[105th Congress Public Law 279]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


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[DOCID: f:publ279.105]


[[Page 2689]]

       MOUNT ST. HELENS NATIONAL VOLCANIC MONUMENT COMPLETION ACT

[[Page 112 STAT. 2690]]

Public Law 105-279
105th Congress

                                 An Act


 
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. <<NOTE: Oct. 23, 1998 -  [H.R. 1659]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Mount St. Helens National 
Volcanic Monument Completion Act. 16 USC 431 note.>> 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 the following:
            (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 the Congress 
        that the exchanges be completed by November 24, 1982, and August 
        26, 1983, respectively.
            (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 enactment of 
        the Act.

    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to facilitate and otherwise 
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 AND GEOTHERMAL INTERESTS WITHIN MOUNT ST. 
            HELENS 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 (Public Law 97-243; 96 Stat. 
302; 16 U.S.C. 431 note), is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsections:
    ``(g) Exchanges For Mineral and Geothermal Interests Held by Certain 
Companies.--

[[Page 112 STAT. 2691]]

            ``(1) Definition of company.--In this subsection, the term 
        `company' means a company referred to in subsection (c) or its 
        assigns or successors.
            ``(2) Exchange required.--Within 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior 
        shall acquire by exchange the mineral and geothermal interests 
        in the Monument of each company.
            ``(3) Monetary credits.--
                    ``(A) Issuance.--In exchange for all mineral and 
                geothermal interests acquired by the Secretary of the 
                Interior from each company under paragraph (2), the 
                Secretary of the Interior shall issue to each such 
                company monetary credits with a value of $2,100,000 that 
                may be used for the 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.) in the contiguous 
                      48 States;
                          ``(ii) not more than 10 percent of the bonus 
                      or other payments made by successful bidders in 
                      any sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal 
                      leases in Alaska under the laws specified in 
                      clause (i);
                          ``(iii) 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 in the contiguous 48 
                      States issued under the laws specified in clause 
                      (i); or
                          ``(iv) not more than 10 percent of any 
                      royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made 
                      to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil 
                      or gas, or geothermal lease in Alaska issued under 
                      the laws specified in clause (i).
                    ``(B) Value of credits.--The total credits of 
                $4,200,000 in value issued under subparagraph (A) are 
                deemed to equal the fair market value of all mineral and 
                geothermal interests to be conveyed by exchange under 
                paragraph (2).
            ``(4) Acceptance of credits.--The Secretary of the Interior 
        shall accept credits issued under paragraph (3)(A) in the same 
        manner as cash for the payments described in such paragraph. The 
        use of the credits shall be subject to the laws (including 
        regulations) governing such payments, to the extent the laws are 
        consistent with this subsection.
            ``(5) Treatment of credits for distribution to states.--All 
        amounts in the form of credits accepted by the Secretary of the 
        Interior under paragraph (4) for the payments described in 
        paragraph (3)(A) shall be considered to be money received for 
        the purpose of section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
        191) and section 20 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 
        U.S.C. 1019).
            ``(6) Exchange account.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law, not later than 30 days after the 
                completion of the exchange with a company required by 
                paragraph

[[Page 112 STAT. 2692]]

                (2), the Secretary of the Interior shall establish an 
                exchange account for that company for the monetary 
                credits issued to that company under paragraph (3). The 
                account for a company shall be established with the 
                Minerals Management Service of the Department of the 
                Interior and have an initial balance of credits equal to 
                $2,100,000.
                    ``(B) Use of credits.--The credits in a company's 
                account shall be available to the company for the 
                purposes specified in paragraph (3)(A). The Secretary of 
                the Interior shall adjust the balance of credits in the 
                account to reflect credits accepted by the Secretary of 
                the Interior pursuant to paragraph (4).
                    ``(C) Transfer or sale of credits.--
                          ``(i) Transfer or sale authorized.--A company 
                      may transfer or sell any credits in the company's 
                      account to another person.
                          ``(ii) Use of transferred credits.--Credits 
                      transferred or sold 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.--Within 30 days after 
                      the transfer or sale of any credits by a company, 
                      that company shall notify the Secretary of the 
                      Interior of the transfer or sale. The transfer or 
                      sale of any credit shall not be considered valid 
                      until the Secretary of the Interior has received 
                      the notification required under this clause.
                    ``(D) Time limit on use of credits.--On the date 
                that is 5 years after the date on which an account is 
                created under subparagraph (A) for a company, the 
                Secretary of the Interior shall terminate that company's 
                account. Any credits that originated in the terminated 
                account and have not been used as of the termination 
                date, including any credits transferred or sold under 
                subparagraph (C), shall become unusable.
            ``(7) Title to interests.--On the date of the establishment 
        of an exchange account for a company under paragraph (6)(A), 
        title to any mineral and geothermal interests that are held by 
        the company and are to be acquired by the Secretary of the 
        Interior under paragraph (2) shall transfer to the United 
        States.

    ``(h) Other <<NOTE: Reports.>> Mineral and Geothermal Interests.--
Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate a report--

[[Page 112 STAT. 2693]]

            ``(1) identifying all remaining privately held mineral 
        interests within the boundaries of the Monument referred to in 
        section 1(a); and
            ``(2) setting forth a plan and a timetable by which the 
        Secretary would propose to complete the acquisition of such 
        interests.''.

    Approved October 23, 1998.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1659 (S. 638):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-704 (Comm. on Resources).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105-229 accompanying S. 638 (Comm. on Energy and 
Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998):
            Sept. 23, considered and passed House.
            Oct. 7, considered and passed Senate.

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