30 U.S.C. § 201 : US Code - Section 201: Leases and exploration

Search 30 U.S.C. § 201 : US Code - Section 201: Leases and exploration

(a) Leases
(1) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to divide any
lands subject to this chapter which have been classified for coal
leasing into leasing tracts of such size as he finds appropriate
and in the public interest and which will permit the mining of all
coal which can be economically extracted in such tract and
thereafter he shall, in his discretion, upon the request of any
qualified applicant or on his own motion, from time to time, offer
such lands for leasing and shall award leases thereon by
competitive bidding: Provided, That notwithstanding the competitive
bidding requirement of this section, the Secretary may, subject to
such conditions which he deems appropriate, negotiate the sale at
fair market value of coal the removal of which is necessary and
incidental to the exercise of a right-of-way permit issued pursuant
to title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
[43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq.]. No less than 50 per centum of the total
acreage offered for lease by the Secretary in any one year shall be
leased under a system of deferred bonus payment. Upon default or
cancellation of any coal lease for which bonus payments are due,
any unpaid remainder of the bid shall be immediately payable to the
United States. A reasonable number of leasing tracts shall be
reserved and offered for lease in accordance with this section to
public bodies, including Federal agencies, rural electric
cooperatives, or nonprofit corporations controlled by any of such
entities: Provided, That the coal so offered for lease shall be for
use by such entity or entities in implementing a definite plan to
produce energy for their own use or for sale to their members or
customers (except for short-term sales to others). No bid shall be
accepted which is less than the fair market value, as determined by
the Secretary, of the coal subject to the lease. Prior to his
determination of the fair market value of the coal subject to the
lease, the Secretary shall give opportunity for and consideration
to public comments on the fair market value. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to require the Secretary to make public
his judgment as to the fair market value of the coal to be leased,
or the comments he receives thereon prior to the issuance of the
lease. He is authorized, in awarding leases for coal lands improved
and occupied or claimed in good faith, prior to February 25, 1920,
to consider and recognize equitable rights of such occupants or
claimants.
(2)(A) The Secretary shall not issue a lease or leases under the
terms of this chapter to any person, association, corporation, or
any subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common
control with such person, association, or corporation, where any
such entity holds a lease or leases issued by the United States to
coal deposits and has held such lease or leases for a period of ten
years when such entity is not, except as provided for in section
207(b) of this title, producing coal from the lease deposits in
commercial quantities. In computing the ten-year period referred to
in the preceding sentence, periods of time prior to August 4, 1976,
shall not be counted.
(B) Any lease proposal which permits surface coal mining within
the boundaries of a National Forest which the Secretary proposes to
issue under this chapter shall be submitted to the Governor of each
State within which the coal deposits subject to such lease are
located. No such lease may be issued under this chapter before the
expiration of the sixty-day period beginning on the date of such
submission. If any Governor to whom a proposed lease was submitted
under this subparagraph objects to the issuance of such lease, such
lease shall not be issued before the expiration of the six-month
period beginning on the date the Secretary is notified by the
Governor of such objection. During such six-month period, the
Governor may submit to the Secretary a statement of reasons why
such lease should not be issued and the Secretary shall, on the
basis of such statement, reconsider the issuance of such lease.
(3)(A)(i) No lease sale shall be held unless the lands containing
the coal deposits have been included in a comprehensive land-use
plan and such sale is compatible with such plan. The Secretary of
the Interior shall prepare such land-use plans on lands under his
responsibility where such plans have not been previously prepared.
The Secretary of the Interior shall inform the Secretary of
Agriculture of substantial development interest in coal leasing on
lands within the National Forest System. Upon receipt of such
notification from the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall prepare a comprehensive land-use plan for such
areas where such plans have not been previously prepared. The plan
of the Secretary of Agriculture shall take into consideration the
proposed coal development in these lands: Provided, That where the
Secretary of the Interior finds that because of non-Federal
interest in the surface or because the coal resources are
insufficient to justify the preparation costs of a Federal
comprehensive land-use plan, the lease sale can be held if the
lands containing the coal deposits have been included in either a
comprehensive land-use plan prepared by the State within which the
lands are located or a land use analysis prepared by the Secretary
of the Interior.
(ii) In preparing such land-use plans, the Secretary of the
Interior or, in the case of lands within the National Forest
System, the Secretary of Agriculture, or in the case of a finding
by the Secretary of the Interior that because of non-Federal
interests in the surface or insufficient Federal coal, no Federal
comprehensive land-use plans can be appropriately prepared, the
responsible State entity shall consult with appropriate State
agencies and local governments and the general public and shall
provide an opportunity for public hearing on proposed plans prior
to their adoption, if requested by any person having an interest
which is, or may be, adversely affected by the adoption of such
plans.
(iii) Leases covering lands the surface of which is under the
jurisdiction of any Federal agency other than the Department of the
Interior may be issued only upon consent of the other Federal
agency and upon such conditions as it may prescribe with respect to
the use and protection of the nonmineral interests in those lands.
(B) Each land-use plan prepared by the Secretary (or in the case
of lands within the National Forest System, the Secretary of
Agriculture pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)) shall include an
assessment of the amount of coal deposits in such land, identifying
the amount of such coal which is recoverable by deep mining
operations and the amount of such coal which is recoverable by
surface mining operations.
(C) Prior to issuance of any coal lease, the Secretary shall
consider effects which mining of the proposed lease might have on
an impacted community or area, including, but not limited to,
impacts on the environment, on agricultural and other economic
activities, and on public services. Prior to issuance of a lease,
the Secretary shall evaluate and compare the effects of recovering
coal by deep mining, by surface mining, and by any other method to
determine which method or methods or sequence of methods achieves
the maximum economic recovery of the coal within the proposed
leasing tract. This evaluation and comparison by the Secretary
shall be in writing but shall not prohibit the issuance of a lease;
however, no mining operating plan shall be approved which is not
found to achieve the maximum economic recovery of the coal within
the tract. Public hearings in the area shall be held by the
Secretary prior to the lease sale.
(D) No lease sale shall be held until after the notice of the
proposed offering for lease has been given once a week for three
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county in which the lands are situated in accordance with
regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
(E) Each coal lease shall contain provisions requiring compliance
with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1151-1175)
[33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.] and the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et
seq.].
(4)(A) The Secretary shall not require a surety bond or any other
financial assurance to guarantee payment of deferred bonus bid
installments with respect to any coal lease issued on a cash bonus
bid to a lessee or successor in interest having a history of a
timely payment of noncontested coal royalties and advanced coal
royalties in lieu of production (where applicable) and bonus bid
installment payments.
(B) The Secretary may waive any requirement that a lessee provide
a surety bond or other financial assurance to guarantee payment of
deferred bonus bid installment with respect to any coal lease
issued before August 8, 2005, only if the Secretary determines that
the lessee has a history of making timely payments referred to in
subparagraph (A).
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the lessee
under a coal lease fails to pay any installment of a deferred cash
bonus bid within 10 days after the Secretary provides written
notice that payment of the installment is past due -
(A) the lease shall automatically terminate; and
(B) any bonus payments already made to the United States with
respect to the lease shall not be returned to the lessee or
credited in any future lease sale.
(b) Exploration
(1) The Secretary may, under such regulations as he may
prescribe, issue to any person an exploration license. No person
may conduct coal exploration for commercial purposes for any coal
on lands subject to this chapter without such an exploration
license. Each exploration license shall be for a term of not more
than two years and shall be subject to a reasonable fee. An
exploration license shall confer no right to a lease under this
chapter. The issuance of exploration licenses shall not preclude
the Secretary from issuing coal leases at such times and locations
and to such persons as he deems appropriate. No exploration license
will be issued for any land on which a coal lease has been issued.
A separate exploration license will be required for exploration in
each State. An application for an exploration license shall
identify general areas and probable methods of exploration. Each
exploration license shall contain such reasonable conditions as the
Secretary may require, including conditions to insure the
protection of the environment, and shall be subject to all
applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations. Upon
violation of any such conditions or laws the Secretary may revoke
the exploration license.
(2) A licensee may not cause substantial disturbance to the
natural land surface. He may not remove any coal for sale but may
remove a reasonable amount of coal from the lands subject to this
chapter included under his license for analysis and study. A
licensee must comply with all applicable rules and regulations of
the Federal agency having jurisdiction over the surface of the
lands subject to this chapter. Exploration licenses covering lands
the surface of which is under the jurisdiction of any Federal
agency other than the Department of the Interior may be issued only
upon such conditions as it may prescribe with respect to the use
and protection of the nonmineral interests in those lands.
(3) The licensee shall furnish to the Secretary copies of all
data (including, but not limited to, geological, geophyscal,(!1)
and core drilling analyses) obtained during such exploration. The
Secretary shall maintain the confidentiality of all data so
obtained until after the areas involved have been leased or until
such time as he determines that making the data available to the
public would not damage the competitive position of the licensee,
whichever comes first.
(4) Any person who willfully conducts coal exploration for
commercial purposes on lands subject to this chapter without an
exploration license issued hereunder shall be subject to a fine of
not more than $1,000 for each day of violation. All data collected
by said person on any Federal lands as a result of such violation
shall be made immediately available to the Secretary, who shall
make the data available to the public as soon as it is practicable.
No penalty under this subsection shall be assessed unless such
person is given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect
to such violation.