[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 638 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 638

To provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition of private 
    mineral interests within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic 
 Monument mandated by the 1982 Act that established the Monument, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 23, 1997

Mr. Gorton (for himself and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition of private 
    mineral interests within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic 
 Monument mandated by the 1982 Act that established the Monument, 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 ``Mount St. Helens National Volcanic 
Monument Completion Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) 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 (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 
        Congress that the exchanges be completed by November 24, 1982, 
        and August 26, 1983, respectively; and
            (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 Act's 
        enactment.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for the 
expeditious completion of the previously mandated Federal acquisition 
of private mineral and geothermal interests within the Mount St. Helens 
National Volcanic Monument.

SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF MINERAL RIGHTS WITHIN THE 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 (96 Stat. 302; 16 U.S.C. 431 
note), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and except that the 
        Secretary may acquire mineral and geothermal interests only by 
        exchange. It is the sense of the Congress that in the case of 
        mineral and geothermal interests such exchanges should be 
        completed within one year after the date of enactment of this 
        Act''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Expeditious Completion of Mineral and Geothermal Interests.--
            ``(1) Definition of holder.--In this subsection, the term 
        `holder' means a company, or its successor, referred to in 
        subsection (c).
            ``(2) In general.--Within the period described in paragraph 
        (7), the Secretary of the Interior shall acquire by exchange 
        the mineral and geothermal interests in the Monument of each 
        holder.
            ``(3) Monetary credits.--
                    ``(A) Issuance.--In exchange for the mineral and 
                geothermal interests acquired by the Secretary of the 
                Interior from a holder under paragraph (2), the 
                Secretary of the Interior shall issue to the holder 
                monetary credits that may be exercised by the holder 
                for 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.); or
                            ``(ii) 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 geothermal lease issued 
                        under the Acts listed in clause (i).
                    ``(B) Value of credits.--The credits issued under 
                subparagraph (A) shall equal the fair market value of 
                all mineral and geothermal interests conveyed in the 
                exchange as determined under paragraph (4).
                    ``(C) Acceptance of credits.--The Secretary of the 
                Interior shall accept credits issued under subparagraph 
                (A) in the same manner as cash for the payments 
                described in subparagraph (A). The use and exercise of 
                the credits shall be subject to the laws (including 
                regulations) governing such payments, to the extent the 
                laws are consistent with this subsection.
            ``(4) Valuation of interests.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after 
                the date of enactment of this subsection, the mineral 
                and geothermal interests to be conveyed by each holder 
                in the exchanges required by paragraph (2) shall be 
                valued by 1 of the following methods, as selected by 
                the Secretary of the Interior:
                            ``(i) Use of appraisal report.--The 1982 
                        value established by the report of the third 
                        party appraisal completed on September 11, 
                        1991, shall be adjusted to reflect changes in 
                        the consumer price index for all urban 
                        consumers published by the Department of Labor 
                        as of the date on which the exchange is to be 
                        consummated pursuant to paragraph (7), or such 
                        other value as shall be mutually agreed to by 
                        the Secretary of the Interior and the holders 
                        not later than 30 days after the date of 
                        enactment of this subsection.
                            ``(ii) New appraisal.--
                                    ``(I) Selection of appraiser.--Not 
                                later than 30 days after the date of 
                                enactment of this subsection, the 
                                Secretary of the Interior and the 
                                holders shall mutually agree on the 
                                selection of a qualified appraiser to 
                                conduct an appraisal of the mineral and 
                                geothermal interests.
                                    ``(II) No agreement on appraiser.--
                                If no appraiser is mutually agreed to 
                                under subclause (I), not later than 60 
                                days after the date of enactment of 
                                this subsection--
                                            ``(aa) the Secretary of the 
                                        Interior and the holders shall 
                                        each designate a qualified 
                                        appraiser; and
                                            ``(bb) the 2 designated 
                                        appraisers shall select a third 
                                        qualified appraiser to perform 
                                        the appraisal with the advice 
                                        and assistance of the 
                                        designated appraisers and in 
                                        accordance with the 
                                        instructions that were mutually 
                                        agreed on for the September 11, 
                                        1991, third party appraisal.
                                    ``(III) Date of valuation.--The 
                                value of the mineral and geothermal 
                                interests to be conveyed by each holder 
                                shall be calculated as of August 26, 
                                1982, adjusted to reflect changes in 
                                the consumer price index for all urban 
                                consumers published by the Department 
                                of Labor as of the date on which the 
                                exchange is to be consummated pursuant 
                                to paragraph (7).
                                    ``(IV) Costs.--The Secretary of the 
                                Interior shall bear the costs of the 
                                process established by this clause.
                    ``(B) Timely appraisal report.--The appraisal 
                report resulting from subparagraph (A) shall be 
                presented to the Secretary of the Interior timely to 
                permit the Secretary of the Interior to determine the 
                value of the mineral and geothermal interests to be 
                conveyed by each holder. Not later than the 120 days 
                after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
                Secretary of the Interior shall notify each holder of 
                the determination.
                    ``(C) Failure of process.--If the Secretary of the 
                Interior fails to make a determination under 
                subparagraph (B) by the date that is 120 days after the 
                date of enactment of this subsection or if any holder 
                does not agree with the value determined by the 
                Secretary of the Interior under subparagraph (B), 1 or 
                more of the holders may petition the United States 
                Court of Federal Claims for a determination of the 
                value of the mineral and geothermal interests to be 
                conveyed by the holders in accordance with this 
                subsection. Subject to the right of appeal, a 
                determination by the Court shall be binding for 
                purposes of this subsection on all parties.
            ``(5) Exchange account.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law, not later than 30 days after the 
                completion of each exchange with a holder required by 
                this subsection, the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall 
                establish an exchange account for the holder for 
                monetary credits described in paragraph (3).
                    ``(B) Initial balance.--The initial balance of 
                credits in each holder's account shall be equal to the 
                value as determined under paragraph (4) of the mineral 
                and geothermal interests conveyed by the holder in the 
                exchange.
                    ``(C) Use of credits.--The balance of credits in a 
                holder's account shall be available to the holder or 
                its assigns for the purposes of paragraph (3). The 
                Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust the balance of 
                credits in the account to reflect payments made 
                pursuant to paragraph (3).
                    ``(D) Transfer of credits.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A holder may transfer or 
                        sell any credits in the holder's account to 
                        another person.
                            ``(ii) Use of transferred credits.--Credits 
                        transferred under clause (i) may be used in 
                        accordance 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) Notification.--A holder shall 
                        notify the Secretary of the Interior and the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury of any transfer or 
                        sale under this subparagraph promptly after the 
                        transfer or sale.
                    ``(E) Time limit on use of credits.--On the date 
                that is 5 years after an account is created under 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
                terminate the account and any remaining credits in the 
                account shall become unusable.
            ``(6) Title to interests.--On the date of the establishment 
        of an exchange account for a holder under paragraph (5)(A), 
        title to any mineral and geothermal interests that are held by 
        the holder and are to be acquired by the Secretary under 
        paragraph (2) shall transfer to the United States.
            ``(7) Completion of exchanges.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior shall complete the exchanges under paragraph (2) not 
        later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
        subsection or as soon as practicable after completion of the 
        process described in paragraph (4)(C).''.
                                 <all>