30 U.S.C. § 202 — Common carriers; limitations of lease or

Page 65 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 202a Amendment note under section 181 of this title], or the Mineral Lands Leasing Act [this chapter] and the Min- eral 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 Ref- uge System, the National Wilderness Preservation Sys- tem, the National System of Trails, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including study rivers des- ignated under section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Riv- ers Act [section 1276(a) of Title 16, Conservation].’’ Executive Documents ADMISSION OF ALASKA AS STATE Admission of Alaska into the Union was accom- plished 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. § 201–1. Repealed. Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(a), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086 Section, Pub. L. 88–526, § 2(c), (d), Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 710, permitted the entering into of contracts for collective prospecting, development or operation of coalfields by lessees for the purpose of conserving nat- ural resources. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SAVINGS PROVISION Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(a), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086, pro- vided that the repeal of this section is subject to valid existing rights. § 201a. Repealed. June 3, 1948, ch. 379, § 8, 62 Stat. 291 Section, act Mar. 9, 1928, ch. 159, § 1, 45 Stat. 251, re- lated to extension of coal prospecting permits. § 201b. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, act Mar. 9, 1928, ch. 159, § 2, 45 Stat. 251, pro- vided for extension of coal permits already expired for a period of two years from Mar. 9, 1928. § 202. Common carriers; limitations of lease or permit No company or corporation operating a com- mon-carrier railroad shall be given or hold a permit or lease under the provisions of this chapter for any coal deposits except for its own use for railroad purposes; and such limitations of use shall be expressed in all permits and leases issued to such companies or corporations; and no such company or corporation shall re- ceive or hold under permit or lease more than ten thousand two hundred and forty acres in the aggregate nor more than one permit or lease for each two hundred miles of its railroad lines served or to be served from such coal deposits exclusive of spurs or switches and exclusive of branch lines built to connect the leased coal with the railroad, and also exclusive of parts of the railroad operated mainly by power produced otherwise than by steam. Nothing in this section and section 201 of this title shall preclude such a railroad of less than two hundred miles in length from securing one permit or lease thereunder but no railroad shall hold a permit or lease for lands in any State in which it does not operate main or branch lines. (Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 2(c), 41 Stat. 438; June 13, 1944, ch. 244, 58 Stat. 275; June 3, 1948, ch. 379, § 1, 62 Stat. 289.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section is comprised of subsec. (c) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, as amended by section 1 of act June 3, 1948. Subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, are classified to section 201 of this title. Subsec. (d) of said section 2, as added by Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086, is classified to section 202a of this title. AMENDMENTS 1948—Act June 3, 1948, reenacted this section without change except to make it subsec. (c) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920. 1944—Act June 13, 1944, inserted ‘‘more than ten thou- sand two hundred and forty acres in the aggregate nor’’ before ‘‘more than one permit’’, substituted ‘‘railroad lines served or to be served from such coal deposits’’ for ‘‘railroad line within the State in which such property is situated,’’, and prohibited a railroad from holding a permit or lease for lands in any State in which it did not operate main or branch lines. § 202a. Consolidation of coal leases into logical mining unit (1) Approval by Secretary; public hearing; defini- tion The Secretary, upon determining that max- imum economic recovery of the coal deposit or deposits is served thereby, may approve the con- solidation of coal leases into a logical mining unit. Such consolidation may only take place after a public hearing, if requested by any per- son whose interest is or may be adversely af- fected. A logical mining unit is an area of land in which the coal resources can be developed in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner as a unit with due regard to conservation of coal reserves and other resources. A logical mining unit may consist of one or more Federal lease- holds, and may include intervening or adjacent lands in which the United States does not own the coal resources, but all the lands in a logical mining unit must be under the effective control of a single operator, be able to be developed and operated as a single operation and be contig- uous. (2) Mining plan; requirements (A) After the Secretary has approved the es- tablishment of a logical mining unit, any min- ing plan approved for that unit must require such diligent development, operation, and pro- duction that the reserves of the entire unit will be mined within a period established by the Sec- retary which shall not be more than forty years. (B) The Secretary may establish a period of more than 40 years if the Secretary determines that the longer period— (i) will ensure the maximum economic re- covery of a coal deposit; or (ii) the longer period is in the interest of the orderly, efficient, or economic development of a coal resource.