N.Y. Public Lands Law 81 – Minerals subject to state ownership; exploration of mines on state lands
§ 81. Minerals subject to state ownership; exploration of mines on state lands. 1. The following minerals are the property of the people of the state of New York in their right of sovereignty:
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Lands Law 81
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Minerals: means all minerals and rocks, more particularly any inorganic substance which can be extracted from the earth, excepting gas, oil and water. See N.Y. Public Lands Law 80
- State lands: means all lands now or hereafter owned by the state of New York except lands in the forest preserve as defined by § 63 of the conservation law. See N.Y. Public Lands Law 80
(a) All deposits of gold and silver in or upon private lands and lands belonging to the state heretofore or hereafter discovered within this state.
(b) All deposits of minerals and fossils heretofore or hereafter discovered in or upon any lands belonging to the people of the state of New York.
2. The commissioner of general services may, upon written application by any citizen of the United States, issue to such applicant a permit, consent, or lease of such duration as the commissioner may deem advisable, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner shall determine, to enter upon state lands, for the purpose of exploring for mines and minerals or for the purpose of breaking up such lands and working any mine or extracting any mineral in such lands.
In the case of state lands other than unappropriated state lands, the state department, agency, commission or institution having jurisdiction over such lands shall receive notice from the commissioner of any application to explore, break-up or mine, and shall have a period of not less than thirty days to report thereon in writing to the commissioner, and no permit, consent or lease shall be issued until such report has been received or the thirty day period has expired, and shall not be effective until approved by the governor.