[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3419 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3419

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of certain public 
lands that are subject to mining operations in Pershing County, Nevada, 
 to support sustainable development opportunities for the community in 
 which the mining operations occur through privatization of the lands 
allowing for productive post-mining land use that provides for economic 
development opportunities and local government revenues, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2005

 Mr. Gibbons introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of certain public 
lands that are subject to mining operations in Pershing County, Nevada, 
 to support sustainable development opportunities for the community in 
 which the mining operations occur through privatization of the lands 
allowing for productive post-mining land use that provides for economic 
development opportunities and local government revenues, 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 ``Northern Nevada Sustainable 
Development in Mining Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) In the past decade, the concept of ``sustainable 
        development'' has become standard United States and 
        international policy.
            (2) Sustainable development is environmentally sound and is 
        undertaken in a way that meets the needs of the present without 
        compromising the ability of future generations to meet their 
        needs.
            (3) Federal land managers have worked with the mining 
        industry and other industries over the past decade to develop 
        sustainability principles for resource development on Federal 
        lands, but there is a need to demonstrate and implement these 
        principles.
            (4) For the mining industry, a prime goal of sustainable 
        development is to plan and implement economically viable and 
        productive post-mining land uses that will allow lands impacted 
        by mining to continue providing jobs and other economic 
        benefits beyond the completion of mining activity. 
        Privatization of the surface at mine sites is a crucial 
        component in achieving and maintaining sustainable development 
        opportunities for a mining operation's host community.
            (5) With more than 80 percent of Nevada's lands in Federal 
        ownership, the State's rural communities in particular depend 
        on continued productive uses of Federal lands for jobs, tax 
        revenues, and economic development.
            (6) Mining on Nevada's public lands is the most important 
        source of high-paying jobs and other economic benefits to rural 
        Nevada communities. Mining on Nevada public lands also provides 
        substantial tax revenues to the Treasury and to State and local 
        governments.
            (7) The Rochester Mine, located in Pershing County, Nevada, 
        provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate sustainable 
        development principles in the mining industry.
            (8) The Rochester Mine, operated by Coeur Rochester, Inc., 
        opened in 1986 and employs 250 people, most of whom live in or 
        near Lovelock, Nevada. The mine operates on patented lands and 
        approximately 7,000 acres of public lands subject to mining 
        claims and impacted by the mining operation.
            (9) For its 20 years of operation, the Rochester Mine has 
        been the major source of employment for Pershing County 
        residents.
            (10) The Rochester Mine is near the end of its 
        productivity, and closure and reclamation of the mine are 
        expected to begin within 5 years, subject to closure and 
        reclamation plans to be approved by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and the State of Nevada. Given ore grades and 
        exploration results in the area, Coeur Rochester, Inc. does not 
        contemplate any future mining at the site.
            (11) Without a post-mining land use for the Rochester Mine 
        or entry of a new industry, Pershing County faces significant 
        and destabilizing unemployment and loss of tax revenues when 
        the Rochester Mine closes.
            (12) Coeur Rochester, Inc. has developed an innovative plan 
        for post-mining land uses of the Rochester Mine site, including 
        reuse of the mine's overburden and waste rock as aggregate in 
        California and other markets, and potential use of the mine 
        site as a State-permitted landfill for municipal or industrial 
        wastes or construction debris.
            (13) The public lands subject to mining claims at the 
        Rochester Mine are difficult and uneconomical for the Bureau of 
        Land Management to manage because of the checkerboard pattern 
        of Federal land ownership in the vicinity of the Rochester 
        Mine.
            (14) Disposal of such lands will also serve other important 
        public objectives, including the demonstration of viable and 
        productive post-mining land uses and of other sustainable 
        development concepts in the mining industry. The project would 
        also facilitate the creation of a new long-term employment 
        source and would result in other important economic development 
        benefits and the maintenance of a tax base for Pershing County.
            (15) The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the 
        public lands addressed in this Act are suitable for 
        consolidation of ownership or disposal into private ownership.
            (16) Lands to be conveyed under this Act would remain 
        subject to applicable Federal and State environmental, land 
        use, and safety laws.
            (17) Any lands disposed of by the Secretary pursuant to 
        this Act would be sold at $500 per acre.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to implement a sustainable development project in 
        Pershing County, Nevada;
            (2) to encourage and promote the concept of sustainable 
        development practices in resource-dependent communities that 
        have a limited privately held land base; and
            (3) to provide funds for the general fund of the Treasury, 
        for the State of Nevada abandoned mine lands program, and for 
        education and other purposes in the State of Nevada.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Claimant.--The term ``Claimant'' means Coeur Rochester, 
        Inc.
            (2) County.--The term ``County'' means Pershing County, 
        Nevada.
            (3) Mining law.--The term ``the general mining laws'' 
        includes, in general, the provisions of law codified in 
        chapters 2, 12A, and 16 of title 30, United States Code, and in 
        sections 161 and 162 of such title.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. LAND CONVEYANCE.

    (a) Conveyance of Land.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, and not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall convey to the Claimant, in return for a 
payment of $500 per acre, all right, title, and interest, subject to 
the terms and conditions of subsection (c), in the approximately 7,000 
acres of Federal lands subject to Claimant's mining claims maintained 
under the general mining laws and depicted on the Rochester Sustainable 
Development Project map.
    (b) Exemption From Review, Etc.--Any conveyance of land under this 
Act is not subject to review, consultation, or approval under any other 
Federal law.
    (c) Terms and Conditions of Conveyance.--
            (1) No impact on legal obligations.--Conveyance of the 
        lands pursuant to subsection (a) shall not affect Claimant's 
        legal obligations to comply with applicable Federal mine 
        closure or mine land reclamation laws, or with any other 
        applicable Federal or State requirement relating to closure of 
        the Rochester Mine and use of the land comprising such mine, 
        including any requirement to prepare any environmental impact 
        statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
            (2) No interference with reclamation and closure 
        obligations.--The sustainable development project shall be 
        carried out in a way that is consistent with reclamation and 
        closure obligations under Federal laws. Federal reclamation and 
        closure obligations shall not be used to remove infrastructure 
        identified by Claimant as being usable by a post-mining land 
        use.
            (3) Title to materials and minerals.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, Claimant shall own and have title to 
        all spent ore, waste rock and tailings, and other materials 
        located on lands conveyed pursuant to subsection (a).
            (4) Valid existing rights.--All lands conveyed pursuant to 
        subsection (a) shall be subject to valid existing rights 
        existing as of the date of transfer of title, and Claimant 
        shall succeed to the rights and obligations of the United 
        States with respect to any mining claim, mill site claim, 
        lease, right-of-way, permit, or other valid existing right to 
        which the property is subject.
            (5) Environmental liability.--Notwithstanding any other 
        Federal, State or local law, the United States--
                    (A) shall not be responsible for investigating or 
                disclosing the condition of any property to be conveyed 
                under this Act; and
                    (B) shall not be responsible for environmental 
                remediation, waste management, or environmental 
                compliance activities arising from its ownership, 
                occupancy, or management of land and interests therein 
                conveyed under this Act with respect to conditions 
                existing at or on the land at the time of the 
                conveyance.

SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

    The gross proceeds of conveyances of land under this Act shall be 
used as follows:
            (1) Such sums as are necessary shall be used to cover 100 
        percent of the administrative costs, not to exceed $20,000, 
        incurred by the Nevada State Office and the Winnemucca Field 
        Office of the Bureau of Land Management in conducting 
        conveyances under this Act.
            (2) $500,000 shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada 
        for use in the State's abandoned mined land program.
            (3) $20,000 per fiscal year for a 5-fiscal-year period 
        shall be paid directly to Pershing County, Nevada.
            (4) Proceeds remaining after the payments pursuant to 
        paragraphs (1) through (3) shall be deposited in the general 
        fund of the Treasury.
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