§ 195. — Enforcement.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC195]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 3A--LEASES AND PROSPECTING PERMITS
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 195. Enforcement
(a) Violations
It shall be unlawful for any person:
(1) to organize or participate in any scheme, arrangement, plan,
or agreement to circumvent or defeat the provisions of this chapter
or its implementing regulations, or
(2) to seek to obtain or to obtain any money or property by
means of false statements of material facts or by failing to state
material facts concerning:
(A) the value of any lease or portion thereof issued or to
be issued under this chapter;
(B) the availability of any land for leasing under this
chapter;
(C) the ability of any person to obtain leases under this
chapter; or
(D) the provisions of this chapter and its implementing
regulations.
(b) Penalty
Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of subsection (a)
of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500,000,
imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
(c) Civil actions
Whenever it shall appear that any person is engaged, or is about to
engage, in any act which constitutes or will constitute a violation of
subsection (a) of this section, the Attorney General may institute a
civil action in the district court of the United States for the judicial
district in which the defendant resides or in which the violation
occurred or in which the lease or land involved is located, for a
temporary restraining order, injunction, civil penalty of not more than
$100,000 for each violation, or other appropriate remedy, including but
not limited to, a prohibition from participation in exploration,
leasing, or development of any Federal mineral, or any combination of
the foregoing.
(d) Corporations
(1) Whenever a corporation or other entity is subject to civil or
criminal action under this section, any officer, employee, or agent of
such corporation or entity who knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried
out the proscribed activity shall be subject to the same action.
(2) Whenever any officer, employee, or agent of a corporation or
other entity is subject to civil or criminal action under this section
for activity conducted on behalf of the corporation or other entity, the
corporation or other entity shall be subject to the same action, unless
it is shown that the officer, employee, or agent was acting without the
knowledge or consent of the corporation or other entity.
(e) Remedies, fines, and imprisonment
The remedies, penalties, fines, and imprisonment prescribed in this
section shall be concurrent and cumulative and the exercise of one shall
not preclude the exercise of the others. Further, the remedies,
penalties, fines, and imprisonment prescribed in this section shall be
in addition to any other remedies, penalties, fines, and imprisonment
afforded by any other law or regulation.
(f) State civil actions
(1) A State may commence a civil action under subsection (c) of this
section against any person conducting activity within the State in
violation of this section. Civil actions brought by a State shall only
be brought in the United States district court for the judicial district
in which the defendant resides or in which the violation occurred or in
which the lease or land involved is located. The district court shall
have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy or the
citizenship of the parties, to order appropriate remedies and penalties
as described in subsection (c) of this section.
(2) A State shall notify the Attorney General of the United States
of any civil action filed by the State under this subsection within 30
days of filing of the action. The Attorney General of the United States
shall notify a State of any civil action arising from activity conducted
within that State filed by the Attorney General under this subsection
within 30 days of filing of the action.
(3) Any civil penalties recovered by a State under this subsection
shall be retained by the State and may be expended in such manner and
for such purposes as the State deems appropriate. If a civil action is
jointly brought by the Attorney General and a State, by more than one
State or by the Attorney General and more than one State, any civil
penalties recovered as a result of the joint action shall be shared by
the parties bringing the action in the manner determined by the court
rendering judgment in such action.
(4) If a State has commenced a civil action against a person
conducting activity within the State in violation of this section, the
Attorney General may join in such action but may not institute a
separate action arising from the same activity under this section. If
the Attorney General has commenced a civil action against a person
conducting activity within a State in violation of this section, that
State may join in such action but may not institute a separate action
arising from the same activity under this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall deprive a State of jurisdiction to
enforce its own civil and criminal laws against any person who may also
be subject to civil and criminal action under this section.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, Sec. 41, as added Pub. L. 100-203, title V,
Sec. 5108, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330-260.)
