article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Bodie Protection Act of 1993''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that-- (1) the historic Bodie gold mining district in the State of California is the site of the largest and best preserved authentic ghost town in the western United States; (2) the Bodie Bowl area contains important natural, historical, and aesthetic resources; (3) Bodie was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1961 and a California State Historic Park in 1962, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is included in the Federal Historic American Buildings Survey; (4) nearly 200,000 persons visit Bodie each year, providing the local economy with important annual tourism revenues; (5) the town of Bodie is threatened by proposals to explore and extract minerals: mining in the Bodie Bowl area may have adverse physical and aesthetic impacts on Bodie's historical integrity, cultural values, and ghost town character as well as on its recreational values and the area's flora and fauna; (6) the California State Legislature, on September 4, 1990, requested the President and the Congress to direct the Secretary of the Interior to protect the ghost town character, ambience, historic buildings, and scenic attributes of the town of Bodie and nearby areas; (7) the California State Legislature also requested the Secretary, if necessary to protect the Bodie Bowl area, to withdraw the Federal lands within the area from all forms of mineral entry and patent; (8) the National Park Service listed Bodie as a priority one endangered National Historic Landmark in its fiscal year 1990 and 1991 report to Congress entitled ``Threatened and Damaged National Historic Landmarks'' and recommended protection of the Bodie area; and (9) it is necessary and appropriate to provide that all Federal lands within the Bodie Bowl area are not subject to location, entry, and patent under the mining laws of the United States, subject to valid existing rights, and to direct the Secretary to consult with the Governor of the State of California before approving any mining activity plan within the Bodie Bowl. SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Act: (1) The term ``Bodie Bowl'' means the Federal lands and interests in lands within the area generally depicted on the map referred to in section 4(a). (2) The term ``mining'' means any activity involving mineral prospecting, exploration, extraction, milling, beneficiation, processing, and reclamation. (3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY OF MINERAL MINING, LEASING AND DISPOSAL LAWS. (a) Restriction.--Subject to valid existing rights, after the date of enactment of this Act Federal lands and interests in lands within the area generally depicted on the map entitled ``Bodie Bowl'' and dated June 12, 1992, shall not be-- (1) open to the location of mining and mill site claims under the general mining laws of the United States; (2) subject to any lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and following), for lands within the Bodie Bowl; and (3) available for disposal of mineral materials under the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following). Such map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Secretary, and appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish a legal description of the Bodie Bowl area in the Federal Register. (b) Valid Existing Rights.--As used in this subsection, the term ``valid existing rights'' in reference to the general mining laws means that a mining claim located on lands within the Bodie Bowl was properly located and maintained under the general mining laws prior to the date of enactment of this Act, was supported by a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within the meaning of the general mining laws on the date of enactment of this Act, and that such claim continues to be valid. (c) Validity Review.--The Secretary shall undertake an expedited program to determine the validity of all unpatented mining claims located within the Bodie Bowl. The expedited program shall include an examination of all unpatented mining claims, including those for which a patent application has not been filed. If a claim is determined to be invalid, the Secretary shall promptly declare the claim to be null and void, except that the Secretary shall not challenge the validity of any claim located within the Bodie Bowl for the failure to do assessment work for any period after the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall make a determination with respect to the validity of each claim referred to under this subsection within 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. (d) Limitation on Patent Issuance.-- (1) Mining claims.--(A) After March 8, 1992, no patent shall be issued by the United States for any mining claim located under the general mining laws within the Bodie Bowl unless the Secretary determines that, for the claim concerned-- (i) a patent application was filed with the Secretary on or before such date; and (ii) all requirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, 37) for placer claims were fully complied with by that date. (B) If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in subparagraph (A) for any mining claim, the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United States. (2) Mill site claims.--(A) After March 8, 1992, no patent shall be issued by the United States for any mill site claim located under the general mining laws within the Bodie Bowl unless the Secretary determines that, for the claim concerned-- (i) a patent application was filed with the Secretary on or before March 8, 1992; and (ii) all requirements applicable to such patent application were fully complied with by that date. (B) If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in subparagraph (A) for any mill site claim, the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United States. SEC. 5. MINERAL ACTIVITIES. (a) In General.--Mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, and processing activities on unpatented mining claims within the Bodie Bowl shall be subject to such regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation with the Governor of the State of California, as the Secretary deems necessary to ensure that such mineral activities are conducted-- (1) in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated under Public Law 94-429 (16 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) as they relate to plan of operations, reclamation requirements, and bonding; and (2) in a manner that does not cause any adverse effect on the historic, cultural, recreational and natural resource values of the Bodie Bowl area. (b) Restoration of Effects of Mining Exploration.--As soon as possible after the date of enactment of this Act, visible evidence or other effects of mining exploration activity within the Bodie Bowl conducted on or after September 1, 1988, shall be reclaimed by the operator in accordance with regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a). (c) Annual Expenditures; Filing.--The requirements for annual expenditures on unpatented mining claims imposed by Revised Statute 2324 (30 U.S.C. 28) shall not apply to any such claim located within the Bodie Bowl. In lieu of filing the affidavit of assessment work referred to under section 314(a)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744(a)(1)), the holder of any unpatented mining or mill site claim located within the Bodie Bowl shall only be required to file the notice of intention to hold the mining claim referred to in such section 314(a)(1). (d) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate the regulations referred to in this section within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. For the purposes of this Act, the Bureau of Land Management shall promulgate and administer the rules and regulations referred to in section 5(a). SEC. 6. STUDY. Beginning as soon as possible after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the National Park Service, shall review possible actions to preserve the scenic character, historical integrity, cultural and recreational values, flora and fauna, and ghost town characteristics of lands and structures within the Bodie Bowl. No later than 3 years after the date of such enactment, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate a report that discusses the results of such review and makes recommendations as to which steps (including but not limited to acquisition of lands or valid mining claims) should be undertaken in order to achieve these objectives.
summary: Bodie Protection Act of 1993 - Prohibits the Bodie Bowl (California) from being available for any mineral mining, leasing, or disposal activities, except under valid existing claims. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to undertake an expedited validity review of all unpatented mining claims located within the Bodie Bowl. Prescribes limitations for the issuance of patents for mining and mill site claims on such lands. Subjects mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, and processing on unpatented mining claims within the Bodie Bowl to regulations prescribed to ensure that such activities do not adversely affect historic, cultural, recreational, and natural resource values of the Bodie Bowl. Mandates reclamation of the effects of mining exploration by mining operators. Exempts the holder of any unpatented mining or mill site claim within the Bodie Bowl from specified statutory expenditure and filing requirements. Declares that, in lieu of filing a certain affidavit of assessment work, such holder shall only be required to file a specified notice of intention to hold certain mining claims. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review possible actions to preserve specified characteristics of the Bodie Bowl; and (2) report to certain congressional committees recommendations to achieve such preservation.