30 C.F.R. § 870.13 Fee rates.
Title 30 - Mineral Resources
(a) Fees for coal produced for sale, transfer, or use through September 30, 2004. (1) Surface mining fees. The fee for anthracite, bituminous, and subbituminous coal, including reclaimed coal, is 35 cents per ton unless the value of such coal is less than $3.50 per ton, in which case the fee is 10 percent of the value. (2) Underground mining fees. The fee for anthracite, bituminous, and subbituminous coal is 15 cents per ton unless the value of such coal is less than $1.50 per ton, in which case the fee is 10 percent of the value. (3) Surface and underground mining fees for lignite coal. The fee for lignite coal is 10 cents per ton unless the value of such coal is less than $5.00 per ton, in which case the fee charged is 2 percent of the value. (4) In situ coal mining fees. The fee for in situ mined coal, except lignite coal, is 15 cents per ton based on Btu's per ton in place equated to the gas produced at the site as certified through analysis by an independent laboratory. The fee for in situ mined lignite is 10 cents per ton based on the Btu's per ton of coal in place equated to the gas produced at the site as certified through analysis by an independent laboratory. (b) Fees for coal produced for sale, transfer, or use after September 30, 2004. In this paragraph (b), “we” refers to OSM, “Combined Fund” refers to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund established under section 9702 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9702), and “unassigned beneficiaries premium account” refers to the account established under section 9704(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9704(e)). (1) Fees to be set annually. We will establish the fee for each ton of coal produced for sale, transfer, or use after September 30, 2004, on an annual basis. The fee per ton is based on the total fees required to be paid each fiscal year, as determined under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, allocated among the estimated coal production categories, as provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. We will publish the fees for each fiscal year after Fiscal Year 2005 in the (2) Calculation of the total fee collections needed. The total amount of fee collections needed for any fiscal year is the amount that must be transferred from the Fund to the Combined Fund under section 402(h) of the Act (30 U.S.C. 1232(h)) for that fiscal year, with any necessary adjustments for the amount of any fee overcollections or undercollections in prior fiscal years. We will calculate the amount of total fee collections needed as follows: (i) Step one. We will determine the smallest of the following numbers: (A) The estimated net interest earnings of the Fund during the fiscal year; (B) $70 million; or (C) The most recent estimate provided by the trustees of the Combined Fund of the amount that will be debited against the unassigned beneficiary premium account for that fiscal year (“the Combined Fund's needs”). (ii) Step two. We will increase or decrease, as appropriate, the amount determined under step one by the amount of any adjustments to previous transfers to the Combined Fund resulting from a difference between estimated and actual interest earnings or the estimated and actual Combined Fund's needs. This paragraph (b)(2)(ii) applies only to adjustments to transfers for prior fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2004, and only to those adjustments that have not previously been taken into account in establishing fees for prior years. (iii) Step three. We will adjust the amount determined under steps one and two of this section by an amount equal to the difference between the fees actually collected (based on estimated production) and the amount that should have been collected (based on actual production) for any prior fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2004, if the difference has not previously been taken into account in establishing fees for prior years. (3) Establishment of fees. We will use the following procedure to establish the per-ton fees for each fiscal year: (i) Step one. We will estimate the total tonnage of coal that will be produced during that fiscal year and for which a fee payment obligation exists, categorized by the types of coal and mining methods described in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section. (ii) Step two. We will allocate the total fee collection needs determined under paragraph (b)(2) of this section among the various categories of estimated coal production under paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section to establish a per-ton fee based upon the following parameters: (A) The per-ton fee for anthracite, bituminous or subbituminous coal produced by underground methods will be 43 percent of the rate for the same type of coal produced by surface methods. (B) Regardless of the method of mining, the per-ton fee for lignite coal will be 29 percent of the rate for other types of coal mined by surface methods. (C) The per-ton fee for in situ mined coal will be the same as the fees set under paragraphs (b)(3)(ii)(A) and (B) of this section, depending on the type of coal mined. The fee will be based upon the quantity and quality of gas produced at the site, converted to Btu's per ton of coal upon which in situ mining was conducted, as determined by an analysis performed and certified by an independent laboratory. [47 FR 28593, June 30, 1982, as amended at 69 FR 56130, Sept. 17, 2004]
Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 870—ABANDONED MINE RECLAMATION FUND—FEE COLLECTION AND COAL PRODUCTION REPORTING
§ 870.13 Fee rates.
