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OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT
Legislative History
Congressional Records - March 17, 1977
Following is the March 17, 1977 Congressional Record. The text below is compiled from the Office of Surface Mining's COALEX data base, not an original printed document, and the reader is advised that coding or typographical errors could be present.
123 CONG.REC. S4269
March 17, 1977
Mr. MELCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that amendments No. 66 and 67 to S. 7 be printed in the RECORD.
S4269 There being no objection, the amendments were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
S4269 AMENDMENT No. 66
S4269 On page 117, beginning with line 22, strike out all through line 3 on page 118 and insert in lieu thereof the following:
S4269 SURFACE OWNER PROTECTION
S4269 SEC. 423A. (a) The provision and procedures specified in this section shall apply where coal owned by the United States land the surface rights to which are owned by a surface owner as defined in this section is to be mined by methods other than underground mining techniques. In order to minimize disturbance to surface owners from surface coal mining of Federal coal deposits, the Secretary shall, in his discretion but, to the maximum extent practicable, refrain from leasing such coal deposits for development by methods other than underground mining techniques.
S4269 (b) Any coal deposits subject to this section shall be offered for leases pursuant to section 2(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 201a), except that no award shall be made by any method other than competitive bidding.
S4269 (c) Prior to placing any deposit subject to this section in a leasing tract, the Secretary shall give to any surface owner whose land is to be included in the proposed leasing tract actual written notice of his intention to place such deposits under such land in a leasing tract.
S4269 (d) The Secretary shall not enter into any lease of such coal deposits until the surface owner has given written consent and the Secretary has obtained such consent, to enter and commence surface mining operations, and the applicant has agreed to pay in addition to the rental and royalty and other obligations due the United States the money value of the surface owners's interest as determined according to the provisions of subsection (e).
S4269 (e) The value of the surface owner's interests shall be fixed by the Secretary based on appraisals made by three appraisers. One such appraiser shall be appointed by the Secretary, one appointed by the surface owner concerned, and one appointed jointly by the appraisers named by the Secretary and such surface owner. In computing the value of the surface owner's interest, the appraisers shall first fix and determine the fair market value of the surface estate and they shall then determine and add the value of such of the following losses and costs to the extent that such losses and costs arise from the surface coal mining operations:
S4269 (1) loss of income to the surface owner during the mining and reclamation process;
S4269 (2) cost to the surface owner for relocation or dislocation during the mining and reclamation process;
S4269 (3) cost to the surface owner for the loss of livestock, crops, water, or other improvements.
S4269 (4) any other damage to the surface reasonably anticipated to be caused by the surface mining and reclamation operations; and
S4269 (5) such additional reasonable amount of compensation as the Secretary may determine is equitable in light of the length of the tenure of the ownership: Provided, That such additional reasonable amount of compensation may not exceed the value of the losses and costs as established pursuant to this subsection and in paragraphs (1) through (4) above, or $100 per acre, whichever is less.
S4269 (f) All bills submitted to the Secretary for any such lease shall, in addition to any rental or royalty and other obligations, be accompanied by the deposit of an amount equal to the value of the surface owner's interest computed under subsection (e). The Secretary shall pay such amount to the surface owner either upon the execution of such lease or upon the commencement of mining, or shall require posting of bond to assure installment payments over a period of years acceptable to the surface owner, at the option of the surface owner. At the time of initial payment, the surface owner may request a review of the initial determination of the amount of the surface owner's interest for the purpose of adjusting such amount to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index since the initial determination. The lessee shall pay such increased amount to the Secretary to be paid over to the surface owner. Upon the release of the performance bonds or deposits under section 419 or at an earlier time as may be determined by the Secretary, all rights to enter into and use the surface of the land subject to such lease shall revert to the surface owner.
{S4270} } (g) For the purpose of this section the term "surface owner" means the natural person or persons (or corporation, the majority stock of which is held by a person or persons who meet the other requirements of this section) who -
S4270 (1) hold legal or equitable title to the land surface;
S4270 (2) have their principal place of residence on the land; or personally conduct farming or ranching operations upon a farm or ranch unit to be affected by surface coal mining operations; or receive directly a significant portion of their income, if any, from such farming or ranching operations; and
S4270 (3) have met the conditions of paragraphs (1) and (2) for a period of at least three years prior to the granting of the consent. In computing the three-year period the Secretary may include periods during which title was owned by a relative of such person by blood or marriage during which period such relative would have met the requirements of this subsection.
S4270 (h) Where surface lands over coal subject to this section are owned by any person who meets the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (g) but who does not meet the requirements of paragraph (3) of subsection (g), the Secretary shall not place such coal deposit in a leasing tract unless such person has owned such surface lands for a period of three years. After the expiration of such three-year period such coal deposit may be leased by the Secretary: Provided, That if such person qualifies as a surface owner as defined by subsection (g) his consent has been obtained pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section.
S4270 (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed as increasing or diminishing any property rights held by the United States or by any other landowner.
S4270 (j) The determination of the value of the surface owner's interest fixed pursuant to subsection (e) or any adjustment to that determination made pursuant to subsection (f) shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States district court for the locality in which the leasing tract is located.
S4270 (k) At the end of each two-year period after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the implementation of the Federal coal leasing policy established by this section. The report shall include a list of the surface owners who have (1) given their consent, (2) received payments pursuant to this section, (3) refused to give consent, and (4) the acreage of land involved in each category. The report shall also indicate the Secretary's views on the impact of the leasing policy on the availability of Federal coal to meet national energy needs and on receipt of fair market value for Federal coal.
S4270 (1) This section shall not apply to Indian lands.
S4270 (m) Any person who gives, offers, or promless anything of value to any surface owner or offers or promises any surface owner to give anything of value to any other person or entity in order to induce such surface owner to give the Secretary his written consent pursuant to this section, and any surface owner who accepts, receives, or offers or agrees to receive anything of value for himself or any other person or entity, in return for giving his written consent pursuant to this section, shall be subject to a civil penalty of one and a half times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value. Such penalty shall be assessed by the Secretary and collected in accordance with the procedures set out in subsections 418(b), 418(c), 418(d), and 418(e) of this Act.
S4270 (n) Any Federal coal lease issued subject to the provisions of this section shall be automatically terminated if the lessee, before or after issuance of the lease, gives, offers or promises anything of value to the surface owner or offers or promises any surface owner to give anything of value to any other person or entity in order to (1) induce such surface owner to give the Secretary his written consent pursuant to this section, or (2) compensate such surface owner for giving such consent. All bonuses, royalties, rents, and other payments made by the lessee shall be retained by the United States.
S4270 AMENDMENT NO. 67
S4270 On page 59, beginning with line 11, strike out all through line 22 and insert in lieu thereof the following:
S4270 "(5) the proposed surface coal mining operations, if located west of the one hundredth meridian west longitude, would -
S4270 "(A) not interrupt, discontinue, or prevent farming on alluvial valley floors that are irrigated or naturally subirrigated, but, excluding undeveloped rangelands which are not significant to farming on said alluvial valley floors and those lands that the regulatory authority finds that if the farming that will be interrupted, discontinued, or prevented is of such small acreage as to be of negligible impact on the farm's agricultural production, or,
S4270 "(B) not adversely affect the quantity or quality of water in surface or underground water systems that supply these valley floors in (A) of subsection (b)(5):
S4270 Provided, That this paragraph (5) shall not affect those surface coal mining operations which in the year preceding the enactment of this Act (1) produced coal in commercial quantities, and (2) were located within or adjacent to alluvial valley floors or had obtained specific permit approval by the State regulatory authority to conduct surface coal mining operations within said alluvial valley floors."