§208–1 Exploratory Program for Evaluation of Known Recoverable Coal Resources

Summary

The Secretary must run a full exploration program to find and measure known recoverable coal on the lands covered by this chapter. The work must show where coal is, how big the coal fields are, and how much can be mined by deep and surface methods. The goal is to help make a land-use plan, estimate fair lease value and public revenue, give all bidders the same data to encourage competition, inform the public about the coal and its value, and support the assessments called for in section 201(a)(3)(B). The United States Geological Survey may do seismic, geophysical, geochemical, or stratigraphic drilling or buy those results. People not working for the Government can also do surveys under section 201(b); their data gets confidentiality protection before leases are awarded. The Secretary must share all data collected by the Interior Department or under contract with the public, but keep proprietary commercial data confidential until the areas are leased. Federal agencies must give needed data and may keep proprietary information confidential as agreed. Within six months after enactment, the Secretary must send Congress an implementation plan with a five-year exploration schedule and cost and staffing estimates. Detailed geological and geophysical maps and reports must start being published 18 months after enactment and kept current. Stratigraphic drilling must use the best current technology and report core logs, seam thickness, coal chemistry, and the layers above the coal.