House Engrossed

subsurface minerals; access; federal policy

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE CONCURRENT MEMORIAL 2009

A CONCURRENT MEMORIAL

Urging the president of the united states, the united states congress, the department of the interior and the bureau of land management to streamline access to minerals on federal land withdrawals.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

To the President, the Congress, the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management of the United States of America:

Your memorialist respectfully represents:

Whereas, copper is one of the 5 C's of Arizona, as Arizona has some of the largest copper reserves in the nation; and

Whereas, the United States Geological Survey and the United States Department of the Interior have added copper to the 2025 List of Critical Minerals; and

Whereas, federal actions such as the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 have increased the challenges of accessing the subsurface minerals and engaging in critical mineral exploration in the West; and

Whereas, there are known and proven reserves of copper and other critical minerals under the surface of several federal land withdrawals in Arizona; and

Whereas, because of their location on federal land withdrawals, these minerals are unavailable for our nation's growing economy; and

Whereas, the recent Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, the Ironwood Forest National Monument and the Petrified Forest National Park have known resources like copper, uranium and potash that are now off limits to development; and

Whereas, the State Land Department owns parcels of land that feature subsurface mineral rights on various federal land withdrawals in this state, but because the land is withdrawn from use, the access to subsurface minerals if off limits to the State Land Department and its beneficiaries; and

Whereas, the federal government reserved minerals beneath private lands patented under the Stock-Raising Homestead Act and retained ownership of the surface above private minerals claimed under the General Mining Act of 1872; and

Whereas, land swaps between the federal government and the State Land Department that did not transfer the entire parcel have resulted in split estates; and

Whereas, the mixture of federal, state and private land ownership in the West occurs not only with the surface estate but also with the subsurface estate, resulting in a checkerboard pattern of split estate parcel ownership that complicates access to and exploration of critical minerals; and

Whereas, the most difficult challenge for individuals who want to engage in mineral exploration is the federal review for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is further complicated by the mixed surface and subsurface estate ownership between the federal government, state government and private owners; and

Whereas, the process for gaining access to the land for mineral exploration and extraction is unnecessarily complicated, as all that is needed is minor and temporary access to the surface of the estate; and

Whereas, previous administrations have recognized the certain categorical exclusions to compliance with NEPA for these temporary and minor access scenarios, but in 2021 the Council on Environmental Quality, under the Biden administration, changed this policy by issuing a memorandum on NEPA implementation that required stricter enforcement of NEPA provisions and scrutiny of prior categorical exclusions; and

Whereas, the provisions of 43 Code of Federal Regulations part 3800, subpart 3809 that characterize patented nonmineral surface estates, including surface estates originally patented under the Stock-Raising Homestead Act and Taylor Grazing Act, as public lands under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, are contrary to law and should be rescinded; and

Whereas, the language of the 1993 amendments to the Stock-Raising Homestead Act, including 43 United States Code section 299(e), (f), (h), (k) and (l), shows that Congress intended the United States Department of the Interior's regulatory involvement during development of federally reserved minerals underlying Stock-Raising Homestead Act-patented surface estates to be limited to safeguarding the property interests of the surface owners rather than the broader suite of surface resource functions; and

Whereas, in 2025, the Trump administration took action to repeal any Biden-era NEPA implementation documents that had burdensome effects on mineral exploration and access; and

Whereas, in 2026 and beyond, the Trump administration should continue taking action to repeal and rescind policies and rule that hinder private access to surface and subsurface estates for mineral exploration and development.

Wherefore, your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:

1. That the Congress of the United States:

(a) Work to amend the Antiquities Act of 1906 and extend the Wyoming exception to Arizona so that no new national monuments can be designated in this state without the express authorization of the United States Congress, the Legislature of the State of Arizona and necessary local governments.

(b) Quantify the amount of state trust subsurface mineral rights that are located under federal land withdrawals and compensate states for the value of those subsurface minerals that state land departments are prohibited from accessing due to land withdrawals.

2. That the President of the United States take all necessary policy steps to streamline the permitting process for new mines in the West to increase the ease, speed and ability of private parties to gain access to federal land for critical mineral exploration.

3. That the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management work with state legislatures, state land departments, the private industry and private land owners to develop a comprehensive plan to engage in a series of strategic land swaps and subsurface mineral swaps to eliminate the checkerboard patterns of both the surface and subsurface estates and eliminate the split estate in as many places as possible.

4. That the Secretary of the Interior direct the Bureau of Land Management to perform a rulemaking that rescinds paragraphs (d) and (e) of 43 Code of Federal Regulations section 3809.31 and section 3809.2(a) and rescinds the clause "including Stock-Raising Homestead lands as provided in section 3809.31(d) and (e)" because:

(a) Those rules are contrary to the definition of public lands in section 103(a) of the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976, contrary to the language of the 1993 amendments of the Stock-Raising Homestead Act and contrary to the legislative history of the 1993 amendments during which Congress explicitly considered and ultimately rejected the application of 43 Code of Federal Regulations part 3800, subpart 3809 to surface estates patented under that act.

(b) There is no statutory authority for the application of 43 Code of Federal Regulations part 3800, subpart 3809 to surface estates patented under the Taylor Grazing Act.

5. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the United States Bureau of Land Management and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.