II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1281 To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to provide for security of tenure for use of mining claims for ancillary activities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 25, 2023 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. SINEMA, and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to provide for security of tenure for use of mining claims for ancillary activities, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Regulatory 4 Clarity Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1281 IS SEC. 2. USE OF MINING CLAIMS FOR ANCILLARY ACTIVI- 1 TIES. 2 Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 3 Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘(e) SECURITY OF TENURE.— 6 ‘‘(1) CLAIMANT RIGHTS.— 7 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF OPERATIONS.—In 8 this paragraph, the term ‘operations’ means— 9 ‘‘(i) with respect to a locatable min- 10 eral, any activity or work carried out in 11 connection with— 12 ‘‘(I) prospecting; 13 ‘‘(II) exploration; 14 ‘‘(III) discovery and assessment; 15 ‘‘(IV) development; 16 ‘‘(V) extraction; or 17 ‘‘(VI) processing; 18 ‘‘(ii) the reclamation of an area dis- 19 turbed by an activity described in clause 20 (i); and 21 ‘‘(iii) any activity reasonably incident 22 to an activity described in clause (i) or (ii), 23 regardless of whether that incidental activ- 24 ity is carried out on a mining claim, in- 25 cluding the construction and maintenance 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1281 IS of any road, transmission line, pipeline, or 1 any other necessary infrastructure or 2 means of access on public land for a sup- 3 port facility. 4 ‘‘(B) RIGHTS TO USE, OCCUPATION, AND 5 OPERATIONS.—A claimant shall have the right 6 to use, occupy, and conduct operations on pub- 7 lic land, with or without the discovery of a valu- 8 able mineral deposit, if— 9 ‘‘(i) the claimant makes a timely pay- 10 ment of the location fee required by section 11 10102 and the claim maintenance fee re- 12 quired by subsection (a); or 13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 14 qualifies for a waiver under subsection 15 (d)— 16 ‘‘(I) the claimant makes a timely 17 payment of the location fee required 18 by section 10102; and 19 ‘‘(II) the claimant complies with 20 the required assessment work under 21 the general mining laws. 22 ‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY 23 AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976.—A claimant that 24 fulfills the requirements of this section and section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1281 IS 10102 shall be deemed to satisfy any requirements 1 under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 2 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for the payment 3 of fair market value to the United States for the use 4 of public land and resources pursuant to the general 5 mining laws. 6 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub- 7 section diminishes any right (including a right of 8 entry, use, or occupancy) of a claimant.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1281.IS S1281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB