The statutory authority for the regulations in this group is as follows:

(a) Leasable minerals—(1) Public domain. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

(2) Acquired lands. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended (30 U.S.C. 351-359) and the Act of June 28, 1944 (58 Stat. 483-485) for those lands reserved from allotment by section 58 of the supplemental agreement of 1902 (32 Stat. 654) with the Choctaw-Chickasaw Nation of Indians. Congress ratified the purchase contract in the Act of June 24, 1948 (62 Stat. 596) and appropriated funds for the purchase in the Act of May 24, 1949 (63 Stat. 76).

(b) Hardrock minerals.

(1) Section 402 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946 (5 U.S.C. Appendix) transferred the functions of the Secretary of Agriculture for the leasing or other disposal of minerals to the Secretary of the Interior for lands acquired under the following statutes:

(i) The Act of March 4, 1917 (16 U.S.C. 520);

(ii) Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 (40 U.S.C. 401, 403(a) and 408);

(iii) The 1935 Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of April 8, 1935 (48 Stat. 115, 118);

(iv) Section 55 of Title I of the Act of August 24, 1935 (49 Stat. 750, 781);

(v) The Act of July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 522, 525, 530), as amended July 28, 1942 (7 U.S.C. 1011(c) and 1018); and

(vi) Section 3 of the Act of June 28, 1952 (66 Stat. 285).

(2) Section 3 of the Act of September 1, 1949 (30 U.S.C. 192c) authorized the issuance of mineral leases or permits for the exploration, development and utilization of minerals, other than those covered by the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, in certain lands added to the Shasta National Forest by the Act of March 19, 1948 (62 Stat. 83).

(3) The Act of June 30, 1950 (16 U.S.C. 508(b)) authorizes leasing of the hardrock minerals on National Forest lands in Minnesota.

(c) Special acts.

(1) Gold, silver or quicksilver in confirmed private land grants are covered by the Act of June 8, 1926 (30 U.S.C. 291-293).

(2) Reserved minerals in lands patented to the State of California for parks or other purposes are covered by the Act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1487), as amended by the Act of June 5, 1936 (49 Stat. 1482) and the Act of June 29, 1936 (49 Stat. 2026).

(3) National Park Service Areas. Congress authorized mineral leasing, including the leasing of nonleaseable minerals in the manner prescribed by section 10 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 387), in the following national recreation areas:

(i) Lake Mead National Recreation Area—The Act of October 8, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 460n-et seq.);

(ii) Whiskeytown Unit of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area—The Act of November 8, 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460q-et seq.);

(iii) Glen Canyon National Recreation Area—The Act of October 27, 1972 (16 U.S.C. 460dd et seq.).

(4) Shasta-Trinity Units of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. Section 6 of the Act of November 8, 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460q-et seq.) authorizes mineral leasing, including the leasing of nonleasable minerals in the manner prescribed by section 3 of the Act of September 1, 1949 (30 U.S.C. 192c), on lands within the Shasta-Trinity Units of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area.

(5) White Mountains National Recreation Area. Sections 403, 404, and 1312 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 460mm-2 through 460mm-4) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to permit the removal of the nonleasable minerals from lands or interests in lands within the recreation area in the manner described by section 10 of the Act of August 4, 1939, as amended (43 U.S.C. 387), and the removal of leasable minerals from lands or interest in lands within the recreation area in accordance with the mineral leasing laws.

(d) Land management. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) authorizes the management and use of the public lands.

(e) Fees. Section 304 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1734) authorizes the Secretary to establish reasonable filing and service fees for applications and other documents relating to the public lands. The Independent Offices Appropriation Act (31 U.S.C. 9701) authorizes agencies to charge fees to recover the costs of providing services or things of value.

[64 FR 53536, Oct. 1, 1999, as amended at 70 FR 58876, Oct. 7, 2005]