30 Usc 351-360

TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

CHAPTER 7--LEASE OF MINERAL DEPOSITS WITHIN ACQUIRED LANDS

Sec. 351. Definitions

As used in this chapter ``United States'' includes Alaska.

``Acquired lands'' or ``lands acquired by the United States'' include

all lands heretofore or hereafter acquired by the United States to which

the ``mineral leasing laws'' have not been extended, including such

lands acquired under the provisions of the Act of March 1, 1911 (36

Stat. 961, 16 U.S.C., sec. 552). ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of

the Interior, ``Mineral leasing laws'' shall mean the Act of October 20,

1914 (38 Stat. 741, 48 U.S.C., sec. 432); the Act of February 25, 1920

(41 Stat. 437, 30 U.S.C., sec. 181); the Act of April 17, 1926 (44 Stat.

301, 30 U.S.C., sec. 271); the Act of February 7, 1927 (44 Stat. 1057,

30 U.S.C., sec. 281), and all Acts heretofore or hereafter enacted which

are amendatory of or supplementary to any of the foregoing Acts.

``Lease'' includes ``prospecting permit'' unless the context otherwise

requires. The term ``oil'' shall embrace all nongaseous hydrocarbon

substances other than those leasable as coal, oil shale, or gilsonite

(including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons).

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 2, 61 Stat. 913; Pub. L. 97-78,

Sec. 1(9)(a), Nov. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1072.)

Sec. 352. Deposits subject to lease; consent of department

heads; lands excluded

Except where lands have been acquired by the United States for the

development of the mineral deposits, by foreclosure or otherwise for

resale, or reported as surplus pursuant to the provisions of the Surplus

Property Act of October 3, 1944 (50 U.S.C., sec. 1611 and the

following), all deposits of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gilsonite

(including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons), gas, sodium, potassium,

and sulfur which are owned or may hereafter be acquired by the United

States and which are within the lands acquired by the United States

(exclusive of such deposits in such acquired lands as are (a) situated

within incorporated cities, towns and villages, national parks or

monuments, or (b) tidelands or submerged lands) may be leased by the

Secretary under the same conditions as contained in the leasing

provisions of the mineral leasing laws, subject to the provisions

hereof. Coal or lignite under acquired lands set apart for military or

naval purposes may be leased by the Secretary, with the concurrence of

the Secretary of Defense, to a governmental entity (including any

corporation primarily acting as an agency or instrumentality of a State)

which produces electrical energy for sale to the public if such

governmental entity is located in the State in which such lands are

located. The provisions of subchapter VIII of chapter 3A of this title

shall apply to deposits of sulfur covered by this chapter wherever

situated. No mineral deposit covered by this section shall be leased

except with the consent of the head of the executive department,

independent establishment, or instrumentality having jurisdiction over

the lands containing such deposit, or holding a mortgage or deed of

trust secured by such lands which is unsatisfied of record, and subject

to such conditions as that official may prescribe to insure the adequate

utilization of the lands for the primary purposes for which they have

been acquired or are being administered: Provided, That nothing in this

chapter is intended, or shall be construed, to apply to or in any manner

affect any mineral rights, exploration permits, leases or conveyances

nor minerals that are or may be in any tidelands; or submerged lands; or

in lands underlying the three mile zone or belt involved in the case of

the United States of America against the State of California now pending

on application for rehearing in the Supreme Court of the United States; or in lands underlying such three mile zone or

belt, or the continental shelf, adjacent or littoral to any part of the

land within the jurisdiction of the United States of America.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 3, 61 Stat. 914; Pub. L. 94-377, Sec. 12,

Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090; Pub. L. 97-78, Sec. 1(9)(b), Nov. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1072.)

Sec. 353. Sale of lands unaffected; reservation of mineral

rights; sale subject to prior lease; naval petroleum reserves

unaffected

Nothing herein contained shall be deemed or construed to (a) amend,

modify, or change any existing law authorizing or requiring the sale of

acquired lands, or (b) empower any commission, bureau, or agency of the

Government to make a reservation of the minerals in the sale of any

acquired land: Provided, That any such sale or conveyance of lands shall

be made by the agency having jurisdiction thereof, subject to any lease

theretofore made, covering the mineral deposits underlying such lands:

Provided further, That nothing in this chapter is intended, or shall be

construed to affect in any manner any provision of chapter 641 of title

10.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 4, 61 Stat. 914.)

Sec. 354. Lease of partial or future interests in deposits

Where the United States does not own all of the mineral deposits

under any lands sought to be leased and which are affected by this

chapter, the Secretary is authorized to lease the interest of the United

States in any such mineral deposits when, in the judgment of the

Secretary, the public interest will be best served thereby; subject,

however, to the provisions of section 352 of this title. Where the

United States does not own any interest or owns less than a full

interest in the minerals that may be produced from any lands sought to

be leased, and which are or will be affected by this chapter and where,

under the provisions of its acquisition, the United States is to acquire

all or any part of such mineral deposits in the future, the Secretary

may lease any interest of the United States then owned or to be acquired

in the future in the same manner as provided in the preceding sentence.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 5, 61 Stat. 914.)

Sec. 355. Disposition of receipts

(a) Subject to the provisions of section 35(b) of the Mineral

Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(b)), all receipts derived from leases issued

under the authority of this chapter shall be paid into the same funds or

accounts in the Treasury and shall be distributed in the same manner as

prescribed for other receipts from the lands affected by the lease, the

intention of this provision being that this chapter shall not affect the

distribution of receipts pursuant to legislation applicable to such

lands: Provided, however, That receipts from leases or permits for

minerals in lands set apart for Indian use, including lands the

jurisdiction of which has been transferred to the Department of the

Interior by the Executive order for Indian use, shall be deposited in a

special fund in the Treasury until final disposition thereof by the

Congress. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, all

receipts derived from leases on lands acquired for military or naval

purposes, except the naval petroleum reserves and national oil shale

reserves, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States and

disposed of in the same manner as provided under section 35 of the Act of February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 450;

30 U.S.C. 191), in the case of receipts from sales, bonuses, royalties,

and rentals of the public lands under that Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.].

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any payment to a

State under this section shall be made by the Secretary of the Interior

and shall be made not later than the last business day of the month

following the month in which such moneys or associated reports are

received by the Secretary of the Interior, whichever is later. The

preceding sentence shall also apply to any payment to a State derived

from a lease for mineral resources issued by the Secretary of the

Interior under section 520 of title 16. The Secretary shall pay interest

to a State on any amount not paid to the State within that time at the

rate prescribed under section 1721 \1\ of this title from the date

payment was required to be made under this subsection until the date

payment is made.

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\1\ See References in Text note below.

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(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 6, 61 Stat. 915; Pub. L. 97-94, Sec. 1,

Dec. 17, 1981, 95 Stat. 1205; Pub. L. 102-486, title XXV, Sec. 2506(a),

Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3106; Pub. L. 103-66, title X, Sec. 10202(a),

Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 408; Pub. L. 107-76, title VII, Sec. 751(e)(2),

Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 739.)

References in Text

The Mineral Leasing Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Feb. 25,

1920, ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, as amended, which is classified generally to

chapter 3A (Sec. 181 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification

of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 181

of this title and Tables.

Section 1721 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the

original ``section 111 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act

of 1982'', which enacted section 1721 of this title and amended section

191 of this title.

Sec. 356. Furnishing description of lands and title documents;

recordation of documents; authenticated copies

Upon request by the Secretary, the heads of all executive

departments, independent establishments, or instrumentalities having

jurisdiction over any of the lands referred to in section 351 of this

title shall furnish to the Secretary the legal description of all of

such lands, and all pertinent abstracts, title papers, and other

documents in the possession of such agencies concerning the status of

the title of the United States to the mineral deposits that may be found

in such lands.

Abstracts, title papers, and other documents furnished to the

Secretary under this section shall be recorded promptly in the Bureau of

Land Management in such form as the Secretary shall deem adequate for

their preservation and use in the administration of this chapter,

whereupon the originals shall be returned promptly to the agency from

which they were received. Duly authenticated copies of any such

abstracts, title papers, or other documents may, however, be furnished

to the Secretary, in lieu of the originals, in the discretion of the

agency concerned.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 7, 61 Stat. 915.)

Sec. 357. State or local government rights; taxation

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to affect the

rights of the State or other local authorities to exercise any right

which they may have with respect to properties covered by leases issued

under this chapter, including the right to levy and collect taxes upon

improvements, output of mines, or other rights, property, or assets of

any lessee of the United States.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 8, 61 Stat. 915.)

Sec. 358. Rights under prior leases; priority of pending

applications; exchange of leases

Nothing in this chapter shall affect any rights acquired by any

lessee of lands subject to this chapter under the law as it existed

prior to August 7, 1947, and such rights shall be governed by the law in

effect at the time of their acquisition; but any person qualified to

hold a lease who, on August 7, 1947, had pending an application for an

oil and gas lease for any lands subject to this chapter which on the

date the application was filed was not situated within the known

geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field, shall have a

preference right over others to a lease of such lands without

competitive bidding. Any person holding a lease on lands subject hereto,

which lease was issued prior to August 7, 1947, shall be entitled to

exchange such lease for a new lease issued under the provisions of this

chapter, at any time prior to the expiration of such existing lease.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 9, 61 Stat. 915.)

Sec. 359. Rules and regulations

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe such rules

and regulations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the

purposes of this chapter, which rules and regulations shall be the same

as those prescribed under the mineral leasing laws to the extent that

they are applicable.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 10, 61 Stat. 915.)

Sec. 360. Authority to manage certain mineral leases

Each department, agency and instrumentality of the United States

which administers lands acquired by the United States with one or more

existing mineral lease shall transfer to the Secretary of the Interior

the authority to administer such lease and to collect all receipts due

and payable to the United States under the lease. In the case of lands

acquired on or before October 24, 1992, the authority to administer the

leases and collect receipts shall be transferred to the Secretary of the

Interior as expeditiously as practicable after October 24, 1992. In the

case of lands acquired after October 24, 1992, such authority shall be

vested with the Secretary at the time of acquisition. The provisions of

section 355 of this title shall apply to all receipts derived from such

leases where such receipts are due and payable to the United States

under the lease in the same manner as such provisions apply to receipts

derived from leases issued under the authority of this chapter. For

purposes of this section, the term ``existing mineral lease'' means any

lease in existence at the time land is acquired by the United States.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the existing

surface management authority of any Federal agency.

(Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, Sec. 11, as added Pub. L. 102-486, title XXV,

Sec. 2506(b), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3106.)