United States Department of the Interior

• Cost recovery – If more than 50 hours of staff time are required for processing and managing a permit, cost recovery of direct expenses related to the permit will be charged. In this case, recovery of costs begins with the first hour, and the estimated cost recovery charge is paid by the applicant in advance of permit processing. Direct expenses charged to cost recovery include monitoring and law enforcement costs for managing participants and spectators at events. (Chapter 1.III.H.1)
• National Environmental Policy Act – The issuance of an SRP is a Federal action and subject to NEPA analysis.  (Chapter 1.III.B.3) 

• Permit stipulations – General terms that are applicable to and should be included with all SRPs are listed in H-2930-1.  (Chapter 1.III.L) For effectiveness in permit administration, additional permit stipulations may be developed by state or local offices. A copy of the permit terms and stipulations signed and dated by the permittee shall be included in the permit file.  

• Operating plan – A signed operating plan must be submitted for commercial and competitive SRPs, and may be required for other types of permits. (Chapter 1.III.C) An operating plan must contain specific information relevant to the specific application, and implementation becomes a condition of the permit. Operating plans must include detailed information such as the structure of the event/activity, maps, equipment, resource protection measures, participant and spectator safety, event monitoring personnel, hazard identification and mitigation measures, parking areas, pit area procedures, sanitation, communications, fire, emergency procedures, or other elements, depending on the type of activity. 

• Monitoring – Permits are monitored by the BLM for compliance with stipulations, terms and conditions. Permits for commercial, competitive, and large group events typically require pre-event monitoring, compliance monitoring during the event, and post-use monitoring. (Chapter 1.III.O.1) 

• Insurance – A specified level of insurance must be obtained by a permittee, and a copy of the insurance policy or certificate of insurance must be on file 10 days prior to the authorized use.  (Chapter 1.III.N) The policy shall list the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management as an additional insured. 

• Bonding – The authorized officer shall require the posting of a bond sufficient to defray the costs of anticipated rehabilitation or repair of resource or government facility damage, if such damage is expected to be caused by the permittee’s actions. (Chapter 1.III.M) 

• Estimated fees – Fees are to be estimated by the BLM and paid by the permit applicant in advance of any authorized use. (Chapter 1.III.H.2)  

• Compliance – Violation of permit terms, stipulations, operating plans, or other regulations can result in administrative or criminal penalties (43 CFR 2932.57). Information about violations shall be made a part of a permittee’s performance evaluation. Permittees are required to provide post-use reports to the BLM.  (Chapter 1.III.0.3)

• Performance evaluation – A performance evaluation is completed by BLM for all commercial and competitive permittees. The permittee will be given written notice of results of performance evaluations no later than 90 days after the conclusion of the permittee’s operating season or permitted use.  For multi-year permits, an annual evaluation is required. Three performance levels are recognized: acceptable, probationary, and unacceptable.  (Chapter 1.III.O.2) 

• Documentation/Record Keeping – The official file includes a copy of the permit and stipulations, insurance certificate, fee payment records, correspondence (including e-mail), telephone conversation logs, maps, NEPA documentation, operating plan, advertisements, monitoring, post-use reports, and annual evaluation. Case files must be kept neat and up-to-date, and secured in a centralized location when not in use. (Chapter 5)