[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 239 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.239
                       One Hundred Third Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
  the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three


                                 An Act

  
 
  To amend the Stock Raising Homestead Act to resolve certain problems 
regarding

               subsurface estates, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MINING CLAIMS ON STOCK RAISING HOMESTEAD ACT LANDS.

    (a) Mineral Entry Under the Stock Raising Homestead Act.--Section 9 
of the Act of December 29, 1916, entitled ``An Act to provide for stock-
raising homesteads, and for other purposes'' (43 U.S.C. 29), is amended 
by adding the following at the end thereof:
    ``(b) Exploration; Location of Mining Claims; Notices.--
        ``(1) In general.--(A) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and any 
    other provision of law to the contrary, after the effective date of 
    this subsection no person other than the surface owner may enter 
    lands subject to this Act to explore for, or to locate, a mining 
    claim on such lands without--
            ``(i) filing a notice of intention to locate a mining claim 
        pursuant to paragraph (2); and
            ``(ii) providing notice to the surface owner pursuant to 
        paragraph (3).
        ``(B) Any person who has complied with the requirements referred 
    to in subparagraph (A) may, during the authorized exploration 
    period, in order to locate a mining claim, enter lands subject to 
    this Act to undertake mineral activities related to exploration that 
    cause no more than a minimal disturbance of surface resources and do 
    not involve the use of mechanized earthmoving equipment, explosives, 
    the construction of roads, drill pads, or the use of toxic or 
    hazardous materials.
        ``(C) The authorized exploration period referred to in 
    subparagraph (B) shall begin 30 days after notice is provided under 
    paragraph (3) with respect to lands subject to such notice and shall 
    end with the expiration of the 90-day period referred to in 
    paragraph (2)(A) or any extension provided under paragraph (2).
        ``(2) Notice of intention to locate a mining claim.--Any person 
    seeking to locate a mining claim on lands subject to this Act in 
    order to engage in the mineral activities relating to exploration 
    referred to under paragraph (1)(B) shall file with the Secretary of 
    the Interior a notice of intention to locate a claim on the lands 
    concerned. The notice shall be in such form as the Secretary shall 
    prescribe. The notice shall contain the name and mailing address of 
    the person filing the notice and a legal description of the lands to 
    which the notice applies. The legal description shall be based on 
    the public land survey or on such other description as is sufficient 
    to permit the Secretary to record the notice on the land status 
    records of the Secretary. Whenever any person has filed a notice 
    under this paragraph with respect to any lands, during the 90-day 
    period following the date of such filing, or any extension thereof 
    pursuant to this paragraph, no other person (including the surface 
    owner) may--
            ``(A) file such a notice with respect to any portions of 
        such lands;
            ``(B) explore for minerals or locate a mining claim on any 
        portion of such lands; or
            ``(C) file an application to acquire any interest in any 
        portion of such lands pursuant to section 209 of the Federal 
        Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1719).
    If, within such 90-day period, the person who filed a notice under 
    this paragraph files a plan of operations with the Secretary 
    pursuant to subsection (f), such 90-day period shall be extended 
    until the approval or disapproval of the plan by the Secretary 
    pursuant to subsection (f).
        ``(3) Notice to surface owner.--Any person who has filed a 
    notice of intention to locate a mining claim under paragraph (2) for 
    any lands subject to this Act shall provide written notice of such 
    filing, by registered or certified mail with return receipt, to the 
    surface owner (as evidenced by local tax records) of the lands 
    covered by the notice under paragraph (2). The notice shall be 
    provided at least 30 days before entering such lands and shall 
    contain each of the following:
            ``(A) A brief description of the proposed mineral 
        activities.
            ``(B) A map and legal description of the lands to be subject 
        to mineral exploration.
            ``(C) The name, address and phone number of the person 
        managing such activities.
            ``(D) A statement of the dates on which such activities will 
        take place.
        ``(4) Acreage limitations.--The total acreage covered at any 
    time by notices of intention to locate a mining claim under 
    paragraph (2) filed by any person and by affiliates of such person 
    may not exceed 6,400 acres of lands subject to this Act in any one 
    State and 1,280 acres of such lands for a single surface owner. For 
    purposes of this paragraph, the term `affiliate' means, with respect 
    to any person, any other person which controls, is controlled by, or 
    is under common control with, such person.
    ``(c) Consent.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) and any other 
provision of law, after the effective date of this subsection no person 
may engage in the conduct of mineral activities (other than those 
relating to exploration referred to in subsection (b)(1)B)) on a mining 
claim located on lands subject to this Act without the written consent 
of the surface owner thereof unless the Secretary has authorized the 
conduct of such activities under subsection (d).
    ``(d) Authorized Mineral Activities.--The Secretary shall authorize 
a person to conduct mineral activities (other than those relating to 
exploration referred to in subsection (b)(1)(B)) on lands subject to 
this Act without the consent of the surface owner thereof if such person 
complies with the requirements of subsections (e) and (f).
    ``(e) Bond.--(1) Before the Secretary may authorize any person to 
conduct mineral activities the Secretary shall require such person to 
post a bond or other financial guarantee in an amount to insure the 
completion of reclamation pursuant to this Act. Such bond or other 
financial guarantee shall ensure--
        ``(A) payment to the surface owner, after the completion of such 
    mineral activities and reclamation, compensation for any permanent 
    damages to crops and tangible improvements of the surface owner that 
    resulted from mineral activities; and
        ``(B) payment to the surface owner of compensation for any 
    permanent loss of income of the surface owner due to loss or 
    impairment of grazing, or other uses of the land by the surface 
    owner to the extent that reclamation required by the plan of 
    operations would not permit such uses to continue at the level 
    existing prior to the commencement of mineral activities.
    ``(2) In determining the bond amount to cover permanent loss of 
income under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall consider, where 
appropriate, the potential loss of value due to the estimated permanent 
reduction in utilization of the land.
    ``(f) Plan or Operations.--(1) Before the Secretary may authorize 
any person to conduct mineral activities on lands subject to this Act, 
the Secretary shall require such person to submit a plan of operations. 
Such plan shall include procedures for--
        ``(A) the minimization of damages to crops and tangible 
    improvements of the surface owner;
        ``(B) the minimization of disruption to grazing or other uses of 
    the land by the surface owner; and
        ``(C) payment of a fee for the use of surface during mineral 
    activities equivalent to the loss of income to the ranch operation 
    as established pursuant to subsection (g).
    ``(2) The Secretary shall provide a copy of the proposed plan of 
operations to the surface owner at least 45 days prior to the date the 
Secretary makes a determination as to whether such plan complies with 
the requirements of this subsection. During such 45-day period the 
surface owner may submit comments and recommend modifications to the 
proposed plan of operations to the Secretary.
    ``(3)(A) The Secretary shall, within 60 days of receipt of the plan, 
approve the plan of operations if it complies with the requirements of 
this Act, including each of the following:
        ``(i) The proposed plan of operations is complete and accurate.
        ``(ii) The person submitting the proposed plan of operations has 
    demonstrated that all other applicable Federal and State 
    requirements have been met.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall notify the person submitting a plan of 
operations of any modifications to such plan required to bring it into 
compliance with the requirements of this Act. If the person submitting 
the plan agrees to modify such plan in a manner acceptable to the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall approve the plan as modified. In the 
event no agreement can be reached on the modifications to the plan 
which, in the opinion of the Secretary, will bring such plan into 
compliance with the requirements of this Act, then the Secretary shall 
disapprove the plan and notify both the surface owner and the person 
submitting the plan of the decision.
    ``(C) The 60-day period referred to in subparagraph (A) may be 
extended by the Secretary where additional time is required to comply 
with other applicable requirements of law.
    ``(D) The Secretary shall suspend or revoke a plan of operation 
whenever the Secretary determines, on the Secretary's own motion or on a 
motion made by the surface owner, that the person conducting mineral 
activities is in substantial noncompliance with the terms and conditions 
of an approved plan of operations and has failed to remedy a violation 
after notice from the Secretary within the time required by the 
Secretary.
    ``(4) Final approval of a plan of operations under this subsection 
shall be conditioned upon compliance with subsections (e) and (g).
    ``(g) Fee.--The fee referred to in subsection (f)(1) shall be--
        ``(1) paid to the surface owner by the person submitting the 
    plan of operations;
        ``(2) paid in advance of any mineral activities or at such other 
    time or times as may be agreed to by the surface owner and the 
    person conducting such activities; and
        ``(3) established by the Secretary taking into account the 
    acreage involved and the degree of potential disruption to existing 
    surface uses during mineral activities (including the loss of income 
    to the surface owner and such surface owner's operations due to the 
    loss or impairment of existing surface uses for the duration of the 
    mineral activities), except that such fee shall not exceed the fair 
    market value for the surface of the land.
    ``(h) Reclamation.--Lands affected by mineral activities under a 
plan of operations approved pursuant to subsection (f)(3) shall be 
reclaimed, to the maximum extent practicable, to a condition capable of 
supporting the uses to which such lands were capable of supporting prior 
to surface disturbance. Reclamation shall proceed as contemporaneously 
as practicable with the conduct of mineral activities.
    ``(i) State Law.--(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
affecting any reclamation, bonding, inspection, enforcement, air or 
water quality standard or requirement of any State law or regulation 
which may be applicable to mineral activities on lands subject to this 
Act to the extent that such law or regulation is not inconsistent with 
this title.
    ``(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any way 
the right of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, the 
interest of such person in water resources affected by mineral 
activities.
    ``(j) Inspections.--Should any surface owner of land subject to this 
Act have reason to believe that they are or may be adversely affected by 
mineral activities due to any violation of the terms and conditions of a 
plan of operations approved under subsection (f), such surface owner may 
request an inspection of such lands. The Secretary shall determine 
within 10 days of the receipt of the request whether the request states 
a reason to believe that a violation exists, except in the event the 
surface owner alleges and provides reason to believe that an imminent 
danger exists, the 10-day period shall be waived and the inspection 
conducted immediately. When an inspection is conducted under this 
paragraph, the Secretary shall notify the surface owner and such surface 
owner shall be allowed to accompany the inspector on the inspection.
    ``(k) Damages for Failure To Comply.--(1) Whenever the surface owner 
of any land subject to this Act has suffered any permanent damages to 
crops or tangible improvements of the surface owner, or any permanent 
loss of income due to loss or impairment of grazing, or other uses of 
the land by the surface owner, if such damages or loss result from--
        ``(A) any mineral activity undertaken without the consent of the 
    surface owner under subsection (c) or an authorization by the 
    Secretary under subsection (d); or
        ``(B) the failure of the person conducting mineral activities to 
    remedy to the satisfaction of the Secretary any substantial 
    noncompliance with the terms and conditions of a plan under 
    subsection (f);
the surface owner may bring an action in the appropriate United States 
district court for, and the court may award, double damages plus costs 
for willful misconduct or gross negligence.
    ``(2) The surface owner of any land subject to this Act may also 
bring an action in the appropriate United States district court for 
double damages plus costs for willful misconduct or gross negligence 
against any person undertaking any mineral activities on lands subject 
to this Act in violation of any requirement of subsection (b).
    ``(3) Any double damages plus costs awarded by the court under this 
subsection shall be reduced by the amount of any compensation which the 
surface owner has received (or is eligible to receive) pursuant to the 
bond or financial guarantee required under subsection (e).
    ``(l) Payment of Financial Guarantee.--The surface owner of any land 
subject to this Act may petition the Secretary for payment of all or any 
portion of a bond or other financial guarantee required under subsection 
(e) as compensation for any permanent damages to crops and tangible 
improvements of the surface owner, or any permanent loss of income due 
to loss or impairment of grazing, or other uses of the land by the 
surface owner. Pursuant to such a petition, the Secretary may use such 
bond or other guarantee to provide compensation to the surface owner for 
such damages and to insure the required reclamation.
    ``(m) Bond Release.--The Secretary shall release the bond or other 
financial guarantee required under subsection (e) upon the successful 
completion of all requirements pursuant to a plan of operations approved 
under subsection (f).
    ``(n) Conveyance to Surface Owner.--The Secretary shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to simplify the procedures which must be 
complied with by surface owners of lands subject to this Act who apply 
to the Secretary to obtain title to interests in such lands owned by the 
United States.
    ``(o) Definitions.--For the purposes of subsections (b) through 
(n)--
        ``(1) The term `mineral activities' means any activity for, 
    related to or incidental to mineral exploration, mining, and 
    beneficiation activities for any locatable mineral on a mining 
    claim. When used with respect to this term--
            ``(A) the term `exploration' means those techniques employed 
        to locate the presence of a locatable mineral deposit and to 
        establish its nature, position, size, shape, grade and value;
            ``(B) the term `mining' means the processes employed for the 
        extraction of a locatable mineral from the earth; and
            ``(C) the term `beneficiation' means the crushing and 
        grinding of locatable mineral ore and such processes are 
        employed to free the mineral from the other constituents, 
        including but not necessarily limited to, physical and chemical 
        separation techniques.
        ``(2) The term `mining claim' means a claim located under the 
    general mining laws of the United States (which generally comprise 
    30 U.S.C. chapters 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162) subject 
    to the terms and conditions of subsections (b) through (p) of this 
    section.
        ``(3) The term `tangible improvements' includes agricultural, 
    residential and commercial improvements, including improvements made 
    by residential subdividers.
    ``(p) Minerals Covered.--Subsections (b) through (o) of this section 
apply only to minerals not subject to disposition under--
        ``(1) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following);
        ``(2) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and 
    following); or
        ``(3) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the Materials 
    Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following).''.
    (b) Technical Conforming Amendment.--Section 9 of the Act of 
December 29, 1916, entitled ``An Act to provide for stock-raising 
homesteads, and for other purposes'' (43 U.S.C. 299) is amended by 
inserting ``(a) General Provisions.--'' before the words ``That all 
entries made''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
    (d) Regulations.--The Secretary of the Interior shall issue final 
regulations to implement the amendments made by this Act not later than 
the effective date of this Act. Failure to promulgate these regulations 
by reason of any appeal or judicial review shall not delay the effective 
date as specified in paragraph (c).

SEC. 2. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON FOREIGN MINERAL INTEREST.

    (a) Report.--The Secretary of the Interior is directed to submit a 
report to the Congress within 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act on the acquisition of mineral interests made after the date of 
enactment of this Act by foreign firms on lands subject to the Act of 
December 29, 1916, entitled ``An Act to provide for stock-raising 
homesteads, and for other purposes'' (43 U.S.C. 299).
    (b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``foreign 
firm'' means a business entity that conducts business operations in the 
United States and is 51 percent or more owned and controlled by a 
foreign person or entity.







                                Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                             Vice President of the United States and    
                                                President of the Senate.