Bill > HR2893

This bill seeks to withdraw approximately 4,288 acres of federal land located in Placitas, New Mexico, which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), from all mineral development activities. Specifically, the bill prevents the land—divided into four tracts labeled A, B, C, and D on a November 13, 2019 map—from being subject to mining location, entry, patent, or disposition under mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. While the bill maintains this mineral development prohibition, it does not prevent the Secretary of the Interior from potentially conveying the surface estate of these lands in accordance with existing federal land management laws, such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act or the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. However, any such conveyance would require that the mineral estate remain reserved to the United States government, ensuring that the federal government retains underground mineral rights even if the surface land is transferred. The bill's purpose appears to be protecting these specific lands from future mineral extraction while maintaining flexibility for potential land use or transfer.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2893/all-info