Comprehensive Oil Shale Leasing Amendments of 1984

Summary

Comprehensive Oil Shale Leasing Amendments of 1984 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to provide that there be no limit on the number of oil shale leases that the Secretary of the Interior may issue to a person or corporation. (Current law sets a limit of one lease per person or corporation.) Limits leases to a maximum of 5,120 acres, unless a lease of that size is insufficient to support commercial-scale operations, in which case the Secretary may increase the acreage to 15,360 acres after: (1) considering the resource recovery potential of the tract; (2) determining that additional acreage is necessary to have an economically viable commercial operation; and (3) documenting the basis for the increased acreage. Directs the Secretary before the issuance of such leases to prepare a comprehensive land use plan that complies with specified provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Governor and State and local officials of those States where the lands to be leased are located. Requires a State to establish a separate distribution system for moneys received by the United States from sales and rentals of public lands leased for the extraction and reduction of oil shale, including offsite leases, and paid to such State. Permits the Secretary to lease lands for the disposal of oil shale wastes and the materials removed from mined lands, and for the building of plants, reduction works, and other facilities connected with oil shale operations (referred to as an offsite lease). Sets forth specified terms and conditions of an oil shale lease. Permits, on a competitive basis, the award of oil shale leases. Permits, on a noncompetitive basis, the award of: (1) offsite leases; (2) leases for lands adjacent to operating oil shale projects; (3) leases for experimental or research purposes relating to the testing of oil shale technologies; and (4) leases to avoid bypass of Federal resources which could not otherwise be economically developed, or to supplement otherwise noncommercial parcels of non-Federal lands. Permits the Secretary to enter into agreements with States or private parties to issue oil shale leases or offsite leases for the assembling of lands of mixed ownership for the development of oil shale. Authorizes the Secretary to issue oil shale leases allowing the mining, extraction, and disposal of other mineral deposits, excluding oil and gas. Prohibits the issuance of an oil shale lease or offsite lease that will yield less than fair market value to the United States. Provides for expedited judicial review of the Secretary's decisions with respect to the issuance of such leases. Requires a lessee to submit a conceptual plan for the long-term development of an oil shale lease. Requires the Secretary to coordinate with the Secretary of Energy, other specified Federal agencies, and private parties in performing research on oil shale development.

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1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 10 August 1984

  Open at official source

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