Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 90 Part 2.djvu/1289

 PUBLIC LAW 94-579—OCT. 21, 1976

90 STAT. 2757

QUALIFIED C0NVEYEE8

SEC. 207. No tract of land may be disposed of under this Act, 43 USC 1717, whether by sale, exchange, or donation, to any person who is not a citizen of the United States, or in the case of a corporation, is not subject to the laws of any State or of the United States. CONVEYANCES

SEC. 208. The Secretary shall issue all patents or other documents 43 USC 1718,, of conveyance after any disposal authorized by this Act. The Secretary shall insert in any such patent or other document of conveyance he issues, except in the case of land exchanges, for which the provisions of subsection 206(b) of this Act shall apply, such terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations as he deems necessary to insure proper land use and protection of the public interest: Provided, That a conveyance of lands by the Secretary, subject to such terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations, shall not exempt the grantee from compliance with applicable Federal or State law or State land use plans: Provided further, That the Secretary shall not make conveyances of public lands containing terms and conditions which would, at the time of the conveyance, constitute a violation of any law or regulation pursuant to State and local land use plans, or programs. RESERVATION AND CONVEYANCE OF MINERALS

SEC. 209. (a) All conveyances of title issued by the Secretary, 43 USC 1719. except those involving land exchanges provided for in section 206, shall reserve to the United States all minerals in the lands, together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the minerals under applicable law and such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, except that if the Secretary makes the findings specified in subsection (b) of this section, the minerals may then be conveyed together with the surface to the prospective surface owner as provided in subsection (b). (b)(1) The Secretary, after consultation with the appropriate department or agency head, may convey mineral interests owned by the United States where the surface is or will be in non-Federal ownership, regardless of which Federal entity may have administered the surface, if he finds (1) that there are no known mineral values in the land, or (2) that the reservation of the mineral rights in the United States is interfering with or precluding appropriate nonmineral development of the land and that such development is a more beneficial use of the land than mineral development. (2) Conveyance of mineral interests pursuant to this section shall be made only to the existing or proposed record owner of the surface, upon payment of administrative costs and the fair market value of the interests being conveyed. (3) Before considering an application for conveyance of mineral interests pursuant to this section— (i) the Secretary shall require the deposit by the applicant of Administrative a Sum of money which he deems sufficient to cover administrative ^°**** costs including, but not limited to, costs of conducting an exploratory program to determine the character of the mineral deposits in the land, evaluating the data obtained under the exploratory program to determine the fair market value of the mineral interests to be conveyed, and preparing and issuing the documents of conveyance: Pronnded, That, if the administrative

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