# Leasing of Solid Minerals Other Than Coal and Oil Shale

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A99-25352

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Rule
- **Published:** October 1, 1999
- **Citation:** 64 FR 53512

## Text

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is amending its
regulations governing leasing of solid minerals other than coal and oil
shale. The purpose of this rule is to comply with President Clinton's
government-wide regulatory reform initiative to eliminate unnecessary
regulations, and streamline and rewrite necessary regulations in plain
English. Under the previous rule, each solid mineral commodity had its
own separate regulations, much of which was repeated in each set of
regulations. This rule now combines these solid minerals regulations
into one set of regulations, streamlined, updated and re-written in
plain English. The rule also clarifies the responsibilities of
interested parties.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may send inquiries or suggestions to: Director (630),
Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip Allard, (202) 452-5195, or
Chris Fontecchio, (202) 452-5012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Final Rule as Adopted
III. Responses to Comments
IV. Procedural Matters

I. Background

On March 4, 1995, President Clinton issued a memorandum to all
Federal Departments and Agencies directing them to simplify their
regulations. In response, BLM analyzed 43 CFR part 3500 through 43 CFR
part 3570 to determine whether the regulations were current and written
in clear and understandable terms. As a result, BLM decided that we
could reorganize the regulations to achieve significant reductions in
length while greatly improving the clarity of the document.
BLM bases its regulatory program relating to solid minerals on
several different statutes which give us the authority to regulate
mineral leasing on Federal lands. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (the
Act), as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), provides for
leasing of phosphate, potassium, gilsonite, and sodium mineral deposits
on public domain lands. The Act also allows sulphur to be leased from
public lands in Louisiana and New Mexico. The Act authorizes the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to grant to any qualified
applicant a permit or lease for certain deposits of minerals on lands
owned by the United States. Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946 (5 U.S.C.
Appendix) transferred the responsibilities of the Department of
Agriculture for hardrock mineral leasing to the Secretary in certain
areas. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended
(30 U.S.C. 351-359), provides for the leasing of minerals from certain
acquired lands, and authorizes the Secretary to establish rules and
regulations necessary to grant any qualified applicant a permit or
lease to promote mining of phosphate, sodium, potassium, sulphur and
gilsonite deposits on Federal acquired lands. The National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA)
directs Federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of their
actions during the decision-making process. Finally, the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (FLPMA)
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to develop guidelines for the
administration and protection of the Federal lands and their resources
under BLM jurisdiction.
Other authorities which address programs related to specific
commodities and lands include the following:
(a) Certain lands added to the Shasta National Forest (30 U.S.C.
192c);
(b) Public domain lands in National Forests in Minnesota (16 U.S.C.
508(b));
(c) Gold, silver, or quicksilver in confirmed private land grants
(30 U.S.C. 291-293);
(d) Reserved minerals in lands patented to the State of California
for parks or other purposes (47 Stat. 1487, as amended);
(e) National Park Service areas--
(i) Lake Mead National Recreation Area (16 U.S.C. 460n et seq.);
(ii) Whiskeytown Unit of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National
Recreation Area (16 U.S.C. 460q et seq.);
(iii) Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (16 U.S.C. 460dd et
seq.);
(f) Shasta-Trinity Units of the Whiskeytown-Shasta Trinity National
Recreation Area (16 U.S.C. 460q et seq.); and
(g) White Mountains National Recreation Area (16 U.S.C. 460mm-2
through 460mm-4).
When BLM last revised these regulations in 1986, they were written
into separate parts covering specific mineral commodities. Under that
organization, processes such as issuing exploration licenses and
mineral leases were addressed in a similar or identical manner under
each commodity section. This was designed to allow parties interested
in each commodity to look in only one part of the regulations to find
the provisions relating to their commodity. However, not all of the
leasing or permitting regulations were included with the commodity, and
the regulations were so extensive that the complete body of solid
mineral regulations occupied about 100 pages of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR).
As part of BLM's response to the Administration's regulatory
initiatives, we reviewed this extensive body of material and decided to
consolidate and to eliminate the repetitive language. BLM understands
that our readers want to be able to find particular subject matter
easily in our regulations. We believe that the plain English approach,
particularly the expanded table of contents, and the overall reduction
in volume of BLM regulations, will make it easy for readers to find
material that is of concern to them.
In addition to rewriting the regulations for clarity, BLM is making
the following substantive changes to the existing regulations:
1. We are eliminating the requirement to re-describe the lands in
an application if you have already properly described them and BLM has
issued you a previous authorization. Thus, for example, you will not
have to submit a land description when you apply for a preference right
lease or for an assignment if it relates to all the same lands
described in the prospecting permit or original lease. We will still
require land descriptions for assignments of parts of the land
described in the original prospecting permit or lease, and applicants
will still need to identify the permit or lease by serial number.
2. We have increased the State acreage limitation for potassium
leases. Current 43 CFR 3530.3 specifies that there is a per-State
acreage limitation of 51,200 acres for holders of potassium leases or
permits. BLM is increasing this limitation to 96,000 acres. As the
potash industry has matured, several mining operations are
consolidating. BLM believes that increasing the State acreage
limitation will enhance development of Federal reserves and help
achieve the statutory goal of ultimate maximum recovery.

[[Page 53513]]

3. We will now require you to submit three maps, instead of one,
with your preference right lease application. This is consistent with
other provisions in these regulations and with BLM's need for maps
during our review of these applications. While it is easy for BLM to
make copies of most application material, it is often difficult to
duplicate maps. Obtaining additional maps from you will speed up our
review.
4. We state that we will not approve assignments of leases or issue
or renew leases under these regulations to coal lessees and assignees
who are not in compliance with the diligence requirements for coal
leases found in section 2(a)2(A) of the Act (30 U.S.C. 201). This
provision incorporates current BLM practice into regulations, thus it
will not have any significant impact on the industry.
5. These regulations add a provision at 43 CFR 3502.42 specifying
that we will allow unqualified heirs to own a lease or permit for two
years. During this time they can either become qualified or divest the
interest.
6. This final rule eliminates provisions authorizing future
interest prospecting permits. BLM has rarely been called upon to issue
such permits, since the current mineral interest holder can explore for
minerals without a BLM permit until the mineral interest vests to the
United States. If the mineral holder does demonstrate the existence of
a valuable deposit of minerals before title transfers, we can issue
future interest leases to the present interest holder for these
minerals. We also added a provision to allow competitive bidding for
future interest leases if there is more than one qualified present
interest holder.
7. This rule clarifies that leases exchanged must be of equal,
rather than comparable, value. This change implements the provisions of
the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-409),
which amended section 206 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1716). The same Act also
provided the government and any applicant greater flexibility than did
previous requirements for making exchanges equal. We are incorporating
this provision into the regulations at 43 CFR 3515.22. Section 3515.12
states that the exchange-specific provisions of 43 CFR part 2200 apply.
8. This rule clarifies the definition of the term ``valuable
deposit.'' The current definition at 43 CFR 3500.0-5 is circular
because it uses the phrase ``valuable mine'' in describing the term
``valuable deposit.'' The new rule changes ``valuable mine'' to
``profitable mine.'' Accordingly, Sec. 3507.18, which describes the
information you must provide to us to prove that you have found a
valuable deposit, says that we may request supplemental data to
determine, among other things, mining and processing costs and the
profitability of mineral development.
9. BLM is modifying the requirements for applicants to disclose the
identity and citizenship of major stockholders to add the disclosure of
the percentage of their stock holdings. This change would help us
enforce acreage limitations against those stockholders. The rule also
eliminates a requirement found in the current rules to submit such
information on the basis of foreign residency. This information is not
needed to enforce any statutory limitations.
10. This rule clarifies that we can issue noncompetitive fringe
acre leases to extract sodium chloride to persons producing calcium
chloride from an existing mine, under an authorization issued under 43
CFR part 3800 for locatable minerals. This addresses an issue
restricted to a limited geographic area in California, where these two
minerals are commingled.

II. Final Rule as Adopted

The most significant change in these regulations is that they are
reorganized from several mineral-specific sections into sections based
on the type of authorization. Since the proposed rule we have made
slight changes to the organization, moving sections to put them in more
logical sequences and groupings. Although the table of contents in the
proposed rule divided section headers, in the form of questions, by
subparts, we added subheadings in the final rule to help you find what
you need more easily. We made this change because some of the subparts
contain many sections, and the long list of questions made it difficult
for readers to find what they need. Using the subheadings, you can
narrow down your search for the regulatory section you need more
quickly.
The following cross-reference chart lists every section of the
final rule and its origin in the existing rule. It also shows the
existing part 3500 and shows where it has been moved to in this final
rule.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
New 3500 Old 3500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3501.1................................. New
3501.5................................. 3500.0-5
3501.10................................ New
3501.16................................ 3500.6
3501.17................................ 3500.7
3501.20................................ 3511.1
3512.9-2
3512.9-3
3521.1
3522.8-2
3531.1
3532.8-2
3532.9-3
3541.1
3542.8-2
3551.1
3552.8-2
3552.9-3
3561.1
3562.8-2
3562.9-3
3571.1
3501.30................................ 3500.4
3502.10................................ 3502.1
3502.13................................ 3502.1(b)
3502.15................................ 3500.3
3502.1(c)
3502.20................................ 3502.1(d)
3502.25................................ 3502.2-1
3502.26................................ 3502.2-1
3502.27................................ 3502.2-2
3502.28................................ 3502.2-3
3502.29................................ 3502.2-3
3502.30................................ 3502.2-4
3502.33................................ 3502.2-6
3502.34................................ 3502.3
3502.40................................ 3502.2-5(a)
3502.41................................ 3502.2-5(b)
3502.42................................ New
3503.10................................ New
3503.11................................ 3500.8
3503.12................................ 3542.1
3503.13................................ 3560.3-1
3560.3-2
3560.3-3
3560.3-4
3562.1
3503.14................................ 3570.2
3503.15................................ New, also in 3581
3503.16................................ New, also in 3586
3503.20................................ 3500.9-1
3507.4
3516.4
3523.2-2
3525.2
3526.4
3533.2-2
3535.2
3536.4
3543.2-2
3545.2
3546.4
3553.2-2
3555.2
3556.4
3564.2
3564.4
3574.2
3575.4
3503.21................................ 3500.9-2
3503.25................................ 3500.9-3
3503.28................................ 3511.7
3521.6
3541.6
3512.8-4
3521.5
3522.8-4
3531.6
3532.8-4
3541.5
3542.8-4

[[Page 53514]]

3551.6
3552.8-4
3561.5
3562.8-4
3571.5
3503.30................................ 3501.1-1
3501.1-2
3503.31................................ 3501.1-1(c)
3501.1-3
3503.32................................ 3501.1-2(b)
3503.33................................ 3501.1-1(a)
3501.1-2(a)
3503.36................................ 3501.1-1(d)
3503.37................................ 3510.3
3520.3
3530.3
3540.3
3550.3
3560.4
3570.4
3503.38................................ 3501.2
3503.40................................ 3500.5(a)
3503.41................................ 3500.5(b)
3504.11................................ 3503.1-1
3504.12................................ 3503.1-2
3504.12(a)(1).......................... 3506.2
3507.5
3512.3-1(c)
3516.3(b)
3517.1-1
3522.3-1(c)
3525.3-1(c)
3526.3(b)
3527.1-1
3528.1
3532.3-1(c)
3536.3(b)
3542.3-1(c)
3546.3(b)
3547.1
3552.3-1(c)
3556.3(b)
3562.3-1(c)
3565.3(b)
3575.3(b)
3576.1
3504.15................................ 3511.2-1(a)
3511.2-1(c)
3512.8-3
3521.2-1(a)
3522.8-3
3531.2-1(a)
3532.8-3
3541.2-1(a)
3542.8-3
3551.2-1(a)
3552.8-3
3561.2-1(a)
3562.8-3
3571.2-1(a)
3504.16................................ 3511.2-1(a)
3521.2-1(a)
3531.2-1(a)
3541.2-1(a)
3551.2-1(a)
3561.2-1(a)
3571.2-1(a)
3504.17................................ 3511.2-1(b)
3521.2-1(b)
3531.2-1(b)
3541.2-1(b)
3551.2-1(b)
3561.2-1(b)
3571.2-1(b)
3504.20................................ 3511.2-2
3521.2-2
3531.2-2
3541.2-2
3551.2-2
3561.2-2
3571.2-2
3504.21................................ 3503.2-1
3511.2-2
3521.2-2
3531.2-2
3541.2-2
3551.2-2
3561.2-2
3571.2-2
3504.22................................ 3503.2-1
3504.25................................ 3503.2-2
3504.26................................ 3503.2-3
3504.50................................ 3504.1-1
3504.1-4
3511.6
3512.7
3521.4
3522.7
3528.2
3531.5
3532.7
3541.4
3542.7
3547.2
3551.5
3552.7
3561.4
3566.2
3562.7
3571.4
3576.2
3504.51................................ 3504.1-2
3504.55................................ 3504.1-3
3504.56................................ 3504.1-5
3504.60................................ 3504.1-6
3504.65................................ 3504.2(a)
3504.66................................ 3504.2(b)
3504.70................................ 3504.3
3504.71................................ 3504.3
3505.10................................ 3507.1
3512.2
3522.2
3532.2
3542.2
3552.2
3560.5
3562.2
3505.12................................ 3560.7
3505.12................................ 3512.3-1
3522.3-1
3532.3-1
3542.3-1
3552.3-1
3562.3-1
3505.13................................ 3512.3-2
3522.3-2
3532.3-2
3542.3-2
3552.3-2
3562.3-2
3505.15................................ 3512.3-2(c)
3522.3-2(c)
3532.3-2(c)
3542.3-2(c)
3552.3-2(c)
3562.3-2(c)
3505.20................................ 3512.3-1(c)
3522.3-1(c)
3532.3-1(c)
3542.3-1(c)
3552.3-1(c)
3562.3-1(c)
3505.25................................ 3512.4
3512.5
3522.4
3522.5
3532.4
3542.5
3542.4
3552.4
3552.5
3562.4
3562.5
3505.30................................ 3512.5
3522.5
3532.5
3542.5
3552.5
3562.5
3505.31................................ 3512.6
3522.6
3532.6
3542.6
3552.6
3562.6
3505.40................................ 3512.3-3
3512.7
3522.3-3
3522.7
3532.3-3
3532.7
3542.3-3
3542.7
3552.3-3
3552.7
3562.3-3
3562.7
3505.45................................ 3512.3-3
3522.3-3
3532.3-3
3542.3-3
3552.3-3
3562.3-3
3505.50................................ 3512.3-4
3512.8-1
3522.3-4
3522.8-1
3532.3-4
3532.8-4
3542.3-4
3542.8-1
3552.3-4
3552.8-1
3562.3-4
3562.8-1
3505.51................................ 3512.3-4
3522.3-4
3532.3-4
3542.3-4
3552.3-4
3562.3-4
3505.55................................ 3512.8
3512.8-3
3522.8
3522.8-3
3532.8
3532.8-3
3542.8
3542.8-3
3552.8
3552.8-3
3562.8

[[Page 53515]]

3562.8-3
3505.60................................ 3512.8-1
3522.8-1
3532.8-1
3542.8-1
3552.8-1
3562.8-1
3505.61................................ 3512.9-1
3532.9-1
3552.9-1
3562.9-1
3505.62................................ 3512.9-1
3532.9-1
3552.9-1
3562.9-1
3505.64................................ 3512.9-2(a)
3532.9-2(a)
3552.9-2(a)
3562.9-2(a)
3505.65................................ 3512.9-2(b)
3532.9-2(b)
3552.9-2(b)
3562.9-2(b)
3505.66................................ 3512.9-3
3532.9-3
3552.9-3
3562.9-3
3505.70................................ 3509.1-1
3505.75................................ 3509.2
3505.80................................ 3509.3-1
3505.85................................ 3509.4-1
3506.10................................ 3514.1
3524.1
3534.1
3544.1
3554.1
3506.11................................ 3514.2
3514.3
3524.2
3524.3
3534.2
3534.3
3544.2
3544.3
3554.2
3554.3
3506.12................................ 3514.4
3514.4-2
3524.4
3524.4-2
3534.4
3534.4-2
3544.4
3544.4-2
3554.4
3554.4-2
3512.1
3522.1
3532.1
3552.1
3506.13................................ 3514.4-1
3524.4-1
3534.4-1
3544.4-1
3554.4-1
3506.14................................ 3514.4-3
3524.4-3
3534.4-3
3544.4-3
3554.4-3
3506.15.............................. 3514.4-4
3524.4-4
3534.4-4
3544.4-4
3554.4-4
3506.20................................ 3514.6
3524.6
3534.6
3544.6
3554.6
3506.25................................ 3514.5
3524.5
3534.5
3544.5
3554.5
3507.11................................ 3513.3
3523.3
3533.3
3543.3
3553.3
3563.3
3507.15................................ 3513.1-1
3523.1-1
3533.1-1
3543.1-1
3553.1-1
3563.1-1
3507.16................................ 3513.1-1(c)
3523.1-1(c)
3533.1-1(c)
3543.1-1(c)
3553.1-1(c)
3563.1-1(b)
3507.17................................ 3513.1-2
3523.1-2
3533.1-2
3543.1-2
3553.1-2
3563.1-2
3507.18................................ 3513.2-1
3523.2-1
3533.2-1
3543.2-1
3553.2-1
3563.2-1
3507.19................................ 3513.4
3523.4
3533.4
3543.4
3553.4
3563.4
3507.20................................ 3513.4(b)
3513.4(c)
3523.4(b)
3523.4(c)
3533.4(b)
3533.4(c)
3543.4(b)
3543.4(c)
3553.4(b)
3553.4(c)
3563.4(b)
3563.4(c)
3508.11................................ 3515.1
3525.1
3535.1
3545.1
3555.1
3564.1
3574.1
3508.12(a)............................. 3515.1
3525.1
3535.1
3545.1
3555.1
3564.1
3574.1
3508.12(b)............................. 3515.3-1
3525.3-1
3535.3-1
3545.3-1
3555.3-1
3564.3-1
3574.3-1
3508.12(c)............................. 3515.5
3525.5
3535.5
3545.5
3555.5
3564.5
3574.5
3508.14................................ 3515.3-1
3525.3-1
3535.3-1
3545.3-1
3555.3-1
3564.3-1
3574.3-1
3508.15................................ 3515.3-2
3525.3-2
3535.3-2
3545.3-2
3555.3-2
3564.3-2
3574.3-2
3508.16................................ 3515.3-3
3525.3-3
3535.3-3
3545.3-3
3555.3-3
3564.3-3
3574.3-3
3508.20................................ 3515.4
3525.4
3535.4
3545.4
3555.4
3564.4
3574.4
3508.21................................ 3515.5
3525.5
3535.5
3545.5
3555.5
3564.5
3574.5
3508.22................................ 3515.6
3525.6
3535.6
3545.6
3555.6
3564.6
3574.6
3509.10................................ 3507.1-2
3509.11................................ 3507.1-2
3509.12................................ 3507.7-2
3509.12................................ 3507.6
3509.15................................ 3507.1-2(b)
3509.16................................ 3507.2
3507.5
3507.9
3509.17................................ 3507.2
3507.7-2
3509.18................................ New
3509.20................................ 3507.8
3509.25................................ 3507.9
3509.30................................ New
3509.40................................ 3507.1-1
3509.41................................ 3507.1-1
3507.1-2(a)
3509.45................................ 3507.6
3507.7-1

[[Page 53516]]

3509.46................................ 3507.2
3507.5
3509.47................................ 3507.6
3507.7-1
3507.7-2
3509.48................................ New
3509.49................................ 3507.3
3509.50................................ 3507.9(b)
3509.51................................ New
3510.11................................ 3516.1
3516.2(a)
3526.1
3526.2(a)
3536.1
3536.2(a)
3546.1
3546.2(a)
3556.1
3556.2(a)
3565.1
3565.2(a)
3575.1
3575.2(a)
3510.12................................ 3516.3
3526.3
3536.3
3546.3
3556.3
3565.3
3575.3
3510.15................................ 3516.2
3516.2(b)
3526.2
3526.2(b)
3536.2
3536.2(b)
3546.2
3546.2(b)
3556.2
3556.2(b)
3565.2
3565.2(b)
3575.2
3575.2(b)
3510.20................................ 3516.3(a)
3516.5
3526.3(a)
3526.5
3536.3(a)
3536.5
3546.3(a)
3546.5
3556.3(a)
3556.5
3565.3(a)
3565.5
3575.3(a)
3575.5
3510.21................................ 3516.6
3526.6
3536.6
3546.6
3556.6
3565.6
3575.6
3511.10................................ 3511.5
3521.1
3531.1
3511.11................................ New
3511.15................................ 3511.3
3521.3
3531.3
3541.3
3551.3
3561.3
3571.3
3511.25................................ 3511.4(a)
3528
3531.4(a)
3547
3551.4(a)
3566
3576
3511.25(b)............................. 3528.3
3547.3
3566.1
3566.3
3576.3
3511.26................................ 3511.4(b)
3531.4(b)
3551.4(b)
3511.27................................ 3528.3
3547.3
3566.1
3576.3
3511.28................................ New
3511.30................................ 3511.4(c)
3531.4(c)
3551.4(c)
3512.11................................ 3506.1
3512.12................................ 3506.2
3512.13................................ 3506.1-3
3512.16................................ 3506.1-3
3512.17................................ 3506.3-2
3512.18................................ 3506.4
3506.5-1
3512.19................................ 3506.3-3
3512.25................................ 3506.5-2
3506.6
3512.30................................ 3506.5-2
3512.33................................ 3506.5-2
3506.7
3513.11................................ 3503.2-4(a)
3513.12................................ 3503.2-4(a)
3513.15................................ 3503.2-4(b)
3513.20................................ 3503.3-1
3513.21................................ 3503.3-1(c)
3503.3-1(d)
3503.3-1(e)
3513.22................................ 3503.3-1(b)
3513.25................................ 3503.3-1(d)
3513.26................................ 3503.3-1(d)
3513.30................................ 3503.3-2(a)
3513.31................................ 3503.3-2(c)
3503.3-2(d)
3503.3-2(e)
3513.32................................ 3503.3-2(b)
3513.33................................ 3503.3-2(d)
3513.34................................ 3503.3-2(d)
3514.11................................ 3509.1-2
3514.12................................ 3509.1-2
3514.15................................ 3509.1-2
3514.20................................ 3509.1-2
3514.21................................ 3509.1-2
3514.25................................ 3509.3-2
3514.30................................ 3509.4-2
3514.31................................ 3509.4-2
3514.32................................ 3509.4-2
3514.50................................ 3509.4-3
3515................................... 3508.1
3515.10................................ 3508.0-1
3515.12................................ 3508.0-7
3515.15................................ 3508.0-1
3515.18................................ 3508.1(a)
3508.2(a)
3515.20................................ 3508.0-1
3515.21................................ 3508.0-1
3515.22................................ New
3515.23................................ 3508.2(e)
3515.25................................ 3508.2(f)
3515.26................................ 3508.3(a)
3515.27................................ 3508.3(b)
3516.10................................ 3517.1
3527.1
3516.11................................ New
3516.12................................ 3517.1
3527.1
3516.15................................ 3517.1-1
3527.1-1
3516.16................................ 3517.1-3
3527.1-3
3516.20................................ 3517.1-2(a)
3527.1-2(a)
3516.30................................ 3517.1-2(b)
3527.1-2(b)
3517.10................................ 3567.1
3517.11................................ 3567.2
3517.15................................ 3567.3
3517.16................................ 3567.4
Unnumbered............................. 3500.0-3
Deleted................................ 3500.1
Deleted................................ 3500.2
Deleted................................ 3500.4
Deleted................................ 3510.0-3
Deleted................................ 3510.1
Deleted................................ 3510.2-1
Deleted................................ 3510.2-2
Deleted................................ 3511.8
Deleted................................ 3512.8-2
Deleted................................ 3513.2-2
Deleted................................ 3514.0-3
Deleted................................ 3517.2
Deleted................................ 3520.0-3
Deleted................................ 3520.1
Deleted................................ 3520.2-1
Deleted................................ 3520.2-2
Deleted................................ 3524.0-3
Deleted................................ 3527.2
Deleted................................ 3528.4
Deleted................................ 3530.0-3
Deleted................................ 3530.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old 3500 New 3500
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3500.0-3............................... Unnumbered
3500.0-5............................... 3501.5
3500.1................................. Deleted
3500.2................................. Deleted
3500.3................................. 3502.15
3500.4................................. 3501.30
3500.5(a).............................. 3503.40
3500.5(b).............................. 3503.41
3500.6................................. 3501.16
3500.7................................. 3501.17
3500.8................................. 3503.11
3500.9-1............................... 3503.20
3500.9-2............................... 3503.21
3500.9-3............................... 3503.25
3501.1-1............................... 3503.30
3501.1-1(a)............................ 3503.33
3501.1-1(d)............................ 3503.36
3501.1-1(c)............................ 3503.31
3501.1-2............................... 3503.30
3501.1-2(a)............................ 3503.33
3501.1-2(b)............................ 3503.32
3501.1-3............................... 3503.31
3501.2................................. 3503.38
3502.1................................. 3502.10
3502.1(b).............................. 3502.13
3502.1(c).............................. 3502.15
3502.1(d).............................. 3502.20

[[Page 53517]]

3502.2-1............................... 3502.25
3502.26
3502.2-2............................... 3502.27
3502.2-3............................... 3502.28
3502.29
3502.2-4............................... 3502.30
3502.2-5(a)............................ 3502.40
3502.2-5(b)............................ 3502.41
3502.2-6............................... 3502.33
3502.3................................. 3502.34
3503.1-1............................... 3504.11
3503.1-2............................... 3504.12
3503.2-1............................... 3504.21
3504.22
3503.2-2............................... 3504.25
3503.2-3............................... 3504.26
3503.2-4(a)............................ 3513.11
3513.12
3503.2-4(b)............................ 3513.15
3503.3-1............................... 3513.20
3503.3-1(b)............................ 3513.22
3503.3-1(c)............................ 3513.21
3503.3-1(d)............................ 3513.21
3513.25
3513.26
3503.3-1(e)............................ 3513.21
3503.3-2(a)............................ 3513.30
3503.3-2(b)............................ 3513.32
3503.3-2(c)............................ 3513.31
3503.3-2(d)............................ 3513.31
3513.33
3513.34
3503.3-2(e)............................ 3513.31
3504.1-1............................... 3504.50
3504.1-2............................... 3504.51
3504.1-3............................... 3504.55
3504.1-4............................... 3504.50
3504.1-5............................... 3504.56
3504.1-6............................... 3504.60
3504.2(a).............................. 3504.65
3504.2(b).............................. 3504.66
3504.3................................. 3504.70
3504.71
3506.1................................. 3512.11
3506.2................................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3512.12
3506.3-1............................... 3512.13
3512.16
3506.3-2............................... 3512.17
3506.3-3............................... 3512.19
3506.4................................. 3512.18
3506.5-1............................... 3512.18
3506.5-2............................... 3512.25
3512.30
3512.33
3506.6................................. 3512.25
3506.7................................. 3512.33
3507.1................................. 3505.10
3507.1-1............................... 3509.40
3509.41
3507.1-2............................... 3509.10
3509.11
3507.1-2(a)............................ 3509.41
3507.1-2(b)............................ 3509.15
3507.2................................. 3509.16
3509.17
3509.46
3507.3................................. 3509.49
3507.4................................. 3503.20
3507.5................................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3509.16
3509.46
3507.6................................. 3509.12
3509.45
3509.47
3507.7-1............................... 3509.45
3509.47
3507.7-2............................... 3509.17
3509.47
3507.8................................. 3509.20
3507.9................................. 3509.16
3509.25
3507.9(b).............................. 3509.50
3508.0-1............................... 3515.10
3515.15
3515.20
3515.21
3508.0-7............................... 3515.12
3508.1................................. 3515
3508.1(a).............................. 3515.18
3508.2(a).............................. 3515.18
3508.2(e).............................. 3515.23
3508.2(f).............................. 3515.25
3508.3(a).............................. 3515.26
3508.3(b).............................. 3515.27
3509.1-1............................... 3505.70
3509.1-2............................... 3514.11
3514.12
3514.15
3514.20
3514.21
3509.2................................. 3505.75
3509.3-1............................... 3505.80
3509.3-2............................... 3514.25
3509.4-1............................... 3505.85
3514.31
3514.32
3509.4-2............................... 3514.30
3514.31
3514.32
3509.4-3............................... 3514.50
3510.0-3............................... Deleted
3510.1................................. Deleted
3510.2-1............................... Deleted
3510.2-2............................... Deleted
3510.3................................. 3503.37
3511.1................................. 3501.20
3511.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3511.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3511.2-1(c)............................ 3504.15
3511.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3511.3................................. 3511.15
3511.4(a).............................. 3511.25
3511.4(b).............................. 3511.26
3511.4(c).............................. 3511.30
3511.5................................. 3511.10
3511.6................................. 3504.50
3511.7................................. 3503.28
3511.8................................. Deleted
3512.1................................. 3508.11
3512.2................................. 3505.10
3512.3-1............................... 3505.12
3512.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3512.3-2............................... 3505.13
3512.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3512.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3512.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3512.4................................. 3505.25
3512.5................................. 3505.25
3505.30
3512.6................................. 3505.31
3512.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3512.8................................. 3505.55
3512.8-1............................... 3505.50
3505.60
3512.8-2............................... Deleted
3512.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3512.8-4............................... 3503.28
3512.9-1............................... 3505.61
3505.62
3512.9-2............................... 3501.20
3512.9-2(a)............................ 3505.64
3512.9-2(b)............................ 3505.65
3512.9-3............................... 3501.20
3505.66
3513.1-1............................... 3507.15
3513.1-1(c)............................ 3507.16
3513.1-2............................... 3507.17
3513.2-1............................... 3507.18
3513.2-2............................... Deleted
3513.3................................. 3507.11
3513.4................................. 3507.19
3513.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3513.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3514.0-3............................... Deleted
3514.1................................. 3506.10
3514.2................................. 3506.11
3514.3................................. 3506.11
3514.4................................. 3506.12
3514.4-1............................... 3506.13
3514.4-2............................... 3506.12
3514.4-3............................... 3506.14
3514.4-4............................... 3506.15
3514.5................................. 3506.25
3514.6................................. 3506.20
3515.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3515.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3515.3-2............................... 3508.15
3515.3-3............................... 3508.16
3515.4................................. 3508.20
3515.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3515.6................................. 3508.22
3516.1................................. 3510.11
3516.2................................. 3510.15
3516.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3516.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3516.3................................. 3510.12
3516.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3516.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3516.4................................. 3503.20
3516.5................................. 3510.20
3516.6................................. 3510.21
3517.1................................. 3516.10
3516.12
3517.1-1............................... 3504.12(a)(1)
3516.15
3517.2................................. Deleted
3517.1-2(a)............................ 3516.20
3517.1-2(b)............................ 3516.30
3517.1-3............................... 3516.16
3520.0-3............................... Deleted
3520.1................................. Deleted
3520.2-1............................... Deleted
3520.2-2............................... Deleted
3520.3................................. 3503.37
3521.1................................. 3501.20
3511.10
3521.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3521.2-1(a)............................ 3504.16
3521.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3521.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21

[[Page 53518]]

3521.3................................. 3511.15
3521.4................................. 3504.50
3521.5................................. 3503.28
3521.6................................. 3503.28
3522.1................................. 3508.11
3522.2................................. 3505.10
3522.3-1............................... 3505.12
3522.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3522.3-2............................... 3505.13
3522.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3522.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3522.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3522.4................................. 3505.25
3522.5................................. 3505.25
3505.30
3522.6................................. 3505.31
3522.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3522.8................................. 3505.55
3522.8-1............................... 3505.50
3505.60
3522.8-2............................... 3501.20
3522.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3522.8-4............................... 3503.28
3523.1-1............................... 3507.15
3523.1-1(c)............................ 3507.16
3523.1-2............................... 3507.17
3523.2-2............................... 3503.20
3523.2-1............................... 3507.18
3523.3................................. 3507.11
3523.4................................. 3507.19
3523.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3523.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3524.0-3............................... Deleted
3524.1................................. 3506.10
3524.2................................. 3506.11
3524.3................................. 3506.11
3524.4................................. 3506.12
3524.4-1............................... 3506.13
3524.4-2............................... 3506.12
3524.4-3............................... 3506.14
3524.4-4............................... 3506.15
3524.5................................. 3506.25
3524.6................................. 3506.20
3525.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3525.2................................. 3503.20
3525.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3525.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3525.3-2............................... 3508.15
3525.3-3............................... 3508.16
3525.4................................. 3508.20
3525.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3525.6................................. 3508.22
3526.1................................. 3510.11
3526.2................................. 3510.15
3526.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3526.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3526.3................................. 3510.12
3526.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3526.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3526.4................................. 3503.20
3526.5................................. 3510.20
3526.6................................. 3510.21
3527.1................................. 3516.10
3516.12
3527.1-1............................... 3504.12(a)(1)
3516.15
3527.1-2(a)............................ 3516.20
3527.1-2(b)............................ 3516.30
3527.1-3............................... 3516.16
3527.2................................. Deleted
3528................................... 3511.25
3511.27
3528.1................................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3528.2................................. 3504.50
3528.3................................. 3511.25(b)
3528.4................................. 3511.12
3530.0-3............................... Deleted
3530.1................................. Deleted
3530.2-1............................... Deleted
3530.2-2............................... Deleted
3530.3................................. 3503.37
3531.1................................. 3501.20
3511.10
3531.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3531.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3531.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3531.3................................. 3511.15
3531.4(a).............................. 3511.25
3531.4(b).............................. 3511.26
3531.4(c).............................. 3511.30
3531.5................................. 3504.50
3531.6................................. 3503.28
3532.1................................. 3508.11
3532.2................................. 3505.10
3532.3-1............................... 3505.12
3532.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3532.3-2............................... 3505.13
3532.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3532.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3532.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3532.4................................. 3505.25
3532.5................................. 3505.30
3532.6................................. 3505.31
3532.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3532.8................................. 3505.55
3532.8-1............................... 3505.60
3532.8-2............................... 3501.20
3532.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3532.8-4............................... 3503.28
3505.50
3532.9-1............................... 3505.61
3505.62
3532.9-2(a)............................ 3505.64
3532.9-2(b)............................ 3505.65
3532.9-3............................... 3501.20
3505.66
3533.1-1............................... 3507.15
3533.1-1(c)............................ 3507.16
3533.1-2............................... 3507.17
3533.2-1............................... 3507.18
3533.2-2............................... 3503.20
3533.3................................. 3507.11
3533.4................................. 3507.19
3533.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3533.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3534.0-3............................... Deleted
3534.1................................. 3506.10
3534.2................................. 3506.11
3534.3................................. 3506.11
3534.4................................. 3506.12
3534.4-1............................... 3506.13
3534.4-2............................... 3506.12
3534.4-3............................... 3506.14
3534.4-4............................... 3506.15
3534.5................................. 3506.25
3534.6................................. 3506.20
3535.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3535.2................................. 3503.20
3535.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3535.3-2............................... 3508.15
3535.3-3............................... 3508.16
3535.4................................. 3508.20
3535.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3536.1................................. 3510.11
3536.2................................. 3510.15
3536.4................................. 3503.20
3536.5................................. 3510.20
3535.6................................. 3508.22
3536.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3536.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3536.3................................. 3510.12
3536.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3536.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3536.6................................. 3510.21
3540.0-3............................... Deleted
3540.1................................. Deleted
3540.2-1............................... Deleted
3540.2-2............................... Deleted
3540.3................................. 3503.37
3541.1................................. 3501.20
3541.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3541.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3541.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3541.3................................. 3511.15
3541.4................................. 3504.50
3541.5................................. 3503.28
3541.6................................. 3503.28
3542.1................................. 3503.12
3542.2................................. 3505.10
3542.3-1............................... 3505.12
3542.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3542.3-2............................... 3505.13
3542.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3542.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3542.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3542.4................................. 3505.25
3542.5................................. 3505.25
3505.30
3542.6................................. 3505.31
3542.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3542.8................................. 3505.55
3542.8-1............................... 3505.50
3505.60
3542.8-2............................... 3501.20
3542.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3542.8-4............................... 3503.28
3543.1-1............................... 3507.15
3543.1-1(c)............................ 3507.16
3543.1-2............................... 3507.17
3543.2-1............................... 3507.18
3543.2-2............................... 3503.20
3543.3................................. 3507.11
3543.4................................. 3507.19
3543.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3543.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3544.0-3............................... Deleted
3544.1................................. 3506.10

[[Page 53519]]

3544.2................................. 3506.11
3544.3................................. 3506.11
3544.4................................. 3506.12
3544.4-1............................... 3506.13
3544.4-2............................... 3506.12
3544.4-3............................... 3506.14
3544.4-4............................... 3506.15
3544.5................................. 3506.25
3544.6................................. 3506.20
3545.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3545.2................................. 3503.20
3545.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3545.3-2............................... 3508.15
3545.3-3............................... 3508.16
3545.4................................. 3508.20
3545.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3545.6................................. 3508.22
3546.1................................. 3510.11
3546.2................................. 3510.15
3546.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3546.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3546.3................................. 3510.12
3546.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3546.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3546.4................................. 3503.20
3546.5................................. 3510.20
3546.6................................. 3510.21
3547................................... 3511.25
3511.27
3547.1................................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3547.2................................. 3504.50
3547.3................................. 3511.25(b)
3547.4................................. 3511.12
3550.0-3............................... Deleted
3550.1................................. Deleted
3550.2-1............................... Deleted
3550.2-2............................... Deleted
3550.3................................. 3503.37
3551.1................................. 3501.20
3551.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3551.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3551.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3551.3................................. 3511.15
3551.4(a).............................. 3511.25
3551.4(b).............................. 3511.26
3551.4(c).............................. 3511.30
3551.5................................. 3504.50
3551.6................................. 3503.28
3551.7................................. Deleted
3552.1................................. 3508.11
3552.2................................. 3505.10
3552.3-1............................... 3505.12
3552.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3552.3-2............................... 3505.13
3552.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3552.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3552.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3552.4................................. 3505.25
3552.5................................. 3505.25
3505.30
3552.6................................. 3505.31
3552.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3552.8................................. 3505.55
3552.8-1............................... 3505.50
3505.60
3552.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3552.8-2............................... 3501.20
3552.8-4............................... 3503.28
3552.9-1............................... 3505.61
3505.62
3552.9-2(a)............................ 3505.64
3552.9-2(b)............................ 3505.65
3552.9-3............................... 3501.20
3505.66
3553.1-1............................... 3507.15
3553.1-1(c)............................ 3507.16
3553.1-2............................... 3507.17
3553.2-2............................... 3503.20
3553.2-1............................... 3507.18
3553.3................................. 3507.11
3553.4................................. 3507.19
3553.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3553.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3554.0-3............................... Deleted
3554.1................................. 3506.10
3554.2................................. 3506.11
3554.3................................. 3506.11
3554.4................................. 3506.12
3554.4-1............................... 3506.13
3554.4-3............................... 3506.14
3554.4-2............................... 3506.12
3554.4-4............................... 3506.15
3554.5................................. 3506.25
3554.6................................. 3506.20
3555.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3555.2................................. 3503.20
3555.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3555.3-2............................... 3508.15
3555.3-3............................... 3508.16
3555.4................................. 3508.20
3555.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3555.6................................. 3508.22
3556.1................................. 3510.11
3556.2................................. 3510.15
3556.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3556.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3556.3................................. 3510.12
3556.3(a).............................. 3510.2
3556.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3556.4................................. 3503.20
3556.5................................. 3510.20
3556.6................................. 3510.21
3560.0-3............................... Deleted
3560.1................................. Deleted
3560.2-1............................... Deleted
3560.2-2............................... Deleted
3560.3-1............................... 3503.13
3560.3-2............................... 3503.13
3560.3-3............................... 3503.13
3560.3-4............................... 3503.13
3560.4................................. 3503.37
3560.5................................. 3505.10
3560.6................................. 3501.16
3560.7................................. 3505.12
3561.1................................. 3501.20
3561.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3561.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3561.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3561.3................................. 3511.15
3561.4................................. 3504.50
3561.5................................. 3503.28
3561.6................................. Deleted
3562.1................................. 3503.13
3562.2................................. 3505.10
3562.3-1............................... 3505.12
3562.3-1(c)............................ 3504.12(a)(1)
3505.20
3562.3-2............................... 3505.13
3562.3-2(c)............................ 3505.15
3562.3-3............................... 3505.40
3505.45
3562.3-4............................... 3505.50
3505.51
3562.4................................. 3505.25
3562.5................................. 3505.25
3505.30
3562.6................................. 3505.31
3562.7................................. 3504.50
3505.40
3562.8................................. 3505.55
3562.8-1............................... 3505.50
3505.60
3562.8-2............................... 3501.20
3562.8-3............................... 3504.15
3505.55
3562.8-4............................... 3503.28
3562.9-1............................... 3505.61
3505.62
3562.9-2(a)............................ 3505.64
3562.9-2(b)............................ 3505.65
3562.9-3............................... 3501.20
3505.66
3563.1-1............................... 3507.15
3563.1-1(b)............................ 3507.16
3563.1-2............................... 3507.17
3563.2-1............................... 3507.18
3563.3................................. 3507.11
3563.4................................. 3507.19
3563.4(b).............................. 3507.20
3563.4(c).............................. 3507.20
3564.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3564.2................................. 3503.20
3564.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3564.3-2............................... 3508.15
3564.3-3............................... 3508.16
3564.4................................. 3508.20
3564.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3564.6................................. 3508.22
3565.1................................. 3510.11
3565.2................................. 3510.15
3565.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3565.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3565.3................................. 3510.12
3565.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3565.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3565.4................................. 3503.20
3565.5................................. 3510.20
3565.6................................. 3510.21
3566................................... 3511.25
3511.27
3566.1................................. 3511.25(b)
3566.2................................. 3504.50
3566.3................................. 3511.25(b)
3566.4................................. 3511.12
3567.1................................. 3517.10
3567.2................................. 3517.11
3567.3................................. 3517.15
3567.4................................. 3517.16
3570.0-3............................... Deleted
3570.1................................. Deleted
3570.2................................. 3503.14
3570.3................................. Deleted
3570.4................................. 3503.37
3571.1................................. 3501.20

[[Page 53520]]

3571.2-1(a)............................ 3504.15
3504.16
3571.2-1(b)............................ 3504.17
3571.2-2............................... 3504.20
3504.21
3571.3................................. 3511.15
3571.4................................. 3504.50
3571.5................................. 3503.28
3571.6................................. Deleted
3574.1................................. 3508.11
3508.12(a)
3574.2................................. 3503.20
3574.3-1............................... 3508.12(b)
3508.14
3574.3-2............................... 3508.15
3574.3-3............................... 3508.16
3574.4................................. 3508.20
3574.5................................. 3508.12(c)
3508.21
3574.6................................. 3508.22
3575.1................................. 3510.11
3575.2................................. 3510.15
3575.2(a).............................. 3510.11
3575.2(b).............................. 3510.15
3575.3................................. 3510.12
3575.3(a).............................. 3510.20
3575.3(b).............................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3575.4................................. 3503.20
3575.5................................. 3510.20
3575.6................................. 3510.21
3576................................... 3511.25
3511.27
3576.1................................. 3504.12(a)(1)
3576.2................................. 3504.50
3576.3................................. 3511.25(b)
3576.4................................. 3511.12
New.................................... 3501.1
New.................................... 3501.10
New.................................... 3502.42
New.................................... 3503.10
New.................................... 3503.42
New.................................... 3503.43
New.................................... 3503.44
New.................................... 3503.45
New.................................... 3503.46
New.................................... 3509.18
New.................................... 3509.30
New.................................... 3509.48
New.................................... 3509.51
New.................................... 3511.11
New.................................... 3511.28
New.................................... 3515.22
New.................................... 3516.11
New.................................... 3503.15
also in 3581
New.................................... 3503.16
also in 3586
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subpart 3501--General Provisions

This subpart deals with introductory matters, general
considerations, definitions, and appeals. We expanded the authorities
section. Section 3501.1 discusses the scope of the regulations, which
apply to minerals leased by the BLM.
Section 3501.5 is the definitions section. This section lists those
terms which are specific to leasing of solid minerals. We made several
changes to this section.
We dropped the definition of the term ``Act'' because it was not
needed. We added a definition for the term ``acquired lands.'' We
modified the definition of ``hardrock minerals'' to make the meaning
more clear. We kept the definition used in the proposed rule for
``valuable deposit,'' which is discussed more in the Responses to
Comments section below.
Section 3501.10 describes the different types of authorizations BLM
can issue under these regulations. Here, we define what each
authorization is, and list them in the order they occur during
development, to give the reader a short road map through the entire
mineral development process. The section begins with prospecting
permits, which allow exploration for minerals on public lands where no
known deposit exists. Next are exploration licenses, which also allow
exploration of lands where there are known deposits. After that comes
preference right leases, which you could receive if you discover
certain mineral deposits during your prospecting permit. Following that
are competitive leases, which BLM issues for known deposits. Next are
fringe acreage leases, which lease known deposits under special
circumstances. This is followed by lease modifications which add land
to existing leases, and use permits that provide land to support
certain permits and leases.
Section 3501.16 lists some of the general conditions and terms of
your permit or lease. There are two particularly important aspects of
this section. First, it tells you that a permit or lease gives you an
exclusive interest in the minerals covered by your permit or lease, but
not the lands. We can issue additional leases, permits and rights-of-
way for lands where minerals are leased. Second, this section discusses
how we regulate development of multiple leases on the same parcel.
The remaining sections in this part point out that authorizations
are subject to other laws and regulations, such as NEPA, BLM land use
plans, and BLM and Departmental appeal regulations.

Subpart 3502--Qualification Requirements

Subpart 3502 sets out who may hold a permit or lease. There are
several limitations on who may hold an authorization. For example, as
required by statute, we require the lessee or permittee to be an adult
citizen of the United States who is in compliance with the MLA on all
other leases. Also, to prevent conflicts of interest, there are
restrictions on government officials. There are also acreage
limitations in subpart 3503.
Sections 3502.25-30 discuss how you show your qualifications to
hold a lease. These sections discuss where to file information, and
what to submit depending on whether you are an individual, an
association or partnership, a guardian or trustee of a trust, or a
corporation.
The remaining sections address some peripheral concerns related to
lease qualifications. For example, if an applicant dies before we
processes the application, we may issue the lease to the applicant's
heirs, or to the executor of the applicant's estate if the estate has
not been settled. BLM may also recognize an heir as the record title
holder of a permit or lease if the permit or lease holder dies. In all
cases, however, the person assuming ownership of the lease must be
qualified to hold a lease. If they are not, we will allow no more than
two years for them to become qualified or divest their interest.

Subpart 3503--Areas Available for Leasing

This subpart concerns which areas are available for leasing. There
are several types of land that are unavailable for leasing, such as
lands acquired for development of fissionable materials, wilderness
areas, and lands within incorporated cities. Sections 3503.10 and
3503.11 list lands which are not available for any mineral leasing
activity. The next four sections set out which areas are generally
available for leasing sulphur, hardrock minerals, asphalt, gold and
silver.
Generally, lands within a designated wilderness or wilderness study
area are unavailable for leasing. The Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq., prohibits commercial enterprise within designated wilderness
areas, except for prior existing rights (16 U.S.C. 1133(c)). Wilderness
study areas are managed under the interim management standards which
prohibit all activities which would impair their suitability for
wilderness designation; this typically precludes mineral leasing
activity. BLM manages all other areas being considered for possible
wilderness study in accordance with the applicable land use plan.
Since BLM drafted the proposed rule, President Clinton has
designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and under
the Monument's terms the BLM lands contained in it are no longer
available for leasing. We added the new Monument to the list of
unavailable lands in Sec. 3503.11. We also added another sentence in
Sec. 3503.11(k) to remind the reader that any other

[[Page 53521]]

lands which are withdrawn from mineral leasing are also unavailable.
Sections 3503.20 through 3503.28 set out the rules for leasing
minerals that underlie lands managed by another Federal agency, private
owner, or non-Federal political subdivision or charitable organization.
When a separate surface owner is involved, we will consult with them,
and, if required, obtain their consent before issuing a mineral lease.
In many cases, we may insert special stipulations into the lease to
satisfy the surface owner's or surface managing agency's concerns.
Where BLM is required by law to obtain another agency's consent, we
will accept the stipulations they require. In other situations, we will
consider the surface owner's or surface management agency's
recommendations and accept those which we believe are appropriate.
The next several sections (3503.30-.33) concern land descriptions.
You must describe the lands you wish to lease in your application, but
there are several different ways to describe land. If the land has been
surveyed as part of the Public Lands Survey System, you must describe
it by legal subdivision (section, township and range). If it has not
been surveyed but is located in a Public Lands Survey System state and
is part of a protraction diagram or amended protraction diagram, you
must describe the land by legal subdivision. If the land is unsurveyed
and not shown on a protraction diagram or amended protraction diagram,
you must describe the lands by metes and bounds tied to a survey
corner. If the lands are acquired lands, you may use the description
shown on the deed that conveyed title to the United States. Finally,
Sec. 3503.33 reminds the reader that BLM will only issue leases for
lands that have been officially surveyed to BLM standards. If you seek
a permit or lease on unsurveyed lands, we will require you to pay for a
survey. We will pay for the survey if we initiate the competitive
leasing process.
The next subgroup consists of three limitations on the acreage and
dimensions of the lands you seek to lease. First, the minimum size for
a lease is generally a quarter-quarter section, or a lot. The leased
lands must also be in reasonably compact form, not scattered and
difficult to manage. The chart at Sec. 3503.37 shows the maximum lease
acreage for each commodity. This includes limits on the size of the
individual lease, and limits on the total number of acres you have
leased from BLM in a single state (or nationwide, in the case of
phosphate).
The only change in this chart from the proposed rule is the
provision that the state acreage limit for potassium leases is now
96,000 acres. We made this change in response to comments received on
the proposed rule. See responses to comments below.
Calculating your total acreage holdings is simple when you own your
lease outright, but if you own a lease through stock ownership or other
instruments, BLM will calculate your acreage holdings as a proportion
of your ownership interest. For example, if you own a 50% interest in a
lease of 800 acres, we will charge 400 acres toward your total personal
acreage holdings. Corporate lease holdings will only count against your
personal acreage holdings if you own at least ten percent of the
corporation holding the leases. In these instances, we will count the
same acreage against both the corporation's holdings and your personal
holdings, in proportion with your ownership interest. We believe this
is necessary to prevent people from using the corporate form to avoid
the acreage limitations.
Finally, sections 3503.40 through 3503.46 instruct you where to
file your application and other necessary documents, and inform you
that the information you submit could be released to the public under
the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552 et seq.) (FOIA). Since the
proposed rule was published, BLM has issued a rule to make all of our
FOIA information uniform. The FOIA rule, published in the Federal
Register on October 1, 1998 (63 FR 52946), amended these regulations by
adding detailed information about how BLM decides to release or
withhold information under the FOIA. In order to keep this rule
consistent with other BLM regulations, we added Secs. 3503.42 through
3503.46 to conform to the FOIA regulations.
We will generally release information under FOIA to the extent that
the law allows. If you believe the information you submit to us should
be kept confidential, you should indicate this by clearly marking the
information as confidential. However, BLM must make the final decision,
because the FOIA requires us to determine under the law whether
information is exempt from release before we can withhold it.

Subpart 3504--Fees, Rental, Royalty and Bonds

This subpart outlines your obligations to BLM under your lease. We
made several minor changes from the proposed rule in order to clarify
these requirements.
The first three sections distinguish between payments to BLM and
those made to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and set out filing
fees. BLM only receives filing fees, first year rentals and bonus bids;
you should make all subsequent rental, royalty and other payments to
MMS.
The next three sections discuss rental rates and due dates. One
situation that caused some confusion is the rental due date after the
first year of the lease. BLM will maintain the previous system, where
in the case of sodium, potassium and asphalt, rentals are due before
January 1 of each year, while for other minerals rental is due before
the anniversary of the lease's effective date. We had proposed a
simpler system which would use anniversary dates for all minerals, but
several commenters pointed out that this contradicts statutory law.
Therefore, we will use the January 1 due date for sodium, potassium and
asphalt, and the lease anniversary date for other minerals.
The following sections discuss royalties. Each lease will contain
its own royalty provisions, but the regulations set out the minimum
royalty at Sec. 3504.21. The regulations also permit you to create
overriding royalties. However, if your overriding royalties become too
large, to the point where they could pressure you to forego development
opportunities under your lease, BLM may order you to suspend or reduce
the overriding royalty. Furthermore, if at any time you seek a royalty
reduction, we may require you to reduce your overriding royalty
payments first. We will not allow overriding royalties to exceed 50% of
the amount of the reduced royalty.
The rest of this subpart focuses on bonding requirements. BLM
requires a bond in all cases, and determines the amount of the bond on
a case-by-case basis. The bond amount is based on our estimate of the
cost to comply with all terms and conditions of the lease. This
includes the cost to stabilize and reclaim the areas to be disturbed
under your lease or permit. We will accept personal bonds in any one of
several forms, or surety bonds from qualified surety companies. You may
also cover several leases with a single bond, or file statewide or
nationwide bonds to cover several obligations at once.
Your bond must always provide full coverage for any activities you
pursue. If you default on any of your permit or lease obligations, BLM
may take payment from your bond and, if necessary, require you to
restore your bond to the amount needed to provide full coverage. If you
fail to restore your bond, we may seek to cancel your permit or lease.
We will only terminate your bond's period of liability when it has been
replaced by another bond or you have fulfilled all your permit or

[[Page 53522]]

lease terms and conditions. Finally, terminating the period of
liability does not end the bond obligations; we will release your bond
when all terms and conditions are met, the site is reclaimed, all
payments are made, and a reasonable period of time has passed to assure
us that you have effectively reclaimed the land.

Subpart 3505--Prospecting Permits

Prospecting permits are available when you are contemplating
commercial mineral development under the mineral leasing program in
areas where there is no known mineral deposit. Obtaining a prospecting
permit is the first step to development under a preference right lease.
If you use a prospecting permit to explore an area where no known
mineral deposit exists and you discover a valuable deposit of the
mineral covered by your permit, you may be entitled to a preference
right lease to develop that mineral deposit.
You do not need a prospecting permit to collect mineral specimens
for your hobby, recreational, educational or other similar non-
commercial purposes. You can find BLM's regulations for non-commercial
mineral specimen collecting at 43 CFR part 8360.
Prospecting permits are required when you are exploring an area for
commercial development. Because prospecting permits may entitle you to
a preference right lease, they are not available in areas where BLM has
identified a known mineral deposit. These areas are leased
competitively and can only be explored prior to leasing under an
exploration license. Prospecting permits are not available for asphalt.
Sections 3505.12 through 3505.51 discuss how to apply for a
prospecting permit. Because a prospecting permit may entitle you to a
preference right lease, we will not issue prospecting permits to anyone
who would not be qualified to hold a lease. Therefore, all the
qualification requirements of subpart 3502, including the acreage
limitations, apply to prospecting permits.
You may amend or withdraw your permit application after you file it
but before we issue you a permit. BLM considers permit applications on
a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that the first application we
receive has priority. If you amend your application, you do not need to
send an additional filing fee, but if your amendment adds lands to be
covered by the permit, your priority to those additional lands will be
as of the date of the amendment, not the date of the original
application. Your application must include the first year's rental, and
a detailed exploration plan.
We will notify you if your permit application has been accepted or
rejected. If we reject your permit application, we will state our
reasons for doing so in detail, and describe how you may appeal. If we
rejected your application because of something which can be corrected,
we will give you 30 days to correct the error and refile your
application. You do not have to refile the application fee and first-
year rental payment with your corrected application. Filing fees are
non-refundable, but if we reject any portion of your application we
will return your rental payment covering the rejected areas.
Prospecting permits are limited to their express terms. Therefore,
you can only use your prospecting permit for the time, area and
minerals identified in your permit. All prospecting permits are valid
for two years, though BLM can extend potassium and gilsonite permits
for an additional two years and phosphate and hardrock mineral
prospecting permits for up to four years. BLM cannot extend permits for
sodium and sulphur. We generally will only extend your permit if you
have been diligently exploring the area and need more time to discover
a valuable deposit, though exceptions may be made if unusual
circumstances delayed your exploration efforts.
You can relinquish your permit in whole or in part if BLM approves
your relinquishment, you have complied with all the permit
requirements, and if your rental payments are up to date. We may cancel
your permit if you fail to make timely rental payments, or if your
exploration activities violate any law, regulation, or condition of
your permit. If your permit is relinquished or canceled, in whole or in
part, you will not be entitled to a preference right lease on those
lands.

Subpart 3506--Exploration Licenses

Exploration licenses, covered by subpart 3506, allow you to gather
information about a mineral resource prior to seeking a lease. BLM
grants these licenses to explore areas with known mineral deposits. BLM
leases known mineral deposits through a competitive bidding process;
therefore, your exploration license will not give you any preference or
right to a lease. You may want an exploration license if you are
considering entering a bid for an area and you need more information
about the resource in order to prepare your bid.
The first several sections of subpart 3506 describe how to obtain
an exploration license. To apply, you need to submit an exploration
plan and a request (in no specific form) for an exploration license.
Your exploration plan must include the same information contained in 43
CFR 3505.45 as exploration plans in support of prospecting permits.
BLM makes decisions to issue exploration licenses under the general
regulations for leases, permits and easements at 43 CFR part 2920. Once
we approve your exploration plan, we will prepare a notice of
exploration which you must publish for three weeks in a local newspaper
in the area where the lands covered by the license are located. The
notice, which will include your plan, will invite other interested
parties to participate with you in the exploration. They must share
costs with you on a pro-rata basis.
Your exploration license is not intended to give you exclusive
access to information which is critical to preparing your bid, or any
other preference. For competitive leasing, all bidders should have
access to the same information about the resource, so that competition
will be completely fair. We may require that you allow other interested
parties to join you in the exploration activities under your license,
provided they pay their pro-rata share of the costs. Sections 3506.12
through 3506.14 discuss the notice of exploration contents and process.
Several things can happen if one or more parties respond to the
notice of exploration and notify BLM that they wish to be included. If
all parties agree with the exploration plan as approved, the parties
may simply devise a way to share the costs and BLM will issue the
license. If the interested parties disagree on the exploration plan,
the parties need to agree on any changes to be made, and BLM will have
to assess the environmental impacts posed by any changes to the plan
before we can issue the license.
Once BLM issues your exploration license, you may make changes to
your exploration plan, and you may remove lands from your exploration
license at any time, subject to BLM's approval. However, you may not
add lands to your exploration license. We must provide for public
involvement and environmental assessment before we can make lands
available for exploration under a license. Therefore, if you wish to
add lands to your license, you need to submit a new application.
While conducting your exploration, you must share with us any data
you gather. BLM will consider this information confidential, as
explained in Sec. 3506.25, until the lands are leased

[[Page 53523]]

or unless we determine under the FOIA that the information is not
exempt from disclosure. We require that you share this information with
us because all information is valuable to us in making sound management
decisions. We will not share this information with other potential
bidders or the public unless we are required to do so by law. While we
feel the fairest system of competitive bidding requires us to give
parties equal access to information, we do not think it is fair to
require one party to share the data at no cost to other parties after
having acquired this data at considerable expense. BLM feels that this
system, where parties can join in on the exploration but where we will
not freely divulge the exploration's results, is the fairest to all
participants.

Subpart 3507--Preference Right Lease Applications

If you discover a valuable deposit of a leasable mineral while
exploring under a prospecting permit, you may be entitled to a
preference right lease. This subpart discusses how you may apply for
and obtain a preference right lease for all leasable minerals except
asphalt, which is only leased competitively or under a fringe acreage
lease. See subpart 3508 for competitive leases, and subpart 3510 for
fringe acreage leases.
The requirements for obtaining a preference right lease, set out in
Sec. 3507.11, are fairly simple: if you have been exploring an area
under a prospecting permit and you believe you have discovered a
valuable deposit of the mineral covered by your permit, you need to
submit a complete preference right lease application in a timely
manner, along with your first year's rent. We will review your
application in order to verify that all of the terms and conditions of
your permit have been met. We also need to verify that you have
discovered a valuable deposit during the term of your permit.
BLM must also determine that the lands are chiefly valuable for
development of the specified mineral before we can issue a preference
right lease for sodium, potassium or sulphur. We may reject your
application for a preference right lease if your prospecting permit was
granted under the authority of Reorganization Plan No. 3 and we find,
after careful analysis, that mining is not the preferred use of the
lands in the application.
You may submit your preference right lease application any time
during the life of the prospecting permit or within 60 days after the
permit expires. If you apply for a lease more than 60 days after your
permit expires, BLM will reject your preference right lease
application.
These regulations describe the application contents at 43 CFR
3507.17. While there is no set application form, you must submit:
information showing that you are qualified to hold a lease (under
subpart 3502); maps of your proposed mining operations and facilities;
a written description of your proposed operations, including the method
of mining and the relationship between your operation and any other(s)
on adjacent lands; information which shows that you have discovered a
valuable deposit; and a legal description of the lands to be leased, if
different from the lands in your prospecting permit. You need not lease
all the lands covered by your prospecting permit, but all the land you
wish to lease must have been part of the permit.
To prove you have found a valuable deposit, you must provide BLM
information about any core or test holes, samples and cuttings you
collected at the site, as set out in 43 CFR 3593.1. BLM will determine
if there is a reasonable prospect of success in developing a profitable
mine from this information, though we may request additional
information to complete our findings.
BLM will grant you a lease unless:
You have not shown a valuable deposit exists;
Your application is late, incomplete, or otherwise
deficient;
You are seeking a lease for sodium, potassium or sulphur
and BLM determines that the lands at issue are not chiefly valuable for
that mineral; or
We issued the prospecting permit under the authority of
Reorganization Plan No. 3 and we determine that mining is not the
preferred use of the land.
You must also have complied with all of the terms and conditions of
the prospecting permit. If you disagree with BLM's decision, you may
appeal the decision to the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Subpart 3508--Competitive Lease Applications

Subpart 3508 describes the competitive leasing process, which we
use if you wish to lease mineral resources in areas where valuable
mineral deposits exist. We cannot issue a preference right lease for
known valuable deposits; the only way you can obtain a lease on these
lands is under this subpart, through a lease modification or through a
fringe acreage lease under subpart 3510 of these regulations.
If you are interested in leasing a certain area, you should contact
us to see if the lands are known to contain a valuable deposit.
Generally, this includes lands where further prospecting is unnecessary
for us to determine the existence or workability of a valuable deposit.
We can rely on geologic inference in making these determinations. BLM
must receive the fair market value for all minerals we lease
competitively.
BLM must reject a prospecting permit application if it is in an
area where there is a known valuable deposit, but in these areas you
may request a competitive lease. We may also initiate the competitive
leasing process. If we determine that the lands are suitable for
leasing, we may publish a notice of lease sale in the local newspaper
and in the local BLM public room. This notice will contain all the
information necessary for participating in the bidding, such as the
sale time and location, the minimum bid, bidding method and deadlines,
and description of the resource. Usually the bidding method will be
sealed bids, although on appropriate occasions we may use an oral
bidding process, or a combination of sealed and oral bids. BLM will
also make available the statement of the lease sale terms and
conditions.
If you are a qualified bidder and you offer the highest acceptable
bonus bid, meeting or exceeding fair market value, BLM may accept your
bid. As described in section 3508.20, we will open and announce all
bids at the lease sale, but we will not accept or reject bids at that
time. Instead, we will review the bids. We may reject all bids, or
accept the highest qualified bid by sending that person a lease form
and statement of terms and conditions. If we accept your bid, you must
sign the lease form, pay the first year's rent, publication costs and
the balance of your bonus bid (if not already paid in full with your
bid), and furnish the required lease bond. We will then award you the
lease.
If there is a tie between bidders for the highest bonus bid, we
will determine a fair process for breaking the tie. Also, you may
revise your bid at any time while the bidding is still open.
BLM can reject any high bid which does not meet all the
qualifications and requirements of these regulations. If we offer you a
lease but you decide not to accept it, we will keep one-fifth of your
bonus bid and refund any additional money submitted. BLM has complete
discretion to issue a competitive lease so we can reject your bid for
any other reason, such as a change in economic conditions. If we reject
your bid, we will refund any money you submitted with your bid.

[[Page 53524]]

Subpart 3509--Fractional and Future Interest Leases

This subpart concerns two types of Federal property interests that
include less than complete ownership: Future and fractional interests.
While these kinds of property are relatively uncommon, there are many
instances where the public owns only a share of a mineral estate. When
the United States owns an estate in conjunction with other owners, that
is a fractional interest. A future interest occurs when the Federal
Government owns the right to an estate after a certain date, but owns
no present interest in the estate. The Federal Government acquired most
of these limited estates during the Dust Bowl Era in order to help
landowners recoup some of their losses from failing farms and to
establish watershed protection measures.
BLM leases both future and fractional interests noncompetitively to
the party who owns or controls the present interest or partial
interest. We added a provision that allows limited competition for
these leases in cases where more than one person holds ownership or
possession. These leases are not available to the public at large. For
future interests, we may lease the future interest in a mineral tract
to the person who owns or controls the present interest and is
currently developing that interest. As a result, when that person's
interest ends and Federal ownership begins, the mineral operations can
continue under a future interest lease issued by BLM. Similarly, we may
lease a fractional interest in a mineral estate to the owner or owners
of the other fraction(s), or the party who has acquired the other
owner's development rights. This allows a single operator to develop
the minerals.
Future interest leasing is covered in Secs. 3509.10 through
3509.30. Since future interest leases are only available to holders of
the present mineral interest, it is important that you show you are
eligible for a future interest lease. You may only lease a future
mineral interest from BLM if you own a present interest in the
minerals, which means you must own either the record title or the
operating rights. Furthermore, you must own all or substantially all of
the present mineral interest. If you as a Federal lessee would control
50 percent or less of the present interest, we may reject your
application. To apply for a lease, you must submit evidence of this
ownership interest, plus information showing that you are qualified to
hold a BLM mineral lease (under subpart 3502), a land description,
information about any other owners, and a $25 application fee.
BLM will notify the other owners, if any, of your application. We
will give these other owners 90 days to file additional applications.
If we receive additional applications from other qualified owners, we
will hold a limited competitive sale. We will use the general
procedures in subpart 3508 to conduct the sale, but only qualified
interest holders who applied for the lease may bid at the sale.
If there are no other interest holders or we receive no other
applications during the 90 day notice period, we will notify you as to
whether we will grant the lease. We will reject your application if you
do not qualify to hold a lease. Also, you must apply for a lease more
than one year before the United States' ownership interest will vest or
we will reject your application.
Sections 3509.40 through 3509.50 cover fractional interest leases.
BLM issues fractional interest leases where the Federal Government
holds less than 100% of the mineral interest of the parcel. These
leases allow the other mineral interest owners to develop the mineral
estate.
BLM will only grant fractional interest permits or leases when we
believe development of the minerals is in the public interest, and with
the consent of the surface managing agency.
To be eligible for a lease, you must have a present interest in the
same minerals, and you must also meet the qualification standards
listed in subpart 3502. Your application must include a description of
the land and the same information we require when you apply for a
present interest Federal lease. You also need to include evidence of
your present ownership interest; the names of any other owners of the
mineral interests; and if you own the operating rights to the mineral
by a contract with the owner, you also need to submit three copies of
the contract.
We will notify the other owners, if any, of your application. We
will give these other owners 90 days to file additional applications.
If we receive additional applications from other qualified owners, we
will hold a limited competitive sale. We will use the general
procedures in subpart 3508 to conduct the sale, but only qualified
interest holders who applied for the lease may bid at the sale.
BLM will reject your fractional interest application if you are not
qualified to hold a lease, if you do not have a present interest in the
same minerals, or if you would have a total interest of less than 50%
once the fractional interest prospecting permit or lease is issued,
unless we determine it would be in the public interest to issue the
permit or lease.

Subpart 3510--Noncompetitive Leasing: Fringe Acreage Leases and
Lease Modifications

This subpart deals with how BLM leases mineral deposits which are
too small to be developed independently but could be developed as part
of a larger operation taking place on adjacent lands. We may grant you
a separate fringe acreage lease if you are developing non-Federal
minerals on adjacent lands. If you are operating on adjacent lands
under a Federal lease, we may modify your existing lease to add acreage
to your lease. In both cases you would acquire the additional mineral
lease noncompetitively. Please note that we have renumbered this
subpart since the proposed rule, when it was located at subpart 3514.
As a result, subparts 3510, 3511, 3512 and 3513 in the proposed rule
are now found at subparts 3511, 3512, 3513 and 3514, respectively.
BLM issues fringe acreage leases for mineral deposits which are too
small to be leased independently. This means that, in BLM's opinion,
the deposit lacks sufficient reserves to warrant independent
development, and that the minerals are not located in an area of
competitive interest to other mining operations in the area. However,
BLM will competitively lease these kinds of deposits when they have
competitive interest. For example, BLM will lease a resource
competitively if the mineral deposit is between two different mineral
operations, and both parties express an interest in the fringe acreage.
However, neither law nor policy requires us to lease the resource.
The rules for applying for a fringe acreage lease and a lease
modification are similar. To apply, you must submit the serial number
of your adjacent Federal lease, or proof that you own or control the
adjacent mineral deposit; information which shows that the mineral
deposit you are applying for extends from your adjacent lease or
private operation; a complete land description; an advance rental
payment and a nonrefundable $25 application fee.
BLM will not grant a lease through the non-competitive leasing
process if a competitive interest exists, or if the mineral deposit is
large enough to warrant independent development. We will also deny your
application for the additional acreage if it would cause you to exceed
the acreage limitations in 43 CFR 3503.37, if you are not qualified to
hold a Federal lease under subpart 3502, or if developing the lease
would be

[[Page 53525]]

economically inefficient or fail to properly conserve the natural
resources.
Because a fringe acreage lease is a new lease separate from your
ownership or control of the adjacent lands, BLM will set the terms and
conditions of your fringe acreage lease. If we modify an existing
Federal lease on adjacent lands, the terms for the new acreage will be
the same as those in your existing lease. Before we issue either type
of authorization, you must pay the bonus amount which we will set by
appraisal. The minimum bonus amount is $1 per acre.

Subpart 3511--Lease Terms and Conditions

While BLM sets most of the terms and conditions separately for each
lease, there are a number of terms and conditions which apply to all
leases. Those terms and conditions are the subject of subpart 3511.
The first two sections, 3511.10 and 3511.11, discuss when you may
mine associated, related or commingled commodities under your lease.
There are several situations where you may mine associated and related
products. If you have a sodium lease, you may mine related compounds
including potassium; while if you have a potassium lease, you may mine
related products including associated sodium compounds. If you have a
phosphate lease, you can use deposits of silica, limestone, and other
rock on your lease during processing or refining your phosphate,
phosphate rock and associated minerals. In all cases you must pay a
royalty for these additional minerals.
Producers of calcium chloride from Federal lands may also apply for
a noncompetitive lease to produce commingled sodium chloride. This
applies if you are producing paying quantities of calcium chloride from
an existing mine, and if you are authorized under the regulations in
part 3800 to produce the calcium chloride as a locatable mineral. This
is a new provision of the regulations. You must pay a royalty for the
commingled sodium chloride.
Most BLM leases are in effect for an initial 20-year term, subject
to readjustment or renewal. Each commodity has different provisions for
renewal or readjustment, which are explained in the chart at
Sec. 3511.15. If your lease can be readjusted, we must notify you
before the initial lease term expires of any new terms or conditions we
are proposing. If we fail to notify you, your lease will continue for
another 20 years under the same terms. By contrast, if your lease
requires that you renew it, you must contact BLM at least 90 days
before the initial term expires and express your interest in renewal.
If you do not notify us by this time, your lease will expire at the end
of the initial term, and your lands may become available for re-
leasing.
Once you receive proposed new terms under a readjusted lease, you
can object to the terms if you disagree with them, provided you file
your objection within 60 days of receiving the proposal. BLM will
respond to your objection with our decision on the lease terms, which
you may appeal if you are still dissatisfied. See the hearings and
appeals regulations at part 4 of this title.
While you are appealing any new terms or conditions, including
increased rentals or royalties under a renewal or readjustment, you
must continue paying rentals and royalties at the original rate.
However, those increased charges will begin accruing as of the renewal
or readjustment date. If the increase is sustained on appeal, you must
pay any accrued charges plus interest.
To renew your lease, you need to submit three copies of your
application, along with a $25 application fee and an advance rental
payment of $1 per acre, at least 90 days before your initial term
expires. There is no particular form for your renewal application.
Whether your lease is renewed, readjusted or otherwise extended, we
base your priority as a lessee on the original date of your initial
lease.

Subpart 3512--Assignments and Subleases

Once you receive a permit or lease, you may assign it to any
qualified person, in whole or in part, subject to BLM approval. Subpart
3512 describes how we process assignments and subleases.
Sections 3512.11 through 3512.17 describe the assignment and
sublease process. To assign a lease or permit, you must send us three
copies of your assignment instrument, which must describe the assignee,
the interest you hold and the interest you are assigning, and any
overriding royalties you are retaining. BLM must also receive from the
assignee a statement of their qualifications under subpart 3502, and a
$25 processing fee. We will notify you whether we approve your
assignment. If you are assigning only a portion of your permit or
lease, we will create a new permit or lease containing that portion, if
approved.
You may sublease your lease or transfer the operating rights in
your permit by a similar process. Simply send us a copy of the sublease
or transfer agreement within 90 days of the agreement's date of
execution, and have the sublessee or transferee send a signed request
for approval and a $25 processing fee. We will inform you of our
decision as soon as possible. Our approval will depend on the
recipient's qualifications and ability to meet all applicable
regulatory provisions.
The remaining sections in subpart 3512 concern your obligations
under an assigned or transferred BLM authorization, and special
circumstances. The most important provision, in section 3512.18, points
out that your account must either be in good standing or your sublessee
or assignee must have accepted any liabilities before we will approve
your sublease or assignment. Furthermore, your assignee or sublessee
must be fully bonded, which they can accomplish by either furnishing a
new bond under subpart 3504, or by arranging to assume your existing
bond. Until we approve the assignment, you will be responsible for all
obligations, and if you are subleasing your lease, both you and your
sublessee will be responsible for all obligations once we approve the
sublease. By contrast, if you are assigning your lease or permit, your
assignee will become responsible for all obligations after we approve
the assignment, while you remain responsible for all obligations
accrued before we approved it.
Finally, if you are assigning an overriding royalty to a third
party, you must notify BLM. While we do not have to approve the
transfer, you must still file this assignment with BLM within 90 days
of the transfer, along with the assignee's statement of qualifications
and a $25 processing fee.

Subpart 3513--Waiver, Suspension or Reduction of Rental and Minimum
Royalties

This subpart explains how to deal with three types of changes to
your ongoing operations: rental and royalty reductions, suspension of
operations and production (for conservation reasons), and suspension of
operations (for economic reasons).
Sections 3513.11 through 3513.15 concern rental and royalty rate
reductions, which BLM may allow temporarily if it is in the interest of
conservation, will encourage the greatest recovery of the mineral, and
is necessary either to promote development or to allow you to operate
successfully under the existing lease terms. You may apply to have us
reduce your rental, minimum royalty, or production royalty rate by
submitting the information listed in Sec. 3513.15.
We will consider whether you are paying excessive overriding
royalties to

[[Page 53526]]

non-Federal parties when we review your application. Before we will
reduce your royalty you must try to reduce any overriding royalties.
BLM will not approve a royalty rate reduction if your overriding
royalty exceeds 50 percent of the proposed reduced Federal royalty. For
example, if you are seeking to reduce your production royalty to four
percent, you must reduce any overriding royalties to a total of no more
than two percent. BLM has the authority to order a reduction of
overriding royalties to no more than one percent of the gross value of
production. You can find this authority at 43 CFR 3504.26.
Next, Secs. 3513.20 through 3513.26 concern suspensions of
operations and production, while Secs. 3513.30 through 3513.34 concern
suspensions of operations. Both situations involve BLM allowing or
ordering you to temporarily cease operations; but you would suspend
operations and production in order to protect or conserve natural
resources, whereas you would only suspend operations for financial
reasons. To alleviate confusion, these regulations will differentiate
between these two situations in the table of contents by referring to
``Suspension of Operations and Production (Conservation Concerns)'' and
``Suspension of Operations (Economic Concerns).''
You may cease your operations under a suspension of operations and
production (conservation concerns) when it is necessary in the interest
of conserving the natural resources affected by your operations. This
can be established if you show BLM in your application for a suspension
that you need to halt operations to benefit the resource. We can also
reach this conclusion independently and order you to cease operations.
If you initiate the suspension by applying to BLM for it, there is no
particular application form; you just need to send us enough
information to explain why the suspension will be in the best interest
of the natural resource.
BLM will set the effective date of your suspension of operations
and production. Once we approve your suspension, you will be relieved
of any production obligations, and we will reduce your minimum annual
production requirements to reflect the portion of each year in which
the suspension is effective. You may also cease paying rentals and
royalties on the first day of the month following the effective date of
the suspension. If the effective date is the first of the month, you
may stop making payments on that day. If you pay any rent or royalty
while the suspension is in effect, MMS will credit these payments
toward future rental and royalty obligations.
Meanwhile, you are still responsible for all other obligations
under your lease, and once the suspension ends, the payment and
production obligations resume. Your obligation to make rental and
royalty payments resumes on the first day of the month in which you
resume production or when the suspension expires, whichever comes
first. Finally, BLM will extend your lease by the amount of time in
which the suspension was in effect.
You may also cease your operations under a suspension of operations
(economic concerns) if you show us that your lease cannot be operated
except at a loss, because of market conditions. BLM may approve your
suspension of operations if you send us an application containing
enough information to show that you cannot operate under current market
conditions except at a loss. Once again, there is no particular
application form.
Unlike a suspension of operations and production (conservation
concerns), a suspension of operations (economic concerns) does not
extend your lease term or suspend your annual rental payment. When we
approve a suspension of operations, we temporarily waive the minimum
production requirements of your lease. We also waive your obligation to
pay minimum royalty in lieu of production. If your suspension is for
less than a full year, annual payments may be prorated to the length of
the suspension. You still must pay your annual rental.
Like a suspension of operations and production (conservation
concerns), your production obligations cease on the first day of the
month after the date which BLM sets as the effective date, unless the
suspension is effective on the first of the month, in which case your
obligations cease immediately. Also, the suspension ends if you resume
production, or if the suspension expires. In either case your
obligations resume as of the first day of the month in which the
suspension ends. At that time your minimum annual production
obligations resume.

Subpart 3514--Lease Relinquishments and Cancellations

Subpart 3514 deals with the various ways in which your lease may
end. Sections 3514.11 through 3514.21 concern relinquishments, where
you may voluntarily give up your lease interest. Sections 3514.25
through 3514.40 concern lease cancellations and expiration.
You may relinquish your lease or any portion of it at any time. The
only requirements are that you have met the terms and conditions of
your lease, including reclamation obligations, and that relinquishment
will not be detrimental to the public interest. Simply notify us in
writing that you wish to relinquish your lease, with your signature and
the date. Also, if you are only relinquishing part of your lease, you
must clearly describe the lands you are giving up. If your application
meets the above conditions, we will notify you of our acceptance, as of
the date you filed the application.
When you have relinquished your lease, you remain liable for paying
all rentals and royalties which accrued prior to relinquishment. You
must also provide for preserving mines, productive works and permanent
improvements on the land.
Section 3514.25 briefly describes lease expiration: your sodium,
sulfur, asphalt or hardrock lease expires at the end of the lease term,
unless you have properly filed for a renewal, in which case your lease
continues until BLM issues a decision on your renewal request. If BLM
rejects your renewal, your lease expires when the renewal is rejected.
Potassium, phosphate and gilsonite leases continue for as long as you
comply with the lease terms and conditions. See the chart at 43 CFR
3511.15.
Finally, Secs. 3514.30 through 3514.40 describe the circumstances
and effects of BLM canceling your lease. BLM may cancel your lease
through two types of actions: A court proceeding, if you fail to comply
with the applicable law or regulations, or if you default on the terms
of your lease; or administratively, if BLM issued your lease in
violation of the law or any regulation.
BLM may ask a court to cancel your lease if you violate the law or
regulations. We may also pursue cancellation in court if you fail to
perform any duty under the lease, and you continue to default on that
obligation for thirty days after BLM notifies you of your default. BLM
will generally give you thirty days after our notice to you to remedy
the violation or show why we should not move for cancellation, before
we take any further action.
BLM may also administratively cancel your lease if we issued it in
violation of any law or regulation--for example, if the lease would put
you over the acreage limitations. In such a case, we may amend the
lease and reissue it. However, if the defect in your lease is something
that we cannot cure--for example, if you are ineligible to hold a
lease--the cancellation will be final.

[[Page 53527]]

We may waive cancellation or forfeiture if the circumstances call
for doing so. When we waive cancellation, that waiver will have no
impact on any future cancellation actions which may be necessary.
Finally, if you are a bona fide purchaser of any lease interest, we
will not cancel your lease simply because we decided to cancel your
predecessor's lease. A bona fide purchaser is someone who bought the
interest without any knowledge or reason to know of the lease's legal
defects. We will dismiss you from any legal proceedings to cancel the
lease if you are not responsible for the defect.

Subpart 3515--Mineral Lease Exchanges

Subpart 3515 discusses mineral lease exchanges. BLM may exchange
mineral lease rights with you when we conclude that it would benefit
the public interest to do so.
You can exchange your lease or a portion of your lease interests,
as well as your preference right to a lease, for a lease of equal
value. When you exchange a lease interest in one mineral, you can
receive in return an interest in any leasable mineral. This includes
hardrock minerals covered by this part. If your exchange proposal
involves any interest in a coal lease, you must refer to the coal
leasing regulations at 43 CFR subpart 3435.
Either you or BLM may initiate an exchange. You may do so by
contacting us. If we initiate an exchange, we will notify you that we
are prepared to consider an exchange for some or all of your existing
lease, or your preference right to lease. Our notice to you will also
say why we believe the exchange is in the public interest, describe the
lands we might exchange, and ask you whether you are willing to
negotiate and for which lands.
Exchanges must be in the public interest, which for the purposes of
this subpart means two criteria must be met. First, we must determine
that the benefits of operations under your existing lease or preference
right would not outweigh the adverse effects those operations would
have on other public values, such as scenic beauty, wildlife habitat,
recreation, or agricultural production potential. The lands which BLM
would receive must be free of hazardous waste, as defined under the
hazardous waste laws. There may be other elements of the public
interest which BLM will account for in considering an exchange as well.
Also, BLM will comply with the requirements of NEPA when processing an
exchange.
BLM may exchange any lands subject to the limitations of FLPMA and
other applicable statutes. You may also exchange a preference right to
a lease. To do so, you must first establish your preference right
through the procedures described in subpart 3507. Once you have
demonstrated to our satisfaction your right to a lease, we can
negotiate with you for an exchange lease.
The parcels involved in an exchange must be equal in value. If the
lands being exchanged are not equal in value, the exchange can be made
equal with cash. However, any payment cannot exceed 25 percent of the
total value of the land or interest in land you are receiving from BLM.
Under certain circumstances the parties may agree to waive the
equalizing payment. We can only agree to this waiver if it will
expedite the exchange and if the public interest will benefit more from
the waiver than the payment. The waiver amount can be no more than
three percent of your new lease's total value or $15,000, whichever is
less.
Either you or the BLM may initiate an exchange. In order for us to
proceed with an exchange, you must be willing to provide us any
additional geologic and economic data we need to determine the value of
your lease or preference right. Once we have reached an agreement on
the lands to be exchanged, BLM will publish notice of the exchange in a
newspaper of general circulation serving the counties where all lands
involved are located, and arrange for a public hearing. We will solicit
public comments on the proposed exchange, and after considering this
input we will make our final decision to approve or reject the
exchange.
If we approve the exchange, we will offer you a lease containing
the lease terms discussed in the appropriate regulations and any needed
special stipulations. Once we approve an exchange we will include a
statement in your new lease that you relinquish all interests in the
land which you are giving up in exchange.

Subpart 3516--Use Permits

This next subpart concerns special permits to use the surface of
lands which are not included in your lease. If you have a phosphate or
sodium lease or permit, you may apply for a permit to use the surface
of nearby lands for purposes related to your mineral development.
BLM may grant use permits on unappropriated, unentered lands which
we administer. Under a phosphate use permit, you could conduct
activities on the surface necessary to extract, treat or remove
phosphate deposits from your leased lands. Under a sodium use permit,
you may occupy camp sites, develop refining works, and otherwise use
the surface to accommodate your sodium lease operations.
To apply, send your application, a $25 processing fee, and the
first year's rental, which is $1 per acre or fraction of an acre. Your
application should describe the lands you seek and the specific reason
why you feel you need to use them. You should also submit any
additional information which demonstrates that the lands you seek are
available and suitable for your needs. Your application must include a
statement that you agree to pay the annual charge identified in the
permit, which should be $1 per acre or $20, whichever is greater.
If BLM grants your use permit, you will be able to use the lands
for the specific purposes identified in it. Your use permit will
contain an expiration date, but if your associated lease or permit
expires or terminates for any reason during the life of the use permit,
we will terminate the use permit at that time. Use permits cannot
outlive the operations they are intended to support. Finally, if you
fail to pay the rental within 30 days of BLM notifying you that the
rental is due, we will terminate your use permit.

Subpart 3517--Hardrock Mineral Development Contracts; Processing
and Milling Arrangements

The final subpart of these regulations concerns a subject specific
to hardrock mineral leases: development contracts and processing and
milling arrangements. These are agreements between one or more lessees
and other persons to collaborate on large-scale operations to develop,
produce, or transport ores. Permits and leases committed to these
contracts and arrangements do not count towards your maximum acreage
holdings.
BLM must approve any such agreement you enter into if your permits
and leases are not to be counted toward your maximum acreage holdings.
You may apply for BLM's approval by submitting copies of all agreements
between you and other parties to the development contract or processing
and milling arrangement; a statement which identifies the nature and
reason of your request, and which shows all interests held in the area
by the designated contractor; and a proposed plan of operations. BLM
will approve your agreement only if it will conserve natural resources
and is in the public interest.

[[Page 53528]]

III. Responses to Comments

BLM received a total of 29 comments on the proposed rule. The
commenters included nine corporations, three industry associations,
eleven BLM offices, three other government agencies, and three
individuals. These comments addressed a wide variety of subjects, and
ranged from commenting on general issues to offering specific language
changes. We have considered every comment and will address them here,
beginning with general comments followed by responses to comments on a
section-by-section basis.

A. Generally Applicable Comments

The most hotly-debated issue raised by the proposed rule concerns
the definition of a ``valuable deposit.'' Sixteen of these comments
addressed the term ``profitable mine'' as an aspect of the definition
of a ``valuable deposit.'' Many of these commenters say that by making
this change we have substantially raised the standard of evidence
required to earn an entitlement to a preference right lease. Others
suggest that this definition exceeds our authority under the law, and
suggest that a permittee need only show that they have established the
``existence and workability of the deposit'' during the term of a
prospecting permit in order to be entitled to a preference right lease.
We have carefully considered these comments, but we have chosen to
leave the definition as we originally proposed it.
The proposed language does not materially change the definition or
our existing policy. For example, BLM Instruction Memorandum WO 93-101,
dated December 31, 1992, clearly states that BLM's policy is that
``valuable mine'' means ``profitable mine'' in this definition. Our
legal authority for this definition is found in the Mineral Leasing Act
and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands.
This definition does not require that a prospecting permittee
demonstrate that a profit can be made from the property. The language
is conditioned by the phrase ``reasonable prospect of success.'' This
means that the permittee only has to show how one can reasonably infer
from the data collected during the period of the prospecting permit
that further expenditure of his or her means is justified by the
expectation he or she can develop a profitable mine.
We have considered if we can make a distinction between a valuable
mine and a profitable one. Is there a level of information that would
show a hypothetical mine to be valuable, but at the same time be
insufficient to show that it is reasonable to believe that this same
hypothetical mine would be profitable? We do not think there is.
Information that is less than that necessary to show a person can
reasonably expect to develop a profitable mine may show that a valuable
prospect exists, but is insufficient to show that a valuable mine can
be developed. If a property is only valuable as a prospect, then the
permittee has not yet earned an entitlement to a preference right
lease.
Nine commenters expressed their opinions about the new style in
which this rule is written. As mentioned above, this rule has been
reorganized to consolidate overlapping provisions into a single set of
generally applicable rules. We are also writing in ``plain language,''
which involves transforming the rule text into a series of questions
and answers. Commenters had mixed reactions to our new format, but
since we are required to use plain language and to streamline all BLM
regulations, we are not making substantial changes in response.
More specifically, some commenters said streamlining is a bad idea
because it took the old system, where each commodity had its own set of
regulations, and merged them all into a single, more confusing set of
regulations. We disagree. There are very few differences between how
each commodity is leased, and once people get used to using the new,
consolidated rules, they should find them just as easy to use as the
prior rules. One commenter felt that streamlined regulations worked in
favor of large corporate customers and against small businesses. Again,
we disagree. BLM designed these rules to be easy for everyone to
understand, including people entirely outside the mining industry. This
should actually benefit small businesses, who sometimes may not have
the same expertise as large corporations. Your local BLM office is also
available to help you understand any regulation that affects you.
Two commenters felt the proposed table of contents was long and
hard to understand. We agree, so we have added groupings to the table
of contents which should make the table of contents much easier to
read. Now, if you want to know how to prove that you are qualified to
hold a lease, rather than searching through all fifteen section headers
under ``Subpart 3502--Qualification Requirements,'' you can find the
grouping called ``How to Show Lease Qualifications'' and find the
section you need more quickly. These groupings should also make it
easier to understand how we structured th

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A99-25352. Public record. Not legal advice.