§ 643.35 - Policy - Mineral leasing on lands controlled by the Department of the Army.

§ 643.35 Policy - Mineral leasing on lands controlled by the Department of the Army.

(a) Acquired lands -

(1) General. The Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975, hereinafter referred to as the act, amended the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 352) and permits the Secretary of Interior (SI), with the consent of the Secretary of Defense, to lease deposits of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, sodium, potassium and sulfur which are within acquired lands of the United States which have been set aside for military or naval purposes. The consent requirement is to insure the adequate utilization of the lands for the primary purposes for which they have been acquired or are being administered. Leasing is subject to the same conditions as contained in the leasing provisions of the mineral leasing laws (see 30 U.S.C. 351). Authority in this paragraph does not permit leasing of mineral deposits lying in tidelands, submerged lands, nor in certain coastal waters.

(2) Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing, leasing of coal and lignite deposits is subject to special restrictions. The act permits such leasing, provided the Secretary of Defense concurs, only to a governmental entity (including any corporation primarily acting as an agency or instrumentality of a State) which provides electrical energy for sale to the public if such governmental entity is located in the State in which such lands are located.

(b) Public domain lands. Deposits of coal, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil, oil shale, native asphalt, solid and semi-solid bitumen, bituminous rock and gas located on public domain lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army may be leased by the SI pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Army.