Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Completion Act
PL 105-279 (H.R.1659), enacted 10/23/1998

112 STAT. 2690 
PUBLIC LAW 105-279—OCT. 23, 1998 
Public Law 105-279 
105th Congress 
An Act 
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"^^ provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition of private mineral 
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interests within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument mandated 
[H.R. 1659] 
by the 1982 Act that established the Monument, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
Mount St. Helens the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
National Volcanic 
Monument 
SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE. 
16 use 431 note. 
This Act may be cited as the "Mount St. Helens National 
Volcanic Monument Completion Act". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Act entitled "An Act to designate the Mount St. 
Helens National Volcanic Monument in the State of Washing-
ton, and for other purposes", approved August 26, 1982 (96 
Stat. 301; 16 U.S.C. 431 note), required the United States 
to acquire all land and interests in land in the Mount St. 
Helens National Volcanic Monument. 
(2) The Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire 
the surface interests and the mineral and geothermal interests 
by separate exchanges and expressed the sense of the Congress 
that the exchanges be completed by November 24, 1982, and 
August 26, 1983, respectively. 
(3) The surface interests exchange was consummated 
timely, but the exchange of all mineral and geothermal interests 
has not yet been completed a decade and a half after the 
enactment of the Act. 
(b) PURPOSE.—^The purpose of this Act is to facilitate and other-
wise provide for the expeditious completion of the previously man-
dated Federal acquisition of private mineral and geothermal 
interests within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. 
SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF MINERAL AND GEOTHERMAL 
INTERESTS 
WITHIN 
MOUNT 
ST. HELENS 
NATIONAL 
VOLCANIC 
MONUMENT. 
Section 3 of the Act entitled "An Act to designate the Mount 
St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in the State of Washington, 
and for other purposes", approved August 26, 1982 (Public Law 
97-243; 96 Stat. 302; 16 U.S.C. 431 note), is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsections: 
"(g) EXCHANGES FOR MINERAL AND GEOTHERMAL INTERESTS 
HELD BY CERTAIN COMPANIES.— 
PUBLIC LAW 105-279—OCT. 23, 1998 
112 STAT. 2691 
"(1) DEFINITION OF C0MPA>fY.—In this subsection, the term 
'company' means a company referred to in subsection (c) or 
its assigns or successors. 
"(2) EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—^Within 60 days after the date 
of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall acquire by exchange the mineral and geothermal interests 
in the Monument of each company. 
"(3) MONETARY CREDITS.— 
"(A) ISSUANCE.—In exchange for all mineral and geo-
thermal interests acquired by the Secretary of the Interior 
from each company under paragraph (2), the Secretary 
of the Interior shall issue to each such company monetary 
credits with a value of $2,100,000 that may be used for 
the payment of— 
"(i) not more than 50 percent of the bonus or 
other payments made by successful bidders in any 
sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases under 
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 
et seq.), or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) in the contiguous 48 States; 
"(ii) not more than 10 percent of the bonus or 
other payments made by successful bidders in any 
sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases in 
Alaska under the laws specified in clause (i); 
"(iii) not more than 50 percent of any royalty, 
rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United 
States to maintain any mineral, oil or gas, or geo-
thermal lease in the contiguous 48 States issued under 
the laws specified in clause (i); or 
"(iv) not more than 10 percent of any royalty, 
rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United 
States to maintain any mineral, oil or gas, or geo-
thermal lease in Alaska issued under the laws specified 
in clause (i). 
"(B) 
VALUE 
OF CREDITS.—The 
total 
credits 
of 
$4,200,000 in value issued under subparagraph (A) are 
deemed to equal the fair market value of all mineral and 
geothermal interests to be conveyed by exchange under 
paragraph (2). 
"(4) ACCEPTANCE OF CREDITS.—^The Secretary of the Interior 
shall accept credits issued under paragi-aph (3)(A) in the same 
manner as cash for the payments described in such paragraph. 
The use of the credits shall be subject to the laws (including 
regulations) governing such payments, to the extent the laws 
are consistent with this subsection. 
"(5) TREATMENT OF CREDITS FOR DISTRIBUTION TO STATES.— 
All amounts in the form of credits accepted by the Secretary 
of the Interior unJier paragraph (4) for the pa3rments described 
in paragraph (3)(A) shall be considered to be money received 
for the purpose of section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
U.S.C. 191) and section 20 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1019). 
"(6) EXCHANGE ACCOUNT.— 
"(A) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—^Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, not later than 30 days after the completion 
of the exchange with a company required by paragraph 
112 STAT. 2692 
PUBLIC LAW 10&-279—OCT. 23, 1998 
(2), the Secretary of the Interior shall establish an exchange 
account for that company for the monetary credits issued 
to that company under paragraph (3). The account for 
a company shall be established with the Minerals Manage-
ment Service of the Department of the Interior and have 
an initial balance of credits equal to $2,100,000. 
"(B) USE OF CREDITS.—^The credits in a company's 
account shall be available to the company for the purposes 
specified in paragraph (3)(A). The Secretary of the Interior 
shall adjust the balance of credits in the account to reflect 
credits accepted by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 
to paragraph (4). 
"(C) TRANSFER OR SALE OF CREDITS.— 
"(i) TRANSFER OR SALE AUTHORIZED.—A company 
may transfer or sell any credits in the company's 
account to another person. 
"(ii) USE OF TRANSFERRED CREDITS.—Credits trans-
ferred or sold under-clause (i) may be used in accord-
ance with this subsection only by a person that is 
qualified to bid on, or that holds, a mineral, oil, or 
gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
181 et seq.), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), or the Geothermal Steam 
Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 
"(iii) NOTlFiCATiON.^Within 30 days after the 
transfer or sale of any credits by a company, that 
company shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of 
the transfer or sale. The transfer or sale of any credit 
shall not be considered valid until the Secretary of 
the Interior has received the notification required 
under this clause. 
"(D) TIME LIMIT ON USE OF CREDITS.—On the date 
that is 5 years after the date on which an account is 
created under subparagraph (A) for a company, the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall terminate that company's 
account. Any credits that originated in the terminated 
account and have not been used as of the termination 
date, including any credits transferred or sold under 
subparagraph (C), shall become unusable. 
"(7) TITLE TO INTERESTS.—On the date of the establishment 
of an exchange account for a company under paragraph (6)(A), 
title to any mineral and geothermal interests that are held 
by the company and are to be acquired by the Secretary of 
the Interior under paragraph (2) shall transfer to the United 
States. 
Reports. 
"(h) OTHER MINERAL AND GEOTHERMAL INTERESTS.—Within 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep-^ 
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources* 
of the Senate a report— 
PUBLIC LAW 105-279—OCT. 23, 1998 
112 STAT. 2693 
"(1) identifying all remaining privately held mineral 
interests within the boundaries of the Monument referred to 
in section 1(a); and 
"(2) setting forth a plan and a timetable by which the 
Secretary would propose to complete the acquisition of such 
interests.". 
Approved October 23, 1998. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1659 (S. 638): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-704 (Comm. on Resources). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105-229 accompanying S. 638 (Conun. on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998): 
Sept. 23, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 7, considered and passed Senate. 
6&-194 O - 98 - 31: QL 3 Part 4