§ 201. — Leases and exploration.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC201]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 3A--LEASES AND PROSPECTING PERMITS
SUBCHAPTER II--COAL
Sec. 201. Leases and exploration
(a) Division into tracts; bidding and award; negotiated sales on
exercise of right-of-way permits; leases to public agencies;
fair market value of leases; leases in National Forests;
comprehensive land-use plans; notice of proposed lease offering
(1) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to divide any lands
subject to this chapter which have been classified for coal leasing into
leasing tracts of such size as he finds appropriate and in the public
interest and which will permit the mining of all coal which can be
economically extracted in such tract and thereafter he shall, in his
discretion, upon the request of any qualified applicant or on his own
motion, from time to time, offer such lands for leasing and shall award
leases thereon by competitive bidding: Provided, That notwithstanding
the competitive bidding requirement of this section, the Secretary may,
subject to such conditions which he deems appropriate, negotiate the
sale at fair market value of coal the removal of which is necessary and
incidental to the exercise of a right-of-way permit issued pursuant to
title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 [43 U.S.C.
1761 et seq.]. No less than 50 per centum of the total acreage offered
for lease by the Secretary in any one year shall be leased under a
system of deferred bonus payment. Upon default or cancellation of any
coal lease for which bonus payments are due, any unpaid remainder of the
bid shall be immediately payable to the United States. A reasonable
number of leasing tracts shall be reserved and offered for lease in
accordance with this section to public bodies, including Federal
agencies, rural electric cooperatives, or nonprofit corporations
controlled by any of such entities: Provided, That the coal so offered
for lease shall be for use by such entity or entities in implementing a
definite plan to produce energy for their own use or for sale to their
members or customers (except for short-term sales to others). No bid
shall be accepted which is less than the fair market value, as
determined by the Secretary, of the coal subject to the lease. Prior to
his determination of the fair market value of the coal subject to the
lease, the Secretary shall give opportunity for and consideration to
public comments on the fair market value. Nothing in this section shall
be construed to require the Secretary to make public his judgment as to
the fair market value of the coal to be leased, or the comments he
receives thereon prior to the issuance of the lease. He is authorized,
in awarding leases for coal lands improved and occupied or claimed in
good faith, prior to February 25, 1920, to consider and recognize
equitable rights of such occupants or claimants.
(2)(A) The Secretary shall not issue a lease or leases under the
terms of this chapter to any person, association, corporation, or any
subsidiary, affiliate, or persons controlled by or under common control
with such person, association, or corporation, where any such entity
holds a lease or leases issued by the United States to coal deposits and
has held such lease or leases for a period of ten years when such entity
is not, except as provided for in section 207(b) of this title,
producing coal from the lease deposits in commercial quantities. In
computing the ten-year period referred to in the preceding sentence,
periods of time prior to August 4, 1976, shall not be counted.
(B) Any lease proposal which permits surface coal mining within the
boundaries of a National Forest which the Secretary proposes to issue
under this chapter shall be submitted to the Governor of each State
within which the coal deposits subject to such lease are located. No
such lease may be issued under this chapter before the expiration of the
sixty-day period beginning on the date of such submission. If any
Governor to whom a proposed lease was submitted under this subparagraph
objects to the issuance of such lease, such lease shall not be issued
before the expiration of the six-month period beginning on the date the
Secretary is notified by the Governor of such objection. During such
six-month period, the Governor may submit to the Secretary a statement
of reasons why such lease should not be issued and the Secretary shall,
on the basis of such statement, reconsider the issuance of such lease.
(3)(A)(i) No lease sale shall be held unless the lands containing
the coal deposits have been included in a comprehensive land-use plan
and such sale is compatible with such plan. The Secretary of the
Interior shall prepare such land-use plans on lands under his
responsibility where such plans have not been previously prepared. The
Secretary of the Interior shall inform the Secretary of Agriculture of
substantial development interest in coal leasing on lands within the
National Forest System. Upon receipt of such notification from the
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a
comprehensive land-use plan for such areas where such plans have not
been previously prepared. The plan of the Secretary of Agriculture shall
take into consideration the proposed coal development in these lands:
Provided, That where the Secretary of the Interior finds that because of
non-Federal interest in the surface or because the coal resources are
insufficient to justify the preparation costs of a Federal comprehensive
land-use plan, the lease sale can be held if the lands containing the
coal deposits have been included in either a comprehensive land-use plan
prepared by the State within which the lands are located or a land use
analysis prepared by the Secretary of the Interior.
(ii) In preparing such land-use plans, the Secretary of the Interior
or, in the case of lands within the National Forest System, the
Secretary of Agriculture, or in the case of a finding by the Secretary
of the Interior that because of non-Federal interests in the surface or
insufficient Federal coal, no Federal comprehensive land-use plans can
be appropriately prepared, the responsible State entity shall consult
with appropriate State agencies and local governments and the general
public and shall provide an opportunity for public hearing on proposed
plans prior to their adoption, if requested by any person having an
interest which is, or may be, adversely affected by the adoption of such
plans.
(iii) Leases covering lands the surface of which is under the
jurisdiction of any Federal agency other than the Department of the
Interior may be issued only upon consent of the other Federal agency and
upon such conditions as it may prescribe with respect to the use and
protection of the nonmineral interests in those lands.
(B) Each land-use plan prepared by the Secretary (or in the case of
lands within the National Forest System, the Secretary of Agriculture
pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)) shall include an assessment of the
amount of coal deposits in such land, identifying the amount of such
coal which is recoverable by deep mining operations and the amount of
such coal which is recoverable by surface mining operations.
(C) Prior to issuance of any coal lease, the Secretary shall
consider effects which mining of the proposed lease might have on an
impacted community or area, including, but not limited to, impacts on
the environment, on agricultural and other economic activities, and on
public services. Prior to issuance of a lease, the Secretary shall
evaluate and compare the effects of recovering coal by deep mining, by
surface mining, and by any other method to determine which method or
methods or sequence of methods achieves the maximum economic recovery of
the coal within the proposed leasing tract. This evaluation and
comparison by the Secretary shall be in writing but shall not prohibit
the issuance of a lease; however, no mining operating plan shall be
approved which is not found to achieve the maximum economic recovery of
the coal within the tract. Public hearings in the area shall be held by
the Secretary prior to the lease sale.
(D) No lease sale shall be held until after the notice of the
proposed offering for lease has been given once a week for three
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in
which the lands are situated in accordance with regulations prescribed
by the Secretary.
(E) Each coal lease shall contain provisions requiring compliance
with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1151-1175) [33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.] and the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.].
(b) Exploration licenses; term; rights and conditions; violations
(1) The Secretary may, under such regulations as he may prescribe,
issue to any person an exploration license. No person may conduct coal
exploration for commercial purposes for any coal on lands subject to
this chapter without such an exploration license. Each exploration
license shall be for a term of not more than two years and shall be
subject to a reasonable fee. An exploration license shall confer no
right to a lease under this chapter. The issuance of exploration
licenses shall not preclude the Secretary from issuing coal leases at
such times and locations and to such persons as he deems appropriate. No
exploration license will be issued for any land on which a coal lease
has been issued. A separate exploration license will be required for
exploration in each State. An application for an exploration license
shall identify general areas and probable methods of exploration. Each
exploration license shall contain such reasonable conditions as the
Secretary may require, including conditions to insure the protection of
the environment, and shall be subject to all applicable Federal, State,
and local laws and regulations. Upon violation of any such conditions or
laws the Secretary may revoke the exploration license.
(2) A licensee may not cause substantial disturbance to the natural
land surface. He may not remove any coal for sale but may remove a
reasonable amount of coal from the lands subject to this chapter
included under his license for analysis and study. A licensee must
comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Federal agency
having jurisdiction over the surface of the lands subject to this
chapter. Exploration licenses covering lands the surface of which is
under the jurisdiction of any Federal agency other than the Department
of the Interior may be issued only upon such conditions as it may
prescribe with respect to the use and protection of the nonmineral
interests in those lands.
(3) The licensee shall furnish to the Secretary copies of all data
(including, but not limited to, geological, geophyscal,\1\ and core
drilling analyses) obtained during such exploration. The Secretary shall
maintain the confidentiality of all data so obtained until after the
areas involved have been leased or until such time as he determines that
making the data available to the public would not damage the competitive
position of the licensee, whichever comes first.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``geophysical,''.
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(4) Any person who willfully conducts coal exploration for
commercial purposes on lands subject to this chapter without an
exploration license issued hereunder shall be subject to a fine of not
more than $1,000 for each day of violation. All data collected by said
person on any Federal lands as a result of such violation shall be made
immediately available to the Secretary, who shall make the data
available to the public as soon as it is practicable. No penalty under
this subsection shall be assessed unless such person is given notice and
opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, Sec. 2(a), (b), 41 Stat. 438; June 3, 1948, ch.
379, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 289; Pub. L. 86-252, Sec. 2, Sept. 9, 1959, 73
Stat. 490; Pub. L. 88-526, Sec. 2(a), (b), Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 710;
Pub. L. 94-377, Secs. 2-4, Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1083, 1085; Pub. L.
95-554, Sec. 2, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2073.)
References in Text
This section, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is section 2 of act
Feb. 25, 1920, as amended, which is comprised of subsecs. (a) to (d).
Subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 comprise this section, subsec. (c) of
section 2 comprises section 202 of this title, and subsec. (d) of
section 2, as added by section 5(b) of Pub. L. 94-377, comprises section
202a of this title.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, referred to in
subsec. (a)(1), is Pub. L. 94-579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, as
amended. Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
is classified generally to subchapter V (Sec. 1761 et seq.) of chapter
35 of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1701 of Title 43
and Tables.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec.
(a)(3)(E), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, 62 Stat. 1155, formerly
classified to chapter 23 (Sec. 1151 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and
Navigable Waters, which was completely revised by Pub. L. 92-500,
Sec. 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, and is classified generally to
chapter 26 (Sec. 1251 et seq.) of Title 33. For complete classification
of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1251
of Title 33 and Tables.
The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(E), is act July 14,
1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, as amended, which is classified generally
to chapter 85 (Sec. 7401 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and
Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short
Title note set out under section 7401 of Title 42 and Tables.
Codification
Section is comprised of subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 of act
Feb. 25, 1920, as amended by section 1 of act June 3, 1948. Subsec. (c)
of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, is classified to section 202 of this
title. Subsec. (d) of said section 2, as added by Pub. L. 94-377,
Sec. 5(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086, is classified to section 202a of
this title.
Amendments
1978--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 95-554 authorized negotiated fair
market value sales of coal when exercising Federal land policy and
management right-of-way permits.
1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-377, Sec. 2, designated existing
provisions as par. (1), substituted provisions authorizing the division
of any lands subject to this chapter which have been classified for coal
leasing into tracts as the Secretary finds appropriate, in the public
interest and will permit the mining of all economically extractable
coal, such leases to be awarded by competitive bidding for provisions
authorizing the division of classified or unclassified lands into tracts
of forty acres, or multiples thereof, in such form as, in the
Secretary's opinion will permit the most economical mining, such leases
to be awarded by competitive bidding or by such other method adopted by
general regulation, inserted provisions relating to deferred bonus
payments leasing, leasing to public agencies, and to the fair market
value of leases, struck out provision for notice of proposed offering
for lease in a newspaper of general circulation prior to approval or
issuance of a competitive lease of coal, and added pars. (2) and (3).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94-377, Sec. 4, designated existing provisions
as par. (1), substituted provisions relating to the issuance, term and
conditions of exploration licenses for provisions relating to the
issuance of prospecting permits for a term of two years, for not
exceeding 5125 acres, with an extension period of two years if the
permittee has been unable, with the exercise of reasonable diligence to
determine the existence or workability of coal deposits and desires
further exploration, and added pars. (2) to (4).
1964--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 88-526, Sec. 2(a), removed limitation on
a single competitive lease by striking out ``but in no case exceeding
two thousand five hundred and sixty acres in any one leasing tract,''
after ``such tracts,''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 88-526, Sec. 2(b), increased limitation on the
area carried by a prospecting permit from 2,560 to 5,120 acres.
1959--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 86-252 struck out ``outside of the
Territory of Alaska,'' after ``United States,''.
1948--Act June 3, 1948, amended section generally, dividing it into
subsections (a) to (c) and making minor technical changes. Subsecs. (a)
and (b) comprise this section and subsec. (c) is set out as section 202
of this title.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Pub. L. 99-190, Sec. 101(d) [title III, Sec. 320], Dec. 19, 1985, 99
Stat. 1224, 1266, provided that: ``The provisions of section 2(a)(2)(A)
of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 (41 Stat. 437) [subsec.
(a)(2)(A) of this section], as amended by section 3 of the Federal Coal
Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 1083) [Pub. L. 94-377, see 1976
Amendment note above] shall not take effect until December 31, 1986.''
Savings Provision
Section 4 of Pub. L. 94-377 provided that the amendment made by that
section is subject to valid existing rights.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of Secretary of the Interior, referred to subsec.
(a)(3)(D), to promulgate regulations under this chapter relating to
fostering of competition for Federal leases transferred to Secretary of
Energy by section 7152(b) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.
Section 7152(b) of Title 42 was repealed by Pub. L. 97-100, title II,
Sec. 201, Dec. 23, 1981, 95 Stat. 1407, and functions of Secretary of
Energy returned to Secretary of the Interior. See House Report No. 97-
315, pp. 25, 26, Nov. 5, 1981.
Study of Coal Leases by Director of the Office of Technology Assessment
Section 10 of Pub. L. 94-377 provided that the Director of the
Office of Technology Assessment conduct a complete study of coal leases
entered into by the United States under sections 201, 202, and 202a of
this title, which study was to include an analysis of all mining
activities, present and potential value of these leases, receipts to the
Federal Government from these leases, and recommendations as to the
feasibility of the use of deep mining technology in leased areas, with
the results of his study to be submitted to Congress within one year
after Aug. 4, 1976.
Coal Mining on Areas of National Park, Wildlife, Wilderness
Preservation, Trail, Scenic Rivers, Systems Not Authorized
Section 16 of Pub. L. 94-377 provided that: ``Nothing in this Act
[see Short Title of 1976 Amendment note under section 181 of this
title], or the Mineral Lands Leasing Act [this chapter] and the Mineral
Leasing Act for Acquired Lands [section 351 et seq. of this title] which
are amended by this Act, shall be construed as authorizing coal mining
on any area of the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge
System, the National Wilderness Preservation System, the National System
of Trails, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including study rivers
designated under section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [section
1276(a) of Title 16, Conservation].''
Admission of Alaska as State
Admission of Alaska into the Union was accomplished Jan. 3, 1959, on
issuance of Proc. No. 3269, Jan. 3, 1959, 24 F.R. 81, 73 Stat. c16, as
required by sections 1 and 8(c) of Pub. L. 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72
Stat. 339, set out as notes preceding section 21 of Title 48,
Territories and Insular Possessions.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 202, 208, 208-1, 1262, 1263,
1272, 1273, 1304 of this title; title 10 sections 7421, 7435; title 16
section 460ll-3.
