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1 void by operation of law, and the claimant shall be responsi2 ble for reclamation as required by section 203 of this Act and 3 all other applicable requirements.

4 (2) The claimant shall be prohibited from locating a new 5 claim on the lands included in such abandoned claim for one 6 year from the date such claim is deemed abandoned and null 7 and void by operation of law.

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(d) RELINQUISHMENT.-A claimant deciding not to 9 pursue mineral activity on a claim may relinquish such claim 10 by notifying the Secretary. A claimant relinquishing a claim 11 is responsible for reclamation as required by section 203 of 12 this Act and all other applicable requirements. A claimant 13 who relinquishes a claim shall not be subject to the prohibi14 tion of subsection (c) of this section; however, if the Secretary 15 determines that a claim is being relinquished and relocated 16 for the purpose of avoiding compliance with any provision of 17 this Act, including payment of the applicable annual holding 18 fee, the claimant shall be subject to the prohibition in subsec19 tion (c)(2) of this section.

20 SEC. 103. SURFACE USE PERMITS.

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The claimant may submit to the Secretary an applica

22 tion for the use of the surface of lands, other than lands sub23 ject to a valid claim, which are required for milling, process24 ing, or beneficiation activities. The Secretary shall approve 25 such application upon determining that the use of such lands

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1 is necessary to support mineral development and production 2 and is consistent with applicable land use plans, upon the 3 payment of an annual surface use fee of not less than $5 per 4 acre, and upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary 5 prescribes, including requirements for the reclamation of such 6 lands in accordance with section 203 of this Act.

7 SEC. 104. PLAN OF OPERATIONS.

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(a) GENERAL.-The claimant shall submit to the Secre9 tary a plan of operations for the mining area prior to initiat10 ing any mineral activity causing more than minimal disturb11 ance to the environment. No mineral activities which cause 12 more than minimal disturbance to the environment shall 13 occur prior to approval of a plan of operations as required by 14 this section.

15 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.-The plan of operations shall 16 include such terms and conditions as prescribed by the Secre17 tary, including:

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(1) the name and mailing address of the claimant;

(2) a map showing existing or proposed routes or means of access and size of areas where surface dis

turbance will occur;

(3) identification of the claims included in the

mining area;

(4) information sufficient to describe or identify

the type of mineral activities proposed, how such ac

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tivities will be conducted and the period during which

the proposed activity will take place;

(5) measures to minimize adverse impacts to the environment, including the manner of compliance with the terms, conditions and restrictions imposed on the mining area by applicable land use plans pursuant to the requirements of section 202 of this Act, and maintenance of the area during extended periods of nonoperation;

(6) reclamation measures pursuant to the require

ments of section 203;

(7) an adequate financial guarantee pursuant to

the requirements of section 204;

(8) the manner of compliance with Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.

(c) PLAN APPROVAL.-(1) The Secretary may approve,

17 require modifications to, or deny a proposed plan of oper18 ations. A plan may not be approved unless the Secretary 19 determines, in writing, that

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(A) the proposed mineral activities will be consistent with the land use plan applicable to the mining

area;

(B) the reclamation measures contained in the plan of operations have a likelihood of success based on

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analysis of the application of such measures in areas of similar geochemistry, topography, and hydrology;

(C) the proposed operations will comply with the requirements of this Act and other applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations.

(2) Where the land use plan applicable to the mining 7 area has not been completed or amended pursuant to section 8 202 of this Act, the Secretary shall condition or restrict, and 9 may prohibit, mineral activities to protect the resources iden10 tified in section 202(b)(5) of this Act.

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(d) PLAN MODIFICATION.-The Secretary may require 12 that an approved plan be modified when necessary to prevent 13 adverse impacts on the environment or after extended periods 14 of nonoperation. The claimant may request that an approved 15 plan be modified at any time. A proposed modification 16 shall be subject to the same requirements as for a plan of 17 operation.

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18 (e) PLAN EXPIRATION.-The approval of a plan of op19 erations shall be for a stated term. The term shall be no 20 longer than necessary to accomplish the proposed mineral ac21 tivities, and in no case for more than fifteen years, unless the 22 term is modified pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 23 (f) COMPLIANCE.-The Secretary shall not approve a 24 plan of operations, and shall suspend all plans of operation 25 approved for a claimant under this section, if the Secretary

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