(1) Consummation of the sale would be inconsistent with the provisions of any existing law; or

(2) Collusive or other activities have hindered or restrained free and open bidding; or

(3) Consummation of the sale would encourage or promote speculation in public lands.

(g) Until the acceptance of the offer and payment of the purchase price, the bidder has no contractual or other rights against the United States, and no action taken shall create any contractual or other obligations of the United States.

§ 2711.3-2 Sale by other than competitive bidding.

(a) Public lands may be offered for sale utilizing modified competitive bidding procedures when the authorized officer determines it is necessary in order to assure equitable distribution of land among purchasers or to recognize equitable considerations or public policies.

(1) Modified competitive bidding includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Offering to designated bidders the right to meet the highest bid. Refusal or failure to meet the highest bid shall constitute a waiver of such bidding provisions; or

(ii) A limitation of persons permitted to bid on a specific tract of land offered for sale.

(2) Factors that shall be considered in determining when modified competitive bidding procedures shall be used, include but are not limited to: Needs of State and/or local government, adjoining landowners, historical users, and other needs for the tract. A description of the method of modified competitive bidding to be used and a statement indicating the purpose or objective of the bidding procedure selected shall be specified in the notice of realty action required in § 2711.1-2 of this title.

(b) Noncompetitive sales may be utilized when, in the opinion of the authorized officer the public interest would best be served by a direct sale. Examples include, but are not limited to:

(1) A tract identified for transfer to State of local government;

(2) A tract identified for sale that is an integral part of a project of public importance and speculative bidding would jeopardize the timely completion and economic viability of the project; or

(3) There is a need to recognize authorized use, for example, when an existing business would be threatened if the tract were purchased by other than the authorized user.

(c) Once the method of modified competitive or noncompetitive sale is determined and such determination has been issued, published and sent in accordance with procedures of this part, payment shall be by the same instruments as authorized in § 2711.31(c) of this title.

(d) Acceptance or rejection of any offer to purchase shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 2711.3-1 (f) and (g) of this title.

§ 2711.4 Compensation for authorized im

provements.

§ 2711.4-1 Grazing improvements.

No public lands in a grazing lease or permit may be conveyed until the provisions of Part 4100 of this title concerning compensation for any authorized grazing improvements have been met.

§ 2711.4-2 Other private improvements.

Where public lands to be sold under this part contain authorized private improvements, other than those identified in § 2711.4-1 of this title or those subject to a patent reservation, the owner of such improvements shall be given an opportunity to remove them if such owner has not been declared the purchaser of the lands sold, or the prospective purchaser may compensate the owner of such authorized private improvements and submit proof of compensation to the authorized officer.

§ 2711.5 Conveyance documents.

§ 2711.5-1 Mineral reservation.

Patents and other conveyance documents issued under this part shall contain a reservation to the United States of all minerals. Such minerals shall be subject to the right to explore, pros

pect for, mine, and remove under applicable law and such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. However, upon the filing of an application as provided in Part 2720 of this title, the Secretary may convey the mineral interest if all requirements of the law are met. Where such application has been filed and meets the requirements for conveyance, the authorized officer may withhold issuance of a patent or other document of conveyance on lands sold under this part until processing of the mineral conveyance application is completed, at which time a single patent or document of conveyance for the entire estate or interest of the United States may be issued.

§ 2711.5-2 Terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations.

Patents or other conveyance documents issued under this part may contain such terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations as the authorized officer determines are necessary in the public interest to insure proper land use and protection of the public interest as authorized by section 208 of the Act.

§ 2711.5-3 Notice of conveyance.

The authorized officer shall publish a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER and immediately notify the Governor and the heads of local government of the issuance of conveyance documents for public lands within their respective jurisdiction.

Subpart 2712-Sale of Public Lands in

and Around Las Vegas, Nevada

EFFECTIVE DATE NOTE: Subpart 2712 (§§ 2712.0-3 and 2712.1), added at 46 FR 44677, Sept. 4, 1981, expires Dec. 31, 1981.

§ 2712.0-3 Authority.

The Act of December 23, 1980 (Pub. L. 96-586) authorizes and directs the Secretary to sell not more than 700 acres of public lands per calendar year in and around Las Vegas, Nevada. The Federal portion of the proceeds from the sale of such lands is to be used by the United States to acquire environ

mentally sensitive lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California and Nevada.

(Pub. L. 96-586 and 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) [46 FR 44677, Sept. 4, 1981]

§ 2712.1 Sale procedures.

(a) Sales under this subpart shall not be made at less than fair market value. Fair market value for the purposes of this subpart may be established by offering said lands at public auction. The minimum bid for each tract of land for purposes of offering at public auction shall be determined by the authorized officer under a procedure agreed to by the authorized officer and Clark County, Nevada. The highest bid received shall be considered to be fair market value for a given tract if at least 3 bids have been received for the tract. The authorized officer may set aside the sale of a tract at any time prior to issuance of patent if it is determined that a sale should not be completed for any reason, including a determination that fair market value has not been received, regardless of the number of bids received on a given tract. A tract withdrawn from public sale under this subpart because of a determination that fair market value has not been received at public auction shall be appraised and offered for sale at a time determined by the authorized officer.

(b) Sales under this subpart shall be processed in a manner consistent with the law and the regulations in Subparts 2710 and 2711 of this title, insofar as their general and procedural requirements are consistent with the Act of December 28, 1980, and this subpart.

(c) An offering for sale of public lands in Clark County, Nevada, pursuant to the provisions of this section shall fulfill the requirements of section 2(f) of the Act of December 23, 1980, whether or not the sale is consummated.

(Pub. L. 96-586 and 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) [46 FR 44677, Sept. 4, 1981]

80-148 0-82--19

Secretary of the Interior to convey mineral interests owned by the United States where the surface is or will be in non-Federal ownership, if certain specific conditions are met.

(b) Section 310 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1740, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act.

§ 2720.0-5 Definitions.

As used in this subpart, the term: (a) "Prospective record owner" means a person who has a contract or other agreement to purchase a tract of land that is in non-Federal ownership with a reservation of minerals in the United States, or a person who is purchasing a tract of land under the provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 or other laws authorizing the conveyance of Federal lands subject to the reservation of a mineral interest.

(b) "Known mineral values" means mineral values in lands with underlying geologic formations which are valuable for prospecting for, developing or producing natural mineral deposits. The presence of such mineral deposits in the lands may be known, or geologic conditions may be such as to make the lands prospectively valuable for mineral occurrence.

(c) "Authorized officer" means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management to whom has been delegated the authority to perform the duties described in this part.

§ 2720.1 Application to purchase Federally-owned mineral interests.

§ 2720.1-1 Filing of application.

Any existing or prospective record owner of the surface of land in which mineral interests are reserved or otherwise owned by the United States may file an application to purchase such mineral interests if

(a) He has reason to believe that there are no known mineral values in the land, or

(b) The reservation of ownership of the mineral interests in the United States interferes with or precludes appropriate non-mineral development of

the land and such development would be a more beneficial use of the land than its mineral development.

§ 2720.1-2 Form of application.

(a) An application shall be filed with the proper BLM Office as listed in § 1821.2-1(d) of this title.

(b) No specific form is required. (c) A non-refundable fee of $50 shall accompany the application.

(d) Each application shall include: (1) The name, legal mailing address, and telephone number of the existing or prospective record owner of the land included in the application;

(2) Proof of ownership of the land included in the application, and in the case of a prospective record owner, a copy of the contract of conveyance or a statement describing the method by which he will become the owner of record;

(3) In the case of non-Federal ownership of the surface, a certified copy of any patent or other instrument conveying the land included in the application to the applicant; and

(4) As complete a statement as possible concerning (i) the nature of Federally-reserved or owned mineral values in the land, including explanatory information, (ii) the existing and proposed uses of the land, (iii) why the reservation of the mineral interests in the United States is interfering with or precluding appropriate non-mineral development of the land covered by the application (iv) how and why such development would be a more beneficial use of the land than its mineral development, and (v) a showing that the proposed use complies or will comply with State and local zoning and/or planning requirements.

§ 2720.1-3 Action on application.

(a) Within 90 days of receipt of an application to purchase Federallyowned mineral interests, the authorized officer shall, if the application meets the requirements for further processing, determine the amount of deposit required and so inform the applicant.

(b) No application filed under this subpart shall be processed until the applicant has either

(1) Deposited with the authorized officer an amount of money that the authorized officer estimates is needed to cover administrative costs of processing, including, but not limited to, costs of conducting an exploratory program, if one is required, to determine the character of the mineral deposits in the land, evaluating the existing data [or the data obtained under an approved exploratory program] to aid in determining the fair market value of the mineral interests to be conveyed, and preparing and issuing the documents of conveyance, or

(2) Has obtained the consent of the authorized officer to conduct an exploratory program, such program to be conducted only under a plan of operations approved by the authorized officer after he has obtained the approval of the U.S. Geological Survey and deposited with the authorized officer an amount of money the authorized officer estimates is needed to cover administrative costs of processing, including, but not limited to, costs of evaluating existing data and data submitted from an approved exploratory program to determine the fair market value of the mineral interests to be conveyed and preparing and issuing the documents of conveyance. The authorized officer in reaching a determination as to whether that are any known mineral values in the land and, if so, the estimated costs of an exploratory program, if one is needed, shall rely upon reports on locatable and saleable minerals prepared by the Bureau of Land Management and mineral resource evaluation reports on leasable minerals prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey.

(c) The authorized officer shall inform the applicant of his determination as to the need for an exploratory program, and where appropriate, the estimated cost of such a program. The applicant may request that the exploratory program be arranged by the authorized officer or request the consent of the authorized officer to accomplish any required exploratory program by other means, at his own expense, under a plan of operations approved by the authorized officer after having obtained the approval of the U.S. Geological Survey and to provide

the results to the authorized officer for his use and approval. The applicant shall, within 60 days of receipt of such notice, or any extension thereof, respond to the authorized officer's notice, stating whether he wishes to have the authorized officer arrange to have conducted the required exploratory program or requests the consent of the authorized officer to accomplish any required exploratory program by other means. Failure to respond to said notice shall void the application.

(d) If the applicant requests that any required exploratory program be arranged by the authorized officer, he shall submit the sum of money required under paragraph (b) of this section and the authorized officer shall, with the approval of the U.S. Geological Survey, have the exploratory program accomplished so as to aid in determining the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests covered by the application.

(e) If the applicant requests the consent of the authorized officer to accomplish any required exploratory program by other means, at his own expense, he shall at the time of making his request for such consent, file a plan of operations to carry out any required exploratory program for approval by the authorized officer, after the authorized officer has obtained the approval of the U.S. Geological Survey. Such plan of operations shall be sufficient to provide the resource and economic data needed to aid in determining the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests to be conveyed. Said resource and economic data shall include, where appropriate, but not be limited to, geologic maps, geologic cross-sections, tables and descriptive information encompassing lithologic, geochemical, and geophysical data, assays of samples, drill logs and outcrop sections, which aid in establishing the location, nature, quantity, and grade, and which aid in determining the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests in the land covered by the application. The plan of operations shall conform to the laws, regulations and ordinances of all governmental bodies having jurisdiction over the

lands covered by the application. The authorized officer shall decide within 90 days of receipt of said request whether he shall or shall not give his consent. The authorized officer shall not give his consent if he determines that the plan of operations is not adequate to supply the resource and economic data needed to aid him in determining the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests to be conveyed. If the authorized officer, in his discretion, and with the approval of the plan of operations by the U.S. Geological Survey, approves the applicant's plan of operations, the applicant may proceed to execute the plan of operations, subject to the supervision of the authorized officer and the U.S. Geological Survey. If the authorized officer does not give his consent to the applicant's request, the applicant may, within 60 days of such refusal, avail himself of the provisions of paragraph (d) of this section. Failure to deposit the required sum within the 60 day period shall void the application. All resource and economic data obtained from the approved exploratory program shall be supplied the authorized officer. The authorized officer shall supply that data needed for determination of the economic value of leasable mineral resources to the U.S. Geological Survey and that needed for determination of the economic value of locatable and saleable mineral resources to the Bureau of Land Management. The authorized officer relying upon those determinations shall determine the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests in the land covered by the application. If the authorized officer determines that the resource and economic data supplied from an approved exploratory program is not adequate to aid in determining the fair market value of the Federal mineral interests to be conveyed, he shall so notify the applicant and state what additional data is needed.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this section, an application may be rejected without the applicant meeting the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section if the authorized officer determines from an examination of the ap