Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Completion Act
Public Law 105-279 · H.R. 1659 · 105th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 23, 1998 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. Linda Smith (R-WA-3)
Cosponsors (4): Rep. Norm Dicks, Rep. Jennifer Dunn,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Completion Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, by exchange, the mineral and geothermal interests of each company (Burlington Northern, Incorporated or the Weyerhaeuser Company) in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in the State of Washington.
Sets forth requirements and administrative procedures for such exchange, including requiring the Secretary, in exchange for all mineral and geothermal interests acquired from each company, to issue to each such company monetary credits with a value of $2.1 million that may be used for the payment of: (1) not more than 50 percent of the bonus or other payments made by successful bidders in any sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases under the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 in the contiguous 48 States; (2) not more than ten percent of the bonus or other payments made by successful bidders in any sales of such leases under such Acts; (3) not more than 50 percent of any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil, or gas, or geothermal lease in the 48 contiguous States issued under such Acts; or (4) not more than ten percent of any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil, or gas, or geothermal lease in Alaska issued under such Acts. Requires the Secretary to accept credits in the same manner as cash for the payments. Requires that all amounts in the form of credits accepted by the Secretary for the payments be considered to be money received for the purpose of the Mineral Leasing Act and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970.
Directs the Secretary, not later than 30 days after the completion of the required exchange with a company, to establish an exchange account for that company for the monetary credits issued to it. Permits: (1) a company to transfer or sell any credits in the company's account to another person; and (2) such credits transferred or sold to be used only by a person that is qualified to bid on, or that holds, a mineral, oil, or gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Terminates an account created for a company five years after creation.
Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) all remaining privately held mineral interests within the boundaries of the Monument; and (2) a plan and a timetable by which the Secretary would propose to complete the acquisition of such interests.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee; Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.
- Oct 23, 1998Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 105-279.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 13, 1998PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 7, 1998FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 23, 1998FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mrs. Chenoweth moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 11, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- Jun 17, 1998CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Nov 4, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Oct 28, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- May 23, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- May 16, 1997CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.