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GAO-20-461R 1 (2020-05-28)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaebgx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 May 28, 2020 The Honorable Raul Grijalva Chairman Committee on Natural Resources House of Representatives Mining on Federal Lands: More Than 800 Operations Authorized to Mine and Total Mineral Production Is Unknown Dear Chairman Grijalva: Solid minerals, such as copper and phosphate, play an important role in the U.S. economy by contributing to multiple industries, including transportation, defense, and aerospace. The Department of the Interior's (Interior) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service manage federal lands on which some of these minerals are produced.1 Because mining by its very nature disturbs the land and creates the potential for serious public health, safety, and environmental hazards, these two agencies oversee mine operations to help prevent, mitigate, or manage these hazards. As part of this oversight responsibility, BLM and the Forest Service evaluate proposals to mine on federal lands and authorize the production of minerals extracted from these lands. Federal lands are comprised of public domain and acquired lands. In general, acquired lands are those granted or sold to the United States by a state or citizen; public domain lands usually were never in state or private ownership.2 About 90 percent of all federal lands are public domain lands, while the remaining 10 percent are acquired lands, according to a government report.3 1BLM manages over 240 million acres of public lands located primarily in the western half of the United States. BLM manages another 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, referred to as the federal mineral estate. Approximately 58 million acres of these federal subsurface lands are located beneath privately-owned lands-a situation commonly known as a split estate. The Forest Service manages approximately 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands throughout the United States. 2Wallis v. Pan Am. Petroleum Corp., 384 U.S. 63, 65 n.2 (1966). The Weeks Act of 1911 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase such forested lands that in his judgment may be necessary to the regulation of the flow of navigable streams or for the production of timber. 16 U.S.C. § 515. Under the Weeks Act, national forests were established or expanded in 25 eastern states. Forest History Society, The Weeks Act: Impact and Legacy, accessed March 24, 2020. https:/foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/the- weeks-act/impact-and-legacy/. 3Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, R42346 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 20, 2020). GAO-20-461R Mining on Federal Lands Page 1

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