90 STAT. 1342
PUBLIC LAW 94-429—SEPT. 28, 1976
Public Law 94-429 94th Congress An Act Sept. 28, 1976 [S. 2371]
National Park System. Mining activity, regulation. 16 USC 1901.
16 USC 1902.
Repeals.
To provide for the regulation of mining activity witliin, and to repeal the application of mining laws to, areas of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress finds and declares that— (a) the level of technology of mineral exploration and development has changed radically in recent years and continued application of the mining laws of the United States to those areas of the National Park System to which it applies, conflicts with the purposes for which they were established; and (b) all mining operations in areas of the National Park System should be conducted so as to prevent or minimize damage to the environment and other resource values, and, in certain areas of the National Park System, surface disturbance from mineral development should be temporarily halted while Congress determines whether or not to acquire any valid mineral rights which may exist in such areas. SEC. 2. In order to preserve for the benefit of present and future generations the pristine beauty of areas of the National Park System, and to further the purposes of the Act of August 25, 1916, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1) and the individual organic Acts for the various areas of the National Park System, all activities resulting from the exercise of valid existing mineral rights on patented or unpatented mining claims within any area of the National Park System shall be subject to such regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior as he deems necessary or desirable for the preservation and management of those areas. SEC. 3. Subject to valid existing rights, the following Acts are amended or repealed as indicated in order to close these areas to entry and location under the Mining Law of 1872: (a) the first proviso of section 3 of the Act of May 22, 1902 (32 Stat. 203; 16 U.S.C. 123), relating to Crater Lake National Pprk, is amended by deleting the words "and to the location of mining claims and the working of same"; (b) section 4 of the Act of February 26, 1917 (39 Stat. 938; 16 U.S.C. 350), relating to Mount Mckinley National Park, is hereby repealed; (c) section 2 of the Act of January 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1043; 16 U.S.C. 350a), relating to Mount McKinley National Park, is hereby repealed; (d) the Act of June 13, 1933 (48 Stat. 139; 16 U.S.C. 447), relating to Death Valley National Monument, is hereby repealed; (e) the Act of June 22, 1936 (49 Stat. 1817), relating to Glacier Bay National Monument, is hereby repealed; (f) section 3 of the Act of August 18, 1941 (55 Stat. 631; 16 U.S.C. 450y-2), relating to Coronado National Memorial is amended by replacing the semicolon in subsection (a) with a period and deleting the prefix " (a) ", the word "and" immediately preceding subsection (b), and by repealing subsection (b); and
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