with the terms of a contract or agreement 
with the Secretary entered into pursuant to this Act. For the purpose 
of this section, the term 'helium' shall mean helium, after extraction 
from helium-bearing natural gas or helium-gas mixtures, in a refined 
or semirefined state suitable for use. 
"(b) Each license shall be issued for a specified period to be de-
termined by the Secretary, but not exceeding five years, and may be 
renewed by the Secretary upon the expiration of such period. No such 
license shall be issued to a person if in the opinion of the Secretary 
the issuance of a license to such person would be inimical to the defense 
and security of the United States. No such license shall be assigned or 
otherwise transferred directly or indirectly except with the consent 
or approval of the Secretary in writing. Any such license may be 
revoked for any material false statement in the application for license, 
or for violation or a failure to comply with the terms and provisions 
of this Act, the regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant thereto, 
or the terms of the license. 
"(c) In issuing licenses under this section, the Secretary shall im-
pose such regulations and terms of licenses as will permit him effec-
tively to promote the common defense and security as well as the gen-
eral welfare of the United States. 
The licensing authority herein 
granted shall be used solely for the purpose of preventing the trans-
portation or sale of helium for end uses determined by the Secretary 
to be nonessential or wasteful, and any determination that any end 
use is nonessential or wasteful shall be published in the form of gen-
eral regulations applicable to all transportation or sales of helium. 
"(d) Whenever Congress or the President declares that a war or 
national emergency exists, the Secretary is authorized to suspend any 
license granted under this Act if in his judgment such suspension is 
necessary to the defense and security of the United States, and he is 
further authorized to take such steps as may be necessary to recapture 
or reacquire supplies of helium. 
74 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 8 6 - 7 7 7 - S E P T . 13, 1960 
921 
P u r c h a s e 
by 
Government agen-
cies. 
Sale. 
72 Stat. 864. 
"SEC. 6, (a) The Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Com-
mission^a^nd other agencies of the Federal Government, to the extent 
that supplies are readily available, shall purchase all major require-
ments of helium from the Secretary. 
"(b) The Secretary is authorized to sell helium for Federal, medi-
cal, scientific, and commercial uses in such quantities and under such 
terms and conditions as he determines. 
"(c) Sales of helium by the Secretary shall be at prices established 
P^ces 
by him which shall be adequate to cover all costs incurred in carrying 
out the provisions of this Act and to repay to the United States by 
deposit in the Treasury, together with interest as provided in sub-
section (d) of this section, the following: 
"(1) Within twenty-five years from the date of enactment of 
the Helium Act Amendments of 1960, the net capital and retained 
earnings of the helium production fund (established under section 
3 of this Act prior to amendment by the Helium Act Amendments 
of 1960), determined by the Secretary as of such date of enact-
ment, plus any moneys expended thereafter by the Department 
of the Interior from funds provided in the Supplemental Ap-
propriation Act, 1959, for construction of a helium plant at 
Keyes, Oklahoma; 
"(2) Within tw^enty-five years from the date of borrowing, 
all funds borro"wed, as provided in section 12 of this Act, to 
acquire and construct helium plants and facilities; and 
"(3) Within twenty-five years from the date of enactment of 
the Helium Act Amendments of 1960, unless the Secretary de-
termines that said period should be extended for not more than 
ten years, all funds borrowed, as provided in section 12 of this 
Act, for all purposes other than those specified in clause (2) above. 
"(d) Compound interest on the amounts specified in clauses (1), 
(2), and (3) of subsection (c) which have not been paid to the 
Treasury shall be calculated annually at rates determined by the 
Secretary of the Treasury taking into consideration the current aver-
age market yields of outstanding marketable obligations of the United 
States having maturities comparable to the investments authorized 
by this Act, except that the interest rate on the amounts specified in 
clause (1) of subsection (c) shall be determined as of the date of 
enactment of the Helium Act Amendments of 1960, and the interest 
rate on the obligations specified in clauses (2) and (3) of subsection 
(c) as of the time of each borrowing. 
"(e) Helium shall be sold for medical purposes at prices which 
Medical 
will permit its general use therefor; and all sales of helium to non-
Federal purchasers shall be upon condition that the Federal Gov-
ernment shall have a right to repurchase helium so sold that has 
not been lost or dissipated, when needed for Government use, under 
terms and at prices established by regulations. 
"(f) All moneys received under this Act, including moneys from 
sale of helium or other products resulting from helium operations 
and from the sale of excess property shall be credited to the helium 
production fund, which shall be available without fiscal year limita-
tion, for carrying out the provisions of this Act, including any 
research relating to helium carried out by the Department of the 
Interior. Amounts accumulating in said fund in excess of amounts 
the Secretary deems necessary to carry out this Act and contracts 
negotiated hereunder shall be paid to the Treasury and credited 
against the amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under sub-
section (c) of this section. 
"SEC. T. The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Atomic 
Energy Commission may each designate representatives to cooperate 
poses. 
Production fund. 
922 
PXJBLIC LAW 86-777-SEPT. 13, 1960 
[74 S T A T . 
C o n d e m n ation 
proceedings. 
Rules and regu-
lations. 
Promulgation. 
60 Stat. 237 
" A g e n c y 
pro-
c e e d i n g" and 
"agency action". 
License. 
Hearing. 
IS u s e 
7l7d. 
with the Secretary in carrying out the purposes of this Act, and 
shall have complete right of access to plants, data, and accounts. 
"SEC. 8, (a) Proceedings for the condemnation of any property 
under section 3 of this Act shall be instituted and maintained pur-
suant to the provisions of the Act of August 1, 1888 (25 Stat. 357; 
40 U.S.C. 257), as amended, and sections 1358 and 1403 of title 28 
of the United States Code, or any other Federal statute applicable 
to the acquisition of real property by eminent domain. 
The Acts 
of February 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1421; 40 U.S.C. 258a-258e), and 
October 21, 1942 (56 Stat. 797; 40 U.S.C. 258f), shall be applicable 
to any such proceedings. Wherever the words 'real property', 'realty', 
'land', 'easement', 'right-of-way', or w^ords of similar meaning, are 
used in such code provisions or Acts relating to procedure, juris-
diction, and venue, they shall be deemed, for the purposes of this 
Act, to include any personal property authorized to be acquired 
hereunder. 
"(b) In the event of disposal under section 3(a) (4) of this Act of 
any property acquired by eminent domain pursuant to this Act, the 
former owner or successor in interest of the rights therein shall have 
the preferential right to reacquire such property on terms as favorable 
as those terms whereby disposition may be made under such section. 
"SEC. 9. The Secretary is hereby authorized to establish and promul-
gate such rules and regulations, as are consistent with the directions 
of this Act and are necessary to carry out the provisions hereof. 
"SEC. 10. (a) The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act 
of June 11,1946 (60 Stat. 637; 5 U.S.C. 1001-1011), as amended, shall 
apply to any agency proceeding and any agency action taken under 
this Act, including the issuance of rules and regulations, and the terms 
'agency proceeding' and 'agency action' shall have the meaning speci-
fied in the Administrative Procedure Act. 
"(b) In any proceeding under this Act for the granting, suspend-
ing, revoking, or amending of any license, or application to transfer 
control thereof, and in any proceeding for the issuance or modification 
of rules and regulations dealing with the activities of licensees, the 
Secretary shall grant a hearing upon the request of any person whose 
interest may be affected by the proceeding, and shall admit any such 
person as a party to such proceeding. 
Any final order entered in 
any such proceedings shall be subject to judicial review in the manner 
prescribed in the Act of December 29, 1950 (64 Stat. 1129; 5 U.S.C. 
1031-1042), as amended, and to the provisions of section 10 of the 
Administrative Procedure Act. 
"SEC. 11. The provisions of the Natural Gas Act of June 21, 1938 
(52 Stat. 821; 15 U.S.C. 717-7l7w), as amended, shall not be applicable 
to the sale, extraction, processing, transportation, or storage of helium 
either prior to or subsequent to the separation of such helium from 
the natural gas with which it is commingled, whether or not the 
provisions of such Act apply to such natural gas, and in determining 
the rates of a natural gas company under sections 4 and 5 of the 
7 17c, Natural Gas Act, as amended, whenever helium is extracted from 
helium-bearing natural gas, there shall be excluded (1) all income 
received from the sale of helium; (2) all direct costs incurred in the 
extraction, processing, compression, transportation or storage of 
helium; and (3) that portion of joint costs of exploration, production, 
gathering, extraction, processing, compression, transportation or 
storage divided and allocated to helium on a volumetric basis. 
74 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-777-SEPT. 13, 1960 
923 
"SEC. 12. (a) The Secretary is authorized to borrow annually from 
the Treasury and credit to the fund established under section 6(f) of 
this Act such amounts as may be authorized in the initial appropria-
tion Act and which may be increased from time to time in appropria-
tion Acts and as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act 
and contractual obligations hereunder. 
"(b) For the purpose of this section the Secretary may issue to the 
Secretary of the Treasury notes, debentures, bonds, or other obliga-
tions to De redeemable at the option of the Secretar^r before maturity 
in such manner as may be stipulated in such obligations. The Secre-
tary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase any obli-
gations issued by the Secretary under authority of this section and for 
such purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a 
public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities 
issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the pur-
poses for which securities may be issued under the Second Liberty 
Bond Act, as amended, are extended to include any purchases of obli-
gations of the Secretary hereunder. 
"SEC. 13. Whoever willfully violates, attempts to violate, or con-
spires to violate, any provision of this Act or any regulation or order 
issued or any terms of a license granted thereunder shall, upon con-
viction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by 
imprisonment for not more than two years, or both, except that who-
ever commits such an offense with intent to injure the United States 
or with intent to secure an advantage to any foreign nation, shall 
upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $20,000 
or by imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both. 
"SEC. 14. Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary any person 
has engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice which con-
stitutes or will constitute a violation of any provision of this Act, 
or any regulation or order issued or any term of a license granted 
thereunder, any such act or practice may be enjoined by any district 
court having jurisdiction of such person, and proper proceedings to 
this end may be instituted under the direction of the Attorney General 
of the United States. 
"SEC. l^ It is the sense of the Congress that it is in the national 
interest to foster and encourage individual enterprise in the develop-
ment and distribution of supplies of helium, and at the same time 
provide, within economic limits, through the administration of this 
Act, a sustained supply of helium which, together with supplies 
available or expected to become available otherwise, will be sufficient 
to provide for essential Government activities. 
"SEC. 16. The Secretary of the Interior is directed to report an-
nually to the Congress on the matters contained in this Act. 
"SEC. 17. If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder 
of this Act or the application of such j)rovision to persons or circum-
stances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be af-
fected thereby." 
SEC. 3. The amendment made by this Act shall become effective on 
March 1,1961. 
Approved September 13, 1960. 
Production fund 
loan. 
N o t e s , 
bonds, 
etc. 
Issuance. 
40 Stat. 288. 
31 u s e 774. 
Violation. 
Penalty. 
Proceedings un-
der Attorney Gen-
eral of U. S. 
Individual enter-
prise i n develop-
ing helium. 
Report to Con-
gress. 
S e v e t r a b i l i t y 
clause. 
Effective date.