30 U.S.C. § 201 — Leases and exploration

This section covers two things: how the government leases federal coal, and how companies explore for it. (a) Leases: (1) The Secretary of the Interior can divide coal-classified federal land into leasing tracts. Each tract should be sized so all the coal in it can be economically mined. The Secretary can then offer these tracts for lease — either when someone qualified asks, or on the Secretary's own initiative — and must award leases through competitive bidding. One exception: the Secretary can instead negotiate a direct sale, at fair market value, of coal that must be removed as part of a right-of-way permit under a different law. At least half of all the acreage offered for lease each year must use a "deferred bonus payment" system, meaning the winning bidder pays over time instead of all at once. If a lease is cancelled or defaulted on while bonus payments are still owed, the remaining unpaid amount becomes immediately due to the United States. The Secretary must also set aside a reasonable number of tracts for public bodies — including federal agencies, rural electric cooperatives, and nonprofit corporations they control — but only if those tracts will be used to produce energy for their own use, or for sale to their own members or customers, and not usually for short-term sales to outsiders. No bid can be accepted below the coal's fair market value, as the Secretary determines it. Before deciding that value, the Secretary must let the public comment on it, but does not have to make the actual fair-market-value decision or the public comments public before issuing the lease. When awarding leases for coal land that someone improved and occupied, or claimed in good faith, before February 25, 1920, the Secretary may recognize that person's fair claim to the land. (2)(A) The Secretary cannot issue a new coal lease to any person, company, or related or commonly controlled entity that already holds a federal coal lease and has held it for ten years without producing coal in commercial quantities — unless a specific exception in section 207(b) applies. Time before August 4, 1976, does not count toward that ten-year period. (B) Before issuing any lease that would allow surface coal mining inside a National Forest, the Secretary must send the proposal to the governor of each state where that coal sits. The lease cannot be issued for at least 60 days after that. If the governor objects, the lease cannot be issued for six more months after the Secretary is told of the objection. During that six months, the governor can explain in writing why the lease should not be issued, and the Secretary must reconsider the lease based on those reasons. (3)(A) No coal can be offered for lease sale unless it is included in a comprehensive land-use plan, and the sale must fit that plan. The Secretary of the Interior writes these plans for land under Interior's control. If there's real interest in leasing coal on National Forest land, the Secretary of the Interior tells the Secretary of Agriculture, who then must write a land-use plan for that area, taking the proposed coal development into account. Exception: if there isn't enough federal interest in the surface, or not enough federal coal to justify writing a full federal plan, the sale can still happen if the land is covered by a state-written comprehensive land-use plan, or by a land-use analysis the Secretary of the Interior writes instead. While writing these plans, the responsible agency — Interior, Agriculture, or the state — must consult with the relevant state agencies, local governments, and the public, and must hold a public hearing before adopting the plan if anyone whose interests might be affected asks for one. Leases on land where a different federal agency (not Interior) controls the surface can only be issued with that agency's consent, and under whatever conditions it sets to protect its non-mineral interests in the land. (B) Every land-use plan must estimate how much coal is in the land, and break that estimate down into how much could be mined underground versus how much could be surface-mined. (C) Before issuing a lease, the Secretary must think about how mining might affect the surrounding community — including the environment, farming and other economic activity, and public services. The Secretary must also compare underground mining, surface mining, and any other method, to figure out which one, or combination, would recover the most coal economically. This comparison must be written down, but it does not by itself block the lease from being issued — however, no actual mining plan can be approved unless it achieves that maximum economic recovery. Public hearings in the area must happen before the lease is sold. (D) No lease sale can happen until a notice of the planned sale has run once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper. (E) Every coal lease must require the lessee to follow the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. (4)(A) The Secretary does not have to require a surety bond or other financial guarantee for deferred bonus-bid payments, if the lessee (or its successor) has a track record of paying coal royalties, advance royalties, and bonus installments on time and without dispute. (B) For leases issued before August 8, 2005, the Secretary may waive the bond requirement, but only if the lessee has that same track record of timely payment. (5) If a lessee misses a deferred bonus-bid payment and doesn't pay within 10 days after the Secretary gives written notice that it's overdue: (A) the lease automatically ends, and (B) any bonus money already paid to the United States is not refunded, and cannot be credited toward any future lease. (b) Exploration: (1) The Secretary may issue exploration licenses under rules the Secretary writes. No one may explore for coal commercially on covered federal land without one of these licenses. Each license lasts no more than two years and requires a reasonable fee. Having a license does not guarantee the holder will later get a lease, and issuing licenses doesn't stop the Secretary from leasing that same land to someone else at any time. No exploration license can be issued for land that already has a coal lease on it. A separate license is needed for each state where someone wants to explore. The license application must describe the general areas to be explored and the likely exploration methods. Every license comes with reasonable conditions, including conditions to protect the environment, and license holders must follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws. The Secretary can revoke a license if the holder breaks its conditions or the law. (2) A license holder cannot substantially disturb the natural land surface. They cannot remove coal to sell it, but they can remove a reasonable amount for testing and study. They must follow the rules of whichever federal agency controls the surface of that land. If a different federal agency, not Interior, controls the surface, the license can only be issued under conditions that agency sets to protect its non-mineral interests. (3) The license holder must give the Secretary copies of all the data they gather while exploring, including geological, geophysical, and core-drilling data. The Secretary must keep that data confidential until either the area gets leased, or the Secretary decides that releasing the data publicly would not hurt the license holder's competitive position — whichever happens first. (4) Anyone who willfully explores for coal commercially on covered land without a license can be fined up to $1,000 for each day they do so. Any data they collected on federal land during that violation must be turned over to the Secretary right away, and the Secretary must make that data public as soon as practical. But the Secretary cannot fine anyone under this rule without first giving them notice and a chance for a hearing.