SEC. 50201. Coal leasing.
(a) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) COAL LEASE.—The term “coal lease” means a lease entered into by the United States as lessor, through the Bureau of Land Management, and an applicant on Bureau of Land Management Form 3400-012 (or a successor form that contains the terms of a coal lease).
(2) QUALIFIED APPLICATION.—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 under the lease by application program administered by the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for which any required environmental review has commenced or the Director of the Bureau of Land Management determines can commence within 90 days after receiving the application.
(b) Coal leasing activities.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior—
(1) shall—
(A) with respect to each qualified application—
(i) if not previously published for public comment, publish any required environmental review;
(ii) establish the fair market value of the applicable coal tract;
(iii) hold a lease sale with respect to the applicable coal tract; and
(iv) identify the highest bidder at or above the fair market value and take all other intermediate actions necessary to identify the winning bidder and grant the qualified application; and
(2) may—
(A) 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
(B) after completing the actions required by clauses (i) through (iv) of paragraph (1)(A), grant the qualified application and issue the applicable lease to the person that submitted the qualified application if that person submitted the winning bid in the lease sale held under clause (iii) of paragraph (1)(A).
SEC. 50202. Coal royalty.
(a) Rate.—Section 7(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207(a)) is amended, in the fourth sentence, by striking “121⁄2 per centum” and inserting “121⁄2 percent, except such amount shall be not more than 7 percent during the period that begins on the date of enactment of the Act entitled ‘An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14’ (119th Congress) and ends September 30, 2034,”.
(b) Applicability to existing leases.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to a coal lease—
(1) issued under section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201) before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) that has not been terminated.
(c) Advance royalties.—With respect to a lease issued under section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201) for which the lessee has paid advance royalties under section 7(b) of that Act (30 U.S.C. 207(b)), the Secretary of the Interior shall provide to the lessee a credit for the difference between the amount paid by the lessee in advance royalties for the lease before the date of the enactment of this Act and the amount the lessee would have been required to pay if the amendment made by subsection (a) had been made before the lessee paid advance royalties for the lease.
SEC. 50203. Leases for known recoverable coal resources.
Notwithstanding section 2(a)(3)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201(a)(3)(A)) and section 202(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(a)), not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall make available for lease known recoverable coal resources of not less than 4,000,000 additional acres on Federal land located in the 48 contiguous States and Alaska subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary, but which shall not include any Federal land within—
(1) a National Monument;
(2) a National Recreation Area;
(3) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System;
(4) a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System;
(5) a component of the National Trails System;
(6) a National Conservation Area;
(7) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System;
(8) a unit of the National Fish Hatchery System; or
(9) a unit of the National Park System.
SEC. 50204. Authorization to mine Federal coal.
(a) Authorization.—In order to provide access to coal reserves in adjacent State or private land that without an authorization could not be mined economically, Federal coal reserves located in Federal land subject to a mining plan previously approved by the Secretary of the Interior as of the date of enactment of this Act and adjacent to coal reserves in adjacent State or private land are authorized to be mined.
(b) Requirement.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall, without substantial modification, take such steps as are necessary to authorize the mining of Federal land described in subsection (a).
(c) NEPA.—Nothing in this section shall prevent a review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).