Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 374 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2579 [Report No. 116–467] To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 8, 2019 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CART- WRIGHT, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MCGOV- ERN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. POCAN, and Mr. SOTO) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources AUGUST 4, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. VAN DREW, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. TONKO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. PINGREE, and Ms. TLAIB AUGUST 4, 2020 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 8, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2579 RH A BILL To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain lands, consistent with the principles of self-initiation of mining claims, and for other pur- poses. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2579 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions and references. Sec. 3. Application rules. TITLE I—MINERAL LEASING, EXPLORATION, AND DEVELOPMENT Sec. 101. Closure to entry and location. Sec. 102. Limitation on patents. Sec. 103. Prospecting license and hardrock leases. Sec. 104. Competitive leasing. Sec. 105. Small miners leases. Sec. 106. Lands containing nonhardrock minerals; other uses. Sec. 107. Royalty. Sec. 108. Existing production. Sec. 109. Hardrock mining claim maintenance fee. Sec. 110. Effect of payments for use and occupancy of claims. Sec. 111. Protection of special places. Sec. 112. Suitability determination. TITLE II—CONSULTATION PROCEDURE Sec. 201. Requirement for consultation. Sec. 202. Timing. Sec. 203. Scoping stage consultation. Sec. 204. Decision stage procedures. Sec. 205. Documentation and reporting. Sec. 206. Implementation. Sec. 207. Sensitive Tribal information. TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS OF MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Sec. 301. General standard for hardrock mining on Federal land. Sec. 302. Permits. Sec. 303. Exploration permit. Sec. 304. Operations permit. Sec. 305. Persons ineligible for permits. Sec. 306. Financial assurance. Sec. 307. Operation and reclamation. Sec. 308. State law and regulation. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6213 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2579 RH TITLE IV—ABANDONED HARDROCK MINE RECLAMATION Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund. Sec. 402. Contents of Fund. Sec. 403. Displaced material reclamation fee. Sec. 404. Use and objectives of the Fund. Sec. 405. Eligible lands and waters. Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE V—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS Sec. 501. Policy functions. Sec. 502. User fees and inflation adjustment. Sec. 503. Inspection and monitoring. Sec. 504. Citizens suits. Sec. 505. Administrative and judicial review. Sec. 506. Reporting requirements. Sec. 507. Enforcement. Sec. 508. Regulations. Sec. 509. Oil shale claims. Sec. 510. Savings clause. Sec. 511. Availability of public records. Sec. 512. Miscellaneous powers. Sec. 513. Mineral materials. Sec. 514. Effective date. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND REFERENCES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this Act: 2 (1) The term ‘‘adjacent land’’ means any land 3 not more than two miles from the boundary of a de- 4 scribed land tract. 5 (2) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means, with respect to 6 any person, any of the following: 7 (A) Any person who controls, is controlled 8 by, or is under common control with such per- 9 son. 10 (B) Any partner of such person. 11 (C) Any person owning at least 10 percent 12 of the voting shares of such person. 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2579 RH (3) The term ‘‘agency’’ means any authority of 1 the United States that is an ‘‘agency’’ under section 2 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code. 3 (4) The term ‘‘applicant’’ means any person ap- 4 plying for a permit, license, or lease under this Act 5 or a modification to or a renewal of a permit, license, 6 or lease under this Act. 7 (5) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the crushing 8 and grinding of hardrock mineral ore and such proc- 9 esses as are employed to free the mineral from other 10 constituents, including physical and chemical separa- 11 tion techniques. 12 (6) The term ‘‘casual use’’— 13 (A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 14 means mineral activities that do not ordinarily 15 result in any disturbance of public lands and re- 16 sources; 17 (B) includes collection of geochemical, rock, 18 soil, or mineral specimens using handtools, hand 19 panning, or nonmotorized sluicing; and 20 (C) does not include— 21 (i) the use of mechanized earth-moving 22 equipment, suction dredging, or explosives; 23 (ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 24 closed to off-road vehicles; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2579 RH (iii) the construction of roads or drill 1 pads; and 2 (iv) the use of toxic or hazardous mate- 3 rials. 4 (7) The term ‘‘claim holder’’ means a person 5 holding a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel site 6 claim located under the general mining laws and 7 maintained in compliance with such laws. Such term 8 may include an agent of a claim holder. 9 (8) The term ‘‘control’’ means having the ability, 10 directly or indirectly, to determine (without regard to 11 whether exercised through one or more corporate 12 structures) the manner in which an entity conducts 13 mineral activities, through any means, including 14 ownership interest, authority to commit the entity’s 15 real or financial assets, position as a director, officer, 16 or partner of the entity, or contractual arrangement. 17 (9) The term ‘‘crude ore’’ means ore in its un- 18 processed form, containing profitable amounts of the 19 target mineral. 20 (10) The term ‘‘displaced material’’ means any 21 crude ore and waste dislodged from its location at the 22 time hardrock mineral activities begin at a surface, 23 underground, or in-situ mine. 24 (11) The term ‘‘exploration’’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2579 RH (A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 1 means creating surface disturbance other than 2 casual use, to evaluate the type, extent, quantity, 3 or quality of minerals present; 4 (B) includes mineral activities associated 5 with sampling, drilling, and analyzing hardrock 6 mineral values; and 7 (C) does not include extraction of mineral 8 material for commercial use or sale. 9 (12) The term ‘‘Federal land’’ means any land, 10 and any interest in land, that is owned by the United 11 States, except lands in the National Park System, In- 12 dian lands, and lands on the Outer Continental Shelf. 13 (13) The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Hardrock Min- 14 erals Reclamation Fund established by this Act. 15 (14) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ means lands held 16 in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or indi- 17 vidual or held by an Indian Tribe or individual sub- 18 ject to a restriction by the United States against 19 alienation, or held by an Alaska Native village, vil- 20 lage corporation, or regional corporation as defined 21 in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native 22 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 23 (15) The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ means any In- 24 dian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2579 RH group or community, including any Alaska Native 1 village, village corporation, or regional corporation as 2 defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Na- 3 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), 4 that is recognized as eligible for the special programs 5 and services provided by the United States to Indians 6 because of their status as Indians. 7 (16) The term ‘‘hardrock mineral’’— 8 (A) subject to subparagraph (B), means any 9 mineral that was subject to location under the 10 general mining laws as of the date of enactment 11 of this Act, and that is not subject to disposition 12 under— 13 (i) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 14 181 et seq.); 15 (ii) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 16 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 17 (iii) the Act of July 31, 1947, com- 18 monly known as the Materials Act of 1947 19 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or 20 (iv) the Mineral Leasing for Acquired 21 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.); and 22 (B) does not include any mineral that is 23 subject to a restriction against alienation im- 24 posed by the United States and is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2579 RH (i) held in trust by the United States 1 for any Indian or Indian Tribe, as defined 2 in section 2 of the Indian Mineral Develop- 3 ment Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101); or 4 (ii) owned by any Indian or Indian 5 Tribe, as defined in that section. 6 (17) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any 7 activity on a mining claim, millsite claim, or tunnel 8 site claim, or a lease, license, or permit issued under 9 this Act, for, related to, or incidental to, mineral ex- 10 ploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, or rec- 11 lamation activities for any hardrock mineral. 12 (18) The term ‘‘memorandum of agreement’’ 13 means a document that records the terms and condi- 14 tions agreed upon by an agency and an Indian Tribe 15 through the consultation process regarding an activ- 16 ity. 17 (19) The term ‘‘National Conservation System 18 unit’’ means any unit of the National Park System, 19 National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and 20 Scenic Rivers System, National Wilderness Preserva- 21 tion System, National Landscape Conservation Sys- 22 tem, or National Trails System, or a National Con- 23 servation Area, a National Recreation Area, a Wil- 24 derness Study Area, a National Monument, or any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2579 RH unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System 1 or lands within the National Forest System, includ- 2 ing: 3 (A) National Volcanic Monuments. 4 (B) Recreation Areas, Scenic Recreation 5 Areas, and Winter Recreation Areas. 6 (C) Scenic Areas, Scenic-Research Areas, 7 Scenic Highways, National Scenic and Wildlife 8 Areas. 9 (D) National Game and Wildlife Preserves. 10 (E) Special Management, Wildlife, Con- 11 servation and Protection Areas, including botan- 12 ical, hydrological (watershed), geological, histor- 13 ical, paleontological, and zoological areas. 14 (F) Experimental Forests, Ranges, and Wa- 15 tersheds. 16 (G) Research Sites and Research Natural 17 Areas. 18 (H) Inventoried Roadless Area, Colorado 19 Roadless Area, and Idaho Roadless Area. 20 (I) Recommended Wilderness and Primitive 21 Areas. 22 (20) The term ‘‘operator’’ means any person pro- 23 posing or authorized by a permit issued under this 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2579 RH Act to conduct mineral activities and any agent of 1 such person. 2 (21) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual, 3 Indian Tribe, partnership, association, society, joint 4 venture, joint stock company, firm, company, cor- 5 poration, cooperative, or other organization and any 6 instrumentality of State or local government includ- 7 ing any publicly owned utility or publicly owned cor- 8 poration of State or local government. 9 (22) The term ‘‘processing’’ means processes 10 downstream of beneficiation employed to prepare 11 locatable mineral ore into the final marketable prod- 12 uct, including smelting and electrolytic refining. 13 (23) The term ‘‘sacred site’’ means any specific 14 delineated location on Federal land that is identified 15 by an Indian Tribe— 16 (A) as sacred by virtue of its established re- 17 ligious significance to, or ceremonial use by, an 18 Indian religion; or 19 (B) to be of established cultural signifi- 20 cance. 21 (24) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 22 of the Interior, unless otherwise specified. 23 (25) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2579.RH H2579 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2579 RH (A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 1 through the Chief of the Forest Service) with re- 2 spect to National Forest System land; and 3 (B) the Secretary of the Interior (acting 4 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 5 Management) with respect to other Federal land. 6 (26)(A) The term ‘‘small miner’’ means a person 7 (including all related parties thereto) that— 8 (i) holds not more than 10 mining claims, 9 mill sites, or tunnel sites, or any combination 10 thereof, on public lands; 11 (ii) holds leases and permits under this Act 12 with respect to not more than 200 acres of Fed- 13 eral land; 14 (iii) certifies to the Secretary in writing 15 that the person had annual gross income in the 16 preceding calendar year from mineral produc- 17 tion in an amount less than $50,000; and 18 (iv) has performed assessment work required 19 under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 et 20 seq. 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