Overview. This Act authorizes and governs leasing of public lands for developing deposits of coal, phosphates, oil, gas and other hydrocarbons and sodium.

Lands Subject to Leasing. The Act makes deposits of coal, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil, oil shale, gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons) or gas, and lands containing U.S.-owned deposits, subject to disposition under the Act. The Act also applies to deposits of coal, phosphate, sodium, oil, oil shale, gilsonite or gas in U.S. lands that have been or may be disposed of under laws reserving the deposits to the U.S.

The Act prohibits the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) from issuing a lease under the Act or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 on specified federal lands within wilderness study areas. The Secretary may issue permits on these lands for exploration for oil and gas, coal, oil shale, phosphate, potassium, sulphur, gilsonite or geothermal resources if the exploration does not require road construction or improvement and the activity is conducted in a manner compatible with preservation of the wilderness environment. §§ 181, 182 and 226-3.

Pipeline Rights-of-Way. The Act authorizes the Secretary or appropriate agency head to grant rights-of-way for pipelines through federal lands for transportation of oil, natural gas, synthetic liquid or gaseous fuels. Pipeline rights-of-way may not be granted on lands in the National Park System, lands held in trust for an Indian or Indian tribe, and lands on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Secretary or agency head must issue regulations or impose stipulations applicable to rights-of-way or permits granted or renewed pursuant to the Act. The regulations or stipulations must include requirements for:   restoration, revegetation and curtailment of surface erosion; fulfillment of applicable air and water quality standards; control or prevention of damage to the environment, including fish and wildlife habitat; protection of the interests of individuals living in the right-of-way or permit area who rely on the fish, wildlife and biotic resources of the area for subsistence purposes. A right-of-way may be suspended or terminated for noncompliance with these requirements. § 185.

Coal. The Act authorizes the Secretary to divide lands subject to the Act that have been classified for coal leasing into leasing tracts of a size that will permit the mining of all economically extractable coal. The Secretary may offer the tracts for leasing only if the lands containing the coal deposits have been included in a comprehensive land-use plan and the lease is compatible with the plan. Prior to issuance of a lease, the Secretary must consider the effects that mining might have on an impacted community or area, including impacts on the environment. Leases covering lands under the jurisdiction of another federal agency may be issued only with the consent of that agency and with conditions for the use and protection of the nonmineral interests in the lands. The Secretary must submit to appropriate state governors proposed leases that permit surface coal mining within the boundaries of a National Forest. If a governor objects to issuance of a lease, the Secretary must reconsider the proposed lease. The Act also authorizes the Secretary to issue exploratory licenses, without which a person may not conduct coal exploration for commercial purposes.

The Act sets forth lease conditions, including the term of the lease, annual rentals and royalties, and requirements of diligent development and continued operation. A lessee must submit for the Secretary's approval an operation and reclamation plan prior to taking an action that might cause significant disturbance of the environment, and within three years of issuance of the lease. If the land is under the surface jurisdiction of another federal agency, that agency must consent to the terms of the Secretary's approval. §§ 201-209.

Phosphates. The Act authorizes the Secretary to lease U.S. phosphate deposits and lands containing the deposits, including associated and related minerals, when the lease would serve the public interest. The Act further authorizes the Secretary to issue prospecting permits giving the exclusive right to prospect for phosphate deposits, including associated minerals. The Act describes the required lease elements. With the exception of national forest lands, a lease holder may use the surface of unappropriated and unentered public lands not part of the lease to the extent the Secretary determines necessary for extracting, treating and removing the mineral deposits. §§ 211-214.

Oil and Gas. The Secretary is authorized to lease lands subject to disposition under the Act that are known or believed to contain oil or gas deposits. The Act prohibits the Secretary from issuing leases on National Forest System lands reserved from the public domain over the objection of the Secretary of Agriculture. A permittee who establishes to the Secretary's satisfaction that valuable deposits of oil or gas have been discovered within the land embraced in a prospecting permit is entitled to a lease for one-fourth of the land. The Act directs the Secretary, or the Secretary of Agriculture for National Forest lands, to regulate surface-disturbing activities conducted pursuant to a lease and determine reclamation and other actions required for conservation of surface resources. The Act sets forth other provisions governing the leasing of lands containing oil and gas, and has special provisions for Alaska. §§ 223-226 and 251.

Oil Shale. The Act authorizes the Secretary to lease deposits of oil shale and gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons) belonging to the U.S. and as much of the surface of public lands containing the deposits, or adjacent land, as necessary for extracting and reducing the minerals. The Secretary may issue offsite leases. In determining whether to offer or issue an offsite lease, the Secretary must consult with the governor and appropriate state, local and tribal officials of the state where the lands to be leased are located, and with officials of additional states likely to be affected significantly by the social, economic or environmental effects of development under the lease. The Act lists factors the Secretary must consider in issuing a lease, including impacts on the environment and other resource values. § 241.

Sodium. The Act authorizes the Secretary to grant prospecting permits giving the exclusive right to prospect for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates or nitrates of sodium in lands belonging to the U.S. If the permittee shows to the Secretary's satisfaction that valuable sodium deposits have been discovered within the permit area, the permittee is entitled to a lease of the land embraced within the prospecting permit. The Secretary may grant to a permittee or lessee the exclusive right to use, during the life of the permit or lease, up to 40 acres of unoccupied nonmineral public land as necessary for development and use of the deposits. §§ 261-263.

Enforcement. The Act makes it unlawful to:   organize or participate in a scheme or arrangement to circumvent the Act's provisions or its implementing regulations; seek to obtain or obtain money or property by means of false statements of material facts or by failing to state material facts concerning the value of a lease, the availability of land for leasing or the ability of a person to obtain leases. Violation of the Act is subject to criminal and civil penalties.

A lease issued under the Act may be forfeited or canceled by appropriate court proceedings when the lessee fails to comply with the Act's provisions or regulations. With certain provisos, the Secretary may cancel an oil and gas lease issued after August 21, 1935, if the lessee fails to comply with a lease provision. The Act sets forth procedures for lease reinstatement. §§ 188 and 195.

Editor's Note. Sections 271 through 287 of Title 30 immediately following the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, but not enacted as part of the Act, govern the leasing of lands with sulfur and potash deposits. The provisions authorize the Secretary to grant prospecting permits giving the exclusive right to prospect for sulphur on lands belonging to the U.S. in Louisiana and New Mexico or for potash on lands belonging to the U.S. A permittee who shows to the Secretary's satisfaction that valuable deposits have been discovered within the permit area and that the land is chiefly valuable for the deposits is entitled to a lease for the permit land. Lands known to contain valuable deposits of sulphur or potash that are not covered by permits or leases may be leased by the Secretary through advertisement, competitive bidding or other methods.

The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands provides that minerals subject to the Mineral Leasing Act that are located on acquired federal lands are subject to the federal mineral leasing system (30 U.S.C. §§ 351-359).

The Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975 amended several provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. In addition, the 1975 Act specifically stated that nothing in the Act, the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands may be construed as authorizing coal mining on any area of the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Wilderness Preservation System, the National System of Trails, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including rivers designated for study (30 U.S.C. § 201 note).