30 U.S.C. § 1413 — License and permit applications, review, and certification
submitted 46 years ago by Pub. L. 96-283 to r/title-30-MINERAL-LANDS-AND-MINING · 1,882 words · no verdicts yet
This section explains who may apply for deep-seabed exploration licenses and commercial-recovery permits, what applications must contain, and how they are reviewed. It sets priority, eligibility, antitrust review, Federal-agency consultation, concurrent review, and certification rules.
(a) Applications. (1) Any United States citizen may apply to the Administrator to issue or transfer an exploration license or a commercial-recovery permit. (2)(A) The application must use the form and procedure set by the Administrator's general, uniform regulations. It must include the financial, technical, and environmental information those regulations require for this subchapter. A license applicant must submit an exploration plan under subparagraph (B), and a permit applicant must submit a recovery plan under subparagraph (C). (B) An exploration plan must state the proposed activities during the license period; describe the area; give the intended schedule and methods; describe development and testing of commercial-recovery systems; estimate expenditures; describe environmental protections and how their effectiveness and the commercial-recovery monitoring systems will be monitored; and include other necessary information. The area must be large enough for intensive exploration. (C) A recovery plan must state the proposed activities and intended commercial-recovery schedule; describe environmental safeguards and monitoring systems; give details and a resource assessment for the proposed recovery area or areas; state the recovery and processing methods and technology; state how waste from recovery and processing will be disposed of; and include other necessary information. (D) The applicant chooses the size and location of the plan area. The Administrator must approve it unless finding that (i) it is not a logical mining unit, or (ii) recovery there would significantly harm environmental quality and reasonable restrictions could not avoid that harm. (E) “Logical mining unit” is not defined elsewhere in this section; here it means: (i) for an exploration license, a deep-seabed area that can be explored efficiently, economically, and orderly, with conservation and environmental protection, considering resource data, other physical and environmental characteristics, and the applicant's technology described in the plan; or (ii) for a permit, a deep-seabed area (I) where enough hard mineral resources can be recovered to meet the permittee's estimated production needs during the permit's first 20 years efficiently, economically, and orderly while protecting the environment, considering the plan's data, physical and environmental characteristics, and technology; (II) no larger than needed for those first-20-year needs; and (III) whose estimated production needs the Administrator does not find unreasonable. (b) Priority of right for issuance. Subject to section 1411(b), license applicants receive priority according to when applications substantially complying with subsection (a)(2) were filed with the Administrator. An application that substantially, but not fully, complies does not lose priority if the applicant brings it into compliance within the reasonable period set by the Administrator's regulations. (c) Eligibility for certification. Before certifying an application to issue or transfer a license or permit, the Administrator must consult the other agencies under subsection (e) and make written findings that (1) the applicant will be financially responsible for all obligations required for the proposed work; (2) the applicant will have the technology needed for it; (3) the applicant satisfactorily completed obligations under any earlier license or permit issued or transferred under this chapter; and (4) the proposed plan meets this chapter and its regulations. (d) Antitrust review. (1) The Administrator must promptly send a complete application to the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission. (2) They may conduct whatever antitrust review they consider appropriate and may advise the Administrator about likely effects on competition. (3) They may recommend measures to avoid creating or maintaining a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws, including denial or issuance or transfer on suitable conditions. (4) Advice or recommendations must be submitted within 90 days after they receive the application. The Administrator may not issue or transfer during that period unless both officials confirm in writing that they will submit nothing further. (5) If the Administrator issues or transfers despite a recommendation to deny, or without recommended conditions intended to prevent an antitrust-law problem, the Administrator must notify both officials, before or upon issuance or transfer, of the reasons. (6) Issuance or transfer is not a defense to a civil or criminal antitrust action and does not change or limit a private right of action. (7) Here “antitrust laws” means the Sherman Act, the specified Wilson Tariff Act sections, the Clayton Act, the Robinson-Patman Price Discrimination Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act listed in the subsection. This section does not define those quoted names. (e) Other Federal agencies. The Administrator must provide by regulation for full consultation and cooperation with Federal agencies and departments whose programs or activities would be affected, both before certification and before issuance or transfer. Within 30 days after June 28, 1980, department and agency heads with expertise or jurisdiction over hard-mineral recovery or processing had to send written comments about their expertise or legal responsibilities. Agencies should cooperate to reduce separate required actions. The Administrator must send each agency a complete application. Based on its legal authority, an agency may, within 60 days after receiving it, recommend certification, issuance or transfer, or denial. A recommending agency must explain in detail the legal or regulatory problem and how the application, conditions, terms, or restrictions could fix it. (f) Review period. To the maximum practicable extent, all review periods established under this section must run at the same time from the date the Administrator receives the application. (g) Application certification. After the required findings under sections 1411 and 1412 and this section are made, the required application procedures are complete, and the applicant pays the fee required by section 1414, the Administrator must certify the application for issuance or transfer. The Administrator should finish within 100 days after submission as far as possible. If certification or denial has not happened by then, the Administrator must tell the applicant in writing which issues remain unresolved, what efforts are being made to resolve them, and how long resolution is estimated to take.
Any United States citizen may apply to the Administrator for the issuance or transfer of a license for exploration or a permit for commercial recovery.
Applications for issuance or transfer of licenses for exploration and permits for commercial recovery shall be made in such form and manner as the Administrator shall prescribe in general and uniform regulations and shall contain such relevant financial, technical, and environmental information as the Administrator may by regulations require as being necessary and appropriate for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter. In accordance with such regulations, each applicant for the issuance of a license shall submit an exploration plan as described in subparagraph (B), and each applicant for a permit shall submit a recovery plan as described in subparagraph (C).
The exploration plan for a license shall set forth the activities proposed to be carried out during the period of the license, describe the area to be explored, and include the intended exploration schedule and methods to be used, the development and testing of systems for commercial recovery to take place under the terms of the license, an estimated schedule of expenditures, measures to protect the environment and to monitor the effectiveness of environmental safeguards and monitoring systems for commercial recovery, and such other information as is necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this subchapter. The area set forth in an exploration plan shall be of sufficient size to allow for intensive exploration.
The recovery plan for a permit shall set forth the activities proposed to be carried out during the period of the permit, and shall include the intended schedule of commercial recovery, environmental safeguards and monitoring systems, details of the area or areas proposed for commercial recovery, a resource assessment thereof, the methods and technology to be used for commercial recovery and processing, the methods to be used for disposal of wastes from recovery and processing, and such other information as is necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.
The applicant shall select the size and location of the area of the exploration plan or recovery plan, which area shall be approved unless the Administrator finds that—
the area is not a logical mining unit; or
commercial recovery activities in the proposed location would result in a significant adverse impact on the quality of the environment which cannot be avoided by the imposition of reasonable restrictions.
For purposes of subparagraph (D), “logical mining unit” means—
in the case of a license for exploration, an area of the deep seabed which can be explored under the license in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner with due regard for conservation and protection of the environment, taking into consideration the resource data, other relevant physical and environmental characteristics, and the state of the technology of the applicant as set forth in the exploration plan; or
in the case of a permit, an area of the deep seabed—
in which hard mineral resources can be recovered in sufficient quantities to satisfy the permittee’s estimated production requirements over the initial 20-year term of the permit in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner with due regard for conservation and protection of the environment, taking into consideration the resource data, other relevant physical and environmental characteristics, and the state of the technology of the applicant set out in the recovery plan;
which is not larger than is necessary to satisfy the permittee’s estimated production requirements over the initial 20-year term of the permit; and
in relation to which the permittee’s estimated production requirements are not found by the Administrator to be unreasonable.
Subject to section 1411(b) of this title, priority of right for the issuance of licenses to applicants shall be established on the basis of the chronological order in which license applications which are in substantial compliance with the requirements established under subsection (a)(2) of this section are filed with the Administrator. Priority of right shall not be lost in the case of any application filed which is in substantial but not full compliance with such requirements if the applicant thereafter brings the application into conformity with such requirements within such reasonable period of time as the Administrator shall prescribe in regulations.
Before the Administrator may certify any application for issuance or transfer of a license for exploration or permit for commercial recovery, the Administrator must find in writing, after consultation with other departments and agencies pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, that—
the applicant has demonstrated that, upon issuance or transfer of the license or permit, the applicant will be financially responsible to meet all obligations which may be required of a licensee or permittee to engage in the exploration or commercial recovery proposed in the application;
the applicant has demonstrated that, upon issuance or transfer of the license or permit, the applicant will have the technological capability to engage in such exploration or commercial recovery;
the applicant has satisfactorily fulfilled all obligations under any license or permit previously issued or transferred to the applicant under this chapter; and
the proposed exploration plan or recovery plan of the applicant meets the requirements of this chapter and the regulations issued under this chapter.
Whenever the Administrator receives any application for issuance or transfer of a license for exploration or permit for commercial recovery, the Administrator shall transmit promptly a complete copy of such application to the Attorney General of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission.
The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission shall conduct such antitrust review of the application as they deem appropriate and shall, if they deem appropriate, advise the Administrator of the likely effects of such issuance or transfer on competition.
The Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission may make any recommendations they deem advisable to avoid any action upon such application by the Administrator which would create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws. Such recommendations may include, without limitation, the denial of issuance or transfer of the license or permit or issuance or transfer upon such terms and conditions as may be appropriate.
Any advice or recommendation submitted by the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted within 90 days after receipt by them of the application. The Administrator shall not issue or transfer the license or permit during that 90-day period, except upon written confirmation by the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission that neither intends to submit any further advice or recommendation with respect to the application.
If the Administrator decides to issue or transfer the license or permit with respect to which denial of the issuance or transfer of the license or permit has been recommended by the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission, or to issue or transfer the license or permit without imposing those terms and conditions recommended by the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission as appropriate to prevent any situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws, the Administrator shall, prior to or upon issuance or transfer of the license or permit, notify the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission of the reasons for such decision.
The issuance or transfer of a license or permit under this subchapter shall not be admissible in any way as a defense to any civil or criminal action for violation of the antitrust laws of the United States, nor shall it in any way modify or abridge any private right of action under such laws.
As used in this subsection, the term “antitrust laws” means the Act of July 2, 1890 (commonly known as the Sherman Act; 15 U.S.C. 1–7); sections 73 through 76 of the Act of August 27, 1894 (commonly known as the Wilson Tariff Act; 15 U.S.C. 8–11); the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.); the Act of June 19, 1936 (commonly known as the Robinson-Patman Price Discrimination Act; 15 U.S.C. 13–13b and 21a); and the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
The Administrator shall provide by regulation for full consultation and cooperation, prior to certification of an application for the issuance or transfer of any license for exploration or permit for commercial recovery and prior to the issuance or transfer of such a license or permit, with other Federal agencies or departments which have programs or activities within their statutory responsibilities which would be affected by the activities proposed in the application for the issuance or transfer of a license or permit. Not later than 30 days after June 28, 1980, the heads of any Federal departments or agencies having expertise concerning, or jurisdiction over, any aspect of the recovery or processing of hard mineral resources shall transmit to the Administrator written comments as to their expertise or statutory responsibilities pursuant to this chapter or any other Federal law. To the extent possible, such agencies shall cooperate to reduce the number of separate actions required to satisfy the statutory responsibilities of these agencies. The Administrator shall transmit to each such agency or department a complete copy of each application and each such agency or department, based on its legal responsibilities and authorities, may, not later than 60 days after receipt of the application, recommend certification of the application, issuance or transfer of the license or permit, or denial of such certification, issuance, or transfer. In any case in which an agency or department recommends such a denial, it shall set forth in detail the manner in which the application does not comply with any law or regulation within its area of responsibility and shall indicate how the application may be amended, or how terms, conditions, or restrictions might be added to the license or permit, to assure compliance with such law or regulation.
All time periods for the review of an application for issuance or transfer of a license or permit established pursuant to this section shall, to the maximum extent practicable, run concurrently from the date on which the application is received by the Administrator.
Upon making the applicable determinations and findings required in sections 1411, 1412 of this title, and this section with respect to any applicant for the issuance or transfer of a license or a permit and the exploration or commercial recovery proposed by such applicant, after completion of procedures for receiving the application required by this chapter, and upon payment by the applicant of the fee required under section 1414 of this title, the Administrator shall certify the application for the issuance or transfer of the license or permit. The Administrator, to the maximum extent possible, shall endeavor to complete certification action on the application within 100 days after its submission. If final certification or denial of certification has not occurred within 100 days after submission of the application, the Administrator shall inform the applicant in writing of the then pending unresolved issues, the Administrator’s efforts to resolve them, and an estimate of the time required to do so.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 96–283, title I, § 103, June 28, 1980, 94 Stat. 560; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title IV, § 14102(c)(2)(E), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1921.)
- 1980Enacted · Pub. L. 96-283 · 94 Stat. 560
- 2002Amended · Pub. L. 107-273 · 116 Stat. 1921
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 96-283 on 1980-06-28.
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