[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 327 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 327

    To ensure that Federal taxpayers receive a fair return for the 
 extraction of locatable minerals on public domain lands and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 1997

 Mr. Bumpers (for himself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. 
Kohl) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
            to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To ensure that Federal taxpayers receive a fair return for the 
 extraction of locatable minerals on public domain lands 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hardrock Mining Royalty Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. ROYALTY.

    (a) Reservation of Royalty.--Each person producing locatable 
minerals (including associated minerals) from any mining claim located 
under the general mining laws, or mineral concentrates derived from 
locatable minerals produced from any mining claim located under the 
general mining laws, as the case may be, shall pay a royalty of 5 
percent of the net smelter return from the production of such locatable 
minerals or concentrates, as the case may be.
    (b) Royalty Payments.--Each person responsible for making royalty 
payments under this section shall make such payments to the Secretary 
not later than 30 days after the end of the calendar month in which the 
mineral or mineral concentrates are produced and first placed in 
marketable condition, consistent with prevailing practices in the 
industry.
    (c) Reporting Requirements.--All persons holding mining claims 
located under the general mining laws shall provide to the Secretary 
such information as determined necessary by the Secretary to ensure 
compliance with this section, including, but not limited to, quarterly 
reports, records, documents, and other data. Such reports may also 
include, but not be limited to, pertinent technical and financial data 
relating to the quantity, quality, and amount of all minerals extracted 
from the mining claim.
    (d) Audits.--The Secretary is authorized to conduct such audits of 
all persons holding mining claims located under the general mining laws 
as he deems necessary for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the 
requirements of this section.
    (e) Disposition of Receipts.--All receipts from royalties collected 
pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Fund established 
under section 3.
    (f) Compliance.--Any person holding mining claims located under the 
general mining laws who knowingly or willfully prepares, maintains, or 
submits false, inaccurate, or misleading information required by this 
section, or fails or refuses to submit such information, shall be 
subject to a penalty imposed by the Secretary.
    (g) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect with respect to 
minerals produced from a mining claim in calendar months beginning 
after enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. ABANDONED MINERALS MINE RECLAMATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) There is established on the books of the Treasury of 
        the United States a trust fund to be known as the Abandoned 
        Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (hereinafter referred to as the 
        ``Fund''). The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary.
            (2) The Secretary shall notify the Secretary of the 
        Treasury as to what portion of the Fund is not, in his 
        judgment, required to meet current withdrawals. The Secretary 
        of the Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund in public 
        debt securities with maturities suitable for the needs of such 
        Fund and bearing interest at rates determined by the Secretary 
        of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market 
        yields on outstanding marketplace obligations of the United 
        States of comparable maturities. The income on such investments 
        shall be credited to, and from a part of, the Fund.
    (b) Amounts.--The following amounts shall be credited to the Fund 
for the purposes of this Act:
            (1) All moneys received from royalties under section 1 of 
        this Act and the mining claim maintenance fee under section 4 
        of this Act.
            (2) All donations by persons, corporations, associations, 
        and foundations for the purposes of this title.
    (c) Use and Objectives of the Fund.--The Secretary is, subject to 
appropriations, authorized to use moneys in the Fund for the 
reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely 
affected by past mineral (other than coal and fluid minerals) and 
mineral material mining, including but not limited to any of the 
following:
            (1) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned surface mined 
        areas.
            (2) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned milling and 
        processing areas.
            (3) Sealing, filling, and grading abandoned deep mine 
        entries.
            (4) Planting of land adversely affected by past mining to 
        prevent erosion and sedimentation.
            (5) Prevention, abatement, treatment and control of water 
        pollution created by abandoned mine drainage.
            (6) Control of surface subsidence due to abandoned deep 
        mines.
            (7) Such expenses as may be necessary to accomplish the 
        purposes of this section.
    (d) Eligible Areas.--
            (1) Land and waters eligible for reclamation expenditures 
        under this section shall be those within the boundaries of 
        States that have lands subject to the general mining laws--
                    (A) which were mined or processed for minerals and 
                mineral materials or which were affected by such mining 
                or processing, and abandoned or left in an inadequate 
                reclamation status prior to the date of enactment of 
                this Act;
                    (B) for which the Secretary makes a determination 
                that there is no continuing reclamation responsibility 
                under State or Federal laws; and
                    (C) for which it can be established that such lands 
                do not contain minerals which could economically be 
                extracted through the reprocessing or remining of such 
                lands.
            (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), sites and areas 
        designated for remedial action pursuant to the Uranium Mill 
        Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7901 and 
        following) or which have been listed for remedial action 
        pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response 
        Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 and 
        following) shall not be eligible for expenditures from the Fund 
        under this section.
    (e) Fund Expenditures.--Moneys available from the fund may be 
expended directly by the Director, Bureau of Land Management. The 
Director may also make such money available through grants made to the 
Chief of the United States Forest Service, and the Director of the 
National Park Service.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Amounts credited to the Fund 
are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of this title without 
fiscal year limitation.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

    No patents shall be issued by the United States for any mining or 
mill site claim located under the general mining laws unless the 
Secretary determines that, for the claim concerned a patent application 
was filed with the Secretary on or before September 30, 1994, and all 
requirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of the Revised 
Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections 
2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36 
and 37) for placer claims, and section 2337 of the Revised Statutes (30 
U.S.C. 42) for mill site claims, as the case may be, were fully 
complied with by the applicant by that date.

SEC. 5. MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Effective October 1, 1998, the holder of each mining 
        claim located under the general mining laws prior to the date 
        of enactment shall pay to the Secretary an annual claim 
        maintenance fee of $100 per claim per calendar year.
            (2) The holder of each mining claim located under the 
        general mining laws subsequent to the date of enactment shall 
        pay to the Secretary an annual claim maintenance fee of $125 
        per claim per calendar year.
    (b) Purchasing Power Adjustment.--The Secretary shall adjust the 
amount of the claim maintenance fee payable pursuant to subsection (a) 
for changes in the purchasing power of the dollar after the calendar 
year 1993, employing the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 
published by the Department of Labor as the basis for adjustment, and 
rounding according to the adjustment process of conditions of the 
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.
    (c) Time of Payment.--Each claim holder shall pay the claim 
maintenance fee payable under subsection (a) for any year on or before 
August 31 of each year, except that for the initial calendar year in 
which the location is made, the initial claim maintenance fee shall be 
paid at the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau of 
Land Management.
    (d) Oil Shale Claims Subject to Claim Maintenance Fees Under Energy 
Policy Act of 1992.--The section shall not apply to any oil shale 
claims for which a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2) 
of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C. 242(e)(2)).
    (e) Claim Maintenance Fees Payable Under 1993 Act.--The claim 
maintenance fees payable under this section for any period with respect 
to any claim shall be reduced by the amount of the claim maintenance 
fees paid under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1993 with respect to that claim and with respect to the same period.
    (f) Waiver.--
            (1) The claim maintenance fee required under this section 
        may be waived for a claim holder who certifies in writing to 
        the Secretary that on the date the payment was due, the claim 
        holder and all related parties held not more than 10 mining 
        claims on land open to location. Such certification shall be 
        made on or before the date on which payment is due.
            (2) For purposes of this subsection, with respect to any 
        claim holder, the term `related party' means each of the 
        following:
                    (A) The spouse and dependent children (as defined 
                in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), 
                of the claim holder.
                    (B) Any affiliate of the claim holder.
    (g) Co-Ownership.--Upon the failure of any one or more of several 
co-owners to contribute such co-owner or owners' portion of the fee 
under this section, any co-owner who has paid such fee may, after the 
payment due date, give the delinquent co-owner or owners notice of such 
failure in writing (or by publication in the newspaper nearest the 
claim for at least once a week for at least 90 days). If at the 
expiration of 90 days after such notice in writing or by publication, 
any delinquent co-owner fails or refused to contribute his portion, his 
interest in the claim shall become the property of the co-owners who 
have paid the required fee.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``affiliate'' means with respect to any 
        person, each of the following:
                    (A) Any partner of such person.
                    (B) Any person owning at least 10 percent of the 
                voting shares of such person.
                    (C) Any person who controls, is controlled by, or 
                is under common control with such person.
            (2) The term ``locatable minerals'' means minerals not 
        subject to disposition under any of the following:
                    (A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and 
                following);
                    (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 
                and following);
                    (C) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the 
                Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following); or
                    (D) the Mineral Leasing for Acquired Lands Act (30 
                U.S.C. 351 and following).
            (3) The term ``net smelter return'' has the same meaning 
        provided in section 613 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        (26 U.S.C. 613) for ``gross income from mining''.
            (4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (5) The term ``general mining laws'' means those Acts which 
        generally comprise chapter 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 
        162 of title 30, United States Code.
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