30 U.s.c. 241

Page 79

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

Section 231, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 2, 42 Stat. 1448,
required applications for permits and leases to be made
not later than sixty days after Mar. 4, 1923.
Section 232, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 3, 42 Stat. 1448,
limited amount of land any one person or corporation
could be granted.
Section 233, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 4, 42 Stat. 1448,
provided for payment of royalties to United States.
SAVINGS PROVISION
Section 3 of act June 22, 1948, provided that the repeal
of these sections is subject to existing valid rights.

§ 233a. Permits or leases of certain lands in Oklahoma; retention of royalties
The Secretary of the Interior is directed to retain in his custody until otherwise directed by
law the 121⁄2 per centum and other royalties
heretofore or hereafter received by him in pursuance of section 233 1 of this title.
(Mar. 4, 1925, ch. 550, § 2, 43 Stat. 1302.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 233 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by act June 22, 1948, ch. 605, § 3, 62 Stat. 576.
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

§§ 234 to 236. Repealed. June 22, 1948, ch. 605, § 3,
62 Stat. 576
Section 234, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 5, 42 Stat. 1449,
provided for application of other laws to leases and permits granted under sections 230 to 233 and 234 to 236 of
this title, and for disposition of lands and deposits remaining unappropriated and undisposed of.
Section 235, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 6, 42 Stat. 1449,
prohibited interference with certain lands in possession
of receivers appointed by the Supreme Court.
Section 236, act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 249, § 7, 42 Stat. 1450,
authorized promulgation of rules and regulations necessary to accomplish purposes of sections 230 to 233 and
234 to 236 of this title.
SAVINGS PROVISION
Section 3 of act June 22, 1948, provided that the repeal
of these sections is subject to existing valid rights.

§ 236a. Lands in naval petroleum reserves and
naval oil-shale reserves; effect of other laws
Nothing in sections 185, 221,1 223, 223a,1 and 226
of this title and this section shall be construed
as affecting any lands within the borders of the
naval petroleum reserves and naval oil-shale reserves or agreements concerning operations
thereunder or in relation to the same, but the
Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized, with
the consent of the President, to enter into
agreements such as those provided for under sections 184 and 226 of this title, which agreement
shall not, unless expressed therein, operate to
extend the terms of any lease affected thereby.
(Aug. 21, 1935, ch. 599, § 3, 49 Stat. 679.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 221 of this title, referred to in text, was omitted from the Code.
1 See
1 See

References in Text note below.
References in Text note below.

§ 241

Section 223a of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by act Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 14, 60 Stat. 958.
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.

§ 236b. Existing leases within naval petroleum reserves not affected
Nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting existing leases within the borders of the
naval petroleum reserves, or agreements concerning operations thereunder or in relation
thereto.
(Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 13, 60 Stat. 958; Aug. 10,
1956, ch. 1041, § 53, 70A Stat. 675.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This act, referred to in text, is act Aug. 8, 1946, ch.
916, 60 Stat. 950, as amended, which is classified generally to sections 181, 184, 187a, 187b, 188, 193, 209, 225, 226,
226c to 226e, 236b, and 285 of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act Feb. 25, 1920,
ch. 85, 41 Stat. 437, known as the Mineral Leasing Act,
which comprises this chapter.
AMENDMENTS
1956—Act Aug. 10, 1956, repealed the portion of this
section after ‘‘thereto’’ which authorized the Secretary
of the Navy, with the consent of the President, to enter
into agreements such as those provided for in section
236e of this title, which agreements, should not, unless
expressed therein, operate to extend the term of any
lease affected thereby.

§ 237. Omitted
CODIFICATION
Section, Pub. L. 95–372, title VI, § 602, Sept. 18, 1978, 92
Stat. 694, which required the Secretary of the Interior
to submit annual reports to Congress on delinquent
royalty accounts under leases issued under any Act
regulating development of oil and gas on Federal lands,
terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section
3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note
under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. See,
also, page 111 of House Document No. 103–7.

SUBCHAPTER V—OIL SHALE
§ 241. Leases of lands
(a) In general
(1) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to lease to any person or corporation
qualified under this chapter any deposits of oil
shale, and gilsonite (including all vein-type
solid hydrocarbons) belonging to the United
States and the surface of so much of the public
lands containing such deposits, or land adjacent
thereto, as may be required for the extraction
and reduction of the leased minerals, under such
rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this
chapter, as he may prescribe.
(2) No lease hereunder shall exceed 5,760 acres
of land, to be described by the legal subdivisions
of the public-land surveys, or if unsurveyed, to
be surveyed by the United States, at the expense
of the applicant, in accordance with regulations
to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

§ 241

TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

(3) Leases may be for indeterminate periods,
upon such conditions as may be imposed by the
Secretary of the Interior, including covenants
relative to methods of mining, prevention of
waste, and productive development.
(4) For the privilege of mining, extracting, and
disposing of the oil or other minerals covered by
a lease under this section the lessee shall pay to
the United States such royalties as shall be
specified in the lease and an annual rental, payable at the beginning of each year, at the rate of
$2.00 per acre per annum, for the lands included
in the lease, the rental paid for any one year to
be credited against the royalties accruing for
that year; such royalties to be subject to readjustment at the end of each twenty-year period
by the Secretary of the Interior. For the purpose
of encouraging the production of petroleum
products from shales the Secretary may, in his
discretion, waive the payment of any royalty
and rental during the first five years of any
lease. Any person having a valid claim to such
minerals under existing laws on January 1, 1919,
shall, upon the relinquishment of such claim, be
entitled to a lease under the provisions of this
section for such area of the land relinquished as
shall not exceed the maximum area authorized
by this section to be leased to an individual or
corporation. No claimant for a lease who has
been guilty of any fraud or who had knowledge
or reasonable grounds to know of any fraud, or
who has not acted honestly and in good faith,
shall be entitled to any of the benefits of this
section. No one person, association, or corporation shall acquire or hold more than 50,000 acres
of oil shale leases in any one State. For gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons)
no person, association, or corporation shall acquire or hold more than seven thousand six hundred eighty acres in any one State without respect to the number of leases.
(5) No lease issued under this section shall be
included in any chargeability limitation associated with oil and gas leases.
(b) Offer for lease; deposits other than oil shale;
questioned validity because of location; preference rights
If an offer for a lease under the provisions of
this section for deposits other than oil shale is
based upon a mineral location, the validity of
which might be questioned because the claim
was based on a placer location rather than on a
lode location, or vice versa, the offeror shall
have a preference right to a lease if the offer is
filed not more than one year after September 2,
1960.
(c) 1 Multiple use principal leases; gilsonite including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons
With respect to gilsonite (including all veintype solid hydrocarbons) a lease under the multiple use principle may issue notwithstanding
the existence of an outstanding lease issued
under any other provision of this chapter.
(c) 1 Offsite leases
(1) The Secretary may within the State of Colorado lease to the holder of the Federal oil shale
lease known as Federal Prototype Tract C–a ad1 Two

subsecs. (c) have been enacted.

Page 80

ditional lands necessary for the disposal of oil
shale wastes and the materials removed from
mined lands, and for the building of plants, reduction works, and other facilities connected
with oil shale operations (which lease shall be
referred to hereinafter as an ‘‘offsite lease’’).
The Secretary may only issue one offsite lease
not to exceed six thousand four hundred acres.
An offsite lease may not serve more than one
Federal oil shale lease and may not be transferred except in conjunction with the transfer of
the Federal oil shale lease that it serves.
(2) The Secretary may issue one offsite lease
of not more than three hundred and twenty
acres to any person, association or corporation
which has the right to develop oil shale on nonFederal lands. An offsite lease serving non-Federal oil shale land may not serve more than one
oil shale operation and may not be transferred
except in conjunction with the transfer of the
non-Federal oil shale land that it serves. Not
more than two offsite leases may be issued
under this paragraph.
(3) An offsite lease shall include no rights to
any mineral deposits.
(4) The Secretary may issue offsite leases after
consideration of the need for such lands, impacts on the environment and other resource
values, and upon a determination that the public interest will be served thereby.
(5) An offsite lease for lands the surface of
which is under the jurisdiction of a Federal
agency other than the Department of the Interior shall be issued only with the consent of that
other Federal agency and shall be subject to
such terms and conditions as it may prescribe.
(6) An offsite lease shall be for such periods of
time and shall include such lands, subject to the
acreage limitations contained in this subsection, as the Secretary determines to be necessary to achieve the purposes for which the
lease is issued, and shall contain such provisions
as he determines are needed for protection of environmental and other resource values.
(7) An offsite lease shall provide for the payment of an annual rental which shall reflect the
fair market value of the rights granted and
which shall be subject to such revisions as the
Secretary, in his discretion, determines may be
needed from time to time to continue to reflect
the fair market value.
(8) An offsite lease may, at the option of the
lessee, include provisions for payments in any
year which payments shall be credited against
any portion of the annual rental for a subsequent year to the extent that such payment is
payable by the Secretary of the Treasury under
section 191 of this title to the State within the
boundaries of which the leased lands are located.
Such funds shall be paid by the Secretary of the
Treasury to the appropriate State in accordance
with section 191 of this title, and such funds
shall be distributed by the State only to those
counties, municipalities, or jurisdictional subdivisions impacted by oil shale development and/
or where the lease is sited.
(9) An offsite lease shall remain subject to
leasing under the other provisions of this chapter where such leasing would not be incompatible with the offsite lease.

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TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING

(d) Considerations governing issuance of offsite
lease
In recognition of the unique character of oil
shale development:
(1) In determining whether to offer or issue an
offsite lease under subsection (c) of this section,
the Secretary shall consult with the Governor
and appropriate State, local, and tribal officials
of the State where the lands to be leased are located, and of any additional State likely to be
affected significantly by the social, economic, or
environmental effects of development under
such lease, in order to coordinate Federal and
State planning processes, minimize duplication
of permits, avoid delays, and anticipate and
mitigate likely impacts of development.
(2) The Secretary may issue an offsite lease
under subsection (d) 2 after consideration of (A)
the need for leasing, (B) impacts on the environment and other resource values, (C) socioeconomic factors, and (D) information from consultations with the Governors of the affected
States.
(3) Before determining whether to offer an offsite lease under subsection (c) of this section,
the Secretary shall seek the recommendation of
the Governor of the State in which the lands to
be leased are located as to whether or not to
lease such lands, what alternative actions are
available, and what special conditions could be
added to the proposed lease to mitigate impacts.
The Secretary shall accept the recommendations of the Governor if he determines that they
provide for a reasonable balance between the national interest and the State’s interests. The
Secretary shall communicate to the Governor,
in writing, and publish in the Federal Register
the reasons for his determination to accept or
reject such Governor’s recommendations.
(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 21, 41 Stat. 445; Pub. L.
86–705, § 7, Sept. 2, 1960, 74 Stat. 790; Pub. L. 97–78,
§ 1(1), Nov. 16, 1981, 95 Stat. 1070; Pub. L. 97–394,
title III, § 318, Dec. 30, 1982, 96 Stat. 1999; Pub. L.
109–58, title III, § 369(j)(2), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
731.)
AMENDMENTS
2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–58 designated first to
third sentences as pars. (1) to (3), respectively, substituted ‘‘5,760’’ for ‘‘five thousand one hundred and
twenty’’ in par. (2), designated fourth to eighth sentences as par. (4) and substituted ‘‘rate of $2.00 per
acre’’ for ‘‘rate of 50 cents per acre’’, ‘‘No one person’’
for ‘‘Not more than one lease shall be granted under
this section to any one person’’, and ‘‘shall acquire or
hold more than 50,000 acres of oil shale leases in any
one State. For’’ for ‘‘except that with respect to leases
for’’, and added par. (5).
1982—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 97–394 added subsecs.
(c) and (d).
1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–78 substituted ‘‘and gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons)’’
and ‘‘gilsonite (including all vein-type hydrocarbons)’’
for ‘‘native asphalt, solid and semisolid bitumen, and
bituminous rock (including oil-impregnated rock or
sands from which oil is recoverable only by special
treatment after the deposit is mined or quarried)’’.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–78 substituted ‘‘gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons)’’ for ‘‘native
asphalt, solid and semisolid bitumen, and bituminous
rock (including oil-impregnated rock or sands from
2 So

in original. Probably should be subsection ‘‘(c)’’.

§ 242

which oil is recoverable only by special treatment after
the deposit is mined or quarried)’’.
1960—Pub. L. 86–705 designated existing provisions as
subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c). Other changes
included addition of native asphalt, solid and semisolid
bitumen, and bituminous rock within the scope of the
section, and insertion of the limitation upon such holdings.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
Functions of Secretary of the Interior to promulgate
regulations under this chapter relating to establishment of diligence requirements for operations conducted on Federal leases, setting of rates for production of Federal leases, and specifying of procedures,
terms, and conditions for acquisition and disposition of
Federal royalty interests taken in kind, 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, § 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.

§ 242. Oil shale claims
(a) Notice
Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
within 60 days from October 24, 1992, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide notice to
each holder of an unpatented oil shale mining
claim of the requirements of this Act. Such notice shall be made by registered mail and by
publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the areas in which such claims are located.
(b) Full patent
The holder of a valid oil shale mining claim
who has filed a patent application and received
first half final certificate for patent by October
24, 1992, may obtain a patent pursuant to the
general mining laws of the United States.
(c) Patent
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the holder of a valid oil shale mining claim
who has filed a patent application which has
been accepted for processing by the Department
of the Interior by October 24, 1992, but has not
received first half final certificate for patent by
October 24, 1992, may receive only a patent limited to the oil shale and associated minerals,
upon payment of $2.50 per acre. Title to the surface and to all other minerals, including, but
not limited to, oil, gas, and coal, shall remain in
the United States. Patents issued pursuant to
this subsection shall provide for surface use to
the same extent as is provided under applicable
law prior to October 24, 1992, with respect to oil
shale mining claims, subject to the requirements of subsection (f) of this section.
(2) Maintenance of claims referred to in this
subsection prior to patent issuance shall be in
accordance with the requirements of applicable
law prior to October 24, 1992.
(3) Any holder of a valid oil shale mining
claim referred to in this subsection may maintain such claim in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsection (e)(2) of this section in lieu of receiving a patent under this section.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any person referred to in paragraph (1) who