109 HR 5471 IH: Soledad Canyon Mine Leases Adjustment U.S. House of Representatives 2006-05-24 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5471 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 24, 2006 Mr. McKeon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources A BILL To provide to the Bureau of Land Management a mechanism to cancel certain mining leases for lands in the leases CA–20139 and CA–22901 and provide new leasing opportunities in the Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita, California, that reflect the historical mining levels, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Soledad Canyon Mine Leases Adjustment Act.

2.

Findings and purposes

(a)

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)Transit Mixed Concrete Corporation holds two valid Federal leases for the extraction of sand and gravel from the Federal mineral estate in lands located in Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita, California, numbered CA–20139 and CA–22901. Such lands contain approximately 56 million tons of sand and gravel. (2)Mining 56 million tons of sand and gravel under the terms of the leases would produce harm to the environment and cause major transportation problems for the City of Santa Clarita, surrounding areas, and other users of the transportation systems in the vicinity. (3)It is in the best interest of the citizens of California and the Federal Government to cancel those leases and make available new leases for those resources that reflect the level of mining that has historically occurred in the Soledad Canyon area of California. (4)TMC should be offered resources extraction opportunities of similar economic value in other areas of California that would not impact the environment and transportation systems to the degree that they would have been impacted in the Soledad Canyon. (5)TMC should receive credit for reasonable and customary costs associated with their efforts to develop leases CA–20139 and CA–22901. (6)A site-specific solution that is fair to TMC, protects the environment, and has minimal impact on local transportation system is in the best interest of the Nation. (7)Considerable sums of money have been expended by all parties trying to insure their interests are protected with respect to leases CA–20139 and CA–22901, with no conclusion foreseen at this time. (b)

Purposes

The purposes of this Act are the following: (1)To provide to the Bureau of Land Management a mechanism that is not available under existing law to cancel leases CA–20139 and CA–22901 and provide new leasing opportunities in the Soledad Canyon that reflect the historical production levels. (2)To provide a means for TMC to recover and transfer to other Federal resources the amounts expended trying to develop leases CA–20139 and CA–22901. (3)To provide the Bureau of Land Management tools to evaluate expenses incurred by TMC and provide relief.

3.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. (2)

TMC

The term TMC means the Transit Mixed Concrete Corporation. (3)The term historical production levels means production of 300,000 tons of aggregate produced for sale per calendar year.

4.

TMC lease cancellations and exchange of values expended

(a)

Leases cancellations

The Secretary shall cancel Bureau of Land Management leases CA–20139 and CA–22901 effective on the date of the enactment of this Act. (b)

Exchange for economic values

(1)

In general

In exchange for the economic value invested in trying to bring leases CA–20139 and CA–22901 into commercial production the Secretary shall provide to TMC other financial and mineral production opportunities in accordance with subsection (d). (2)

Values assigned to leases

For purposes of paragraph (1), the economic value invested is an amount equal to the sum of the following: (A)All amounts paid to the United States with respect to the leases as bonus bids or other prepayments. (B)Interest on amounts referred to in subparagraph (A), from the date of payment of such amounts to the United States, at a rate determined by the Secretary. (C)Amounts expended by TMC in securing the leases and trying to bring them into production, including— (i)reasonable costs associated with the engineering and environmental studies associated with the leases; and (ii)reasonable legal costs associated with efforts to exercise the rights granted in the leases. (c)

Submission of expenses incurred

(1)

In general

To assist in the determination of the amounts expended referred to in subsection (b)(2)(C), TMC shall submit to the Secretary within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act an itemized list of such amounts, with enough detail and supporting documentation so the Secretary can determine that the expenses are associated with the leases and are reasonable. (2)

Arbitration

The Secretary’s determination of the amounts expended referred to in subsection (b)(2)(C) shall be issued within 90 days of receipt of the itemized list required under paragraph (1). If the Secretary disapproves such list, the Secretary shall, upon request of TMC, determine the economic value invested for purposes of subsection (b)(2) through arbitration in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. (d)

Return of value opportunities for TMC

Financial and mineral production opportunities provided under subsection (b)(1) may be in the form of one or a combination of any of the following that is mutually agreed to by the Secretary and TMC: (1)Interests in the mineral estate in Federal lands in the State of California that are available for leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). (2)Interests in the surface estate in Federal lands in the State of California that are under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary and that are available for disposal. (e)

Referral to court of claims

(1)

Referral

If the Secretary and TMC do not reach agreement under subsection (b) regarding the financial and mineral production opportunities to be provided by the Secretary under subsection (b)(1) within 24 months after date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall refer the issue to the United States Court of Federal Claims for resolution. (2)

Resolution by court

In any referral under this subsection, the court shall— (A)determine the economic value invested for purposes of subsection (b)(2); and (B)determine and order the Secretary to provide financial and mineral production opportunities for purposes of subsection (b)(1) and subsection (d).

5.

Limitations on future leasing for sand and gravel in Soledad Canyon area of California

(a)

Limitation on rate of mining

The Secretary may not issue any lease for mining sand and gravel in the Soledad Canyon area of California as described on the map titled ___ and dated ___ on file with the Secretary of Interior that in aggregate exceeds the historical production level. (b)

Consultation and considerations

Before issuing any lease authorizing the mining of sand or gravel in the Soledad Canyon area of California, the Secretary shall— (1)consult with the City of Santa Clarita, California, Los Angles County, California, and surface owners in that area; and (2)take into consideration the environmental and transportation concerns of such mining in that area.