[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3419 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3419
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of certain public
lands that are subject to mining operations in Pershing County, Nevada,
to support sustainable development opportunities for the community in
which the mining operations occur through privatization of the lands
allowing for productive post-mining land use that provides for economic
development opportunities and local government revenues, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 25, 2005
Mr. Gibbons introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of certain public
lands that are subject to mining operations in Pershing County, Nevada,
to support sustainable development opportunities for the community in
which the mining operations occur through privatization of the lands
allowing for productive post-mining land use that provides for economic
development opportunities and local government revenues, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Nevada Sustainable
Development in Mining Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) In the past decade, the concept of ``sustainable
development'' has become standard United States and
international policy.
(2) Sustainable development is environmentally sound and is
undertaken in a way that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs.
(3) Federal land managers have worked with the mining
industry and other industries over the past decade to develop
sustainability principles for resource development on Federal
lands, but there is a need to demonstrate and implement these
principles.
(4) For the mining industry, a prime goal of sustainable
development is to plan and implement economically viable and
productive post-mining land uses that will allow lands impacted
by mining to continue providing jobs and other economic
benefits beyond the completion of mining activity.
Privatization of the surface at mine sites is a crucial
component in achieving and maintaining sustainable development
opportunities for a mining operation's host community.
(5) With more than 80 percent of Nevada's lands in Federal
ownership, the State's rural communities in particular depend
on continued productive uses of Federal lands for jobs, tax
revenues, and economic development.
(6) Mining on Nevada's public lands is the most important
source of high-paying jobs and other economic benefits to rural
Nevada communities. Mining on Nevada public lands also provides
substantial tax revenues to the Treasury and to State and local
governments.
(7) The Rochester Mine, located in Pershing County, Nevada,
provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate sustainable
development principles in the mining industry.
(8) The Rochester Mine, operated by Coeur Rochester, Inc.,
opened in 1986 and employs 250 people, most of whom live in or
near Lovelock, Nevada. The mine operates on patented lands and
approximately 7,000 acres of public lands subject to mining
claims and impacted by the mining operation.
(9) For its 20 years of operation, the Rochester Mine has
been the major source of employment for Pershing County
residents.
(10) The Rochester Mine is near the end of its
productivity, and closure and reclamation of the mine are
expected to begin within 5 years, subject to closure and
reclamation plans to be approved by the Secretary of the
Interior and the State of Nevada. Given ore grades and
exploration results in the area, Coeur Rochester, Inc. does not
contemplate any future mining at the site.
(11) Without a post-mining land use for the Rochester Mine
or entry of a new industry, Pershing County faces significant
and destabilizing unemployment and loss of tax revenues when
the Rochester Mine closes.
(12) Coeur Rochester, Inc. has developed an innovative plan
for post-mining land uses of the Rochester Mine site, including
reuse of the mine's overburden and waste rock as aggregate in
California and other markets, and potential use of the mine
site as a State-permitted landfill for municipal or industrial
wastes or construction debris.
(13) The public lands subject to mining claims at the
Rochester Mine are difficult and uneconomical for the Bureau of
Land Management to manage because of the checkerboard pattern
of Federal land ownership in the vicinity of the Rochester
Mine.
(14) Disposal of such lands will also serve other important
public objectives, including the demonstration of viable and
productive post-mining land uses and of other sustainable
development concepts in the mining industry. The project would
also facilitate the creation of a new long-term employment
source and would result in other important economic development
benefits and the maintenance of a tax base for Pershing County.
(15) The Bureau of Land Management has determined that the
public lands addressed in this Act are suitable for
consolidation of ownership or disposal into private ownership.
(16) Lands to be conveyed under this Act would remain
subject to applicable Federal and State environmental, land
use, and safety laws.
(17) Any lands disposed of by the Secretary pursuant to
this Act would be sold at $500 per acre.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to implement a sustainable development project in
Pershing County, Nevada;
(2) to encourage and promote the concept of sustainable
development practices in resource-dependent communities that
have a limited privately held land base; and
(3) to provide funds for the general fund of the Treasury,
for the State of Nevada abandoned mine lands program, and for
education and other purposes in the State of Nevada.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Claimant.--The term ``Claimant'' means Coeur Rochester,
Inc.
(2) County.--The term ``County'' means Pershing County,
Nevada.
(3) Mining law.--The term ``the general mining laws''
includes, in general, the provisions of law codified in
chapters 2, 12A, and 16 of title 30, United States Code, and in
sections 161 and 162 of such title.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. LAND CONVEYANCE.
(a) Conveyance of Land.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, and not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall convey to the Claimant, in return for a
payment of $500 per acre, all right, title, and interest, subject to
the terms and conditions of subsection (c), in the approximately 7,000
acres of Federal lands subject to Claimant's mining claims maintained
under the general mining laws and depicted on the Rochester Sustainable
Development Project map.
(b) Exemption From Review, Etc.--Any conveyance of land under this
Act is not subject to review, consultation, or approval under any other
Federal law.
(c) Terms and Conditions of Conveyance.--
(1) No impact on legal obligations.--Conveyance of the
lands pursuant to subsection (a) shall not affect Claimant's
legal obligations to comply with applicable Federal mine
closure or mine land reclamation laws, or with any other
applicable Federal or State requirement relating to closure of
the Rochester Mine and use of the land comprising such mine,
including any requirement to prepare any environmental impact
statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
(2) No interference with reclamation and closure
obligations.--The sustainable development project shall be
carried out in a way that is consistent with reclamation and
closure obligations under Federal laws. Federal reclamation and
closure obligations shall not be used to remove infrastructure
identified by Claimant as being usable by a post-mining land
use.
(3) Title to materials and minerals.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, Claimant shall own and have title to
all spent ore, waste rock and tailings, and other materials
located on lands conveyed pursuant to subsection (a).
(4) Valid existing rights.--All lands conveyed pursuant to
subsection (a) shall be subject to valid existing rights
existing as of the date of transfer of title, and Claimant
shall succeed to the rights and obligations of the United
States with respect to any mining claim, mill site claim,
lease, right-of-way, permit, or other valid existing right to
which the property is subject.
(5) Environmental liability.--Notwithstanding any other
Federal, State or local law, the United States--
(A) shall not be responsible for investigating or
disclosing the condition of any property to be conveyed
under this Act; and
(B) shall not be responsible for environmental
remediation, waste management, or environmental
compliance activities arising from its ownership,
occupancy, or management of land and interests therein
conveyed under this Act with respect to conditions
existing at or on the land at the time of the
conveyance.
SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.
The gross proceeds of conveyances of land under this Act shall be
used as follows:
(1) Such sums as are necessary shall be used to cover 100
percent of the administrative costs, not to exceed $20,000,
incurred by the Nevada State Office and the Winnemucca Field
Office of the Bureau of Land Management in conducting
conveyances under this Act.
(2) $500,000 shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada
for use in the State's abandoned mined land program.
(3) $20,000 per fiscal year for a 5-fiscal-year period
shall be paid directly to Pershing County, Nevada.
(4) Proceeds remaining after the payments pursuant to
paragraphs (1) through (3) shall be deposited in the general
fund of the Treasury.
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