30 U.S.C. § 242 — Oil shale claims

submitted 34 years ago by Pub. L. 102-486 to r/title-30-MINERAL-LANDS-AND-MINING · 1,032 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law sets rules for people who held unpatented oil shale mining claims before October 24, 1992. It lets some claim holders get a limited or full patent for the oil shale and minerals, requires others to choose between patenting or maintaining their claim, and sets reclamation and fee requirements.

This section deals with old, unpatented oil shale mining claims and what their holders must do to keep or convert them. (a) Notice. Within 60 days of October 24, 1992, the Secretary of the Interior had to notify every holder of an unpatented oil shale mining claim about this law's requirements, by registered mail and by publishing a notice in a local newspaper. (b) Full patent. A claim holder who had already filed a patent application and gotten a "first half final certificate" by October 24, 1992, could still get a full patent under the regular mining laws. (c) Patent. (1) A claim holder whose patent application was accepted for processing by October 24, 1992, but who had not yet gotten the first half final certificate, could get only a limited patent — covering the oil shale and related minerals, not the surface or other minerals like oil, gas, and coal — by paying $2.50 per acre. The surface use rights stayed the same as before this law, subject to the reclamation rule in (f). (2) Until the patent was issued, the holder had to keep maintaining the claim under the older rules that applied before October 24, 1992. (3) Instead of getting a patent, a holder covered by this subsection could choose to keep maintaining the claim the way subsection (e)(2) describes. (4) If a court later ruled that applying this section to one of these claims counted as a "taking" of property under the Fifth Amendment, and the holder got paid compensation for that taking, the holder could trade that compensation (not including interest) to the Secretary for a full patent instead. This trade had to happen within 3 years of getting the compensation. (d) Election. (1) A claim holder whose patent application was not filed and accepted before October 24, 1992, had 180 days after the Secretary's notice to tell the Secretary whether they would (A) go for a limited patent under (e)(1), or (B) keep the claim unpatented under (e)(2). (2) Not filing that notice counted as automatically abandoning the claim. (3) A holder who chose (A) had to apply for the patent within 2 years, or tell the Secretary in writing before that time was up that they wanted to switch to (B) instead — otherwise the claim was automatically abandoned. (4) These election rules apply on top of the requirements in section 1744 of title 43. (e) Effect of election. (1) A holder who elected to get a limited patent would get title only to the oil shale and related minerals, after paying fair market value for them. The surface and other minerals stayed with the United States, and surface use rules matched pre-1992 practice, subject to (f). (2) A holder (whether under (c) or (d)) who keeps an unpatented claim must still follow the general mining laws and this section, except they no longer have to do annual labor on the claim — instead they must pay the Secretary $550 per claim per year, starting in 1993, filed along with their yearly filing with the Bureau of Land Management. (f) Reclamation. Anyone who gets a limited patent or keeps a claim under this section must restore ("reclaim") the land as the Secretary requires, and must post a bond or other financial guarantee big enough to cover that reclamation. (g) Reaffirmation of requirements. Congress restates — without judging whether past standards were good enough — that a patent can only go to someone whose claim is actually valid, and that applications need careful review. (h) Issuance of patents. No patent for an oil shale mining claim under the general mining laws can be issued except by following this section.

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

(a) Notice

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 60 days from October 24, 1992, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide notice to each holder of an unpatented oil shale mining claim of the requirements of this Act. Such notice shall be made by registered mail and by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the areas in which such claims are located.

(b) Full patent

The holder of a valid oil shale mining claim who has filed a patent application and received first half final certificate for patent by October 24, 1992, may obtain a patent pursuant to the general mining laws of the United States.

(1)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the holder of a valid oil shale mining claim who has filed a patent application which has been accepted for processing by the Department of the Interior by October 24, 1992, but has not received first half final certificate for patent by October 24, 1992, may receive only a patent limited to the oil shale and associated minerals, upon payment of $2.50 per acre. Title to the surface and to all other minerals, including, but not limited to, oil, gas, and coal, shall remain in the United States. Patents issued pursuant to this subsection shall provide for surface use to the same extent as is provided under applicable law prior to October 24, 1992, with respect to oil shale mining claims, subject to the requirements of subsection (f).

(2)

Maintenance of claims referred to in this subsection prior to patent issuance shall be in accordance with the requirements of applicable law prior to October 24, 1992.

(3)

Any holder of a valid oil shale mining claim referred to in this subsection may maintain such claim in accordance with the requirements set forth in subsection (e)(2) in lieu of receiving a patent under this section.

(4)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person referred to in paragraph (1) who obtains compensation from the United States as a result of the application of this section being declared to be a taking of property within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, may obtain a full patent upon tender to the Secretary of the amount of such compensation, not including interest, and upon the receipt of such amount, the Secretary shall convey to such person a patent in the form and manner provided under the general mining laws of the United States. Such tender may only be made within 3 years of obtaining such compensation.

(d) Election

(1)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 180 days from the date of which the Secretary provided notice under subsection (a), a holder of a valid oil shale mining claim for which a patent application was not filed and accepted for processing by the Department of the Interior prior to October 24, 1992, shall file with the Secretary a notice of election to—

(A)

proceed to limited patent as provided in subsection (e)(1); or

(B)

maintain the unpatented claim as provided for in subsection (e)(2).

(2)

Failure to file the notice of election as required by paragraph (1) shall be deemed conclusively to constitute an abandonment of the claim by operation of law.

(3)

Any claim holder who elects to proceed under paragraph (1)(A) must apply for a patent within 2 years from the date of election or notify the Secretary in writing prior to expiration of the 2-year period of a decision to maintain such claim as provided in paragraph (1)(B) or such claim shall be deemed conclusively to have been abandoned by operation of law.

(4)

The provisions of this subsection shall be in addition to the requirements of section 1744 of title 43.

(e) Effect of election

(1)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a claim holder subject to the election requirements of subsection (d) who elects to receive a limited patent shall receive title only to the oil shale associated minerals, upon payment of fair market value for the oil shale and associated minerals. Title to the surface and to all other minerals, including, but not limited to oil, gas, and coal, shall remain in the United States. Patents issued pursuant to this subsection shall provide for surface use to the same extent as is provided under applicable law prior to October 24, 1992, with respect to oil shale mining claims, subject to the requirements of subsection (f).

(2)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a claim holder referred to in subsection (c) or a claim holder subject to the election requirements of subsection (d) who maintains or elects to maintain an unpatented claim shall maintain such claim by complying with the general mining laws of the United States, and with the provisions of this section, except that the claim holder shall no longer be required to perform annual labor, and instead shall pay to the Secretary $550 per claim per year for deposit as miscellaneous receipts in the general fund of the Treasury, commencing with calendar year 1993. Such fee shall accompany the filing made by the claim holder with the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to section 1744(a)(2) of title 43.

(f) Reclamation

In addition to other applicable requirements, any person who holds a limited patent or maintains a claim pursuant to this section shall be required to carry out reclamation as prescribed by the Secretary and to furnish a bond or other appropriate financial guarantee in an amount sufficient to ensure adequate reclamation of the lands to be disturbed by any aspect of the proposed mining activities.

(g) Reaffirmation of requirements

Without comment on the adequacy of current or former standards for determining validity of oil shale claims, Congress reaffirms the requirements of law that a patent may issue only to persons who hold valid claims and the need for careful review of any applications.

(h) Issuance of patents

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to any oil shale mining claim located under the general mining laws of the United States, no patent for such claim shall be issued except as provided by this section.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 102–486, title XXV, § 2511, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3109.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1992Enacted · Pub. L. 102-486 · 106 Stat. 3109

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 102-486 on 1992-10-24.

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