in subsection (a) of this section 7, and which may affect lands embraced in such mining claim, may cause to be filed for record in the county office of record where the notice or certificate of location of such mining claim shall have been recorded, a duly acknowledged request for a copy of any such notice. Such request for copies shall set forth the name and address of the person requesting copies and shall also set forth, as to each mining claim under which such person asserts rights in Leasing Act minerals:

(1) The date of location;

(2) The book and page of the recordation of the notice or certificate of location; and

(3) The section or sections of the public land surveys which embrace such mining claim; or, if such lands are unsurveyed, either the section or sections which would probably embrace such mining claim when the public land surveys are extended to such lands or a tie by courses and distances to an approved United States mineral monument.

Other than in respect to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section 7 as to personal delivery or mailing of copies of notices and in respect to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section 7, no such request for copies of published notices and no statement or allegation in such request and no recordation thereof shall affect title to any mining claim or to any land or be deemed to constitute constructive notice to any person that the person requesting copies has, or claims, any right, title, or interest in or under any mining claim referred to in such request.

[35 FR 9741, June 13, 1970]

§ 3744.2 Relinquishment by mining claimant of Leasing Act minerals. Section 8 of the Act provides that:

The owner or owners of any mining claim heretofore located may, at any time prior to issuance of patent therefor, waive and relinquish all rights thereunder to Leasing Act minerals. The execution and acknowledgment of such a waiver and relinquishment by such owner or owners and the recordation thereof in the office where the notice or certificate of location of such mining claim is of record shall render such mining claim thereafter subject to the reservation referred to in section 4 of this Act and any patent issued therefor shall contain such a reservation, but no such waiver or relinquishment shall be deemed in any manner to constitute any concession as to the date of priority of rights under said mining claim or as to the validity thereof.

[35 FR 9741, June 13, 1970]

Subpart 3745-Helium

§ 3745.1 Helium Reserves Nos. 1 and 2; conditions of opening to mining location and mineral leasing.

(a) Section 9 of the Act provides that:

Lands withdrawn from the public domain which are within (a) Helium Reserve Numbered 1, pursuant to Executive Orders of March 21, 1924, and January 28, 1926, and (b) Helium Reserve Numbered 2 pursuant to Executive Order 6184 of June 26, 1933, shall be subject to entry and location under the mining laws of the United States, and to permit and lease under the mineral leasing laws, upon determination by the Secretary of the Interior, based upon available geologic and other information, that there is no reasonable probability that operations pursuant to entry or location of the particular lands under the mining laws, or pursuant to a permit or lease of the particular lands under the Mineral Leasing Act, will result in the extraction or cause loss or waste of the helium-bearing gas in the lands of such reserves: Provided, That the lands shall not become subject to entry, location, permit, or lease until such time as the Secretary designates in an order published in the FEDERAL REGISTER: And provided further, That the Secretary may at any time as a condition to continued mineral operations require the entrymen, locator, permittee, or lessee to take such measures either above or below the surface of the lands as the Secretary deems necessary to prevent loss or waste of the helium-bearing gas.

(b) No mining location made and no application for permit or lease filed as to Helium Reserve land prior to the time of opening specified in the notice of opening published in the FEDERAL REGISTER will confer any rights on the locator or applicant.

[35 FR 9741, June 13, 1970]

Subpart 3746-Fissionable Source Materials

§ 3746.1 Mining locations for fissionable source materials.

(a) In view of the amendment of section 5(b)(7) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 by section 10(c) of the Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 708), and of the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 921), it is clear that after enactment of said Act of

August 13, 1954, valid mining locations under the mining laws of the United States may be based upon a discovery of a mineral deposit which is a fissionable source material.

(b) As to mining locations made prior to the enactment of said Act of August 13, 1954, section 10(d) of the act provides:

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, and particularly sec. 5(b)(7) thereof, prior to its amendment hereby, or the provisions of the act of August 12, 1953 (67 Stat. 539), and particularly sec. 3 thereof, any mining claim, heretofore located under the mining laws of the United States for or based upon a discovery of a mineral deposit which is a fissionable source material and which, except for the possible contrary construction of said Atomic Energy Act, would have been locatable under such mining laws, shall, insofar as adversely affected by such possible contrary construction, be valid and effective, in all respects to the same extent as if said mineral deposit were a locatable mineral deposit other than a fissionable source material.

[35 FR 9741, June 13, 1970, as amended at 41 FR 50690, Nov. 17, 1976]

As used in this subpart, the term: (a) "Reclamation", which shall be commenced, conducted and completed as soon after disturbance as feasible without undue physical interference with mining operations, means:

(1) Reshaping of the lands disturbed and affected by mining operations to the approximate original contour or to an appropriate contour considering the surrounding topography as determined by the authorized officer;

(2) Restoring such reshaped lands by replacement of topsoil; and

(3) Revegetating the lands by using species previously occurring in the area to provide a vegetative cover at least to the point where natural succession is occuring.

(b) "Environment" means surface and subsurface resources both tangible and intangible, including air, water, mineral, scenic, cultural, paleontological, vegetative, soil, wildlife, fish and wilderness values.

(c) "Wilderness Study Area" means a roadless area of 5,000 acres or more or roadless islands which have been found through the Bureau of Land Management wilderness inventory process to have wilderness characteristics (thus having the potential of being included in the National Wilderness Preservation System), and which will be subjected to intensive analysis through the Bureau's planning

system, and through public review to determine wilderness suitability, and is not yet the subject of a Congressional decision regarding its designation as wilderness.

(d) "Impairment of suitability for inclusion in the Wilderness System" means taking actions that cause impacts, that cannot be reclaimed to the point of being substantially unnoticeable in the area as a whole by the time the Secretary is scheduled to make a recommendation to the President on the suitability of a wilderness study area for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System or have degraded wilderness values so far, compared with the area's values for other purposes, as to significantly constrain the Secretary's recommendation with respect to the area's suitability for preservation as wilderness.

(e) "Mining claim" means any unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site authorized by the United States mining laws.

(f) "Mining operations" means all functions, work, facilities, and activities in connection with the prospecting, development, extraction, and processing of mineral deposits and all uses reasonably incident thereto including the construction and maintenance of means of access to and across lands subject to these regulations, whether the operations take place on or off the claim.

(g) "Operator" means a person conducting or proposing to conduct mining operations.

(h) "Authorized officer" means any employee of the Bureau of Land Man

agement to whom has been delegated the authority to perform the duties described in this subpart.

(i) "Wilderness inventory" means an evaluation conducted under BLM wilderness inventory procedures which results in a written description and map showing those lands that meet the wilderness criteria established under section 603(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

(j) "Manner and degree" means that existing operations will be defined geographically by the area of active development and the logical adjacent (not necessarily contiguous) continuation of the existing activity, and not necessarily by the boundary of a particular, claim or lease, and in some cases a change in the kind of activity if the impacts from the continuation and change of activity are not of a significantly different kind than the existing impacts. However, the significant measure for these activities is still the impact they are having on the wilderness potential of an area. It is the actual use of the area, and not the existence of an entitlement for use, which is the controlling factor. In other words, an existing activity, even if impairing, may continue to be expanded in an area or progress to the next stage of development so long as the additional impacts are not significantly different from those caused by the existing activity. In determining the manner and degree of existing operations, a rule of reason will be employed.

(k) "Valid existing right" means a valid discovery had been made on a mining claim on October 21, 1976, and continues to be valid at the time of exercise.

(1) "Undue and unnecessary degradation" means impacts greater than those that would normally be expected from an activity being accomplished in compliance with current standards and regulations and based on sound practices, including use of the best reasonably available technology.

(m) "Substantially unnoticeable" means something that either is so insignificant as to be only a very minor feature of the overall area or is not distinctly recognizable by the average

visitor as being manmade or mancaused because of age, weathering or biological change.

§ 3802.0-6 Policy.

Under the 1872 Mining Law (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), a person has a statutory right consistent with other laws and Departmental regulations, to go upon the open (unappropriated and unreserved) public lands for the purpose of mineral prospecting, exploration, development, and extraction. The Federal Land Policy and management Act requires the Secretary to regulate mining operations in lands under wilderness review to prevent impairment of the suitability of these areas for inclusion in the wilderness system. However, mining operations occurring in the same manner and degree that were being conducted on October 21, 1976, may continue, even if they are determined to be impairing. Mining activities not exceeding manner and degree shall be regulated only to prevent undue and unnecessary degradation of public lands.

§ 3802.0-7 Scope.

(a) These regulations apply to mining operations conducted under the United States mining laws, as they affect the resources and environment or wilderness suitability of lands under wilderness review.

(b) These regulations apply to means of access across public land for the purpose of conducting operations under the United States mining laws.

§ 3802.1 Plan of operations.

An approved plan shall include appropriate environmental protection and reclamation measures selected by the authorized officer that shall be carried out by the operator. An operator may prepare and submit with a plan measures for the reclamation of the affected area.

§ 3802.1-1 When required.

An approved plan of operations is required for operations within lands under wilderness review prior to commencing:

(a) Any mining operations which involve construction of means of access,

including bridges, landing areas for aircraft, or improving or maintaining such access facilities in a way that alters the alignment, width, gradient size, or character of such facilities;

(b) Any mining operations which destroy trees 2 or more inches in diameter at the base;

(c) Mining operations using tracked vehicles or mechanized earth moving equipment, such as bulldozers or backhoes;

(d) Any operations using motorized vehicles over other than "open use areas and trails" as defined in Subpart 6292 of this title, off-road vehicles, unless the use of a motorized vehicle can be covered by a temporory use permit issued under Subpart 8372 of this title;

(e) The construction or placing of any mobile, portable or fixed structure on public land for more than 30 days; (f) On mining operations requiring the use of explosives; or

(g) Any operation which may cause changes in a water course.

§ 3802.1-2 When not required.

A plan of operations under this subpart is not required for

(a) Searching for and occasionally removing mineral samples or specimens;

(b) Operating motorized vehicles over "open use areas and trails" as defined in 43 CFR Part 8340 so long as the vehicles conform to the operating regulations and vehicle standards contained in that subpart;

(c) Maintaining or making minor improvements of existing access routes, bridges, landing areas for aircraft, or other facilities for access where such improvements or maintenance shall not alter the alignment, width, gradient, size or character of such facilities;

or

(d) Making geological, radiometric, geochemical, geophysical or other tests and measurements using instruments, devices, or drilling equipment which are transported without using mechanized earth moving equipment or tracked vehicles.

§ 3802.1-3 Operations existing on October 21, 1976.

A plan of operations shall not be required for operations that were being conducted on October 21, 1976, unless the operation is undergoing changes that exceed the manner and degree of operations on October 21, 1976. However, if the authorized officer determines that operations in the same manner and degree are causing undue or unnecessary degradation of lands and resources or adverse environmental effects, an approved plan containing protective measures may be required. Any changes planned in an existing operation that would result in operations exceeding the present manner and degree shall be delayed until the plan is processed under provisions of § 3802.1-5 of this title.

§ 3802.1-4 Contents of plan of operations.

(a) A plan of operations shall be filed in the District Office of the Bureau of Land Management in which the claim is located.

(b) No special form is required to file a plan of operations.

(c) The plan of operations shall include

(1) The name and mailing address of both the person for whom the operation will be conducted, and the person who will be in charge of the operation and should be contacted concerning the reclamation or other aspects of the operation (any change in the mailing address shall be reported promptly to the authorized officer);

(2) A map, preferably a topographic map, or sketch showing present road, bridge or aircraft landing area locations, proposed road, bridge or aircraft landing area locations, and size of areas where surface resources will be disturbed;

(3) Information sufficient to describe either the entire operation proposed or reasonably foreseeable operations and how they would be conducted, including the nature and location of proposed structures and facilities;

(4) The type and condition of existing and proposed means of access or aircraft landing areas, the means of transportation used or to be used, and