43 U.S.C. § 31 — Director of United States Geological Survey

(a) Establishment of office; appointment and duties; examination of geological structure, mineral resources, and products of national domain; prohibitions in respect to lands and surveys: This subsection creates the office of Director of the United States Geological Survey, inside the Department of the Interior. The President appoints the Director, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director runs the entire U.S. Geological Survey. That includes classifying public lands, and examining the geological structure, mineral resources, and products across the nation's public domain. Neither the Director nor any other member of the Survey may have any personal or private financial interest in the lands or mineral wealth of any region they survey. They also can't do survey or examination work for private parties or corporations. (b) Examination of geological structure, mineral resources, and products outside national domain: The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Geological Survey, normally has authority to examine geology, minerals, and resources only within the nation's public lands. This subsection expands that authority. The Secretary can now authorize the same kind of examination outside the national domain too, whenever the Secretary decides it serves the national interest.