Mining Claims; Maintenance and Location Fees; Lands Open to Location, National Parks, King Range National Conservation Area, Indian Reservations, Surface Management; Removal of Obsolete or Expired Regulations, Consolidation of Remaining Sections

SUMMARY: This final rule implements provisions of the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1993 (the Act) that require a $25 location fee

and a $100 annual maintenance fee for each mining claim and site

located and held under the general mining laws. The fee requirements

remain in effect through 1998, and apply to the assessment years 1994-

95 through 1998-99. The final rule establishes the procedures for

paying and administering the required annual maintenance and location

fees, puts into regulation the statute's mandatory payment deadlines

and its mandatory provision that failure to pay the fees on time

constitutes abandonment of the claim or site, amends the recording and

assessment work regulations to conform to the requirements of the Act,

and establishes procedures by which small miners may obtain a waiver

from payment of the maintenance fee. The final rule also implements the

new location and recording requirements for mining claims located on

Stockraising Homestead Act lands. These requirements are contained in

the Act of April 16, 1993 (107 Stat. 60). It also removes obsolete or

expired provisions, and consolidates provisions that are still in force

and effect in the regulations concerning location and entry of mining

claims and sites on coal bearing lands, National Park System units, the

King Range Conservation Area, and Indian reservations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 30, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Any suggestions or inquiries should be sent to: Director

(660), Mail Stop 501, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Bruno or Roger Haskins at (202)

452-0350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule amending certain sections of

the regulations at 43 CFR parts 3720, 3730, 3800, 3810, 3820, 3830, and

3850 was published in the Federal Register on May 11, 1994 (59 FR

24572). There were 25 comments received regarding the proposal. Six

comments were received from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State

Offices, 4 comments were received from private attorneys, 3 comments

were received from individuals not connected with the mining industry,

3 comments were received from mining claimants, 3 comments were

received from mining industry organizations, 1 comment was received

from an individual in a mining-related business, 1 comment was received

from a county government, 1 comment was received from an environmental

group, 1 comment was received from a mining company, 1 comment was

received from a Forest Service employee, and 1 comment was received

from an individual BLM employee.

The Department of the Interior, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d),

for good cause finds that it would not be in the public interest to

delay the effective date until 30 days after publication. The deadline

for payment of the annual maintenance fee is August 31, 1994. The

mining industry needs as much time as possible to comply with the rule,

and the BLM State Offices will not be able to accept filing and

payments, or to assist the public in other ways, until the rule is

effective.

General Comments

The proposed rule contained several references to the Act of

October 5, 1992, which established the mining claim rental fee that has

been in effect since the date of its enactment and which will expire on

September 30, 1994. For the sake of simplicity, and because (1) The

maintenance fee essentially replaces the original rental fee, (2) the

rental fee statute will expire on September 30, and (3) any remaining

issues regarding the rental fee can be dealt with using the regulations

that implemented the October 5, 1992, Act, which were codified in the

1993 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), all references to the 1992 Act

have been removed from this final rule, including references to rental

fees.

The comments addressed all aspects of the proposed rule. They were

all given careful consideration and are addressed in this preamble.

One comment asked whether the $10 service charge for recording

notices of location was being eliminated. The answer is no, because it

is required for cost recovery purposes. The service charge requirement

is retained in Sec. 3833.1-4(a).

One comment expressed uncertainty as to when the new maintenance

fee was to be effective. The maintenance fee for existing claims is

first due to be filed on or before August 31, 1994, to hold the claim

for the 1994-1995 assessment year.

One comment stated that the maintenance fee should not be subject

to increases tied to the consumer price index and that such increases

would put the fee out of sight for small miners. The comment further

stated that these increases should not apply to those holding 10 or

fewer claims. The provision to adjust maintenance fees to reflect

changes in the consumer price index is statutory and cannot be changed

in this rule. However, it would not affect small miners who file a

valid waiver certification statement. Such individuals would not have

to pay the maintenance fee, but would continue to perform $100 worth of

assessment work as required by the Mining Law of 1872.

One comment stated that this rule and other unspecified changes in

the Mining Law were being done without congressional authorization and

are putting the mining industry out of business. The rule is being

promulgated and is explicitly required by Section 10106 of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (107 Stat. 407), as enacted by

Congress. Despite the reduction in active mining claims on Federal

lands since $100 fees were first required in the 1992-93 assessment

year, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that the fee is

driving the bona fide mining industry out of business.

One comment objected to the short notice given in the proposed rule

on May 11, 1994, that assessment work to hold the claim for those

claimants qualifying as small miners for the assessment year beginning

on September 1, 1994, must be completed in the assessment year ending

on that date. However, enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act on August 10, 1993, predated the beginning of the assessment year

ending on September 1, 1994, and served as ample notice for those

claimants seeking to qualify as small miners under the new legislation.

One comment objected to any change in the Mining Law. Since the

Congress has amended the Mining Law to require a maintenance fee, no

changes in the rule are warranted as a result of this comment.

Two comments stated that references to the due date for payment of

the initial maintenance fee, which is made at recordation of the notice

of location and within 90 days after location, were ambiguous. The

comment identified the problem as a possible conflict between the

location date on the notice of location and the location date under

State law. However, pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 28, the date of the location

of the mining claim is fixed under State law, and that is the date used

by BLM to determine the 90-day period under the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

One comment from a county government stated that the removal of the

requirement to file assessment work with BLM for those who pay the

maintenance fee will cause the same problems as those that occurred

under the rental fee requirements imposed by the Interior Department

and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1993. The comment stated

that because the Federal requirement to record annual labor with BLM

had been lifted, filings were not being made with county recorders,

affecting the record title history as well as State tax collections.

Filings may still be required under State law. If State law does not

require filing with county recorders, then State law could be amended

to remedy the problem. Also, miners may risk losing their claims to

third parties if they do not record with county recorders, and are

urged to comply with State and Federal mining laws.

One comment stated that there was some confusion with the term

``record'' as used in the proposed rule. The comment said that the term

should be defined to apply only to county recordings and never to BLM

``filings.'' The term ``record'' has been used to refer to certain BLM

filings for many years. Any reference to BLM recordation in the

regulations clearly refers only to BLM requirements for filings in the

proper BLM office. It is inappropriate to provide for exclusive

application of the term to county recordings.

One comment stated that a notarized signature from each owner on a

new notice of location should be required for State and Federal tax

purposes. The addition of this requirement would be of no value to BLM,

because BLM is not the official repository of mining claim ownership

records. The States should ensure that their laws are adequate to trace

ownership for tax purposes.

One comment stated that the rule should require a notice of

intention to hold to be filed in the local State jurisdiction in

certain circumstances. No such requirements can be added to this rule,

because the 1993 Act does not impose a filing requirement equivalent to

the filing requirements in Section 314 of FLPMA. It is therefore up to

the States to impose such requirements as long as the 1993 Act remains

in effect.

One comment stated that the rule should require that

relinquishments contain notarized signatures of every owner in order to

protect all owners from having their interests voided without their

consent. This is not necessary because relinquishments relate only to

the claimant making the relinquishment, and only his or her interest

would be dropped, not the interests of other claimants.

One comment stated that it is unclear who is required to submit

changes of address to BLM and pay the service charges. It is the

owner's responsibility, not a lessee's. The owner is also referred to

as the mining claimant. A transferee could also be an owner or a

claimant. However, while BLM does not adjudicate who pays the fee for a

mining claim, it holds the mining claimant responsible if the fee is

not paid.

One comment asked whether the purpose for filing changes of address

as requested in the rule is to help ensure that claimants receive

proper notice regarding their claims. The answer is yes.

One comment asked why the rental fee is now called the maintenance

fee. The October 1992 statute used the term rental fee, and the August

1993 statute used the term maintenance fee. The second term more

accurately reflects the nature of the fee, since it is not considered

rent, a service charge, or a tax. It is a payment required to maintain

the mining claim in good standing.

43 CFR 3833.0-3

One comment stated that it would not be proper to file a notice of

intention to hold a mining claim pursuant to Sec. 3833.0-3(a) if a

waiver is filed. This is true. The waiver for a mining claim can only

be allowed if assessment work is done.

One comment suggested a rewording of paragraph (g)(1)(i) for

clarity. This modification has been made to make it clear that it is

the mining claimant who files the notice of intent to locate a claim.

43 CFR 3833.0-5

One comment stated that paragraph (e), the definition of ``owner or

claimant,'' should not require the name and address of all owners on

documents referred to in the subpart, but should only require the

filer's name and address. This requirement exists largely to protect

each claimant's interest in being served in the event of an appeal or

other need for communication. Therefore, it will be retained.

Three comments asked whether paragraph (m), the definition of

``file'' or ``filed,'' was intended to allow notices of location or

certificates of location to be subject to the postmark rule. The answer

is yes, and the paragraph has been further amended in the final rule to

make it clear that, in addition, location notices and certificates of

location also will be accepted if postmarked by the end of the 90-day

filing period. In response to a comment, the paragraph now refers to

the filing of a maintenance fee waiver certification statement rather

than the filing of a maintenance fee waiver: the former is a more

accurate term.

One comment asked whether paragraph (m) was intended to allow $100

fee and waiver filings to be accepted if postmarked by August 31 and

received in the proper BLM office within 15 days of that date. The

answer is yes.

Two comments said that new location notices should not be subject

to the postmark rule pursuant to paragraph (m). All other filings are

similarly subject to the postmark rule. The comments give no reason for

location notices to be treated differently.

One comment questioned whether BLM has the authority to extend the

postmark rule to filings under the Act of August 10, 1993, since the

Act specifically states that annual fee filings must be made by each

August 31. The best precedent for this is the longstanding

administrative practice for annual filings under Section 314(a) of

FLPMA. Section 314(a) states that annual filings shall be made prior to

December 31 yearly. However, the postmark rule has been applied to

these filings for years by regulation as a practical way of treating

such filings received through the postal system, and it has been upheld

by the Interior Board of Land Appeals. The same practical consideration

applies here.

One comment asked whether paragraph (m) is in conflict with

Sec. 1821.2-2(f), which does not recognize the postmark rule except in

certain instances. Section 1821.2-2(f) applies to the filing of

applications only, and paragraph (m) applies to filing notices of

locations and payment of fees. No conflict exists between the two

sections.

One comment stated that paragraph (m) meant that if a claimant's

maintenance fee filing was postmarked on August 16 or before that the

claims would be forfeited. This is not true. The filing can be

postmarked any time on or before August 31, as long as it is received

in the proper BLM office no later than 15 days after August 31.

One comment asked whether paragraph (m) was meant to allow

postmarks that fall on holidays and weekends. Deadlines that fall on a

day the BLM office is closed are carried over to the next working day.

One comment asked whether paragraph (m) was restricted to mailings

postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. This paragraph has been amended

to include other mail delivery systems that are independent of the

claimant and for which the date of filing with the system can be

verified.

Paragraph (o)(1) is amended to state clearly that the FLPMA filing

due on December 30, 1999, is the last FLPMA filing affected by the Act

of August 10, 1993.

Paragraph (o)(2) is removed in the final rule because it duplicates

Sec. 3833.1-7(d). A comment received concerning the wording of this

paragraph is therefore moot.

Paragraph (o)(3) is removed because it duplicates Sec. 3833.1-5(b)

as it is revised in this final rule. Thus, the concerns raised in two

comments that referred to the conflicting wording of these sections

have been addressed.

Because of the removal of paragraphs (o) (2) and (3), paragraph

(o)(1) is merged into the introductory text of paragraph (o).

Paragraph (w) has been simplified to remove information provided

elsewhere in the rule.

Paragraphs (bb) and (cc) are amended to reference Sec. 3833.1-1,

which is the final rule redesignation of Sec. 3833.1-8 of the proposed

rule.

One comment suggested that paragraph (cc) should provide that

refunds of payments made by credit card will be made as a credit to the

card account. This suggestion has been adopted in the final rule.

43 CFR 3833.1-1

Although it was not addressed in the proposed rule, the existing

language of this section is removed in its entirety and replaced with

Sec. 3833.1-8 of the proposed rule. The old section is being removed

administratively in this final rule because it deals with obsolete

requirements. Because this amendment is an administrative action to

remove obsolete provisions, it has been determined that it has no

impacts on the public. The Department of the Interior, therefore, for

good cause finds under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3) that notice and

public procedure thereon are unnecessary and that this amendment may

take effect upon publication.

43 CFR 3833.1-2

In the proposed rule published on May 11, 1994, a paragraph (c) was

added to Sec. 3833.1-2 to establish a basic process for compliance with

Public Law 103-23 of April 16, 1993. This Act (107 Stat. 60) amended

the Stockraising Homestead Act of 1916 (43 U.S.C. 299) by establishing

new mining claim location and surface operations requirements for lands

patented under the Stockraising Homestead with a reservation of the

mineral estate to the United States. The Act became effective on

October 13, 1993. To implement the Act of April 16, 1993, the

Department has begun formulating regulations on locating claims and

obtaining permission for exploration and mining on lands patented under

the Stockraising Homestead Act. These regulations will be proposed as

additions to 43 CFR subpart 3814.

A Departmental review demonstrates a need to have a basic location,

recording, and notification procedure put into place as soon as

possible in order to avoid legal problems between surface owners,

mining claimants, and the Department over rights of location and entry

on Stockraising Homestead lands under the Act of April 16, 1993.

Therefore, as a logical outgrowth of the language included in the

proposed rule, a new paragraph (d) is added to section 3833.1-2 to

explain more fully the basic procedural requirements for locating and

entering mining claims on Stockraising Homestead Act lands. This

language reiterates, to a large degree, the language of the statute.

One comment requested that paragraph (c)(3) of the proposed rule be

reworded for clarity. The final rule has been amended to make it clear

that mining claims located on lands patented under the Stockraising

Homestead Act, as amended, will not be recorded unless the claimant

complies with the requirements in Sec. 3833.1-2.

43 CFR 3833.1-3

Paragraph (c)(3) has been removed because the information appears

elsewhere in the section.

Two comments said that Sec. 3833.1-3 was confusing. The statute

establishes payment deadlines for some types of fees, but allows

payment deficiencies in other types of fee situations to be curable.

The comments suggested that this section be made uniformly curable or

non-curable to promote ease of administration. This section was

developed in an effort to strike a balance among ease of

administration, public service, and consistency with the law. Because

of the statutory nature of the maintenance fee, it is not possible to

make nonpayment of that fee curable. The fact that this deadline is

firm is not an adequate basis for making other fee payment deficiencies

non-curable.

One comment said that Sec. 3833.1-3 ought to allow the claimant a

chance to choose which mining claims should have partial payments

applied to them before BLM imposes its system for making this

determination. This amendment has been added in this final rule.

One comment said that the proposed rule was not clear about the

treatment of insufficient maintenance fees paid for new locations. The

requirements for this situation are explained in paragraph (b)(1).

One comment stated that a phrase in paragraph (b)(2), which

provides that new claims rejected for insufficient service charges will

be returned to the claimant/owner unprocessed, should be replaced by

language requiring that a rejection decision be sent after the claims

are serialized (given BLM identification numbers). Claims for which

service charges have not been paid cannot be serialized because the

missing or insufficient service charges are supposed to pay for such

processing. Therefore, absent service charges, there is no

serialization, and thus no claims of record, and there cannot be a

formal decision on the disposition of the claims.

One comment said that paragraph (b)(2) is too complicated and

suggested that missing service charges be made a non-curable defect.

Making this change would not remove any administrative costs and would

create the possibility of rigid and unfair application. For instance, a

claimant could file $250 to cover two claims, rather than the proper

$270 (which includes two $10 service charges, two $100 maintenance

fees, and two $25 location fees). Under the scenario envisioned in the

comment, BLM would have to apply $135 to one claim and then have the

expense of refunding $115 and returning the second claim or writing a

decision if the maintenance fee deadline had passed. The BLM prefers to

apply the $250 to each claim ($125 each), and call for the additional

$20 in service charges to complete the recording process.

Pursuant to a comment, paragraph (b)(2) has been reworded to

eliminate confusion as to which of two apparent deadlines for paying a

service charge applies. New paragraph (b)(3) has been added in the

final rule to address the consequences of partial payment of service

charges.

One comment asked that the policy on treatment of payment of

insufficient mandatory fees be clarified. (The comment referred to the

required $100 maintenance and $25 location fees.) This policy will not

be put in the rule, but will be included in the BLM Manual. When the

payment submitted does not cover all of the fees due, the BLM will

apply all fees sequentially beginning with the first numbered claim of

that claimant and to as many thereafter as the paid funds allow. For

instance, if a claimant submits $200 for two new locations, BLM would

not consider this complete payment of maintenance fees for two claims,

leaving the location fees and service charges unpaid for both, but

would apply the payment entirely to the first claim before applying any

money to the second. Thus, BLM would apply $125 ($100 for the

maintenance fee and $25 for the location fee) initially toward the

first claim. Because the remaining $75 would be insufficient to cover

the mandatory fees on the second claim, the second claim would be

voided for failure to pay the required fees. A portion of the remaining

funds would then be applied toward the first claim for the $10 service

charge. If the claimant submits other instructions on how to apply the

fees, such instructions will be followed, if possible.

One comment asked whether paragraph (c)(2) meant to allow a

claimant to choose which claims or sites will be dropped if the

maintenance fee payment is not sufficient for all of their claims. The

answer is yes. However, if the claimant does not notify BLM of the

preference, then BLM will apply the fees to those claims in ascending

numerical order of serialization.

One comment requested that cross references to Secs. 3833.1-4 and

3833.1-5, provisions on service charges and maintenance fees, be added

in paragraph (c)(2). This did not seem necessary, in part due to the

physical proximity of the provisions.

One comment said that paragraph (c)(3) should be changed to remove

the phrase ``* * * existing recorded and serialized mining claims and

sites* * *'' and to substitute the phrase ``* * * the list of claims

submitted by the claimant * * *.'' This change has not been made, but

rather, the paragraph has been removed from the final rule because it

largely repeats provisions of paragraph (c)(2).

43 CFR 3833.1-4

One comment stated that paragraph (b) was unclear in its reference

to ``recording.'' This paragraph has been amended to make it clear that

the reference is to recordation with BLM.

One comment said that the reference in paragraph (f) to facsimile

authorizations may cause problems, because some have been misdirected

in the past. A misdirected facsimile would not be considered a filing

in the proper office; no filing or payment is complete or proper until

it is received in the appropriate office.

One comment suggested that paragraph (g) should allow overpayments

to be credited to declining deposit accounts. This amendment has been

made to the final rule.

43 CFR 3833.1-5

The introduction to this section has been simplified to remove

information that is provided elsewhere in the regulations. The sentence

referring to the application of paid rental fees to the maintenance fee

was removed, because it confused the two fees and erroneously applied

the succeeding statutes. There is no possibility under either statute

that the rental fees covering 1992-93 and 1993-94 could be applied to

the maintenance fees covering assessment years beginning with 1994-95.

Also, the reference to Sec. 3833.1-8 has been changed to Sec. 3833.1-1

because of a redesignation in the final rule.

Paragraph (h)(2)(i) is removed in the final rule because it

contains information provided elsewhere in the regulations.

Three comments questioned whether it was correct to say that the

assessment years covered under the Act of August 10, 1993, end on

September 1, 1999. It is correct because a maintenance fee paid on or

before August 31, 1998, will hold the claim through September 1, 1999.

One comment questioned whether this section allows claimants to

have more than 10 claims waived. The answer is no. The language clearly

refers to Sec. 3833.1-6, which explains that the waiver can apply only

to those with 10 claims or fewer.

One comment said that the reference in the first sentence of this

section to Sec. 3833.1-8 in the proposed rule was incorrect because

Sec. 3833.1-8 did not make an exception from payment of the maintenance

fee. This first sentence refers to Sec. 3833.1-8 in the proposed rule,

redesignated as Sec. 3833.1-1 in the final rule, because the section

referred to provides for refunds in certain cases. Therefore, the

reference is necessary because it shows that the maintenance fee is not

always nonrefundable, not because the section referred to provides for

some exception to the payment requirement.

One comment asked whether maintenance fees can be paid for years in

the future despite the fact that assessment work always has had to be

performed annually. The answer is yes because the maintenance fee has

only to be paid on or before the August 31 deadlines, so that a

claimant could pay $500 to hold a claim through September 1999. In the

event, however, that the fee is adjusted pursuant to Section 10105(c)

of the Act, reconciliation payments or refunds may be necessary.

Assessment work requirements for small miners remain the same.

One comment stated that paragraph (a)(1) was unclear in its

reference to the ``time of recording.'' The final rule has been amended

to make it clear that this refers to filing with BLM.

One comment said that it was incorrect for paragraph (a)(2) to

allow no waiver for the initial claim maintenance fee due upon

recordation of a new claim. The small miner waiver is a discretionary

waiver. A waiver of the initial maintenance fee for small miners would

be unnecessarily difficult to administer and impossible to apply

equally to all miners. Varying filing requirements arise when miners

perform assessment work at different times during the assessment year,

and, in some instances, new locations could change the status of some

small miners. As a matter of discretion, therefore, BLM will not allow

a waiver for the initial maintenance fee required upon location of a

new claim.

Several comments stated that paragraph (a)(1) does not account for

the situation where the August 31 filing deadline falls within a new

location's 90-day recording period. Language similar to that in the

rental fee regulations has been added in paragraph (a) to cover this

situation.

One comment requested that a requirement be added to paragraph (b)

in which the claimant would indicate for which year a submitted

maintenance fee is intended. This extra requirement was not added

because in almost all cases it will be apparent which year the fee is

intended.

One comment said that paragraph (g) should be removed because a

small miner who transfers a claim has complied with the Act, but would

have to sell the claim for $100 less to a non-small miner transferee.

The comment stated that this would effectively take away the small

miner's waiver. Such a result in claim transfer negotiations is not

certain. In addition, this provision cannot be changed because the

statute is very explicit that a claimant who has more than 10 claims is

required to pay the fee. The purchase price that is negotiated could be

any amount decided by the two parties and by no means has to reflect

the maintenance fee to be paid by the non-small miner transferee.

Two comments addressing paragraph (g) asked what would happen if

only a percentage of the interest in a claim subject to a waiver,

rather than the whole interest, was transferred to a party not entitled

to a waiver. Because a response to this question depends on whether the

parties are related, a general answer cannot be given here. However,

the paragraph is amended to add the phrase ``or in part.''

Two comments asked what would happen if, unlike the situation

described in paragraph (g), a waived mining claim was transferred to

someone who qualified for a waiver. In such a case the claim would be

waived as long as the new owner still qualified for the waiver with the

addition of the new claim.

One comment stated that the reference in paragraph (g) to the

``time of filing'' the transfer of interest should be changed to the

effective date under State law. This is correct and the amendment has

been made in the final rule.

One comment stated that paragraph (g) should not allow payments

after the applicable August 31 deadline in cases where claims are

transferred to an entity not entitled to a waiver, because there is no

statutory authority for such extensions. This is correct and the final

rule has been amended accordingly.

One comment asked whether paragraph (h) will cause claimants who

had already paid under the old rate to have to make additional partial

payments. For purposes of clarification, paragraph (h)(2) has been

amended in the final rule to eliminate the possibility of second

payments being required in any given year as a result of an increase.

If payments are made in advance of the year in which the fee is due,

additional partial payments would be required if the fee is adjusted

upward for that year.

One comment stated that the public notice provided for in paragraph

(h)(1) should be done by letter to each individual miner. No decision

has been made on how public notice under this paragraph will be

accomplished, but it will be within the guidelines of the

Administrative Procedure Act, which controls all such methods of

official notification, and applicable case law.

One comment asked whether a possible upward adjustment of the

maintenance fee per paragraph (h)(2) would mean that the small miner

would have to do assessment work of an increased value as well. The

answer is no. The amount of assessment work to be performed is

established in the Mining Law of 1872. The maintenance fee is in lieu

of assessment work required, the value of which has not been amended.

No further clarification is necessary in the regulations on this point.

One comment questioned some of the references in paragraph (i).

This paragraph has been removed in the final rule, because its contents

are stated elsewhere in Secs. 3833.1-5 and 3833.1-6.

43 CFR 3833.1-6

Paragraph (a)(1) was amended to make it clear that for purposes of

obtaining the small miner waiver, the claimant is required to certify

that he or she owns 10 claims or fewer on the date payment is due,

which is August 31 of each year the Act of August 10, 1993, remains in

effect.

Two comments challenged this section of the proposed rule,

correctly observing that the Secretary is not required to offer a small

miner waiver under the Act of August 10, 1993. One comment stated that

the Secretary also had the choice of not offering the waiver or

offering some other kind, such as a one-claim waiver. The comment went

on to ask about the analysis that went into the decision to offer the

10-claim waiver and pointed out the administrative costs and loss of

revenue to the government in offering it (the other comment was also

concerned with administrative costs). It further asked what percentage

of claims of record are owned by those with 10 or fewer claims. It also

said that the National Performance Review requested by the President

states that the Government should get a fair return for Federal

resources and the waiver runs counter to this idea. There is nothing to

suggest that Congress intended anything other than for the Secretary to

decide whether to offer the 10-claim waiver as outlined in the Act, or

not to offer it at all. The statute allows the Secretary discretion to

offer the waiver to small miners, but defines small miners very

specifically. Also, the Act essentially extends the previous rental fee

statute, which offered a similar 10-claim exemption. Therefore, no

other types of waivers such as a one-claim waiver were considered. The

choice to offer the 10-claim waiver was made primarily because the fact

that Congress included the waiver in the legislation, although within

the Secretary's discretion, and included specific criteria for

implementing it, suggests that Congress believed that allowing the

waiver is appropriate in certain circumstances, which the statute

proceeds to lay out in detail. It is true that there is an

administrative cost and a loss of revenue to the Government because of

the waiver. It was determined, however, that these costs are justified.

The decision to offer the waiver does not conflict with the National

Performance Review, because the Administration's position concerning a

fair return for resources must be applied in light of the particular

facts involved, including other Administration positions, such as the

policy of helping small business. Additionally, it is the

Administration's position that a royalty on production should be

instituted in separate Mining Law reform legislation, which would also

apply to small miners. This is where the return for resources is more

fairly applied. Only approximately 10 percent of all active mining

claims on Federal land are eligible to be excused from the maintenance

fee, so the vast majority of claims will be subject to maintenance fees

paid by the claimants.

One comment stated that paragraph (a) should not allow mill and

tunnel sites to be waived if listed on a small miner waiver

certification. Such sites will be eligible for waiver, because the Act

of August 10, 1993, specifically allows a waiver of the maintenance fee

required for mining claims and mill or tunnel sites.

One comment objected to paragraph (a)(1), which allows a small

miner to pay the fee as well as file for a waiver if so desired. The

comment stated that this is misleading because the fee is nonrefundable

and the fee waiver would become moot. The comment suggested that in

such a case as this the fee should be refunded if a small miner waiver

is found to be valid. The purpose of this paragraph, which is similar

to language which implemented the rental fee, is to make clear that

there is no penalty for both paying the fee and filing the waiver. The

BLM has had a policy of not offering refunds in cases such as this

because of the significant costs associated with processing refunds,

and because a decision to pay the fee and file the waiver is entirely

within the discretion of the claimant. It has been determined that such

costs go beyond basic public service and represent a burden on the

taxpayer. However, the regulation provides at Sec. 3833.1-1(d) that in

such a case the claimant could apply the payment to a subsequent year

if the most current claim fee is waived through the small miner

certification process.

Two comments asked whether paragraph (a)(1) allows for claimants to

pay the fee for some claims and get the waiver for some if they have 10

or fewer total. The answer is no because the statute requires that if

eligible claimants decide to apply for the small miner waiver they must

do so for all their claims. This paragraph does allow for a claimant to

both pay and file for a small miner waiver for all or some of his or

her claims, but all of the claims count in deciding whether the

claimant is qualified for the small miner waiver.

One comment stated that paragraph (a)(1) should provide that if

only one co-owner has more than 10 claims that only his or her interest

in the claims will be forfeited in the event of non-payment under

Sec. 3833.4. This depends on the relationship between the parties. If

the co-owners are not related parties as defined in the law and this

rule, the claim would be void as to the non-small miner co-owner only.

Regarding paragraph (a)(3) one comment asked how a claimant makes a

certification for mill and tunnel sites when assessment work is not

required for sites. Simply listing sites on the small miner waiver form

will act as a notice of intention to hold and will suffice for

certification.

One comment asked whether, pursuant to paragraph (a)(3), a small

miner who owned only mill or tunnel sites could get a waiver. The

answer is yes.

One comment said that paragraph (a)(3) should state that mill and

tunnel sites are required to be active for the fee to be waived. The

maintenance fee is collected only in lieu of the assessment work

requirement, 30 U.S.C. 28-28e. No activity level is specified for mill

sites in those sections of the Mining Law. Therefore, no such

requirement has been added to this rule. The validity of millsites may,

nevertheless, still be challenged based on the requirements in 30

U.S.C. 42.

One comment asked if paragraph (a)(3) meant that if mill sites are

listed on a small miner certification, this would constitute a filing

of a notice of intention to hold. The answer is yes, and this is

further clarified in Sec. 3833.1-7(c).

One comment asked whether paragraph (b) required that a reclamation

plan be approved before the claimant can file the certification

statement, whether a closure date is required under the certification,

and whether a statement will have to be filed every year until closure.

The comment also pointed out that notice-level reclamation work does

not need to be approved by the authorized officer. Another comment

questioned the procedure to be followed on lands where the surface is

not managed by BLM. Unless only notice-level activities are being

conducted on the mining claim, a reclamation plan is required to be

approved before a certification statement can be filed. This paragraph

has been amended to add ``in consultation with'' the authorized officer

to cover notice-level operators who describe such reclamation plans in

their notice, but are not required to have them approved. Such

reclamation plans, whether a part of notice- or plan-level operations,

are always required to be on file prior to any August 31 deadline. No

closure date is required as a part of the certification statement, and

such statement will have to be filed every year until closure. This

paragraph also has been amended to clarify the process for claims for

which the surface is not managed by BLM.

Two comments urged removal of paragraph (b), with one comment

inquiring as to its statutory authority, its legal effect, and the

effect of failure to follow it. It further questioned whether this

amounted to paying miners for doing what they were already obligated to

do under the law. Another comment questioned this paragraph as well.

Section 10106 of the 1993 Act directs the Secretary to promulgate

regulations implementing the maintenance and location fee requirements.

This authority is applied here to exempt from the maintenance fee

claims being reclaimed after mining. A valid mining claim need not be

maintained in order for reclamation work to proceed. There is little

incentive for claimants to maintain claims in which the minerals have

been exhausted. It is in the Department's interest to encourage

claimants to retain a mining claim until reclamation is complete.

Excusing a miner from the maintenance fee during reclamation does not

in any way release the miner from the obligation to reclaim, which

remains as before. Release of the bond serves as incentive for

reclamation. If the claimant is found to have filed a false

certification, then appropriate action, including penalties under 18

U.S.C 1001, may be instituted. Any failure to reclaim will be dealt

with under applicable regulations.

Paragraph (d) has been amended to make it clear that an agency

other than the National Park Service may deny access to a claimant's

mining claim. All such denials may be grounds for a waiver under this

paragraph. A new subordinate paragraph (3) has been added for the

purpose of clarity to provide that the certification filed under

paragraph (d) may serve as notice of intention to hold under Section

314 of FLPMA.

Two comments stated that paragraph (e), dealing with deferments, is

inconsistent with the maintenance fee statute, which requires payment

of the fee at specified times. One comment also stated that the fee

cannot be deferred if, as in the case of the non-small miner, no

assessment work is required. The language in this paragraph is similar

to language in the rental fee regulations. The plain language of the

Act of August 10, 1993, states that the fee is to be paid in lieu of

the assessment work when it is required. When the assessment work is

deferred, the maintenance fee may also be deferred. When a deferment

ends, for the period in which the assessment work requirement was

replaced by the maintenance fee, the deferred maintenance fee must then

be paid. One comment referred to this section as providing for granting

a waiver, but this is not correct. It provides for a deferment of fees

that will have to be paid at the termination of the deferment.

Two comments stated that paragraph (e) conflicts with the Interior

Board of Land Appeals decision Clay Worst, 128 IBLA 165. This decision

found that only those claimants with 10 or fewer claims can obtain a

deferment of assessment work. That decision was based on the previous

rule, implementing the rental fee requirements, which is being replaced

by this rule. It was not the intent of the Department to limit

deferments to small miners in the last rule and it is not the intent in

this rule. Deferments under this paragraph may be obtained for any

number of claims. The Worst decision, which is based on the old

regulation, does not affect this final rule because this rule

implements a new statute.

One comment stated that paragraph (e)(1)(ii), redesignated (e)(2)

in the final rule, departed from current policy. This paragraph is

basically the same as the paragraph that applied to deferments in the

rental fee regulations. It has never been the policy of BLM for claims

to be automatically forfeited if a deferment is denied and the August

31 deadline has passed. In the current regulations, as well as under

this rule, a 30-day period from the receipt of a deferment petition

denial is allowed before payment of the fee is due. Spurious filings

merely to delay payment of the fee have not been and should not be a

problem, because fee payment is only potentially delayed, but not

excused, in the case of a deferment denial.

Regarding paragraph (f), one comment asked whether claims or sites

under a mineral patent application for which mineral entry has not been

allowed will be forfeited if no maintenance fee payment or waiver

certification is received. The answer is yes.

One comment requested clarification of paragraph (e)(1). Under this

paragraph it is possible for a small miner who is exempt from payment

of the $100 fee to have his or her assessment work deferred. A small

miner who is also applying for a deferment should certify as part of

the waiver statement due on August 31 that assessment work that would

otherwise have been done within the subject assessment year will be

done after the expiration of the deferment. This paragraph has been

amended in the final rule to make this requirement clear.

43 CFR 3833.1-7

One comment asked whether a claimant who paid a rental fee by

August 31, 1993, for the 1993-1994 assessment year must now do

assessment work in the 1993-1994 assessment year to obtain a waiver and

hold the claim for the 1994-1995 assessment year, and certify to such

by August 31, 1994, in order to qualify for a small-miner waiver. The

answer is yes, because if the requirement were interpreted otherwise,

the one fee payment made in 1993 would hold the claim for 2 years

rather than 1.

One comment stated that BLM's fee waivers for small miners are not

noted on the land records. The comment noted that when the fee is paid,

it is shown on the record, which therefore clearly shows good standing

for the claim. It is true that the BLM will not formally note

acceptance of the waiver application on the land records. The BLM does

not take formal action to grant waivers, but anyone inspecting BLM

records will see whether an abandoned and void decision was issued and

therefore whether a waiver application was rejected. It is also not

true that a record showing a fee payment means that the claim has

definitely been deemed in good standing for another year. For instance,

if the fee payment is by a check that is returned unpaid by the bank,

such payment will be judged to not have occurred and the claims will be

declared void if the payment deadline has already passed.

Paragraph (a) was amended to insert the word ``filing'' to make

clear that what is described in the paragraph is a proper certification

filing. However, this does not mean that the claimant will

automatically receive a waiver; the certification filed is required to

be consistent with the small miner's actual situation as of August 31,

1994, as determined by BLM.

Three comments asked for clarification of paragraph (a). A valid

exemption application having been filed by August 31, 1993, does not

guarantee that the small miner's claim maintenance fee will be waived

for the 1994-1995 assessment year. This will only happen if all the

same elements that existed in the 1993 filing exist on August 31, 1994,

the most obvious being the same number of mining claims. Otherwise the

claimant will have to file a new waiver statement by August 31, 1994,

or at least a supplemental statement. However, claimants whose

situations have not changed since the 1993 filing need not file another

certification.

Paragraph (c) has been amended to make it clear that the assessment

year beginning on September 1, 1994, is the year for which a claim is

held when the small miner certifies to assessment work done in the

1993-1994 assessment year by August 31, 1994. Also, a sentence

repeating information existing in other sections has been removed.

Paragraph (d)(3) has been amended to make it clear that, for the

purposes of obtaining the small miner waiver, the claimant is required

to certify that the assessment work has been performed or will be

performed by the date the payment is due, which is August 31 for each

year the Act of August 10, 1993, is in effect.

One comment correctly observed that no waiver can be granted until

after August 31 because the Act requires that the small miner have 10

or fewer claims on that date.

One comment asked whether paragraph (a) was correct in allowing an

exemption filed under the rental fee statute by August 31, 1993,

certifying that assessment work has been done in the 1993-1994

assessment year, to constitute a proper filing for the waiver statement

due on August 31, 1994, under the maintenance fee statute. The answer

is yes. The rental fee statute required that claimants filing for the

small miner exemption certify by August 31, 1993, that they would

perform $100 worth of assessment work during the 1993-1994 assessment

year. The maintenance fee statute requires that claimants filing for

the small miner waiver certify by August 31, 1994, that they have

performed the $100 worth of assessment work for the same 1993-1994

assessment year. Because in such a case the $100 worth of work had

already been certified to under the old law, it was determined that the

new law did not require a doubling of assessment work, but that the

same $100 worth of work could be used. To require $200 worth of work in

the same year would be in conflict with the Mining Law of 1872, which

requires only $100. This situation came about because the two laws

overlap for the 1993-1994 assessment year as to the assessment work

requirement for qualified small miners. The old rental fee statute will

expire in 1994, and there is no further overlap of laws. Therefore, a

small miner who qualified as such in 1993 need not take any action on

August 31, 1994, if his or her situation has not changed since August

31, 1993.

One comment requested that pursuant to paragraph (a) claimants in

this category should make filings by means of a new ``renewal'' form to

be created. This would be more complicated than the process envisioned

in this paragraph of the proposed rule, because it would be

duplicative. If a small miner could report no change from what was

reported in the exemption filing completed by August 31, 1993, then

there is no purpose in requiring the miner to make any sort of new

filing by August 31, 1994, if he or she intends to obtain another

waiver to hold the claim for the 1994-1995 assessment year. Under the

proposed rule the claimant would not have to make a new filing.

However, the situation may have changed since the claimant filed in

1993; for example, the claimant may now own seven claims instead of

five. Such a claimant would need to make a new filing by August 31,

1994, to reflect the changes. This could be done on the new waiver

form, which is not any more complicated than a ``renewal'' form would

be. Because of this, a renewal form will not be created.

Two comments said that paragraph (a) needed clarification. The

paragraph means that if a claimant properly filed a certification by

August 31, 1993, under the rental fee requirements, stating that he or

she would perform the necessary assessment work in the 1993-1994

assessment year to hold the claim for that same assessment year, and

did subsequently perform the assessment work, then he or she need not

file a waiver statement by August 31, 1994. This does not mean that the

certification filed in 1993 automatically leads to a waiver to hold the

claims for 1994-1995. The claimant's 1993 statement and BLM records as

of August 31, 1994, would have to be found to support a waiver for one

to be allowed. For instance, if a claimant had added claims since the

1993 filing and had more than 10 claims on August 31, 1994, he or she

would not be granted a waiver on the basis of information submitted in

1993, which no longer accurately reflects the status of the claimant.

Such a claimant would have to pay the fee.

Two comments stated that paragraph (c), which allows a waiver

statement to serve as a notice of intention to hold, where required,

should specify the situation where such a filing is required. The

primary case where this would apply would be as to mill and tunnel

sites.

One comment stated correctly that paragraph (c) should refer to

obtaining the small miner waiver for the assessment year ``beginning''

at noon on September 1, 1994, rather than ``ending.'' This correction

has been made in this final rule.

One comment asked about provisions for filing of a notice of

intention to hold for mill sites and tunnel sites included in a small

miner waiver. These provisions can be found in paragraph (c).

Regarding paragraph (d) one comment asked whether each miner in a

group or organization had to file a certification statement. Each miner

with an ownership interest in a claim is required to be identified and

sign the certified statement as provided in paragraphs (d)(4) and

(d)(5).

Two comments asked if the references in paragraph (d) to a

``certified statement'' means the statement is required to be

notarized. The answer is no, and the phrase ``certified statement'' has

been changed to ``statement'' or ``waiver certification,'' as

appropriate to the context, in the final rule.

One comment said that paragraph (d) should require evidence of

actual work on a claim such as proof of a Notice or Plan of Operations

as was required under the old rental fee statute. The requirement for a

Plan or Notice was statutory under the rental fee regulations, while

the maintenance fee statute only calls for submission of proof of

annual assessment. Therefore, the Plan of Operations or Notice

requirement was not included in this rule. The BLM will perform

periodic inspections of mining claims in order to make certain that

work is being performed on mining claims for which fees are waived.

One comment asked whether, pursuant to paragraph (d), a claimant

who has one claim, and who is a member of a corporation that has nine

claims, other members of which have other claims, can receive the small

miner waiver. The answer depends upon whether the claimant is a

``related party'' to the corporation and other members of the

corporation. A ``related party'' is defined in the Act as one who

controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, another.

The Act goes on to provide that control includes actual control, legal

control, and the power to exercise control, through or by common

directors, officers, stockholders, a voting trust, or a holding company

or investment company, or any other means. Whether a claimant is a

related party for purposes of qualifying as a small miner will be

determined on a case-by-case basis. Because this question has been

raised in a public comment, BLM will consider a subsequent proposed

rulemaking to provide interpretation of this provision.

One comment correctly observed that, under paragraph (d)(2), a

claimant could file for the small miner waiver before August 31, and

then relinquish any excess claims so as to have 10 or fewer claims by

August 31, thereby meeting that requirement for the waiver.

One comment said that paragraph (d)(5) should require notarization

of signatures on the small miner waiver statement. The reason given was

that some claimants use fictitious names to increase acreage in

association placer claims. Requiring notarization would cause far more

difficulty for all concerned, with little or no benefit. Meeting the

notarization requirement is especially inconvenient for multiple co-

owners. In the event a claimant fraudulently inserts fictitious names

as in the example above, the claim would be open to attack from rival

claimants.

Two comments requested a clarification of paragraph (e)(2). The

Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act allows mining claims held by persons

on active military duty, or within 6 months of their release from

active duty, or during or within 6 months after their release from any

period of hospitalization due to military injuries, to be exempt from

the assessment work requirement. Likewise, such claims will be exempt

from the maintenance fee requirement. The official notice filed by a

person that he or she has entered active duty in the military service

should also include the scheduled date of discharge. Military personnel

would be subject to all assessment work or fee requirements 6 months

following discharge, unless proof of re-enlistment is submitted that

includes a new discharge date. A person who has been on active duty

since before August 30, 1994, is required to file notice of such active

duty status in the assessment year he or she wishes the exemption to

begin. Beginning September 1, 1994, any decision voiding a claim to

which this exemption applies, for nonpayment of the maintenance fee,

will be vacated. This provision has been added to paragraph (e)(2) in

the final rule. Filing a notice of intention to hold is not necessary,

because fee payments for mill and tunnel sites, for instance, would

merely be exempted in this case. As long as a qualified claimant

follows the requirements of this paragraph, the claim cannot be

considered abandoned for failure to pay the maintenance fee. Section

(e) has also been amended to make it clear that, for a claimant to

qualify under this section, he or she must own the claim without any

unqualified co-owners, and cannot be controlled by anyone who is

unqualified under this section. Finally, for the purpose of clarity,

the order of paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) in the proposed rule has been

reversed in the final rule.

One comment stated that paragraph (f) should be removed because it

would allow claimants who cannot perform assessment work in National

Parks, for example, also to avoid paying the maintenance fee. Because

the assessment work restriction within National Parks does not

automatically signify that a claimant has been denied all access to his

or her mining claim(s), BLM has accepted this comment and paragraph (f)

has been removed in the final rule. Claimants who hold mining claims

within National Parks and who would otherwise file a notice of

intention to hold must pay the maintenance fee to hold their claims

unless they are denied all access to their mining claims by the

National Park Service or they are qualified as a small miner. Claimants

who have been denied all access to their mining claims by the National

Park Service or other governmental agencies may seek relief from the

maintenance fee under Sec. 3833.1-6(d).

43 CFR 3833.1-8

This section is redesignated in this final rule as section 3833.1-

1. The old Sec. 3833.1-1 is being removed administratively as a part of

this rule, as explained above.

Paragraph (d) has been amended to show that the Act of August 10,

1993, does not affect the assessment work requirements starting

September 1, 1999, and that the first FLPMA filing not affected by the

Act is the one due on December 30, 2000.

One comment asked if fees or charges should be returnable if the

claims are still shown as active on BLM records but have been voided or

abandoned by operation of law, but for which a decision has not yet

been issued. The answer is yes, if for some reason payments are made on

such claims.

Two comments asked what the term ``docketed'' in paragraph (a)

means. This word and other terms of art have been removed and replaced

with other terms to clarify the point at which service charges cannot

be returned.

One comment asked if service charges for amended locations will

also be returnable under paragraph (b). The answer is yes.

One comment disagreed that paragraph (b) allows service charges to

be returnable in such a case. Service charges must be returnable in

this case because the charges were paid for a service that will not be

performed. For instance, if a small miner submits the service charge

with his or her annual assessment filing on a claim that is already

abandoned and void by operation of law, the service that the charges

are for (to process the annual filing submitted) will never be

rendered.

One comment asked whether paragraph (c) should refer to the time of

``submission'' of fees rather than the time ``fees were paid.'' The

term ``time of submission'' is more precise and the final rule has been

amended accordingly.

One comment said that paragraph (c) did not cover all instances for

which fees may be refunded. This paragraph has been amended to add

overpayments as a reason for refund.

One comment asked for a clarification of whether paragraph (d)

means that BLM will only refund duplicate payments when requested to.

The answer is yes, but the final rule regarding this process has been

amended to give the claimant a choice between a refund or an

application of the excess fees to a future year.

One comment said that paragraph (d) should not apply to maintenance

fees, but instead a new paragraph should be added in which application

of the duplicate fees to a future year would be automatic unless a

refund is issued. This paragraph has been amended to require that

claimants who overpay their fee be given the choice either to receive a

refund or to apply the fees to a subsequent year. Claimants will be

notified in every case, because they have a right to direct how their

overpayment is to be treated, and must know how much they have already

contributed to the next year's payment in order to adjust their payment

for the next year.

One comment suggested that paragraph (d) should be reworded for

clarity. This has been done in the final rule.

43 CFR 3833.2-3

Paragraph (e) has been amended to provide that fee payments under

the Act of August 10, 1993, need only be made for new claims located on

or before September 29, 1998. The time period that such a claim will be

held in good standing by such a payment has also been clarified.

43 CFR 3833.2-6

One comment stated that the term ``mineral entry'' is inconsistent

with terminology in 43 CFR 3851.5(a) and should be changed to reflect

this. It is inappropriate to make this change because the term is used

in this section as it is in 43 CFR subpart 3851.

One comment challenged the statutory authority for this section.

The comment stated that allowance of mineral entry is only an early

hurdle in the patent process, and a claim at that point remains

unpatented and thus subject to the fee. The comment also stated that

associated regulations that allow assessment work to be excused in such

a case are similarly erroneous. There is no specific statutory

authority for this section, but there are significant numbers of

judicial decisions supporting it. The end of the obligation to file

proof of performance of assessment work is a part of the recognition of

mineral entry, which must be determined on a case-by-case basis. The

similar treatment of the maintenance fee payment is also a recognition

of this mineral entry.

Two comments asked for the definition of when mineral entry begins.

One comment urged insertion of the definition into the rule. When

mineral entry occurs must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

One comment said that this section should be reworded because a

notice of intention to hold can no longer be filed on a mining claim.

This section has been reworded in the final rule to reflect this.

43 CFR 3833.3

One comment stated that paragraph (c) in the proposed rule is

misleading because it refers to transfers of interest ``being

effective'' on the date of recordation with BLM and also refers to

``BLM record title purposes,'' which it said implies that BLM records

reflect the true state of legal title for mining claims. This paragraph

has been amended in the final rule to make it clear that the

recordation date of a transfer of interest is merely the effective date

for BLM record purposes. The paragraph is further amended by removing

the phrase ``For BLM record title purposes'' to eliminate this

confusion.

Three comments asked for a clarification of paragraph (c). The

paragraph means to say that a transfer is first officially shown on BLM

records as of the date of recordation with BLM. The actual effective

date of the transfer is determined by State law.

43 CFR 3833.4

Two comments stated that paragraph (a)(1)(i) does not make

reference to annual filings as to mill sites. This inadvertent omission

has been corrected in the final rule.

One comment said that paragraph (a)(3), which deals with failure to

perform assessment work on or before the date of the filing of a waiver

statement, cannot result in forfeiture of the claim because this is not

allowed under the Mining Law. The comment further stated that

retroactive forfeiture of a claim for failure to perform assessment

work once the waiver has already been granted should not be allowed.

This paragraph is only referring to situations where a claimant would

file a false statement which says that assessment work had been

performed when it had not. In such a case, upon investigation, the

claims would be declared void for failure to pay the maintenance fee,

given that an invalid waiver certification was filed.

One comment said that the current paragraph (b) had been

incorrectly amended in previous rules so that complete cross references

regarding the curability of the contents of a notice of intention to

hold were omitted. The paragraph is amended by adding a cross reference

to Sec. 3833.2-5.

One comment said that paragraph (b) did not adequately explain that

failure to file complete information under the referenced sections is

not automatically fatal, but is curable by means of submittal of the

information in response to a notice from the authorized officer asking

for it. The paragraph clearly says that this failure is curable, and no

amendment is considered necessary.

One comment said that paragraph (c) did not reflect the case law

regarding on whom BLM must serve notice. It cited an Interior Board of

Land Appeals (IBLA) decision to support its position. The IBLA decision

in question directed BLM to look at assessment affidavits in order to

help determine the last address of record for an owner. This paragraph,

however, merely deals with determining who is the owner of a claim, not

where he or she lives. Therefore, it does not run afoul of the cited

decision of IBLA.

43 CFR 3833.5

One comment requested that a change be made to paragraph (d) to

allow for an additional method of service within this subpart. This

change cannot be made in the final rule because it was not proposed in

the May 11, 1994, Federal Register publication. Substantive changes may

not be made in regulations, absent emergency circumstances, without

providing opportunity for public comment on the proposed changes. 5

U.S.C. 553. The BLM will give consideration to this request to

determine whether additional methods of service are warranted and

should be adopted by future rulemaking.

43 CFR 3851.4

Two comments asked whether mill or tunnel sites should be added in

the co-ownership provisions of this section. The answer is yes, and

sites have been added to this section in this final rule to clarify the

rights and responsibilities of co-owners of these sites.

One comment stated that paragraph (a) should clearly state that the

year referred to means assessment year. This amendment has been made in

the final rule.

One comment suggested that the phrase ``ownership records'' in

paragraph (b) should be changed to ``BLM records'' to underscore that

BLM is not the official repository of mining claim ownership records.

The BLM does not consider itself the keeper of the definitive record of

ownership, and this paragraph in the proposed rule is not intended to

imply that it is.

One comment said that the phrase ``record title'' in paragraph (c)

should be changed to ``BLM records'' in order to avoid suggesting that

the BLM ownership records are the official legal title records. The

paragraph has been amended to remove this misleading implication.

The principal authors of this final rule are Frank Bruno and Roger

Haskins of the Division of Solid Minerals, assisted by the staff of the

Division of Legislation and Regulatory Management, BLM.

It has been determined that this final rule does not constitute a

major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human

environment, and that no detailed statement pursuant to Section

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

4332(2)(C)) is required. The BLM has determined that this rule is

categorically excluded from further environmental review pursuant to

516 Departmental Manual, Chapter 2, Appendix 1, Item 1.10, and that the

rule will not significantly affect the 10 criteria for exceptions

listed in 516 DM 2, Appendix 2. Pursuant to the Council on

Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1508.4) and environmental

policies and procedures of the Department of the Interior,

``categorical exclusions'' means a category of actions that do not

individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human

environment and that have been found to have no such effect in

procedures adopted by a Federal agency and for which neither an

environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is

required.

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

The Department also certifies that this document will not have a

significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The fee

may represent an economic consideration for a small, marginal operation

that does not qualify for an exemption under the rule. However, most

small operations would qualify. A small entity that holds a valuable

mining claim will not be deterred by the annual fee, and many of them

will qualify for an exemption. Most marginal claims were already

abandoned in 1993 upon promulgation of the regulations implementing the

Act of October 5, 1992.

As required by Executive Order 12630, the Department of the

Interior has determined that the rule would not cause a taking of

private property. The requirement that a modest fee be paid to hold or

maintain an existing unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site

constitutes a reasonable regulatory burden, and it will have no effect

on a claimant's use of his or her claim or site as long as he or she

complies with the requirement.

The Department has certified to the Office of Management and Budget

that these regulations meet the applicable standards provided in

sections 2(a) and 2(b)(2) of Executive Order 12778.

The provisions for collection of information contained at 43 CFR

Parts 3730, 3820, 3830, and 3850, and subpart 3809 have previously been

approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned clearance

numbers 1004-0104, 1004-0110, and 1004-0114. Information collections

for Parts 3730, 3820, 3830, and 3850 were consolidated under clearance

number 1004-0114 in the July 15, 1993, rule (58 FR 38186). As this rule

removes obsolete or inoperative sections of Title 43, Code of Federal

Regulations, and extends the information collection-related effect of

the previously enacted Act of October 5, 1992, and implementing

regulations published on July 15, 1993, this rule does not contain

information collection requirements that require approval by the Office

of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

List of Subjects

43 CFR Part 3720

Coal, Mineral royalties, Mines, Public lands--mineral resources.

43 CFR Part 3730

Administrative practice and procedure, Mines, Public lands--mineral

resources, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Surety bonds.

43 CFR Part 3800

Administrative practice and procedure, Environmental protection,

Intergovernmental relations, Mines, Public lands--mineral resources,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Surety bonds, Wilderness

areas.

43 CFR Part 3810

Mines, Public lands--mineral resources, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

43 CFR Part 3820

Mines, Monuments and memorials, National forests, National parks,

Public lands--mineral resources, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Surety bonds, Wilderness areas.

43 CFR 3830

Mineral royalties, Fees, Mines, Public lands--mineral resources,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

43 CFR 3850

Assessment work, Mines, Public lands--mineral resources, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: August 15, 1994.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Under the authority of the Act of August 11, 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66,

107 Stat. 312); sections 441 and 2478 of the Revised Statutes, as

amended (43 U.S.C. 1457 and 1201); section 2319 of the Revised

Statutes, as amended (30 U.S.C. 22); sections 310 and 703(a) of the

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (43 U.S.C

1701 and 1740); and the Act of April 16, 1993 (107 Stat. 60); parts

3730, 3820, 3830, and 3850, and subpart 3809, Groups 3700 and 3800,

subchapters A and C, chapter II of title 43 of the Code of Federal

Regulations are amended as follows:

PART 3720--PUBLIC LAW 357; ENTRY AND LOCATION OF SOURCE MATERIALS

UPON PUBLIC LANDS VALUABLE FOR COAL

1. Part 3720 is removed and reserved.

PART 3730--PUBLIC LAW 359; MINING IN POWERSITE WITHDRAWALS: GENERAL

2. The authority citation for part 3730 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 69 Stat. 681, 30 U.S.C. 621-625; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et

seq.; 30 U.S.C. 28f-k, 107 Stat. 405.

Subpart 3730--Public Law 359; Mining in Power Site Withdrawals:

General

3. Section 3730.0-1 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3730.0-1 Purpose; lands open.

(a) The purpose of the Mining Claims Rights Restoration Act of

August 11, 1955 (Act), is to permit the mining, development, and

utilization of the mineral resources of all public lands withdrawn or

reserved for power development and other purposes, except for lands

that:

(1) Are included in any project operating or being constructed

under a license or permit issued under the Federal Power Act or other

Act of Congress, or

(2) Are under examination and survey by a prospective licensee of

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under an uncancelled

preliminary permit that has not been renewed more than once.

(b) Locations made under the Act on lands withdrawn or reserved for

power development within the revested Oregon and California Railroad

and Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands are also subject to the

provisions of the Act of April 8, 1948 (62 Stat. 162). See subpart 3821

of this title.

4. Section 3730.0-3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3730.0-3 Authority.

The authorities for the regulations in this part are the Act of

August 11, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 621-625); Sec. 314 of the Act of October 21,

1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744); 30 U.S.C. 28f-k, 107 Stat. 405.

5. Section 3730.0-9 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as

follows:

Sec. 3730.0-9 Information collection.

(a) The collections of information contained in subpart 3730 have

been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1004-0110 and subsequently

consolidated with 1004-0114. The information will enable the authorized

officer to determine whether a mining claimant is qualified to hold a

mining claim or site for the exploration, development, and utilization

of minerals on all public lands that are withdrawn for power

development. A response is required to obtain a benefit in accordance

with the Act of August 11, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 621-625), Section 314 of the

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (43 U.S.C.

1744), and the Act of August 10, 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312).

* * * * *

Subpart 3734--Location and Assessment Work

6. Section 3734.1 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (c) to

read as follows:

Sec. 3734.1 Owner of claim to file notice of location and assessment

work.

(a) The owner of any unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel

site located on land described in Sec. 3730.0-1 (a) and (b), shall file

all notices or certificates of location, amended notices or

certificates, and transfers of interest, with the proper State Office

of the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to Secs. 3833.1, 3833.3,

3833.4, and 3833.5 of this title, and pay the applicable maintenance,

location, and service fees required by subpart 3833 of this title. The

notice, certificate, transfer, or amendment thereto shall be marked by

the owner to indicate that it is being filed pursuant to the Act of

August 11, 1955, the Act of April 8, 1948, or both, as required by

Sec. 3833.5(c). Failure to so mark the location certificate will delay

the procedures to authorize mining under subpart 3736.

* * * * *

(c) The owner of any unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel

site located on land described in Sec. 3730.0-1 shall perform and

record annual assessment work if he or she qualifies as a small miner

under Sec. 3833.0-5(u) of this title or pay an annual maintenance fee

of $100 per unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site in lieu

of the annual assessment work or notice of intention to hold, pursuant

to subpart 3833 of this title.

PART 3800--MINING CLAIMS UNDER THE GENERAL MINING LAWS

7. The authority citation for part 3800 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 447; 16 U.S.C. 347-354; 16 U.S.C. 460y et

seq.; 16 U.S.C. 473, 478-482; 16 U.S.C. 1901, 1907; 30 U.S.C. 22 et

seq.; 30 U.S.C. 122, 161, 162; 30 U.S.C. 242; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 43

U.S.C. 2; 43 U.S.C. 154; 43 U.S.C. 299, 300; 43 U.S.C. 1201; 43

U.S.C. 1474; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. Appendix 565; 62

Stat. 162; 100 Stat. 3457-3468; 107 Stat. 60; and 30 U.S.C. 28f-k,

107 Stat. 405.

Subpart 3809--Surface Management

8. Section 3809.0-3 is amended by adding new paragraph (e) to read

as follows:

Sec. 3809.0-3 Authority.

* * * * *

(e) The Act of October 21, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 460y et seq.), as

amended by Section 602 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

1976 (16 U.S.C. 460y-8), established the King Range Conservation Area

in California. The Secretary is required under these Acts to manage

activities in this conservation area under the General Mining Law of

1872 in such a manner as to protect the scenic, scientific, and

environmental values against undue impairment, and ensure against

pollution of streams and waters.

9. Section 3809.0-5 is amended by adding new paragraph (l) to read

as follows:

Sec. 3809.0-5 Definitions.

* * * * *

(l) King Range Conservation Area means the area designated pursuant

to the Act of October 21, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 460y et seq.), as amended by

Section 602 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (16

U.S.C. 460y-8).

10. Section 3809.1-4 is amended by adding new paragraph (b)(6) to

read as follows:

Sec. 3809.1-4 Plan of operations: When required.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(6) The area designated as the King Range Conservation Area

pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460y et seq., as amended by section 602 of the

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

* * * * *

PART 3810--LANDS AND MINERALS SUBJECT TO LOCATION

10. The authority citation for Part 3810 is added to read as

follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 1201 and 1740.

Subpart 3811--Lands Subject to Location and Purchase

11. Section 3811.2-2 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3811.2-2 Lands in national parks and monuments.

The Mining in the Parks Act (16 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), effectively

withdrew all National Parks and Monuments from location and entry under

the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. Since September 28, 1976,

all National Parks and Monuments and other units of the National Park

System have been closed to the location of mining claims and sites

under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. Valid existing rights

are recognized, but access and permission to operate mining claims and

sites within units of the National Park System are now governed by 36

CFR part 9.

12. Section 3811.2-3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3811.2-3 Lands in Indian reservations.

All lands contained within the boundaries of an established Indian

Reservation are withdrawn from all location, entry, and appropriation

under the General Mining Law of 1872, as amended. All minerals on

Indian Reservations may only be acquired by lease pursuant to the Act

of May 11, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 396a), the Act of March 3, 1909 (25 U.S.C.

396), or the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101 et

seq.). The regulations governing the mineral leasing of Indian lands

are found in 25 CFR Chapter I Subchapter I.

Sec. 3811.2-8 [Removed]

13. Section 3811.2-8 is removed.

PART 3820--AREAS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL MINING LAWS

13. The authority citation for part 3820 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 1201 and 1740.

Subpart 3821--O and C Lands

14. Section 3821.0-3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3821.0-3 Authority.

The authorities for the regulations in this subpart are the Act of

April 8, 1948 (62 Stat. 162); Section 314 of the Federal Land Policy

and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1744); and the Act of August 10,

1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f-k, 107 Stat. 405).

15. Section 3821.2 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3821.2 Requirements for filing notices of locations of claims;

descriptions.

The owner of any unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site

located on land described in Sec. 3821.1 shall file all notices or

certificates of location, amended notices or certificates, and

transfers of interest in the proper State Office of the Bureau of Land

Management pursuant to Secs. 3833.1, 3833.3, 3833.4, and 3833.5 of this

title and shall pay the applicable maintenance, location, and service

fees required by subpart 3833 of this title. The notice or certificate

of location, or amendment thereto, shall be marked by the owner as

being filed under the Act of April 8, 1948, and, if located on

powersite lands, also the Act of August 11, 1955, as prescribed by

Secs. 3734.1 and 3833.5 of this title.

16. Section 3821.3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3821.3 Requirement for filing statements of assessment work.

The owner of an unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site

located on O and C lands shall perform and record proof of annual

assessment work, or pay an annual maintenance fee of $100 per

unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site, pursuant to subpart

3833 of this title.

Subpart 3826--[Removed and Reserved]

17. Subpart 3826 is removed and reserved.

Subpart 3827--[Removed and Reserved]

18. Subpart 3827 is removed and reserved.

PART 3830--LOCATION OF MINING CLAIMS

19. The authority citation for part 3830 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 22 and 28; 43 U.S.C. 1201; 31 U.S.C. 9701;

16 U.S.C. 1901, 1907; 43 U.S.C. 1740 and 1744; 30 U.S.C. 242; 50

U.S.C. Appendix 565; 107 Stat. 60; 107 Stat. 405.

Subpart 3833--Recordation of Mining Claims, Mill Sites, and Tunnel

Sites; Payment of Service Charges, Maintenance, and Location Fees

20. Section 3833.0-1 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read

as follows:

Sec. 3833.0-1 Purpose.

* * * * *

(c) The payment in the same office of an annual maintenance fee, if

required, for each mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site held by the

claimant;

* * * * *

21. Section 3833.0-3 is amended by revising the first sentence of

paragraph (a), revising paragraphs (e) and (f), and adding new

paragraphs (g) and (h) to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.0-3 Authority.

(a) Sections 314(a) and (b) of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1744), as amended by the Act of August 10,

1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f-k, 107 Stat. 405), require the recordation of

unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites, and the filing

of information concerning annual assessment work performed on

unpatented mining claims in the proper BLM office within specified time

periods. * * *

* * * * *

(e) Sections 10101-10106 of the Act of August 10, 1993 (Pub. L.

103-66, 107 Stat. 405), require an annual maintenance fee of $100 to be

paid to the proper State Office of the Bureau of Land Management for

each non-waived mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. With certain

exceptions provided in Sec. 3833.1-6, this fee is in lieu of the

requirement to perform and record annual assessment work under 30

U.S.C. 28-28e and section 314(a) of FLPMA. Failure to pay the fee

within the time limits prescribed by the Act of August 10, 1993,

constitutes a statutory abandonment and forfeiture of the non-waived

mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. Provisions relating to

maintenance fees and waivers are contained in Secs. 3833.0-3(f),

3833.1-5, 3833.1-6, and 3833.1-7.

(f) Section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C.

242) requires oil shale claim holders to pay an annual fee of $550 per

oil shale claim, notwithstanding any other provision of law. The Act of

August 10, 1993, specifically states that the maintenance fee provision

shall not apply to any oil shale claims for which a fee is required to

be paid under Section 2511(e)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The

$550 fee requirement for oil shale claims remains in effect. The $550

fee is first payable on or before December 31, 1993, and on or before

each December 31st thereafter.

(g) The Stockraising Homestead Act of December 29, 1916 (SRHA) (43

U.S.C. 299), as amended by the Act of April 16, 1993 (107 Stat. 60),

provides that no person other than the surface owner may locate a

mining claim on SRHA lands after October 13, 1993, until a notice of

intent to locate has been filed with the proper BLM State Office and

the surface owner is notified of the filing.

(1)(i) When a notice of intent to locate a mining claim has been

properly filed by a mining claimant, no other person may, until 90 days

after the date the notice of intent is filed:

(A) File such a notice with respect to any portions of the lands

covered by the first notice;

(B) Explore for minerals or locate a mining claim on any portion of

such lands; or

(C) File an application to acquire any interest in any portion of

such lands pursuant to Section 209 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1719).

(ii) The 90-day exclusive right may be extended by filing a Plan of

Operations pursuant to subpart 3809 of this title. The extension runs

until the BLM has approved or denied the Plan of Operations.

(2) The mining claimant may not locate mining claims on the lands

encompassed by a notice under the Act of April 16, 1993, until at least

30 days after he or she has properly notified the surface owner by

registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.

(3) The Act of April 16, 1993, contains numerous other requirements

prerequisite to a claimant engaging in mineral exploration and

development activities on SRHA lands. These requirements are

administered pursuant to subpart 3814 of this title.

(h) The Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act of 1940 (50 U.S.C.

appendix 565) excuses performance of assessment work by military

personnel while they are on active duty, or within 6 months of their

release from active duty, or during or within 6 months after their

release from any period of hospitalization due to military injuries.

The procedures for obtaining a waiver from the performance of

assessment work may be found in subpart 3851 of this title.

22. Section 3833.0-5 is amended by revising paragraphs (e), (g),

(m), and (o), removing paragraphs (t) and (v), redesignating existing

paragraphs (u) and (w) as paragraphs (t) and (u), and adding paragraphs

(v), (w), (x), (y), (z), (aa), and (bb) to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.0-5 Definitions.

* * * * *

(e) Owner or claimant means the person who is, under State or

Federal law, the holder of the right to sell or transfer all or any

part of an unpatented mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. The name

of the owner and his or her current address shall be identified on all

instruments required to be recorded or filed by the regulations in this

subpart.

* * * * *

(g) Proper BLM office means the Bureau of Land Management State

Office listed in Sec. 1821.2-1(d) of this title having jurisdiction

over the land in which the claims or sites are located. In Alaska, the

Northern District Office's Records and Public Information Unit, located

in Fairbanks, may also receive and record documents, filings, and fees

for all mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites located in the

State of Alaska.

* * * * *

(m) File or filed means being received and date stamped by the

proper BLM office. For purposes of complying with Secs. 3833.1-2,

3833.1-3, 3833.1-5, 3833.1-6, 3833.1-7, or 3833.2, a filing or fee

required by any of these sections is timely if received within the time

period prescribed by law, or, if mailed to the proper BLM office, is

contained within an envelope clearly postmarked by a bona fide mail

delivery service within the period prescribed by law and received by

the proper BLM State Office by 15 calendar days subsequent to such

period, except as provided in Sec. 1821.2-2(e) of this title if the

last day falls on a day the office is closed.

* * * * *

(o) Filing period means the time period during which documents and

fees are required to be provided to the proper BLM office. Except for

filings and recordings required of a small miner qualifying for a

waiver under Sec. 3833.1-7 of this title, filings under FLPMA that

would have been due on December 30, 1994, and each December 30 through

and including December 30, 1999, are waived effective January 1, 1994,

and so long thereafter as the Act of August 10, 1993, is in effect.

* * * * *

(v) Maintenance fee means the annual $100 payment required by the

Act of August 10, 1993 (Pub.L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312), to hold and

maintain a mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. The requirement to

pay a maintenance fee does not apply to any claim located after

September 29, 1998.

(w) Location fee means the one time $25 payment required by the Act

of August 10, 1993, for all new mining claims and mill and tunnel sites

located upon the public lands on or after August 11, 1993, and before

September 30, 1998. The location fee shall be paid at the time the

mining claim or site is recorded with the proper BLM office.

(x) Related party means:

(1) The spouse and dependent children of the claimant as defined in

section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or

(2) A person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common

control with the claimant.

(y) Control means, as defined in the Act of August 10, 1993, actual

control, legal control, and the power to exercise control, through or

by common directors, officers, stockholders, a voting trust, or a

holding company or investment company, or any other means.

(z) Forfeiture means the consequences of an act or failure to act

that results in an unpatented mining claim, mill, or tunnel site being

deemed to be by operation of law abandoned or null and void. The term

has the same meaning whether it is used in the noun form or in the verb

form ``forfeit'' or ``forfeited.''

(aa) Returnable means that a check or negotiable instrument,

including a valid credit card order, is received by the authorized

officer but not yet processed through the accounting system of the

Bureau of Land Management, and can be returned to the originator

without processing of a refund check through the United States Treasury

pursuant to Sec. 3833.1-1.

(bb) Refundable means that a check or negotiable instrument,

including a valid credit card order, has been processed through the

accounting system of the Bureau of Land Management, and cannot be

returned to the originator without the processing of a refund check

through the United States Treasury or the crediting to a credit card

account pursuant to Sec. 3833.1-1.

23. Section 3833.0-9 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read

as follows:

Sec. 3833.0-9 Information collection.

(a) The collections of information contained in subpart 3833 have

been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1004-0114. The information

will be used to enable BLM to record mining claims, mill sites, and

tunnel sites; to maintain ownership records to those claims and sites;

to determine the geographic location of the claims and sites recorded

for proper land management purposes; and to determine which claims and

sites their owner(s) wish to continue to hold under applicable Federal

statute. A response is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with

Section 314 of FLPMA, as amended, the Act of April 16, 1993 (Public Law

103-23, 107 Stat. 60), and the Act of August 10, 1993 (Public Law 103-

66, 30 U.S.C. 28f-k, 107 Stat. 405).

* * * * *

24. Section 3833.1-1 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-1 Refundability of service charges, location fees, rental

and maintenance fees.

(a) Service charges submitted for new recordings under Sec. 3833.1-

2 are not returnable or refundable after the document has received the

processing for which the service charges were paid.

(b) Service charges submitted with documents to be filed pursuant

to Secs. 3833.2 and 3833.3 are returnable or refundable if, at the time

of submission, the affected mining claim or site is determined to be

null and void or abandoned by operation of law.

(c) Maintenance and location fees are not returnable or refundable

unless the mining claim or site has been determined, as of the date the

fees were submitted, to be null and void, abandoned by operation of

law, or otherwise forfeited.

(d) Maintenance fees, location fees, or service charges made in

duplicate for the same claim or site or otherwise overpaid are

returnable or refundable. The money will be returned or refunded to the

party who submitted it. The authorized officer may apply the fee to a

future year if so instructed by the payor.

(e) Voluntary actions such as relinquishment of claims or sites, or

payment of maintenance fees by a qualified small miner, shall not be a

qualifying reason for obtaining a refund of such fees previously paid.

25. Section 3833.1-2 is amended by adding paragraphs (c) and (d) to

read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-2 Recordation of mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel

sites located after October 21, 1976.

* * * * *

(c)(1) Beginning on October 13, 1993, mining claims cannot be

located on lands patented under the Stockraising Homestead Act of 1916,

as amended by the Act of April 16, 1993 (107 Stat 60); until the

claimant has first filed a notice of intent to locate with the proper

BLM State Office and has served a copy of the notice upon the surface

owner(s) of record, by registered or certified mail, return receipt

requested. Such notice shall be in the form and contain the information

required in paragraph (d) of this section.

(2) The claimant shall wait 30 days after such service before

entering the lands to locate any mining claims on the Stockraising

Homestead Act lands.

(3) The authorized officer will not record any mining claim located

on lands patented under the Stockraising Homestead Act, as amended,

unless the claimant has complied with the requirements of this section,

and all certificates or notices of location will be returned to the

claimant without further action.

(4) The surface owner of land patented under the Stockraising

Homestead Act, as amended, is exempt from the requirements of this

section.

(5) All mining claims located on Stockraising Homestead lands are

subject to the requirements of the Act of April 16, 1993. These

additional requirements are found in subpart 3814 of this title.

(d) A separate notice of intent shall be filed and recorded in the

appropriate BLM State Office for each separate surface ownership in an

individual State.

(1) Each notice of intent submitted shall be accompanied by

evidence of title of the surface owner(s). Evidence of title shall be

either a certificate of title or abstract of title certified by a

person, association, or corporation authorized by State law to execute

such a certificate within that State, and acceptable to the Bureau of

Land Management.

(2) The notice of intent shall contain:

(i) The names(s), mailing address(es), and telephone number(s) of

the person(s) filing the notice;

(ii) The names(s), mailing address(es), and telephone number(s) of

the surface owner(s);

(iii) The legal description of the lands to which the notice

applies, to the nearest 5-acre subdivision or lot;

(iv) The total number of acres under the specific notice of intent

filed to the nearest whole acre;

(v) A brief description of the proposed mineral activities;

(vi) A map and legal description of the lands to be subject to

mineral exploration, including access route(s);

(vii) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of the person

managing such activities; and

(viii) A statement of the dates on which such activities will take

place.

(3) The legal description shall be based on the public land survey

or on such other description as is sufficient to permit the authorized

officer accurately to record the notice on the BLM land status records

(i.e., to the nearest 5-acre subdivision or lot).

(4) Upon acceptance of a notice of intent by the authorized

officer, the notice of intent will be entered upon the official land

status records of the Bureau of Land Management.

(5) The total acreage covered at any time by notices of intent

filed by any person and by affiliates of such person may not exceed

6,400 acres of such lands in any one State and 1,280 acres of such

lands nationwide for a single surface owner.

(6) If the surface owner(s) sells all or part of the surface during

the authorized exploration period, the person who filed the notice of

intent is not required to notify the new surface owner(s) prior to

entry during the authorized exploration period.

26. Section 3833.1-3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-3 Service charges, rental fees, maintenance fees, and

location fees; form of remittance and acceptance.

(a) Payment and acceptance policy. All service charges, maintenance

fees, and location fees shall be payable by United States currency,

postal money order, or negotiable instrument payable in United States

currency, and shall be made payable to the Department of the Interior--

Bureau of Land Management, or by a valid credit card acceptable to the

Bureau of Land Management. A check or negotiable instrument, including

credit cards submitted for payment of charges and/or fees, for which

payment is not honored by the issuing authority, and such refusal is

not an error of the issuing authority, will be deemed to be a

nonpayment of the charges or fees for which the check or negotiable

instrument, including a credit card order, was tendered. See

Sec. 3833.1-4 (f) and (g) for payments made by credit cards or from

Declining Deposit Accounts.

(b) Recordation of new mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites

with the Bureau of Land Management. (1) New location notices or

certificates submitted for recording pursuant to Sec. 3833.1-2 that are

not accompanied by full payment of the maintenance and location fees

required by Sec. 3833.1-4 or 3833.1-5 will not be accepted, and the

submittal will be returned without further action by the authorized

officer. The claimant may resubmit the filings with the proper payment

of service charges and fees within the same 90-day filing period

referred to in Sec. 3833.1-2(a).

(2) Failure to provide full payment of service charges set forth in

Sec. 3833.1-4 will be curable for new location notices or certificates

submitted for recording pursuant to Sec. 3833.1-2 when the proper

maintenance and location fees have been submitted. Such documents will

be noted as being recorded on the date received provided that the

claimant submits the proper service charge either within 30 days of

receipt of a deficiency notice sent by the authorized officer, or on or

before the 90th day of the filing period referred to in 3833.1-2(a),

whichever date is later.

(3) If the proper service charges have not been tendered pursuant

to paragraph (b)(2), and if the claimant has not provided written

instructions regarding the application of the funds received with the

original filing, the authorized officer will apply such funds and

serialize the claims in the order received. All notices or certificates

for which there are insufficient funds to cover all service charges and

maintenance and location fees will be returned to the claimant.

(c) Mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites recorded and

serialized by the Bureau of Land Management. (1) Failure to provide

full payment of service charges set forth in Sec. 3833.1-4 will be

curable for documents and filings made pursuant to Secs. 3833.2 and

3833.3 and amended locations filed under Sec. 3833.1. Such documents

and filings will be noted as being recorded on the date initially

received, provided that the claimant submits the proper service charge

within 30 days of receipt of a deficiency notice from the authorized

officer. Failure to submit the proper service charge as required by

this paragraph will cause filings made pursuant to Secs. 3833.2 and

3833.3 and amended locations filed under Sec. 3833.1 to be rejected and

returned to the claimant/owner. If a payment is received that partially

covers the claims submitted, the payment shall be applied to mining

claims and sites in ascending numerical order of serialization.

(2) If a claimant fails to submit the proper maintenance fees on or

before each August 31, the authorized officer will apply the fees

received to existing recorded and serialized mining claims and sites in

ascending numerical order of serialization, unless otherwise directed

by the claimant. The authorized officer will note the deficient fees as

being paid on the original date received, provided that the claimant

submits the proper fees within 30 days of receipt of a deficiency

notice from the authorized officer, if that much time remains before

August 31. If there are less than 30 days before August 31, the correct

fees shall be filed (see Sec. 3833.0-5(m)) by such claimant on or

before the August 31 deadline. Failure to submit the proper fees will

cause the forfeiture of remaining claims or sites by the claimant/

owner.

27. Section 3833.1-4 is amended by revising the section reading;

redesignating existing paragraphs (b) through (f) as (c) through (g),

respectively; revising redesignated paragraphs (f) and (g); and adding

a new paragraph (b), to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-4 Service charges and location fees.

* * * * *

(b) Each notice or certificate of location of a mining claim, mill

site, or tunnel site that is located on or after August 11, 1993, and

before September 30, 1998, shall, when filed with BLM, be accompanied

by a one time nonrefundable location fee of $25.

* * * * *

(f) The claimant/owner may authorize the BLM to charge payment of

service charges, maintenance fees, and location fees to his or her

credit card under Sec. 3833.1-3(a) by transmitting a facsimile

authorization bearing the signature of the claimant/owner to the

authorized officer, or the authorized officer may accept such

authorization by telephone if the identity of the claimant/owner is

established to the satisfaction of the authorized officer.

(g) The claimant/owner may also maintain a declining deposit

account with the State Office of the BLM where the mining claims and

sites are recorded for the payment of service charges, maintenance

fees, and location fees. The authorized officer may deduct the

necessary service charges and fees from or add overpayments to such

account only at the direction of the claimant/owner.

28. Section 3833.1-5 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-5 Maintenance fees.

Except as provided in Secs. 3833.0-3(f), 3833.1-6, and 3833.1-1 (d)

and (e), each claimant shall pay a nonrefundable maintenance fee of

$100 for each mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site to the proper BLM

office for each specified assessment year for which the claimant

desires to hold the mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site. The

assessment years covered by the Act of August 10, 1993, begin at 12

o'clock noon on September 1, 1994, and end at 12 o'clock noon on

September 1, 1999.

(a)(1) The initial $100 nonrefundable maintenance fee for the

assessment year in which the mining claim or site is located shall be

paid for each mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site at the time of

its filing with BLM pursuant to section 314(b) of FLPMA and

Sec. 3833.1-2. If such claims or sites are located prior to an August

31, and the notice of location is properly filed within the FLPMA time

frame but after August 31, then the $100 fee that was due on August 31

for the succeeding assessment year shall be paid at the time of filing

the location notice along with the initial $100 fee.

(2) The initial maintenance fee described in paragraph (1) is not

subject to the waiver provisions contained in Secs. 3833.1-6 and

3833.1-7.

(b) Under the Act of August 10, 1993, a nonrefundable maintenance

fee of $100.00 for each mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site shall

be paid annually on or before August 31 for the subsequent assessment

year beginning at 12 o'clock noon on September 1 of that year. The

first payment will be due on or before August 31, 1994, with payments

due for each August 31 through August 31, 1998. At the time of payment,

the claimant/owner shall submit a list of claim names and BLM serial

numbers assigned to each mining claim or site for which the maintenance

fee is being paid.

(c) There will be no proration of rental or maintenance fees for

partial years of holding of mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites.

(d) A small miner may, under the waiver provisions of Secs. 3833.1-

6 and 3833.1-7, perform assessment work and file the affidavit of labor

pursuant to Sec. 3833.2 in lieu of paying the rental or maintenance

fee.

(e) The owner of an oil shale placer claim shall pay the required

$550 annual rental fee to the proper BLM State Office on or before each

December 31.

(f) The payment of the required maintenance fee for a mining claim,

mill site, or tunnel site satisfies the requirement to file an

affidavit of assessment work or a notice of intention to hold pursuant

to Sec. 3833.2.

(g) If a waived mining claim or site is transferred in total or in

part to a party not qualified for a waiver, the waiver is forfeited for

the mining claim or site or portion of interest therein transferred to

the unqualified party. The maintenance fee for the previously waived

claim or site will be paid for the assessment year in which the

transfer was effective under State law pursuant to Sec. 3833.3. The

applicable deadline is the August 31 on or immediately after which the

transfer is effective under State law.

(h) The Secretary will adjust the location and maintenance fees

every 5 years, based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as published

by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor. The Secretary

may adjust the location and maintenance fees sooner, if he deems it

reasonable, based upon changes in the CPI.

(1) Public notice of any adjustment of maintenance or location fees

will be provided by July 1 of the assessment year prior to the

assessment year to which the adjustment becomes effective.

(2) Any such adjustment of maintenance or location fees to reflect

changes in the CPI will be payable no later than the second August 31

following the July 1 by which the notice of the adjustment was given.

29. Section 3833.1-6 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-6 Maintenance fee waiver qualifications under the Act of

August 10, 1993, and other exceptions--applicable from 12 o'clock noon

on September 1, 1993, until 12 o'clock noon September 1, 1999.

A small miner may, under certain conditions described in this

section and in Sec. 3833.1-7, perform the assessment work required

under 30 U.S.C. 28-28e and record it pursuant to Section 314(a) of

FLPMA and Sec. 3833.2 in lieu of paying the maintenance fee. Assessment

work shall conform to the requirements contained in subpart 3851 of

this title.

(a) In order to qualify for a waiver of the maintenance fee

requirements, a small miner shall meet all of the following conditions:

(1) The claimant and all related parties shall hold no more than 10

mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites, or any combination

thereof, on Federal lands in the United States on the date the payment

is due, which is each August 31. For purposes of determining the small

miner waiver, oil shale claims shall not be counted toward the 10 claim

limitation for the small miner waiver of the $100 maintenance fee. A

claimant who owns 10 or fewer claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites, and

otherwise meets the requirements of this section, is not precluded from

paying the maintenance fee in addition to filing for a small miner

waiver.

(2) All mining claims and sites held by a claimant and all related

parties shall be counted toward the 10 claim and site limit.

(3) Mill and tunnel sites of a qualified small miner, if listed

upon the exemption certificate along with the affected lode and placer

mining claims, are waived from payment of the maintenance fee.

(b) Mining claims and sites that are undergoing final reclamation,

as approved by the authorized officer pursuant to subparts 3802, 3809,

or 3814 of this title, with no intent by the owner thereof to continue

mining, milling, or processing operations upon or under the mining

claims or sites, are excused from payment of the maintenance fees. The

owner shall file a certified statement by August 31 in the proper BLM

office attesting to the reclamation status of the affected mining

claims and/or sites, with reference to a reclamation plan approved by

the authorized officer for plan-level activities or submitted in

consultation with the authorized officer for notice-level activities,

and to his or her intent to place them into permanent closure. If the

surface is managed by an entity other than BLM, the claimant shall

submit evidence of a final reclamation plan that conforms to the

requirements of the managing entity. A certified statement of such

intent and reclamation shall be filed pursuant to Sec. 3833.1-7. The

number of mining claims or sites that may properly qualify for a

reclamation waiver pursuant to this paragraph is not restricted to a

10-claim limit.

(c) Pursuant to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act (50 U.S.C.

Appendix 565), military personnel on active duty status may, under

certain conditions, qualify for an exemption from the performance of

assessment work and the payment of maintenance fees. See Secs. 3833.1-

7(e)(2) and 3851.6 of this title.

(d) Under the following circumstances, a waiver may be obtained

from the payment of the maintenance fee for mining claims and sites:

(1) The claimant has received a declaration of taking or a notice

of intent to take from the National Park Service pursuant to Sections 6

and 7 of the Act of September 28, 1976, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1905,

1906), or the Act of December 2, 1980, as amended (16 U.S.C. 3192); or

the claimant has otherwise been denied access by the United States to

his/her mining claims or sites.

(2) The claimant shall file proof of the above conditions for

exemption, attested to as a certified statement, pursuant to

Sec. 3833.1-7, with the proper BLM office by the August 31 immediately

preceding the assessment year for which a waiver is sought.

(3) The certified statement required by paragraph (d)(2) of this

section, serves as a notice of intention to hold as to mining claims

and sites for which the exemption is sought. In such cases, the payment

of the $5 service charge per claim or site is due upon filing the

certification statement.

(e) Payment of the maintenance fee for mining claims covered by a

deferment of assessment work granted by the authorized officer pursuant

to 30 U.S.C. 28 (b)-(e) and subpart 3852 of this title may be deferred

during the period for which the deferment is granted. Deferments are

governed by the following rule. If a petition for a deferment of

assessment work, as required by Sec. 3852.2 of this title, is filed

with the proper BLM office on or before August 31 for a given year, the

maintenance fee need not be paid on the claims listed in the petition

for deferment until the authorized officer has acted upon the petition.

(1) If the petition is granted, maintenance fees for the claims are

deferred for the upcoming assessment year. At the expiration of the

deferment, all deferred fees shall be paid within 30 days of the end of

the deferment, unless the claimant/owner qualifies as a small miner. If

the claimant/owner qualifies as a small miner, all deferred assessment

work shall be performed as provided in Sec. 3852.5 of this title upon

expiration of the deferment.

(2) If the petition for deferment is denied by the authorized

officer, the maintenance fees shall be paid within 30 days of receipt

of the decision of the authorized officer denying the petition for

deferment. Failure to pay the maintenance fees owed will result in the

forfeiture of the claims contained within the petition.

(f) On mining claims for which an application for a mineral patent

has been filed, and the mineral entry has been allowed, the payment of

the maintenance fee is excused for the assessment years during which

assessment work is not required pursuant to Sec. 3851.5 of this title.

However, no refund of previously deposited maintenance fees will be

made to the mineral patent applicant.

30. Section 3833.1-7 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.1-7 Filing requirements for the maintenance fee waiver and

other exceptions.

(a) If no change in status has occurred, a small miner exemption

certification previously filed for the assessment year ending at noon

on September 1, 1994, under the Act of October 5, 1992 (Pub. L. 102-

381, 106 Stat. 1374), and the pertinent regulations in effect on August

31, 1993, will be considered a proper certification filing for a waiver

of payment of the maintenance fee due on August 31, 1994.

(b) The affidavit of assessment work performed by a small miner

claiming a maintenance fee waiver shall be filed with the proper BLM

office pursuant to Sec. 3833.2 and shall meet the requirements of

Sec. 3833.2-4.

(c) For mining claims and sites covered by a waiver, the filing of

a waiver certification pursuant to any of paragraphs (a), (d), (e), or

(f) of this section will satisfy the requirements for filing of a

notice of intention to hold pursuant to Sec. 3833.2-5, when such notice

of intention to hold is otherwise required. In such a case the payment

of the $5 service charge per claim/site for processing the notice of

intention to hold is due upon filing of the waiver statement.

(d) In order to hold mining claims or sites for the assessment year

beginning at 12 o'clock noon on September 1, 1994, each small miner

shall file a waiver certification on or before August 31, 1994. Each

small miner shall file a waiver certification on or before August 31

each year thereafter to hold the claims each assessment year beginning

at 12 o'clock noon on September 1 of the calendar year the

certification is due, through August 31, 1998. The small miner shall

document, as provided in this paragraph (d), the claimed waiver for

each assessment year a small miner's waiver is claimed, certified, and

attested to under penalty of 18 U.S.C. 1001. The statement shall

contain:

(1) The mining claim and site names and BLM serial numbers assigned

to the mining claims and sites held by the small miner;

(2) A declaration by the claimant and all related parties that they

own no more than 10 mining claims and sites in total nationwide on the

date the waiver statement is due;

(3) A declaration that specifies that the assessment work

requirements have been or will be completed by the date the payment is

due, which is each August 31, for the assessment year just ending;

(4) The names and addresses of all owners maintaining an interest

in the mining claims and sites; and

(5) The signatures of all the owners of the mining claims and sites

for which a waiver is claimed.

(e) Pursuant to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act, and

Sec. 3851.6 of this title, a military person entering active service

may file, or cause to be filed, in the proper BLM office, a notice of

his or her entry into active military service.

(1) The filing of the notice excuses the person from performing

assessment work or paying the maintenance fees until 6 months have

passed from the person's release from active duty status, or until 6

months have passed after release from a military hospital, whichever is

later. To be excused from paying the maintenance fee, the person cannot

hold the subject claim or site with a related party, as defined in

paragraph 3833.0-5(y), who does not also qualify under the Soldiers'

and Sailors' Relief Act.

(2) The notice must be filed in the assessment year that the person

entered active duty status, or if active duty began prior to August 30,

1994, the notice must be filed in the assessment year that he or she

wishes the benefits provided in paragraph (e)(1) of this section to

take effect. If the person previously filed a notice under the

Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act to be excused from performing

assessment work, and remains qualified under that Act, he or she will

automatically be exempt from paying the maintenance fee.

(3) The performance of assessment work or the payment of

maintenance fees shall resume in the assessment year next following the

assessment year during which the person was released from active duty

or a military hospital, whichever is later.

(4) The notice shall be filed as a certified statement pursuant to

paragraph (d) of this section, and shall list all mining claims and

sites affected by claim/site name and BLM serial number.

31. Section 3833.2-3 is amended by revising the section heading and

paragraphs (d) and (e) to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.2-3 Consistency between the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act, the General Mining Law of May 10, 1872, and the Act of

August 10, 1993.

* * * * *

(d) The Act of August 10, 1993, does not affect the requirements to

do assessment work in the assessment year beginning at 12 o'clock noon

on September 1, 1999, or to make annual filings on or before December

30, 2000, pursuant to Secs. 3833.2 and 3851.1.

(e) For mining claims and sites located on or after September 1,

1998, and on or before September 29, 1998, and for which the required

$100 maintenance fee was paid at the time of recording pursuant to

Sec. 314(b) of FLPMA and Sec. 3833.1-2, payment of the maintenance fee

holds the claims or sites through at least September 1, 1999.

32. Section 3833.2-6 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3833.2-6 When evidence or notice is not required.

Evidence of annual assessment work performed to hold a mining claim

or a notice of intention to hold a mill site need not be filed on

unpatented mining claims or mill sites if mineral entry under a mineral

patent application has been allowed. The owner of that mining claim or

mill site is exempt from the filing requirements of Sec. 3833.2 and the

payment of maintenance fees under Sec. 3833.1-5 as of the date mineral

entry is allowed.

33. Section 3833.3 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as

follows:

Sec. 3833.3 Notice of transfer of interest.

* * * * *

(c) The filing of a transfer of interest, when properly executed

and recorded under State law, is placed on the BLM record when it is

filed with the proper BLM office. The transfer will be deemed to have

taken place on its effective date under State law.

34. Section 3833.4 is amended by revising the heading and

paragraphs (a) and (b), redesignating paragraphs (c) through (e) as (d)

through (f), respectively, and adding paragraph (c), to read as

follows:

Sec. 3833.4 Failure to file, or to pay maintenance or location fees.

(a)(1) The failure to make annual filings required by Secs. 3833.2-

1 and 3833.2-2 on or before the December 30 immediately following the

August 31 by which the small miner filed for a waiver of payment of the

maintenance fee, shall conclusively constitute a forfeiture of the

mining claim or site.

(2) Failure to record the notice or certificate of location

required by Sec. 3833.1-2(a), Sec. 3734.1(a), or Sec. 3821.2 of this

title, or failure to pay the maintenance or location fees required by

Secs. 3833.1-4, 3833.1-5, and 3833.1-7, or failure to file the

documents required by Sec. 3833.1-7 (b) through (d) within the time

periods prescribed therein for claimants who also fail to pay the

maintenance fee, shall be deemed conclusively to constitute a

forfeiture of the mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site.

(3) Claimants who fail to pay the maintenance fee, but file a

waiver certification under Sec. 3833.1-7, shall perform the assessment

work required by subpart 3851 of this title by the waiver statement

filing deadline, or the mining claims under the invalid waiver

certification will be conclusively deemed forfeited for failure to pay

the maintenance fee on time.

(4) Failure to list the 10 or fewer mining claims and/or sites for

which the fee is requested to be waived on the applicable certification

document filed pursuant to 3833.1-6 or 3833.1-7 will result in the

affected mining claims and/or sites being deemed abandoned by the owner

or owners thereof.

(b) Failure to file the complete information required in

Secs. 3833.1-2(b), 3833.1-7(d)-(f), 3833.2-4(a), 3833.2-4(b), 3833.2-

5(b) and 3833.2-5(c), when the document is otherwise filed on time,

shall not be conclusively deemed to constitute an abandonment or

forfeiture of the claim or site, but such information shall be

submitted within 30 days of receipt of a notice from the authorized

officer calling for such information. Failure to submit the information

requested by the decision of the authorized officer shall result in the

mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site being deemed abandoned by the

owner.

(c) Failure to record a transfer of interest under Sec. 3833.3 will

result in the Bureau of Land Management refusing to recognize the

interest acquired by the transferee or to serve notice of any action,

decision, or contest on the unrecorded owner.

PART 3850--ASSESSMENT WORK

35. The authority citation for part 3850 is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 28-28k; 50 U.S.C.

Appendix 565; 107 Stat. 405.

Subpart 3851--Assessment Work: General

36. Section 3851.3 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read as

follows:

Sec. 3851.3 Effect of failure to perform assessment work.

* * * * *

(c) The Act of August 10, 1993, with certain exceptions for small

miners, temporarily suspends and supersedes the requirement to perform

assessment work under Sec. 3851.1, and requires the payment of an

annual $100 maintenance fee per mining claim in lieu of the assessment

work. For oil shale claims, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C.

242) suspends and supersedes the requirement to perform assessment work

under Sec. 3851.1, and requires the payment of an annual $550 rental

fee per oil shale mining claim in lieu of the assessment work. The

maintenance fee requirements and waivers from the maintenance fee are

described in Secs. 3833.0-3(f), 3833.1-5, 3833.1-6, and 3833.1-7 of

this title.

37. Section 3851.4 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3851.4 Failure of a co-owner to contribute to annual assessment

work; or to the payment of maintenance fees.

(a) Upon the failure of any co-owner of a mining claim or mill or

tunnel site to contribute the proper proportion of the required

expenditures, the co-owners who have performed the labor, made

improvements, paid the maintenance fee required under Secs. 3833.1-5

and 3833.1-6 of this title, may, at the expiration of the assessment

year, give such delinquent co-owner personal notice of this failure in

writing. Alternatively, this notice may be given by publication in the

newspaper published nearest the claim for at least once a week for 90

days. If, upon the expiration of 90 days, after such notice in writing,

or upon the expiration of 180 days after the first newspaper

publication of notice, the delinquent co-owner shall have failed to

contribute the proportionate share of such expenditures or

improvements, such interest in the claim by law passes to the co-owners

who have made the expenditures or improvements.

(b) A claimant alleging ownership of a forfeited interest under

paragraph (a) of this section who requests the authorized officer to

change the ownership records of the affected mining claims or sites

shall present the following:

(1) Statement of the publisher of the newspaper as to the facts of

publication, giving the beginning and ending dates of publication, a

printed copy of the notice published, and a statement by the claimant

that the delinquent co-owner failed to contribute the proper proportion

within the period fixed by the statute, or

(2) Evidence of personal notice of delinquency upon the delinquent

party. If notice is effected by mail, the minimum sufficient evidence

shall consist of a copy of the notice and a copy of the return receipt

of the U.S. Postal Service evidencing receipt by the delinquent party

of a registered or certified envelope containing the notice. If notice

was made in person, an affidavit signed and dated on the date of notice

will suffice as evidence of such notice; and

(3) In all cases, a signed and dated statement by the claimant that

the delinquent co-owner failed to contribute the proper proportion

within the period fixed by the statute.

(c) Upon determination by the authorized officer that paragraphs

(a) and (b) of this section have been complied with, the BLM records of

the mining claim shall be changed pursuant to Sec. 3833.3 of this

title. Such a change in ownership requires that the claimant submit the

service charge required for a transfer of interest pursuant to

Sec. 3833.1-4 of this title.

(d) Active duty military personnel who give notice and comply with

Sec. 3851.6 are not subject to the provisions of this section.

38. Section 3851.5 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3851.5 Assessment work not required after allowance of mineral

entry.

Performance of annual assessment work and payment of maintenance

fees is not required after the date that the mineral entry has been

allowed.

(a) The assessment year in which the mineral entry is allowed is

the first assessment year for which the assessment work and payment of

maintenance fees is no longer required, and assessment work is not

required in any assessment year thereafter until a mineral patent

issues.

(b) If a mineral entry is canceled in whole or in part, the mining

claims and mill sites that are no longer covered by the mineral entry

shall be subject to the assessment work requirement, or the payment of

maintenance fees, beginning in the next assessment year following the

assessment year that the mineral entry was canceled.

39. Section 3851.6 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 3851.6 Assessment work not required for active duty military

personnel.

Pursuant to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act (50 U.S.C.

Appendix 565), a person entering active military service is exempt from

the performance of annual assessment work under this subpart for each

assessment year in which the service person is on active duty.

(a) To claim the exemption, the person entering active military

service shall file, or cause to be filed with the proper BLM office, a

notice of his or her entry into active military service. The notice

shall be filed in the assessment year that the person entered active

duty status.

(b) The filing of the notice exempts the person from performing

assessment work or paying the maintenance fees until 6 months have

passed from the person's release from active duty status, or until 6

months have passed from release from a military hospital, whichever is

later.

(c) The performance of assessment work or the payment of

maintenance fees shall resume in the assessment year beginning at least

6 months after the date the person was released from active duty or a

military hospital, whichever is later.

(d) The notice shall be filed as a certified statement pursuant to

section 3833.1-7 of this title, and shall list all mining claims and

sites affected by claim name and BLM serial number.

Subpart 3852--Deferment of Assessment Work

40. Section 3852.2 is amended by revising the first and second

sentences to read as follows:

Sec. 3852.2 Filing of petition for deferment, contents.

(a) In order to obtain a deferment, the claimant shall file with

the proper BLM office a petition in duplicate requesting such a

deferment. No particular form of petition is required, but the

applicant shall attach to one copy thereof a copy of the notice to the

public required by 30 U.S.C. 28e showing that it has been filed or

recorded in the local recording office in which the notices or

certificates of location were filed or recorded. * * *

* * * * *

41. Section 3852.3 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 3852.3 Notice of action on petition to be recorded.

The claimant shall file or record, in the local recording office in

which the notice of petition for deferment was filed or recorded, a

copy of the order or decision of the BLM authorized officer disposing

of the petition.

[FR Doc. 94-21388 Filed 8-29-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-84-P