UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

 

In Reply Refer To:

3830 (320) P

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 07/17/2012

Instruction Memorandum No. 2012-156

Expires: 09/30/2013

 

To:                   All State Directors

 

From:               Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management

 

Subject:            Statutory Filing Deadlines Extended

 

Program Area: Mining Law Administration.

 

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) extends two statutory filing deadlines that fall on days when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices are officially closed.

 

Policy/Action: Since two statutory deadlines fall on days when BLM offices are officially closed, we have extended the deadlines as follows:

 

1.      Tuesday, September 4, 2012, is the extended deadline for paying maintenance fees and filing the Maintenance Fee Waiver Certification, Form 3830-2, (fee waiver) for the 2013 assessment year.  The statutory deadline of September 1, 2012, is a Saturday, and Monday, September 3, 2012, is a Federal holiday. 

 

2.      Monday, December 31, 2012, is the extended deadline for filing affidavits of annual assessment work or intent to hold notices in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The statutory deadline of December 30, 2012, is a Sunday.

 

The above deadlines include those documents or payments in envelopes postmarked [1] on or before the extended date. The proper BLM office must timely receive the postmarked documents within 15 calendar days of the extended date.

 

Timeframe: This policy is effective immediately upon issuance of this IM.

Budget Impact: None.

Background: Pursuant to 43 CFR 1822.14, a document may be considered timely filed if the document is received in the proper BLM office on the next day it is officially open if the BLM office is officially closed on the due date. The statutory deadline for paying annual maintenance fees or filing a waiver is September 1 each year, and the deadline for filing FLPMA documents is December 30 each year. Since these dates fall on a Saturday and Sunday, respectively, days in which the BLM offices are officially closed for business, we have extended the deadline for paying annual maintenance fee payments or filing a waiver for the 2013 assessment year to Tuesday, September 4, 2012, and filing a FLPMA document to Monday, December 31, 2012. 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.

Coordination: The Division of Solid Minerals (WO-320) coordinated preparation of this IM through the Solicitor’s Office.

Contact: If you have any questions concerning this IM, please contact me at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Mitchell Leverette, Chief, Division of Solid Minerals, at 202-912-7113, email address Mitchell_Leverette@blm.gov, or Sonia Santillan at 202-912-7123, email address Sonia_Santillan@blm.gov.

 

 

Signed by:                                                                    Authenticated by:

Michael Nedd                                                                Robert M. Williams

Assistant Director                                                         Division of IRM Governance,WO-560