Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB859 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 859
5	5	To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain
6	6	land, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	MARCH5, 2025
9	9	Mr. L
10	10	UJA´N(for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr.
11	11	M
12	12	ARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VANHOLLEN,
13	13	Ms. W
14	14	ARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was
15	15	read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
16	16	sources
17	17	A BILL
18	18	To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals
19	19	on public domain land, and for other purposes.
20	20	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
21	21	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
22	22	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
23	23	(a) S
24	24	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
25	25	‘‘Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 5
26	26	2025’’. 6
27	27	(b) T
28	28	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents of 7
29	29	this Act is as follows: 8
30	30	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
31	31	Sec. 2. Definitions.
32	32	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
33	33	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2
34	34	•S 859 IS
35	35	TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL DEPOSITS
36	36	Sec. 101. Limitation on patents.
37	37	Sec. 102. Fees.
38	38	Sec. 103. Limitations.
39	39	TITLE II—ROYALTIES
40	40	Sec. 201. Royalty.
41	41	Sec. 202. Royalty relief.
42	42	Sec. 203. Enforcement.
43	43	Sec. 204. Review.
44	44	TITLE III—MINERAL ACTIVITIES
45	45	Sec. 301. Permits.
46	46	Sec. 302. Exploration permits.
47	47	Sec. 303. Mining permits.
48	48	Sec. 304. Financial assurances.
49	49	Sec. 305. Transfer, assignment, or sale of right.
50	50	Sec. 306. Operation and reclamation.
51	51	Sec. 307. Land open to location.
52	52	Sec. 308. State law.
53	53	Sec. 309. Inspection and monitoring.
54	54	Sec. 310. Tribal consultation.
55	55	TITLE IV—HARDROCK MINERALS RECLAMATION FUND
56	56	Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund.
57	57	Sec. 402. Abandoned mine land reclamation fee.
58	58	TITLE V—TRANSITION RULES, ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS,
59	59	AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
60	60	Sec. 501. Transition rules.
61	61	Sec. 502. Enforcement.
62	62	Sec. 503. Judicial review.
63	63	Sec. 504. Uncommon varieties.
64	64	Sec. 505. Review of uranium development on Federal land.
65	65	Sec. 506. Effect.
66	66	SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
67	67	1
68	68	In this Act: 2
69	69	(1) A
70	70	PPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 3
71	71	any person that applies for— 4
72	72	(A) a permit under this Act; or 5
73	73	(B) a modification to, or a renewal of, a 6
74	74	permit issued under this Act. 7
75	75	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
76	76	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3
77	77	•S 859 IS
78	78	(2) BENEFICIATION.—The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ 1
79	79	means— 2
80	80	(A) the crushing and grinding of locatable 3
81	81	mineral ore; and 4
82	82	(B) any processes that are employed to 5
83	83	free the mineral from other constituents, includ-6
84	84	ing physical and chemical separation tech-7
85	85	niques. 8
86	86	(3) C
87	87	ASUAL USE.— 9
88	88	(A) I
89	89	N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 10
90	90	means mineral activities that ordinarily result 11
91	91	in no or negligible disturbance of Federal land 12
92	92	or resources. 13
93	93	(B) I
94	94	NCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 14
95	95	includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil, 15
96	96	or mineral specimens using hand tools, hand 16
97	97	panning, or nonmotorized sluicing. 17
98	98	(C) E
99	99	XCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 18
100	100	does not include— 19
101	101	(i) the use of mechanized earth-mov-20
102	102	ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo-21
103	103	sives; 22
104	104	(ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 23
105	105	closed to off-road vehicles; 24
106	106	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
107	107	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4
108	108	•S 859 IS
109	109	(iii) the construction of roads or drill 1
110	110	pads; or 2
111	111	(iv) the use of toxic or hazardous ma-3
112	112	terials or explosives. 4
113	113	(4) C
114	114	LAIM HOLDER.—The term ‘‘claim holder’’ 5
115	115	means a person holding a mining claim, millsite, or 6
116	116	tunnel site that is— 7
117	117	(A) located under the general mining laws; 8
118	118	and 9
119	119	(B) maintained in compliance with the 10
120	120	general mining laws and this Act. 11
121	121	(5) C
122	122	ONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means hav-12
123	123	ing the ability to determine the manner in which an 13
124	124	entity conducts mineral activities. 14
125	125	(6) E
126	126	XPLORATION.— 15
127	127	(A) I
128	128	N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 16
129	129	means creating a surface disturbance (other 17
130	130	than casual use) to evaluate the type, extent, 18
131	131	quantity, or quality of minerals present. 19
132	132	(B) I
133	133	NCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 20
134	134	includes mineral activities associated with sam-21
135	135	pling, drilling, or developing surface or under-22
136	136	ground workings to evaluate locatable mineral 23
137	137	values. 24
138	138	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
139	139	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5
140	140	•S 859 IS
141	141	(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘explo-1
142	142	ration’’ does not include the extraction of min-2
143	143	eral material for commercial use or sale. 3
144	144	(7) F
145	145	EDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 4
146	146	means any land and any interest in land that is— 5
147	147	(A) owned by the United States; and 6
148	148	(B) open to location of mining claims 7
149	149	under the general mining laws and this Act. 8
150	150	(8) F
151	151	UND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 9
152	152	Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund established by 10
153	153	section 401(a). 11
154	154	(9) H
155	155	ARDROCK MINERAL.—The term ‘‘hardrock 12
156	156	mineral’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘locatable 13
157	157	mineral’’ except that— 14
158	158	(A) legal and beneficial title to the mineral 15
159	159	need not be held by the United States; and 16
160	160	(B) paragraph (13)(B) does not apply to 17
161	161	this paragraph. 18
162	162	(10) I
163	163	NDIAN COUNTRY .—The term ‘‘Indian 19
164	164	country’’ has the meaning given the term in section 20
165	165	1151 of title 18, United States Code. 21
166	166	(11) I
167	167	NDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 22
168	168	means land that is— 23
169	169	(A) held in trust for the benefit of an In-24
170	170	dian Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe; or 25
171	171	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
172	172	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6
173	173	•S 859 IS
174	174	(B) held by an Indian Tribe or member of 1
175	175	an Indian Tribe, subject to a restriction by the 2
176	176	United States against alienation. 3
177	177	(12) I
178	178	NDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4
179	179	has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 5
180	180	Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 6
181	181	Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7
182	182	(13) L
183	183	OCATABLE MINERAL.— 8
184	184	(A) I
185	185	N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘locatable 9
186	186	mineral’’ means any mineral— 10
187	187	(i) the legal and beneficial title to 11
188	188	which remains in the United States; and 12
189	189	(ii) that is not subject to disposition 13
190	190	under— 14
191	191	(I) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 15
192	192	U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 16
193	193	(II) the Geothermal Steam Act of 17
194	194	1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 18
195	195	(III) the Act of July 31, 1947 19
196	196	(commonly known as the ‘‘Materials 20
197	197	Act of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601 et 21
198	198	seq.); or 22
199	199	(IV) the Act of August 7, 1947 23
200	200	(commonly known as the ‘‘Mineral 24
201	201	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
202	202	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7
203	203	•S 859 IS
204	204	Leasing Act for Acquired Lands’’) (30 1
205	205	U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 2
206	206	(B) E
207	207	XCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘locatable 3
208	208	mineral’’ does not include any mineral that is— 4
209	209	(i) subject to a restriction against 5
210	210	alienation imposed by the United States; 6
211	211	and 7
212	212	(ii) held in trust by the United States 8
213	213	for, or owned by, any Indian Tribe or 9
214	214	member of an Indian tribe (as defined in 10
215	215	section 2 of the Indian Mineral Develop-11
216	216	ment Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101)). 12
217	217	(14) M
218	218	INERAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘mineral 13
219	219	activity’’ means any activity on a mining claim, mill-14
220	220	site, or tunnel site, or Federal land used in conjunc-15
221	221	tion with the activity, for, relating to, or incidental 16
222	222	to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, proc-17
223	223	essing, or reclamation activities for any locatable 18
224	224	mineral. 19
225	225	(15) O
226	226	PERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ 20
227	227	means— 21
228	228	(A) any person proposing, or authorized by 22
229	229	a permit, to conduct mineral activities under 23
230	230	this Act; and 24
231	231	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
232	232	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8
233	233	•S 859 IS
234	234	(B) any agent of a person described in 1
235	235	subparagraph (A). 2
236	236	(16) P
237	237	ERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 3
238	238	(A) an individual, Indian Tribe, partner-4
239	239	ship, association, society, joint venture, joint 5
240	240	stock company, firm, company, corporation, co-6
241	241	operative, trust, consortium, or other organiza-7
242	242	tion; and 8
243	243	(B) any instrumentality of a State or local 9
244	244	government, including any publicly owned util-10
245	245	ity or publicly owned corporation of a State or 11
246	246	local government. 12
247	247	(17) P
248	248	ROCESSING.— 13
249	249	(A) I
250	250	N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 14
251	251	means processes downstream of beneficiation 15
252	252	used to prepare locatable mineral ore into the 16
253	253	final marketable product. 17
254	254	(B) I
255	255	NCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 18
256	256	includes smelting and electrolytic refining. 19
257	257	(18) S
258	258	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 20
259	259	means the Secretary of the Interior. 21
260	260	(19) S
261	261	ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term 22
262	262	‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 23
263	263	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
264	264	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9
265	265	•S 859 IS
266	266	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 1
267	267	through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 2
268	268	respect to National Forest System land; and 3
269	269	(B) the Secretary (acting through the Di-4
270	270	rector of the Bureau of Land Management), 5
271	271	with respect to land managed by the Bureau of 6
272	272	Land Management or other Federal land. 7
273	273	(20) T
274	274	EMPORARY CESSATION .—The term ‘‘tem-8
275	275	porary cessation’’ means a halt in mine related pro-9
276	276	duction activities for a continuous period of not 10
277	277	longer than 5 years. 11
278	278	(21) U
279	279	NDUE DEGRADATION .—The term ‘‘undue 12
280	280	degradation’’ means substantial irreparable harm to 13
281	281	significant scientific, cultural, or environmental re-14
282	282	sources on public land. 15
283	283	TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL 16
284	284	DEPOSITS 17
285	285	SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON PATENTS. 18
286	286	(a) D
287	287	ETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—No patent shall 19
288	288	be issued by the United States for any mining claim, mill-20
289	289	site, or tunnel site located under the general mining laws 21
290	290	unless the Secretary determines that— 22
291	291	(1) a patent application was filed with the Sec-23
292	292	retary with respect to the claim not later than Sep-24
293	293	tember 30, 1994; and 25
294	294	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
295	295	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10
296	296	•S 859 IS
297	297	(2) all requirements applicable to the patent ap-1
298	298	plication under law were fully complied with by the 2
299	299	date described in paragraph (1). 3
300	300	(b) R
301	301	IGHTTOPATENT.— 4
302	302	(1) I
303	303	N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 5
304	304	and notwithstanding the repeal made by subsection 6
305	305	(c), if the Secretary makes the determinations under 7
306	306	paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) with re-8
307	307	spect to a mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site, the 9
308	308	claim holder shall be entitled to the issuance of a 10
309	309	patent in the same manner and degree to which the 11
310	310	claim holder would have been entitled to a patent be-12
311	311	fore the date of enactment of this Act. 13
312	312	(2) W
313	313	ITHDRAWAL.—The claim holder shall not 14
314	314	be entitled to the issuance of a patent if the deter-15
315	315	minations under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub-16
316	316	section (a) are withdrawn or invalidated by the Sec-17
317	317	retary or, on review, by a court of the United States. 18
318	318	(c) R
319	319	EPEAL.—Section 2325 of the Revised Statutes 19
320	320	(30 U.S.C. 29) is repealed. 20
321	321	SEC. 102. FEES. 21
322	322	(a) C
323	323	LAIMMAINTENANCEFEES.— 22
324	324	(1) I
325	325	N GENERAL.—Not later than August 31, 23
326	326	2027, and each August 31 thereafter, the holder of 24
327	327	each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 25
328	328	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
329	329	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11
330	330	•S 859 IS
331	331	site shall pay to the Secretary a maintenance fee of 1
332	332	$200 for each claim, millsite, or tunnel site. 2
333	333	(2) R
334	334	EQUIREMENTS.—The maintenance fees re-3
335	335	quired under paragraph (1) shall be in lieu of— 4
336	336	(A) the assessment work requirements 5
337	337	under the general mining laws; and 6
338	338	(B) the related filing requirements under 7
339	339	subsections (a) and (c) of section 314 of the 8
340	340	Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 9
341	341	1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744). 10
342	342	(3) T
343	343	IMING OF INITIAL PAYMENT .—Notwith-11
344	344	standing paragraph (1), the maintenance fee payable 12
345	345	for the initial assessment year in which the location 13
346	346	is made shall be paid at the time the location notice 14
347	347	is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management. 15
348	348	(4) C
349	349	LAIM RELOCATION.— 16
350	350	(A) D
351	351	EFINITION OF RELATED PARTY .—In 17
352	352	this paragraph and paragraph (5), the term 18
353	353	‘‘related party’’ means— 19
354	354	(i) the spouse and qualifying child (as 20
355	355	defined in section 152 of the Internal Rev-21
356	356	enue Code of 1986) of the claim holder; 22
357	357	and 23
358	358	(ii) a person affiliated with the claim 24
359	359	holder, including— 25
360	360	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
361	361	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12
362	362	•S 859 IS
363	363	(I) a person controlled by, con-1
364	364	trolling, or under common control 2
365	365	with, the claim holder; or 3
366	366	(II) a subsidiary, parent com-4
367	367	pany, partner, director, or officer of 5
368	368	the claim holder. 6
369	369	(B) L
370	370	IMITS ON RELOCATION.— 7
371	371	(i) I
372	372	N GENERAL.—No claim, millsite, 8
373	373	or tunnel site, or portion of a claim or site, 9
374	374	may be relocated by a person or related 10
375	375	party if the person or related party held 11
376	376	the claim or site and subsequently relin-12
377	377	quished the claim or site or allowed the 13
378	378	claim or site to become null and void. 14
379	379	(ii) D
380	380	URATION.—The prohibition on 15
381	381	relocation shall extend for a period of 10 16
382	382	years beginning on the date the claim or 17
383	383	site was relinquished or became null and 18
384	384	void. 19
385	385	(5) W
386	386	AIVER.—The maintenance fee required 20
387	387	under paragraph (1) shall be waived for a claim 21
388	388	holder who certifies in writing to the Secretary that 22
389	389	on the date the maintenance fee was due, the claim 23
390	390	holder and all related parties— 24
391	391	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
392	392	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 13
393	393	•S 859 IS
394	394	(A) held not more than 10 mining claims, 1
395	395	millsites, tunnel sites, or any combination of 2
396	396	claims and sites on Federal land; and 3
397	397	(B) can demonstrate that the claim holder 4
398	398	and all related parties have performed assess-5
399	399	ment work required under section 2324 of the 6
400	400	Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) to maintain 7
401	401	the mining claims and sites held by the claim 8
402	402	holder and all related parties for the assessment 9
403	403	year ending on noon of September 1 of the cal-10
404	404	endar year in which payment of the mainte-11
405	405	nance fee was due. 12
406	406	(6) A
407	407	DJUSTMENT.— 13
408	408	(A) I
409	409	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-14
410	410	graph (B), beginning on the date that is 5 15
411	411	years after the date of enactment of this Act 16
412	412	and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 17
413	413	adjust the amount of maintenance fees required 18
414	414	under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 19
415	415	Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 20
416	416	published by the Department of Labor. 21
417	417	(B) M
418	418	ORE FREQUENT ADJUSTMENTS .— 22
419	419	The Secretary may adjust the amount of the 23
420	420	maintenance fees more frequently than specified 24
421	421	in subparagraph (A) to reflect changes in the 25
422	422	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
423	423	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 14
424	424	•S 859 IS
425	425	Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 1
426	426	published by the Department of Labor if the 2
427	427	Secretary determines an adjustment to be rea-3
428	428	sonable. 4
429	429	(C) N
430	430	OTICE.—Not later than July 1 of any 5
431	431	year in which an adjustment is made under this 6
432	432	paragraph, the Secretary shall provide claim 7
433	433	holders notice of the adjustment. 8
434	434	(D) A
435	435	PPLICATION.—An adjustment under 9
436	436	this paragraph shall apply beginning in the first 10
437	437	calendar year after the calendar year in which 11
438	438	the adjustment is made. 12
439	439	(7) A
440	440	PPLICABLE LAW.—The co-ownership pro-13
441	441	visions of section 2324 of the Revised Statutes (30 14
442	442	U.S.C. 28) shall remain in effect, except that the an-15
443	443	nual maintenance fee, as applicable, shall replace ap-16
444	444	plicable assessment requirements and expenditures. 17
445	445	(8) U
446	446	SE AND OCCUPANCY OF CLAIMS .—Timely 18
447	447	performance of required assessment work or pay-19
448	448	ment of the maintenance fee under this subsection 20
449	449	satisfies any obligation the claim holder has under 21
450	450	the pedis possessio doctrine for any claim properly 22
451	451	located in accordance with the general mining laws 23
452	452	and applicable State law. 24
453	453	(b) L
454	454	OCATIONFEES.— 25
455	455	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
456	456	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 15
457	457	•S 859 IS
458	458	(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 1
459	459	and notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 2
460	460	each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 3
461	461	site located after the date of enactment of this Act, 4
462	462	the locator shall, at the time the location notice is 5
463	463	recorded with the Bureau of Land Management, pay 6
464	464	to the Secretary a location fee of $50 for each claim 7
465	465	for each location notice recorded with the Bureau of 8
466	466	Land Management. 9
467	467	(2) A
468	468	DJUSTMENT.— 10
469	469	(A) I
470	470	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-11
471	471	graph (B), beginning on the date that is 5 12
472	472	years after the date of enactment of this Act 13
473	473	and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 14
474	474	adjust the amount of location fees required 15
475	475	under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 16
476	476	Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 17
477	477	published by the Department of Labor. 18
478	478	(B) M
479	479	ORE FREQUENT ADJUSTMENTS .— 19
480	480	The Secretary may adjust the amount of the lo-20
481	481	cation fees more frequently than specified in 21
482	482	subparagraph (A) to reflect changes in the Con-22
483	483	sumer Price Index for all urban consumers pub-23
484	484	lished by the Department of Labor if the Sec-24
485	485	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
486	486	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 16
487	487	•S 859 IS
488	488	retary determines an adjustment to be reason-1
489	489	able. 2
490	490	(C) N
491	491	OTICE.—Not later than July 1 of any 3
492	492	year in which an adjustment is made under this 4
493	493	paragraph, the Secretary shall provide claim 5
494	494	holders notice of the adjustment. 6
495	495	(D) A
496	496	PPLICATION.—An adjustment under 7
497	497	this paragraph shall apply beginning in the first 8
498	498	calendar year after the calendar year in which 9
499	499	the adjustment is made. 10
500	500	(3) E
501	501	FFECT ON MAINTENANCE FEE .—The loca-11
502	502	tion fee required under paragraph (1) shall be in ad-12
503	503	dition to the maintenance fee required under sub-13
504	504	section (a). 14
505	505	(c) D
506	506	ISPOSITION OFFUNDS.— 15
507	507	(1) I
508	508	N GENERAL.—Any amounts received under 16
509	509	this section shall be used to pay the costs of admin-17
510	510	istering program operations under sections 2318 18
511	511	through 2352 of the Revised Statutes (commonly 19
512	512	known as the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 21 20
513	513	et seq.) and this Act, without further appropriation. 21
514	514	(2) E
515	515	XCESS AMOUNTS.—Any amounts in excess 22
516	516	of the costs described in paragraph (1) for any fiscal 23
517	517	year shall be deposited in the Fund. 24
518	518	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
519	519	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 17
520	520	•S 859 IS
521	521	(d) EFFECT OFSECTION.—Nothing in this section 1
522	522	changes or modifies— 2
523	523	(1) section 314(b) of the Federal Land Policy 3
524	524	and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(b)); 4
525	525	or 5
526	526	(2) the provisions of subsection (c) of section 6
527	527	314 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 7
528	528	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744) relating to filings re-8
529	529	quired by subsection (b) of that section. 9
530	530	(e) A
531	531	MENDMENT TO REVISEDSTATUTES.—Section 10
532	532	2324 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) is amended 11
533	533	by inserting ‘‘or section 102(a)(5) of the Mining Waste, 12
534	534	Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 2025’’ after ‘‘Omni-13
535	535	bus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993’’. 14
536	536	SEC. 103. LIMITATIONS. 15
537	537	(a) F
538	538	AILURETOCOMPLY.— 16
539	539	(1) I
540	540	N GENERAL.—The failure of the claim 17
541	541	holder to perform assessment work or to pay a 18
542	542	maintenance fee if required under section 102(a), to 19
543	543	pay a location fee under section 102(b), or to file a 20
544	544	timely notice of location shall— 21
545	545	(A) conclusively constitute a forfeiture of 22
546	546	the mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site; and 23
547	547	(B) make the claim or site null and void by 24
548	548	operation of law. 25
549	549	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
550	550	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 18
551	551	•S 859 IS
552	552	(2) EFFECT.—Forfeiture under paragraph (1) 1
553	553	shall not relieve any person of any obligation under 2
554	554	this Act and applicable regulations, including rec-3
555	555	lamation, and other applicable law. 4
556	556	(b) R
557	557	ELINQUISHMENT.— 5
558	558	(1) I
559	559	N GENERAL.—A claim holder deciding not 6
560	560	to pursue mineral activities on a mining claim, mill-7
561	561	site, or tunnel site, may relinquish the claim or site 8
562	562	by notifying the Secretary of the intent to relinquish 9
563	563	the claim or site. 10
564	564	(2) E
565	565	FFECT.—A claim holder relinquishing a 11
566	566	claim, millsite, or tunnel site under paragraph (1) 12
567	567	shall be responsible for any obligation under this Act 13
568	568	and applicable regulations, including reclamation, 14
569	569	and other applicable law. 15
570	570	(c) U
571	571	SE OFMININGCLAIM.— 16
572	572	(1) I
573	573	N GENERAL.—The continued use, occu-17
574	574	pancy, and retention of any mining claim, millsite, 18
575	575	or tunnel site subject to this Act shall be exclusively 19
576	576	for mineral activities as authorized under this Act. 20
577	577	(2) F
578	578	AILURE TO USE FOR MINERAL ACTIVI -21
579	579	TIES.—If the claim holder cannot demonstrate to 22
580	580	the Secretary that the mining claim, millsite, or tun-23
581	581	nel site has been used exclusively for mineral activi-24
582	582	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
583	583	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 19
584	584	•S 859 IS
585	585	ties, the Secretary shall declare the claim, millsite, 1
586	586	or tunnel site null and void. 2
587	587	TITLE II—ROYALTIES 3
588	588	SEC. 201. ROYALTY. 4
589	589	(a) I
590	590	NGENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) and sec-5
591	591	tion 202, production of all locatable minerals from any 6
592	592	mining claim located under the general mining laws and 7
593	593	maintained in compliance with this Act shall be subject 8
594	594	to a royalty established by the Secretary by regulation of 9
595	595	not less than 5 percent, and not more than 8 percent, of 10
596	596	the gross income from mining for production of all 11
597	597	locatable minerals. 12
598	598	(b) R
599	599	OYALTYRATE.—The regulation shall establish 13
600	600	a reasonable royalty rate for each locatable mineral sub-14
601	601	ject to a royalty under this section that may vary based 15
602	602	on the locatable mineral concerned. 16
603	603	(c) N
604	604	OROYALTY FORFEDERALLANDSUBJECT TO 17
605	605	E
606	606	XISTINGPERMIT.—No royalty under subsection (a) shall 18
607	607	be required for production on Federal land that— 19
608	608	(1) is subject to an approved plan of operations 20
609	609	or an operations permit on the date of the enact-21
610	610	ment of this Act; and 22
611	611	(2) produces valuable locatable minerals in com-23
612	612	mercial quantities on the date of enactment of this 24
613	613	Act. 25
614	614	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
615	615	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 20
616	616	•S 859 IS
617	617	(d) FEDERALLANDNOTSUBJECT TOEXISTINGOP-1
618	618	ERATIONSPERMIT.—Production from any Federal land 2
619	619	not specifically approved for mineral extraction under a 3
620	620	plan of operations or an operations permit in existence on 4
621	621	the date of enactment of this Act shall be subject to the 5
622	622	royalty described in subsection (a). 6
623	623	(e) D
624	624	EPOSIT.—Amounts received by the United 7
625	625	States as royalties under this section shall be deposited 8
626	626	in the Fund. 9
627	627	SEC. 202. ROYALTY RELIEF. 10
628	628	(a) I
629	629	NGENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), in order 11
630	630	to promote the greatest ultimate recovery pursuant to a 12
631	631	mining permit or a plan of operations under which produc-13
632	632	tion in commercial quantities has occurred and in the in-14
633	633	terest of conservation of natural resources, the Secretary 15
634	634	may reduce any royalty otherwise required for all or part 16
635	635	of a mining operation, on a showing by clear and con-17
636	636	vincing evidence by the person conducting mineral activi-18
637	637	ties under the operations or mining permit or plan of oper-19
638	638	ations that, without the reduction in royalty, production 20
639	639	would not occur. 21
640	640	(b) E
641	641	FFECTIVEDATE.—Any reduction in a royalty 22
642	642	provided for by this section shall not be effective until 60 23
643	643	days after the date on which the Secretary— 24
644	644	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
645	645	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 21
646	646	•S 859 IS
647	647	(1) publishes public notice of the royalty reduc-1
648	648	tion; and 2
649	649	(2) submits to the Committee on Energy and 3
650	650	Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 4
651	651	on Natural Resources of the House of Representa-5
652	652	tives notice and a statement of the reasons for 6
653	653	granting the royalty reduction. 7
654	654	SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT. 8
655	655	(a) D
656	656	UTIES OF THESECRETARY.— 9
657	657	(1) I
658	658	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 10
659	659	a comprehensive inspection, collection, fiscal, and 11
660	660	production accounting and auditing system— 12
661	661	(A) to accurately determine royalties, in-13
662	662	terest, fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other 14
663	663	payments owed under this title and section 402; 15
664	664	and 16
665	665	(B) to collect and account for such pay-17
666	666	ments in a timely manner. 18
667	667	(2) I
668	668	NSPECTIONS.—The Secretary shall estab-19
669	669	lish procedures to ensure that authorized and prop-20
670	670	erly identified representatives of the Secretary will 21
671	671	inspect at least once annually each mining claim 22
672	672	that— 23
673	673	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
674	674	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 22
675	675	•S 859 IS
676	676	(A) is producing or expected to produce a 1
677	677	significant quantity of locatable minerals in any 2
678	678	year; or 3
679	679	(B) has a history of noncompliance with 4
680	680	this Act. 5
681	681	(b) D
682	682	UTIES OFCLAIMHOLDERS, OPERATORS, AND 6
683	683	T
684	684	RANSPORTERS.— 7
685	685	(1) P
686	686	AYMENT OF ROYALTIES .— 8
687	687	(A) I
688	688	N GENERAL.—A person who is re-9
689	689	quired to make any royalty or other payment 10
690	690	under this title or section 402 shall make pay-11
691	691	ment to the United States at such times and in 12
692	692	such manner as the Secretary may by rule pre-13
693	693	scribe. 14
694	694	(B) L
695	695	IABILITY FOR PAYMENTS.— 15
696	696	(i) D
697	697	ESIGNEES.—Any person who 16
698	698	pays, offsets, or credits funds, makes ad-17
699	699	justments, requests and receives refunds, 18
700	700	or submits reports with respect to pay-19
701	701	ments another person is required to make 20
702	702	shall be considered the designee of the 21
703	703	other person under this title or section 22
704	704	402. 23
705	705	(ii) L
706	706	IABILITY.—A designee shall be 24
707	707	liable for any payment obligation under 25
708	708	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
709	709	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 23
710	710	•S 859 IS
711	711	this title or section 402 of any person on 1
712	712	whose behalf the designee undertakes the 2
713	713	activities described in clause (i). 3
714	714	(iii) P
715	715	RO RATA SHARE.—The person 4
716	716	owning an interest in a claim, millsite, or 5
717	717	tunnel site, or production from the claim 6
718	718	or site, shall be liable for the pro rata 7
719	719	share of the person of payment obligations 8
720	720	under this title or section 402. 9
721	721	(2) S
722	722	ITE SECURITY.— 10
723	723	(A) I
724	724	N GENERAL.—A person conducting 11
725	725	mineral activities shall develop and comply with 12
726	726	the site security provisions in the mining permit 13
727	727	designed to protect from theft the locatable 14
728	728	minerals that are produced or stored on a min-15
729	729	ing claim. 16
730	730	(B) M
731	731	INIMUM STANDARDS .—The provi-17
732	732	sions shall conform with such minimum stand-18
733	733	ards as the Secretary may prescribe by rule, 19
734	734	taking into account the variety of circumstances 20
735	735	on mining claims. 21
736	736	(C) N
737	737	OTIFICATION OF COMMENCEMENT OR 22
738	738	RESUMPTION OF PRODUCTION .—Not later than 23
739	739	the fifth business day after production begins in 24
740	740	any place on a mining claim or production re-25
741	741	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
742	742	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 24
743	743	•S 859 IS
744	744	sumes after more than 90 days after production 1
745	745	ceased or was suspended, the person conducting 2
746	746	mineral activities shall notify the Secretary, in 3
747	747	the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the 4
748	748	date on which the production has begun or re-5
749	749	sumed. 6
750	750	(c) R
751	751	ECORDKEEPING AND REPORTINGREQUIRE-7
752	752	MENTS.— 8
753	753	(1) I
754	754	N GENERAL.—A claim holder, operator, or 9
755	755	other person directly or indirectly involved in devel-10
756	756	oping, producing, processing, transporting, pur-11
757	757	chasing, or selling locatable or hardrock minerals, 12
758	758	subject to this Act, through the point of first sale, 13
759	759	the point of royalty or fee computation, or the point 14
760	760	of smelting or other processing, whichever is later, 15
761	761	shall establish and maintain any records, make any 16
762	762	reports, and provide any information that the Sec-17
763	763	retary may reasonably require for the purposes of 18
764	764	implementing this title or section 402 or determining 19
765	765	compliance with rules or orders under this title or 20
766	766	section 402. 21
767	767	(2) A
768	768	CCESS.—On the request of any officer or 22
769	769	employee duly designated by the Secretary con-23
770	770	ducting an audit or investigation pursuant to this 24
771	771	section, the appropriate records, reports, or informa-25
772	772	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
773	773	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 25
774	774	•S 859 IS
775	775	tion that may be required by this section shall be 1
776	776	made available for inspection and duplication by the 2
777	777	officer or employee. 3
778	778	(3) D
779	779	URATION OF RECORDKEEPING REQUIRE -4
780	780	MENT.— 5
781	781	(A) I
782	782	N GENERAL.—Records required by 6
783	783	the Secretary under this section shall be main-7
784	784	tained for 7 years after the records are gen-8
785	785	erated or amended unless the Secretary notifies 9
786	786	the claim holder, operator, other person re-10
787	787	ferred to in paragraph (1), or record holder 11
788	788	that the Secretary has initiated an audit or in-12
789	789	vestigation involving the records and that the 13
790	790	records must be maintained for a longer period. 14
791	791	(B) O
792	792	NGOING AUDIT OR INVESTIGATION .— 15
793	793	In any case in which an audit or investigation 16
794	794	is underway, records shall be maintained until 17
795	795	the Secretary releases the claim holder, oper-18
796	796	ator, other person referred to in paragraph (1), 19
797	797	or record holder subject to the recordkeeping 20
798	798	and requirements of this Act of the obligation 21
799	799	to maintain the records. 22
800	800	(d) A
801	801	UDITS.—The Secretary may conduct such au-23
802	802	dits of all claim holders, operators, producers, trans-24
803	803	porters, purchasers, processors, or other persons directly 25
804	804	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
805	805	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 26
806	806	•S 859 IS
807	807	or indirectly involved in the production or sales of 1
808	808	locatable or hardrock minerals covered by this Act, as the 2
809	809	Secretary considers necessary for the purposes of ensuring 3
810	810	compliance with the requirements of this title or section 4
811	811	402. 5
812	812	(e) C
813	813	OOPERATIVEAGREEMENTS.— 6
814	814	(1) I
815	815	N GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 7
816	816	into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of 8
817	817	Agriculture— 9
818	818	(A) to share information concerning the 10
819	819	royalty management of locatable minerals; 11
820	820	(B) to carry out inspection, auditing, in-12
821	821	vestigation, or enforcement (not including the 13
822	822	collection of royalties, civil or criminal penalties, 14
823	823	or other payments) activities under this section 15
824	824	in cooperation with the Secretary; and 16
825	825	(C) to carry out any other activity de-17
826	826	scribed in this section. 18
827	827	(2) A
828	828	CCESS.—Subject to paragraph (3) and 19
829	829	pursuant to a cooperative agreement, the Secretary 20
830	830	of Agriculture shall, on request, have access to all 21
831	831	royalty or fee accounting information in the posses-22
832	832	sion of the Secretary relating to the production, re-23
833	833	moval, or sale of locatable minerals from claims on 24
834	834	Federal land. 25
835	835	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
836	836	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 27
837	837	•S 859 IS
838	838	(3) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION .— 1
839	839	(A) I
840	840	N GENERAL.—Trade secrets, propri-2
841	841	etary information, and other confidential infor-3
842	842	mation protected from disclosure under section 4
843	843	552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 5
844	844	known as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), 6
845	845	shall be made available by the Secretary to 7
846	846	other Federal agencies as necessary to ensure 8
847	847	compliance with this Act and other Federal 9
848	848	laws. 10
849	849	(B) P
850	850	ROTECTION BY OTHER FEDERAL OF -11
851	851	FICIALS.—The Secretary, the Secretary of Agri-12
852	852	culture, and other Federal officials shall ensure 13
853	853	that information described in subparagraph (A) 14
854	854	is provided protection in accordance with sec-15
855	855	tion 552 of title 5, United States Code. 16
856	856	(f) I
857	857	NTEREST.— 17
858	858	(1) D
859	859	EFINITION OF UNDERPAYMENT .—In this 18
860	860	subsection, the term ‘‘underpayment’’ means the dif-19
861	861	ference between the royalty on the value of the pro-20
862	862	duction or the fee under section 402 that should 21
863	863	have been received by the Secretary and the royalty 22
864	864	on the value of the production or the fee under sec-23
865	865	tion 402 that was received by the Secretary, if the 24
866	866	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
867	867	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 28
868	868	•S 859 IS
869	869	royalty or fee that should have been received is 1
870	870	greater than the royalty or fee that was received. 2
871	871	(2) N
872	872	ONPAYMENT AND UNDERPAYMENT .— 3
873	873	(A) N
874	874	ONPAYMENT.—In the case of mining 4
875	875	claims or operations with respect to which roy-5
876	876	alty payments or the fee under section 402 are 6
877	877	not received by the Secretary by the date that 7
878	878	the payments are due, the Secretary shall 8
879	879	charge interest on the nonpayment at the rate 9
880	880	specified under subparagraph (C). 10
881	881	(B) U
882	882	NDERPAYMENT.—In the case of an 11
883	883	underpayment, interest shall be computed and 12
884	884	charged only on the amount of the deficiency 13
885	885	and not on the total amount, at the rate speci-14
886	886	fied under subparagraph (C). 15
887	887	(C) I
888	888	NTEREST RATE.—In the case of non-16
889	889	payment or underpayment, interest shall be 17
890	890	charged at the rate applicable under section 18
891	891	6621(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 19
892	892	1986. 20
893	893	(g) E
894	894	XPANDEDROYALTYOBLIGATIONS.—Each per-21
895	895	son liable for royalty payments under this section shall 22
896	896	be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable 23
897	897	minerals lost or wasted from a mining claim located under 24
898	898	the general mining laws and maintained in compliance 25
899	899	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
900	900	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 29
901	901	•S 859 IS
902	902	with this Act if the loss or waste is due to negligence on 1
903	903	the part of any such person or due to the failure to comply 2
904	904	with any rule, regulation, or order issued under this sec-3
905	905	tion. 4
906	906	(h) H
907	907	EARINGS ANDINVESTIGATIONS.—In carrying 5
908	908	out this title and section 402, the Secretary may— 6
909	909	(1) conduct any investigation or other inquiry 7
910	910	necessary and appropriate; 8
911	911	(2) conduct, after notice, any necessary and ap-9
912	912	propriate hearing or audit under rules prescribed by 10
913	913	the Secretary; and 11
914	914	(3) administer oaths and issue subpoenas in 12
915	915	conducting such proceedings. 13
916	916	(i) C
917	917	IVILPENALTIES.— 14
918	918	(1) F
919	919	AILURE TO COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE 15
920	920	LAW, RULES OR REGULATIONS , OR TO PERMIT IN-16
921	921	SPECTION.— 17
922	922	(A) I
923	923	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 18
924	924	subparagraph (B), a person shall be liable for 19
925	925	a penalty of up to $500 per violation for each 20
926	926	day the violation continues, dating from the 21
927	927	date of the notice or report, if the person— 22
928	928	(i) after due notice of violation or 23
929	929	after the violation has been reported under 24
930	930	subparagraph (B)(i), fails or refuses to 25
931	931	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
932	932	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 30
933	933	•S 859 IS
934	934	comply with any requirement of this title 1
935	935	or section 402 or any rule or regulation 2
936	936	under this title or section 402; or 3
937	937	(ii) fails or refuses to permit inspec-4
938	938	tion authorized under this title. 5
939	939	(B) E
940	940	XCEPTIONS.—A penalty under this 6
941	941	paragraph may not be applied to any person 7
942	942	who is otherwise liable for a violation of sub-8
943	943	paragraph (A) if— 9
944	944	(i) the violation was discovered and 10
945	945	reported to the Secretary or the authorized 11
946	946	representative of the Secretary by the lia-12
947	947	ble person and corrected within 20 days 13
948	948	after the report (or such longer period to 14
949	949	which the Secretary may agree); or 15
950	950	(ii) after the due notice of violation 16
951	951	required under subparagraph (A)(i) has 17
952	952	been given to the person by the Secretary 18
953	953	or the authorized representative of the Sec-19
954	954	retary, the person has corrected the viola-20
955	955	tion within 20 days of the notification (or 21
956	956	such longer period to which the Secretary 22
957	957	may agree). 23
958	958	(2) F
959	959	AILURE TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION .— 24
960	960	If corrective action is not taken within 40 days (or 25
961	961	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
962	962	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 31
963	963	•S 859 IS
964	964	a longer period to which the Secretary may agree), 1
965	965	after due notice or submission of a report referred 2
966	966	to in paragraph (1)(A)(i), the person shall be liable 3
967	967	for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 per viola-4
968	968	tion for each day the violation continues, dating 5
969	969	from the date of the notice or report. 6
970	970	(3) F
971	971	AILURE TO MAKE PAYMENT OR TO PERMIT 7
972	972	LAWFUL ENTRY, INSPECTION, OR AUDIT.—A person 8
973	973	shall be liable for a penalty of up to $10,000 per vio-9
974	974	lation for each day the violation continues if the per-10
975	975	son— 11
976	976	(A) knowingly or willfully fails to make 12
977	977	any payment of any royalty under this title or 13
978	978	fee under section 402 by the date as specified 14
979	979	by law (including regulation or order); 15
980	980	(B) fails or refuses to permit lawful entry, 16
981	981	inspection, or audit; or 17
982	982	(C) knowingly or willfully fails to comply 18
983	983	with subsection (b)(2)(C). 19
984	984	(4) F
985	985	ALSE INFORMATION; UNAUTHORIZED RE -20
986	986	MOVAL OF LOCATABLE MINERAL .—A person shall be 21
987	987	liable for a penalty of up to $25,000 per violation 22
988	988	for each day the violation continues in any case in 23
989	989	which the person, in violation of this title or section 24
990	990	402— 25
991	991	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
992	992	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 32
993	993	•S 859 IS
994	994	(A) knowingly or willfully prepares, main-1
995	995	tains, or submits false, inaccurate, or mis-2
996	996	leading reports, notices, affidavits, records, 3
997	997	data, or other written information; 4
998	998	(B) knowingly or willfully takes or re-5
999	999	moves, transports, uses or diverts any locatable 6
1000	1000	mineral from any land covered by a mining 7
1001	1001	claim without having valid legal authority to do 8
1002	1002	so; or 9
1003	1003	(C) purchases, accepts, sells, transports, or 10
1004	1004	conveys to another, any locatable mineral know-11
1005	1005	ing or having reason to know that the locatable 12
1006	1006	mineral was stolen or unlawfully removed or di-13
1007	1007	verted. 14
1008	1008	(5) H
1009	1009	EARING.—No penalty under this sub-15
1010	1010	section shall be assessed until the person charged 16
1011	1011	with a violation has been given the opportunity for 17
1012	1012	a hearing on the record. 18
1013	1013	(6) D
1014	1014	EDUCTION OF PENALTY FROM SUMS 19
1015	1015	OWED BY UNITED STATES .—The amount of any 20
1016	1016	penalty under this subsection, as finally determined, 21
1017	1017	may be deducted from any sums owed by the United 22
1018	1018	States to the person charged. 23
1019	1019	(7) C
1020	1020	OMPROMISE OR REDUCTION OF PEN -24
1021	1021	ALTIES.—On a case-by-case basis, the Secretary 25
1022	1022	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1023	1023	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 33
1024	1024	•S 859 IS
1025	1025	may compromise or reduce civil penalties under this 1
1026	1026	subsection. 2
1027	1027	(8) N
1028	1028	OTICE.— 3
1029	1029	(A) I
1030	1030	N GENERAL.—Notice under this sub-4
1031	1031	section shall be by personal service by an au-5
1032	1032	thorized representative of the Secretary or by 6
1033	1033	registered mail. 7
1034	1034	(B) D
1035	1035	ESIGNEE FOR RECEIPT OF NO -8
1036	1036	TICE.—Any person may, in the manner pre-9
1037	1037	scribed by the Secretary, designate a represent-10
1038	1038	ative to receive any notice under this sub-11
1039	1039	section. 12
1040	1040	(9) R
1041	1041	EASONS ON RECORD FOR AMOUNT OF 13
1042	1042	PENALTY.—In determining the amount of the pen-14
1043	1043	alty under this subsection, whether the penalty 15
1044	1044	should be remitted or reduced, and by what amount, 16
1045	1045	the Secretary shall state on the record the reasons 17
1046	1046	for the determinations of the Secretary. 18
1047	1047	(10) R
1048	1048	EVIEW.— 19
1049	1049	(A) I
1050	1050	N GENERAL.—Any person who has re-20
1051	1051	quested a hearing in accordance with paragraph 21
1052	1052	(5) within the time the Secretary has prescribed 22
1053	1053	for such a hearing and who is aggrieved by a 23
1054	1054	final order of the Secretary under this sub-24
1055	1055	section may seek review of the order in the 25
1056	1056	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1057	1057	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 34
1058	1058	•S 859 IS
1059	1059	United States district court for the judicial dis-1
1060	1060	trict in which the violation allegedly took place. 2
1061	1061	(B) B
1062	1062	ASIS FOR REVIEW.—Review by the 3
1063	1063	district court shall be only on the administrative 4
1064	1064	record and not de novo. 5
1065	1065	(C) D
1066	1066	EADLINE.—An action under this 6
1067	1067	paragraph shall be barred unless the action is 7
1068	1068	filed not later than the date that is 90 days 8
1069	1069	after the date of issuance of the final order of 9
1070	1070	the Secretary. 10
1071	1071	(11) F
1072	1072	AILURE TO PAY PENALTY .— 11
1073	1073	(A) I
1074	1074	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-12
1075	1075	graphs (B) and (C), if any person fails to pay 13
1076	1076	an assessment of a civil penalty under this Act, 14
1077	1077	the court shall have jurisdiction to award the 15
1078	1078	amount assessed plus interest from the date of 16
1079	1079	the expiration of the 90-day period referred to 17
1080	1080	in paragraph (10)(C). 18
1081	1081	(B) A
1082	1082	PPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A) ap-19
1083	1083	plies— 20
1084	1084	(i) after the order making the assess-21
1085	1085	ment has become a final order and if the 22
1086	1086	person does not file a petition for judicial 23
1087	1087	review of the order in accordance with 24
1088	1088	paragraph (10); or 25
1089	1089	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1090	1090	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 35
1091	1091	•S 859 IS
1092	1092	(ii) after a court in an action brought 1
1093	1093	under paragraph (10) has entered a final 2
1094	1094	judgment in favor of the Secretary. 3
1095	1095	(C) O
1096	1096	RDER TO PAY.—Judgment by the 4
1097	1097	court shall include an order to pay. 5
1098	1098	(j) C
1099	1099	RIMINALPENALTIES.—Any person who commits 6
1100	1100	an act for which a civil penalty is provided under sub-7
1101	1101	section (i)(4) shall, on conviction, be punished by a fine 8
1102	1102	of not more than $50,000 or by imprisonment for not 9
1103	1103	more than 2 years, or both. 10
1104	1104	(k) E
1105	1105	FFECTIVEDATE.— 11
1106	1106	(1) I
1107	1107	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in sec-12
1108	1108	tion 201(b) with respect to the payment of royalties, 13
1109	1109	the royalty required under section 201 or fee re-14
1110	1110	quired under section 402 shall take effect with re-15
1111	1111	spect to the production of minerals on or after the 16
1112	1112	date of enactment of this Act. 17
1113	1113	(2) I
1114	1114	NITIAL PRODUCTION .—Any royalty pay-18
1115	1115	ments or fee payments under section 402 attrib-19
1116	1116	utable to production during the 1-year period begin-20
1117	1117	ning on the date of enactment of this Act shall be 21
1118	1118	payable at the expiration of the 1-year period, to-22
1119	1119	gether with interest at the rate required under sub-23
1120	1120	section (f)(2)(C). 24
1121	1121	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1122	1122	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 36
1123	1123	•S 859 IS
1124	1124	(l) INJUNCTION AND SPECIFICENFORCEMENT AU-1
1125	1125	THORITY.— 2
1126	1126	(1) C
1127	1127	IVIL ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL .—In 3
1128	1128	addition to any other remedy under law, the Attor-4
1129	1129	ney General or the designee of the Attorney General 5
1130	1130	may bring a civil action in a district court of the 6
1131	1131	United States, which shall have jurisdiction over 7
1132	1132	such actions— 8
1133	1133	(A) to restrain any violation of this title or 9
1134	1134	section 402; or 10
1135	1135	(B) to compel the taking of any action re-11
1136	1136	quired by or under this title or section 402. 12
1137	1137	(2) V
1138	1138	ENUE.—A civil action described in para-13
1139	1139	graph (1) may be brought only in the United States 14
1140	1140	district court for the judicial district in which the 15
1141	1141	act, omission, or transaction constituting a violation 16
1142	1142	under this title or section 402 occurred, or in which 17
1143	1143	the defendant is found or transacts business. 18
1144	1144	SEC. 204. REVIEW. 19
1145	1145	(a) I
1146	1146	NGENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the 20
1147	1147	date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, 21
1148	1148	the Secretary shall complete a review and submit to the 22
1149	1149	Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen-23
1150	1150	ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 24
1151	1151	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1152	1152	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 37
1153	1153	•S 859 IS
1154	1154	of Representatives a report addressing collections and im-1
1155	1155	pacts of the royalty and fees provided for by this Act. 2
1156	1156	(b) T
1157	1157	OPICS.—The report shall address— 3
1158	1158	(1) the total revenues received (by category) on 4
1159	1159	an annual basis as— 5
1160	1160	(A) claim maintenance fees; 6
1161	1161	(B) location fees; 7
1162	1162	(C) land use fees; 8
1163	1163	(D) royalties and related payments; and 9
1164	1164	(E) abandoned mine land fees; 10
1165	1165	(2) the disposition of the fees and royalties, in-11
1166	1166	cluding— 12
1167	1167	(A) the amount used for mining law pro-13
1168	1168	gram administration; and 14
1169	1169	(B) the amount used for abandoned mine 15
1170	1170	land reclamation, including allocation by State 16
1171	1171	and Indian Tribe; 17
1172	1172	(3) the effectiveness of the program under this 18
1173	1173	Act in addressing abandoned mine land problems on 19
1174	1174	Federal and non-Federal land; 20
1175	1175	(4) any impact on domestic locatable mineral 21
1176	1176	exploration and production as a result of the fees 22
1177	1177	and royalties; and 23
1178	1178	(5) any recommendations with respect to 24
1179	1179	changes in Federal law (including regulations) relat-25
1180	1180	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1181	1181	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 38
1182	1182	•S 859 IS
1183	1183	ing to the amount or method of collection (including 1
1184	1184	auditing, compliance, and enforcement) of the fees 2
1185	1185	and royalties. 3
1186	1186	TITLE III—MINERAL ACTIVITIES 4
1187	1187	SEC. 301. PERMITS. 5
1188	1188	(a) I
1189	1189	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in section 6
1190	1190	501(a)(2), no person may engage in mineral activities on 7
1191	1191	Federal land that may cause a disturbance of surface re-8
1192	1192	sources, including land, air, water, and fish and wildlife, 9
1193	1193	unless a permit authorizing the activities was issued to 10
1194	1194	the person under this title. 11
1195	1195	(b) E
1196	1196	XCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 12
1197	1197	permit under this title shall not be required for mineral 13
1198	1198	activities that are a casual use of the Federal land. 14
1199	1199	(c) N
1200	1200	OMODIFICATION.—Nothing in this section en-15
1201	1201	larges, diminishes, establishes, repeals, or otherwise modi-16
1202	1202	fies any requirement of law that a mining claim, millsite, 17
1203	1203	or tunnel site be valid in order for mineral activities to 18
1204	1204	be undertaken. 19
1205	1205	(d) C
1206	1206	OORDINATIONWITHNEPA PROCESS.—To the 20
1207	1207	maximum extent practicable, the Secretary concerned 21
1208	1208	shall conduct the permit processes under this Act in co-22
1209	1209	ordination with the timing and other requirements of sec-23
1210	1210	tion 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 24
1211	1211	1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 25
1212	1212	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1213	1213	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 39
1214	1214	•S 859 IS
1215	1215	SEC. 302. EXPLORATION PERMITS. 1
1216	1216	(a) I
1217	1217	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in section 2
1218	1218	501(a)(2), an exploration permit shall be required prior 3
1219	1219	to conducting any exploration activities on Federal land 4
1220	1220	that involve more than the casual use of the Federal land. 5
1221	1221	(b) L
1222	1222	IMITATIONS.—An exploration permit under sub-6
1223	1223	section (a) shall not authorize the person to— 7
1224	1224	(1) remove any mineral for sale; or 8
1225	1225	(2) conduct any activity other than an activity 9
1226	1226	required for— 10
1227	1227	(A) exploration for locatable minerals; or 11
1228	1228	(B) reclamation. 12
1229	1229	(c) R
1230	1230	EQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for an explo-13
1231	1231	ration permit, a person shall submit to the Secretary con-14
1232	1232	cerned, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary con-15
1233	1233	cerned, an application for an exploration permit that con-16
1234	1234	tains— 17
1235	1235	(1) an exploration plan demonstrating that— 18
1236	1236	(A) the applicant will operate in accord-19
1237	1237	ance with this Act and applicable regulations; 20
1238	1238	(B) the formation of acid mine drainage 21
1239	1239	will be avoided to the maximum extent prac-22
1240	1240	ticable; and 23
1241	1241	(C) mineral activities will be conducted in 24
1242	1242	a manner that uses best management practices; 25
1243	1243	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1244	1244	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 40
1245	1245	•S 859 IS
1246	1246	(2) a description of potential impacts to 1
1247	1247	groundwater and surface water, including appro-2
1248	1248	priate hydrological assessments and analyses, as rea-3
1249	1249	sonably required by the Secretary; 4
1250	1250	(3) a reclamation plan for the proposed explo-5
1251	1251	ration activity demonstrating that the applicant will 6
1252	1252	conduct reclamation activities in accordance with 7
1253	1253	section 306; 8
1254	1254	(4) evidence of adequate financial assurance in 9
1255	1255	accordance with section 304; 10
1256	1256	(5) the necessary documentation to demonstrate 11
1257	1257	that the proposed exploration activity will comply 12
1258	1258	with applicable Federal and State environmental 13
1259	1259	laws (including regulations); 14
1260	1260	(6) a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure 15
1261	1261	compliance with reclamation and other requirements 16
1262	1262	of this Act; and 17
1263	1263	(7) any other relevant information determined 18
1264	1264	by the Secretary to be necessary to satisfy the re-19
1265	1265	quirements of this Act and other applicable law. 20
1266	1266	(d) P
1267	1267	ERMITISSUANCE.— 21
1268	1268	(1) A
1269	1269	PPROVAL.— 22
1270	1270	(A) I
1271	1271	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-23
1272	1272	graph (B), the Secretary concerned shall ap-24
1273	1273	prove an application and issue an exploration 25
1274	1274	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1275	1275	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 41
1276	1276	•S 859 IS
1277	1277	permit if the Secretary concerned determines 1
1278	1278	that the application is in compliance with— 2
1279	1279	(i) this Act; 3
1280	1280	(ii) any regulations promulgated 4
1281	1281	under this Act; and 5
1282	1282	(iii) any other applicable laws. 6
1283	1283	(B) C
1284	1284	ONDITIONS.—The Secretary con-7
1285	1285	cerned may reasonably condition the approval 8
1286	1286	of such a permit to satisfy the requirements of 9
1287	1287	this Act and applicable regulations. 10
1288	1288	(2) D
1289	1289	ENIAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 11
1290	1290	deny the issuance of an exploration permit if the 12
1291	1291	Secretary concerned determines that the permit does 13
1292	1292	not meet the requirements of— 14
1293	1293	(A) this Act; 15
1294	1294	(B) any regulations promulgated under 16
1295	1295	this Act; or 17
1296	1296	(C) other applicable laws. 18
1297	1297	(3) N
1298	1298	OTICE.—Before approving or denying an 19
1299	1299	exploration permit under this subsection, the Sec-20
1300	1300	retary concerned— 21
1301	1301	(A) shall provide public notice and an op-22
1302	1302	portunity for written comment; and 23
1303	1303	(B) may hold a public hearing. 24
1304	1304	(e) M
1305	1305	ODIFICATIONS TOPERMIT.— 25
1306	1306	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1307	1307	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 42
1308	1308	•S 859 IS
1309	1309	(1) IN GENERAL.—The permit holder may sub-1
1310	1310	mit to the Secretary concerned an application to 2
1311	1311	modify an exploration permit. 3
1312	1312	(2) A
1313	1313	PPROVAL.— 4
1314	1314	(A) I
1315	1315	N GENERAL.—In determining whether 5
1316	1316	to approve or disapprove a proposed modifica-6
1317	1317	tion to an exploration permit, the Secretary 7
1318	1318	concerned shall make the same determinations 8
1319	1319	as are required in the case of the original per-9
1320	1320	mit. 10
1321	1321	(B) E
1322	1322	XCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 11
1323	1323	shall not apply to minor modifications to an ex-12
1324	1324	ploration permit or instances in which the na-13
1325	1325	ture of the modifications make compliance with 14
1326	1326	the requirements unnecessary, as determined by 15
1327	1327	the Secretary concerned. 16
1328	1328	(3) M
1329	1329	ODIFICATIONS FROM SECRETARY CON -17
1330	1330	CERNED.— 18
1331	1331	(A) I
1332	1332	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-19
1333	1333	cerned may require reasonable modification to 20
1334	1334	any permit on a determination that the require-21
1335	1335	ments of this Act or other applicable law cannot 22
1336	1336	be met if the permit is followed as approved. 23
1337	1337	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1338	1338	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 43
1339	1339	•S 859 IS
1340	1340	(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINA -1
1341	1341	TION.—A determination under subparagraph 2
1342	1342	(A) shall be— 3
1343	1343	(i) based on a written finding; and 4
1344	1344	(ii) subject to notice and hearing re-5
1345	1345	quirements established by the Secretary 6
1346	1346	concerned. 7
1347	1347	SEC. 303. MINING PERMITS. 8
1348	1348	(a) I
1349	1349	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in section 9
1350	1350	501(a)(2), a mining permit shall be required prior to con-10
1351	1351	ducting mineral activities on Federal land, other than cas-11
1352	1352	ual use or exploration on the Federal land. 12
1353	1353	(b) R
1354	1354	EQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for a mining per-13
1355	1355	mit, a person shall submit to the Secretary concerned, in 14
1356	1356	a manner prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an appli-15
1357	1357	cation for a mining permit that contains— 16
1358	1358	(1) a description of the condition of the land 17
1359	1359	and water resources of the area before mining activi-18
1360	1360	ties are initiated; 19
1361	1361	(2) an operations plan demonstrating that— 20
1362	1362	(A) the applicant will operate in accord-21
1363	1363	ance with this Act and applicable regulations; 22
1364	1364	(B) the formation of acid mine drainage 23
1365	1365	will be avoided to the maximum extent prac-24
1366	1366	ticable; and 25
1367	1367	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1368	1368	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 44
1369	1369	•S 859 IS
1370	1370	(C) mineral activities will be conducted in 1
1371	1371	a manner that uses best management practices; 2
1372	1372	(3) a description of potential impacts to 3
1373	1373	groundwater and surface water, including appro-4
1374	1374	priate hydrological assessments and analyses, as rea-5
1375	1375	sonably required by the Secretary; 6
1376	1376	(4) a reclamation plan for the proposed mineral 7
1377	1377	activities demonstrating that the applicant will con-8
1378	1378	duct reclamation activities in accordance with sec-9
1379	1379	tion 306; 10
1380	1380	(5) evidence of adequate financial assurance 11
1381	1381	under section 304, including, if required, a trust 12
1382	1382	fund as required under section 304(i); 13
1383	1383	(6) the necessary documentation to demonstrate 14
1384	1384	that the proposed mineral activities will comply with 15
1385	1385	applicable Federal and State environmental laws (in-16
1386	1386	cluding regulations); 17
1387	1387	(7) a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure 18
1388	1388	compliance with reclamation and other requirements 19
1389	1389	of this Act; and 20
1390	1390	(8) any other relevant information determined 21
1391	1391	by the Secretary concerned to be necessary to satisfy 22
1392	1392	the requirements of this Act and other applicable 23
1393	1393	law. 24
1394	1394	(c) P
1395	1395	ERMITISSUANCE.— 25
1396	1396	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1397	1397	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 45
1398	1398	•S 859 IS
1399	1399	(1) APPROVAL.— 1
1400	1400	(A) I
1401	1401	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-2
1402	1402	graph (B), the Secretary concerned shall ap-3
1403	1403	prove a permit application and issue a mining 4
1404	1404	permit if the Secretary concerned determines 5
1405	1405	that the application is in compliance with— 6
1406	1406	(i) this Act; 7
1407	1407	(ii) any regulations promulgated 8
1408	1408	under this Act; and 9
1409	1409	(iii) other applicable laws. 10
1410	1410	(B) C
1411	1411	ONDITIONS.—The Secretary con-11
1412	1412	cerned may reasonably condition the approval 12
1413	1413	of such a permit to satisfy the requirements of 13
1414	1414	this Act and applicable regulations. 14
1415	1415	(2) D
1416	1416	ENIAL.—The Secretary concerned shall 15
1417	1417	deny the issuance of a mining permit if the Sec-16
1418	1418	retary concerned determines that the permit does 17
1419	1419	not meet the requirements of— 18
1420	1420	(A) this Act; 19
1421	1421	(B) any regulations promulgated under 20
1422	1422	this Act; or 21
1423	1423	(C) other applicable laws. 22
1424	1424	(3) N
1425	1425	OTICE.—Before approving or denying a 23
1426	1426	mining permit under this subsection, the Secretary 24
1427	1427	concerned— 25
1428	1428	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1429	1429	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 46
1430	1430	•S 859 IS
1431	1431	(A) shall provide public notice and an op-1
1432	1432	portunity for written comment; and 2
1433	1433	(B) may hold a public hearing. 3
1434	1434	(d) T
1435	1435	ERM OFPERMIT; CONTINUATION.— 4
1436	1436	(1) I
1437	1437	N GENERAL .—An operations permit 5
1438	1438	shall— 6
1439	1439	(A) be for a term of 30 years; and 7
1440	1440	(B) continue for so long thereafter as 8
1441	1441	locatable minerals are produced in commercial 9
1442	1442	quantities from the permit area in compliance 10
1443	1443	with the requirements of this Act and other ap-11
1444	1444	plicable law. 12
1445	1445	(2) C
1446	1446	ONTINUATION.—No permit shall expire be-13
1447	1447	cause operations or production have ceased pursuant 14
1448	1448	to an approved temporary cessation or been sus-15
1449	1449	pended pursuant to any order of, or with the consent 16
1450	1450	of, the Secretary concerned. 17
1451	1451	(e) M
1452	1452	ODIFICATIONS TOPERMIT.— 18
1453	1453	(1) R
1454	1454	EQUEST FROM PERMIT HOLDER .— 19
1455	1455	(A) I
1456	1456	N GENERAL.—A mining permit holder 20
1457	1457	may submit to the Secretary concerned an ap-21
1458	1458	plication to modify the mining permit. 22
1459	1459	(B) A
1460	1460	PPROVAL.— 23
1461	1461	(i) I
1462	1462	N GENERAL.—In determining 24
1463	1463	whether to approve or disapprove a pro-25
1464	1464	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1465	1465	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 47
1466	1466	•S 859 IS
1467	1467	posed modification to a mining permit, the 1
1468	1468	Secretary concerned shall make the same 2
1469	1469	determinations as are required in the case 3
1470	1470	of an original mining permit. 4
1471	1471	(ii) E
1472	1472	XCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 5
1473	1473	not apply to minor modifications to a min-6
1474	1474	ing permit or instances in which the nature 7
1475	1475	of the modifications make compliance with 8
1476	1476	the requirements unnecessary, as deter-9
1477	1477	mined by the Secretary concerned. 10
1478	1478	(2) M
1479	1479	ODIFICATIONS FROM SECRETARY CON -11
1480	1480	CERNED.— 12
1481	1481	(A) I
1482	1482	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-13
1483	1483	cerned may require reasonable modification to 14
1484	1484	any permit on a determination that the require-15
1485	1485	ments of this Act or other applicable law cannot 16
1486	1486	be met if the permit is followed as approved. 17
1487	1487	(B) R
1488	1488	EQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINA -18
1489	1489	TION.—A determination under subparagraph 19
1490	1490	(A) shall be— 20
1491	1491	(i) based on a written finding; and 21
1492	1492	(ii) subject to notice and hearing re-22
1493	1493	quirements established by the Secretary 23
1494	1494	concerned. 24
1495	1495	(f) L
1496	1496	ANDUSEFEES.— 25
1497	1497	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1498	1498	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 48
1499	1499	•S 859 IS
1500	1500	(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of Federal land 1
1501	1501	included in a mining permit approved under this sec-2
1502	1502	tion after the date of enactment of this Act, or Fed-3
1503	1503	eral land added pursuant to a modification to a per-4
1504	1504	mit or plan of operations if the modification is ap-5
1505	1505	proved after the date of enactment of this Act, not 6
1506	1506	later than August 31 of each year, the operator shall 7
1507	1507	pay a land use fee in an amount established by the 8
1508	1508	Secretary by regulation that is equal to 4 times the 9
1509	1509	claim maintenance fee imposed under section 10
1510	1510	102(a)(1) for each 20 acres of Federal land that is 11
1511	1511	included within the mine permit area. 12
1512	1512	(2) A
1513	1513	DDITIONAL FEE.—The land use fee im-13
1514	1514	posed under this subsection shall be in addition to 14
1515	1515	the claim maintenance fees imposed under section 15
1516	1516	102(a). 16
1517	1517	(3) A
1518	1518	UTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Upon approval 17
1519	1519	by the Secretary concerned of a mining permit and 18
1520	1520	upon payment of the land use fee as required by this 19
1521	1521	subsection, the operator may use and occupy all 20
1522	1522	Federal land within the mine permit area for such 21
1523	1523	uses as are approved in the mining permit if the 22
1524	1524	uses are undertaken in accordance with all applica-23
1525	1525	ble law. 24
1526	1526	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1527	1527	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 49
1528	1528	•S 859 IS
1529	1529	(4) ADJUSTMENT.—Land use fees imposed 1
1530	1530	under this subsection shall be adjusted as necessary 2
1531	1531	to correspond to any adjustment in the claim main-3
1532	1532	tenance fees imposed under section 102(a). 4
1533	1533	(5) D
1534	1534	ISPOSITION OF FUNDS.—Any amounts re-5
1535	1535	ceived under this subsection shall be deposited in the 6
1536	1536	Fund. 7
1537	1537	(g) T
1538	1538	EMPORARYCESSATION OFOPERATIONS.— 8
1539	1539	(1) I
1540	1540	N GENERAL.—An operator conducting min-9
1541	1541	eral activities under this title may not temporarily 10
1542	1542	cease mineral activities for a period of greater than 11
1543	1543	180 days unless— 12
1544	1544	(A) the Secretary concerned has approved 13
1545	1545	the temporary cessation; or 14
1546	1546	(B) the temporary cessation is permitted 15
1547	1547	under the exploration or mining permit. 16
1548	1548	(2) M
1549	1549	ULTIPLE TEMPORARY CESSATIONS .—The 17
1550	1550	Secretary concerned may approve more than 1 tem-18
1551	1551	porary cessation for mineral activities under a per-19
1552	1552	mit. 20
1553	1553	(3) I
1554	1554	NTERIM MANAGEMENT PLAN .—Any oper-21
1555	1555	ator temporarily ceasing mineral activities shall fol-22
1556	1556	low an interim management plan approved by the 23
1557	1557	Secretary concerned. 24
1558	1558	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1559	1559	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 50
1560	1560	•S 859 IS
1561	1561	SEC. 304. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 1
1562	1562	(a) I
1563	1563	NGENERAL.—Before beginning any mineral ac-2
1564	1564	tivities requiring an exploration or mining permit under 3
1565	1565	this Act, an operator shall provide to the Secretary con-4
1566	1566	cerned evidence of a bond, surety, or other financial assur-5
1567	1567	ance approved by the Secretary concerned in an amount 6
1568	1568	determined, after public notice and comment, by the Sec-7
1569	1569	retary concerned to be sufficient to ensure the completion 8
1570	1570	of reclamation under section 306 and the restoration of 9
1571	1571	any land or water adversely affected by the mineral activi-10
1572	1572	ties if the work (including any interim stabilization and 11
1573	1573	infrastructure maintenance activities) would be performed 12
1574	1574	by the Secretary concerned (or a third party retained by 13
1575	1575	the Secretary concerned) in the event of forfeiture. 14
1576	1576	(b) L
1577	1577	AND ANDWATERCOVERED.—The financial as-15
1578	1578	surance shall cover— 16
1579	1579	(1) all land within the initial permit area; 17
1580	1580	(2) all affected water that may require restora-18
1581	1581	tion, treatment, or other management as a result of 19
1582	1582	mineral activities; and 20
1583	1583	(3) all land added and water affected pursuant 21
1584	1584	to any permit modification. 22
1585	1585	(c) R
1586	1586	EVIEW.—Not later than 3 years after the date 23
1587	1587	on which an operator provides financial assurance in an 24
1588	1588	amount determined under subsection (a) and not later 25
1589	1589	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1590	1590	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 51
1591	1591	•S 859 IS
1592	1592	than every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary concerned 1
1593	1593	shall— 2
1594	1594	(1) review the financial assurance to determine 3
1595	1595	if the amount of the financial assurance is adequate 4
1596	1596	for purposes of this section; and 5
1597	1597	(2) if the Secretary concerned determines that 6
1598	1598	the amount of the financial assurance is not ade-7
1599	1599	quate, adjust the amount of the financial assurance 8
1600	1600	in accordance with this section. 9
1601	1601	(d) R
1602	1602	EDUCTION.— 10
1603	1603	(1) I
1604	1604	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 11
1605	1605	may reduce the amount of the financial assurance 12
1606	1606	required if the Secretary concerned determines that 13
1607	1607	a portion of the reclamation is completed in accord-14
1608	1608	ance with section 306. 15
1609	1609	(2) N
1610	1610	OTICE.—Before reducing or releasing the 16
1611	1611	amount of financial assurance pursuant to this sub-17
1612	1612	section, the Secretary concerned shall provide public 18
1613	1613	notice and a reasonable opportunity for public notice 19
1614	1614	and comment in accordance with subsection (g). 20
1615	1615	(e) I
1616	1616	NCREMENTALFINANCIALASSURANCE.— 21
1617	1617	(1) I
1618	1618	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 22
1619	1619	may authorize amounts of financial assurance for in-23
1620	1620	cremental mineral activities if— 24
1621	1621	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1622	1622	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 52
1623	1623	•S 859 IS
1624	1624	(A) no mineral activities are allowed be-1
1625	1625	yond the activities for which financial assurance 2
1626	1626	is provided; 3
1627	1627	(B) the financial assurance for an incre-4
1628	1628	ment covers all reclamation costs within the 5
1629	1629	permit area for the increment; and 6
1630	1630	(C) the amount and terms of the financial 7
1631	1631	assurance for each increment are reviewed an-8
1632	1632	nually. 9
1633	1633	(2) R
1634	1634	EVIEW.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), 10
1635	1635	the Secretary concerned shall— 11
1636	1636	(A) review at least on an annual basis the 12
1637	1637	amount and terms of the financial assurance 13
1638	1638	for any increment; and 14
1639	1639	(B) adjust the financial assurance as ap-15
1640	1640	propriate. 16
1641	1641	(f) D
1642	1642	URATION.—The financial assurance required 17
1643	1643	under this section shall be held for the duration of the 18
1644	1644	mineral activities and for an additional period to cover the 19
1645	1645	responsibility of the operator for reclamation, long-term 20
1646	1646	maintenance, and effluent treatment as specified in sub-21
1647	1647	section (h). 22
1648	1648	(g) R
1649	1649	ELEASE.—Subject to subsections (h) and (i), 23
1650	1650	the Secretary concerned may, after public notice and a 24
1651	1651	reasonable opportunity for public comment and after in-25
1652	1652	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1653	1653	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 53
1654	1654	•S 859 IS
1655	1655	spection, release in whole or in part the financial assur-1
1656	1656	ance required under this section if the Secretary concerned 2
1657	1657	determines that— 3
1658	1658	(1) reclamation covered by the financial assur-4
1659	1659	ance has been accomplished as required by this Act 5
1660	1660	and other applicable law; and 6
1661	1661	(2) the terms and conditions of any other appli-7
1662	1662	cable Federal and State requirements have been ful-8
1663	1663	filled. 9
1664	1664	(h) R
1665	1665	ELEASE OF FINANCIALASSURANCE FOR 10
1666	1666	W
1667	1667	ATER.—If the Secretary concerned does not require the 11
1668	1668	establishment of a trust fund or other long-term funding 12
1669	1669	mechanism under subsection (i), the portion of the finan-13
1670	1670	cial assurance attributable to the estimated cost of treat-14
1671	1671	ment of any discharge or other water-related condition re-15
1672	1672	sulting from mineral activities shall not be released until 16
1673	1673	the public has been provided notice and an opportunity 17
1674	1674	to comment in accordance with subsection (g) and— 18
1675	1675	(1) the discharge has ceased for a period of at 19
1676	1676	least 5 years, as determined through ongoing moni-20
1677	1677	toring and testing; or 21
1678	1678	(2) if the discharge continues, the operator has 22
1679	1679	met all applicable effluent limitations and water 23
1680	1680	quality standards for a period of at least 5 years. 24
1681	1681	(i) L
1682	1682	ONG-TERMFINANCIALASSURANCES.— 25
1683	1683	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1684	1684	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 54
1685	1685	•S 859 IS
1686	1686	(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsections 1
1687	1687	(d) and (g), if any discharge or other water-related 2
1688	1688	condition resulting from mineral activities requires 3
1689	1689	treatment in order to meet the applicable effluent 4
1690	1690	limitations and water quality standards, the finan-5
1691	1691	cial assurance shall cover the estimated cost of 6
1692	1692	maintaining the treatment for the period that will be 7
1693	1693	needed after the cessation of mineral activities. 8
1694	1694	(2) L
1695	1695	ONG-TERM FUNDING MECHANISMS .— 9
1696	1696	(A) I
1697	1697	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-10
1698	1698	cerned shall, if determined necessary by the 11
1699	1699	Secretary concerned, require the operator to es-12
1700	1700	tablish a trust fund or other funding mecha-13
1701	1701	nism to provide financial assurances to ensure 14
1702	1702	the continuation of long-term treatment or 15
1703	1703	other management to achieve water quality 16
1704	1704	standards and for other long-term, post-mining 17
1705	1705	maintenance or monitoring requirements. 18
1706	1706	(B) A
1707	1707	MOUNT.—The amount of funding 19
1708	1708	shall be adequate to provide for construction, 20
1709	1709	long-term operation, maintenance, or replace-21
1710	1710	ment of any treatment facilities and infrastruc-22
1711	1711	ture, for as long as the treatment and facilities 23
1712	1712	are needed after mine closure. 24
1713	1713	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1714	1714	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 55
1715	1715	•S 859 IS
1716	1716	(C) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this para-1
1717	1717	graph allows any person to transfer any liability 2
1718	1718	arising from mineral activities to any other per-3
1719	1719	son. 4
1720	1720	(j) R
1721	1721	EPORT.— 5
1722	1722	(1) I
1723	1723	N GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 6
1724	1724	the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 7
1725	1725	consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and 8
1726	1726	the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 9
1727	1727	Agency, shall conduct a review and submit to the 10
1728	1728	Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 11
1729	1729	Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 12
1730	1730	the House of Representatives a report regarding the 13
1731	1731	sufficiency of financial assurances for locatable min-14
1732	1732	erals activities (including exploration and mining) on 15
1733	1733	Federal land. 16
1734	1734	(2) T
1735	1735	OPICS.—The report shall address— 17
1736	1736	(A) methods for establishing financial as-18
1737	1737	surances levels; 19
1738	1738	(B) the type, level, and adequacy of finan-20
1739	1739	cial assurances required for exploration activi-21
1740	1740	ties; 22
1741	1741	(C) for each mine on Federal land— 23
1742	1742	(i) the dates of approval of any plan 24
1743	1743	of operation or mining permit; 25
1744	1744	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1745	1745	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 56
1746	1746	•S 859 IS
1747	1747	(ii) the acreage involved; 1
1748	1748	(iii) the expected life of the mine; 2
1749	1749	(iv) the type, level, and adequacy of fi-3
1750	1750	nancial assurance; and 4
1751	1751	(v) whether the mine is expected to 5
1752	1752	require long-term water treatment or 6
1753	1753	maintenance after mine closure; 7
1754	1754	(D) the effectiveness of various types of fi-8
1755	1755	nancial assurances; and 9
1756	1756	(E) the availability of and costs associated 10
1757	1757	with various types of financial assurances. 11
1758	1758	(3) R
1759	1759	ECOMMENDATIONS .—The report shall in-12
1760	1760	clude any recommendations for modifications to 13
1761	1761	Federal law or applicable regulations to improve the 14
1762	1762	effectiveness of financial assurances for locatable 15
1763	1763	mineral activities described in paragraph (1). 16
1764	1764	SEC. 305. TRANSFER, ASSIGNMENT, OR SALE OF RIGHT. 17
1765	1765	The Secretary concerned shall approve the transfer, 18
1766	1766	assignment, or sale of rights of an exploration or mining 19
1767	1767	permit only if the successor in interest agrees in writing 20
1768	1768	to assume the liability and reclamation responsibilities (in-21
1769	1769	cluding the financial assurance requirements under section 22
1770	1770	304 (including applicable regulations)) established by the 23
1771	1771	permit under this Act, without affecting the liability of the 24
1772	1772	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1773	1773	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 57
1774	1774	•S 859 IS
1775	1775	transferor under any other law or exploration or mining 1
1776	1776	permit. 2
1777	1777	SEC. 306. OPERATION AND RECLAMATION. 3
1778	1778	(a) I
1779	1779	NGENERAL.—The operator shall restore land 4
1780	1780	and water subject to mineral activities carried out under 5
1781	1781	a permit issued under this title to a condition capable of 6
1782	1782	supporting— 7
1783	1783	(1) the uses that the land and water was capa-8
1784	1784	ble of supporting before surface disturbance by the 9
1785	1785	operator; or 10
1786	1786	(2) other beneficial uses that conform to appli-11
1787	1787	cable land use plans (including, if appropriate, the 12
1788	1788	generation of renewable energy), as determined by 13
1789	1789	the Secretary concerned. 14
1790	1790	(b) T
1791	1791	IMING.— 15
1792	1792	(1) I
1793	1793	N GENERAL.—Reclamation activities shall 16
1794	1794	be carried out as contemporaneously as practicable 17
1795	1795	with the conduct of mineral activities. 18
1796	1796	(2) T
1797	1797	EMPORARY CESSATION .—If mineral activi-19
1798	1798	ties are ceased for a period other than a temporary 20
1799	1799	cessation as approved by the Secretary concerned, 21
1800	1800	reclamation activities shall begin immediately. 22
1801	1801	(c) A
1802	1802	DMINISTRATION OF LAND.—Notwithstanding 23
1803	1803	section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-24
1804	1804	ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)), the first section 25
1805	1805	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1806	1806	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 58
1807	1807	•S 859 IS
1808	1808	of the Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly known as the ‘‘Or-1
1809	1809	ganic Act of 1897’’) (16 U.S.C. 478), or the Forest and 2
1810	1810	Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 3
1811	1811	(16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), and in accordance with this title 4
1812	1812	and applicable law, unless expressly stated otherwise in 5
1813	1813	this Act, the Secretary concerned— 6
1814	1814	(1) shall ensure that mineral activities on any 7
1815	1815	Federal land that is subject to a mining claim, mill-8
1816	1816	site claim, or tunnel site claim are carefully con-9
1817	1817	trolled to prevent undue degradation of public land 10
1818	1818	and resources; and 11
1819	1819	(2) shall not grant permission to engage in min-12
1820	1820	eral activities if the Secretary concerned, after con-13
1821	1821	sidering the evidence, makes a determination that 14
1822	1822	undue degradation would result from those activi-15
1823	1823	ties. 16
1824	1824	(d) O
1825	1825	PERATION AND RECLAMATIONSTANDARDS.— 17
1826	1826	The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall joint-18
1827	1827	ly promulgate regulations that carry out this Act. 19
1828	1828	(e) R
1829	1829	ELATIONSHIP TOOTHERLAWS.—The require-20
1830	1830	ments of this Act shall be in addition to any requirements 21
1831	1831	applicable to mineral activities under— 22
1832	1832	(1) the Federal Land Policy and Management 23
1833	1833	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 24
1834	1834	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1835	1835	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 59
1836	1836	•S 859 IS
1837	1837	(2) the National Forest Management Act of 1
1838	1838	1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.); and 2
1839	1839	(3) the Act of June 4, 1897 (commonly known 3
1840	1840	as the ‘‘Organic Act of 1897’’) (16 U.S.C. 473–482, 4
1841	1841	551). 5
1842	1842	SEC. 307. LAND OPEN TO LOCATION. 6
1843	1843	Section 202(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Man-7
1844	1844	agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(e)) is amended— 8
1845	1845	(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘removed 9
1846	1846	from or restored to the operation of the Mining Law 10
1847	1847	of 1872, as amended (R.S. 2318–2352; 30 U.S.C. 11
1848	1848	21 et seq.) or’’; and 12
1849	1849	(2) by adding at the end the following: 13
1850	1850	‘‘(4) R
1851	1851	EVIEW OF LAND.— 14
1852	1852	‘‘(A) D
1853	1853	EFINITION OF NATIONAL CON -15
1854	1854	SERVATION SYSTEM UNIT .—In this paragraph, 16
1855	1855	the term ‘National Conservation System unit’ 17
1856	1856	means— 18
1857	1857	‘‘(i) any unit of— 19
1858	1858	‘‘(I) the National Park System; 20
1859	1859	‘‘(II) the National Wildlife Ref-21
1860	1860	uge System; or 22
1861	1861	‘‘(III) the National Wild and 23
1862	1862	Scenic Rivers System; 24
1863	1863	‘‘(ii) a National Monument; or 25
1864	1864	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1865	1865	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 60
1866	1866	•S 859 IS
1867	1867	‘‘(iii) a National Conservation Area. 1
1868	1868	‘‘(B) R
1869	1869	EVIEW.—Not later than 3 years 2
1870	1870	after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 3
1871	1871	each Secretary concerned, acting through the 4
1872	1872	local Federal land manager, shall, consistent 5
1873	1873	with the respective jurisdiction of each Sec-6
1874	1874	retary concerned, undertake and complete a re-7
1875	1875	view of— 8
1876	1876	‘‘(i) public land designated as a wil-9
1877	1877	derness study area or National Forest Sys-10
1878	1878	tem land identified as suitable for wilder-11
1879	1879	ness designation; 12
1880	1880	‘‘(ii) areas of critical environmental 13
1881	1881	concern; 14
1882	1882	‘‘(iii) Federal land in which mineral 15
1883	1883	activities pose a reasonable likelihood of 16
1884	1884	substantial adverse impacts on National 17
1885	1885	Conservation system units; 18
1886	1886	‘‘(iv)(I) areas designated for inclusion 19
1887	1887	in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 20
1888	1888	System pursuant to the Wild and Scenic 21
1889	1889	Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.); 22
1890	1890	‘‘(II) areas designated for potential 23
1891	1891	addition to the System pursuant to section 24
1892	1892	5(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)); and 25
1893	1893	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1894	1894	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 61
1895	1895	•S 859 IS
1896	1896	‘‘(III) areas determined to be eligible 1
1897	1897	for inclusion in the System pursuant to 2
1898	1898	section 5(d) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3
1899	1899	1276(d)); and 4
1900	1900	‘‘(v)(I) inventoried roadless areas (as 5
1901	1901	defined in section 294.11 of title 36, Code 6
1902	1902	of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-7
1903	1903	lations)); 8
1904	1904	‘‘(II) Idaho Roadless Areas (as de-9
1905	1905	fined in section 294.21 of title 36, Code of 10
1906	1906	Federal Regulations (or successor regula-11
1907	1907	tions)); and 12
1908	1908	‘‘(III) Colorado Roadless Areas (as 13
1909	1909	defined in section 294.41 of title 36, Code 14
1910	1910	of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-15
1911	1911	lations)). 16
1912	1912	‘‘(5) W
1913	1913	ITHDRAWALS OF LAND .— 17
1914	1914	‘‘(A) I
1915	1915	N GENERAL.—Subsequent to review 18
1916	1916	in accordance with paragraph (4)(B), in addi-19
1917	1917	tion to withdrawals made pursuant to section 20
1918	1918	204 and subject to valid existing rights, tracts 21
1919	1919	of Federal land may, pursuant to this para-22
1920	1920	graph, be removed from operation of sections 23
1921	1921	2318 through 2352 of the Revised Statutes 24
1922	1922	(commonly known and referred to in this sub-25
1923	1923	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1924	1924	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 62
1925	1925	•S 859 IS
1926	1926	section as the ‘Mining Law of 1872’) (30 1
1927	1927	U.S.C. 21 et seq.) if the Secretary, based on 2
1928	1928	the analysis of the local Federal land manager, 3
1929	1929	and in the case of National Forest System land, 4
1930	1930	on the recommendation of the Secretary of Ag-5
1931	1931	riculture based on the analysis of the local Fed-6
1932	1932	eral land manager, determines that the action is 7
1933	1933	appropriate after application of the criteria es-8
1934	1934	tablished under subsection (c). 9
1935	1935	‘‘(B) R
1936	1936	EVISION OF LAND USE PLANS .— 10
1937	1937	The Secretary concerned, acting through the 11
1938	1938	local Federal land manager, shall revise or 12
1939	1939	amend the applicable land use plan, as appro-13
1940	1940	priate, to provide for removal of land, subject to 14
1941	1941	valid existing rights, from operation of the Min-15
1942	1942	ing Law of 1872 on a determination by the Sec-16
1943	1943	retary under subparagraph (A) that the land 17
1944	1944	should be removed from operation of that Act. 18
1945	1945	‘‘(C) S
1946	1946	EGREGATION FROM GENERAL MIN -19
1947	1947	ING LAWS PENDING COMPLETION .—On a deter-20
1948	1948	mination by the Secretary that the land should 21
1949	1949	be removed from operation of the Mining Law 22
1950	1950	of 1872, the land shall be immediately seg-23
1951	1951	regated from operation of the Mining Law of 24
1952	1952	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1953	1953	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 63
1954	1954	•S 859 IS
1955	1955	1872 until the plan amendment or revision is 1
1956	1956	completed. 2
1957	1957	‘‘(D) C
1958	1958	OMPLETION DEADLINE .—Any 3
1959	1959	amendment or revision of a land use plan shall 4
1960	1960	be completed not later than 1 year after the 5
1961	1961	date of the determination of the Secretary 6
1962	1962	under subparagraph (A). 7
1963	1963	‘‘(6) P
1964	1964	ETITION FOR REVIEW.—The Governor of 8
1965	1965	a State, the head of an Indian tribe, or an appro-9
1966	1966	priate local government official may petition— 10
1967	1967	‘‘(A) the Secretary concerned to direct the 11
1968	1968	local Federal land manager to undertake a re-12
1969	1969	view under paragraph (4); and 13
1970	1970	‘‘(B) the Secretary to determine whether 14
1971	1971	land within the State should be removed from 15
1972	1972	operation of the Mining Law of 1872, subject 16
1973	1973	to valid existing rights, pursuant to paragraph 17
1974	1974	(5).’’. 18
1975	1975	SEC. 308. STATE LAW. 19
1976	1976	Any reclamation, environmental, public health protec-20
1977	1977	tion, bonding, or inspection standard or requirement in 21
1978	1978	State law (including regulations) that meets or exceeds the 22
1979	1979	requirements of this Act shall not be considered to be in-23
1980	1980	consistent with this Act. 24
1981	1981	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
1982	1982	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 64
1983	1983	•S 859 IS
1984	1984	SEC. 309. INSPECTION AND MONITORING. 1
1985	1985	(a) I
1986	1986	NSPECTIONS.— 2
1987	1987	(1) I
1988	1988	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 3
1989	1989	shall make inspections of mineral activities to ensure 4
1990	1990	compliance with this Act. 5
1991	1991	(2) T
1992	1992	IMING.—The Secretary concerned shall es-6
1993	1993	tablish the frequency of inspections for mineral ac-7
1994	1994	tivities conducted under a permit issued under this 8
1995	1995	Act, with the Secretary concerned requiring not less 9
1996	1996	than 1 complete inspection per calendar quarter. 10
1997	1997	(3) A
1998	1998	NNUAL INSPECTIONS.—After revegetation 11
1999	1999	has been established in accordance with a reclama-12
2000	2000	tion plan, the Secretary concerned shall conduct not 13
2001	2001	less than 2 complete inspections per year. 14
2002	2002	(4) S
2003	2003	EASONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary con-15
2004	2004	cerned shall have the discretion to modify the in-16
2005	2005	spection frequency for mineral activities that are 17
2006	2006	conducted on a seasonal basis, except that the Sec-18
2007	2007	retary concerned shall require not less than 2 com-19
2008	2008	plete inspections per calendar year. 20
2009	2009	(5) F
2010	2010	INANCIAL ASSURANCE .—Inspections shall 21
2011	2011	continue under this subsection until the final release 22
2012	2012	of financial assurance. 23
2013	2013	(b) M
2014	2014	ONITORING.—The Secretary concerned shall re-24
2015	2015	quire all operators— 25
2016	2016	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2017	2017	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 65
2018	2018	•S 859 IS
2019	2019	(1) to develop and maintain a monitoring and 1
2020	2020	evaluation system to identify compliance with all re-2
2021	2021	quirements of a permit approved under this Act; and 3
2022	2022	(2) to submit such reports as may be required 4
2023	2023	by the Secretary concerned. 5
2024	2024	SEC. 310. TRIBAL CONSULTATION. 6
2025	2025	The Secretary concerned shall conduct active, mean-7
2026	2026	ingful, and timely consultation with all applicable Indian 8
2027	2027	Tribes in accordance with the procedures established by 9
2028	2028	the Presidential Memorandum entitled ‘‘Uniform Stand-10
2029	2029	ards for Tribal Consultation’’ (87 Fed. Reg. 74479 (De-11
2030	2030	cember 5, 2022)) before undertaking any mineral activi-12
2031	2031	ties that may have a direct, indirect, or cumulative impact 13
2032	2032	on— 14
2033	2033	(1) the land (including allotted, ceded, or tradi-15
2034	2034	tional land) or interests of an Indian Tribe or a 16
2035	2035	member of an Indian Tribe; 17
2036	2036	(2) Tribal land, cultural practices, resources, or 18
2037	2037	access to traditional areas of cultural or religious 19
2038	2038	importance; 20
2039	2039	(3) any portion of Federal land that shares a 21
2040	2040	border with Indian country; 22
2041	2041	(4) the protected rights of an Indian Tribe, re-23
2042	2042	gardless of whether the protected rights are enumer-24
2043	2043	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2044	2044	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 66
2045	2045	•S 859 IS
2046	2046	ated in a treaty, including water, hunting, gathering, 1
2047	2047	and fishing rights; 2
2048	2048	(5) the ability of an Indian Tribe to govern or 3
2049	2049	provide services to members of the Indian Tribe; 4
2050	2050	(6) the relationship between the Federal Gov-5
2051	2051	ernment and an Indian Tribe; or 6
2052	2052	(7) the trust responsibility of the Federal Gov-7
2053	2053	ernment to an Indian Tribe. 8
2054	2054	TITLE IV—HARDROCK 9
2055	2055	MINERALS RECLAMATION FUND 10
2056	2056	SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 11
2057	2057	(a) E
2058	2058	STABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 12
2059	2059	Treasury of the United States a separate account, to be 13
2060	2060	known as the ‘‘Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund’’, 14
2061	2061	consisting of— 15
2062	2062	(1) any amounts authorized to be appropriated 16
2063	2063	to the Fund under subsection (e); 17
2064	2064	(2) any amounts received by the United States 18
2065	2065	under section 101; 19
2066	2066	(3) any amounts collected under section 102 20
2067	2067	(subject to the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of 21
2068	2068	that subsection); 22
2069	2069	(4) any amounts donated to the Fund by per-23
2070	2070	sons, corporations, associations, and foundations; 24
2071	2071	(5) any amounts collected under section 201; 25
2072	2072	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2073	2073	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 67
2074	2074	•S 859 IS
2075	2075	(6) any amounts collected under section 303(e); 1
2076	2076	(7) any amounts collected under section 402; 2
2077	2077	(8) any amounts collected under sections 203 3
2078	2078	and 502; and 4
2079	2079	(9) any income on investments under subsection 5
2080	2080	(b). 6
2081	2081	(b) I
2082	2082	NVESTMENT.— 7
2083	2083	(1) I
2084	2084	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall notify 8
2085	2085	the Secretary of the Treasury of any portion of the 9
2086	2086	Fund that the Secretary determines is not required 10
2087	2087	to meet current withdrawals. 11
2088	2088	(2) E
2089	2089	LIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—The Secretary of 12
2090	2090	the Treasury shall invest portions of the Fund iden-13
2091	2091	tified under paragraph (1) in public debt securities 14
2092	2092	with maturities suitable for the needs of the Fund. 15
2093	2093	(3) I
2094	2094	NTEREST.—Investments in public debt se-16
2095	2095	curities shall bear interest at rates determined by 17
2096	2096	the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consider-18
2097	2097	ation current market yields on outstanding market-19
2098	2098	place obligations of the United States of comparable 20
2099	2099	maturity. 21
2100	2100	(c) A
2101	2101	DMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be adminis-22
2102	2102	tered by the Secretary, acting through the Director of the 23
2103	2103	Bureau of Land Management. 24
2104	2104	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2105	2105	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 68
2106	2106	•S 859 IS
2107	2107	(d) USE OF THEFUND.—Without fiscal year limita-1
2108	2108	tion and without further appropriation, the Secretary shall 2
2109	2109	use amounts in the Fund to carry out section 40704 of 3
2110	2110	the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 4
2111	2111	1245). 5
2112	2112	(e) A
2113	2113	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6
2114	2114	are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 7
2115	2115	as are necessary for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year 8
2116	2116	thereafter. 9
2117	2117	SEC. 402. ABANDONED MINE LAND RECLAMATION FEE. 10
2118	2118	(a) I
2119	2119	MPOSITION OF FEE.—Each operator of a 11
2120	2120	hardrock minerals mining operation shall pay to the Sec-12
2121	2121	retary, for deposit in the Fund, a reclamation fee in an 13
2122	2122	amount established by the Secretary by regulation of not 14
2123	2123	less than 1 percent, and not more than 3 percent, of the 15
2124	2124	value of the production from the hardrock minerals mining 16
2125	2125	operation for each calendar year. 17
2126	2126	(b) V
2127	2127	ALUE OFPRODUCTION.—For purposes of this 18
2128	2128	section, the Secretary shall determine the value of produc-19
2129	2129	tion in the same manner as provided under section 201(a). 20
2130	2130	(c) P
2131	2131	AYMENTDEADLINE.—The reclamation fee shall 21
2132	2132	be paid not later than 60 days after the end of each cal-22
2133	2133	endar year beginning with the first calendar year occur-23
2134	2134	ring after the date of enactment of this Act. 24
2135	2135	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2136	2136	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 69
2137	2137	•S 859 IS
2138	2138	(d) DEPOSIT OFREVENUES.—Amounts received by 1
2139	2139	the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be deposited into 2
2140	2140	the Fund. 3
2141	2141	(e) E
2142	2142	FFECT.—Nothing in this section requires a re-4
2143	2143	duction in, or otherwise affects, any similar fee required 5
2144	2144	under any law (including regulations) of any State. 6
2145	2145	TITLE V—TRANSITION RULES, 7
2146	2146	ADMINISTRATIVE PROVI-8
2147	2147	SIONS, AND MISCELLANEOUS 9
2148	2148	PROVISIONS 10
2149	2149	SEC. 501. TRANSITION RULES. 11
2150	2150	(a) A
2151	2151	PPLICABILITY.— 12
2152	2152	(1) I
2153	2153	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-13
2154	2154	graph (2), section 201(b), and section 303(f), the re-14
2155	2155	quirements of this Act apply to any mining claim, 15
2156	2156	millsite, or tunnel site located under the general 16
2157	2157	mining laws, before, on, or after the date of enact-17
2158	2158	ment of this Act. 18
2159	2159	(2) P
2160	2160	REEXISTING CLAIM.—If a plan of oper-19
2161	2161	ations is approved or a notice of operations is filed 20
2162	2162	for mineral activities on any claim or site referred to 21
2163	2163	in paragraph (1) before the date of enactment of 22
2164	2164	this Act— 23
2165	2165	(A) during the 10-year period beginning on 24
2166	2166	the date of enactment of this Act— 25
2167	2167	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2168	2168	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 70
2169	2169	•S 859 IS
2170	2170	(i) mineral activities at the claim or 1
2171	2171	site shall be subject to the plan of oper-2
2172	2172	ations or notice of operations; and 3
2173	2173	(ii) if the Secretary concerned deter-4
2174	2174	mines that any modifications to the plan of 5
2175	2175	operations are minor, modification may be 6
2176	2176	made in accordance with the laws applica-7
2177	2177	ble before the date of enactment of this 8
2178	2178	Act; and 9
2179	2179	(B) the operator shall bring the mineral 10
2180	2180	activities into compliance with this Act (includ-11
2181	2181	ing implementing regulations) by the end of the 12
2182	2182	10-year period beginning on the date of enact-13
2183	2183	ment of this Act. 14
2184	2184	(3) F
2185	2185	EES.—Except as provided in sections 15
2186	2186	201(b) and 303(f), all fees required to be paid under 16
2187	2187	this Act shall apply beginning on the date of enact-17
2188	2188	ment of this Act to— 18
2189	2189	(A) any mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 19
2190	2190	site located under the general mining laws (in-20
2191	2191	cluding production from the claim or site) be-21
2192	2192	fore, on, or after the date of enactment of this 22
2193	2193	Act; 23
2194	2194	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2195	2195	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 71
2196	2196	•S 859 IS
2197	2197	(B) all land covered by a plan of oper-1
2198	2198	ations or a notice of operations, exploration per-2
2199	2199	mit, or mining permit; and 3
2200	2200	(C) with respect to the fee established by 4
2201	2201	section 402, any production on or after the date 5
2202	2202	of enactment of this Act from any hardrock 6
2203	2203	minerals mining operation. 7
2204	2204	(b) A
2205	2205	PPLICATION OFACT TOBENEFICIATION AND 8
2206	2206	P
2207	2207	ROCESSING OFNON-FEDERALMINERALS ONFEDERAL 9
2208	2208	L
2209	2209	AND.— 10
2210	2210	(1) I
2211	2211	N GENERAL.—This Act (including the sur-11
2212	2212	face management and operation requirements of title 12
2213	2213	III) shall apply in the same manner and to the same 13
2214	2214	extent to mining claims, millsites, and tunnel sites 14
2215	2215	used for beneficiation or processing activities for any 15
2216	2216	mineral without regard to whether the legal and ben-16
2217	2217	eficial title to the mineral is held by the United 17
2218	2218	States. 18
2219	2219	(2) A
2220	2220	PPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies 19
2221	2221	only to minerals that— 20
2222	2222	(A) are locatable minerals; or 21
2223	2223	(B) would be locatable minerals if the legal 22
2224	2224	and beneficial title to the minerals were held by 23
2225	2225	the United States. 24
2226	2226	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2227	2227	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 72
2228	2228	•S 859 IS
2229	2229	SEC. 502. ENFORCEMENT. 1
2230	2230	(a) O
2231	2231	RDERS.— 2
2232	2232	(1) N
2233	2233	OTICE OF VIOLATION.— 3
2234	2234	(A) I
2235	2235	N GENERAL.—If the Secretary con-4
2236	2236	cerned determines that any person is in viola-5
2237	2237	tion of any surface management or operation 6
2238	2238	requirement under title III or any regulation 7
2239	2239	promulgated to carry out such a requirement or 8
2240	2240	any permit condition required pursuant to title 9
2241	2241	III, the Secretary concerned shall provide to the 10
2242	2242	person a notice that describes the violation and 11
2243	2243	any necessary corrective actions. 12
2244	2244	(B) A
2245	2245	BATEMENT PERIOD.— 13
2246	2246	(i) I
2247	2247	N GENERAL.—Subject to clause 14
2248	2248	(ii), a person that receives notice under 15
2249	2249	subparagraph (A) shall have not more than 16
2250	2250	90 days after the date of receipt of the no-17
2251	2251	tice to abate the violation. 18
2252	2252	(ii) E
2253	2253	XTENSION.—The Secretary con-19
2254	2254	cerned may extend the period described in 20
2255	2255	clause (i) if the person shows good cause 21
2256	2256	for the extension, as determined by the 22
2257	2257	Secretary concerned. 23
2258	2258	(2) C
2259	2259	ESSATION ORDER.— 24
2260	2260	(A) I
2261	2261	N GENERAL.—The Secretary con-25
2262	2262	cerned shall immediately order a cessation of 26
2263	2263	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2264	2264	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 73
2265	2265	•S 859 IS
2266	2266	mineral activities if the Secretary concerned de-1
2267	2267	termines that any condition or practice exists, 2
2268	2268	or any person is in violation of any requirement 3
2269	2269	of a permit approved, or notice of operations 4
2270	2270	submitted, under this Act, that is causing, or 5
2271	2271	can reasonably be expected to cause— 6
2272	2272	(i) an imminent danger to the health 7
2273	2273	or safety of the public; or 8
2274	2274	(ii) significant, imminent harm to 9
2275	2275	land, air, water, or fish or wildlife re-10
2276	2276	sources. 11
2277	2277	(B) R
2278	2278	EQUIREMENTS.— 12
2279	2279	(i) I
2280	2280	N GENERAL.—A cessation order 13
2281	2281	issued under subparagraph (A) shall re-14
2282	2282	main in effect until the Secretary con-15
2283	2283	cerned— 16
2284	2284	(I) determines that the condition, 17
2285	2285	practice, or violation has been abated; 18
2286	2286	or 19
2287	2287	(II) modifies, vacates, or termi-20
2288	2288	nates the cessation order. 21
2289	2289	(ii) A
2290	2290	BATEMENT.—In any cessation 22
2291	2291	order issued under subparagraph (A), the 23
2292	2292	Secretary concerned shall— 24
2293	2293	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2294	2294	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 74
2295	2295	•S 859 IS
2296	2296	(I) identify the steps necessary to 1
2297	2297	abate the violation in the most expedi-2
2298	2298	tious manner practicable; and 3
2299	2299	(II) require appropriate financial 4
2300	2300	assurances to ensure that the abate-5
2301	2301	ment obligations are met. 6
2302	2302	(C) E
2303	2303	NFORCEMENT.— 7
2304	2304	(i) I
2305	2305	N GENERAL.—If the required 8
2306	2306	abatement has not been completed by the 9
2307	2307	date that is 30 days after the date on 10
2308	2308	which an order is issued under subpara-11
2309	2309	graph (A), the Secretary concerned shall 12
2310	2310	bring against the person failing to com-13
2311	2311	plete the abatement an enforcement action 14
2312	2312	that is most likely to bring about abate-15
2313	2313	ment in the most expeditious manner prac-16
2314	2314	ticable, including seeking appropriate in-17
2315	2315	junctive relief to bring about abatement. 18
2316	2316	(ii) E
2317	2317	FFECT.—Nothing in this sub-19
2318	2318	paragraph precludes the Secretary con-20
2319	2319	cerned from taking alternative enforcement 21
2320	2320	action before the date described in clause 22
2321	2321	(i). 23
2322	2322	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2323	2323	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 75
2324	2324	•S 859 IS
2325	2325	(3) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary concerned 1
2326	2326	may modify, vacate, or terminate any notice or order 2
2327	2327	issued under paragraph (1) or (2). 3
2328	2328	(4) F
2329	2329	ORFEITURE.— 4
2330	2330	(A) I
2331	2331	N GENERAL.—If a person fails to 5
2332	2332	abate a violation or defaults on the terms of the 6
2333	2333	permit, the Secretary concerned shall forfeit the 7
2334	2334	financial assurance for the permit as necessary 8
2335	2335	to ensure abatement and reclamation under this 9
2336	2336	Act. 10
2337	2337	(B) A
2338	2338	LTERNATIVES.—The Secretary con-11
2339	2339	cerned may prescribe conditions under which a 12
2340	2340	surety may perform reclamation in accordance 13
2341	2341	with the approved permit and applicable law in-14
2342	2342	stead of forfeiture. 15
2343	2343	(C) L
2344	2344	IABILITY.—In the event of forfeiture, 16
2345	2345	the claim holder or operator, or a subsidiary, 17
2346	2346	parent company, corporation, or partner of the 18
2347	2347	claim holder, or operator shall be jointly and 19
2348	2348	severally liable for any remaining reclamation 20
2349	2349	obligations under this Act. 21
2350	2350	(b) C
2351	2351	IVILPENALTIES.— 22
2352	2352	(1) I
2353	2353	N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 23
2354	2354	any person that violates any surface management or 24
2355	2355	operation requirement under title III, any regulation 25
2356	2356	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2357	2357	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 76
2358	2358	•S 859 IS
2359	2359	promulgated to carry out such a requirement, or any 1
2360	2360	permit condition required pursuant to title III may 2
2361	2361	be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary con-3
2362	2362	cerned. 4
2363	2363	(2) C
2364	2364	ESSATION ORDER.—If the violation leads 5
2365	2365	to the issuance of a cessation order under subsection 6
2366	2366	(a)(2), the Secretary concerned shall assess the civil 7
2367	2367	penalty. 8
2368	2368	(3) M
2369	2369	AXIMUM AMOUNT .—The penalty shall not 9
2370	2370	exceed $5,000 for each violation. 10
2371	2371	(4) C
2372	2372	ONTINUING VIOLATIONS .—Each day of 11
2373	2373	continuing violation may be considered a separate 12
2374	2374	violation for purposes of penalty assessments. 13
2375	2375	(5) F
2376	2376	ACTORS AFFECTING AMOUNT .—In deter-14
2377	2377	mining the amount of the penalty for a violation by 15
2378	2378	a person, the Secretary concerned shall consider— 16
2379	2379	(A) the history of the person of previous 17
2380	2380	violations; 18
2381	2381	(B) the seriousness of the violation, includ-19
2382	2382	ing any irreparable harm to the environment 20
2383	2383	and any hazard to the health or safety of the 21
2384	2384	public; 22
2385	2385	(C) whether the person was negligent; and 23
2386	2386	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2387	2387	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 77
2388	2388	•S 859 IS
2389	2389	(D) the demonstrated good faith of the 1
2390	2390	person charged in attempting to achieve rapid 2
2391	2391	compliance after notification of the violation. 3
2392	2392	(6) C
2393	2393	ORPORATE LIABILITY.—If a corporate per-4
2394	2394	mittee is in violation of a requirement of any surface 5
2395	2395	management or operations requirement under title 6
2396	2396	III of this Act, any regulation promulgated to carry 7
2397	2397	out such a requirement, or any permit condition re-8
2398	2398	quired pursuant to title III, or fails or refuses to 9
2399	2399	comply with a notice or an order issued under sub-10
2400	2400	section (a), any director, officer, or agent of the cor-11
2401	2401	poration who willfully and knowingly authorized, or-12
2402	2402	dered, or carried out the violation, failure, or refusal 13
2403	2403	shall be subject to civil penalties, fines, and impris-14
2404	2404	onment that may be imposed under a person under 15
2405	2405	this subsection, subsection (d) or (e). 16
2406	2406	(c) A
2407	2407	DMINISTRATIVEREVIEW.— 17
2408	2408	(1) C
2409	2409	OMPLIANCE ORDER.—Any person issued a 18
2410	2410	notice of violation or a cessation order under sub-19
2411	2411	section (a) may apply to the Secretary concerned for 20
2412	2412	review of the notice or order by the date that is not 21
2413	2413	later than 30 days after receipt of the notice or 22
2414	2414	order. 23
2415	2415	(2) C
2416	2416	IVIL PENALTY.—Any person who is sub-24
2417	2417	ject to a civil penalty assessed by the Secretary con-25
2418	2418	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2419	2419	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 78
2420	2420	•S 859 IS
2421	2421	cerned under this section may apply to the Secretary 1
2422	2422	concerned for review of the penalty by the date that 2
2423	2423	is not later than 30 days after the date on which the 3
2424	2424	person receives notice of the penalty. 4
2425	2425	(3) H
2426	2426	EARING.—The Secretary concerned shall 5
2427	2427	provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record 6
2428	2428	subject to section 554 of title 5, United States Code, 7
2429	2429	at the request of any person that is— 8
2430	2430	(A) issued a notice of violation under sub-9
2431	2431	section (a)(1); 10
2432	2432	(B) issued a cessation order under sub-11
2433	2433	section (a)(2); or 12
2434	2434	(C) subject to civil penalties under sub-13
2435	2435	section (b). 14
2436	2436	(d) C
2437	2437	IVILACTION.— 15
2438	2438	(1) I
2439	2439	N GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 16
2440	2440	may submit to the Attorney General a request to 17
2441	2441	bring a civil action for relief, including a permanent 18
2442	2442	or temporary injunction or restraining order and the 19
2443	2443	imposition of civil penalties, in any appropriate dis-20
2444	2444	trict court of the United States, if a person— 21
2445	2445	(A) violates, fails, or refuses to comply 22
2446	2446	with any notice or order issued by the Secretary 23
2447	2447	concerned under subsection (a); or 24
2448	2448	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2449	2449	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 79
2450	2450	•S 859 IS
2451	2451	(B) interferes with, hinders, or delays the 1
2452	2452	Secretary concerned in carrying out an inspec-2
2453	2453	tion under section 309. 3
2454	2454	(2) R
2455	2455	ELIEF.— 4
2456	2456	(A) I
2457	2457	N GENERAL.—The court hearing a 5
2458	2458	civil action brought under paragraph (1) shall 6
2459	2459	have the jurisdiction to provide any relief that 7
2460	2460	the court determines to be appropriate. 8
2461	2461	(B) R
2462	2462	EVIEW.—Any relief granted by the 9
2463	2463	court to enforce an order under paragraph (1) 10
2464	2464	shall continue in effect until the date on which 11
2465	2465	all proceedings for review of the order are com-12
2466	2466	pleted or terminated unless the court granting 13
2467	2467	the relief sets the relief aside. 14
2468	2468	(e) C
2469	2469	RIMINALPENALTIES.— 15
2470	2470	(1) F
2471	2471	ALSE STATEMENTS; TAMPERING.— 16
2472	2472	(A) I
2473	2473	N GENERAL.—A person shall, on con-17
2474	2474	viction, be punished by a fine of not more than 18
2475	2475	$25,000, imprisonment for not more than 1 19
2476	2476	year, or fine and imprisonment if the person 20
2477	2477	willfully and knowingly— 21
2478	2478	(i) makes any false material state-22
2479	2479	ment, representation, or certification in, 23
2480	2480	omits or conceals material information 24
2481	2481	from, or unlawfully alters, any mining 25
2482	2482	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2483	2483	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 80
2484	2484	•S 859 IS
2485	2485	claim, notice of location, application, 1
2486	2486	record, report, plan, or other document 2
2487	2487	filed or required to be maintained under 3
2488	2488	this Act; or 4
2489	2489	(ii) falsifies, tampers with, renders in-5
2490	2490	accurate, or fails to install any monitoring 6
2491	2491	device or method required to be maintained 7
2492	2492	under this Act. 8
2493	2493	(B) S
2494	2494	ECOND VIOLATION.—If a conviction 9
2495	2495	of a person under subparagraph (A) is for a 10
2496	2496	violation committed after a first conviction of 11
2497	2497	the person under that subparagraph, punish-12
2498	2498	ment shall be by a fine of not more than 13
2499	2499	$50,000, imprisonment of not more than 2 14
2500	2500	years, or fine and imprisonment. 15
2501	2501	(2) K
2502	2502	NOWING VIOLATIONS.— 16
2503	2503	(A) I
2504	2504	N GENERAL.—A person shall, on con-17
2505	2505	viction, be punished by a fine of not more than 18
2506	2506	$25,000, imprisonment for not more than 1 19
2507	2507	year, or both if the person willfully and know-20
2508	2508	ingly— 21
2509	2509	(i) engages in mineral activities with-22
2510	2510	out a permit if required under section 302 23
2511	2511	or 303; or 24
2512	2512	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2513	2513	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 81
2514	2514	•S 859 IS
2515	2515	(ii) violates any surface management 1
2516	2516	or operation requirement under title III 2
2517	2517	(including any regulation promulgated to 3
2518	2518	carry out the requirement) or any require-4
2519	2519	ment, condition, or limitation of a permit 5
2520	2520	issued under this Act. 6
2521	2521	(B) S
2522	2522	ECOND VIOLATION.—If a conviction 7
2523	2523	of a person under subparagraph (A) is for a 8
2524	2524	violation committed after the first conviction of 9
2525	2525	the person under that subparagraph, punish-10
2526	2526	ment shall be a fine of not more than $50,000, 11
2527	2527	imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or 12
2528	2528	both. 13
2529	2529	(f) D
2530	2530	ELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-14
2531	2531	sion of law, the Secretary may use personnel of the Office 15
2532	2532	of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement or the 16
2533	2533	Bureau of Land Management to ensure compliance with 17
2534	2534	this Act. 18
2535	2535	SEC. 503. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 19
2536	2536	(a) R
2537	2537	ULEMAKING.— 20
2538	2538	(1) I
2539	2539	N GENERAL.—The following shall be sub-21
2540	2540	ject to judicial review only in the United States 22
2541	2541	Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: 23
2542	2542	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2543	2543	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 82
2544	2544	•S 859 IS
2545	2545	(A) Any final action by the Secretary con-1
2546	2546	cerned in promulgating regulations to carry out 2
2547	2547	this Act. 3
2548	2548	(B) Any other final actions considered to 4
2549	2549	be a rulemaking to carry out this Act. 5
2550	2550	(2) D
2551	2551	EADLINE.—A petition for review of any 6
2552	2552	action subject to judicial review under paragraph (1) 7
2553	2553	shall be filed not later than 60 days after the date 8
2554	2554	of the action unless the petition is based solely on 9
2555	2555	grounds arising after the 60-day period. 10
2556	2556	(b) F
2557	2557	INALAGENCYACTION.—Except as provided in 11
2558	2558	subsection (a), final agency action under this Act shall be 12
2559	2559	subject to judicial review in the district courts of the 13
2560	2560	United States in accordance with section 1391 of title 28, 14
2561	2561	United States Code. 15
2562	2562	SEC. 504. UNCOMMON VARIETIES. 16
2563	2563	(a) D
2564	2564	ETERMINATIONS.—Section 3 of the Act of July 17
2565	2565	23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611), is amended— 18
2566	2566	(1) by striking ‘‘S
2567	2567	EC. 3. No deposit’’ and insert-19
2568	2568	ing the following: 20
2569	2569	‘‘SEC. 3. COMMON VARIETIES OF MINERAL MATERIALS. 21
2570	2570	‘‘(a) I
2571	2571	NGENERAL.—No deposit’’; 22
2572	2572	(2) in the first sentence— 23
2573	2573	(A) by inserting ‘‘mineral materials, in-24
2574	2574	cluding’’ after ‘‘varieties of’’; and 25
2575	2575	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2576	2576	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 83
2577	2577	•S 859 IS
2578	2578	(B) by striking ‘‘or cinders’’ and inserting 1
2579	2579	‘‘cinders, and clay’’; 2
2580	2580	(3) by striking ‘‘‘Common varieties’ as used in 3
2581	2581	this Act does not’’ and inserting the following: 4
2582	2582	‘‘(c) D
2583	2583	EFINITIONS.—In this Act: 5
2584	2584	‘‘(1) C
2585	2585	OMMON VARIETIES.—The term ‘common 6
2586	2586	varieties’ does not’’; 7
2587	2587	(4) by striking ‘‘‘Petrified wood’ as used in this 8
2588	2588	Act means’’ and inserting the following: 9
2589	2589	‘‘(2) P
2590	2590	ETRIFIED WOOD.—The term ‘petrified 10
2591	2591	wood’ means’’; and 11
2592	2592	(5) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-12
2593	2593	lowing: 13
2594	2594	‘‘(b) D
2595	2595	ISPOSAL OFMINERALMATERIALS.— 14
2596	2596	‘‘(1) D
2597	2597	EFINITION OF VALID EXISTING 15
2598	2598	RIGHTS.—In this subsection, the term ‘valid existing 16
2599	2599	rights’ means rights to a mining claim located for 17
2600	2600	any mineral material that— 18
2601	2601	‘‘(A) had and still has some property giv-19
2602	2602	ing mineral material the distinct and special 20
2603	2603	value referred to in this section or, as the case 21
2604	2604	may be, met the definition of block pumice re-22
2605	2605	ferred to in subsection (c)(1); 23
2606	2606	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2607	2607	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 84
2608	2608	•S 859 IS
2609	2609	‘‘(B) was properly located and maintained 1
2610	2610	under the general mining laws prior to the date 2
2611	2611	of enactment of this subsection; 3
2612	2612	‘‘(C) was supported by a discovery of a val-4
2613	2613	uable mineral deposit within the meaning of the 5
2614	2614	general mining laws as in effect immediately 6
2615	2615	prior to the date of enactment of this sub-7
2616	2616	section; and 8
2617	2617	‘‘(D) continues to be valid under this Act. 9
2618	2618	‘‘(2) D
2619	2619	ISPOSAL.—Subject to valid existing 10
2620	2620	rights, effective beginning on the date of enactment 11
2621	2621	of this subsection, notwithstanding the references to 12
2622	2622	the term common varieties in this section and to the 13
2623	2623	exception to the term relating to a deposit of mate-14
2624	2624	rials with some property giving it distinct and spe-15
2625	2625	cial value, all deposits of mineral materials referred 16
2626	2626	to in this section (including the block pumice re-17
2627	2627	ferred to in subsection (c)(1)) shall be subject to dis-18
2628	2628	posal only under the terms and conditions of the Act 19
2629	2629	of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the ‘Materials 20
2630	2630	Act of 1947’) (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).’’. 21
2631	2631	(b) C
2632	2632	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—The first section of 22
2633	2633	the Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the ‘‘Mate-23
2634	2634	rials Act of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601), is amended in the 24
2635	2635	first sentence by striking ‘‘common varieties of’’. 25
2636	2636	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2637	2637	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 85
2638	2638	•S 859 IS
2639	2639	SEC. 505. REVIEW OF URANIUM DEVELOPMENT ON FED-1
2640	2640	ERAL LAND. 2
2641	2641	(a) D
2642	2642	EFINITION OFFEDERALLAND.—In this sec-3
2643	2643	tion, the term ‘‘Federal land’’ means land administered 4
2644	2644	by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture. 5
2645	2645	(b) R
2646	2646	EVIEW.— 6
2647	2647	(1) I
2648	2648	N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 7
2649	2649	the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 8
2650	2650	consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall 9
2651	2651	enter into an arrangement under which the National 10
2652	2652	Academy of Sciences shall conduct a study of ura-11
2653	2653	nium development on Federal land. 12
2654	2654	(2) M
2655	2655	ATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED .—The study 13
2656	2656	shall describe and analyze— 14
2657	2657	(A) the laws applicable to the development 15
2658	2658	of uranium on Federal land and the agencies 16
2659	2659	responsible for administering and enforcing 17
2660	2660	those laws; 18
2661	2661	(B) the requirements relating to the devel-19
2662	2662	opment of uranium under sections 2318 20
2663	2663	through 2352 of the Revised Statutes (com-21
2664	2664	monly known and referred to in this section as 22
2665	2665	the ‘‘Mining Law of 1872’’) (30 U.S.C. 21 et 23
2666	2666	seq.); 24
2667	2667	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2668	2668	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 86
2669	2669	•S 859 IS
2670	2670	(C) the requirements relating to the devel-1
2671	2671	opment of uranium under the Atomic Energy 2
2672	2672	Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 3
2673	2673	(D) the uranium leasing program adminis-4
2674	2674	tered by the Department of Energy under that 5
2675	2675	Act; 6
2676	2676	(E) the requirements relating to the ap-7
2677	2677	proval of uranium in-situ leasing recovery and 8
2678	2678	the licensing process required by the Nuclear 9
2679	2679	Regulatory Commission; 10
2680	2680	(F) the efficacy of bonds or other forms of 11
2681	2681	financial surety in ensuring the reclamation of 12
2682	2682	Federal land and associated waters impacted by 13
2683	2683	the development of uranium; and 14
2684	2684	(G) the efficacy of Federal law in pro-15
2685	2685	tecting public health and safety and the envi-16
2686	2686	ronment from impacts due to the development 17
2687	2687	of uranium on Federal land. 18
2688	2688	(c) R
2689	2689	ECOMMENDATIONS .—The study shall— 19
2690	2690	(1) analyze the effectiveness of current Federal 20
2691	2691	requirements applicable to the exploration, develop-21
2692	2692	ment, and production of uranium on Federal land in 22
2693	2693	allowing for the production of uranium while ensur-23
2694	2694	ing protection of public health and safety and the 24
2695	2695	environment; and 25
2696	2696	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2697	2697	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 87
2698	2698	•S 859 IS
2699	2699	(2) make recommendations as to changes, if 1
2700	2700	any, to Federal law (including regulations) and 2
2701	2701	agency procedures relating to the development of 3
2702	2702	uranium resources on Federal land to allow for the 4
2703	2703	production of uranium while ensuring protection of 5
2704	2704	public health and safety and the environment, in-6
2705	2705	cluding specific recommendations on whether— 7
2706	2706	(A) future development of uranium on 8
2707	2707	Federal land should be— 9
2708	2708	(i) removed from operation of the 10
2709	2709	Mining Law of 1872; and 11
2710	2710	(ii) subject to leasing; 12
2711	2711	(B) additional requirements (including ad-13
2712	2712	ditional financial assurances or fees) should be 14
2713	2713	applicable to ensure reclamation of uranium 15
2714	2714	mine sites, including abandoned uranium mine 16
2715	2715	sites; and 17
2716	2716	(C) whether additional land should be 18
2717	2717	withdrawn from location and entry of uranium 19
2718	2718	mining claims by the Secretary. 20
2719	2719	(d) C
2720	2720	OMPLETION OF STUDY.—The National Acad-21
2721	2721	emy of Sciences shall— 22
2722	2722	(1) not later than 18 months after the date of 23
2723	2723	enactment of this Act, submit the findings and rec-24
2724	2724	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2725	2725	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 88
2726	2726	•S 859 IS
2727	2727	ommendations of the study to the Secretary and the 1
2728	2728	Secretary of Agriculture; and 2
2729	2729	(2) on completion of the study, make the results 3
2730	2730	of the study available to the public. 4
2731	2731	(e) R
2732	2732	EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after receiving 5
2733	2733	the results of the study, the Secretary, in consultation with 6
2734	2734	the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Com-7
2735	2735	mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 8
2736	2736	and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 9
2737	2737	of Representatives a report on— 10
2738	2738	(1) the findings and recommendations of the 11
2739	2739	study; 12
2740	2740	(2) the agreement or disagreement of the Secre-13
2741	2741	taries with each of the findings and recommenda-14
2742	2742	tions of the study; and 15
2743	2743	(3)(A) a plan and timeframe for implementing 16
2744	2744	those recommendations of the study that do not re-17
2745	2745	quire legislation; or 18
2746	2746	(B) if the Secretary declines to implement a 19
2747	2747	recommendation, the justification for declining to 20
2748	2748	implement the recommendation. 21
2749	2749	SEC. 506. EFFECT. 22
2750	2750	(a) S
2751	2751	PECIALAPPLICATION OF GENERALMINING 23
2752	2752	L
2753	2753	AWS.— 24
2754	2754	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2755	2755	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 89
2756	2756	•S 859 IS
2757	2757	(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act repeals 1
2758	2758	or modifies any Federal law (including regulations), 2
2759	2759	order, or land use plan in effect before the date of 3
2760	2760	enactment of this Act that prohibits or restricts the 4
2761	2761	application of the general mining laws, including 5
2762	2762	laws that provide for special management criteria for 6
2763	2763	operations under the general mining laws as in ef-7
2764	2764	fect before the date of enactment of this Act, and 8
2765	2765	laws that provide protections of natural and cultural 9
2766	2766	resources and the environment that are equal to or 10
2767	2767	greater than the protections required under this Act. 11
2768	2768	(2) E
2769	2769	XISTING LAWS.—Any law described in 12
2770	2770	paragraph (1) shall remain in force and effect with 13
2771	2771	respect to claims and sites located or proposed to be 14
2772	2772	located under this Act. 15
2773	2773	(3) M
2774	2774	INERAL INVESTIGATIONS .—Nothing in 16
2775	2775	this Act applies to or limits mineral investigations, 17
2776	2776	studies, or other mineral activities conducted by any 18
2777	2777	Federal or State agency acting in a governmental 19
2778	2778	capacity under other authorities. 20
2779	2779	(b) E
2780	2780	NVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act af-21
2781	2781	fects or limits any assessment, investigation, evaluation, 22
2782	2782	or listing under— 23
2783	2783	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2784	2784	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 90
2785	2785	•S 859 IS
2786	2786	(1) the Comprehensive Environmental Re-1
2787	2787	sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 2
2788	2788	U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); or 3
2789	2789	(2) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 4
2790	2790	3251 et seq.). 5
2791	2791	(c) E
2792	2792	FFECT ONGENERALMININGLAWS.— 6
2793	2793	(1) I
2794	2794	N GENERAL.—This Act supersedes the gen-7
2795	2795	eral mining laws, except for the provisions of the 8
2796	2796	general mining laws relating to the location of min-9
2797	2797	ing claims that are not expressly modified by this 10
2798	2798	Act. 11
2799	2799	(2) L
2800	2800	IMITATION.—Nothing in this Act super-12
2801	2801	sedes, modifies, amends, or repeals any provision of 13
2802	2802	Federal law not expressly superseded, modified, 14
2803	2803	amended, or repealed by this Act, other than the 15
2804	2804	general mining laws. 16
2805	2805	Æ
2806	2806	VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Mar 06, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S859.IS S859
2807	2807	kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB