Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB1865 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 1865
5	5	To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain
6	6	lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims,
7	7	and for other purposes.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	MARCH5, 2025
10	10	Mr. G
11	11	RIJALVA(for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill;
12	12	which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
13	13	A BILL
14	14	To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals
15	15	on public domain lands, consistent with the principles
16	16	of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other pur-
17	17	poses.
18	18	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
19	19	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
20	20	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
21	21	(a) S
22	22	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
23	23	‘‘Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 5
24	24	2025’’. 6
25	25	(b) T
26	26	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
27	27	this Act is as follows: 8
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30	30	•HR 1865 IH
31	31	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
32	32	Sec. 2. Definitions and references.
33	33	Sec. 3. Application rules.
34	34	TITLE I—MINERAL LEASING, EXPLORATION, AND DEVELOPMENT
35	35	Sec. 101. Closure to entry and location.
36	36	Sec. 102. Limitation on patents.
37	37	Sec. 103. Prospecting licenses and hardrock leases.
38	38	Sec. 104. Competitive leasing.
39	39	Sec. 105. Small miner’s lease.
40	40	Sec. 106. Land containing nonhardrock minerals; other uses.
41	41	Sec. 107. Royalty.
42	42	Sec. 108. Existing production.
43	43	Sec. 109. Hardrock mining claim maintenance fee.
44	44	Sec. 110. Effect of payments for use and occupancy of claims.
45	45	Sec. 111. Protection of special places.
46	46	Sec. 112. Suitability determination.
47	47	TITLE II—CONSULTATION PROCEDURE
48	48	Sec. 201. Requirement for consultation.
49	49	TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL
50	50	EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
51	51	Sec. 301. General standard for hardrock mining on Federal land.
52	52	Sec. 302. Permits.
53	53	Sec. 303. Exploration permit.
54	54	Sec. 304. Operations permit.
55	55	Sec. 305. Persons ineligible for permits.
56	56	Sec. 306. Financial assurance.
57	57	Sec. 307. Operation and reclamation.
58	58	Sec. 308. State law and regulation.
59	59	TITLE IV—ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE RECLAMATION
60	60	PROGRAM
61	61	Sec. 401. Funds credited to the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Pro-
62	62	gram.
63	63	Sec. 402. Displaced material reclamation fee.
64	64	TITLE V—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
65	65	Sec. 501. Policy functions.
66	66	Sec. 502. User fees and inflation adjustment.
67	67	Sec. 503. Inspection and monitoring.
68	68	Sec. 504. Citizens suits.
69	69	Sec. 505. Administrative and judicial review.
70	70	Sec. 506. Reporting requirements.
71	71	Sec. 507. Enforcement.
72	72	Sec. 508. Regulations.
73	73	Sec. 509. Oil shale claims.
74	74	Sec. 510. Savings clause.
75	75	Sec. 511. Availability of public records.
76	76	Sec. 512. Miscellaneous powers.
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79	79	•HR 1865 IH
80	80	Sec. 513. Mineral materials.
81	81	Sec. 514. Effective date.
82	82	SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES.
83	83	1
84	84	(a) I
85	85	NGENERAL.—As used in this Act: 2
86	86	(1) The term ‘‘Abandoned Hardrock Mine Rec-3
87	87	lamation Program’’ means the program established 4
88	88	by section 40704 of the Infrastructure Investment 5
89	89	and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1245). 6
90	90	(2) The term ‘‘adjacent land’’ means any land 7
91	91	not more than 2 miles from the boundary of a de-8
92	92	scribed land tract. 9
93	93	(3) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means, with respect to 10
94	94	any person, any of the following: 11
95	95	(A) Any person that controls, is controlled 12
96	96	by, or is under common control with such per-13
97	97	son. 14
98	98	(B) Any partner of such person. 15
99	99	(C) Any person owning at least 10 percent 16
100	100	of the voting shares of such person. 17
101	101	(4) The term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 18
102	102	the term in section 3502 of title 44, United States 19
103	103	Code. 20
104	104	(5) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap-21
105	105	plying for a lease, license, or permit under this Act 22
106	106	or a modification to or a renewal of a lease, license, 23
107	107	or permit issued under this Act. 24
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110	110	•HR 1865 IH
111	111	(6) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crush-1
112	112	ing and grinding of hardrock mineral ore and such 2
113	113	processes as are employed to free the mineral from 3
114	114	other constituents, including physical and chemical 4
115	115	separation techniques. 5
116	116	(7) The term ‘‘casual use’’— 6
117	117	(A) means mineral activities that do not 7
118	118	ordinarily result in any disturbance of Federal 8
119	119	land and resources; 9
120	120	(B) includes collection of geochemical, 10
121	121	rock, soil, or mineral specimens using 11
122	122	handtools, hand panning, or nonmotorized sluic-12
123	123	ing; and 13
124	124	(C) does not include— 14
125	125	(i) the use of mechanized earth-mov-15
126	126	ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo-16
127	127	sives; 17
128	128	(ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 18
129	129	closed to off-road vehicles; 19
130	130	(iii) the construction of roads or drill 20
131	131	pads; or 21
132	132	(iv) the use of toxic or hazardous ma-22
133	133	terials. 23
134	134	(8) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means— 24
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137	137	•HR 1865 IH
138	138	(A) any person holding a mining claim, 1
139	139	millsite, or tunnel site located under the general 2
140	140	mining laws or this Act and maintained in com-3
141	141	pliance with such laws; and 4
142	142	(B) any agent of such person. 5
143	143	(9) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the abil-6
144	144	ity, directly or indirectly, to determine (without re-7
145	145	gard to whether exercised through 1 or more cor-8
146	146	porate structures) the manner in which an entity 9
147	147	conducts mineral activities, through any means, in-10
148	148	cluding— 11
149	149	(A) ownership interest; 12
150	150	(B) authority to commit the real or finan-13
151	151	cial assets of the entity; 14
152	152	(C) position as a director, officer, or part-15
153	153	ner of the entity; or 16
154	154	(D) contractual arrangement. 17
155	155	(10) The term ‘‘displaced material’’ means any 18
156	156	raw ore or waste dislodged from its location by 19
157	157	human disturbance, including from hardrock mineral 20
158	158	activities. 21
159	159	(11) The term ‘‘exploration’’— 22
160	160	(A) means creating surface disturbance, 23
161	161	other than casual use, to evaluate the type, ex-24
162	162	tent, quantity, or quality of minerals present; 25
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165	165	•HR 1865 IH
166	166	(B) includes mineral activities associated 1
167	167	with sampling, drilling, and analyzing hardrock 2
168	168	mineral values; and 3
169	169	(C) does not include extraction of mineral 4
170	170	material for commercial use or sale. 5
171	171	(12) The term ‘‘Federal land’’— 6
172	172	(A) means any land, and any interest in 7
173	173	land, that is owned by the United States; and 8
174	174	(B) does not include— 9
175	175	(i) lands in the National Park System; 10
176	176	(ii) Indian lands; or 11
177	177	(iii) lands on the Outer Continental 12
178	178	Shelf. 13
179	179	(13) The term ‘‘hardrock mineral’’— 14
180	180	(A) means any mineral that was subject to 15
181	181	location under the general mining laws as of the 16
182	182	effective date of this Act, and that is not sub-17
183	183	ject to disposition under— 18
184	184	(i) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 19
185	185	U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 20
186	186	(ii) the Geothermal Steam Act of 21
187	187	1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 22
188	188	(iii) the Act of July 31, 1947, com-23
189	189	monly known as the Materials Act of 1947 24
190	190	(30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 25
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193	193	•HR 1865 IH
194	194	(iv) the Mineral Leasing Act for Ac-1
195	195	quired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); and 2
196	196	(B) does not include any mineral that is 3
197	197	subject to a restriction against alienation im-4
198	198	posed by the United States and is— 5
199	199	(i) held in trust by the United States 6
200	200	for any Indian or Indian Tribe, as defined 7
201	201	in section 2 of the Indian Mineral Develop-8
202	202	ment Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101); or 9
203	203	(ii) owned by any Indian or Indian 10
204	204	Tribe, as defined in that section. 11
205	205	(14) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ means— 12
206	206	(A) lands held in trust for the benefit of 13
207	207	an Indian Tribe or Indian; 14
208	208	(B) lands held by an Indian Tribe or In-15
209	209	dian subject to a restriction by the United 16
210	210	States against alienation; or 17
211	211	(C) lands held by an Alaska Native village, 18
212	212	village corporation, or regional corporation, as 19
213	213	defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska 20
214	214	Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 21
215	215	et seq.). 22
216	216	(15) The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ means any In-23
217	217	dian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized 24
218	218	group or community, including any Alaska Native 25
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221	221	•HR 1865 IH
222	222	village, village corporation, or regional corporation, 1
223	223	as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska 2
224	224	Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 3
225	225	seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special 4
226	226	programs and services provided by the United States 5
227	227	to Indians because of their status as Indians. 6
228	228	(16) The term ‘‘mining claim’’ means any min-7
229	229	ing claim made pursuant to— 8
230	230	(A) this Act; or 9
231	231	(B) the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 10
232	232	22 et seq.) before the effective date of this Act. 11
233	233	(17) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any 12
234	234	activity carried out on a mining claim, millsite, or 13
235	235	tunnel site, authorized by a lease, license, or permit 14
236	236	issued under this Act, for, related to, or incidental 15
237	237	to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, proc-16
238	238	essing, or reclamation activities for any hardrock 17
239	239	mineral. 18
240	240	(18) The term ‘‘National Conservation System 19
241	241	unit’’ means any unit of the National Park System, 20
242	242	National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and 21
243	243	Scenic Rivers System, National Wilderness Preserva-22
244	244	tion System, National Landscape Conservation Sys-23
245	245	tem, or National Trails System, or a National Con-24
246	246	servation Area, a National Recreation Area, a Wil-25
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249	249	•HR 1865 IH
250	250	derness Study Area, a National Monument, or any 1
251	251	unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System 2
252	252	or lands within the National Forest System, includ-3
253	253	ing the following: 4
254	254	(A) National Volcanic Monuments. 5
255	255	(B) Recreation Areas, Scenic Recreation 6
256	256	Areas, and Winter Recreation Areas. 7
257	257	(C) Scenic Areas, Scenic-Research Areas, 8
258	258	Scenic Highways, and National Scenic and 9
259	259	Wildlife Areas. 10
260	260	(D) National Game and Wildlife Preserves. 11
261	261	(E) Special Management, Wildlife, Con-12
262	262	servation, and Protection Areas, including bo-13
263	263	tanical, hydrological (watershed), geological, 14
264	264	historical, paleontological, and zoological areas. 15
265	265	(F) Experimental Forests, Ranges, and 16
266	266	Watersheds. 17
267	267	(G) Research Sites and Research Natural 18
268	268	Areas. 19
269	269	(H) Inventoried Roadless Area, Colorado 20
270	270	Roadless Area, and Idaho Roadless Area. 21
271	271	(I) Recommended Wilderness and Primi-22
272	272	tive Areas. 23
273	273	(19) The term ‘‘operator’’ means— 24
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276	276	•HR 1865 IH
277	277	(A) any person proposing or authorized by 1
278	278	a permit issued under this Act to conduct min-2
279	279	eral activities; and 3
280	280	(B) any agent of such person. 4
281	281	(20) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual, 5
282	282	Indian Tribe, partnership, association, society, joint 6
283	283	venture, joint stock company, firm, company, cor-7
284	284	poration, cooperative, or other organization and any 8
285	285	instrumentality of State or local government, includ-9
286	286	ing any publicly owned utility or publicly owned cor-10
287	287	poration of State or local government. 11
288	288	(21) The term ‘‘processing’’ means processes 12
289	289	downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare 13
290	290	hardrock mineral ore into a final marketable prod-14
291	291	uct, including smelting and electrolytic refining. 15
292	292	(22) The term ‘‘raw ore’’ means ore in its un-16
293	293	processed form, containing profitable amounts of a 17
294	294	hardrock mineral. 18
295	295	(23) The term ‘‘reclamation’’ means taking 19
296	296	measures following the disturbance of Federal land 20
297	297	by mineral activities to meet applicable performance 21
298	298	standards and achieve conditions required by the 22
299	299	Secretary concerned at the conclusion of such min-23
300	300	eral activities, including, where applicable— 24
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303	303	•HR 1865 IH
304	304	(A) isolation, control, or removal of acid- 1
305	305	forming, toxic, or deleterious substances; 2
306	306	(B) regrading and reshaping to conform 3
307	307	with adjacent landforms, facilitate revegetation, 4
308	308	control drainage, and minimize erosion; 5
309	309	(C) rehabilitation of fisheries or wildlife 6
310	310	habitat; 7
311	311	(D) placement of growth medium and es-8
312	312	tablishment of self-sustaining revegetation; 9
313	313	(E) removal or stabilization of buildings, 10
314	314	structures, or other support facilities; 11
315	315	(F) plugging of drill holes and closure of 12
316	316	underground workings; and 13
317	317	(G) providing for post-mining monitoring, 14
318	318	maintenance, or treatment. 15
319	319	(24) The term ‘‘sacred site’’ means any specific 16
320	320	delineated location on Federal land that is identified 17
321	321	by an Indian Tribe— 18
322	322	(A) as sacred by virtue of its established 19
323	323	religious significance to, or ceremonial use by, 20
324	324	an Indian religion; or 21
325	325	(B) to be of established cultural signifi-22
326	326	cance. 23
327	327	(25) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 24
328	328	of the Interior, unless otherwise specified. 25
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331	331	•HR 1865 IH
332	332	(26) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 1
333	333	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 2
334	334	through the Chief of the Forest Service) with 3
335	335	respect to National Forest System land; and 4
336	336	(B) the Secretary of the Interior (acting 5
337	337	through the Director of the Bureau of Land 6
338	338	Management) with respect to other Federal 7
339	339	land. 8
340	340	(27)(A) The term ‘‘small miner’’ means a per-9
341	341	son (including all related parties thereto) that— 10
342	342	(i) holds not more than 10 mining claims, 11
343	343	millsites, or tunnel sites, or any combination 12
344	344	thereof, on Federal land; 13
345	345	(ii) is a claim holder or operator with re-14
346	346	spect to not more than 200 acres of Federal 15
347	347	land; 16
348	348	(iii) certifies to the Secretary in writing 17
349	349	that the person had annual gross income in the 18
350	350	preceding calendar year from mineral produc-19
351	351	tion in an amount less than $50,000; and 20
352	352	(iv) has performed assessment work re-21
353	353	quired under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 22
354	354	U.S.C. 22 et seq.) to maintain any mining 23
355	355	claims held by the person and all related parties 24
356	356	thereto for the assessment year ending on noon 25
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359	359	•HR 1865 IH
360	360	of September 1 of the calendar year in which 1
361	361	payment of the claim maintenance fee was due. 2
362	362	(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), with re-3
363	363	spect to any person, the term ‘‘all related parties’’ 4
364	364	means— 5
365	365	(i) the spouse or qualifying child (as such 6
366	366	term is defined in section 152 of the Internal 7
367	367	Revenue Code of 1986) of such person; or 8
368	368	(ii) an affiliate of the person concerned. 9
369	369	(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), the 10
370	370	dollar amount shall be applied, for a person, to the 11
371	371	aggregate of all annual gross income from mineral 12
372	372	production under all mining claims held by or as-13
373	373	signed to such person and all related parties with re-14
374	374	spect to such person, including mining claims lo-15
375	375	cated or for which a patent was issued before the ef-16
376	376	fective date of this Act. 17
377	377	(28) The term ‘‘temporary cessation’’ means a 18
378	378	halt in mineral activities for a continuous period 19
379	379	that does not exceed 5 years. 20
380	380	(29) The term ‘‘ton’’ means 2,000 pounds av-21
381	381	oirdupois (.90718 metric ton). 22
382	382	(30) The term ‘‘unnecessary or undue degrada-23
383	383	tion’’ means irreparable harm to significant sci-24
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386	386	•HR 1865 IH
387	387	entific, cultural, or environmental resources on Fed-1
388	388	eral land. 2
389	389	(31) The term ‘‘valuable mineral deposit’’ 3
390	390	means a deposit of hardrock minerals that is of suf-4
391	391	ficient value for a prudent operator to extract, re-5
392	392	move, and market at a profit. 6
393	393	(32) The term ‘‘waste’’ means rock that must 7
394	394	be fractured and removed in order to gain access to 8
395	395	raw ore. 9
396	396	(b) R
397	397	EFERENCES TOOTHERLAWS.— 10
398	398	(1) G
399	399	ENERAL MINING LAWS .—Any reference in 11
400	400	this Act to the term ‘‘general mining laws’’ is a ref-12
401	401	erence to those Acts that generally comprise chap-13
402	402	ters 2, 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162, of 14
403	403	title 30, United States Code. 15
404	404	(2) A
405	405	CT OF JULY 23, 1955.—Any reference in 16
406	406	this Act to the Act of July 23, 1955, is a reference 17
407	407	to the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Act of 18
408	408	July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681) and the mining laws 19
409	409	to provide for multiple use of the surface of the 20
410	410	same tracts of the public lands, and for other pur-21
411	411	poses’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 22
412	412	SEC. 3. APPLICATION RULES. 23
413	413	(a) A
414	414	PPLICATION TOEXISTINGCLAIMS.—This Act 24
415	415	shall apply to any mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site 25
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418	418	•HR 1865 IH
419	419	located under the general mining laws before or on the 1
420	420	effective date of this Act. 2
421	421	(b) A
422	422	PPLICATION TOBENEFACTION ORPROCESSING 3
423	423	A
424	424	CTIVITIES.—This Act shall apply in the same manner 4
425	425	and to the same extent to mining claims, millsites, tunnel 5
426	426	sites, and any land included in a lease, license, or permit 6
427	427	issued under this Act used for beneficiation or processing 7
428	428	activities for any hardrock mineral. 8
429	429	TITLE I—MINERAL LEASING, EX-9
430	430	PLORATION, AND DEVELOP-10
431	431	MENT 11
432	432	SEC. 101. CLOSURE TO ENTRY AND LOCATION. 12
433	433	(a) C
434	434	LOSURE.—Except as otherwise provided in this 13
435	435	section, as of the effective date of this Act, all Federal 14
436	436	land is closed to entry and location under the general min-15
437	437	ing laws, and no new rights under the general mining laws 16
438	438	may be acquired. 17
439	439	(b) E
440	440	XISTINGCLAIMSWITHOUTPLAN OFOPER-18
441	441	ATIONS.— 19
442	442	(1) C
443	443	LAIMS WITHOUT PLAN OF OPERATIONS .— 20
444	444	Any claim under the general mining laws existing on 21
445	445	the effective date of this Act for which a plan of op-22
446	446	erations is not approved, or a notice of operations is 23
447	447	not filed, before such date shall be subject to the re-24
448	448	quirements of this Act, and may remain in effect 25
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451	451	•HR 1865 IH
452	452	until not later than the end of the 10-year period be-1
453	453	ginning on such date if the claim holder remains in 2
454	454	compliance with section 109, unless the claim hold-3
455	455	er— 4
456	456	(A) relinquishes the claim; or 5
457	457	(B) demonstrates eligibility for a lease and 6
458	458	requests conversion under the regulations 7
459	459	issued under subsection (d). 8
460	460	(2) S
461	461	HORTENING OF PERIOD .—The 10-year pe-9
462	462	riod referred to in paragraph (1) shall be shortened 10
463	463	to 3 years if— 11
464	464	(A) the claim is for an area that is located 12
465	465	in an area withdrawn or temporarily segregated 13
466	466	from location under the general mining laws as 14
467	467	of the effective date of this Act; or 15
468	468	(B) the claim belongs to a small miner. 16
469	469	(3) C
470	470	ONVERSION.—The Secretary concerned 17
471	471	may convert a claim described in paragraph (1) to 18
472	472	a noncompetitive mining lease pursuant to the regu-19
473	473	lations issued under subsection (d) if such Secretary 20
474	474	determines that the claim holder has shown the 21
475	475	presence of a valuable mineral deposit on the land 22
476	476	subject to such claim. 23
477	477	(4) C
478	478	LAIMS NOT CONVERTED .—Any claims de-24
479	479	scribed in paragraph (1) not converted to non-25
480	480	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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482	482	•HR 1865 IH
483	483	competitive leases under paragraph (3) at the end of 1
484	484	the applicable period under paragraph (1) or (2) 2
485	485	shall be void. 3
486	486	(c) E
487	487	XISTINGCLAIMSWITHPLAN OF OPER-4
488	488	ATIONS.— 5
489	489	(1) I
490	490	N GENERAL.—In the case of any claim 6
491	491	under the general mining laws for which a plan of 7
492	492	operations has been approved but for which oper-8
493	493	ations have not commenced before the on the effec-9
494	494	tive date of this Act— 10
495	495	(A) during the 10-year period beginning on 11
496	496	the effective date of this Act— 12
497	497	(i) mineral activities on lands subject 13
498	498	to such claim shall be subject to such plan 14
499	499	of operations; and 15
500	500	(ii) the Secretary shall allow the oper-16
501	501	ator to make changes to such plan subject 17
502	502	to applicable law as in effect on the day 18
503	503	before the effective date of this Act if the 19
504	504	Secretary determines that the requested 20
505	505	changes are minor; and 21
506	506	(B) the operator shall bring such mineral 22
507	507	activities into compliance with this Act by the 23
508	508	end of such 10-year period. 24
509	509	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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511	511	•HR 1865 IH
512	512	(2) ACTIVITIES PENDING DECISION ON MODI -1
513	513	FICATION TO PLAN OF OPERATIONS .—If an applica-2
514	514	tion for modification of a plan of operations referred 3
515	515	to in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) has been timely submitted 4
516	516	by the claim holder and an approved plan of oper-5
517	517	ations expires before the Secretary concerned takes 6
518	518	action on such application, mineral activities and 7
519	519	reclamation may continue in accordance with the 8
520	520	terms of the expired plan of operations until the 9
521	521	Secretary concerned makes an administrative deci-10
522	522	sion on the application. 11
523	523	(3) C
524	524	ONVERSION REQUIREMENT .— 12
525	525	(A) I
526	526	N GENERAL.—A claim described in 13
527	527	paragraph (1) may remain in effect for a period 14
528	528	of not more than 10 years. 15
529	529	(B) F
530	530	EE.—A claim described in paragraph 16
531	531	(1) that is not converted to a noncompetitive 17
532	532	lease pursuant to the regulations issued under 18
533	533	subsection (d) before the end of such period 19
534	534	shall, beginning on the first date after the end 20
535	535	of such period, be subject to a fee of $100 per 21
536	536	acre per day until such claim is converted to a 22
537	537	noncompetitive lease. 23
538	538	(d) C
539	539	ONVERSIONREGULATIONS.— 24
540	540	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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542	542	•HR 1865 IH
543	543	(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 1
544	544	the effective date of this Act, the Secretary shall 2
545	545	issue regulations regarding the conversion of existing 3
546	546	mining claims to noncompetitive mining leases. 4
547	547	(2) C
548	548	ONTENT.—Such regulations shall— 5
549	549	(A) prohibit the conversion of a mining 6
550	550	claim to a mining lease by a claim holder who 7
551	551	is in violation of this Act or other State or Fed-8
552	552	eral environmental, health, or worker safety 9
553	553	laws; 10
554	554	(B) allow the Secretary to exercise discre-11
555	555	tion to include nonmineral lands within the 12
556	556	boundaries of any millsite associated with the 13
557	557	mining claim to be converted to a noncompeti-14
558	558	tive lease; 15
559	559	(C) prohibit the area in any noncompetitive 16
560	560	mining lease issued under this section from ex-17
561	561	ceeding the maximum area authorized by this 18
562	562	Act to be leased to any person; 19
563	563	(D) require the consent of the surface 20
564	564	managing agency for conversion of a mining 21
565	565	claim to a noncompetitive mining lease; 22
566	566	(E) require the financial terms of the con-23
567	567	verted noncompetitive mining lease to be the 24
568	568	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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570	570	•HR 1865 IH
571	571	same as those provided in this Act for other 1
572	572	hardrock mining leases; and 2
573	573	(F) include any other terms the Secretary 3
574	574	considers appropriate. 4
575	575	(e) N
576	576	ATIONALENVIRONMENTAL POLICYACT.—The 5
577	577	Secretary is not required to conduct an environmental 6
578	578	analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 7
579	579	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to issue a noncompetitive 8
580	580	mining lease under this section, unless such noncompeti-9
581	581	tive mining lease modifies or extends the surface disturb-10
582	582	ance already authorized under a mine plan of operations 11
583	583	covering the mining claim that is converted. 12
584	584	SEC. 102. LIMITATION ON PATENTS. 13
585	585	(a) M
586	586	ININGCLAIMS.— 14
587	587	(1) D
588	588	ETERMINATIONS REQUIRED .—After the 15
589	589	effective date of this Act, no patent shall be issued 16
590	590	by the United States for any mining claim located 17
591	591	under the general mining laws unless the Secretary 18
592	592	determines that, for such mining claim— 19
593	593	(A) a patent application was filed with the 20
594	594	Secretary on or before September 30, 1994; 21
595	595	and 22
596	596	(B) all requirements established under sec-23
597	597	tions 2325 and 2326 of the Mining Law of 24
598	598	1872 (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30), in the case of a 25
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601	601	•HR 1865 IH
602	602	vein or lode claim, or sections 2329, 2330, 1
603	603	2331, and 2333 of that Act (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, 2
604	604	and 37), in the case of a placer claim, were 3
605	605	fully complied with by that date. 4
606	606	(2) R
607	607	IGHT TO PATENT.—If the Secretary makes 5
608	608	the determinations required under paragraph (1) for 6
609	609	any mining claim, the claim holder shall be entitled 7
610	610	to the issuance of a patent in the same manner and 8
611	611	degree to which such claim holder would have been 9
612	612	entitled to before the effective date of this Act, un-10
613	613	less such determinations are withdrawn or invali-11
614	614	dated by the Secretary or by a court of the United 12
615	615	States. 13
616	616	(b) M
617	617	ILLSITES.— 14
618	618	(1) D
619	619	ETERMINATIONS REQUIRED .—After the 15
620	620	effective date of this Act, no patent shall be issued 16
621	621	by the United States for any millsite located under 17
622	622	the general mining laws unless the Secretary deter-18
623	623	mines that, for such millsite— 19
624	624	(A) a patent application was filed with the 20
625	625	Secretary on or before September 30, 1994; 21
626	626	and 22
627	627	(B) all requirements applicable to such 23
628	628	patent application were fully complied with be-24
629	629	fore that date. 25
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632	632	•HR 1865 IH
633	633	(2) RIGHT TO PATENT.—If the Secretary makes 1
634	634	the determinations required under paragraph (1) for 2
635	635	any millsite, the claim holder shall be entitled to the 3
636	636	issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree 4
637	637	to which such claim holder would have been entitled 5
638	638	to before the effective date of this Act, unless such 6
639	639	determinations are withdrawn or invalidated by the 7
640	640	Secretary or by a court of the United States. 8
641	641	SEC. 103. PROSPECTING LICENSES AND HARDROCK 9
642	642	LEASES. 10
643	643	(a) I
644	644	NGENERAL.—No person may conduct mineral 11
645	645	prospecting for commercial purposes for any hardrock 12
646	646	mineral on Federal land without a prospecting license or 13
647	647	a small miner’s lease. 14
648	648	(b) P
649	649	ROSPECTINGLICENSES.— 15
650	650	(1) I
651	651	N GENERAL.—The Secretary may, under 16
652	652	such regulations as the Secretary may issue and 17
653	653	with the concurrence of the relevant surface manage-18
654	654	ment agency, grant an applicant a prospecting li-19
655	655	cense that shall give the exclusive right to prospect 20
656	656	for specified hardrock minerals on Federal land for 21
657	657	a period not longer than 2 years. 22
658	658	(2) M
659	659	AXIMUM AREA.—The area subject to a 23
660	660	prospecting license granted under paragraph (1) 24
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663	663	•HR 1865 IH
664	664	shall not exceed 2,560 acres of land, in reasonably 1
665	665	compact form. 2
666	666	(3) P
667	667	ROSPECTING LICENSE APPLICATION 3
668	668	FEE.—The Secretary shall charge a fee for each 4
669	669	prospecting license application to cover the costs of 5
670	670	reviewing such application. 6
671	671	(4) A
672	672	NNUAL RENTAL .—Each prospecting li-7
673	673	cense granted under paragraph (1) shall be subject 8
674	674	to annual rentals equal to $10 per acre per year. 9
675	675	(5) T
676	676	ERMS AND CONDITIONS .—A prospecting li-10
677	677	cense shall conform with the terms and conditions of 11
678	678	a comprehensive land use plan approved under— 12
679	679	(A) the Federal Land Policy and Manage-13
680	680	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 14
681	681	(B) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 15
682	682	Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 16
683	683	1600 et seq.). 17
684	684	(6) A
685	685	REAS WITHOUT APPROVED COMPREHEN -18
686	686	SIVE LAND USE PLAN .—For land covered by a 19
687	687	prospecting license for which a comprehensive land 20
688	688	use plan treating hardrock mining as a multiple-use 21
689	689	activity has not been completed, the Secretary con-22
690	690	cerned shall ensure that such land is suitable for 23
691	691	mineral activities. 24
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694	694	•HR 1865 IH
695	695	(7) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend a 1
696	696	prospecting license granted under this subsection for 2
697	697	not more than additional 4 years upon a showing by 3
698	698	the licensee that— 4
699	699	(A) the licensee explored with reasonable 5
700	700	diligence and was unable to determine the exist-6
701	701	ence and workability of a valuable mineral de-7
702	702	posit covered by the license; or 8
703	703	(B) if the licensee failed to perform dili-9
704	704	gent prospecting activities, such failure was due 10
705	705	to conditions beyond the control of the licensee. 11
706	706	(c) N
707	707	ONCOMPETITIVELEASES.— 12
708	708	(1) I
709	709	N GENERAL.—Upon a showing to the satis-13
710	710	faction of the Secretary by a prospecting licensee 14
711	711	under subsection (a) that a valuable mineral deposit 15
712	712	has been discovered by the licensee within an area 16
713	713	covered by the prospecting license and with the con-17
714	714	sent of the surface agency, the licensee shall be enti-18
715	715	tled to a lease for any or all of the land included in 19
716	716	the prospecting license, as well as any nonmineral 20
717	717	lands necessary for processing or milling operations, 21
718	718	at a royalty of not less than 12.5 percent of the 22
719	719	gross value of production of hardrock minerals or 23
720	720	mineral concentrates or products derived from 24
721	721	hardrock minerals under the lease. 25
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724	724	•HR 1865 IH
725	725	(2) RENTALS.— 1
726	726	(A) I
727	727	N GENERAL.—Rentals for a lease 2
728	728	under this section shall be set by the Secretary 3
729	729	at not less than $10 per acre per year, with 4
730	730	rentals paid in any 1 year credited against roy-5
731	731	alties accruing for that year. 6
732	732	(B) O
733	733	PERATIONS PERMIT.—A lessee under 7
734	734	this section is not entitled to an operations per-8
735	735	mit. 9
736	736	(3) L
737	737	EASE PERIOD.— 10
738	738	(A) I
739	739	N GENERAL.—A lease under this sub-11
740	740	section shall be for a period of 20 years, with 12
741	741	the right to renew for successive periods of 10 13
742	742	years if hardrock minerals are being produced 14
743	743	in commercial quantities under the lease. 15
744	744	(B) E
745	745	XTENSION DURING NONPRODUC -16
746	746	TION.—The Secretary may issue not more than 17
747	747	1 10-year extension of a lease under this sub-18
748	748	section if hardrock minerals are not being pro-19
749	749	duced in commercial quantities at the end of 20
750	750	the primary, or any subsequent, term of such 21
751	751	lease and— 22
752	752	(i) it is in the interest of conservation 23
753	753	or reclamation maintenance; 24
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756	756	•HR 1865 IH
757	757	(ii) the lessee shows that the lease 1
758	758	cannot be successfully operated at a profit; 2
759	759	or 3
760	760	(iii) the Secretary determines that 4
761	761	issuing such extension is appropriate. 5
762	762	(C) D
763	763	EFINITION OF COMMERCIAL QUAN -6
764	764	TITIES.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘commer-7
765	765	cial quantities’’ means any economic amount 8
766	766	sold, bartered, or traded for profit. 9
767	767	(d) C
768	768	UMULATIVEACREAGELIMITATION.—No person 10
769	769	may take, hold, own, or control at 1 time, whether ac-11
770	770	quired directly from the Secretary under this Act or other-12
771	771	wise, hardrock mining leases or licenses for an aggregate 13
772	772	of more than 20,480 acres in any 1 State. 14
773	773	(e) R
774	774	EDUCTION OFROYALTYRATE.— 15
775	775	(1) I
776	776	N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 16
777	777	the Secretary— 17
778	778	(A) may reduce the royalty rate for a lease 18
779	779	under this section upon a showing by clear and 19
780	780	convincing evidence by the operator that pro-20
781	781	duction would not occur without the reduction 21
782	782	in royalty rate; and 22
783	783	(B) may reduce the royalty and rental 23
784	784	rates for a lease under this section to encourage 24
785	785	exploration for and development of critical min-25
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788	788	•HR 1865 IH
789	789	erals (as such term is defined in section 1
790	790	7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 2
791	791	1606(a)). 3
792	792	(2) L
793	793	IMITATION.—The Secretary may not re-4
794	794	duce the royalty rate for a lease pursuant to para-5
795	795	graph (1) to less than 6.25 percent. 6
796	796	(f) P
797	797	ROTECTION OF LAND AND OTHERRE-7
798	798	SOURCES.—The Secretary, in consultation with any appli-8
799	799	cable surface management agency, may include in any 9
800	800	lease or license issued under this Act such provisions as 10
801	801	are necessary to adequately protect land and other re-11
802	802	sources in the vicinity of the area subject to the lease or 12
803	803	license. 13
804	804	SEC. 104. COMPETITIVE LEASING. 14
805	805	(a) I
806	806	NGENERAL.—Subject to sections 111 and 112, 15
807	807	Federal land known to contain valuable mineral deposits 16
808	808	that is not covered by claims, licenses, or leases issued 17
809	809	under this Act may only be open to hardrock mineral ex-18
810	810	ploration or development through competitive leasing by 19
811	811	the Secretary through such methods the Secretary may 20
812	812	adopt by regulation and in such areas as the Secretary 21
813	813	may determine, including nonmineral lands the Secretary 22
814	814	considers necessary for processing or milling operations. 23
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817	817	•HR 1865 IH
818	818	(b) LIMITATION.—The total area of land subject to 1
819	819	a competitive lease under this section shall not exceed 2
820	820	2,560 acres. 3
821	821	(c) T
822	822	ERMS ANDREQUIREMENTS.—All terms and re-4
823	823	quirements for competitive leases under this section shall 5
824	824	be the same as if the leases were issued noncompetitively 6
825	825	under section 103(c). 7
826	826	SEC. 105. SMALL MINER’S LEASE. 8
827	827	(a) I
828	828	NGENERAL.—The Secretary may issue a small 9
829	829	miner’s lease to a qualified small miner that applies, under 10
830	830	such regulations as the Secretary may issue, including 11
831	831	conditions to require diligent development of such lease 12
832	832	and to ensure protection of surface resources and ground 13
833	833	water. 14
834	834	(b) E
835	835	XCLUSIVERIGHT.—A small miner’s lease shall 15
836	836	give the lessee the exclusive right to prospect for hardrock 16
837	837	minerals for 3 years on not more than 200 acres of contig-17
838	838	uous or noncontiguous Federal land. 18
839	839	(c) A
840	840	PPLICATIONFEE.—The Secretary shall charge 19
841	841	a reasonable application fee for a small miner’s lease 20
842	842	under this subsection (a). 21
843	843	(d) R
844	844	ENTALS.—Annual rentals for a small miner’s 22
845	845	lease issued under this section shall be $5 per acre per 23
846	846	year for the first 3 years. 24
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849	849	•HR 1865 IH
850	850	(e) RENEWAL.—A small miner’s leases issued under 1
851	851	this section may be renewed for any number of additional 2
852	852	3-year periods. The rental for such a renewed lease shall 3
853	853	be $10 per acre per year rental charged. 4
854	854	(f) C
855	855	HALLENGE.— 5
856	856	(1) I
857	857	N GENERAL.—Any individual may file a 6
858	858	challenge with the Secretary that a lessee is in viola-7
859	859	tion of the diligence terms of a small miner’s lease 8
860	860	or does not qualify as a small miner. 9
861	861	(2) R
862	862	ENEWAL WHEN SUBJECT TO CHAL -10
863	863	LENGE.—A small miner’s lease that is subject to a 11
864	864	challenge under paragraph (1) may not be renewed 12
865	865	unless the Secretary has determined that the lessee 13
866	866	is a small miner and is in compliance with all the 14
867	867	terms of the small miner’s lease. 15
868	868	(g) N
869	869	OROYALTIES.—The Secretary shall not charge 16
870	870	royalties for commercial production under a small miner’s 17
871	871	lease. 18
872	872	(h) C
873	873	ONVERSION OFEXISTINGCLAIMS.—A claim ex-19
874	874	isting on the effective date of this Act that belongs to an 20
875	875	individual that qualifies as a small miner may be converted 21
876	876	to a small miner’s lease under the same terms and condi-22
877	877	tions that apply to a small miner’s lease under this sec-23
878	878	tion, except that such lease— 24
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881	881	•HR 1865 IH
882	882	(1) shall not be subject to rental during the pri-1
883	883	mary term of the lease; 2
884	884	(2) shall be subject to a rental of $5 per acre 3
885	885	per year for the first 3-year renewal of the lease; 4
886	886	and 5
887	887	(3) shall be subject to a rental of $10 per acre 6
888	888	per year for any subsequent 3-year renewal of the 7
889	889	lease. 8
890	890	(i) L
891	891	IMITATIONS.—A small miner’s lease— 9
892	892	(1) may only be held by the primary lease hold-10
893	893	er, a spouse thereof, or a direct descendent thereof; 11
894	894	(2) may not be sold or transferred, other than 12
895	895	to a spouse or direct descendent of the primary lease 13
896	896	holder; and 14
897	897	(3) is subject to all permitting requirements 15
898	898	under this Act. 16
899	899	(j) C
900	900	ONVERSION TOHARDROCKMINERALLEASE.— 17
901	901	(1) I
902	902	N GENERAL.—If, with regard to a small 18
903	903	miner’s lease, the lessee does not qualify as a small 19
904	904	miner at the time such lessee applies for a renewal 20
905	905	of such lease, such lessee shall not be eligible to 21
906	906	renew such lease, but shall be eligible for a non-22
907	907	competitive hardrock mineral lease issued under sec-23
908	908	tion 103(c). 24
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911	911	•HR 1865 IH
912	912	(2) ROYALTIES.—Notwithstanding section 1
913	913	103(c)(1), royalties under a small miner’s lease con-2
914	914	verted to a hardrock mineral lease under this sub-3
915	915	section shall only be due on the gross income that 4
916	916	exceeds $50,000 annually or the amount of gross in-5
917	917	come specified by the Secretary as of the time such 6
918	918	noncompetitive lease is issued. 7
919	919	SEC. 106. LAND CONTAINING NONHARDROCK MINERALS; 8
920	920	OTHER USES. 9
921	921	(a) I
922	922	NGENERAL.—In issuing licenses and leases 10
923	923	under this Act for land that contains deposits of coal or 11
924	924	other nonhardrock minerals, the Secretary shall reserve to 12
925	925	the United States such nonhardrock minerals for disposal 13
926	926	under applicable laws. 14
927	927	(b) O
928	928	THERUSES OFLICENSED AND LEASED 15
929	929	L
930	930	ANDS.— 16
931	931	(1) I
932	932	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue 17
933	933	regulations to allow for other uses of the land cov-18
934	934	ered by a prospecting license under this Act, includ-19
935	935	ing leases for other minerals, if such other uses 20
936	936	would not unreasonably interfere with operations 21
937	937	under the prospecting license. 22
938	938	(2) T
939	939	ERMS AND CONDITIONS .—The Secretary 23
940	940	shall include in each prospecting license issued under 24
941	941	section 103(b) such terms and conditions as the Sec-25
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944	944	•HR 1865 IH
945	945	retary determines necessary to avoid unreasonable 1
946	946	interference with other uses occurring on, or other 2
947	947	leases of, the licensed land. 3
948	948	(3) L
949	949	EASES.—The Secretary shall include in 4
950	950	leases issued under this Act stipulations to allow for 5
951	951	simultaneous operations under other leases for the 6
952	952	same land. 7
953	953	SEC. 107. ROYALTY. 8
954	954	(a) E
955	955	XISTINGPRODUCTION.— 9
956	956	(1) I
957	957	N GENERAL.—Production of hardrock min-10
958	958	erals, mineral concentrates, or products derived from 11
959	959	hardrock minerals on Federal land under an oper-12
960	960	ations permit from which valuable hardrock minerals 13
961	961	were produced in commercial quantities before the 14
962	962	effective date of this Act, other than production 15
963	963	under a small miner’s lease, shall be subject to a 16
964	964	royalty established by the Secretary of not less than 17
965	965	8 percent of the gross value of such production. 18
966	966	(2) A
967	967	DDITIONAL FEDERAL LAND .—Production 19
968	968	of hardrock minerals, mineral concentrates, or prod-20
969	969	ucts derived from hardrock minerals on Federal land 21
970	970	added through a plan modification to an operations 22
971	971	permit that is submitted after the effective date of 23
972	972	this Act shall be subject to a royalty established by 24
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975	975	•HR 1865 IH
976	976	the Secretary for such lease of not less than 12.5 1
977	977	percent of the gross value such production. 2
978	978	(b) L
979	979	IABILITY.—The claim holder or lessee, or any 3
980	980	operator to whom the claim holder or lessee has assigned 4
981	981	the obligation to make royalty payments under the claim 5
982	982	or lease and any person who controls such claim or lease 6
983	983	holder or operator, shall be liable for payment of such roy-7
984	984	alties. 8
985	985	(c) D
986	986	ISPOSITION.—Of the revenues collected under 9
987	987	this title, including rents, royalties, claim maintenance 10
988	988	fees, interest charges, fines, and penalties— 11
989	989	(1) 25 percent shall be paid to the State within 12
990	990	the boundaries of which the leased, licensed, or 13
991	991	claimed lands, or operations subject to such interest 14
992	992	charges, fines, or penalties are or were located; and 15
993	993	(2) the remainder shall be made available to 16
994	994	carry out, to remain available until expended without 17
995	995	fiscal year limitation, the Abandoned Hardrock Mine 18
996	996	Reclamation Program. 19
997	997	(d) D
998	998	UTIES OFCLAIMHOLDERS, LESSEES, OPERA-20
999	999	TORS, ANDTRANSPORTERS.— 21
1000	1000	(1) R
1001	1001	EGULATION.—The Secretary shall issue 22
1002	1002	regulations regarding the time and manner in which 23
1003	1003	a person who is required to make a royalty payment 24
1004	1004	under this section shall— 25
1005	1005	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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1007	1007	•HR 1865 IH
1008	1008	(A) make such payment; and 1
1009	1009	(B) notify the Secretary of any assignment 2
1010	1010	that such person may have made of the obliga-3
1011	1011	tion to make any royalty or other payment 4
1012	1012	under a mining claim or lease under this title. 5
1013	1013	(2) W
1014	1014	RITTEN INSTRUMENT .—Any person pay-6
1015	1015	ing royalties under this section shall file a written 7
1016	1016	instrument, together with the first royalty payment, 8
1017	1017	affirming that such person is responsible for making 9
1018	1018	proper payments for all amounts due for all time pe-10
1019	1019	riods for which such person has a payment responsi-11
1020	1020	bility. 12
1021	1021	(3) A
1022	1022	DDITIONAL AMOUNTS .—Such responsi-13
1023	1023	bility for the periods referred to in paragraph (2) 14
1024	1024	shall include any and all additional amounts billed 15
1025	1025	by the Secretary and determined to be due by final 16
1026	1026	agency or judicial action. 17
1027	1027	(4) J
1028	1028	OINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY .—Any per-18
1029	1029	son liable for royalty payments under this section 19
1030	1030	who assigns any payment obligation shall remain 20
1031	1031	jointly and severally liable for such royalty pay-21
1032	1032	ments. 22
1033	1033	(5) O
1034	1034	BLIGATIONS.—A person conducting min-23
1035	1035	eral activities shall— 24
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1038	1038	•HR 1865 IH
1039	1039	(A) develop and comply with the site secu-1
1040	1040	rity provisions in the operations permit de-2
1041	1041	signed to protect from theft the hardrock min-3
1042	1042	erals, concentrates, or products derived there-4
1043	1043	from that are produced or stored on the area 5
1044	1044	subject to a mining claim or lease, and such 6
1045	1045	provisions shall conform with such minimum 7
1046	1046	standards as the Secretary may issue by regula-8
1047	1047	tion, taking into account the variety of cir-9
1048	1048	cumstances on areas subject to mining claims 10
1049	1049	and leases; and 11
1050	1050	(B) not later than the fifth business day 12
1051	1051	after production begins anywhere on an area 13
1052	1052	subject to a mining claim or lease, or produc-14
1053	1053	tion resumes after more than 90 days after pro-15
1054	1054	duction was suspended, notify the Secretary, in 16
1055	1055	the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the 17
1056	1056	date on which such production has begun or re-18
1057	1057	sumed. 19
1058	1058	(6) R
1059	1059	EQUIRED DOCUMENTATION .—The Sec-20
1060	1060	retary may by regulation require any person engaged 21
1061	1061	in transporting a hardrock mineral, concentrate, or 22
1062	1062	product derived therefrom to carry on his or her per-23
1063	1063	son, in his or her vehicle, or in his or her immediate 24
1064	1064	control, documentation showing, at a minimum, the 25
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1067	1067	•HR 1865 IH
1068	1068	amount, origin, and intended destination of the 1
1069	1069	hardrock mineral, concentrate, or product derived 2
1070	1070	therefrom in such circumstances as the Secretary 3
1071	1071	determines appropriate. 4
1072	1072	(e) R
1073	1073	ECORDKEEPING AND REPORTINGREQUIRE-5
1074	1074	MENTS.— 6
1075	1075	(1) I
1076	1076	N GENERAL.— 7
1077	1077	(A) R
1078	1078	EQUIREMENT.—A claim holder or 8
1079	1079	lessee, operator, or other person directly in-9
1080	1080	volved in developing, producing, processing, 10
1081	1081	transporting, purchasing, or selling hardrock 11
1082	1082	minerals, concentrates, or products derived 12
1083	1083	therefrom, subject to this Act, through the 13
1084	1084	point of royalty computation shall establish and 14
1085	1085	maintain any records, make any reports, and 15
1086	1086	provide any information that the Secretary may 16
1087	1087	reasonably require for the purposes of imple-17
1088	1088	menting this section or determining compliance 18
1089	1089	with regulations or orders under this section. 19
1090	1090	(B) I
1091	1091	NCLUSIONS.— 20
1092	1092	(i) R
1093	1093	ECORDS.—Records described in 21
1094	1094	subparagraph (A) shall include periodic re-22
1095	1095	ports, records, documents, and other data. 23
1096	1096	(ii) R
1097	1097	EPORTS.—Reports described in 24
1098	1098	subparagraph (A) may include pertinent 25
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1101	1101	•HR 1865 IH
1102	1102	technical and financial data relating to the 1
1103	1103	quantity, quality, composition volume, 2
1104	1104	weight, and assay of all minerals extracted 3
1105	1105	from the mining claim or lease. 4
1106	1106	(2) A
1107	1107	VAILABILITY FOR INSPECTION .—Upon the 5
1108	1108	request of any officer or employee duly designated 6
1109	1109	by the Secretary to conduct an audit or investigation 7
1110	1110	pursuant to this section, the appropriate records, re-8
1111	1111	ports, or information that may be required by this 9
1112	1112	section shall be made available for inspection and 10
1113	1113	duplication by such officer or employee. 11
1114	1114	(3) F
1115	1115	ORFEITURE.—Failure by a claim holder or 12
1116	1116	lessee, operator, or other person referred to in para-13
1117	1117	graph (1)(A) to cooperate with an audit or investiga-14
1118	1118	tion under paragraph (2), provide data required by 15
1119	1119	the Secretary, or grant access to information may, 16
1120	1120	at the discretion of the Secretary, result in involun-17
1121	1121	tary forfeiture of the claim or lease. 18
1122	1122	(4) M
1123	1123	AINTENANCE OF RECORDS .— 19
1124	1124	(A) I
1125	1125	N GENERAL.—Records required by 20
1126	1126	the Secretary under this section shall be main-21
1127	1127	tained for 7 years after release of financial as-22
1128	1128	surance under section 306 unless the Secretary 23
1129	1129	notifies the operator that the Secretary has ini-24
1130	1130	tiated an audit or investigation involving such 25
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1133	1133	•HR 1865 IH
1134	1134	records and that such records must be main-1
1135	1135	tained for a longer period. 2
1136	1136	(B) A
1137	1137	UDIT OR INVESTIGATION .—In any 3
1138	1138	case when an audit or investigation is under-4
1139	1139	way, records shall be maintained until the Sec-5
1140	1140	retary releases the operator of the obligation to 6
1141	1141	maintain such records. 7
1142	1142	(f) A
1143	1143	UDITS.— 8
1144	1144	(1) I
1145	1145	N GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 9
1146	1146	to conduct such audits of all claim holders or lessees, 10
1147	1147	operators, transporters, purchasers, processors, or 11
1148	1148	other persons directly or indirectly involved in the 12
1149	1149	production or sale of minerals covered by this Act, 13
1150	1150	as the Secretary determines necessary for the pur-14
1151	1151	poses of ensuring compliance with the requirements 15
1152	1152	of this section. 16
1153	1153	(2) A
1154	1154	VAILABILITY OF INFORMATION .—For pur-17
1155	1155	poses of performing such audits, the Secretary shall, 18
1156	1156	at reasonable times and upon request, have access 19
1157	1157	to, and may copy, all books, papers, and other docu-20
1158	1158	ments that relate to compliance with any provision 21
1159	1159	of this section by any person. 22
1160	1160	(g) C
1161	1161	OOPERATIVEAGREEMENTS.— 23
1162	1162	(1) I
1163	1163	N GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 24
1164	1164	to enter into cooperative agreements with the Sec-25
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1167	1167	•HR 1865 IH
1168	1168	retary of Agriculture to share information con-1
1169	1169	cerning the royalty management of hardrock min-2
1170	1170	erals, concentrates, or products derived therefrom to 3
1171	1171	carry out inspection, auditing, investigation, or en-4
1172	1172	forcement (not including the collection of royalties, 5
1173	1173	civil or criminal penalties, or other payments) activi-6
1174	1174	ties under this section, and to carry out any other 7
1175	1175	activity described in this section. 8
1176	1176	(2) S
1177	1177	ECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE .—Except as 9
1178	1178	provided in paragraph (3), and pursuant to a coop-10
1179	1179	erative agreement entered into under paragraph (1), 11
1180	1180	the Secretary of Agriculture shall, upon request, 12
1181	1181	have access to all royalty accounting information in 13
1182	1182	the possession of the Secretary with respect to the 14
1183	1183	production, removal, or sale of hardrock minerals, 15
1184	1184	concentrates, or products derived therefrom from 16
1185	1185	claims or leases on land open to mineral exploration 17
1186	1186	and production under this Act. 18
1187	1187	(3) C
1188	1188	ONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION .— 19
1189	1189	(A) I
1190	1190	N GENERAL.—Trade secrets, propri-20
1191	1191	etary information, and other confidential infor-21
1192	1192	mation protected from disclosure under section 22
1193	1193	552 of title 5, United States Code, shall be 23
1194	1194	made available by the Secretary to other Fed-24
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1197	1197	•HR 1865 IH
1198	1198	eral agencies as necessary to ensure compliance 1
1199	1199	with this Act and other Federal laws. 2
1200	1200	(B) P
1201	1201	ROTECTION OF INFORMATION .—The 3
1202	1202	Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and 4
1203	1203	other Federal officials shall ensure that the in-5
1204	1204	formation described in subparagraph (A) is pro-6
1205	1205	vided protection in accordance with the require-7
1206	1206	ments of that section. 8
1207	1207	(h) I
1208	1208	NTEREST ANDSUBSTANTIALUNDERREPORTING 9
1209	1209	A
1210	1210	SSESSMENTS.— 10
1211	1211	(1) P
1212	1212	AYMENTS NOT RECEIVED .— 11
1213	1213	(A) I
1214	1214	N GENERAL.—In the case of mining 12
1215	1215	claims or leases where royalty payments are not 13
1216	1216	received by the Secretary on the date that such 14
1217	1217	payments are due, the Secretary shall charge 15
1218	1218	interest on such underpayments at the same in-16
1219	1219	terest rate as the rate applicable under section 17
1220	1220	6621(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 18
1221	1221	1986. 19
1222	1222	(B) C
1223	1223	OMPUTATION.—In the case of an un-20
1224	1224	derpayment, interest shall be computed and 21
1225	1225	charged only on the amount of the deficiency 22
1226	1226	and not on the total amount. 23
1227	1227	(2) U
1228	1228	NDERREPORTING.—If there is any under-24
1229	1229	reporting of royalty owed on production from a 25
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1232	1232	•HR 1865 IH
1233	1233	claim or lease for any production month by any per-1
1234	1234	son liable for royalty payments under this section, 2
1235	1235	the Secretary shall assess a penalty of not more 3
1236	1236	than 25 percent of the amount of the under-4
1237	1237	reporting. 5
1238	1238	(3) S
1239	1239	ELF-REPORTING.—The Secretary may 6
1240	1240	waive or reduce the assessment under paragraph (2) 7
1241	1241	if the person liable for royalty payments under this 8
1242	1242	section corrects the underreporting before the later 9
1243	1243	of— 10
1244	1244	(A) the date such person receives notice 11
1245	1245	from the Secretary that an underreporting may 12
1246	1246	have occurred; and 13
1247	1247	(B) the date that is 90 days after the ef-14
1248	1248	fective date of this Act. 15
1249	1249	(4) W
1250	1250	AIVER.—The Secretary shall waive any 16
1251	1251	portion of an assessment under paragraph (2) at-17
1252	1252	tributable to that portion of the underreporting for 18
1253	1253	which the person responsible for paying the royalty 19
1254	1254	demonstrates that such person— 20
1255	1255	(A) had written authorization from the 21
1256	1256	Secretary to report royalty on the value of the 22
1257	1257	production on the basis on which it was re-23
1258	1258	ported; 24
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1261	1261	•HR 1865 IH
1262	1262	(B) had substantial authority for reporting 1
1263	1263	royalty on the value of the production on the 2
1264	1264	basis on which it was reported; 3
1265	1265	(C) previously had notified the Secretary, 4
1266	1266	in such manner as the Secretary may by regula-5
1267	1267	tion issue, of relevant reasons or facts affecting 6
1268	1268	the royalty treatment of specific production 7
1269	1269	which led to the underreporting; or 8
1270	1270	(D) meets any other exception which the 9
1271	1271	Secretary may, by regulation, establish. 10
1272	1272	(5) A
1273	1273	BANDONED HARDROCK MINE RECLAMA -11
1274	1274	TION PROGRAM.—All penalties collected under this 12
1275	1275	subsection shall be shall be made available to carry 13
1276	1276	out, to remain available until expended without fiscal 14
1277	1277	year limitation, the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Rec-15
1278	1278	lamation Program. 16
1279	1279	(6) U
1280	1280	NDERREPORTING DEFINED .—In this sub-17
1281	1281	section, the term ‘‘underreporting’’ means the dif-18
1282	1282	ference between the royalty on the value of the pro-19
1283	1283	duction that should have been reported and the roy-20
1284	1284	alty on the value of the production which was re-21
1285	1285	ported, if the value that should have been reported 22
1286	1286	is greater than the value that was reported. 23
1287	1287	(i) E
1288	1288	XPANDEDROYALTYOBLIGATIONS.—Each per-24
1289	1289	son liable for royalty payments under this section shall 25
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1292	1292	•HR 1865 IH
1293	1293	be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all hardrock 1
1294	1294	minerals, concentrates, or products derived therefrom that 2
1295	1295	are lost or wasted from a mining claim or lease if such 3
1296	1296	loss or waste is due to negligence on the part of any person 4
1297	1297	or due to the failure to comply with this section. 5
1298	1298	(j) F
1299	1299	AILURETOCOMPLYWITHROYALTYREQUIRE-6
1300	1300	MENTS.—Any person who fails to comply with the require-7
1301	1301	ments of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty 8
1302	1302	under section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 9
1303	1303	Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) to the same 10
1304	1304	extent as if the claim or lease maintained in compliance 11
1305	1305	with this Act were a lease under such Act. 12
1306	1306	(k) G
1307	1307	ROSSINCOMEFROMMININGDEFINED.—In 13
1308	1308	this section, for any hardrock mineral, the term ‘‘gross 14
1309	1309	income from mining’’ has the meaning given the term 15
1310	1310	‘‘gross income’’ in section 613(c) of the Internal Revenue 16
1311	1311	Code of 1986. 17
1312	1312	(l) E
1313	1313	FFECTIVEDATE.—Royalties under this Act shall 18
1314	1314	take effect with respect to the production of hardrock min-19
1315	1315	erals after the effective date of this Act, but any royalty 20
1316	1316	payments attributable to production during the first 12 21
1317	1317	calendar months after the effective date of this Act shall 22
1318	1318	be payable at the expiration of such 12-month period. 23
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1321	1321	•HR 1865 IH
1322	1322	SEC. 108. EXISTING PRODUCTION. 1
1323	1323	(a) I
1324	1324	NGENERAL.—The claim holder of a mining 2
1325	1325	claim located or converted under this Act for which min-3
1326	1326	eral activities have commenced under an approved plan of 4
1327	1327	operations as of the effective date of this Act shall have 5
1328	1328	the exclusive right of possession and use of the land sub-6
1329	1329	ject to such mining claim for mineral activities, including 7
1330	1330	the right of ingress and egress to such land for mineral 8
1331	1331	activities, subject to the rights of the United States under 9
1332	1332	this Act and other applicable Federal law. 10
1333	1333	(b) T
1334	1334	ERMINATION.—The rights of the claim holder 11
1335	1335	under subsection (a) shall terminate upon completion of 12
1336	1336	mineral activities on such land to the satisfaction of the 13
1337	1337	Secretary. 14
1338	1338	SEC. 109. HARDROCK MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEE. 15
1339	1339	(a) F
1340	1340	EE.— 16
1341	1341	(1) I
1342	1342	N GENERAL.— 17
1343	1343	(A) R
1344	1344	EQUIRED FEES.— 18
1345	1345	(i) I
1346	1346	N GENERAL.—Except as provided 19
1347	1347	in section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy 20
1348	1348	Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C. 242(e)(2)) and as 21
1349	1349	otherwise provided in this Act, for each 22
1350	1350	unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tun-23
1351	1351	nel site on Federal land, whether located 24
1352	1352	before or on the effective date of this Act, 25
1353	1353	each such claimant shall pay to the Sec-26
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1356	1356	•HR 1865 IH
1357	1357	retary, on or before September 1 of each 1
1358	1358	year, a claim maintenance fee of $200 per 2
1359	1359	claim to hold such unpatented mining 3
1360	1360	claim, millsite, or tunnel site for the as-4
1361	1361	sessment year beginning at noon the fol-5
1362	1362	lowing day. 6
1363	1363	(ii) F
1364	1364	EE IN PLACE OF ASSESSMENT 7
1365	1365	WORK.—A claim maintenance fee paid 8
1366	1366	under clause (i) shall be in lieu of the as-9
1367	1367	sessment work requirement in the Mining 10
1368	1368	Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) and 11
1369	1369	the related filing requirements in sections 12
1370	1370	314(a) and (c) of the Federal Land Policy 13
1371	1371	and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 14
1372	1372	1744(a) and (c)). 15
1373	1373	(B) F
1374	1374	EE ADJUSTMENTS.—Any adjustment 16
1375	1375	to a fee under this subsection made under sec-17
1376	1376	tion 502 shall begin to apply in the first assess-18
1377	1377	ment year which begins after the adjustment is 19
1378	1378	made. 20
1379	1379	(C) E
1380	1380	XCEPTION FOR SMALL MINERS .— 21
1381	1381	Subparagraph (A) and the assessment work re-22
1382	1382	quirement in the Mining Law of 1872 (30 23
1383	1383	U.S.C. 28 et seq.) shall not apply with respect 24
1384	1384	to a small miner’s lease. 25
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1387	1387	•HR 1865 IH
1388	1388	(2) RECLAMATION PROGRAM .—Moneys received 1
1389	1389	under this subsection that are not otherwise allo-2
1390	1390	cated for the administration of this Act by the Sec-3
1391	1391	retary shall be made available to carry out, to re-4
1392	1392	main available until expended without fiscal year 5
1393	1393	limitation, the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclama-6
1394	1394	tion Program. 7
1395	1395	(b) C
1396	1396	O-OWNERSHIP.—The co-ownership provisions of 8
1397	1397	the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 et seq.) shall re-9
1398	1398	main in effect except that the annual claim maintenance 10
1399	1399	fee under subsection (a), where applicable, shall replace 11
1400	1400	applicable assessment requirements and expenditures 12
1401	1401	under that Act. 13
1402	1402	(c) F
1403	1403	AILURETOPAY.—Failure to pay the claim 14
1404	1404	maintenance fee under subsection (a) in a timely manner 15
1405	1405	shall conclusively constitute a forfeiture of the unpatented 16
1406	1406	mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site by the claimant and 17
1407	1407	the claim, millsite, or tunnel site shall be deemed null and 18
1408	1408	void by operation of law. 19
1409	1409	(d) O
1410	1410	THERREQUIREMENTS.— 20
1411	1411	(1) R
1412	1412	EQUIRED FILINGS.—Nothing in this sec-21
1413	1413	tion shall change or modify the requirements of sec-22
1414	1414	tion 314(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-23
1415	1415	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)) or the re-24
1416	1416	quirements of section 314(c) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 25
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1419	1419	•HR 1865 IH
1420	1420	1744(c)) related to filings required by section 314(b) 1
1421	1421	of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)), which remain in ef-2
1422	1422	fect. 3
1423	1423	(2) M
1424	1424	INING LAW OF 1872.—Section 2324 of the 4
1425	1425	Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended by 5
1426	1426	inserting ‘‘or section 103(a) of the Mining Waste, 6
1427	1427	Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 2025’’ after 7
1428	1428	‘‘Act of 1993’’. 8
1429	1429	SEC. 110. EFFECT OF PAYMENTS FOR USE AND OCCUPANCY 9
1430	1430	OF CLAIMS. 10
1431	1431	Except as otherwise provided in section 101, timely 11
1432	1432	payment of the claim maintenance fee required by section 12
1433	1433	109 or any related law relating to the use of Federal land, 13
1434	1434	asserts the authority of the claimant to use and occupy 14
1435	1435	the Federal land concerned for prospecting and explo-15
1436	1436	ration, consistent with the requirements of this Act and 16
1437	1437	other applicable law. 17
1438	1438	SEC. 111. PROTECTION OF SPECIAL PLACES. 18
1439	1439	(a) P
1440	1440	ROTECTION OFNATIONALPARKSYSTEMUNITS 19
1441	1441	ANDNATIONALMONUMENTS.—No agency may authorize 20
1442	1442	any mineral activity that would impair the land or re-21
1443	1443	sources of a unit of the National Park System or a na-22
1444	1444	tional monument, including— 23
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1447	1447	•HR 1865 IH
1448	1448	(1) any diminution of the affected land, includ-1
1449	1449	ing wildlife, scenic assets, water resources, air qual-2
1450	1450	ity, and acoustic qualities; or 3
1451	1451	(2) other changes that would impair a the expe-4
1452	1452	rience of a citizen at the National Park System unit 5
1453	1453	or a national monument. 6
1454	1454	(b) P
1455	1455	ROTECTION OFNATIONALCONSERVATIONSYS-7
1456	1456	TEMUNITS.—In order to protect the resources and values 8
1457	1457	of National Conservation System units, the Secretary, as 9
1458	1458	appropriate, shall use authority under this Act and other 10
1459	1459	applicable law to the fullest extent necessary to prevent 11
1460	1460	mineral activities that could have an adverse impact on 12
1461	1461	the resources or values for which such units were estab-13
1462	1462	lished. 14
1463	1463	(c) L
1464	1464	ANDSNOTOPEN TOMINING.—Notwithstanding 15
1465	1465	any other provision of law and subject to valid existing 16
1466	1466	rights, no agency shall authorize mineral activities within 17
1467	1467	any of the following areas: 18
1468	1468	(1) Sacred sites. 19
1469	1469	(2) Wilderness study areas. 20
1470	1470	(3) Habitat designated as critical habitat under 21
1471	1471	section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 22
1472	1472	U.S.C. 1533). 23
1473	1473	(4) Areas of critical environmental concern (as 24
1474	1474	such term is defined in section 103 of the Federal 25
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1477	1477	•HR 1865 IH
1478	1478	Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 1
1479	1479	U.S.C. 1702)). 2
1480	1480	(5) Units of the National Conservation System. 3
1481	1481	(6) Areas designated for inclusion in the Na-4
1482	1482	tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System pursuant to 5
1483	1483	the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et 6
1484	1484	seq.), areas designated for potential addition to such 7
1485	1485	system pursuant to section 5(a) of that Act (16 8
1486	1486	U.S.C. 1276(a)), and areas determined to be eligible 9
1487	1487	for inclusion in such system pursuant to section 5(d) 10
1488	1488	of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(d)). 11
1489	1489	(7) Inventoried Roadless Areas under the 12
1490	1490	Roadless Area Conservation Rule, part 294 of title 13
1491	1491	36, Code of Federal Regulations, Colorado Roadless 14
1492	1492	Areas, or Idaho Roadless Areas. 15
1493	1493	SEC. 112. SUITABILITY DETERMINATION. 16
1494	1494	(a) I
1495	1495	NGENERAL.—In accordance with subsection (b), 17
1496	1496	the Secretary concerned shall make each determination of 18
1497	1497	whether land is suitable for mineral activities that is re-19
1498	1498	quired by this Act. 20
1499	1499	(b) S
1500	1500	UITABILITY.— 21
1501	1501	(1) I
1502	1502	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 22
1503	1503	shall consider land suitable for mineral activities if 23
1504	1504	the Secretary concerned finds that such mineral ac-24
1505	1505	tivities would not result in unnecessary or undue 25
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1508	1508	•HR 1865 IH
1509	1509	degradation to a special characteristic described in 1
1510	1510	paragraph (2) of such land that cannot be prevented 2
1511	1511	by the imposition of conditions in the permit re-3
1512	1512	quired for such activities under title III. 4
1513	1513	(2) S
1514	1514	PECIAL CHARACTERISTICS .—For purposes 5
1515	1515	of paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall con-6
1516	1516	sider each of the following to be a special char-7
1517	1517	acteristic: 8
1518	1518	(A) The existence of a significant water re-9
1519	1519	source or supply in or associated with such 10
1520	1520	land, including any aquifer or aquifer recharge 11
1521	1521	area. 12
1522	1522	(B) The presence on such land, or any ad-13
1523	1523	jacent land, of a publicly owned place that is 14
1524	1524	listed on, or determined by the Secretary to be 15
1525	1525	eligible for listing on, the National Register of 16
1526	1526	Historic Places. 17
1527	1527	(C) The designation of all or any portion 18
1528	1528	of such land, or any adjacent land, as a Na-19
1529	1529	tional Conservation System unit. 20
1530	1530	(D) The designation of all or any portion 21
1531	1531	of such land, or any adjacent land, as critical 22
1532	1532	habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 23
1533	1533	1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 24
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1536	1536	•HR 1865 IH
1537	1537	(E) The designation of all or any portion 1
1538	1538	of such land, or any adjacent land, as a class 2
1539	1539	I area under section 162 of the Clean Air Act 3
1540	1540	(42 U.S.C. 7472). 4
1541	1541	(F) The presence of such other resource 5
1542	1542	values as the Secretary concerned may by regu-6
1543	1543	lation specify, determined based upon field test-7
1544	1544	ing, evaluation, or credible information that 8
1545	1545	verifies such values. 9
1546	1546	(G) The designation of such land, or adja-10
1547	1547	cent land, as a Research Natural Area. 11
1548	1548	(H) The presence on such land, or any ad-12
1549	1549	jacent land, of a sacred site. 13
1550	1550	(I) The presence or designation of such 14
1551	1551	land adjacent to land not open to mining pursu-15
1552	1552	ant to section 111. 16
1553	1553	(3) P
1554	1554	UBLIC COMMENT.—A determination under 17
1555	1555	this subsection of suitability for mineral activities 18
1556	1556	shall be made after publication of notice and an op-19
1557	1557	portunity for submission of public comment for a pe-20
1558	1558	riod of not less than 60 days. 21
1559	1559	(4) I
1560	1560	NCLUSION IN FEDERAL LAND USE PLAN .— 22
1561	1561	Any determination made in accordance with this 23
1562	1562	subsection with respect to land shall be incorporated 24
1563	1563	into each Federal land use plan applicable to such 25
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1566	1566	•HR 1865 IH
1567	1567	land, at the time such Federal land use plan is 1
1568	1568	adopted, revised, or significantly amended pursuant 2
1569	1569	to any Federal law other than this Act. 3
1570	1570	(c) C
1571	1571	HANGEREQUEST.—The Secretary concerned 4
1572	1572	shall, by regulation, provide an opportunity for any person 5
1573	1573	to request a change in determination for any Federal land 6
1574	1574	found suitable under subsection (a). 7
1575	1575	(d) E
1576	1576	XISTINGOPERATIONS.—Nothing in this section 8
1577	1577	shall be construed to affect land on which mineral activi-9
1578	1578	ties were being conducted on the effective date of this Act 10
1579	1579	under an approved plan of operations or under notice. 11
1580	1580	TITLE II—CONSULTATION 12
1581	1581	PROCEDURE 13
1582	1582	SEC. 201. REQUIREMENT FOR CONSULTATION. 14
1583	1583	Agencies shall conduct meaningful timely consulta-15
1584	1584	tion with Indian Tribes following the procedures of the 16
1585	1585	President’s Memorandum of Uniform Standards for Trib-17
1586	1586	al Consultation, issued on November 30, 2022, before un-18
1587	1587	dertaking any mineral activities that may have a direct, 19
1588	1588	indirect, or cumulative impact on— 20
1589	1589	(1) the land, including allotted, ceded, or tradi-21
1590	1590	tional land, or interests in such land of an Indian 22
1591	1591	Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe; 23
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1594	1594	•HR 1865 IH
1595	1595	(2) Tribal land, cultural practices, resources, or 1
1596	1596	access to traditional areas of cultural or religious 2
1597	1597	importance; 3
1598	1598	(3) any part of any Federal land that shares a 4
1599	1599	border with Indian country, as such term is defined 5
1600	1600	in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code; 6
1601	1601	(4) the protected rights of an Indian Tribe, 7
1602	1602	whether or not such rights are enumerated in a trea-8
1603	1603	ty, including water, hunting, gathering, and fishing 9
1604	1604	rights; 10
1605	1605	(5) the ability of an Indian Tribe to govern or 11
1606	1606	provide services to members of the Indian Tribe; 12
1607	1607	(6) the relationship between the Federal Gov-13
1608	1608	ernment and an Indian Tribe; or 14
1609	1609	(7) the trust responsibility of the Federal Gov-15
1610	1610	ernment to an Indian Tribe. 16
1611	1611	TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL 17
1612	1612	CONSIDERATIONS OF MIN-18
1613	1613	ERAL EXPLORATION AND DE-19
1614	1614	VELOPMENT 20
1615	1615	SEC. 301. GENERAL STANDARD FOR HARDROCK MINING ON 21
1616	1616	FEDERAL LAND. 22
1617	1617	Notwithstanding section 302(b) of the Federal Land 23
1618	1618	Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)), 24
1619	1619	the first section of the Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 25
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1622	1622	•HR 1865 IH
1623	1623	478), and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 1
1624	1624	(16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), and in accordance with this title 2
1625	1625	and applicable law, unless expressly stated otherwise in 3
1626	1626	this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that mineral activities 4
1627	1627	on any Federal land that is subject to a mining claim, 5
1628	1628	millsite, tunnel site, or any authorization issued under title 6
1629	1629	I of this Act are carefully controlled to prevent unneces-7
1630	1630	sary or undue degradation of Federal land and resources. 8
1631	1631	SEC. 302. PERMITS. 9
1632	1632	(a) P
1633	1633	ERMITSREQUIRED.—No person may engage in 10
1634	1634	mineral activities on Federal land that may cause a dis-11
1635	1635	turbance of surface resources, including land, air, ground 12
1636	1636	water and surface water, and fish and wildlife, unless a 13
1637	1637	permit is issued to such person under this title authorizing 14
1638	1638	such activities. 15
1639	1639	(b) C
1640	1640	ASUALUSE.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 16
1641	1641	a permit under this title shall not be required for mineral 17
1642	1642	activities that are a casual use of the Federal land. 18
1643	1643	(c) N
1644	1644	ATIONALENVIRONMENTAL POLICYACT.— 19
1645	1645	(1) I
1646	1646	N GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec-20
1647	1647	retary of Agriculture shall conduct the permit proc-21
1648	1648	esses under this Act in accordance with the timing 22
1649	1649	and other requirements under section 102 of the Na-23
1650	1650	tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 24
1651	1651	4332). 25
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1654	1654	•HR 1865 IH
1655	1655	(2) COORDINATION.—To the extent practicable, 1
1656	1656	the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 2
1657	1657	coordinate the permit process. 3
1658	1658	SEC. 303. EXPLORATION PERMIT. 4
1659	1659	(a) A
1660	1660	UTHORIZEDEXPLORATIONACTIVITY.— 5
1661	1661	(1) I
1662	1662	N GENERAL.—A person may apply for an 6
1663	1663	exploration permit for any mining claim, license, or 7
1664	1664	lease authorizing the applicant to remove a reason-8
1665	1665	able amount of the hardrock minerals, as defined in 9
1666	1666	the license or lease or established in such regulations 10
1667	1667	as the Secretary shall issue, from the area that is 11
1668	1668	subject to the mining claim, license, or lease, respec-12
1669	1669	tively, for analysis, study, and testing. 13
1670	1670	(2) L
1671	1671	IMITATION.—Such permit shall not au-14
1672	1672	thorize the applicant to remove any mineral for sale 15
1673	1673	nor to conduct any activities other than those re-16
1674	1674	quired for exploration for hardrock minerals and rec-17
1675	1675	lamation. 18
1676	1676	(b) P
1677	1677	ERMITAPPLICATIONREQUIREMENTS.—To 19
1678	1678	apply for an exploration permit under this section, a per-20
1679	1679	son shall submit to the Secretary concerned an application 21
1680	1680	for such permit in a manner determined satisfactory by 22
1681	1681	the Secretary concerned, which shall include— 23
1682	1682	(1) an exploration plan; 24
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1685	1685	•HR 1865 IH
1686	1686	(2) a reclamation plan for the proposed explo-1
1687	1687	ration; and 2
1688	1688	(3) such documentation as is necessary to en-3
1689	1689	sure compliance with applicable Federal and State 4
1690	1690	environmental laws and regulations. 5
1691	1691	(c) R
1692	1692	ECLAMATIONPLANREQUIREMENTS.—The rec-6
1693	1693	lamation plan required to be included in a permit applica-7
1694	1694	tion under subsection (b) shall include such provisions as 8
1695	1695	may be jointly issued by the Secretary and the Secretary 9
1696	1696	of Agriculture by regulation, including the following re-10
1697	1697	quirements: 11
1698	1698	(1) The applicant has demonstrated that pro-12
1699	1699	posed reclamation can be accomplished. 13
1700	1700	(2) The proposed exploration activities and con-14
1701	1701	dition of the land after the completion of exploration 15
1702	1702	activities and final reclamation will conform with the 16
1703	1703	land use plan applicable to the area subject to min-17
1704	1704	eral activities. 18
1705	1705	(3) The area subject to the proposed explo-19
1706	1706	ration permit is not included within an area listed 20
1707	1707	in section 111. 21
1708	1708	(4) The applicant has demonstrated that the 22
1709	1709	exploration plan and reclamation plan will be in 23
1710	1710	compliance with the requirements of this Act and all 24
1711	1711	other applicable Federal requirements, and any 25
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1714	1714	•HR 1865 IH
1715	1715	State requirements agreed to by the Secretary con-1
1716	1716	cerned. 2
1717	1717	(5) The applicant has demonstrated that the re-3
1718	1718	quirements of section 306 will be met. 4
1719	1719	(6) The applicant is eligible to receive a permit 5
1720	1720	under section 305. 6
1721	1721	(d) T
1722	1722	ERM OFPERMIT.—An exploration permit shall 7
1723	1723	be for a stated term, which shall be— 8
1724	1724	(1) not greater than that necessary to accom-9
1725	1725	plish the proposed exploration; and 10
1726	1726	(2) in no case for more than 10 years. 11
1727	1727	(e) P
1728	1728	ERMITMODIFICATION.— 12
1729	1729	(1) I
1730	1730	N GENERAL.—An exploration permit holder 13
1731	1731	may, during the term of the exploration permit, sub-14
1732	1732	mit to the Secretary concerned an application to 15
1733	1733	modify such permit. 16
1734	1734	(2) A
1735	1735	PPROVAL OF MODIFICATION .—To approve 17
1736	1736	a proposed modification to the permit, the Secretary 18
1737	1737	concerned shall make the same determinations as 19
1738	1738	are required in the case of an original permit, except 20
1739	1739	that the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture 21
1740	1740	may specify by joint regulation the extent to which 22
1741	1741	requirements for initial exploration permits under 23
1742	1742	this section shall apply to applications to modify an 24
1743	1743	exploration permit based on whether the Secretary 25
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1746	1746	•HR 1865 IH
1747	1747	concerned determines such modifications are signifi-1
1748	1748	cant or minor. 2
1749	1749	(f) T
1750	1750	RANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, ORSALE OFRIGHTS.— 3
1751	1751	(1) P
1752	1752	RIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL .—No transfer, 4
1753	1753	assignment, or sale of rights granted by an explo-5
1754	1754	ration permit issued under this section may be made 6
1755	1755	without the prior written approval of the Secretary 7
1756	1756	concerned. 8
1757	1757	(2) A
1758	1758	PPROVAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 9
1759	1759	allow an exploration permit holder to transfer, as-10
1760	1760	sign, or sell rights under such permit to a successor, 11
1761	1761	if the Secretary concerned finds in writing that the 12
1762	1762	successor— 13
1763	1763	(A) is eligible to receive a permit under 14
1764	1764	section 304; 15
1765	1765	(B) has submitted evidence of financial as-16
1766	1766	surance satisfactory under section 306; and 17
1767	1767	(C) meets any other requirements specified 18
1768	1768	by the Secretary concerned. 19
1769	1769	(3) A
1770	1770	SSUMED LIABILITY.—The successor in in-20
1771	1771	terest shall assume the liability and reclamation re-21
1772	1772	sponsibilities established by the existing exploration 22
1773	1773	permit and shall conduct the mineral activities in 23
1774	1774	full compliance with this Act, and the terms and 24
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1776	1776	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 59
1777	1777	•HR 1865 IH
1778	1778	conditions of the exploration permit as in effect at 1
1779	1779	the time of transfer, assignment, or sale. 2
1780	1780	(4) F
1781	1781	EE.—Each application for approval of an 3
1782	1782	exploration permit transfer, assignment, or sale pur-4
1783	1783	suant to this subsection shall be accompanied by a 5
1784	1784	fee payable to the Secretary concerned in such 6
1785	1785	amount as may be established by the Secretary con-7
1786	1786	cerned, which shall be equal to the actual or antici-8
1787	1787	pated cost to the Secretary concerned of reviewing 9
1788	1788	and approving or disapproving such transfer, assign-10
1789	1789	ment, or sale, as determined by the Secretary con-11
1790	1790	cerned. 12
1791	1791	SEC. 304. OPERATIONS PERMIT. 13
1792	1792	(a) O
1793	1793	PERATIONSPERMIT.— 14
1794	1794	(1) I
1795	1795	N GENERAL.—A person that is in compli-15
1796	1796	ance with this Act may apply to the Secretary con-16
1797	1797	cerned for an operations permit authorizing the per-17
1798	1798	son to carry out mineral activities on— 18
1799	1799	(A) any valid mining claim, millsite, tunnel 19
1800	1800	site, or lease issued under this Act; and 20
1801	1801	(B) such additional Federal land as the 21
1802	1802	Secretary concerned may determine is necessary 22
1803	1803	to conduct the proposed mineral activities, if 23
1804	1804	the operator— 24
1805	1805	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1806	1806	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 60
1807	1807	•HR 1865 IH
1808	1808	(i) obtains a right-of-way permit for 1
1809	1809	use of such additional lands under title V 2
1810	1810	of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-3
1811	1811	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et 4
1812	1812	seq.); and 5
1813	1813	(ii) agrees to pay all fees required 6
1814	1814	under that title for such permit. 7
1815	1815	(2) T
1816	1816	ERMS AND CONDITIONS .—The Secretary 8
1817	1817	concerned shall include in each permit issued under 9
1818	1818	this section such terms and conditions as the Sec-10
1819	1819	retary concerned determines necessary to carry out 11
1820	1820	this title. 12
1821	1821	(b) P
1822	1822	ERMITAPPLICATIONREQUIREMENTS.—To 13
1823	1823	apply for an operations permit under this section, a person 14
1824	1824	shall submit to the Secretary concerned an application for 15
1825	1825	such permit in a manner determined satisfactory by the 16
1826	1826	Secretary concerned, which shall include site characteriza-17
1827	1827	tion data, an operations plan, a reclamation plan, moni-18
1828	1828	toring plans, long-term maintenance plans, to the extent 19
1829	1829	necessary, and such documentation as necessary to ensure 20
1830	1830	compliance with applicable Federal and State environ-21
1831	1831	mental laws and regulations. If the proposed mineral ac-22
1832	1832	tivities will be carried out in conjunction with mineral ac-23
1833	1833	tivities on adjacent non-Federal land, information on the 24
1834	1834	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1835	1835	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 61
1836	1836	•HR 1865 IH
1837	1837	location and nature of such operations may be required 1
1838	1838	by the Secretary. 2
1839	1839	(c) P
1840	1840	ERMITISSUANCE ORDENIAL.— 3
1841	1841	(1) I
1842	1842	N GENERAL.—After providing for public 4
1843	1843	participation pursuant to subsection (i), the Sec-5
1844	1844	retary concerned shall issue an operations permit if 6
1845	1845	the Secretary concerned makes each of the following 7
1846	1846	determinations in writing, and shall deny an oper-8
1847	1847	ations permit if the Secretary concerned finds that 9
1848	1848	the application and applicant do not fully meet the 10
1849	1849	following requirements: 11
1850	1850	(A) The permit application, including the 12
1851	1851	site characterization data, operations plan, and 13
1852	1852	reclamation plan, are complete, accurate, and 14
1853	1853	sufficient to develop a good understanding of 15
1854	1854	the anticipated impacts of the mineral activities 16
1855	1855	and the effectiveness of proposed mitigation and 17
1856	1856	control of such mineral activities. 18
1857	1857	(B) The applicant has demonstrated that 19
1858	1858	the proposed reclamation in the operations and 20
1859	1859	reclamation plans can be and is likely to be ac-21
1860	1860	complished by the applicant and will not cause 22
1861	1861	unnecessary or undue degradation. 23
1862	1862	(C) The condition of the land subject to 24
1863	1863	the operations permit, including the fish and 25
1864	1864	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1865	1865	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 62
1866	1866	•HR 1865 IH
1867	1867	wildlife resources and habitat contained there-1
1868	1868	on, will be fully reclaimed after the completion 2
1869	1869	of mineral activities. 3
1870	1870	(D) The area subject to the proposed plan 4
1871	1871	is not listed in section 111 or otherwise ineli-5
1872	1872	gible for mineral activities. 6
1873	1873	(E) The proposed operation has been de-7
1874	1874	signed to prevent material damage to the hy-8
1875	1875	drologic balance outside the land subject to the 9
1876	1876	operations permit. 10
1877	1877	(F) The applicant will fully comply with 11
1878	1878	the requirements of section 306 before the initi-12
1879	1879	ation of operations. 13
1880	1880	(G) Neither the applicant nor operator (or 14
1881	1881	any subsidiary or affiliate the applicant or oper-15
1882	1882	ator) is ineligible to receive a permit under sec-16
1883	1883	tion 305. 17
1884	1884	(H) The reclamation plan demonstrates 18
1885	1885	that 10 years after the end of mineral activities 19
1886	1886	under the operations permit, no treatment of 20
1887	1887	surface or ground water for carcinogens or tox-21
1888	1888	ins will be required to meet water quality stand-22
1889	1889	ards at the point of discharge. 23
1890	1890	(2) C
1891	1891	ONSULTATION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL 24
1892	1892	PROTECTION AGENCY .—With respect to any activi-25
1893	1893	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1894	1894	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 63
1895	1895	•HR 1865 IH
1896	1896	ties specified in the reclamation plan referred to in 1
1897	1897	subsection (b) that constitute a removal or remedial 2
1898	1898	action under section 101 of the Comprehensive Envi-3
1899	1899	ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 4
1900	1900	Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601), the Secretary con-5
1901	1901	cerned shall consult with the Administrator of the 6
1902	1902	Environmental Protection Agency before the 7
1903	1903	issuance of an operations permit, who shall ensure 8
1904	1904	that the reclamation plan does not require activities 9
1905	1905	that would increase the costs or likelihood of re-10
1906	1906	moval or remedial actions under the that Act (42 11
1907	1907	U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or corrective actions under the 12
1908	1908	Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.). 13
1909	1909	(d) T
1910	1910	ERM OFPERMIT; RENEWAL.— 14
1911	1911	(1) I
1912	1912	N GENERAL .—An operations permit 15
1913	1913	shall— 16
1914	1914	(A) be for an initial term not longer than 17
1915	1915	the shorter of— 18
1916	1916	(i) the period necessary to accomplish 19
1917	1917	the proposed mineral activities subject to 20
1918	1918	the permit; and 21
1919	1919	(ii) the length of time remaining on 22
1920	1920	the hardrock mining lease of the applicant; 23
1921	1921	(B) be renewed for additional 10-year peri-24
1922	1922	ods if— 25
1923	1923	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1924	1924	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 64
1925	1925	•HR 1865 IH
1926	1926	(i) the operation subject to the permit 1
1927	1927	is in compliance with the requirements of 2
1928	1928	this Act and other applicable law; and 3
1929	1929	(ii) the hardrock mining lease of the 4
1930	1930	applicant has been renewed for that 10- 5
1931	1931	year period; and 6
1932	1932	(C) expire 5 years after the commencement 7
1933	1933	of a temporary cessation unless, before the expi-8
1934	1934	ration of the 5 years, the operator has filed 9
1935	1935	with the Secretary concerned a request for ap-10
1936	1936	proval to resume operations. 11
1937	1937	(2) F
1938	1938	AILURE TO COMMENCE MINERAL ACTIVI -12
1939	1939	TIES.—Failure by the operator to commence mineral 13
1940	1940	activities not later than 2 years after the date sched-14
1941	1941	uled in an operations permit shall require a modi-15
1942	1942	fication of the permit if the Secretary concerned de-16
1943	1943	termines that modifications are necessary to comply 17
1944	1944	with section 111. 18
1945	1945	(e) P
1946	1946	ERMITMODIFICATION.— 19
1947	1947	(1) A
1948	1948	PPLICATION.—An operator may, during 20
1949	1949	the term of the operations permit, submit to the 21
1950	1950	Secretary concerned an application to modify such 22
1951	1951	permit or the operations plan or reclamation plan 23
1952	1952	associated with such permit. 24
1953	1953	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1954	1954	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 65
1955	1955	•HR 1865 IH
1956	1956	(2) MODIFICATION BY SECRETARY CON -1
1957	1957	CERNED.— 2
1958	1958	(A) I
1959	1959	N GENERAL.—At any time, the Sec-3
1960	1960	retary concerned may require reasonable modi-4
1961	1961	fication to any operations plan or reclamation 5
1962	1962	plan upon a determination that the require-6
1963	1963	ments of this Act cannot be met if the plan is 7
1964	1964	followed as approved, which shall be based on 8
1965	1965	a written finding and subject to public notice 9
1966	1966	and hearing requirements established by the 10
1967	1967	Secretary concerned. 11
1968	1968	(B) W
1969	1969	AIVER OF PUBLIC NOTICE AND 12
1970	1970	HEARING.—The Secretary concerned may waive 13
1971	1971	the public notice and hearing requirements 14
1972	1972	under subparagraph (A) in the case of immi-15
1973	1973	nent threat to health, safety, or the environ-16
1974	1974	ment. 17
1975	1975	(3) U
1976	1976	NANTICIPATED EVENTS OR CONDI -18
1977	1977	TIONS.—A permit modification is required before 19
1978	1978	changes are made to the approved operations plan, 20
1979	1979	or if unanticipated events or conditions exist on the 21
1980	1980	land subject to the permit, including in the case of— 22
1981	1981	(A) development of acid or toxic drainage; 23
1982	1982	(B) loss of springs or water supplies; 24
1983	1983	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
1984	1984	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 66
1985	1985	•HR 1865 IH
1986	1986	(C) water quantity, water quality, or other 1
1987	1987	resulting water impacts that are significantly 2
1988	1988	different than those predicted in the application 3
1989	1989	for the operations permit; 4
1990	1990	(D) the need for long-term water treat-5
1991	1991	ment; 6
1992	1992	(E) significant reclamation difficulties or 7
1993	1993	reclamation failure; 8
1994	1994	(F) the discovery of significant scientific or 9
1995	1995	biological resources that were not addressed in 10
1996	1996	the original plan; 11
1997	1997	(G) the discovery of property eligible for 12
1998	1998	listing on the National Register of Historic 13
1999	1999	Places; or 14
2000	2000	(H) the discovery of a hazard to public 15
2001	2001	safety. 16
2002	2002	(f) T
2003	2003	EMPORARYCESSATION OFOPERATIONS.— 17
2004	2004	(1) S
2005	2005	ECRETARIAL APPROVAL REQUIRED .—An 18
2006	2006	operator conducting mineral activities under an op-19
2007	2007	erations permit in effect under this title may not 20
2008	2008	temporarily cease mineral activities for a period of 21
2009	2009	more than 180 days unless the Secretary concerned 22
2010	2010	has approved such temporary cessation or unless the 23
2011	2011	temporary cessation is permitted under the original 24
2012	2012	operations permit. 25
2013	2013	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
2014	2014	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 67
2015	2015	•HR 1865 IH
2016	2016	(2) PREVIOUSLY ISSUED OPERATIONS PER -1
2017	2017	MITS.—An operator that temporarily ceases mineral 2
2018	2018	activities for a period of more than 90 days under 3
2019	2019	an operations permit issued before the effective date 4
2020	2020	of this Act shall submit, before the expiration of 5
2021	2021	such 90-day period, a complete application for tem-6
2022	2022	porary cessation of operations to the Secretary con-7
2023	2023	cerned for approval unless the temporary cessation 8
2024	2024	is permitted under the original operations permit. 9
2025	2025	(3) R
2026	2026	EQUIRED INFORMATION .— 10
2027	2027	(A) I
2028	2028	N GENERAL.—To apply for an ap-11
2029	2029	proval of temporary cessation of operations, an 12
2030	2030	operator shall submit to the Secretary con-13
2031	2031	cerned such information required under sub-14
2032	2032	section (b) and any other provisions prescribed 15
2033	2033	by the Secretary concerned to minimize impacts 16
2034	2034	on human health, the environment, or property 17
2035	2035	eligible for listing on the National Register of 18
2036	2036	Historic Places. 19
2037	2037	(B) I
2038	2038	NSPECTION.—After receipt of a com-20
2039	2039	plete application for temporary cessation of op-21
2040	2040	erations, the Secretary concerned shall conduct 22
2041	2041	an inspection of the area for which temporary 23
2042	2042	cessation of operations has been requested. 24
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2044	2044	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 68
2045	2045	•HR 1865 IH
2046	2046	(4) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL .—The Sec-1
2047	2047	retary concerned may approve an application for 2
2048	2048	temporary cessation of operations if such Secretary 3
2049	2049	determines the following: 4
2050	2050	(A) The methods for securing surface fa-5
2051	2051	cilities and restricting access to the land subject 6
2052	2052	to the operations permit, or relevant portions 7
2053	2053	thereof, will effectively protect against hazards 8
2054	2054	to the health and safety of the public and fish 9
2055	2055	and wildlife or damage to property eligible for 10
2056	2056	listing on the National Register of Historic 11
2057	2057	Places. 12
2058	2058	(B) Reclamation is in compliance with the 13
2059	2059	approved reclamation plan, except in those 14
2060	2060	areas specifically designated in the application 15
2061	2061	for temporary cessation of operations for which 16
2062	2062	a delay in meeting such standards is necessary 17
2063	2063	to facilitate the resumption of operations. 18
2064	2064	(C) The amount of financial assurance 19
2065	2065	filed with the permit application is sufficient to 20
2066	2066	ensure completion of the reclamation activities 21
2067	2067	identified in the approved reclamation plan in 22
2068	2068	the event of forfeiture. 23
2069	2069	(D) Any outstanding notices of violation 24
2070	2070	and cessation orders incurred in connection 25
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2072	2072	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 69
2073	2073	•HR 1865 IH
2074	2074	with the plan for which temporary cessation is 1
2075	2075	being requested are either stayed pursuant to 2
2076	2076	an administrative or judicial appeal proceeding 3
2077	2077	or are in the process of being abated to the sat-4
2078	2078	isfaction of the Secretary concerned. 5
2079	2079	(g) P
2080	2080	ERMITREVIEWS.—The Secretary concerned 6
2081	2081	shall review each operations permit issued under this sec-7
2082	2082	tion every 10 years during the term of such operations 8
2083	2083	permit, and before approving the resumption of operations 9
2084	2084	under subsection (f), the Secretary concerned shall require 10
2085	2085	the operator to take such actions as the Secretary con-11
2086	2086	cerned deems necessary to ensure that mineral activities 12
2087	2087	conform to the operations permit, including adjustment of 13
2088	2088	financial assurance requirements. 14
2089	2089	(h) T
2090	2090	RANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, ORSALE OF 15
2091	2091	R
2092	2092	IGHTS.— 16
2093	2093	(1) W
2094	2094	RITTEN APPROVAL.—No transfer, assign-17
2095	2095	ment, or sale of rights granted by an operations per-18
2096	2096	mit under this section may be made without the 19
2097	2097	prior written approval of the Secretary concerned. 20
2098	2098	(2) C
2099	2099	ONDITIONS OF APPROVAL .—The Secretary 21
2100	2100	concerned may allow a permit holder to transfer, as-22
2101	2101	sign, or sell rights under the permit to a successor, 23
2102	2102	if the Secretary concerned finds, in writing, that the 24
2103	2103	successor— 25
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2105	2105	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 70
2106	2106	•HR 1865 IH
2107	2107	(A) has submitted all required information 1
2108	2108	and is eligible to receive a permit in accordance 2
2109	2109	with section 305; 3
2110	2110	(B) has submitted evidence of financial as-4
2111	2111	surance satisfactory under section 306; and 5
2112	2112	(C) meets any other requirements specified 6
2113	2113	by the Secretary concerned. 7
2114	2114	(3) A
2115	2115	SSUMED LIABILITY.—The successor de-8
2116	2116	scribed in paragraph (2) shall assume the liability 9
2117	2117	and reclamation responsibilities established by the 10
2118	2118	existing operations permit and shall conduct the 11
2119	2119	mineral activities in full compliance with this Act 12
2120	2120	and the terms and conditions of the operations per-13
2121	2121	mit as in effect at the time of transfer, assignment, 14
2122	2122	or sale. 15
2123	2123	(4) F
2124	2124	EE.—Each application for approval of an 16
2125	2125	operations permit transfer, assignment, or sale pur-17
2126	2126	suant to this subsection shall be accompanied by a 18
2127	2127	fee payable to the Secretary concerned in such 19
2128	2128	amount as may be established by the Secretary con-20
2129	2129	cerned, which shall be equal to the actual or antici-21
2130	2130	pated cost of reviewing and approving or dis-22
2131	2131	approving such transfer, assignment, or sale, as de-23
2132	2132	termined by the Secretary concerned. 24
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2134	2134	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 71
2135	2135	•HR 1865 IH
2136	2136	(i) PUBLICPARTICIPATION.—The Secretary and the 1
2137	2137	Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly issue regulations to 2
2138	2138	ensure transparency and public participation in permit de-3
2139	2139	cisions required under this Act, consistent with any re-4
2140	2140	quirements that apply to such decisions under section 102 5
2141	2141	of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 6
2142	2142	U.S.C. 4332). 7
2143	2143	SEC. 305. PERSONS INELIGIBLE FOR PERMITS. 8
2144	2144	(a) C
2145	2145	URRENTVIOLATIONS.—Unless corrective action 9
2146	2146	has been taken in accordance with subsection (c), no per-10
2147	2147	mit under this title may be issued, transferred, assigned, 11
2148	2148	or sold to an applicant if the applicant or any agent of 12
2149	2149	the applicant, the operator (if different from the appli-13
2150	2150	cant), any claim or lease holder (if different from the ap-14
2151	2151	plicant) of the claim, license, or lease concerned, or any 15
2152	2152	affiliate of the applicant is in violation of the following: 16
2153	2153	(1) This Act. 17
2154	2154	(2) An applicable State or Federal toxic sub-18
2155	2155	stance, solid waste, air, water quality, or fish and 19
2156	2156	wildlife conservation law or regulation at any site 20
2157	2157	where mining, beneficiation, or processing activities 21
2158	2158	are occurring or have occurred. 22
2159	2159	(3) The Surface Mining Control and Reclama-23
2160	2160	tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) at any 24
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2162	2162	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 72
2163	2163	•HR 1865 IH
2164	2164	site where surface coal mining operations are occur-1
2165	2165	ring or have occurred. 2
2166	2166	(b) S
2167	2167	USPENSION.—The Secretary concerned shall 3
2168	2168	suspend a permit, in whole or in part, if the Secretary 4
2169	2169	concerned determines that any of the entities described in 5
2170	2170	subsection (a) were in violation of any requirement de-6
2171	2171	scribed in subsection (a) at the time such permit was 7
2172	2172	issued. 8
2173	2173	(c) C
2174	2174	ORRECTION.— 9
2175	2175	(1) R
2176	2176	EINSTATEMENT.— 10
2177	2177	(A) I
2178	2178	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-11
2179	2179	cerned may issue or reinstate a permit under 12
2180	2180	this title if the applicant submits proof that— 13
2181	2181	(i) the violation under subsection (a) 14
2182	2182	or (b) has been corrected or is in the proc-15
2183	2183	ess of being corrected to the satisfaction of 16
2184	2184	the Secretary concerned and the regulatory 17
2185	2185	authority involved; or 18
2186	2186	(ii) the violator has filed, and is pur-19
2187	2187	suing at the time of such submission, a di-20
2188	2188	rect administrative or judicial appeal to 21
2189	2189	contest the existence of the violation. 22
2190	2190	(B) A
2191	2191	PPEAL OF RELATIONSHIP TO AFFIL -23
2192	2192	IATE.—An appeal of the relationship of an ap-24
2193	2193	plicant to an affiliate shall not constitute a di-25
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2195	2195	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 73
2196	2196	•HR 1865 IH
2197	2197	rect administrative or judicial appeal to contest 1
2198	2198	the existence of the violation under subpara-2
2199	2199	graph (A)(ii). 3
2200	2200	(2) C
2201	2201	ONDITIONAL APPROVAL .— 4
2202	2202	(A) I
2203	2203	N GENERAL.—A permit that is issued 5
2204	2204	or reinstated based upon proof submitted under 6
2205	2205	this subsection shall be conditionally issued or 7
2206	2206	conditionally reinstated, respectively. 8
2207	2207	(B) S
2208	2208	USPENSION; REVOCATION.—The Sec-9
2209	2209	retary concerned shall suspend or revoke a per-10
2210	2210	mit that is conditionally issued or conditionally 11
2211	2211	reinstated if the relevant violation is not suc-12
2212	2212	cessfully abated or is upheld on appeal. 13
2213	2213	(d) P
2214	2214	ATTERN OFWILLFULVIOLATION.—No permit 14
2215	2215	may be issued under this Act to any applicant if there 15
2216	2216	is a demonstrated pattern of willful violations of the envi-16
2217	2217	ronmental protection requirements of this Act by the ap-17
2218	2218	plicant, an affiliate of the applicant, or the operator or 18
2219	2219	claim, license, or lease holder if different than the appli-19
2220	2220	cant. 20
2221	2221	SEC. 306. FINANCIAL ASSURANCE. 21
2222	2222	(a) F
2223	2223	INANCIALASSURANCEREQUIRED.— 22
2224	2224	(1) F
2225	2225	ORM OF ASSURANCE .—After a permit is 23
2226	2226	issued under this title and before any exploration or 24
2227	2227	operations begin under the relevant permit, the oper-25
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2230	2230	•HR 1865 IH
2231	2231	ator shall file with the Secretary concerned evidence 1
2232	2232	of financial assurance payable to the United States, 2
2233	2233	which shall be provided in the form of a surety bond, 3
2234	2234	letters of credit, certificates of deposit, or cash. 4
2235	2235	(2) C
2236	2236	OVERED ACTIVITIES.—The financial assur-5
2237	2237	ance required under paragraph (1) shall cover all 6
2238	2238	land within the initial permit area and all affected 7
2239	2239	waters that may require restoration, treatment, or 8
2240	2240	other management as a result of mineral activities, 9
2241	2241	and shall be extended to cover all land and water 10
2242	2242	added to the permit area pursuant to any permit 11
2243	2243	modification made under section 303(e) or 304(e) or 12
2244	2244	affected by mineral activities within the permit area. 13
2245	2245	(b) A
2246	2246	MOUNT.— 14
2247	2247	(1) I
2248	2248	N GENERAL.—The amount of the financial 15
2249	2249	assurance required under this section shall be suffi-16
2250	2250	cient to ensure the completion of reclamation satis-17
2251	2251	fying the requirements of this Act if the work were 18
2252	2252	to be performed by the Secretary concerned, or by 19
2253	2253	a third-party contractor hired by the Secretary con-20
2254	2254	cerned, in the event of forfeiture, including the con-21
2255	2255	struction and maintenance costs for any treatment 22
2256	2256	facilities necessary to meet Federal and State envi-23
2257	2257	ronmental requirements. 24
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2260	2260	•HR 1865 IH
2261	2261	(2) CALCULATION.—The calculation of the 1
2262	2262	amount under paragraph (1) shall take into account 2
2263	2263	the maximum estimated cost of reclamation, as de-3
2264	2264	termined by the best available science, and adminis-4
2265	2265	trative costs associated with a government agency 5
2266	2266	reclaiming the site. 6
2267	2267	(c) D
2268	2268	URATION.—The financial assurance required 7
2269	2269	under this section shall be held for the duration of the 8
2270	2270	mineral activities and for an additional period sufficient 9
2271	2271	to cover the responsibility of the operator for reclamation, 10
2272	2272	long-term maintenance, and effluent treatment as speci-11
2273	2273	fied in subsection (g). 12
2274	2274	(d) A
2275	2275	DJUSTMENTS.— 13
2276	2276	(1) I
2277	2277	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 14
2278	2278	may adjust the amount of the financial assurance 15
2279	2279	required under this section and the terms of the ac-16
2280	2280	ceptance of the financial assurance as needed as the 17
2281	2281	land subject to the relevant permit is increased or 18
2282	2282	decreased, the costs of reclamation or treatment 19
2283	2283	change, or pursuant to section 304(f), but the finan-20
2284	2284	cial assurance shall otherwise be in compliance with 21
2285	2285	this section. 22
2286	2286	(2) R
2287	2287	EVIEW.—The Secretary concerned shall 23
2288	2288	review the financial assurance every 3 years and as 24
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2291	2291	•HR 1865 IH
2292	2292	part of the permit application review under section 1
2293	2293	304(g). 2
2294	2294	(e) R
2295	2295	ELEASE.—The Secretary concerned may, upon 3
2296	2296	request, after consultation with the Administrator of the 4
2297	2297	Environmental Protection Agency, notice and opportunity 5
2298	2298	for public comment, and inspection by the Secretary con-6
2299	2299	cerned, release, in whole or in part, the financial assurance 7
2300	2300	required under this section if the Secretary concerned 8
2301	2301	makes both of the following determinations: 9
2302	2302	(1) Reclamation or restoration covered by the 10
2303	2303	financial assurance has been accomplished as re-11
2304	2304	quired by this Act. 12
2305	2305	(2) The terms and conditions of any other ap-13
2306	2306	plicable Federal requirements, and State require-14
2307	2307	ments applicable pursuant to cooperative agreements 15
2308	2308	under section 308, have been fulfilled. 16
2309	2309	(f) R
2310	2310	ELEASESCHEDULE.—The release referred to in 17
2311	2311	subsection (e) shall be according to the following schedule: 18
2312	2312	(1) After the operator has completed any re-19
2313	2313	quired backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of 20
2314	2314	an area subject to mineral activities and covered by 21
2315	2315	the financial assurance, and has commenced revege-22
2316	2316	tation on the regraded areas subject to mineral ac-23
2317	2317	tivities in accordance with the approved reclamation 24
2318	2318	plan, that portion of the total financial assurance se-25
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2321	2321	•HR 1865 IH
2322	2322	cured for the area subject to mineral activities at-1
2323	2323	tributable to the completed activities may be re-2
2324	2324	leased, except that sufficient financial assurance 3
2325	2325	must be retained to address other required reclama-4
2326	2326	tion needs and to ensure the long-term success of 5
2327	2327	the revegetation. 6
2328	2328	(2) After the operator has successfully com-7
2329	2329	pleted all remaining mineral activities and reclama-8
2330	2330	tion activities and all requirements of the operations 9
2331	2331	plan and the reclamation plan, and all other require-10
2332	2332	ments of this Act have been fully met, the remaining 11
2333	2333	portion of the financial assurance may be released. 12
2334	2334	During the period following release of the financial assur-13
2335	2335	ance as specified in paragraph (1), until the remaining 14
2336	2336	portion of the financial assurance is released as provided 15
2337	2337	in paragraph (2), the operator shall be required to comply 16
2338	2338	with the relevant permit issued under this title. 17
2339	2339	(g) E
2340	2340	FFLUENT.— 18
2341	2341	(1) I
2342	2342	N GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 19
2343	2343	307(b)(2)(D), where any discharge or other water- 20
2344	2344	related condition resulting from mineral activities re-21
2345	2345	quires treatment in order to meet applicable effluent 22
2346	2346	limitations and water quality standards, the finan-23
2347	2347	cial assurance shall include the estimated cost of 24
2348	2348	maintaining such treatment for the projected period 25
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2351	2351	•HR 1865 IH
2352	2352	that will be needed after the cessation of mineral ac-1
2353	2353	tivities. 2
2354	2354	(2) R
2355	2355	ELEASE OF FINANCIAL ASSURANCE .—The 3
2356	2356	portion of the financial assurance attributable to 4
2357	2357	such estimated cost of treatment shall not be re-5
2358	2358	leased until such discharge has ceased for a period 6
2359	2359	of 5 years, as determined by ongoing monitoring and 7
2360	2360	testing, or, if the discharge continues, until the oper-8
2361	2361	ator has met all applicable effluent limitations and 9
2362	2362	water quality standards for 5 full years without 10
2363	2363	treatment. 11
2364	2364	(h) E
2365	2365	NVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.—If the Secretary 12
2366	2366	concerned determines, after final release of a financial as-13
2367	2367	surance, that an environmental hazard resulting from the 14
2368	2368	mineral activities exists, or the terms and conditions of 15
2369	2369	the exploration permit or operations permit of this Act 16
2370	2370	were not fulfilled at the time of such release, the Secretary 17
2371	2371	concerned shall issue an order under section 507 requiring 18
2372	2372	the claim holder or operator (or any person who controls 19
2373	2373	the claim holder or operator) to correct the condition such 20
2374	2374	that applicable laws and regulations and any conditions 21
2375	2375	from the operations plan are met. 22
2376	2376	SEC. 307. OPERATION AND RECLAMATION. 23
2377	2377	(a) G
2378	2378	ENERALRULE.— 24
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2381	2381	•HR 1865 IH
2382	2382	(1) IN GENERAL.—An operator shall reclaim 1
2383	2383	land subject to mineral activities carried out under 2
2384	2384	a permit issued under this title to a condition capa-3
2385	2385	ble of supporting— 4
2386	2386	(A) the uses which such land was capable 5
2387	2387	of supporting before surface disturbance by the 6
2388	2388	operator; or 7
2389	2389	(B) other beneficial uses which conform to 8
2390	2390	applicable land use plans as determined by the 9
2391	2391	Secretary concerned. 10
2392	2392	(2) C
2393	2393	ONTEMPORANEOUS RECLAMATION .—Rec-11
2394	2394	lamation shall proceed as contemporaneously as 12
2395	2395	practicable with the conduct of mineral activities, 13
2396	2396	and in the case of a cessation of mineral activities 14
2397	2397	beyond that provided for as a temporary cessation 15
2398	2398	under this Act, reclamation activities shall begin im-16
2399	2399	mediately. 17
2400	2400	(b) O
2401	2401	PERATION ANDRECLAMATIONSTANDARDS.— 18
2402	2402	(1) I
2403	2403	N GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec-19
2404	2404	retary of Agriculture shall jointly issue regulations 20
2405	2405	that establish operations and reclamation standards 21
2406	2406	for mineral activities permitted under this Act and 22
2407	2407	may determine whether outcome-based performance 23
2408	2408	standards or technology-based design standards are 24
2409	2409	most appropriate. 25
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2412	2412	•HR 1865 IH
2413	2413	(2) INCLUSIONS.—The regulations required 1
2414	2414	under paragraph (1) shall address the following: 2
2415	2415	(A) Segregation, protection, and replace-3
2416	2416	ment of topsoil or other suitable growth me-4
2417	2417	dium, and the prevention, where possible, of soil 5
2418	2418	contamination. 6
2419	2419	(B) Maintenance of the stability of all sur-7
2420	2420	face areas. 8
2421	2421	(C) Control of sediments to prevent erosion 9
2422	2422	and manage drainage. 10
2423	2423	(D) Minimization of the formation and mi-11
2424	2424	gration of acidic, alkaline, metal-bearing, or 12
2425	2425	other deleterious leachate. 13
2426	2426	(E) Reduction of the visual impact of min-14
2427	2427	eral activities to the surrounding topography, 15
2428	2428	including as necessary pit backfill. 16
2429	2429	(F) Establishment of a diverse, effective, 17
2430	2430	and permanent vegetative cover of the same 18
2431	2431	seasonal variety native to the area affected by 19
2432	2432	mineral activities, and equal in extent of cover 20
2433	2433	to the natural vegetation of the area. 21
2434	2434	(G) Design and maintenance of leach oper-22
2435	2435	ations, impoundments, and excess waste accord-23
2436	2436	ing to standard engineering standards to 24
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2439	2439	•HR 1865 IH
2440	2440	achieve and maintain stability and reclamation 1
2441	2441	of the site. 2
2442	2442	(H) Removal of structures and roads and 3
2443	2443	sealing of drill holes. 4
2444	2444	(I) Restoration of, or mitigation for, fish 5
2445	2445	and wildlife habitat disturbed by mineral activi-6
2446	2446	ties. 7
2447	2447	(J) Preservation of cultural, paleontolog-8
2448	2448	ical, and cave resources. 9
2449	2449	(K) Prevention and suppression of fire 10
2450	2450	within the area affected by mineral activities. 11
2451	2451	(c) S
2452	2452	URFACE ORGROUNDWATERWITHDRAWALS.— 12
2453	2453	The Secretary concerned shall work with State and local 13
2454	2454	governments with authority over the allocation and use of 14
2455	2455	surface and ground water in the area around the mine 15
2456	2456	site as necessary to ensure that any surface or ground 16
2457	2457	water withdrawals made as a result of mineral activities 17
2458	2458	approved under this title do not cause undue degradation. 18
2459	2459	(d) S
2460	2460	PECIALRULE.—Reclamation activities for a 19
2461	2461	mining claim, license, or lease that has been forfeited, re-20
2462	2462	linquished, or lapsed, or a plan that has expired or been 21
2463	2463	revoked or suspended, shall continue subject to review and 22
2464	2464	approval by the Secretary concerned. 23
2465	2465	SEC. 308. STATE LAW AND REGULATION. 24
2466	2466	(a) S
2467	2467	TATELAW.— 25
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2470	2470	•HR 1865 IH
2471	2471	(1) RECLAMATION, LAND USE, ENVIRON-1
2472	2472	MENTAL, AND PUBLIC HEALTH STANDARDS .—Any 2
2473	2473	reclamation, land use, environmental, or public 3
2474	2474	health protection standard or requirement in State 4
2475	2475	law that meets or exceeds the requirements of this 5
2476	2476	Act shall not be construed to be inconsistent with 6
2477	2477	any such standard. 7
2478	2478	(2) B
2479	2479	ONDING REQUIREMENTS .—Any bonding 8
2480	2480	standard or requirement in State law that meets or 9
2481	2481	exceeds the requirements of this Act shall not be 10
2482	2482	construed to be inconsistent with such requirements. 11
2483	2483	(3) I
2484	2484	NSPECTION STANDARDS .—Any inspection 12
2485	2485	standard or requirement in State law that meets or 13
2486	2486	exceeds the requirements of this Act shall not be 14
2487	2487	construed to be inconsistent with such requirements. 15
2488	2488	(b) A
2489	2489	PPLICABILITY OF OTHERSTATEREQUIRE-16
2490	2490	MENTS.— 17
2491	2491	(1) E
2492	2492	NVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS .—Nothing in 18
2493	2493	this Act may be construed to affect any toxic sub-19
2494	2494	stance, solid waste, or air or water quality standard 20
2495	2495	or requirement of any State, local, or Tribal law that 21
2496	2496	may be applicable to mineral activities on land sub-22
2497	2497	ject to this Act. 23
2498	2498	(2) W
2499	2499	ATER RESOURCES.—Nothing in this Act 24
2500	2500	may be construed to affect the right of any person 25
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2503	2503	•HR 1865 IH
2504	2504	to enforce or protect, under applicable law, the inter-1
2505	2505	est of such person in water resources affected by 2
2506	2506	mineral activities on land subject to this Act. 3
2507	2507	(c) C
2508	2508	OOPERATIVEAGREEMENTS.— 4
2509	2509	(1) I
2510	2510	N GENERAL.—A State may enter into a co-5
2511	2511	operative agreement with the Secretary concerned 6
2512	2512	for the purpose of the Secretary concerned applying 7
2513	2513	such standards and requirements referred to in sub-8
2514	2514	sections (a) and (b) to mineral activities or reclama-9
2515	2515	tion on land subject to this Act. 10
2516	2516	(2) C
2517	2517	OMMON REGULATORY FRAMEWORK .— 11
2518	2518	(A) I
2519	2519	N GENERAL.—If a proposed mineral 12
2520	2520	activity would affect land not subject to this 13
2521	2521	Act in addition to land subject to this Act, in 14
2522	2522	order to approve a plan of operations, the Sec-15
2523	2523	retary concerned shall enter into a cooperative 16
2524	2524	agreement with the State that establishes a 17
2525	2525	common regulatory framework consistent with 18
2526	2526	the requirements of this Act for the purposes of 19
2527	2527	such plan of operations. 20
2528	2528	(B) A
2529	2529	UTHORITY OF FEDERAL GOVERN -21
2530	2530	MENT.—Any common regulatory framework es-22
2531	2531	tablished under subparagraph (A) may not ne-23
2532	2532	gate the authority of the Federal Government 24
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2535	2535	•HR 1865 IH
2536	2536	to independently inspect mines and operations 1
2537	2537	and bring enforcement actions for violations. 2
2538	2538	(3) N
2539	2539	OTICE AND PUBLIC COMMENT .—The Sec-3
2540	2540	retary concerned may not enter into a cooperative 4
2541	2541	agreement with a State under this section until after 5
2542	2542	notice in the Federal Register and opportunity for 6
2543	2543	public comment and hearing. 7
2544	2544	(d) P
2545	2545	RIORAGREEMENTS.—Any cooperative agree-8
2546	2546	ment between the Secretary concerned and a State, or po-9
2547	2547	litical subdivision thereof, relating to the management of 10
2548	2548	mineral activities on land subject to this Act that was in 11
2549	2549	existence on the effective date of this Act may only con-12
2550	2550	tinue in force until 1 year after the effective date of this 13
2551	2551	Act, during which such period the Secretary concerned 14
2552	2552	and the State shall review the terms of such agreement 15
2553	2553	or other understanding and make changes that are nec-16
2554	2554	essary to be consistent with this Act. 17
2555	2555	TITLE IV—ABANDONED 18
2556	2556	HARDROCK MINE RECLAMA-19
2557	2557	TION PROGRAM 20
2558	2558	SEC. 401. FUNDS CREDITED TO THE ABANDONED 21
2559	2559	HARDROCK MINE RECLAMATION PROGRAM. 22
2560	2560	(a) I
2561	2561	NGENERAL.—The following amounts shall be 23
2562	2562	made available to carry out, to remain available until ex-24
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2565	2565	•HR 1865 IH
2566	2566	pended without fiscal year limitation, the Abandoned 1
2567	2567	Hardrock Mine Reclamation Program: 2
2568	2568	(1) All moneys collected pursuant to sections 3
2569	2569	502 and 506. 4
2570	2570	(2) All fees received under section 5
2571	2571	304(a)(1)(B). 6
2572	2572	(3) All gifts contributed under subsection 7
2573	2573	(b)(1). 8
2574	2574	(4) All amounts deposited in the Abandoned 9
2575	2575	Hardrock Mine Reclamation Program under title I. 10
2576	2576	(5) All amounts displaced material reclamation 11
2577	2577	fees paid under section 402. 12
2578	2578	(b) D
2579	2579	ONATIONS.— 13
2580	2580	(1) A
2581	2581	CCEPTANCE.—The Secretary may accept a 14
2582	2582	gift of money, to remain available until expended 15
2583	2583	without fiscal year limitation, to carry out the Aban-16
2584	2584	doned Hardrock Mine Reclamation Program. 17
2585	2585	(2) R
2586	2586	EJECTION.—The Secretary may reject a 18
2587	2587	gift under paragraph (1) if such rejection is in the 19
2588	2588	interest of the Federal Government. 20
2589	2589	SEC. 402. DISPLACED MATERIAL RECLAMATION FEE. 21
2590	2590	(a) I
2591	2591	MPOSITION OFFEE.—Except as provided in sub-22
2592	2592	section (g), each operator conducting mineral activities 23
2593	2593	shall pay to the Secretary a displaced material reclamation 24
2594	2594	fee of 7 cents per ton of displaced material. 25
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2597	2597	•HR 1865 IH
2598	2598	(b) PAYMENTDEADLINE.—An operator shall pay the 1
2599	2599	reclamation fee required by subsection (a) with respect to 2
2600	2600	each calendar year beginning with the first calendar year 3
2601	2601	that begins after the effective date of this Act not later 4
2602	2602	than March 1 of the succeeding year. 5
2603	2603	(c) S
2604	2604	UBMISSION OF STATEMENT.—Each operator 6
2605	2605	conducting mineral activities shall submit to the Secretary 7
2606	2606	a statement of the amount of displaced material produced 8
2607	2607	during mineral activities carried out during the preceding 9
2608	2608	calendar year, the accuracy of which shall be sworn to by 10
2609	2609	the operator and notarized. 11
2610	2610	(d) C
2611	2611	RIMINALPENALTY.—Any corporate officer, 12
2612	2612	agent, or director of an operator conducting mineral ac-13
2613	2613	tivities, and any other person acting on behalf of such a 14
2614	2614	person, who knowingly makes any false statement, rep-15
2615	2615	resentation, or certification, or knowingly fails to make 16
2616	2616	any statement, representation, or certification required 17
2617	2617	under this section with respect to such mineral activities 18
2618	2618	shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more 19
2619	2619	than $10,000 for deposit in the Abandoned Hardrock 20
2620	2620	Mine Reclamation Program. 21
2621	2621	(e) C
2622	2622	IVILACTION TORECOVERFEE.—Any portion 22
2623	2623	of the reclamation fee required under subsection (a) that 23
2624	2624	is not properly or promptly paid pursuant to this section 24
2625	2625	shall be recoverable, with statutory interest, from the op-25
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2628	2628	•HR 1865 IH
2629	2629	erator, in any court of competent jurisdiction in any action 1
2630	2630	at law to compel payment of debts. 2
2631	2631	(f) E
2632	2632	FFECT.—Nothing in this section requires a re-3
2633	2633	duction in, or otherwise affects, any similar fee required 4
2634	2634	under any law or regulation of any State. 5
2635	2635	(g) E
2636	2636	XEMPTION.—The fee under this section shall 6
2637	2637	not apply for a small miner’s lease. 7
2638	2638	TITLE V—ADDITIONAL 8
2639	2639	PROVISIONS 9
2640	2640	SEC. 501. POLICY FUNCTIONS. 10
2641	2641	(a) M
2642	2642	INERALSPOLICY.—Section 101 of the Mining 11
2643	2643	and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a) is 12
2644	2644	amended— 13
2645	2645	(1) by inserting ‘‘and to ensure that mineral ex-14
2646	2646	traction and processing do not cause unnecessary or 15
2647	2647	undue degradation of the natural and cultural re-16
2648	2648	sources of the public lands’’ after ‘‘activities’’; and 17
2649	2649	(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘It shall 18
2650	2650	also be the responsibility of the Secretary of Agri-19
2651	2651	culture to carry out the policy provisions of para-20
2652	2652	graphs (1) and (2) of this section.’’. 21
2653	2653	(b) M
2654	2654	INERALDATA.—Section 5(e)(3) of the National 22
2655	2655	Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development 23
2656	2656	Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1604(e)(3)) is amended by insert-24
2657	2657	ing before the period the following: ‘‘, except that for Na-25
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2659	2659	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 88
2660	2660	•HR 1865 IH
2661	2661	tional Forest System lands, the Secretary of Agriculture 1
2662	2662	shall promptly initiate actions to improve the availability 2
2663	2663	and analysis of mineral data in Federal land-use decision-3
2664	2664	making’’. 4
2665	2665	SEC. 502. USER FEES AND INFLATION ADJUSTMENT. 5
2666	2666	(a) U
2667	2667	SERFEES.—The Secretary and the Secretary 6
2668	2668	of Agriculture may each establish and collect from persons 7
2669	2669	subject to the requirements of this Act such user fees as 8
2670	2670	may be necessary to reimburse the United States for ex-9
2671	2671	penses incurred in the administration of such require-10
2672	2672	ments. Fees may be assessed and collected under this sec-11
2673	2673	tion only in such manner as may reasonably be expected 12
2674	2674	to result in an aggregate amount of the fees collected dur-13
2675	2675	ing any fiscal year which does not exceed the aggregate 14
2676	2676	amount of administrative expenses referred to in this sec-15
2677	2677	tion. 16
2678	2678	(b) A
2679	2679	DJUSTMENT OFUSERFEES.— 17
2680	2680	(1) I
2681	2681	NFLATION.—The Secretary shall adjust the 18
2682	2682	user fees established by this section, and all claim 19
2683	2683	maintenance fees, rental rates, penalty amounts, and 20
2684	2684	other dollar amounts established in this Act, to re-21
2685	2685	flect changes in the Consumer Price Index published 22
2686	2686	by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart-23
2687	2687	ment of Labor every 3 years after the effective date 24
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2690	2690	•HR 1865 IH
2691	2691	of this Act, or more frequently if the Secretary de-1
2692	2692	termines an adjustment to be reasonable. 2
2693	2693	(2) N
2694	2694	OTICE.—The Secretary shall provide claim 3
2695	2695	holders, license holders, and lease holders notice of 4
2696	2696	any adjustment made under this subsection not later 5
2697	2697	than July 1 of the year in which the adjustment is 6
2698	2698	made. 7
2699	2699	(3) A
2700	2700	PPLICABILITY.—A fee adjustment under 8
2701	2701	this subsection shall begin to apply the calendar year 9
2702	2702	following the calendar year in which it is made. 10
2703	2703	SEC. 503. INSPECTION AND MONITORING. 11
2704	2704	(a) I
2705	2705	NSPECTIONS.— 12
2706	2706	(1) I
2707	2707	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 13
2708	2708	shall conduct inspections of mineral activities so as 14
2709	2709	to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 15
2710	2710	Act. 16
2711	2711	(2) F
2712	2712	REQUENCY.— 17
2713	2713	(A) I
2714	2714	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-18
2715	2715	cerned shall establish a frequency of inspections 19
2716	2716	for mineral activities conducted under a permit 20
2717	2717	issued under title III, but in no event shall such 21
2718	2718	inspection frequency be less than 1 complete in-22
2719	2719	spection per calendar quarter or, in the case of 23
2720	2720	a permit for which the Secretary concerned ap-24
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2723	2723	•HR 1865 IH
2724	2724	proves an application under section 304(f), 2 1
2725	2725	per calendar quarter. 2
2726	2726	(B) F
2727	2727	REQUENCY AFTER REVEGETATION .— 3
2728	2728	After revegetation has been completed in ac-4
2729	2729	cordance with a reclamation plan, the Secretary 5
2730	2730	concerned shall conduct 2 complete inspections 6
2731	2731	annually. 7
2732	2732	(C) S
2733	2733	EASONAL MINERAL ACTIVITIES .—The 8
2734	2734	Secretary concerned may modify the inspection 9
2735	2735	frequency for mineral activities that are con-10
2736	2736	ducted on a seasonal basis. 11
2737	2737	(D) T
2738	2738	ERMINATION.—Inspections shall con-12
2739	2739	tinue under this subsection until final release of 13
2740	2740	financial assurance. 14
2741	2741	(3) B
2742	2742	Y REQUEST.— 15
2743	2743	(A) I
2744	2744	N GENERAL.—Any person that has 16
2745	2745	reason to believe such person is or may be ad-17
2746	2746	versely affected by mineral activities due to any 18
2747	2747	violation of the requirements of a permit ap-19
2748	2748	proved under this Act may request an inspec-20
2749	2749	tion under this section of such mineral activi-21
2750	2750	ties. 22
2751	2751	(B) R
2752	2752	EVIEW PERIOD.—Not later than 30 23
2753	2753	business days after the date the Secretary con-24
2754	2754	cerned receives a request under subparagraph 25
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2757	2757	•HR 1865 IH
2758	2758	(A), the Secretary concerned shall determine 1
2759	2759	whether the request states a reason to believe 2
2760	2760	that a violation exists. 3
2761	2761	(C) I
2762	2762	MMINENT THREAT .—If, in a request 4
2763	2763	submitted under subparagraph (A), a person al-5
2764	2764	leges and provides reason to believe that an im-6
2765	2765	minent threat to the environment or danger to 7
2766	2766	the health or safety of the public exists, sub-8
2767	2767	paragraph (B) shall not apply and the inspec-9
2768	2768	tion shall be conducted immediately. 10
2769	2769	(D) N
2770	2770	OTIFICATION.—The Secretary con-11
2771	2771	cerned shall notify the person that submitted a 12
2772	2772	request under subparagraph (A) when an in-13
2773	2773	spection is conducted pursuant to such request, 14
2774	2774	and such person may accompany the Secretary 15
2775	2775	concerned during the inspection. 16
2776	2776	(E) L
2777	2777	IABILITY.—The Secretary concerned 17
2778	2778	shall not incur any liability for granting a re-18
2779	2779	quest to allow any person to accompany such 19
2780	2780	Secretary concerned under subparagraph (D). 20
2781	2781	(F) A
2782	2782	NONYMITY.—If a person that sub-21
2783	2783	mits a request under subparagraph (A) or (C) 22
2784	2784	requests that the identity of such person remain 23
2785	2785	confidential, the Secretary concerned shall keep 24
2786	2786	such information confidential unless such per-25
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2788	2788	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 92
2789	2789	•HR 1865 IH
2790	2790	son accompanies the Secretary concerned dur-1
2791	2791	ing the inspection under subparagraph (D). 2
2792	2792	(G) P
2793	2793	ROCEDURES.—The Secretary and the 3
2794	2794	Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly issue regu-4
2795	2795	lations to establish procedures for the review 5
2796	2796	of— 6
2797	2797	(i) any decision by an authorized rep-7
2798	2798	resentative of such Secretaries not to carry 8
2799	2799	out an inspection under this paragraph; or 9
2800	2800	(ii) any refusal by such authorized 10
2801	2801	representative to ensure that remedial ac-11
2802	2802	tions are taken with respect to any alleged 12
2803	2803	violation. 13
2804	2804	(H) W
2805	2805	RITTEN STATEMENT .—The Sec-14
2806	2806	retary concerned shall give a person that sub-15
2807	2807	mits a request under subparagraph (A) a writ-16
2808	2808	ten statement of the reasons for the final dis-17
2809	2809	position of the request. 18
2810	2810	(b) M
2811	2811	ONITORING.— 19
2812	2812	(1) M
2813	2813	ONITORING SYSTEM.— 20
2814	2814	(A) I
2815	2815	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-21
2816	2816	cerned shall require all operators to develop and 22
2817	2817	maintain a monitoring and evaluation system 23
2818	2818	that shall identify compliance with all require-24
2819	2819	ments of a permit issued under this Act. 25
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2822	2822	•HR 1865 IH
2823	2823	(B) ADDITIONAL MONITORING .—The Sec-1
2824	2824	retary concerned may require an operator to 2
2825	2825	conduct additional monitoring as necessary to 3
2826	2826	ensure compliance with the reclamation and 4
2827	2827	other environmental standards of this Act. Such 5
2828	2828	monitoring and evaluation system described in 6
2829	2829	subparagraph (A) and any additional moni-7
2830	2830	toring required by this subparagraph is subject 8
2831	2831	to the approval of the Secretary. 9
2832	2832	(2) R
2833	2833	EPORTING REQUIREMENTS .— 10
2834	2834	(A) I
2835	2835	N GENERAL.—An operator shall file 11
2836	2836	reports with the Secretary concerned, on a fre-12
2837	2837	quency and containing such information as de-13
2838	2838	termined by the Secretary concerned, regarding 14
2839	2839	the results of the monitoring and evaluation 15
2840	2840	system, except that if the monitoring and eval-16
2841	2841	uation system shows a violation of the require-17
2842	2842	ments of a permit issued under this Act, the 18
2843	2843	operator shall immediately report such violation 19
2844	2844	to the Secretary concerned. 20
2845	2845	(B) E
2846	2846	NFORCEMENT.—The Secretary con-21
2847	2847	cerned shall evaluate the reports submitted pur-22
2848	2848	suant to this paragraph, and, based on such re-23
2849	2849	ports and any necessary inspection, shall take 24
2850	2850	enforcement action pursuant to section 506. 25
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2853	2853	•HR 1865 IH
2854	2854	(C) MAINTENANCE OF REPORTS ; AVAIL-1
2855	2855	ABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The Secretary concerned 2
2856	2856	and each operator shall both maintain each re-3
2857	2857	port submitted by such operator under this 4
2858	2858	paragraph and make each such report available 5
2859	2859	to the public. 6
2860	2860	(3) F
2861	2861	AILURE TO REPORT.—If an operator fails 7
2862	2862	to file a report as required under this section such 8
2863	2863	failure shall constitute a violation of this Act and 9
2864	2864	subject the operator to enforcement action pursuant 10
2865	2865	to section 506. 11
2866	2866	SEC. 504. CITIZENS SUITS. 12
2867	2867	(a) I
2868	2868	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 13
2869	2869	(c), any person may commence a civil action to compel 14
2870	2870	compliance— 15
2871	2871	(1) against any person that is alleged to be in 16
2872	2872	violation of this Act or any term or condition of any 17
2873	2873	lease, license, or permit issued under this Act; or 18
2874	2874	(2) against the Secretary concerned if the Sec-19
2875	2875	retary concerned failed to perform any act or duty 20
2876	2876	under this Act, or to issue any regulation under this 21
2877	2877	Act, required by this Act. 22
2878	2878	(b) D
2879	2879	ISTRICTCOURTJURISDICTION.— 23
2880	2880	(1) I
2881	2881	N GENERAL.—The United States district 24
2882	2882	courts shall have jurisdiction over an action brought 25
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2884	2884	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 95
2885	2885	•HR 1865 IH
2886	2886	under this section, without regard to the amount in 1
2887	2887	controversy or the citizenship of the parties, includ-2
2888	2888	ing actions brought to apply any civil penalty under 3
2889	2889	this Act. 4
2890	2890	(2) A
2891	2891	GENCY ACTION UNREASONABLY DE -5
2892	2892	LAYED.—The United States district courts shall 6
2893	2893	have jurisdiction to compel agency action unreason-7
2894	2894	ably delayed, except that an action to compel agency 8
2895	2895	action reviewable under section 505 may only be 9
2896	2896	filed in a United States district court within the cir-10
2897	2897	cuit in which such action would be reviewable under 11
2898	2898	section 505. 12
2899	2899	(c) E
2900	2900	XCEPTIONS.— 13
2901	2901	(1) N
2902	2902	OTICE.—No action may be commenced 14
2903	2903	under subsection (a) before the end of the 60-day 15
2904	2904	period beginning on the date the plaintiff has given 16
2905	2905	notice in writing of such alleged violation to the al-17
2906	2906	leged violator and the Secretary concerned, except 18
2907	2907	that any such action may be brought immediately 19
2908	2908	after such notification if the violation complained of 20
2909	2909	constitutes an imminent threat to the environment 21
2910	2910	or to the health or safety of the public or to property 22
2911	2911	eligible for listing on the National Register of His-23
2912	2912	toric Places. 24
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2915	2915	•HR 1865 IH
2916	2916	(2) ONGOING LITIGATION.—No action may be 1
2917	2917	brought against any person other than the Secretary 2
2918	2918	concerned under subsection (a)(1) if the Secretary 3
2919	2919	concerned has commenced and is diligently pros-4
2920	2920	ecuting a civil or criminal action in a court of the 5
2921	2921	United States to require compliance. 6
2922	2922	(3) E
2923	2923	XCEPTION.—No action may be commenced 7
2924	2924	under subsection (a)(2) against the Secretary con-8
2925	2925	cerned to review any regulation issued, or any per-9
2926	2926	mit issued or denied, by the Secretary concerned if 10
2927	2927	such regulation or permit issuance or denial is judi-11
2928	2928	cially reviewable under section 505 or under any 12
2929	2929	other provision of law at any time after such 13
2930	2930	issuance or denial is final. 14
2931	2931	(d) V
2932	2932	ENUE.—Venue of all actions brought under this 15
2933	2933	section shall be determined in accordance with section 16
2934	2934	1391 of title 28, United States Code. 17
2935	2935	(e) C
2936	2936	OSTS.—The court, in issuing any final order in 18
2937	2937	any action brought pursuant to this section, may award 19
2938	2938	costs of litigation (including attorney and expert witness 20
2939	2939	fees) to any party whenever the court determines such 21
2940	2940	award is appropriate. The court may, if a temporary re-22
2941	2941	straining order or preliminary injunction is sought, require 23
2942	2942	the filing of a bond or equivalent security in accordance 24
2943	2943	with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 25
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2946	2946	•HR 1865 IH
2947	2947	(f) SAVINGSCLAUSE.— 1
2948	2948	(1) I
2949	2949	N GENERAL.—Nothing in this section shall 2
2950	2950	restrict any right which any person (or class of per-3
2951	2951	sons) may have under chapter 7 of title 5, United 4
2952	2952	States Code, under this section, or under any other 5
2953	2953	statute or common law to bring an action to seek 6
2954	2954	any relief against the Secretary or the Secretary of 7
2955	2955	Agriculture or against any other person, including 8
2956	2956	any action for any violation of this Act or of any 9
2957	2957	regulation or permit issued under this Act or for any 10
2958	2958	failure to act as required by law. 11
2959	2959	(2) J
2960	2960	URISDICTION.—Nothing in this section 12
2961	2961	shall affect the jurisdiction of any court under any 13
2962	2962	provision of title 28, United States Code, including 14
2963	2963	any action for any violation of this Act or of any 15
2964	2964	regulation or permit issued under this Act or for any 16
2965	2965	failure to act as required by law. 17
2966	2966	SEC. 505. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 18
2967	2967	(a) R
2968	2968	EVIEW BYSECRETARYCONCERNED.— 19
2969	2969	(1) N
2970	2970	OTICE OF VIOLATION.—Any person issued 20
2971	2971	a notice of violation or cessation order under section 21
2972	2972	507, or any person having an interest which is or 22
2973	2973	may be adversely affected by such notice or order, 23
2974	2974	may apply to the Secretary concerned for review of 24
2975	2975	such notice or order not later than 30 days after re-25
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2978	2978	•HR 1865 IH
2979	2979	ceipt thereof, or as the case may be, not later than 1
2980	2980	30 days after such notice or order is modified, va-2
2981	2981	cated, or terminated. 3
2982	2982	(2) R
2983	2983	EVIEW OF PENALTY.—Any person that is 4
2984	2984	subject to a penalty assessed under section 507 may 5
2985	2985	apply to the Secretary concerned for review of the 6
2986	2986	assessment not later than 45 days of notification of 7
2987	2987	such penalty. 8
2988	2988	(3) T
2989	2989	HIRD-PARTY REQUESTS.—Any person may 9
2990	2990	apply to the Secretary concerned for review of a de-10
2991	2991	cision under this subsection not later than 30 days 11
2992	2992	after such decision is issued. 12
2993	2993	(4) S
2994	2994	TAYS PENDING REVIEW .—Pending a re-13
2995	2995	view by the Secretary concerned or resolution of an 14
2996	2996	administrative appeal, final decisions (except en-15
2997	2997	forcement actions under section 507) shall be 16
2998	2998	stayed. 17
2999	2999	(5) P
3000	3000	UBLIC HEARING.—The Secretary con-18
3001	3001	cerned shall provide an opportunity for public hear-19
3002	3002	ing at the request of any party to a review under 20
3003	3003	paragraph (1). The filing of an application for re-21
3004	3004	view under this subsection shall not operate as a 22
3005	3005	stay of any order or notice issued under section 507. 23
3006	3006	(6) W
3007	3007	RITTEN DECISION.— 24
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3010	3010	•HR 1865 IH
3011	3011	(A) IN GENERAL.—For any review under 1
3012	3012	this subsection, the Secretary concerned shall 2
3013	3013	make findings of fact and shall issue a written 3
3014	3014	decision incorporating therein an order 4
3015	3015	vacating, affirming, modifying, or terminating 5
3016	3016	the notice, order, or decision, or with respect to 6
3017	3017	an assessment, the amount of penalty that is 7
3018	3018	warranted. 8
3019	3019	(B) D
3020	3020	EADLINE.—Where an application for 9
3021	3021	review under this subsection concerns a ces-10
3022	3022	sation order issued under section 506, the Sec-11
3023	3023	retary concerned shall, unless temporary relief 12
3024	3024	has been granted by the Secretary concerned 13
3025	3025	under paragraph (7), issue the written decision 14
3026	3026	not later than the later of— 15
3027	3027	(i) 30 days after the date of the re-16
3028	3028	ceipt of the application for review; and 17
3029	3029	(ii) 30 days after the conclusion of 18
3030	3030	any hearing referred to in paragraph (5). 19
3031	3031	(7) T
3032	3032	EMPORARY RELIEF.— 20
3033	3033	(A) I
3034	3034	N GENERAL.—Pending completion of 21
3035	3035	any review under this subsection, the person 22
3036	3036	that submitted an application for review under 23
3037	3037	paragraph (1) may file with the Secretary con-24
3038	3038	cerned a written request that the Secretary con-25
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3041	3041	•HR 1865 IH
3042	3042	cerned grant temporary relief from any order 1
3043	3043	issued under section 507 including a detailed 2
3044	3044	statement of the basis for such relief. 3
3045	3045	(B) D
3046	3046	ECISION.—The Secretary concerned 4
3047	3047	shall expeditiously issue an order or decision 5
3048	3048	granting or denying an application for tem-6
3049	3049	porary relief submitted under subparagraph 7
3050	3050	(A). 8
3051	3051	(C) L
3052	3052	IMITATION.—The Secretary con-9
3053	3053	cerned may grant temporary relief under sub-10
3054	3054	paragraph (B) under such conditions as they 11
3055	3055	may prescribe only if the Secretary concerned 12
3056	3056	determines that such relief will not adversely af-13
3057	3057	fect the health or safety of the public or cause 14
3058	3058	imminent environmental harm to land, air, or 15
3059	3059	water resources. 16
3060	3060	(8) S
3061	3061	AVINGS CLAUSE.—The availability of re-17
3062	3062	view under this subsection shall not be construed to 18
3063	3063	limit the operation of rights under section 504. 19
3064	3064	(b) J
3065	3065	UDICIALREVIEW.— 20
3066	3066	(1) C
3067	3067	OURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF 21
3068	3068	COLUMBIA.—Any final action by the Secretary or 22
3069	3069	the Secretary of Agriculture in issuing regulations to 23
3070	3070	implement this Act, or any other final actions consti-24
3071	3071	tuting rulemaking to implement this Act, shall be 25
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3074	3074	•HR 1865 IH
3075	3075	subject to judicial review only in a United States 1
3076	3076	Court of Appeals for a circuit in which an affected 2
3077	3077	State is located or within the District of Columbia. 3
3078	3078	(2) P
3079	3079	ETITION FOR REVIEW.—A petition for re-4
3080	3080	view of any action subject to judicial review under 5
3081	3081	this subsection shall be filed not later than 60 days 6
3082	3082	after the date of such action, or after such date if 7
3083	3083	the petition is based solely on grounds arising after 8
3084	3084	the 60th day. Any such petition may be made by any 9
3085	3085	person that commented or otherwise participated in 10
3086	3086	the rulemaking or any person that may be adversely 11
3087	3087	affected by the action of the Secretary or the Sec-12
3088	3088	retary of Agriculture. 13
3089	3089	(3) S
3090	3090	TANDARD OF REVIEW .—Final agency ac-14
3091	3091	tion under this subsection, including such final ac-15
3092	3092	tion on those matters described under subsection 16
3093	3093	(a), shall be subject to judicial review in accordance 17
3094	3094	with paragraph (4) and pursuant to section 1391 of 18
3095	3095	title 28, United States Code, not later than 60 days 19
3096	3096	after the date of such final action. Any action sub-20
3097	3097	ject to judicial review under this subsection shall be 21
3098	3098	affirmed unless the court concludes that such action 22
3099	3099	is arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise inconsistent 23
3100	3100	with law. 24
3101	3101	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3102	3102	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 102
3103	3103	•HR 1865 IH
3104	3104	(4) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The availability of judi-1
3105	3105	cial review established in this subsection shall not be 2
3106	3106	construed to limit the operations of rights under sec-3
3107	3107	tion 504. 4
3108	3108	(5) R
3109	3109	ECORD.—The court shall hear any petition 5
3110	3110	or complaint filed under this subsection solely on the 6
3111	3111	record made before the Secretary concerned. The 7
3112	3112	court may affirm or vacate any order or decision or 8
3113	3113	may remand the proceedings to the Secretary con-9
3114	3114	cerned for such further action as it may direct. 10
3115	3115	(6) C
3116	3116	OMMENCEMENT OF A PROCEEDING NOT A 11
3117	3117	STAY.—The commencement of a proceeding under 12
3118	3118	this section shall not, unless specifically ordered by 13
3119	3119	the court, operate as a stay of the action, order, or 14
3120	3120	decision of the Secretary concerned. 15
3121	3121	(c) C
3122	3122	OSTS.—Whenever a proceeding occurs under 16
3123	3123	subsection (a) or (b), at the request of any person, a sum 17
3124	3124	equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses 18
3125	3125	(including attorney fees) as determined by the Secretary 19
3126	3126	concerned or the court to have been reasonably incurred 20
3127	3127	by such person for or in connection with participation in 21
3128	3128	such proceedings, including any judicial review of the pro-22
3129	3129	ceeding, may be assessed against either party as the court, 23
3130	3130	in the case of judicial review, or the Secretary concerned 24
3131	3131	in the case of administrative proceedings, deems appro-25
3132	3132	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3133	3133	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 103
3134	3134	•HR 1865 IH
3135	3135	priate if it is determined that such party prevailed in 1
3136	3136	whole or in part, achieving some success on the merits, 2
3137	3137	and that such party made a substantial contribution to 3
3138	3138	a full and fair determination of the issues. 4
3139	3139	SEC. 506. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 5
3140	3140	(a) R
3141	3141	EPORT TOSECRETARYCONCERNED.—An oper-6
3142	3142	ator engaging in any mineral activities on Federal land 7
3143	3143	or on Indian land shall submit to the Secretary concerned 8
3144	3144	an annual report, in a time and manner prescribed by the 9
3145	3145	Secretary concerned, describing the total amount (in met-10
3146	3146	ric tons) and value of hardrock minerals produced through 11
3147	3147	such mineral activities, including the total amount and 12
3148	3148	value of any hardrock minerals produced from a mine par-13
3149	3149	tially located on either Federal land or Indian land, 14
3150	3150	disaggregated by hardrock mineral and by percentage ex-15
3151	3151	tracted from Federal land and percentage extracted from 16
3152	3152	Indian land. 17
3153	3153	(b) F
3154	3154	AILURETOREPORT.—Any person that fails to 18
3155	3155	comply with the requirements of subsection (a) shall be 19
3156	3156	subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 per day 20
3157	3157	during which such failure continues, which may be as-21
3158	3158	sessed by the Secretary concerned. 22
3159	3159	(c) R
3160	3160	EPORT TOCONGRESS.—The Secretary shall an-23
3161	3161	nually submit to Congress a report providing the following 24
3162	3162	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3163	3163	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 104
3164	3164	•HR 1865 IH
3165	3165	information for each hardrock mine located on Federal 1
3166	3166	land or on Indian land: 2
3167	3167	(1) The data submitted for such mine under 3
3168	3168	subsection (a). 4
3169	3169	(2) The name of the operator of such mine. 5
3170	3170	(3) The State in which such mine is located. 6
3171	3171	(4) The Bureau of Land Management field of-7
3172	3172	fice with jurisdiction over such mine. 8
3173	3173	(5) Whether such mine is located on Federal 9
3174	3174	land. 10
3175	3175	(6) Whether such mine is located on Indian 11
3176	3176	land. 12
3177	3177	(d) R
3178	3178	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 13
3179	3179	effective date of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such 14
3180	3180	regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. 15
3181	3181	SEC. 507. ENFORCEMENT. 16
3182	3182	(a) O
3183	3183	RDERS.— 17
3184	3184	(1) N
3185	3185	OTICE OF VIOLATION.— 18
3186	3186	(A) I
3187	3187	N GENERAL.—If the Secretary con-19
3188	3188	cerned determines that any person is in viola-20
3189	3189	tion of any environmental protection require-21
3190	3190	ment or any regulation issued by the Secretary 22
3191	3191	concerned to implement this Act, such the Sec-23
3192	3192	retary concerned shall issue to such person a 24
3193	3193	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3194	3194	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 105
3195	3195	•HR 1865 IH
3196	3196	notice of violation describing the violation and 1
3197	3197	the corrective measures to be taken. 2
3198	3198	(B) T
3199	3199	IME TO ABATE.—A person issued a 3
3200	3200	notice of violation under subparagraph (A) shall 4
3201	3201	abate such violation within a time period deter-5
3202	3202	mined by the Secretary concerned which shall 6
3203	3203	not exceed 30 days. 7
3204	3204	(C) E
3205	3205	XTENSION OF TIME TO ABATE .—The 8
3206	3206	Secretary concerned may, upon a showing of 9
3207	3207	good cause by the person issued a notice of vio-10
3208	3208	lation under subparagraph (A), extend the pe-11
3209	3209	riod of time under subparagraph (B). 12
3210	3210	(D) C
3211	3211	ONTINUED VIOLATION.—If, upon the 13
3212	3212	expiration of the time period under subpara-14
3213	3213	graph (B), including any extension under sub-15
3214	3214	paragraph (C), the Secretary concerned finds 16
3215	3215	that the person issued a notice of violation 17
3216	3216	under subparagraph (A) has not abated such 18
3217	3217	violation, the Secretary concerned shall imme-19
3218	3218	diately order a cessation of all mineral activities 20
3219	3219	or the portion thereof relevant to the violation. 21
3220	3220	(2) O
3221	3221	RDER FOR IMMEDIATE CESSATION .—If the 22
3222	3222	Secretary concerned determines that any condition 23
3223	3223	or practice exists, or that any person is in violation 24
3224	3224	of any requirement under a permit issued under this 25
3225	3225	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3226	3226	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 106
3227	3227	•HR 1865 IH
3228	3228	Act, and such condition, practice, or violation is 1
3229	3229	causing, or can reasonably be expected to cause ei-2
3230	3230	ther of the following, the Secretary concerned shall 3
3231	3231	immediately order a cessation of all mineral activi-4
3232	3232	ties or the portion thereof relevant to the condition, 5
3233	3233	practice, or violation: 6
3234	3234	(A) An imminent danger to the health or 7
3235	3235	safety of the public. 8
3236	3236	(B) Significant, imminent environmental 9
3237	3237	harm to land, air, water, or fish or wildlife re-10
3238	3238	sources. 11
3239	3239	(3) D
3240	3240	URATION.— 12
3241	3241	(A) T
3242	3242	ERMINATION.—A cessation order 13
3243	3243	issued pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall 14
3244	3244	remain in effect until the Secretary concerned 15
3245	3245	determines that the condition, practice, or viola-16
3246	3246	tion has been abated or until such order is 17
3247	3247	modified, vacated, or terminated by the Sec-18
3248	3248	retary concerned. In any such order, the Sec-19
3249	3249	retary concerned shall determine the steps nec-20
3250	3250	essary to abate the violation in the most expedi-21
3251	3251	tious manner possible and shall include the nec-22
3252	3252	essary measures in such order. 23
3253	3253	(B) F
3254	3254	INANCIAL ASSURANCES .—The Sec-24
3255	3255	retary concerned shall require appropriate fi-25
3256	3256	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3257	3257	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 107
3258	3258	•HR 1865 IH
3259	3259	nancial assurances to ensure that the abate-1
3260	3260	ment obligations are met when issuing a ces-2
3261	3261	sation order under this section. 3
3262	3262	(C) A
3263	3263	UTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY CON -4
3264	3264	CERNED.—Any notice or order issued pursuant 5
3265	3265	to paragraph (1) or (2) may be modified, va-6
3266	3266	cated, or terminated by the Secretary con-7
3267	3267	cerned. Any person to whom any such notice or 8
3268	3268	order is issued shall be entitled to a hearing on 9
3269	3269	the record. 10
3270	3270	(4) A
3271	3271	LTERNATIVE ENFORCEMENT ACTION .— 11
3272	3272	(A) I
3273	3273	N GENERAL.—If, 30 days after the 12
3274	3274	notice of violation referred to in paragraph 13
3275	3275	(1)(A) is issued, the required abatement has 14
3276	3276	not occurred, the Secretary concerned shall take 15
3277	3277	such alternative enforcement action against the 16
3278	3278	claim holder, license holder, lease holder, or op-17
3279	3279	erator (or any person who controls the claim 18
3280	3280	holder, license holder, lease holder, or operator) 19
3281	3281	as will most likely bring about such required 20
3282	3282	abatement in the most expeditious manner pos-21
3283	3283	sible, which may include seeking appropriate in-22
3284	3284	junctive relief to bring about abatement. 23
3285	3285	(B) E
3286	3286	ARLIER ALTERNATIVE ENFORCE -24
3287	3287	MENT ACTION.—Nothing in this paragraph 25
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3290	3290	•HR 1865 IH
3291	3291	shall preclude the Secretary concerned from 1
3292	3292	taking alternative enforcement action before the 2
3293	3293	expiration of the 30-day period described in 3
3294	3294	subparagraph (A). 4
3295	3295	(5) F
3296	3296	AILURE OR DEFAULT.— 5
3297	3297	(A) I
3298	3298	N GENERAL.—If a claim holder, li-6
3299	3299	cense holder, lease holder, or operator (or any 7
3300	3300	person who controls the claim holder, license 8
3301	3301	holder, lease holder, or operator) fails to abate 9
3302	3302	a violation or defaults on the terms of a permit 10
3303	3303	issued under this Act, the Secretary concerned 11
3304	3304	shall forfeit the financial assurance required 12
3305	3305	under section 306 as necessary to ensure abate-13
3306	3306	ment and reclamation under this Act. 14
3307	3307	(B) R
3308	3308	ECLAMATION BY SURETY .—The Sec-15
3309	3309	retary concerned may prescribe conditions 16
3310	3310	under which a surety may perform reclamation 17
3311	3311	in accordance with section 307 in lieu of for-18
3312	3312	feiture under subparagraph (A). 19
3313	3313	(6) P
3314	3314	ENDING REVIEW .—The Secretary con-20
3315	3315	cerned shall not cause forfeiture of financial assur-21
3316	3316	ance while administrative or judicial review is pend-22
3317	3317	ing. 23
3318	3318	(7) L
3319	3319	IABILITY IN THE EVENT OF FOR -24
3320	3320	FEITURE.—In the event of forfeiture, the claim hold-25
3321	3321	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3322	3322	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 109
3323	3323	•HR 1865 IH
3324	3324	er, license holder, lease holder, operator, or any affil-1
3325	3325	iate thereof, as determined appropriate by the Sec-2
3326	3326	retary by regulation, shall be jointly and severally 3
3327	3327	liable for any remaining reclamation obligations 4
3328	3328	under this Act. 5
3329	3329	(b) C
3330	3330	OMPLIANCE.—The Secretary concerned may re-6
3331	3331	quest that the Attorney General institute a civil action for 7
3332	3332	relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction or 8
3333	3333	restraining order and any other appropriate enforcement 9
3334	3334	order, including the imposition of civil penalties, in the 10
3335	3335	United States district court for the district in which the 11
3336	3336	mineral activities are located, whenever a person— 12
3337	3337	(1) violates, fails, or refuses to comply with any 13
3338	3338	order issued by the Secretary concerned under sub-14
3339	3339	section (a); or 15
3340	3340	(2) interferes with, hinders, or delays the Sec-16
3341	3341	retary concerned in carrying out an inspection under 17
3342	3342	section 503. 18
3343	3343	Such court shall have jurisdiction to provide such relief 19
3344	3344	as may be appropriate. Any relief granted by such court 20
3345	3345	to enforce an order under paragraph (1) shall continue 21
3346	3346	in effect until the completion or final termination of all 22
3347	3347	proceedings for review of such order unless the court 23
3348	3348	granting such relief sets it aside. 24
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3351	3351	•HR 1865 IH
3352	3352	(c) DELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-1
3353	3353	sion of law, the Secretary may utilize personnel of the Of-2
3354	3354	fice of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to 3
3355	3355	ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act. 4
3356	3356	(d) P
3357	3357	ENALTIES.— 5
3358	3358	(1) F
3359	3359	AILURE TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS 6
3360	3360	OF A PERMIT.— 7
3361	3361	(A) I
3362	3362	N GENERAL.—A person who fails to 8
3363	3363	comply with any requirement of a permit issued 9
3364	3364	under this Act or any regulation issued to im-10
3365	3365	plement this Act shall be liable for a penalty of 11
3366	3366	not more than $25,000 per violation. 12
3367	3367	(B) S
3368	3368	EPARATE VIOLATIONS.—Each day of 13
3369	3369	violation may be deemed a separate violation 14
3370	3370	for purposes of a penalty assessment under this 15
3371	3371	paragraph. 16
3372	3372	(2) F
3373	3373	AILURE TO COMPLY WITH A CESSATION 17
3374	3374	ORDER.—A person who fails to correct a violation 18
3375	3375	for which a cessation order has been issued under 19
3376	3376	subsection (a) within the period permitted for cor-20
3377	3377	rection of such violation shall be assessed a civil pen-21
3378	3378	alty of not less than $1,000 per violation for each 22
3379	3379	day during which such failure continues. 23
3380	3380	(3) P
3381	3381	ENALTIES FOR DIRECTORS , OFFICERS, 24
3382	3382	AND AGENTS.—Whenever a corporation is in viola-25
3383	3383	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
3384	3384	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 111
3385	3385	•HR 1865 IH
3386	3386	tion of a requirement of a permit issued under this 1
3387	3387	Act or any regulation issued to implement this Act 2
3388	3388	or fails or refuses to comply with an order issued 3
3389	3389	under subsection (a), any director, officer, or agent 4
3390	3390	of such corporation who knowingly authorized, or-5
3391	3391	dered, or carried out such violation, failure, or re-6
3392	3392	fusal shall be subject to the same penalties as may 7
3393	3393	be imposed upon a person described in paragraph 8
3394	3394	(1). 9
3395	3395	(e) S
3396	3396	USPENSIONS ORREVOCATIONS.—The Secretary 10
3397	3397	concerned shall suspend or revoke a permit issued under 11
3398	3398	title II, in whole or in part, if the operator— 12
3399	3399	(1) knowingly made or knowingly makes any 13
3400	3400	false, inaccurate, or misleading material statement 14
3401	3401	in any mining claim, notice of location, application, 15
3402	3402	record, report, plan, or other document filed or re-16
3403	3403	quired to be maintained under this Act; 17
3404	3404	(2) fails to abate a violation covered by a ces-18
3405	3405	sation order issued under subsection (a); 19
3406	3406	(3) fails to comply with an order of the Sec-20
3407	3407	retary concerned; 21
3408	3408	(4) refuses to permit an audit pursuant to this 22
3409	3409	Act; 23
3410	3410	(5) fails to maintain an adequate financial as-24
3411	3411	surance under section 306; 25
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3414	3414	•HR 1865 IH
3415	3415	(6) fails to pay claim maintenance fees, rentals, 1
3416	3416	or other moneys due and owing under this Act; or 2
3417	3417	(7) with regard to plans conditionally approved 3
3418	3418	under section 305(c)(2)— 4
3419	3419	(A) fails to abate a violation to the satis-5
3420	3420	faction of the Secretary concerned; or 6
3421	3421	(B) the validity of the violation is upheld 7
3422	3422	on the appeal which formed the basis for the 8
3423	3423	conditional approval. 9
3424	3424	(f) F
3425	3425	ALSESTATEMENTS; TAMPERING.— 10
3426	3426	(1) I
3427	3427	N GENERAL.—A person who knowingly car-11
3428	3428	ries out any of the following actions shall, upon an 12
3429	3429	initial conviction, be fined not more than $10,000, 13
3430	3430	imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, and, 14
3431	3431	upon a subsequent conviction, be fined not more 15
3432	3432	than $20,000, imprisoned for not more than 4 years, 16
3433	3433	or both: 17
3434	3434	(A) Make a false material statement, rep-18
3435	3435	resentation, or certification in, or omit or con-19
3436	3436	ceal material information from, or unlawfully 20
3437	3437	alter, any mining claim, notice of location, ap-21
3438	3438	plication, record, report, plan, or other docu-22
3439	3439	ments filed or required to be maintained under 23
3440	3440	this Act. 24
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3443	3443	•HR 1865 IH
3444	3444	(B) Falsify, tamper with, render inac-1
3445	3445	curate, or fail to install any monitoring device 2
3446	3446	or method required to be maintained under this 3
3447	3447	Act. 4
3448	3448	(2) S
3449	3449	EPARATE VIOLATIONS.—Each day of con-5
3450	3450	tinuing violation may be deemed a separate violation 6
3451	3451	for purposes of penalty assessment under paragraph 7
3452	3452	(1). 8
3453	3453	(g) M
3454	3454	INERALACTIVITIESWITHOUT APERMIT.— 9
3455	3455	(1) I
3456	3456	N GENERAL.—A person that knowingly 10
3457	3457	carries out any of the following actions shall, upon 11
3458	3458	an initial conviction, be fined not less than $5,000 12
3459	3459	and not more than $50,000, imprisoned for not 13
3460	3460	more than 3 years, or both, and, upon a subsequent 14
3461	3461	conviction, be fined not less than $10,000, impris-15
3462	3462	oned for not more than 6 years, or both: 16
3463	3463	(A) Engage in mineral activities without a 17
3464	3464	permit required under title II. 18
3465	3465	(B) Violate any other requirement of a 19
3466	3466	permit issued under this Act, or any condition 20
3467	3467	or limitation thereof. 21
3468	3468	(2) S
3469	3469	EPARATE VIOLATIONS.—Each day of con-22
3470	3470	tinuing violation shall be deemed a separate violation 23
3471	3471	for purposes of penalty assessment under paragraph 24
3472	3472	(1). 25
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3475	3475	•HR 1865 IH
3476	3476	(h) KNOWING ANDWILLFULVIOLATIONS.—A person 1
3477	3477	that knowingly and willfully commits an act for which a 2
3478	3478	civil penalty is provided in subsection (g)(1)(A) shall, upon 3
3479	3479	conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than 4
3480	3480	$50,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years, 5
3481	3481	or both. 6
3482	3482	(i) P
3483	3483	ERSONDEFINED.—In this section, the term 7
3484	3484	‘‘person’’ includes any officer, agent, or employee of a per-8
3485	3485	son. 9
3486	3486	SEC. 508. REGULATIONS. 10
3487	3487	(a) I
3488	3488	NGENERAL.—The Secretary and the Secretary 11
3489	3489	of Agriculture shall issue such regulations as are necessary 12
3490	3490	to implement this Act. 13
3491	3491	(b) R
3492	3492	EGULATIONSAFFECTINGFORESTSERVICE.— 14
3493	3493	Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this Act, 15
3494	3494	the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly 16
3495	3495	issue regulations implementing titles II and III and this 17
3496	3496	title that affect the Forest Service. 18
3497	3497	SEC. 509. OIL SHALE CLAIMS. 19
3498	3498	Section 2511(f) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 20
3499	3499	U.S.C. 242(f); Public Law 102–486) is amended— 21
3500	3500	(1) by striking ‘‘as prescribed by the Sec-22
3501	3501	retary’’; and 23
3502	3502	(2) by inserting before the period the following: 24
3503	3503	‘‘in the same manner as required by title II of the 25
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3505	3505	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 115
3506	3506	•HR 1865 IH
3507	3507	Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 1
3508	3508	2025’’. 2
3509	3509	SEC. 510. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 3
3510	3510	(a) S
3511	3511	PECIALAPPLICATION OFMININGLAWS.—Noth-4
3512	3512	ing in this Act shall be construed to— 5
3513	3513	(1) repeal or modify any Federal law, regula-6
3514	3514	tion, order, or land use plan in effect before the ef-7
3515	3515	fective date of this Act that prohibits or restricts the 8
3516	3516	application of the general mining laws, including 9
3517	3517	laws that provide for special management criteria for 10
3518	3518	operations under the general mining laws as in ef-11
3519	3519	fect before the effective date of this Act, to the ex-12
3520	3520	tent such laws provide for protection of natural and 13
3521	3521	cultural resources and the environment greater than 14
3522	3522	required under this Act; 15
3523	3523	(2) apply to or limit mineral investigations, 16
3524	3524	studies, or other mineral activities conducted by any 17
3525	3525	Federal or State agency acting in the governmental 18
3526	3526	capacity of such agency pursuant to other authority; 19
3527	3527	or 20
3528	3528	(3) affect or limit any assessment, investigation, 21
3529	3529	evaluation, or listing pursuant to the Comprehensive 22
3530	3530	Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-23
3531	3531	ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) or the 24
3532	3532	Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 3251 et seq.). 25
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3535	3535	•HR 1865 IH
3536	3536	(b) CLAIMSCONVERTED TO LEASES.—Any Federal 1
3537	3537	law described in subsection (a) shall remain in force and 2
3538	3538	effect with respect to claims converted to leases under this 3
3539	3539	Act. 4
3540	3540	(c) E
3541	3541	FFECT ONOTHERFEDERALLAWS.— 5
3542	3542	(1) G
3543	3543	ENERAL MINING LAWS .—The provisions of 6
3544	3544	this Act shall supersede the general mining laws. 7
3545	3545	(2) O
3546	3546	THER LAWS.—Except for the general min-8
3547	3547	ing laws, nothing in this Act shall be construed to 9
3548	3548	supersede, modify, amend, or repeal any provision of 10
3549	3549	Federal law not expressly superseded, modified, 11
3550	3550	amended, or repealed by this Act. 12
3551	3551	(3) E
3552	3552	NVIRONMENTAL LAWS .—Nothing in this 13
3553	3553	Act shall be construed to alter, affect, amend, mod-14
3554	3554	ify, or change, directly or indirectly, any law which 15
3555	3555	refers to and provides authorities or responsibilities 16
3556	3556	for, or is administered by, the Administrator of the 17
3557	3557	Environmental Protection Agency, including— 18
3558	3558	(A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 19
3559	3559	Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 20
3560	3560	(B) the National Environmental Policy Act 21
3561	3561	of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 22
3562	3562	(C) title XIV of the Public Health Service 23
3563	3563	Act (the Safe Drinking Water Act) (42 U.S.C. 24
3564	3564	300f et seq.); 25
3565	3565	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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3567	3567	•HR 1865 IH
3568	3568	(D) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 1
3569	3569	seq.); 2
3570	3570	(E) the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 3
3571	3571	(42 U.S.C. 13101 et seq.); 4
3572	3572	(F) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 5
3573	3573	U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); 6
3574	3574	(G) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 7
3575	3575	Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.); 8
3576	3576	(H) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 9
3577	3577	Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 10
3578	3578	(I) the Motor Vehicle Information and 11
3579	3579	Cost Savings Act (15 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); 12
3580	3580	(J) the Federal Hazardous Substances Act 13
3581	3581	(15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.); 14
3582	3582	(K) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 15
3583	3583	(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 16
3584	3584	(L) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 17
3585	3585	U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 18
3586	3586	(M) the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 19
3587	3587	U.S.C. 4901 et seq.); 20
3588	3588	(N) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 21
3589	3589	U.S.C. 6901 et seq.); 22
3590	3590	(O) the Comprehensive Environmental Re-23
3591	3591	sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 24
3592	3592	1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); 25
3593	3593	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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3595	3595	•HR 1865 IH
3596	3596	(P) the Superfund Amendments and Reau-1
3597	3597	thorization Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–499; 2
3598	3598	100 Stat. 1613); 3
3599	3599	(Q) the Ocean Dumping Act (33 U.S.C. 4
3600	3600	1401 et seq.); 5
3601	3601	(R) the Environmental Research, Develop-6
3602	3602	ment, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 7
3603	3603	1978 (42 U.S.C. 4365); 8
3604	3604	(S) the Pollution Prosecution Act of 1990 9
3605	3605	(42 U.S.C. 4321 note; Public Law 101–593); 10
3606	3606	(T) the Federal Facilities Compliance Act 11
3607	3607	of 1992 (Public Law 102–386; 106 Stat. 12
3608	3608	1505); and 13
3609	3609	(U) any statute containing an amendment 14
3610	3610	to any of such Acts. 15
3611	3611	(4) F
3612	3612	EDERAL INDIAN LAW .—Nothing in this 16
3613	3613	Act shall be construed to modify or affect any provi-17
3614	3614	sion of— 18
3615	3615	(A) the Native American Graves Protection 19
3616	3616	and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 20
3617	3617	(B) the American Indian Religious Free-21
3618	3618	dom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996); 22
3619	3619	(C) the National Historic Preservation Act 23
3620	3620	(16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); 24
3621	3621	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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3623	3623	•HR 1865 IH
3624	3624	(D) the Religious Freedom Restoration Act 1
3625	3625	of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.); or 2
3626	3626	(E) the Archaeological Resources Protec-3
3627	3627	tion Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.). 4
3628	3628	(d) S
3629	3629	OVEREIGNIMMUNITY OF INDIANTRIBES.— 5
3630	3630	Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to waive the 6
3631	3631	sovereign immunity of any Indian Tribe. 7
3632	3632	SEC. 511. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC RECORDS. 8
3633	3633	Copies of records, reports, inspection materials, or in-9
3634	3634	formation obtained by the Secretary or the Secretary of 10
3635	3635	Agriculture under this Act shall be made immediately 11
3636	3636	available to the public, consistent with section 552 of title 12
3637	3637	5, United States Code, in central and sufficient locations 13
3638	3638	in the county, multicounty, and State area of mineral ac-14
3639	3639	tivities or reclamation and on the internet so that such 15
3640	3640	information is conveniently available to residents in the 16
3641	3641	area proposed or approved for mineral activities. 17
3642	3642	SEC. 512. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS. 18
3643	3643	(a) I
3644	3644	NGENERAL.—The Secretary concerned, in car-19
3645	3645	rying out the duties of the Secretary concerned under this 20
3646	3646	Act, may conduct any investigation, inspection, or other 21
3647	3647	inquiry and may conduct, after notice, any hearing or 22
3648	3648	audit, that is necessary and appropriate to carry out such 23
3649	3649	duties. 24
3650	3650	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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3652	3652	•HR 1865 IH
3653	3653	(b) ANCILLARYPOWERS.—In connection with any 1
3654	3654	hearing, inquiry, investigation, or audit under this Act, the 2
3655	3655	Secretary concerned may carry out any of the following 3
3656	3656	actions: 4
3657	3657	(1) Require, by special or general order, any 5
3658	3658	person to submit in writing such affidavits and an-6
3659	3659	swers to questions as the Secretary concerned may 7
3660	3660	reasonably prescribe, which submission shall be 8
3661	3661	made within such reasonable period and under oath 9
3662	3662	or otherwise, as may be necessary. 10
3663	3663	(2) Administer oaths. 11
3664	3664	(3) Require by subpoena the attendance and 12
3665	3665	testimony of witnesses and the production of all 13
3666	3666	books, papers, records, documents, matter, and ma-14
3667	3667	terials as the Secretary concerned may request. 15
3668	3668	(4) Order testimony to be taken by deposition 16
3669	3669	before any person that is designated by the Sec-17
3670	3670	retary concerned and that has the power to admin-18
3671	3671	ister oaths, and compel testimony and the produc-19
3672	3672	tion of evidence in the same manner as authorized 20
3673	3673	under paragraph (3) of this subsection. 21
3674	3674	(5) Pay witnesses the same fees and mileage as 22
3675	3675	are paid in like circumstances in the courts of the 23
3676	3676	United States. 24
3677	3677	(c) E
3678	3678	NFORCEMENT.— 25
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3681	3681	•HR 1865 IH
3682	3682	(1) IN GENERAL.—In cases of refusal to obey 1
3683	3683	a subpoena served upon any person under this sec-2
3684	3684	tion, the United States district courts for any dis-3
3685	3685	trict in which such person is found, resides, or 4
3686	3686	transacts business, upon application by the Attorney 5
3687	3687	General at the request of the Secretary concerned 6
3688	3688	and after notice to such person, shall have jurisdic-7
3689	3689	tion to issue an order requiring such person to ap-8
3690	3690	pear and produce documents before the Secretary 9
3691	3691	concerned. 10
3692	3692	(2) F
3693	3693	AILURE TO OBEY.—Any failure to obey an 11
3694	3694	order issued under paragraph (1) may be punished 12
3695	3695	by the court that issued such order as contempt 13
3696	3696	thereof and the person subject to such order shall be 14
3697	3697	subject to a penalty of not more than $10,000 per 15
3698	3698	day. 16
3699	3699	(d) E
3700	3700	NTRY ANDACCESS.—Without advance notice 17
3701	3701	and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, the Sec-18
3702	3702	retary concerned— 19
3703	3703	(1) shall have the right of entry to, upon, and 20
3704	3704	through the site of any claim, license, lease, mineral 21
3705	3705	activities, or any premises in which any records re-22
3706	3706	quired to be maintained under this Act are located; 23
3707	3707	(2) may, at reasonable times and without delay, 24
3708	3708	have access to records, inspect any monitoring 25
3709	3709	VerDate Sep 11 2014 09:16 Mar 19, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00121 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1865.IH H1865
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3711	3711	•HR 1865 IH
3712	3712	equipment, and review any method of operation re-1
3713	3713	quired under this Act; 2
3714	3714	(3) may engage in any work and do all things 3
3715	3715	necessary or expedient to implement and administer 4
3716	3716	the provisions of this Act; 5
3717	3717	(4) may, on any mining claim, license, or lease 6
3718	3718	maintained in compliance with this Act, stop and in-7
3719	3719	spect any motorized form of transportation that the 8
3720	3720	Secretary concerned has probable cause to believe is 9
3721	3721	carrying hardrock minerals, concentrates, or prod-10
3722	3722	ucts derived therefrom from a claim site for the pur-11
3723	3723	pose of determining whether the operator of such ve-12
3724	3724	hicle has documentation related to such hardrock 13
3725	3725	minerals, concentrates, or products derived there-14
3726	3726	from as required by law, if such documentation is 15
3727	3727	required under this Act; and 16
3728	3728	(5) may, if accompanied by a appropriate law 17
3729	3729	enforcement officer, or an appropriate law enforce-18
3730	3730	ment officer alone, stop and inspect any motorized 19
3731	3731	form of transportation which is not on a claim site 20
3732	3732	if the Secretary concerned or the appropriate law en-21
3733	3733	forcement officer has probable cause to believe such 22
3734	3734	vehicle is carrying hardrock minerals, concentrates, 23
3735	3735	or products derived therefrom from a claim site, li-24
3736	3736	cense, or lease on Federal land or allocated to such 25
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3739	3739	•HR 1865 IH
3740	3740	claim site, license, or lease for the purpose of deter-1
3741	3741	mining whether the operator of such vehicle has the 2
3742	3742	documentation required by law, if such documenta-3
3743	3743	tion is required under this Act. 4
3744	3744	SEC. 513. MINERAL MATERIALS. 5
3745	3745	(a) D
3746	3746	ETERMINATIONS.—Section 3 of the Act of July 6
3747	3747	23, 1955, commonly known as the Surface Resources Act 7
3748	3748	of 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended— 8
3749	3749	(1) by striking ‘‘No’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) No’’; 9
3750	3750	(2) by inserting ‘‘mineral materials, including’’ 10
3751	3751	after ‘‘varieties of’’; 11
3752	3752	(3) by striking ‘‘or cinders’’ and inserting ‘‘cin-12
3753	3753	ders, and clay,’’; and 13
3754	3754	(4) by adding at the end the following: 14
3755	3755	‘‘(b)(1) Subject to valid existing rights, after the date 15
3756	3756	of the enactment of the Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse 16
3757	3757	Prevention Act of 2025, notwithstanding the reference to 17
3758	3758	common varieties in subsection (a) and to the exception 18
3759	3759	to such term relating to a deposit of materials with some 19
3760	3760	property giving it distinct and special value, all deposits 20
3761	3761	of mineral materials referred to in such subsection, includ-21
3762	3762	ing the block pumice referred to in such subsection, shall 22
3763	3763	be subject to disposal only under the terms and conditions 23
3764	3764	of the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601–603). 24
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3767	3767	•HR 1865 IH
3768	3768	‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘valid 1
3769	3769	existing rights’ means that a mining claim located for any 2
3770	3770	such mineral material— 3
3771	3771	‘‘(A) had and still has some property giving it 4
3772	3772	the distinct and special value referred to in sub-5
3773	3773	section (a), or as the case may be, met the definition 6
3774	3774	of block pumice referred to in such subsection; 7
3775	3775	‘‘(B) was properly located and maintained 8
3776	3776	under the general mining laws before the date of the 9
3777	3777	enactment of the Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse 10
3778	3778	Prevention Act of 2025; and 11
3779	3779	‘‘(C) was supported by a discovery of a valuable 12
3780	3780	mineral deposit within the meaning of the general 13
3781	3781	mining laws as in effect immediately before the date 14
3782	3782	of the enactment of the Mining Waste, Fraud, and 15
3783	3783	Abuse Prevention Act of 2025.’’. 16
3784	3784	(b) M
3785	3785	INERALMATERIALSDISPOSALCLARIFICA-17
3786	3786	TION.—Section 4 of the Act of July 23, 1955, commonly 18
3787	3787	known as the Surface Resources Act of 1955 (30 U.S.C. 19
3788	3788	612), is amended— 20
3789	3789	(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘and mineral 21
3790	3790	material’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’; and 22
3791	3791	(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘and mineral 23
3792	3792	material’’ after ‘‘vegetative’’. 24
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3795	3795	•HR 1865 IH
3796	3796	(c) CONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 1 of the 1
3797	3797	Act of July 31, 1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the 2
3798	3798	disposal of materials on the public lands of the United 3
3799	3799	States’’ (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by striking 4
3800	3800	‘‘common varieties of’’ in the first sentence. 5
3801	3801	(d) S
3802	3802	HORTTITLES.— 6
3803	3803	(1) S
3804	3804	URFACE RESOURCES .—The Act of July 7
3805	3805	23, 1955, is amended by adding at the end the fol-8
3806	3806	lowing: 9
3807	3807	‘‘S
3808	3808	EC. 8. This Act may be cited as the ‘Surface Re-10
3809	3809	sources Act of 1955’.’’. 11
3810	3810	(2) M
3811	3811	INERAL MATERIALS.—The Act of July 31, 12
3812	3812	1947, entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the disposal of 13
3813	3813	materials on the public lands of the United States’’ 14
3814	3814	(30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 15
3815	3815	end the following: 16
3816	3816	‘‘S
3817	3817	EC. 5. This Act may be cited as the ‘Materials Act 17
3818	3818	of 1947’.’’. 18
3819	3819	(e) R
3820	3820	EPEALS.—Subject to valid existing rights, the 19
3821	3821	following are repealed: 20
3822	3822	(1) The Act of August 4, 1892, commonly 21
3823	3823	known as the Building Stone Act (chapter 375; 27 22
3824	3824	Stat. 348; 30 U.S.C. 161). 23
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3827	3827	•HR 1865 IH
3828	3828	(2) The Act of January 31, 1901, commonly 1
3829	3829	known as the Saline Placer Act (chapter 186; 31 2
3830	3830	Stat. 745; 30 U.S.C. 162). 3
3831	3831	SEC. 514. EFFECTIVE DATE. 4
3832	3832	This Act shall take effect on the date of the enact-5
3833	3833	ment of this Act, except as otherwise provided in this Act. 6
3834	3834	Æ
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