BLM Publishes Proposed Rule To Recover Costs Of Processing Minerals-Related Documents

The Bureau of Land Management today published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would enable the BLM to recover more of its costs in processing minerals-related documents, such as applications for permits to conduct mining operations. The public now has 60 days – until February 13, 2001 – to comment on the proposed rule.

The proposed rule responds to two reports by the Interior Department's Office of the Inspector General, which found that the BLM needed to do more to recover its document-processing costs. Under the proposal, those who directly benefit from the agency's minerals document processing -- rather than the general public -- would pay for those costs.

The proposed rule focuses on the BLM's minerals program, where the agency's processing costs are by far the greatest. The proposal – which would not change the BLM's leasing, sale, or location processes in any minerals program – would enable the agency to recover an additional $6.6 million per year in mineral processing receipts. The Bureau will work to enhance cost recovery in other programs, such as rights of way, in other rulemaking efforts.

In setting 18 new fees and increasing 22 existing fees, the proposed rule would establish two types of fees. One type, which are case-by-case fees, would cover BLM actions whose costs vary widely from one application to the next. The other type, fees set by category, would cover costs that are predictable and based on reliable data.

Case-by-case fees are more accurate in recovering actual costs than category-set fees, but determining actual costs requires much more work by the BLM and ultimately increases the expenses that the agency is seeking to recover. In cases where the Bureau cannot establish a reliable category-set fee, the proposed rule would require the calculation of a case-specific fee.

Comments on the proposed rule should be submitted in writing to: Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240, or electronically via the Internet (to WOComment@blm.gov). Those submitting electronic comments should include "Attention: AC-06" and their name and address in the message. Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained from any of the BLM's State Offices or its Washington, D.C., Headquarters Office. The proposed rule is also accessible from the Bureau's Internet Home Page (www.blm.gov) and from the Federal Register's Web site (www.access.gpo.gov). Program contacts in Washington, D.C., are Durga Rimal, Senior Specialist, Solid Minerals Group (202-452-0372), and Michael Schwartz, Group Manager, Regulatory Affairs (202-452-5198).

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land -- 264 million surface acres -- than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.8 billion and a workforce of some 9,000 full-time, permanent employees, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM preserves open space by managing the public lands for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, and mining, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources found on the public lands.