text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Uranium Mining Modernization Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FEDERAL LANDS URANIUM LEASING.
  
      The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by 
  redesignating section 44 as section 45, and by inserting after section 
  43 the following new section:
  
  ``SEC. 44. LEASING OF LANDS FOR URANIUM MINING.
  
      ``(a) In General.--
              ``(1) Withdrawal from entry; leasing requirement.--
          Effective upon the date of enactment of this section, all 
          Federal lands are hereby permanently withdrawn from location 
          and entry under section 2319 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 
          22 et seq.) for uranium. After the end of the 2-year period 
          beginning on such date of enactment, no uranium may be produced 
          from Federal lands except pursuant to a lease issued under this 
          Act.
              ``(2) Leasing.--The Secretary--
                      ``(A) may divide any lands subject to this Act that 
                  are not withdrawn from mineral leasing and that are 
                  otherwise available for uranium leasing under 
                  applicable law, including lands available under the 
                  terms of land use plans prepared by the Federal agency 
                  managing the land, into leasing tracts of such size as 
                  the Secretary finds appropriate and in the public 
                  interest; and
                      ``(B) thereafter shall, in the Secretary's 
                  discretion, upon the request of any qualified applicant 
                  or on the Secretary's own motion, from time to time, 
                  offer such lands for uranium leasing and award uranium 
                  leases thereon by competitive bidding.
      ``(b) Fair Market Value Required.--
              ``(1) In general.--No bid for a uranium lease shall be 
          accepted that is less than the fair market value, as determined 
          by the Secretary, of the uranium subject to the lease.
              ``(2) Public comment.--Prior to the Secretary's 
          determination of the fair market value of the uranium subject 
          to the lease, the Secretary shall give opportunity for and 
          consideration to public comments on the fair market value.
              ``(3) Disclosure not required.--Nothing in this section 
          shall be construed to require the Secretary to make public the 
          Secretary's judgment as to the fair market value of the uranium 
          to be leased, or the comments the Secretary receives thereon 
          prior to the issuance of the lease.
      ``(c) Lands Under the Jurisdiction of Other Agencies.--Leases 
  covering lands the surface of which is under the jurisdiction of any 
  Federal agency other than the Department of the Interior may be issued 
  only--
              ``(1) upon consent of the head of the other Federal agency; 
          and
              ``(2) upon such conditions the head of such other Federal 
          agency may prescribe with respect to the use and protection of 
          the nonmineral interests in those lands.
      ``(d) Consideration of Effects of Mining.--Before issuing any 
  uranium lease, the Secretary shall consider effects that mining under 
  the proposed lease might have on an impacted community or area, 
  including impacts on the environment, on agricultural, on cultural 
  resources, and other economic activities, and on public services.
      ``(e) Notice of Proposed Lease.--No lease sale shall be held for 
  lands until after a notice of the proposed offering for lease has been 
  given once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general 
  circulation in the county in which the lands are situated, or in 
  electronic format, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
  Secretary.
      ``(f) Auction Requirements.--All lands to be leased under this 
  section shall be leased to the highest responsible qualified bidder--
              ``(1) under general regulations;
              ``(2) in units of not more than 2,560 acres that are as 
          nearly compact as possible; and
              ``(3) by oral bidding.
      ``(g) Required Payments.--
              ``(1) In general.--A lease under this section shall be 
          conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of--
                      ``(A) a royalty at a rate of not less than 12.5 
                  percent in amount or value of the production removed or 
                  sold under the lease; and
                      ``(B) a rental of--
                              ``(i) not less than $2.50 per acre per year 
                          for the first through fifth years of the lease; 
                          and
                              ``(ii) not less than $3 per acre per year 
                          for each year thereafter.
              ``(2) Use of revenues.--Amounts received as revenues under 
          this subsection with respect to a lease may be used by the 
          Secretary of the Interior, subject to the availability of 
          appropriations, for cleaning up uranium mill tailings and 
          reclaiming abandoned uranium mines on Federal lands in 
          accordance with the priorities and eligibility restrictions, 
          respectively, under subsections (c) and (d) of section 411 of 
          the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 
          U.S.C. 1240a).
      ``(h) Lease Term.--A lease under this section--
              ``(1) shall be effective for a primary term of 10 years; 
          and
              ``(2) shall continue in effect after such primary term for 
          so long is as uranium is produced under the lease in paying 
          quantities.
      ``(i) Exploration Licenses.--
              ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may, under such 
          regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, issue to any person 
          an exploration license. No person may conduct uranium 
          exploration for commercial purposes on lands subject to this 
          Act without such an exploration license. Each exploration 
          license shall be for a term of not more than two years and 
          shall be subject to a reasonable fee. An exploration license 
          shall confer no right to a lease under this Act. The issuance 
          of exploration licenses shall not preclude the Secretary from 
          issuing uranium leases at such times and locations and to such 
          persons as the Secretary deems appropriate. No exploration 
          license may be issued for any land on which a uranium lease has 
          been issued. A separate exploration license shall be required 
          for exploration in each State. An application for an 
          exploration license shall identify general areas and probable 
          methods of exploration. Each exploration license shall be 
          limited to specific geographic areas in each State as 
          determined by the Secretary, and shall contain such reasonable 
          conditions as the Secretary may require, including conditions 
          to ensure the protection of the environment, and shall be 
          subject to all applicable Federal, State, and local laws and 
          regulations. Upon violation of any such conditions or laws the 
          Secretary may revoke the exploration license.
              ``(2) Limitations.--A licensee may not cause substantial 
          disturbance to the natural land surface. A licensee may not 
          remove any uranium for sale but may remove a reasonable amount 
          of uranium from the lands subject to this Act included under 
          the Secretary's license for analysis and study. A licensee must 
          comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the Federal 
          agency having jurisdiction over the surface of the lands 
          subject to this Act. Exploration licenses covering lands the 
          surface of which is under the jurisdiction of any Federal 
          agency other than the Department of the Interior may be issued 
          only upon such conditions as it may prescribe with respect to 
          the use and protection of the nonmineral interests in those 
          lands.
              ``(3) Sharing of data.--The licensee shall furnish to the 
          Secretary copies of all data (including geological, 
          geophysical, and core drilling analyses) obtained during such 
          exploration. The Secretary shall maintain the confidentiality 
          of all data so obtained until after the areas involved have 
          been leased or until such time as the Secretary determines that 
          making the data available to the public would not damage the 
          competitive position of the licensee, whichever comes first.
              ``(4) Exploration without a license.--Any person who 
          willfully conducts uranium exploration for commercial purposes 
          on lands subject to this Act without an exploration license 
          issued under this subsection shall be subject to a fine of not 
          more than $1,000 for each day of violation. All data collected 
          by such person on any Federal lands as a result of such 
          violation shall be made immediately available to the Secretary, 
          who shall make the data available to the public as soon as it 
          is practicable. No penalty under this subsection shall be 
          assessed unless such person is given notice and opportunity for 
          a hearing with respect to such violation.
      ``(j) Conversion of Mining Claims to Mineral Leases.--
              ``(1) In general.--The owner of any mining claim (in this 
          subsection referred to as a `claimant') located prior to the 
          date of enactment of this section may, within two years after 
          such date, apply to the Secretary of the Interior to convert 
          the claim to a lease under this section. The Secretary shall 
          issue a uranium lease under this section to the claimant upon a 
          demonstration by the claimant, to the satisfaction of the 
          Secretary, within one year after the date of the application to 
          the Secretary, that the claim was, as of such date of 
          enactment, supported by the discovery of a valuable deposit of 
          uranium on the claimed land. The holder of a lease issued upon 
          conversion from a mining claim under this subsection shall be 
          subject to all the requirements of this section governing 
          uranium leases, except that the holder shall pay a royalty of 
          6.25 percent on the value of the uranium produced under the 
          lease, until beginning ten years after the date the claim is 
          converted to a lease.
              ``(2) Other claims extinguished.--All mining claims located 
          for uranium on Federal lands whose claimant does not apply to 
          the Secretary for conversion to a lease, or whose claimant 
          cannot make such a demonstration of discovery, shall become 
          null and void by operation of law three years after such date 
          of enactment.''.
target: Uranium Mining Modernization Act - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to: (1) withdraw all fedral lands permanently from location and entry for uranium; and (2) prescribe a uranium leasing program for such lands.
feat_title: To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to permanently withdraw all Federal lands from location and entry for uranium mining, to provide for leasing of such lands under such Act for uranium mining, and for other purposes.