S. 706 would withdraw roughly 350,000 acres of federal land in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada from mineral leasing, subject to valid existing rights. That is, the bill would not allow new mineral leasing on that land, which is managed by the Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Using information about the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that any costs incurred by those agencies to implement the withdrawal would be insignificant; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The affected land contains very low to no potential for leasable minerals such as oil and gas. Thus, under the bill, CBO expects that the federal government would not forego any receipts from future mineral leases on that land.
