16 U.S.C. § 283b — Establishment; notice in Federal Register; property rights

submitted 60 years ago by Pub. L. 89-667 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 1,047 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

Once the U.S. owns all the private land inside Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Texas has donated the mineral rights under it, the park's establishment gets published in the Federal Register. People who donated mineral rights get first chance to get them back if the park ever stops being used as a park. Those minerals stay off-limits to leasing unless a future law allows it for a national emergency, and donors get first right to lease them then too.

(a) Federal title to property, donation of State and other non-Federal mineral rights and interests, and establishment; notice in Federal Register; acquisition of remaining property; purchase options pending establishment of park; contingent purchase contracts: Once the United States owns the title to all privately owned land inside the park's boundary — except for outstanding rights and easements the Secretary decides are not a problem, and except for about 4,574 acres that are meant to be acquired through land exchanges — and once Texas, along with anyone else who owns mineral rights under the park's land, has donated or agreed to donate those mineral rights to the United States, the Secretary must publish a notice in the Federal Register. That notice announces both of those facts and the establishment of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. After that notice, the Secretary can keep acquiring any land and land interests still needed within the park's boundaries. Even before the park is officially established, the Secretary can negotiate and get options to purchase land and land interests inside the planned boundaries, and can sign contracts to purchase such land. But the United States is only on the hook under those contracts if appropriated or donated money is actually available to pay for them. (b) Preferential right to reconveyance of mineral rights and interests upon nonuser of lands for national park purposes; notice; period for exercise; beneficiaries: If the park land, or part of it, stops being used for national park purposes, the people (including the State of Texas) who donated mineral rights and interests to the United States get a preferential right — a first chance — to get those same mineral rights and interests back for free. The Secretary must give them notice of that right, following regulations designed to actually reach the people entitled to it, and that notice must allow at least 180 days to exercise the right. This preferential right also passes to the donor's successors, heirs, people named in a will, or anyone else assigned the right, and those people must get the same notice. (c) Leases of mineral rights and interests: withdrawal from leasing; mineral leasing, sale of surplus property, and sale provisions inapplicable; subsection (c) inapplicable upon failure or refusal to exercise preferential right to reconveyance: All mineral rights and interests — every kind of mineral — in and under the park land that the United States acquires under this subchapter are taken out of the normal mineral leasing system. They are excluded from the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (or any future law with the same purpose) and from any law about selling surplus federal property or selling acquired mineral interests. There is one exception: if a person with the preferential right to get their donated minerals back under subsection (b) fails or refuses to exercise that right, then this protection from leasing and sale stops applying — for that specific person's minerals — once the 180-day period from subsection (b) has passed. (d) Preferential right to lease mineral rights and interests necessary for national welfare or emergency: notice, terms and conditions, beneficiaries; other leases upon failure or refusal to exercise right: terms and conditions: If, at some point in the future, Congress passes a law saying that national welfare or an emergency requires developing and producing the park's minerals, and that law — despite subsection (c) or any other law — lets the Secretary lease the park land for drilling, mining, developing, and producing those minerals, then the Secretary must first give the original donors (including Texas) notice of their preferential right to lease back, for free, the mineral rights and interests they donated, under whatever terms the Secretary sets. This right also passes to the donor's successors, assigns, heirs, or people named in a will, and they get the same kind of notice as under subsection (b). If a donor with this right fails or refuses to use it within the time given in the notice, the Secretary may then lease those minerals to anyone else, under whatever terms the Secretary decides. (e) Proceeds from communitization agreement or protective action; beneficiaries: If oil, gas, or other minerals are found and produced in commercial amounts on land outside the park, and that production drains oil, gas, or minerals out from under the park, the Secretary may enter into a communitization agreement (an agreement to pool production) or take other action to protect the United States' rights. Any money that comes from that agreement or action goes to the people who donated the oil, gas, or minerals being drained — or to their successors, heirs, people named in a will, or assigns.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

When the title to all privately owned land within the boundary of the park, subject to such outstanding interests, rights, and easements as the Secretary determines are not objectionable, with the exception of approximately 4,574 acres which are planned to be acquired by exchange, is vested in the United States and after the State of Texas has donated or agreed to donate to the United States whatever rights and interests in minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the park it may have and other owners of such rights and interests have donated or agreed to donate the same to the United States, notice thereof and notice of the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park shall be published in the Federal Register. Thereafter, the Secretary may continue to acquire the remaining land and interests in land within the boundaries of the park. The Secretary is authorized, pending establishment of the park, to negotiate and acquire options for the purchase of lands and interests in land within the boundaries of the park. He is further authorized to execute contracts for the purchase of such lands and interests, but the liability of the United States under any such contract shall be contingent on the availability of appropriated or donated funds to fulfill the same.

(b) Preferential right to reconveyance of mineral rights and interests upon nonuser of lands for national park purposes; notice; period for exercise; beneficiaries

In the event said lands or any part thereof cease to be used for national park purposes, the persons (including the State of Texas) who donated to the United States rights and interests in minerals in the lands within the park shall be given notice, in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary, of their preferential right to a reconveyance, without consideration, of the respective rights and interests in minerals which they donated to the United States. Such notice shall be in a form reasonably calculated to give actual notice to those entitled to such preferential right, and shall provide for a period of not less than one hundred and eighty days within which to exercise such preferential right. The preferential right to such reconveyance shall inure to the benefit of the successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns of such persons having such preferential right to a reconveyance, and such successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns shall be given the notice provided for in this subsection.

(c) Leases of mineral rights and interests: withdrawal from leasing; mineral leasing, sale of surplus property, and sale provisions inapplicable; subsection (c) inapplicable upon failure or refusal to exercise preferential right to reconveyance

Such rights and interests in minerals, including all minerals of whatever nature, in and underlying the lands within the boundaries of the park and which are acquired by the United States under the provisions of this subchapter are hereby withdrawn from leasing and are hereby excluded from the application of the present or future provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands [30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.] or other Act in lieu thereof having the same purpose, and the same are hereby also excluded from the provisions of all present and future laws affecting the sale of surplus property or of said mineral interests acquired pursuant to this subchapter by the United States or any department or agency thereof, except that, if such person having such preferential right to a reconveyance fails or refuses to exercise such preferential right to a reconveyance as provided in subsection (b) of this section then this subsection (c) shall not be applicable to the rights and interests in such minerals in the identical lands of such person so failing or refusing to exercise such preferential right to a reconveyance from and after the one hundred and eighty-day period referred to in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Preferential right to lease mineral rights and interests necessary for national welfare or emergency: notice, terms and conditions, beneficiaries; other leases upon failure or refusal to exercise right: terms and conditions

If at any time in the future an Act of Congress provides that the national welfare or an emergency requires the development and production of the minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the national park, or any portion thereof, and such Act of Congress, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section or any other Act, authorizes the Secretary to lease said land for the purpose of drilling, mining, developing, and producing said minerals, the Secretary shall give the persons (including the State of Texas) who donated such minerals to the United States notice of their preferential right to lease, without consideration, all or any part of the respective rights and interests in minerals which they donated to the United States, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. Such preferential right shall inure to the benefit of the successors or assigns, and of the heirs or devisees of such persons having such preferential right in the premises. The persons entitled to a preferential right under this subsection shall be given the same notice thereof as persons entitled to preferential rights under subsection (b) of this section. If such person having such preferential right fails or refuses to exercise such right within the time specified in the above notice, the Secretary may thereafter lease the minerals involved to any other person under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe.

(e) Proceeds from communitization agreement or protective action; beneficiaries

If at any time oil, gas, or other minerals should be discovered and produced in commercial quantities from lands outside of the boundaries of the park, thereby causing drainage of oil, gas, or other minerals from lands within the boundaries of the park, and if the Secretary participates in a communitization agreement or takes other action to protect the rights of the United States, the proceeds, if any, derived from such agreement or action shall inure to the benefit of the donors of the oil, gas, or other minerals, or their successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 89–667, § 3, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 920.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1966Enacted · Pub. L. 89-667 · 80 Stat. 920

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 89-667 on 1966-10-15.

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