[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 15, 2001

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation aimed at 
giving the appropriate authorizing committee of the House an 
opportunity to do its job and resolve a matter that has had to be 
addressed by appropriations measures instead. In this regard, the 
legislation being introduced today would make permanent two provisions 
relating to the management of mining claims under the Mining Law of 
1872.
  First, the ``Mining Claim Maintenance Act of 2001'' would make 
permanent a provision first enacted into law on a temporary basis by 
the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and then reauthorized 
through 2001 by the Omnibus Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1999 
requiring that holders of unpatented mining claims, mill and tunnel 
sites under the Mining Law of 1872 pay the Interior Department a $100 
per year maintenance fee in order to hold the claim or site, as well as 
pay a one-time $25 location fee.
  This provision is in lieu of the 1872 requirement that the holder of 
a claim or site conduct $100 per year of ``assessment work'' in order 
to maintain the claim or site and the associated annual filing 
requirement under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
  As with current law, provision is also made in this legislation to 
waive this requirement for holders of valid oil shale claims who must 
comply with a different regime as set forth under the Energy Policy Act 
of 1992, as well as for individuals holding 10 or fewer mining claims.
  Since this provision has been in effect, speculation on public domain 
lands under the guise of the Mining Law of 1872 has been dramatically 
reduced. Indeed, in the year this requirement went into effect there 
were over 3 million mining claims located on the public lands. Today, 
there are about 253,000.
  Further, as with the current practice, I would expect that the 
Appropriations Committee would utilize the receipts from the holding 
fee for the purpose of offsetting the cost of the Interior Department 
administering the mining law program.
  Second, this legislation would make permanent a provision that was 
first included in the fiscal year 1995 Interior Appropriations Act 
placing a moratorium on the issuance of what is known as a ``patent'' 
for any mining claim and mill site claim except in those situations 
where ``grandfather'' rights may exist. The purpose of this provision 
is to eliminate the absurd practice embodied in the Mining Law of 1872 
that allows corporations to receive a patent, which represents fee 
simple title, to public domain lands encumbered by valid mining or mill 
site claims at $2.50 or $5.00 an acre depending on the type of claim 
involved.
  Mr. Speaker, both of these provisions have received overwhelmingly 
bipartisan support when debated as part of the Interior Appropriations 
legislation over the past several years. I have wholeheartedly 
supported these actions, and would hope that the Appropriators will 
continue to include these provisions in the upcoming budget bills if 
the Resources Committee fails to act. Nonetheless, it is properly the 
duty of the authorizing committee, the Resources Committee, to address 
this issue.
  These two provisions--the imposition of a maintenance fee and the end 
to patenting--are part of a larger issue relating to the need to reform 
the 1872 Mining Law. Unlike other extractive industries, such as coal, 
timber or oil and gas development, the hard rock mining industry enjoys 
a special status, provided under the 1872 Mining Law, that allows 
access and free use of our Nation's rich public domain lands.
  As responsible stewards of the public domain and to meet our 
responsibilities to the American people, it is incumbent upon us to 
rethink and reform the Mining Law of 1872. To that end, in the near 
future I will again introduce comprehensive mining law reform 
legislation.

                          ____________________