3400.1 Multiple development.

3400.2 Lands subject to leasing.

3400.3 Limitations on authority to lease. 3400.3-1 Consent or conditions of surface management agency.

3400.3-2 Department of Defense lands. 3400.3-3 Department of Agriculture lands. 3400.3-4 Trust protection lands. 3400.4 Federal/state government cooperation.

AUTHORITY: 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 351-359; 30 U.S.C. 521-531; 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.; and 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.

SOURCE: 44 FR 42609, July 19, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart 3400-Introduction-General § 3400.0-3 Authority.

(a) These regulations are issued under the authority of and to implement provisions of:

(1) The Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

(2) The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of August 7, 1947, as amended (30 U.S.C. 351-359 et seq.).

(3) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, October 21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

(4) The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, August 3, 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.).

(5) The Multiple Mineral Development Act of August 13, 1954 (30 U.S.C. 521-531 et seq.).

(6) The Department of Energy Organization Act of August 4, 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.).

(7) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(8) The Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, as amended (90 Stat. 1083-1092).

(9) The Act of October 30, 1978 (92 Stat. 2073-2075).

(b) Specific citations of authority in subsequent subparts of this Group 3400 are to authorities from which the subpart is chiefly derived or which the subpart chiefly implements.

§ 3400.0-4 Responsibilities.

(a) The Bureau of Land Management has the responsibility to:

(1) Assess the unsuitability or the acceptability of Federal lands for leasing and development, or to enter into memoranda of understanding to authorize other Federal surface management agencies to conduct such assessments on lands they administer;

(2) Issue, modify and readjust leases, and serve as the lessor's office of record for and take appropriate action on transfers, relinquishments and similar lease transactions;

(3) Ensure that fair market value is received for rights to extract Federal coal before issuing a lease;

(4) Issue and administer all use authorizations for facilities related to coal development on Bureau of Land Management administered lands outside the permit area;

(5) Determine, in consultation with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the appropriate post mining land use of Bureau of Land Management administered lands on which surface coal mining operations will be conducted;

(6) Include terms in each lease to protect nonmineral and noncoal min

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eral resources and to ensure reclamation of mined lands to the applicable standards;

(7) Recommend judicial action to cancel leases for noncompliance with lease terms;

(8) Consult with other surface management agencies and surface owners when they are involved in or affected by coal management actions that are the primary responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management;

(9) Adjudicate applications for, issue, and administer exploration licenses; and

(10) Review permit applications and advise the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on measures necessary to protect other resources in the lands and to protect the interests of the holders of noncoal leases, licenses and permits.

(b) The Geological Survey has the responsibility on Federal lands to:

(1) Supervise production and coal resource recovery in the permit area;

(2) Make geologic, engineering, coal resource economic value, and maximum economic recovery determinations for coal related actions of the Department;

(3) Review and concur with mining and exploration plans, and amendments to plans on leases, to establish production and coal resource recovery requirements;

(4) Approve exploration plans and supervise exploration either under an exploration license, or on a lease outside a permit area;

(5) Deal with operators on the matters listed in paragraphs (b) (1) through (4) of this section; and

(6) Recommend tract ranking weights and factors for geologic, engineering and other coal resource criteria.

(c) The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has the responsibility on Federal lands to:

(1) Approve mining and reclamation permit applications;

(2) Ensure that mining operations are consistent with environmental criteria and permit requirements;

(3) Assure compliance with permits in the conduct of mining and reclamation operations;

(4) Accept and release performance bonds;

(5) Approve applications for exploration within a permit area;

(6) Deal with operators during mining operations on the matters listed in paragraph (c) (1) through (5) of this section;

(7) Recommend tract ranking weights and factors for reclaimability;

(8) Negotiate, in consultation with the Bureau of Land Management and Geological Survey, and recommend for Secretarial approval, cooperative agreements with the states to establish the authority of state regulatory agencies over surface coal mining and reclamation operations on a lease; and

(9) Designate lands, in response to petitions, as unsuitable for all or certain methods of surface coal mining operations, reject petitions, and terminate designations of lands.

(d) The Fish and Wildlife Service has the responsibility on Federal lands to:

(1) Protect and conserve endangered and threatened species, migratory birds, and eagles;

(2) Recommend lands unsuitable for leasing due to fish, wildlife, and related ecological values;

(3) Recommend tract ranking factors and weights, for fish and wildlife; (4) Recommend lease stipulations related to fish and wildlife values;

(5) Review and recommend postmining land uses of surface mined lands as they relate to the creation or maintenance of fish and wildlife values;

irrigation agricultural activities. This definition does not encompass upland areas generally overlain by a thin veneer of colluvial deposits composed chiefly of debris from sheet erosion; deposits laid down by unconcentrated runoff or slope wash, together with talus or other mass movement accumulations; and windblown deposits.

(b) “Authorized officer” means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management delegated the authority to perform the duty described in the section in which the term is used.

(c) "Bonus" means that value in excess of the rentals and royalties that accrues to the United States because of coal resource ownership that is paid as part of the consideration for receiving a lease.

(d) "Bypass coal" means an isolated coal deposit that cannot, for the foreseeable future, be mined economically and in an environmentally sound manner either separately or as part of any logical mining unit other than that of the applicant for either an emergency lease under the provisions of § 3425.1-4 of this title or a lease modification.

(e) "Casual use" means activities which do not ordinarily lead to any appreciable disturbance or damage to lands, resources or improvements, for example, activities which do not involve use of heavy equipment or explosives and which do not involve vehicle movement except over already established roads and trails.

(f) "Certificate of bidding rights" means a nontransferable right granted by the Secretary to apply the fair market value of a relinquished coal or other mineral lease or right to a preference right coal or other mineral lease as a credit against the bonus bid or bids on a competitive lease or leases acquired at a lease sale or sales, or as a credit against the payment required for a coal lease modification.

(g) "Coal deposits" mean all Federally owned coal deposits, except those held in trust for Indians.

(h) "Coal resource economic value (CREV)" means the value of the coal resource in a proposed lease in its best operational and market application. (i) “Commercial quantities" as used in paragraph (m) means:

(1) For any lease issued after August 4, 1976, an amount of production equal to one percent of the LMU reserves; or

(2) For any lease issued before August 4, 1976, an amount of production equal to one-fortieth of the LMU

reserves.

(j) "Continued operation” means the production of coal equal to one percent of the LMU reserves for each of the first two years following the achievement of diligent development, and an average annual amount of one percent of the LMU reserves thereafter. The average annual amount shall be computed on a three year basis, and the three-year period for which the average shall be computed shall consist of the year in question and the two preceding years.

(k) "Contiguous" means having at least one point in common, including cornering tracts.

(1) "Department" means the United States Department of the Interior.

(m) "Diligent development" means (1) for any lease issued after August 4, 1976, the timely preparation for and initiation of coal production from the LMU of which the lease is a part so that coal is actually produced in commercial quantities by the end of the tenth year from the effective date of the lease; or

(2) For any lease issued before August 4, 1976, the timely preparation for and initiation of coal production from the LMU so that coal is actually produced in commercial quantities before June 1, 1986, except that the period of time during which production of coal in commercial quantities must be achieved may be extended as provided in 43 CFR 3475.4.

(n) "Director" means the Director of the Bureau of Land Management unless otherwise indicated.

(0) "Environmental assessment" means a document prepared by the responsible Federal agency consistent with 40 CFR 1508.9.

(p) "Exploration" means drilling, excavating, and geological, geophysical or geochemical surveying operations designed to obtain detailed data on the physical and chemical characteristics of coal deposits and their environment including the strata above and

below the deposits, or the hydrologic conditions associated with the deposit.

(q) "Exploration license" means a license issued by the authorized officer to permit the licensee to explore for coal on unleased Federal lands.

(r) "Exploration plan" means, in relation to an exploration license, a plan prepared in sufficient detail to show the location and type of exploration to be conducted, environmental protection procedures, present and proposed roads, and reclamation and abandonment procedures to be followed upon completion of operations.

(s) "Fair market value" means that amount in cash, or on terms reasonably equivalent to cash, for which in all probability the coal deposit would be sold or leased by a knowledgeable owner willing but not obligated to sell or lease to a knowledgeable purchaser who desires but is not obligated to buy or lease.

(t) "Federal lands" mean lands owned by the United States, without reference to how the lands were acquired or what Federal agency administers the lands, including mineral estates or coal estates underlying private surface, but excluding lands held by the United States in trust for Indians, Aleuts or Eskimos.

(u) "Governmental entity" means a Federal or state agency or a political subdivision of a state, including a county or a municipality, or any corporation acting primarily as an agency or instrumentality of a state, which produces electrical energy for sale to the public.

(v) "Interest" in a lease, application or bid means: any record title interest, overriding royalty interest, working interest, operating rights or option, or any agreement covering such an interest; any claim or any prospective or future claim to an advantage or benefit from a lease; and any participation or any defined or undefined share in any increments, issues, or profits that may be derived from or that may accrue in any manner from the lease based on or pursuant to any agreement or understanding existing when the application was filed or entered into while the lease application or bid is pending.

(w) "Intertract bidding competition" means a lease sale method where tracts containing more reserves in total than the Department intends to lease in that sale are offered for sale, and each bidder competes against other bidders on the same tract for which he bids and against bidders on the other tracts offered in the same sale.

(x) "Known Recoverable Coal Resource Area" or "KRCRA" means an area, including Federal lands which meet minimum standards for recoverable coal deposits in accordance with accepted mining practices, as determined by the Director, Geological Survey. The Federal lands in a KRCRA are classified for coal leasing.

(y) "Lease" means a Federal lease, issued under the coal leasing provisions of the mineral leasing laws, which authorizes the exploration for and extraction of coal. In provisions of this group that also refer to Federal leases for minerals other than coal, the term "Federal coal lease" may be used.

(z) "Lease bond" means the bond or equivalent security given the Department to assure payment of all obligations under a lease, exploration license, or license to mine, and to assure that all aspects of the mining operation other than reclamation operations on a lease are conducted in conformity with the approved mining or exploration plan. This is the same as the "Federal lease bond" referred to in 30 CFR 742.11(a).

(aa) "Licensee" means the holder of an exploration license.

(bb) "License to mine" means a license issued under the provisions of Part 3440 to mine coal for domestic

use.

(cc) "Logical Mining Unit" or "LMU" means an area of coal land that can be developed and mined in an efficient, economical, and orderly manner with due regard for the conservation of coal reserves and other resources. An LMU may consist of one or more leases and may include intervening or adjacent non-Federal lands, but all lands in an LMU must be contiguous, under the effective control of a single operator, and capable of being developed and operated as a unified

operation with complete extraction of the LMU reserves within 40 years from the date of first approval of a mining plan for that LMU. No LMU approved after August 4, 1976, shall exceed 25,000 acres, including both Federal and non-Federal coal deposits.

(dd) "Logical Mining Unit reserves" mean the sum of (1) estimated recoverable reserves under Federal lease in the LMU, and (2) estimated non-Federal recoverable reserves in the LMU. The LMU reserves associated with a Federal lease are the LMU reserves estimated as of the effective date of the LMU, of which that lease is a part, except that the LMU reserves of this section may be adjusted by the Mining Supervisor whenever he approves a modification of the LMU boundaries or whenever significant new information becomes available concerning the amount of such reserves.

(ee) "Maximum economic recovery" or "MER" means that all portions of the coal deposits within the lease tract shall be mined that have a private incremental cost of recovery (including reclamation, safety and opportunity costs) less than or equal to the market value of the coal.

(ff) "Mining method evaluation" means a written comparison of mining method alternatives used to determine maximum economic recovery.

(gg) "Mineral leasing laws" mean the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended (30 U.S.C. 351-359).

(hh) "Mining plan" means a mining and reclamation operations plan that fully complies with the requirements of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 as amended, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, and all other applicable laws and regulations. (ii) "Mining Supervisor" means the Area Mining Supervisor, Conservation Division, U.S. Geological Survey, or the District Mining Supervisor, or a subordinate acting under the Supervisor's direction.

(jj) "Mining unit" means an area containing technically recoverable coal that will feasibly support a commercial mining operation. The coal may

either be Federal coal or be both Federal and non-Federal coal.

(kk) "Operator" means a lessee, licensee or one conducting operations on a lease or exploration license under the authority of the lessee or licensee.

(11) "Participate" means to have, or take part or share with others, in an exploration license.

(mm) "Permit" means the document that authorizes surface coal mining and reclamation operations on Federal lands issued either by the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement or, where a cooperative agreement pursuant to section 523 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1273), has been executed by the state regulatory authority (30 CFR Part 741), after approval of a mining plan by the Secretary.

(nn) "Permit area" means the area of land and water within the boundaries of the permit which are designated on the permit application maps, as approved by the regulatory authority. This area shall include, at a minimum, all areas which are or will be affected by the surface coal mining and reclamation operations during the term of the permit.

(00) "Public bodies" means Federal and state agencies; political subdivisions of a state, including counties and municipalities; rural electric cooperatives and similar organizations; and nonprofit corporations controlled by any such entities.

surface owner"

(pp) "Qualified means the natural person or persons (or corporation, the majority stock of which is held by a person or persons) who:

(1) Hold legal or equitable title to the surface of split estate lands;

(2) Have their principal place of residence on the land, or personally conduct farming or ranching operations upon a farm or ranch unit to be affected by surface mining operations; or receive directly a significant portion of their income, if any, from such farming and ranching operations; and

(3) Have met the conditions of paragraphs (pp)(1) and (2) of this section for a period of at least 3 years, except for persons who gave written consent less than 3 years after they met the