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Last updated: 04/04/03

BLM Proposes Rule To Recover Costs Relating to Right-of-Way Applications and Grants

The Bureau of Land Management today published a proposed rule that would raise fees relating to the processing and monitoring of right-of-way applications and grants. The proposal would enable the BLM to recover more of its right-of-way program costs while committing the agency to better service for its right-of-way customers.

The proposed rule, which would revise the BLM's existing right-of-way regulations, also seeks to improve the agency's administration of authorized rights-of-way, and it would clarify how the BLM assesses rent charges on rights-of-way that contain communication sites.

"The BLM is proposing this rule as part of its overall effort to protect the interests of Federal taxpayers, who have a right to expect that our agency will recover a fair share of these processing and monitoring costs through fees, which have not changed since 1987," said BLM Acting Director Tom Fry. "Reducing administrative costs enables the BLM to make the best possible use of the funds that Congress appropriates to our agency and reflects this Administration's commitment to a balanced budget."

Under the proposed rule, published in today's Federal Register, fee levels would change each year to reflect increases or declines in the cost of living.

Fry added, "Through this proposed rule, the BLM is not merely seeking to raise fees. Our agency is also committing itself to customer-service standards to ensure the timely delivery of services to those affected by these fees." Fry noted that interested members of the public will have 120 days -- about four months -- to comment on the proposed rule. "We will carefully consider all comments before developing a final rule," Fry said.

In a 1995 report, the U.S. Interior Department's Inspector General estimated that the BLM fails to recover about $640,000 per year because of inadequate fees for rights-of-way applications. As a result, the Inspector General recommended that the BLM revise its right-of-way regulations, which was consistent with the conclusion of an earlier BLM study. The proposed rule's fee increases would enable the BLM to recover up to $2.7 million a year, which is about $1.6 million more than it recovered in 1998.

Besides proposing fee increases and customer-service standards, the proposed rule would re-organize the BLM's right-of-way regulations so that they reflect the sequence in which the agency processes applications for rights-of-way across public lands. The BLM has also written the proposed rule in a manner that is intended to be understandable to the general public.

The proposed rule would affect Federal agencies, State and local governments, and individuals and groups that have or are interested in obtaining a right-of-way across BLM-managed lands. Currently, the BLM oversees over 87,000 right-of-way grants across BLM-managed lands in 14 States west of the Mississippi River. Those States are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Another 63 right-of-way grants are located in States east of the Mississippi.

The proposed fee increases vary by cost-recovery category. For example, for oil and gas pipeline right-of-way applications, where the data needed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act are available and no field examinations are required by the BLM, the proposed increase is $75 per application. For monitoring this same oil and gas pipeline right-of-way, the proposed fee increase is $45.

Two Federal laws authorize the BLM to recover the cost of processing and monitoring right-of-way applications and grants. Under those laws -- the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Mineral Leasing Act -- the BLM issued roughly 2,800 right-of-way grants in 1998. The BLM recovered about $800,000 of the costs it incurred in processing right-of-way applications that year, which was some $575,000 short of the agency's processing costs.

The BLM encourages all interested parties to comment on the proposed rule. Comments on the proposal, which must be submitted in writing, should be sent no later than October 13, 1999, to the following address: Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Comments may also be sent electronically via Internet to WOComment@blm.gov. Anyone submitting comments electronically should include "AC 74" in the message, along with the sender's name and address. Note: The initial public comment period closed on October 13, 1999; BLM has extended the public comment period to November 12, 1999 (see notice).

Besides publishing the proposed rule in today's Federal Register, the BLM has posted the full text of the proposal on the agency's Home Page on the Internet (www.blm.gov).

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