IIB 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2925 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 9, 2024 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources AN ACT 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2925 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mining Regulatory 2 Clarity Act of 2024’’. 3 SEC. 2. USE OF MINING CLAIMS FOR ANCILLARY ACTIVI- 4 TIES. 5 Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 6 Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding at the 7 end the following: 8 ‘‘(e) SECURITY OF TENURE.— 9 ‘‘(1) CLAIMANT RIGHTS.— 10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF OPERATIONS.—In 11 this paragraph, the term ‘operations’ means— 12 ‘‘(i) with respect to a locatable min- 13 eral, any activity or work carried out in 14 connection with— 15 ‘‘(I) prospecting; 16 ‘‘(II) exploration; 17 ‘‘(III) discovery and assessment; 18 ‘‘(IV) development; 19 ‘‘(V) extraction; or 20 ‘‘(VI) processing; 21 ‘‘(ii) the reclamation of an area dis- 22 turbed by an activity described in clause 23 (i); and 24 ‘‘(iii) any activity reasonably incident 25 to an activity described in clause (i) or (ii), 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2925 RFS regardless of whether that incidental activ- 1 ity is carried out on a mining claim, in- 2 cluding the construction and maintenance 3 of any road, transmission line, pipeline, or 4 any other necessary infrastructure or 5 means of access on public land for a sup- 6 port facility. 7 ‘‘(B) RIGHTS TO USE, OCCUPATION, AND 8 OPERATIONS.—A claimant shall have the right 9 to use and occupy to conduct operations on 10 public land, with or without the discovery of a 11 valuable mineral deposit, if— 12 ‘‘(i) the claimant makes a timely pay- 13 ment of— 14 ‘‘(I) the location fee required by 15 section 10102; and 16 ‘‘(II) the claim maintenance fee 17 required by subsection (a); or 18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 19 qualifies for a waiver of the claim mainte- 20 nance fee under subsection (d)— 21 ‘‘(I) the claimant makes a timely 22 payment of the location fee required 23 by section 10102; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2925 RFS ‘‘(II) the claimant complies with 1 the required assessment work under 2 the general mining laws. 3 ‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY 4 AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976.—A claimant that 5 fulfills the requirements of this section and section 6 10102 shall be deemed to satisfy any requirements 7 under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 8 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for the payment 9 of fair market value to the United States for the use 10 of public land and resources pursuant to the general 11 mining laws. 12 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub- 13 section— 14 ‘‘(A) diminishes any right (including a 15 right of entry, use, or occupancy) of a claimant; 16 ‘‘(B) creates or increases any right (includ- 17 ing a right of exploration, entry, use, or occu- 18 pancy) of a claimant on lands that are not open 19 to location under the general mining laws; 20 ‘‘(C) modifies any provision of law or any 21 prior administrative action withdrawing lands 22 from location or entry; 23 ‘‘(D) limits the right of the Federal Gov- 24 ernment to regulate mining and mining-related 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2925 RFS activities (including requiring claim validity ex- 1 aminations to establish the discovery of a valu- 2 able mineral deposit) in areas withdrawn from 3 mining (including under— 4 ‘‘(i) the general mining laws; 5 ‘‘(ii) the Federal Land Policy and 6 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 7 et seq.); 8 ‘‘(iii) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 9 1131 et seq.); 10 ‘‘(iv) sections 100731 through 100737 11 of title 54, United States Code (commonly 12 referred to as the ‘Mining in the Parks 13 Act’); 14 ‘‘(v) the Endangered Species Act of 15 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 16 ‘‘(vi) division A of subtitle III of title 17 54, United States Code (commonly re- 18 ferred to as the ‘National Historic Preser- 19 vation Act’)); or 20 ‘‘(E) restores any right (including a right 21 of entry, use, or occupancy, or right to conduct 22 operations) of a claimant that existed prior to 23 the date that the lands were closed to or with- 24 drawn from location under the general mining 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2925 RFS laws and that has been extinguished by such 1 closure or withdrawal.’’. 2 Passed the House of Representatives May 8, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.RFS H2925 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS