30 U.S.C. § 202a — Consolidation of coal leases into logical

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 Repealed.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 Repealed.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. Page 66 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 203 1 So in original. The comma probably should not appear. (3) Conditions for approval In approving a logical mining unit, the Sec- retary may provide, among other things, that (i) diligent development, continuous operation, and production on any Federal lease or non-Federal land in the logical mining unit shall be con- strued as occurring on all Federal leases in that logical mining unit, and (ii) the rentals and roy- alties for all Federal leases in a logical mining unit may be combined, and advanced royalties paid for any lease within a logical mining unit may be credited against such combined royal- ties. (4) Amendment to lease The Secretary may amend the provisions of any lease included in a logical mining unit so that mining under that lease will be consistent with the requirements imposed on that logical mining unit. (5) Leases issued before date of enactment of this Act Leases issued before the date of enactment of this Act may be included with the consent of all lessees in such logical mining unit, and, if so in- cluded, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. (6) Lessee required to form unit By regulation the Secretary may require a les- see under this chapter to form a logical mining unit, and may provide for determination of par- ticipating acreage within a unit. (7) Required acreage No logical mining unit shall be approved by the Secretary if the total acreage (both Federal and non-Federal) of the unit would exceed twen- ty-five thousand acres. (8) Acreage limitations for coal leases not waived Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive the acreage limitations for coal leases contained in section 184(a) of this title. (Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 2(d), as added Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086; amended Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, § 433, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 761.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of enactment of this Act, referred to in par. (5), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 94–377, which was approved Aug. 4, 1976. This section, referred to in pars. (5) and (8), is section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, which is comprised of subsecs. (a) to (d). Subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 are classified to section 201 of this title, subsec. (c) of section 2 is classi- fied to section 202 of this title, and subsec. (d) of sec- tion 2, as added by section 5(b) of Pub. L. 94–377, is clas- sified to this section. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of subsec. (d) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, as added by Pub. L. 94–377. Subsecs. (a) and (b) of said section 2 are classified to section 201 of this title. Subsec. (c) of said section 2 is classified to section 202 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2005—Par. (2). Pub. L. 109–58 designated existing pro- visions as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 109–58 applicable with respect to any coal lease issued before, on, or after Aug. 8, 2005, see section 438 of Pub. L. 109–58, set out as a note under section 201 of this title. § 203. Additional lands or deposits (a) In general (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), on a finding by the Secretary under paragraph (2), any person, association, or corporation holding a lease of coal lands or coal deposits under the provisions of this chapter may with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior,1 secure modi- fications of the original coal lease by including additional coal lands or coal deposits contiguous or cornering to those embraced in the lease. (2) A finding referred to in paragraph (1) is a finding by the Secretary that the modifica- tions— (A) would be in the interest of the United States; (B) would not displace a competitive interest in the lands; and (C) would not include lands or deposits that can be developed as part of another potential or existing operation. (3) In no case shall the total area added by modifications to an existing coal lease under paragraph (1)— (A) exceed 960 acres; or (B) add acreage larger than that in the origi- nal lease. (b) Terms and conditions The Secretary shall prescribe terms and condi- tions which shall be consistent with this chapter and applicable to all of the acreage in such modified lease except that nothing in this sec- tion shall require the Secretary to apply the production or mining plan requirements of sec- tions 202a(2) and 207(c) of this title. (c) Royalties The minimum royalty provisions of section 207(a) of this title shall not apply to any lands covered by this modified lease prior to a modi- fication until the term of the original lease or extension thereof which became effective prior to the effective date of this Act has expired. (Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 3, 41 Stat. 439; Pub. L. 94–377, § 13(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090; Pub. L. 95–554, § 3, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2074; Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, § 432, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 760.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Sections 202a(2) and 207(c) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ‘‘section 2(d)(2) and 7(c) of this Act (30 U.S.C. 201(d)(2) and 207(c))’’, and was translated as sections 202a(2) and 207(c) of this title to reflect the probable intent of Congress. The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsec. (c), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 95–554, which was approved Oct. 30, 1978. AMENDMENTS 2005—Pub. L. 109–58 designated first sentence as par. (1) of subsec. (a), substituted ‘‘Except as provided in