Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1742 To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain land, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BENNET, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. WARREN, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- sources A BILL To modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain land, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL DEPOSITS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1742 IS Sec. 101. Limitation on patents. Sec. 102. Fees. Sec. 103. Limitations. TITLE II—ROYALTIES Sec. 201. Royalty. Sec. 202. Royalty relief. Sec. 203. Enforcement. Sec. 204. Review. TITLE III—MINERAL ACTIVITIES Sec. 301. Permits. Sec. 302. Exploration permits. Sec. 303. Mining permits. Sec. 304. Financial assurances. Sec. 305. Transfer, assignment, or sale of right. Sec. 306. Operation and reclamation. Sec. 307. Land open to location. Sec. 308. State law. Sec. 309. Inspection and monitoring. Sec. 310. Tribal consultation. TITLE IV—HARDROCK MINERALS RECLAMATION FUND Sec. 401. Establishment of Fund. Sec. 402. Abandoned mine land reclamation fee. TITLE V—TRANSITION RULES, ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS, AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 501. Transition rules. Sec. 502. Enforcement. Sec. 503. Judicial review. Sec. 504. Uncommon varieties. Sec. 505. Review of uranium development on Federal land. Sec. 506. Effect. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 3 any person that applies for— 4 (A) a permit under this Act; or 5 (B) a modification to, or a renewal of, a 6 permit issued under this Act. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1742 IS (2) BENEFICIATION.—The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ 1 means— 2 (A) the crushing and grinding of locatable 3 mineral ore; and 4 (B) any processes that are employed to 5 free the mineral from other constituents, includ- 6 ing physical and chemical separation tech- 7 niques. 8 (3) CASUAL USE.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 10 means mineral activities that ordinarily result 11 in no or negligible disturbance of Federal land 12 or resources. 13 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 14 includes the collection of geochemical, rock, soil, 15 or mineral specimens using hand tools, hand 16 panning, or nonmotorized sluicing. 17 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘casual use’’ 18 does not include— 19 (i) the use of mechanized earth-mov- 20 ing equipment, suction dredging, or explo- 21 sives; 22 (ii) the use of motor vehicles in areas 23 closed to off-road vehicles; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1742 IS (iii) the construction of roads or drill 1 pads; or 2 (iv) the use of toxic or hazardous ma- 3 terials or explosives. 4 (4) CLAIM HOLDER.—The term ‘‘claim holder’’ 5 means a person holding a mining claim, millsite, or 6 tunnel site that is— 7 (A) located under the general mining laws; 8 and 9 (B) maintained in compliance with the 10 general mining laws and this Act. 11 (5) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’ means hav- 12 ing the ability to determine the manner in which an 13 entity conducts mineral activities. 14 (6) EXPLORATION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 16 means creating a surface disturbance (other 17 than casual use) to evaluate the type, extent, 18 quantity, or quality of minerals present. 19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ 20 includes mineral activities associated with sam- 21 pling, drilling, or developing surface or under- 22 ground workings to evaluate locatable mineral 23 values. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1742 IS (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘explo- 1 ration’’ does not include the extraction of min- 2 eral material for commercial use or sale. 3 (7) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 4 means any land and any interest in land that is— 5 (A) owned by the United States; and 6 (B) open to location of mining claims 7 under the general mining laws and this Act. 8 (8) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 9 Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund established by 10 section 401(a). 11 (9) HARDROCK MINERAL.—The term ‘‘hardrock 12 mineral’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘locatable 13 mineral’’ except that— 14 (A) legal and beneficial title to the mineral 15 need not be held by the United States; and 16 (B) paragraph (13)(B) does not apply to 17 this paragraph. 18 (10) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian 19 country’’ has the meaning given the term in section 20 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 21 (11) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 22 means land that is— 23 (A) held in trust for the benefit of an In- 24 dian Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1742 IS (B) held by an Indian Tribe or member of 1 an Indian Tribe, subject to a restriction by the 2 United States against alienation. 3 (12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 6 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (13) LOCATABLE MINERAL.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘locatable 9 mineral’’ means any mineral— 10 (i) the legal and beneficial title to 11 which remains in the United States; and 12 (ii) that is not subject to disposition 13 under— 14 (I) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 15 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 16 (II) the Geothermal Steam Act of 17 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 18 (III) the Act of July 31, 1947 19 (commonly known as the ‘‘Materials 20 Act of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601 et 21 seq.); or 22 (IV) the Act of August 7, 1947 23 (commonly known as the ‘‘Mineral 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1742 IS Leasing Act for Acquired Lands’’) (30 1 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 2 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘locatable 3 mineral’’ does not include any mineral that is— 4 (i) subject to a restriction against 5 alienation imposed by the United States; 6 and 7 (ii) held in trust by the United States 8 for, or owned by, any Indian Tribe or 9 member of an Indian Tribe, as defined in 10 section 2 of the Indian Mineral Develop- 11 ment Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101). 12 (14) MINERAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘mineral 13 activity’’ means any activity on a mining claim, mill- 14 site, or tunnel site, or Federal land used in conjunc- 15 tion with the activity, for, relating to, or incidental 16 to, mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, proc- 17 essing, or reclamation activities for any locatable 18 mineral. 19 (15) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ 20 means— 21 (A) any person proposing, or authorized by 22 a permit, to conduct mineral activities under 23 this Act; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1742 IS (B) any agent of a person described in 1 subparagraph (A). 2 (16) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 3 (A) an individual, Indian Tribe, partner- 4 ship, association, society, joint venture, joint 5 stock company, firm, company, corporation, co- 6 operative, trust, consortium, or other organiza- 7 tion; and 8 (B) any instrumentality of a State or local 9 government, including any publicly owned util- 10 ity or publicly owned corporation of a State or 11 local government. 12 (17) PROCESSING.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 14 means processes downstream of beneficiation 15 used to prepare locatable mineral ore into the 16 final marketable product. 17 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘processing’’ 18 includes smelting and electrolytic refining. 19 (18) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 20 means the Secretary of the Interior. 21 (19) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 22 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1742 IS (A) the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 1 through the Chief of the Forest Service), with 2 respect 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 land managed by 6 the Bureau of Land Management or other Fed- 7 eral land. 8 (20) TEMPORARY CESSATION.—The term ‘‘tem- 9 porary cessation’’ means a halt in mine related pro- 10 duction activities for a continuous period of not 11 longer than 5 years. 12 (21) UNDUE DEGRADATION.—The term ‘‘undue 13 degradation’’ means substantial irreparable harm to 14 significant scientific, cultural, or environmental re- 15 sources on public land. 16 TITLE I—LOCATABLE MINERAL 17 DEPOSITS 18 SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON PATENTS. 19 (a) DETERMINATIONS REQUIRED.—No patent shall 20 be issued by the United States for any mining claim, mill- 21 site, or tunnel site located under the general mining laws 22 unless the Secretary determines that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1742 IS (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec- 1 retary with respect to the claim not later than Sep- 2 tember 30, 1994; and 3 (2) all requirements applicable to the patent ap- 4 plication under law were fully complied with by the 5 date described in paragraph (1). 6 (b) RIGHT TO PATENT.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 8 and notwithstanding subsection (c), if the Secretary 9 makes the determinations under paragraphs (1) and 10 (2) of subsection (a) with respect to a mining claim, 11 millsite, or tunnel site, the claim holder shall be enti- 12 tled to the issuance of a patent in the same manner 13 and degree to which the claim holder would have 14 been entitled to a patent before the date of enact- 15 ment of this Act. 16 (2) WITHDRAWAL.—The claim holder shall not 17 be entitled to the issuance of a patent if the deter- 18 minations under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub- 19 section (a) are withdrawn or invalidated by the Sec- 20 retary or, on review, by a court of the United States. 21 (c) REPEAL.—Section 2325 of the Revised Statutes 22 (30 U.S.C. 29) is repealed. 23 SEC. 102. FEES. 24 (a) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1742 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 31, 1 2024, and each August 31 thereafter, the holder of 2 each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel 3 site shall pay to the Secretary a maintenance fee of 4 $200 for each claim, millsite, or tunnel site. 5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The maintenance fees re- 6 quired under paragraph (1) shall be in lieu of— 7 (A) the assessment work requirements 8 under the general mining laws; and 9 (B) the related filing requirements under 10 subsections (a) and (c) of section 314 of the 11 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 12 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744). 13 (3) TIMING OF INITIAL PAYMENT.—Notwith- 14 standing paragraph (1), the maintenance fee payable 15 for the initial assessment year in which the location 16 is made shall be paid at the time the location notice 17 is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management. 18 (4) CLAIM RELOCATION.— 19 (A) DEFINITION OF RELATED PARTY.—In 20 this paragraph and paragraph (5), the term 21 ‘‘related party’’ means— 22 (i) the spouse and qualifying child (as 23 defined in section 152 of the Internal Rev- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1742 IS enue Code of 1986) of the claim holder; 1 and 2 (ii) a person affiliated with the claim 3 holder, including— 4 (I) a person controlled by, con- 5 trolling, or under common control 6 with, the claim holder; or 7 (II) a subsidiary, parent com- 8 pany, partner, director, or officer of 9 the claim holder. 10 (B) LIMITS ON RELOCATION.— 11 (i) IN GENERAL.—No claim, millsite, 12 or tunnel site, or portion of a claim or site, 13 may be relocated by a person or related 14 party if the person or related party held 15 the claim or site and subsequently relin- 16 quished the claim or site or allowed the 17 claim or site to become null and void. 18 (ii) DURATION.—The prohibition on 19 relocation shall extend for a period of 10 20 years beginning on the date the claim or 21 site was relinquished or became null and 22 void. 23 (5) WAIVER.—The maintenance fee required 24 under paragraph (1) shall be waived for a claim 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1742.IS S1742 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 1742 IS holder who certifies in writing to the Secretary that 1 on the date the maintenance fee was due, the claim 2 holder and all related parties— 3 (A) held not more than 10 mining claims, 4 millsites, tunnel sites, or any combination of 5 claims and sites on Federal land; and 6 (B) can demonstrate that the claim holder 7 and all related parties have performed assess- 8 ment work required under section 2324 of the 9 Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 28) to maintain 10 the mining claims and sites held by the claim 11 holder and all related parties for the assessment 12 year ending on noon of September 1 of the cal- 13 endar year in which payment of the mainte- 14 nance fee was due. 15 (6) ADJUSTMENT.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 17 graph (B), beginning on the date that is 5 18 years after the date of enactment of this Act 19 and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall [Text truncated for display. 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