[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1672 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1672

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands administered by the Bureau 
of Land Management for exclusive military use as part of the Limestone 
         Hills Training Area, Montana, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 23, 2013

    Mr. Daines (for himself and Mr. Bishop of Utah) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To withdraw and reserve certain public lands administered by the Bureau 
of Land Management for exclusive military use as part of the Limestone 
         Hills Training Area, Montana, 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 ``Limestone Hills Training Area 
Withdrawal Act''.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR LIMESTONE HILLS 
              TRAINING AREA, MONTANA.

    (a) Withdrawal.--The public lands and interests in lands described 
in subsection (c), and all other areas within the boundaries of such 
lands as depicted on the map provided for by subsection (d) that may 
become subject to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby 
withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, 
including the mining laws and the mineral leasing and geothermal 
leasing laws.
    (b) Reservation; Purpose.--Subject to the limitations and 
restrictions contained in section 4, the public lands withdrawn by 
subsection (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the Army for 
the following purposes:
            (1) The conduct of training for regular and reserve 
        components of the Armed Forces.
            (2) The construction, operation, and maintenance of 
        organizational support and maintenance facilities for component 
        units conducting training.
            (3) The conduct of training by the Montana Department of 
        Military Affairs, except that any such use may not interfere 
        with purposes specified in paragraphs (1) and (2).
            (4) The conduct of training by State and local law 
        enforcement agencies, civil defense organizations, and public 
        education institutions, except that any such use may not 
        interfere with military training activities.
            (5) Other defense-related purposes consistent with the 
        purposes specified in the preceding paragraphs.
    (c) Land Description.--The public lands and interests in lands 
withdrawn and reserved by this section comprise approximately 18,644 
acres in Broadwater County, Montana, as generally depicted as 
``Proposed Land Withdrawal'' on the map titled ``Limestone Hills 
Training Area Land Withdrawal'', dated April 10, 2013.
    (d) Legal Description and Map.--
            (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
        publish in the Federal Register a legal description of the 
        public land withdrawn under subsection (a) and a copy of a map 
        depicting the legal description of the withdrawn land.
            (2) Force of law.--The legal description and map published 
        under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if 
        included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Interior 
        may correct errors in the legal description.
            (3) Reimbursement of costs.--The Secretary of the Army 
        shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for any costs 
        incurred by the Secretary of the Interior in implementing this 
        subsection.
    (e) Valid Existing Rights.--The withdrawal and reservation of 
public land under subsection (a) shall be subject to valid existing 
rights.
    (f) Indian Tribes.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
altering any rights reserved for an Indian tribe for tribal use of 
lands within the military land withdrawal by treaty or Federal law. The 
Secretary of the Army shall consult with any Indian tribes in the 
vicinity of the military land withdrawal before taking action within 
the military land withdrawal affecting tribal rights or cultural 
resources protected by treaty or Federal law.

SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND RESERVED LANDS.

    During the period of the withdrawal and reservation specified in 
section 6, the Secretary of the Army shall manage the public lands 
withdrawn by section 2 for the purposes specified in subsection (b) of 
such section, subject to the limitations and restrictions contained in 
section 4.

SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES GOVERNING MINERALS MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Indian Creek Mine.--
            (1) In general.--Locatable mineral activities in the 
        approved Indian Creek Mine plan of operations, MTM-78300, shall 
        be regulated pursuant to subparts 3715 and 3809 of title 43, 
        Code of Federal Regulations. The land area subject to the 
        approved plan of operations shall permanently remain open to 
        the amendment or relocation of mining claims (or both) under 
        the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly known as the General Mining 
        Act of 1872; 30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 
        preserve the mining operations described in the approved plan 
        of operations.
            (2) Restrictions on secretary of the army.--The Secretary 
        of the Army shall make no determination that the disposition of 
        or exploration for minerals as provided for in the approved 
        plan of operations is inconsistent with the defense-related 
        uses of the lands covered by the military land withdrawal. The 
        coordination of such disposition of and exploration for 
        minerals with defense-related uses of such lands shall be 
        determined pursuant to procedures in an agreement provided for 
        under subsection (c).
    (b) Removal of Unexploded Ordnance on Lands To Be Mined.--
            (1) Removal activities.--The Secretary of the Army shall 
        request funding for and, subject to the availability of such 
        funds, shall remove unexploded ordnance on lands withdrawn by 
        section 2 that are subject to mining under subsection (a), 
        consistent with applicable Federal and State law. The Secretary 
        of the Army may engage in such removal of unexploded ordnance 
        in phases to accommodate the development of the Indian Creek 
        Mine pursuant to subsection (a).
            (2) Report on removal activities.--The Secretary of the 
        Army shall annually submit to the Secretary of the Interior a 
        report regarding the unexploded ordnance removal activities for 
        the previous fiscal year performed pursuant to this subsection. 
        The report shall include--
                    (A) the amounts of funding expended for unexploded 
                ordnance removal on the lands withdrawn by section 2; 
                and
                    (B) the identification of the lands cleared of 
                unexploded ordnance and approved for mining activities 
                by the Secretary of the Interior.
    (c) Implementation Agreement for Mining Activities.--The Secretary 
of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army shall enter into an 
agreement to implement this section with regard to coordination of 
defense-related uses and mining and the ongoing removal of unexploded 
ordnance. The agreement shall provide the following:
            (1) That Graymont Western US, Inc., or any successor or 
        assign of the approved Indian Creek Mine mining plan of 
        operations, MTM-78300, is invited to be a party to the 
        agreement.
            (2) Provisions regarding the day-to-day joint-use of the 
        Limestone Hills Training Area, which shall include the 
        following limitations and restrictions:
                    (A) Military and other authorized uses of the 
                withdrawn lands shall only occur between the second 
                Monday in April and November 30 unless otherwise 
                authorized by the Secretary of the Interior.
                    (B) Military use for mortar target practice or 
                training with respect to other weapons systems 
                containing explosive material shall be limited to the 
                area described on the map referred to in section 2(c) 
                as the ``high explosive active impact area'' and shall 
                not include any lands within the approved Indian Creek 
                Mine plan of operations. Immediately after any exercise 
                during which live rounds are fired the military unit or 
                other organization utilizing the area will take all 
                reasonable action to locate and remove or destroy any 
                undetonated rounds impacting any of the withdrawn land 
                (other than withdrawn land in the ``high explosive 
                active impact area'').
                    (C) Training activities conducted within the 
                withdrawn area that restrict mining activities will be 
                scheduled for no more than 16 weeks in any year and for 
                no longer than three successive weeks without a recess 
                of two weeks. In order to schedule annual mining 
                operations prior to February 1st each year the 
                Secretary of the Army shall provide the Secretary of 
                the Interior and Graymont Western US, Inc. with an 
                annual schedule of training activities to take place 
                within the withdrawn area during the year. The annual 
                schedule shall specify the weapons systems to be used 
                and the ``surface danger zone'' applicable to the 
                weapon system identified in the schedule. Any proposed 
                changes to the schedule shall be provided to Graymont 
                Western US, Inc. at least 90 days prior to the 
                anticipated change and shall be subject to the approval 
                of Graymont Western US, Inc. if the proposed change 
                could impact mining operations.
                    (D) The military unit or other organization 
                utilizing lands within the approved Indian Creek Mine 
                plan of operations for training activities will bear 
                full liability to the extent of the law for any injury 
                caused to employees and guests of Graymont Western US, 
                Inc., or a member of the public or for damage to any 
                mining equipment or facility of Graymont Western US, 
                Inc., it successors and assigns, caused by the training 
                activity.
            (3) Procedures for access through mining operations covered 
        by this section to training areas within the boundaries of the 
        Limestone Hills Training Area.
            (4) Procedures for scheduling of the removal of unexploded 
        ordnance.

SEC. 5. GRAZING.

    (a) Issuance and Administration of Permits and Leases.--The 
issuance and administration of grazing permits and leases, including 
their renewal, on the public lands withdrawn by section 2 shall be 
managed by the Secretary of the Interior consistent with all applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies of the Secretary of the Interior 
relating to such permits and leases.
    (b) Safety Requirements.--With respect to any grazing permit or 
lease issued after the date of the enactment of this Act for lands 
withdrawn by section 2, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of the Army shall jointly establish procedures that are consistent with 
Department of the Army explosive and range safety standards and that 
provide for the safe use of any such lands.
    (c) Assignment.--The Secretary of the Interior may, with the 
agreement of the Secretary of the Army, assign the authority to issue 
and to administer grazing permits and leases to the Secretary of the 
Army, except that such an assignment may not include the authority to 
discontinue grazing on the lands withdrawn by section 2.

SEC. 6. DURATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.

    The military land withdrawal made by section 2 shall terminate on 
March 31, 2039.
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