30 U.S.C. § 184 : US Code - Section 184: Limitations on leases held, owned or controlled by persons, associations or corporations

Search 30 U.S.C. § 184 : US Code - Section 184: Limitations on leases held, owned or controlled by persons, associations or corporations

(a) Coal leases
No person, association, or corporation, or any subsidiary,
affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control with
such person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own or
control at one time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary
under this chapter or otherwise, coal leases or permits on an
aggregate of more than 75,000 acres in any one State and in no case
greater than an aggregate of 150,000 acres in the United States:
Provided, That any person, association, or corporation currently
holding, owning, or controlling more than an aggregate of 150,000
acres in the United States on the date of enactment of this section
shall not be required on account of this section to relinquish said
leases or permits: Provided, further, That in no case shall such
person, association, or corporation be permitted to take, hold,
own, or control any further Federal coal leases or permits until
such time as their holdings, ownership, or control of Federal
leases or permits has been reduced below an aggregate of 150,000
acres within the United States.
(b) Sodium leases or permits, acreage
(1) No person, association, or corporation, except as otherwise
provided in this subsection, shall take, hold, own, or control at
one time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary under this
chapter, or otherwise, sodium leases or permits on an aggregate of
more than five thousand one hundred and twenty acres in any one
State.
(2) The Secretary may, in his discretion, where the same is
necessary in order to secure the economic mining of sodium
compounds leasable under this chapter, permit a person,
association, or corporation to take or hold sodium leases or
permits on up to 30,720 acres in any one State.
(c) Phosphate leases, acreage
No person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own, or
control at one time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary
under this chapter, or otherwise, phosphate leases or permits on an
aggregate of more than twenty thousand four hundred and eighty
acres in the United States.
(d) Oil or gas leases, acreage, Alaska; options, semi-annual
statements
(1) No person, association, or corporation, except as otherwise
provided in this chapter, shall take, hold, own or control at one
time, whether acquired directly from the Secretary under this
chapter, or otherwise, oil or gas leases (including options for
such leases or interests therein) on land held under the provisions
of this chapter exceeding in the aggregate two hundred forty-six
thousand and eighty acres in any one State other than Alaska (!1)
Provided, however, That acreage held in special tar sand areas, and
acreage under any lease any portion of which has been committed to
a federally approved unit or cooperative plan or communitization
agreement or for which royalty (including compensatory royalty or
royalty in-kind) was paid in the preceding calendar year, shall not
be chargeable against such State limitations. In the case of the
State of Alaska, the limit shall be three hundred thousand acres in
the northern leasing district and three hundred thousand acres in
the southern leasing district, and the boundary between said two
districts shall be the left limit of the Tanana River from the
border between the United States and Canada to the confluence of
the Tanana and Yukon Rivers, and the left limit of the Yukon River
from said confluence to its principal southern mouth.
(2) No person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own,
or control at one time options to acquire interests in oil or gas
leases under the provisions of this chapter which involve, in the
aggregate, more than two hundred thousand acres of land in any one
State other than Alaska, or, in the case of Alaska, more than two
hundred thousand acres in each of its two leasing districts, as
hereinbefore described. No option to acquire any interest in such
an oil or gas lease shall be enforcible if entered into for a
period of more than three years (which three years shall be
inclusive of any renewal period if a right to renew is reserved by
any party to the option) without the prior approval of the
Secretary. In any case in which an option to acquire the optionor's
entire interest in the whole or a part of the acreage under a lease
is entered into, the acreage to which the option is applicable
shall be charged both to the optionor and to the optionee, but the
charge to the optionor shall cease when the option is exercised. In
any case in which an option to acquire a part of the optionor's
interest in the whole or a part of the acreage under a lease is
entered into, the acreage to which the option is applicable shall
be fully charged to the optionor and a share thereof shall also be
charged to the optionee, as his interest may appear, but after the
option is exercised said acreage shall be charged to the parties
pro rata as their interests may appear. In any case in which an
assignment is made of a part of a lessee's interest in the whole or
part of the acreage under a lease or an application for a lease,
the acreage shall be charged to the parties pro rata as their
interests may appear. No option or renewal thereof shall be
enforcible until notice thereof has been filed with the Secretary
or an officer or employee of the Department of the Interior
designated by him to receive the same. Each such notice shall
include, in addition to any other matters prescribed by the
Secretary, the names and addresses of the parties thereto, the
serial number of the lease or application for a lease to which the
option is applicable, and a statement of the number of acres
covered thereby and of the interests and obligations of the parties
thereto and shall be subscribed by all parties to the option or
their duly authorized agents. An option which has not been
exercised shall remain charged as hereinbefore provided until
notice of its relinquishment or surrender has been filed, by either
party, with the Secretary or any officer or employee of the
Department of the Interior designated by him to receive the same.
In addition, each holder of any such option shall file with the
Secretary or an officer or employee of the Department of the
Interior as aforesaid within ninety days after the 30th day of June
and the 31st day of December in each year a statement showing, in
addition to any other matters prescribed by the Secretary, his
name, the name and address of each grantor of an option held by
him, the serial number of every lease or application for a lease to
which such an option is applicable, the number of acres covered by
each such option, the total acreage in each State to which such
options are applicable, and his interest and obligation under each
such option. The failure of the holder of an option so to file
shall render the option unenforcible (!2) by him. The
unenforcibility (!3) of any option under the provisions of this
paragraph shall not diminish the number of acres deemed to be held
under option by any person, association, or corporation in
computing the amount chargeable under the first sentence of this
paragraph and shall not relieve any party thereto of any liability
to cancellation, forfeiture, forced disposition, or other sanction
provided by law. The Secretary may prescribe forms on which the
notice and statements required by this paragraph shall be made.
(e) Association or stockholder interests, conditions; combined
interests
(1) No person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own
or control at one time any interest as a member of an association
or as a stockholder in a corporation holding a lease, option, or
permit under the provisions of this chapter which, together with
the area embraced in any direct holding, ownership or control by
him of such a lease, option, or permit or any other interest which
he may have as a member of other associations or as a stockholder
in other corporations holding, owning or controlling such leases,
options, or permits for any kind of minerals, exceeds in the
aggregate an amount equivalent to the maximum number of acres of
the respective kinds of minerals allowed to any one lessee,
optionee, or permittee under this chapter, except that no person
shall be charged with his pro rata share of any acreage holdings of
any association or corporation unless he is the beneficial owner of
more than 10 per centum of the stock or other instruments of
ownership or control of such association or corporation, and except
that within three years after September 2, 1960 no valid option in
existence prior to September 2, 1960 held by a corporation or
association on September 2, 1960 shall be chargeable to any
stockholder of such corporation or to a member of such association
so long as said option shall be so held by such corporation or
association under the provisions of this chapter.
(2) No contract for development and operation of any lands leased
under this chapter, whether or not coupled with an interest in such
lease, and no lease held, owned, or controlled in common by two or
more persons, associations, or corporations shall be deemed to
create a separate association under the preceding paragraph of this
subsection between or among the contracting parties or those who
hold, own or control the lease in common, but the proportionate
interest of each such party shall be charged against the total
acreage permitted to be held, owned or controlled by such party
under this chapter. The total acreage so held, owned, or controlled
in common by two or more parties shall not exceed, in the
aggregate, an amount equivalent to the maximum number of acres of
the respective kinds of minerals allowed to any one lessee,
optionee, or permittee under this chapter.
(f) Limitations on other sections; combined interests permitted for
certain purposes
Nothing contained in subsection (e) of this section shall be
construed (i) to limit sections 227, 228, 251 of this title or
(ii), subject to the approval of the Secretary, to prevent any
number of lessees under this chapter from combining their several
interests so far as may be necessary for the purpose of
constructing and carrying on the business of a refinery or of
establishing and constructing, as a common carrier, a pipeline or
railroad to be operated and used by them jointly in the
transportation of oil from their several wells or from the wells of
other lessees under this chapter or in the transportation of coal
or (iii) to increase the acreage which may be taken, held, owned,
or controlled under this section.
(g) Forbidden interests acquired by descent, will, judgment, or
decree; permissible holding period
Any ownership or interest otherwise forbidden in this chapter
which may be acquired by descent, will, judgment, or decree may be
held for two years after its acquisition and no longer.
(h) Cancellation, forfeiture, or disposal of interests for
violation; bona fide purchasers and other valid interests; sale
by Secretary; record of proceedings
(1) If any interest in any lease is owned, or controlled,
directly or indirectly, by means of stock or otherwise, in
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the lease may
be canceled, or the interest so owned may be forfeited, or the
person so owning or controlling the interest may be compelled to
dispose of the interest, in any appropriate proceeding instituted
by the Attorney General. Such a proceeding shall be instituted in
the United States district court for the district in which the
leased property or some part thereof is located or in which the
defendant may be found.
(2) The right to cancel or forfeit for violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter shall not apply so as to affect
adversely the title or interest of a bona fide purchaser of any
lease, interest in a lease, option to acquire a lease or an
interest therein, or permit which lease, interest, option, or
permit was acquired and is held by a qualified person, association,
or corporation in conformity with those provisions, even though the
holdings of the person, association, or corporation from which the
lease, interest, option, or permit was acquired, or of his
predecessor in title (including the original lessee of the United
States) may have been canceled or forfeited or may be or may have
been subject to cancellation or forfeiture for any such violation.
If, in any such proceeding, an underlying lease, interest, option,
or permit is canceled or forfeited to the Government and there are
valid interests therein or valid options to acquire the lease or an
interest therein which are not subject to cancellation, forfeiture,
or compulsory disposition, the underlying lease, interest, option,
or permit shall be sold by the Secretary to the highest responsible
qualified bidder by competitive bidding under general regulations
subject to all outstanding valid interests therein and valid
options pertaining thereto. Likewise if, in any such proceeding,
less than the whole interest in a lease, interest, option, or
permit is canceled or forfeited to the Government, the partial
interests so canceled or forfeited shall be sold by the Secretary
to the highest responsible qualified bidder by competitive bidding
under general regulations. If competitive bidding fails to produce
a satisfactory offer the Secretary may, in either of these cases,
sell the interest in question by such other method as he deems
appropriate on terms not less favorable to the Government than
those of the best competitive bid received.
(3) The commencement and conclusion of every proceeding under
this subsection shall be promptly noted on the appropriate public
records of the Bureau of Land Management.
(i) Bona fide purchasers, conditions for obtaining dismissals
Effective September 21, 1959, any person, association, or
corporation who is a party to any proceeding with respect to a
violation of any provision of this chapter, whether initiated prior
to said date or thereafter, shall have the right to be dismissed
promptly as such a party upon showing that he holds and acquired as
a bona fide purchaser the interest involving him as such a party
without violating any provisions of this chapter. No hearing upon
any such showing shall be required unless the Secretary presents
prima facie evidence indicating a possible violation of this
chapter on the part of the alleged bona fide purchaser.
(j) Waiver or suspension of rights
If during any such proceeding, a party thereto files with the
Secretary a waiver of his rights under his lease (including
particularly, where applicable, rights to drill and to assign) or
if such rights are suspended by the Secretary pending a decision in
the proceeding, whether initiated prior to enactment of this
chapter or thereafter, payment of rentals and running of time
against the term of the lease or leases involved shall be suspended
as of the first day of the month following the filing of the waiver
or suspension of the rights until the first day of the month
following the final decision in the proceeding or the revocation of
the waiver or suspension.
(k) Unlawful trusts; forfeiture
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if any lands or
deposits subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be
subleased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device
permanently, temporarily, directly, indirectly, tacitly, or in any
manner whatsoever, so that they form a part of or are in any wise
controlled by any combination in the form of an unlawful trust,
with the consent of the lessee, optionee, or permittee, or form the
subject of any contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade in the
mining or selling of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gilsonite
(including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons), gas, or sodium
entered into by the lessee, optionee, or permittee or any agreement
or understanding, written, verbal, or otherwise, to which such
lessee, optionee, or permittee shall be a party, of which his or
its output is to be or become the subject, to control the price or
prices thereof or of any holding of such lands by any individual,
partnership, association, corporation, or control in excess of the
amounts of lands provided in this chapter, the lease, option, or
permit shall be forfeited by appropriate court proceedings.
(l) Rules and regulations; notice to and consultation with Attorney
General; application of antitrust laws; definitions
(1) At each stage in the formulation and promulgation of rules
and regulations concerning coal leasing pursuant to this chapter,
and at each stage in the issuance, renewal, and readjustment of
coal leases under this chapter, the Secretary of the Interior shall
consult with and give due consideration to the views and advice of
the Attorney General of the United States.
(2) No coal lease may be issued, renewed, or readjusted under
this chapter until at least thirty days after the Secretary of the
Interior notifies the Attorney General of the proposed issuance,
renewal, or readjustment. Such notification shall contain such
information as the Attorney General may require in order to advise
the Secretary of the Interior as to whether such lease would create
or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws. If
the Attorney General advises the Secretary of the Interior that a
lease would create or maintain such a situation, the Secretary of
the Interior may not issue such lease, nor may he renew or readjust
such lease for a period not to exceed one year, as the case may be,
unless he thereafter conducts a public hearing on the record in
accordance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 and finds
therein that such issuance, renewal, or readjustment is necessary
to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, that it is consistent
with the public interest, and that there are no reasonable
alternatives consistent with this chapter, the antitrust laws, and
the public interest.
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to convey to any
person, association, corporation, or other business organization
immunity from civil or criminal liability, or to create defenses to
actions, under any antitrust law.
(4) As used in this subsection, the term "antitrust law" means -
(A) the Act entitled "An Act to protect trade and commerce
against unlawful restraints and monopolies", approved July 2,
1890 (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), as amended;
(B) the Act entitled "An Act to supplement existing laws
against unlawful restraints and monopolies, and for other
purposes", approved October 15, 1914 (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.), as
amended;
(C) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), as
amended;
(D) sections 73 and 74 of the Act entitled "An Act to reduce
taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other
purposes", approved August 27, 1894 (15 U.S.C. 8 and 9), as
amended; or
(E) the Act of June 19, 1936, chapter 592 (15 U.S.C. 13, 13a,
13b, and 21a).