Ruby Mountains Protection Act

II Calendar No. 346 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 258 To prohibit oil and gas leasing on the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains Ranger District located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 29, 2019 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the title [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To prohibit oil and gas leasing on the National Forest Sys- tem land in the Ruby Mountains Ranger District located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.RS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 258 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ruby Mountains Pro- 2 tection Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING. 4 (a) DEFINITION OF DISTRICT LAND.—In this sec- 5 tion, the term ‘‘District land’’ means the approximately 6 450,000 acres of National Forest System land comprising 7 the Ruby Mountains Ranger District of the Humboldt- 8 Toiyabe National Forest, Elko and White Pine Counties, 9 Nevada, as in existence on the date of enactment of this 10 Act. 11 (b) PROHIBITION.—Subject to valid existing rights in 12 existence on the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 13 retary of the Interior shall not issue under any law, includ- 14 ing the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), an 15 oil or gas lease on the District land. 16 (c) APPLICATION.—The prohibition under subsection 17 (b) shall apply to any land or interest in land that is ac- 18 quired by the United States after the date of enactment 19 of this Act for inclusion in the Ruby Mountains Ranger 20 District. 21 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ruby Mountains Protec- 23 tion Act’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S258.RS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 258 RS SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYS- 1 TEM LAND. 2 (a) DEFINITION OF MAP.—In this section, the term 3 ‘‘Map’’ means the Forest Service map entitled ‘‘S. 258 Ruby 4 Mountains Protective Act’’ and dated December 5, 2019. 5 (b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 6 the approximately 309,272 acres of Federal land and inter- 7 ests in the land located in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict 8 of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest within the area 9 depicted on the Map as ‘‘National Forest System Lands’’ 10 are withdrawn from all forms of operation under the min- 11 eral leasing laws. 12 (c) APPLICATION.—Any land or interest in land with- 13 in the boundary of the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the 14 Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest that is acquired by the 15 United States after the date of enactment of this Act shall 16 be withdrawn in accordance with subsection (b). 17 (d) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be on file 18 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of- 19 fices of the Forest Service. 20 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the mineral leasing laws.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S258.RS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 346 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 258 A BILL To prohibit oil and gas leasing on the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains Ranger District located in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the title VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S258.RS S258 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS