30 U.S.C. §§ 202–207

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 2(c), 41 Stat. 438; June 13, 1944, ch. 244, 58 Stat. 275; June 3, 1948, ch. 379, § 1, 62 Stat. 289.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section is comprised of subsec. (c) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, as amended by section 1 of act June 3, 1948. Subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, are classified to section 201 of this title. Subsec. (d) of said section 2, as added by Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086, is classified to section 202a of this title.

Amendments

1948—Act June 3, 1948, reenacted this section without change except to make it subsec. (c) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920.

1944—Act June 13, 1944, inserted “more than ten thousand two hundred and forty acres in the aggregate nor” before “more than one permit”, substituted “railroad lines served or to be served from such coal deposits” for “railroad line within the State in which such property is situated,”, and prohibited a railroad from holding a permit or lease for lands in any State in which it did not operate main or branch lines.

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 2(d), as added Pub. L. 94–377, § 5(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1086; amended Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, § 433, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 761.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of this Act, referred to in par. (5), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 94–377, which was approved Aug. 4, 1976.

This section, referred to in pars. (5) and (8), is section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, which is comprised of subsecs. (a) to (d). Subsecs. (a) and (b) of section 2 are classified to section 201 of this title, subsec. (c) of section 2 is classified to section 202 of this title, and subsec. (d) of section 2, as added by section 5(b) of Pub. L. 94–377, is classified to this section.

Codification

Section is comprised of subsec. (d) of section 2 of act Feb. 25, 1920, as added by Pub. L. 94–377. Subsecs. (a) and (b) of said section 2 are classified to section 201 of this title. Subsec. (c) of said section 2 is classified to section 202 of this title.

Amendments

2005—Par. (2). Pub. L. 109–58 designated existing provisions as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2005 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 109–58 applicable with respect to any coal lease issued before, on, or after Aug. 8, 2005, see section 438 of Pub. L. 109–58, set out as a note under section 201 of this title.

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 3, 41 Stat. 439; Pub. L. 94–377, § 13(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090; Pub. L. 95–554, § 3, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2074; Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, § 432, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 760.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Sections 202a(2) and 207(c) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “section 2(d)(2) and 7(c) of this Act (30 U.S.C. 201(d)(2) and 207(c))”, and was translated as sections 202a(2) and 207(c) of this title to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsec. (c), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 95–554, which was approved Oct. 30, 1978.

Amendments

2005—Pub. L. 109–58 designated first sentence as par. (1) of subsec. (a), substituted “Except as provided in paragraph (3), on a finding by the Secretary under paragraph (2), any person” for “Any person” and “secure modifications of the original coal lease by including additional coal lands or coal deposits contiguous or cornering to those embraced in the lease” for “upon a finding by him that it would be in the interest of the United States, secure modifications of the original coal lease by including additional coal lands or coal deposits contiguous or cornering to those embraced in such lease, but in no event shall the total area added by such modifications to an existing coal lease exceed one hundred sixty acres, or add acreage larger than that in the original lease”, added pars. (2) and (3), and designated second and third sentences as subsecs. (b) and (c), respectively.

1978—Pub. L. 95–554 authorized modification of leases to include coal lands or coal deposits cornering to those embraced in the leases and inserted provision respecting application of production or mining plan requirements of sections 202a(2) and 207(c) and minimum royalty provisions of section 207(a) of this title.

1976—Pub. L. 94–377 struck out the advantage to the lessee as one of the conditions for modification of the original lease, substituted provision prohibiting the addition of total area in excess of 160 acres or adding acreage larger than that in the original lease for provision limiting the total area embraced in such modified lease to an aggregate of 2560 acres, and inserted provision authorizing the Secretary to prescribe terms and conditions consistent with this chapter which shall be applicable to the total acreage in the modified lease.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2005 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 109–58 applicable with respect to any coal lease issued before, on, or after Aug. 8, 2005, see section 438 of Pub. L. 109–58, set out as a note under section 201 of this title.

Savings Provision

Pub. L. 94–377, § 13(b), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090, provided that the amendment made by that section is subject to valid existing rights.

Section, act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 4, 41 Stat. 439, provided for the leasing of an additional tract of land or coal deposit, not to exceed 2560 acres, upon a showing by a lessee that all workable deposits of coal would be exhausted, worked out, or removed within three years thereafter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Savings Provision

Pub. L. 94–377, § 13(a), Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1090, provided that the repeal of this section is subject to valid existing rights.

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 5, 41 Stat. 439.)

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 6, 41 Stat. 439.)

(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 7, 41 Stat. 439; Pub. L. 94–377, § 6, Aug. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1087; Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, §§ 434, 435, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 761, 762; Pub. L. 119–21, title V, § 50202(a), July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 145.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2025—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 119–21 substituted “12½ percent, except such amount shall be not more than 7 percent during the period that begins on July 4, 2025, and ends September 30, 2034,” for “12½ per centum”.

2005—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–58, § 434, designated first to third and seventh and eighth sentences as pars. (1) to (3) and (6) and (7), respectively, substituted “Advance royalties described in paragraph (2)” for “Such advance royalties” in par. (3), added pars. (4), (5), and (6) related to amount of any production royalty paid, and struck out fourth to sixth sentences which read as follows: “The aggregate number of years during the period of any lease for which advance royalties may be accepted in lieu of the condition of continued operation shall not exceed ten. The amount of any production royalty paid for any year shall be reduced (but not below 0) by the amount of any advance royalties paid under such lease to the extent that such advance royalties have not been used to reduce production royalties for a prior year. No advance royalty paid during the initial twenty-year term of a lease shall be used to reduce a production royalty after the twentieth year of a lease.”

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–58, § 435, struck out “and not later than three years after a lease is issued,” before “the lessee shall submit”.

1976—Pub. L. 94–377 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions limiting the lease term to 20 years and for so long thereafter as coal is produced annually in commercial quantities for provision authorizing leases for indeterminate periods upon condition of diligent development and continued operation except for strikes, the elements, or casualties not attributable to lessees; provisions for payment of royalties as determined by the Secretary of not less than 12½ per centum of coal value, except as reduced for coal from underground mining operations for provisions specifying royalties as stated in the lease, but not less than 5 cents per ton; provision for rentals as prescribed by regulation for provision setting rentals as fixed by the Secretary at not less than 25 cents per acre for the first year, 50 cents for the second, third, fourth and fifth years, and $1 for each year thereafter, and provision for readjustment of royalties and terms and conditions after primary period of twenty years and subsequent ten year intervals for provision for readjustment after twenty years unless otherwise provided by law, and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2005 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 109–58 applicable with respect to any coal lease issued before, on, or after Aug. 8, 2005, see section 438 of Pub. L. 109–58, set out as a note under section 201 of this title.

Applicability to Existing Leases

Pub. L. 119–21, title V, § 50202(b), July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 145, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to a coal lease— issued under section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201) before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 4, 2025]; and that has not been terminated.”

Advance Royalties

Pub. L. 119–21, title V, § 50202(c), July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 145, provided that: “With respect to a lease issued under section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201) for which the lessee has paid advance royalties under section 7(b) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 207(b)), the Secretary of the Interior shall provide to the lessee a credit for the difference between the amount paid by the lessee in advance royalties for the lease before the date of the enactment of this Act [July 4, 2025] and the amount the lessee would have been required to pay if the amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] had been made before the lessee paid advance royalties for the lease.”