This part orders the Interior Department to act on coal lease requests. It has 90 days to publish reviews and set a value. It must then hold a sale and pick a winner. It may also sign off on leases already granted.
“The term "qualified application" means an application for a coal lease pending as of the date of enactment of this Act or submitted within 90 days thereafter”
The section defines a coal lease as one entered into by the United States as lessor through the Bureau of Land Management on Bureau Form 3400-012 or a successor form, and a qualified application as an application for a coal lease pending at enactment or filed within 90 days after, under the lease by application program run under the Mineral Leasing Act, for which any required environmental review has begun or the Director of the Bureau determines can begin within 90 days of receiving the application.
What the document actually says
“The term "qualified application" means an application for a coal lease pending as of the date of enactment of this Act or submitted within 90 days thereafter”
That sentence, in plain words
The term covers a request already waiting when this law passed. It also covers one filed within 90 days after.
What this is about
The review of its effect on the land must have started. Or the agency must find it can start within 90 days. A coal lease uses a set federal form.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50201 in the PDF
What the document says
“Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior--”
The section requires the Secretary of the Interior, within 90 days of enactment, to publish any required environmental review for each qualified application if it has not already gone out for public comment, to set the fair market value of the coal tract, to hold a lease sale for it, and to identify the highest bidder at or above that value and take every other step needed to identify the winning bidder and grant the application.
What the document actually says
“Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior--”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary must act within 90 days of this law. The steps that follow say what must be done.
What this is about
Any review of harm to the land must be published. A fair market value must be set. A sale must be held and a winner named.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “can”Who acts: Secretary of the InteriorHow: statuteSec. 50201 in the PDF
What the document says
“with respect to a previously issued coal lease, grant any additional approvals of the Department of the Interior required for mining activities to commence; and”
The section lets the Secretary grant any further Interior Department approvals needed before mining can start on a coal lease already issued, and, once the four required steps are done, grant the qualified application and issue the lease to the person who filed it if that person submitted the winning bid.
What the document actually says
“with respect to a previously issued coal lease, grant any additional approvals of the Department of the Interior required for mining activities to commence; and”
That sentence, in plain words
The Interior Secretary may sign off on a coal lease already granted. Those sign-offs are the ones needed before mining can start.
What this is about
The Secretary may also hand the new lease to the winner. That is the person who filed the application and won the sale. Both of these are choices, not duties.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Each distinct thing the section does: the definitions of a coal lease and a qualified application, the four steps the Secretary must take within 90 days, and the two things the Secretary may do.
Nothing in the section is left out. It has three subsections and each is recorded.
The section works alongside the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), which is not indexed here, so what the lease by application program requires cannot be checked against anything on this site.
