50 U.S.C. § 167a — Authority of Secretary

(a) Extraction and disposal of helium on Federal lands. (1) In general: The Secretary may make agreements with private companies or individuals to recover and dispose of helium found on federal land, on whatever terms the Secretary considers fair, reasonable, and necessary. (2) Leasehold rights: As part of these deals, the Secretary can grant the private party leasehold rights to that helium. (3) Limitation: The Secretary cannot sell that federal helium to anyone except the private party who actually has the recovery-and-disposal agreement for it. (4) Regulations: These agreements can be made subject to regulations the Secretary writes. (5) Existing rights: Any agreement the Secretary makes must respect the existing rights of any federal oil and gas lessee whose rights were already in place before the agreement was signed. (6) Terms and conditions: Each agreement (and any renewal or extension of it) can include whatever terms and conditions the Secretary thinks are appropriate. (7) Prior agreements: This subsection does not change or reduce the rights and obligations the Secretary and private parties already had, under helium-disposal agreements that existed on October 9, 1996 — unless one of those agreements gets renewed or extended after that date, in which case this subsection's rules kick in. (b) Storage, transportation, and sale. The Secretary may store, transport, and sell helium, but only in the ways this chapter of the law allows. (c) Extraction of helium from deposits on Federal land. Any money the Secretary collects from selling or otherwise disposing of helium found on federal land must be credited to the Helium Production Fund, which is set up under section 167d(e) of this title.