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(c) BLM may use an alternate means to compute your rent if the rent determined by comparable commercial practices or an appraisal would be 10 or more times the rent from the schedule.

(d) Once you are on a rent schedule, BLM will not remove you from it unless:

(1) The BLM State Director decides to remove you from the schedule under paragraph (c) of this section; or

(2) You file an application to amend your grant.

(e) You may obtain the current linear right-of-way rent schedule from any BLM state or field office or by writing: Director, BLM, 1849 C St., NW., Mail Stop 1000 LS, Washington, DC 20240. BLM also posts the most current rent schedule on the BLM Homepage on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov.

§ 2806.21   When and how does the linear rent schedule change?

BLM will revise §2806.20(b) to update the rent schedule each calendar year based on the previous year's change in the IPD-GDP, as measured second quarter to second quarter.

§ 2806.22   How will BLM calculate my rent for linear rights-of-way the schedule covers?

(a) BLM calculates your rent by multiplying the rent per acre for the appropriate category of use and county zone price from the current schedule by the number of acres in the right-of-way area that fall in those categories and multiplying the result by the number of years in the rental period.

(b) If BLM has not previously used the rent schedule to calculate your rent, we may do so after giving you reasonable written notice.

§ 2806.23   How must I make rental payments for a linear grant?

(a) For linear grants, except those issued in perpetuity, you must make either nonrefundable annual payments or a nonrefundable payment for more than 1 year, as follows:

(1) One-time payments. You may pay in advance the required rent amount for the entire term of the grant.

(2) If you choose not to make a one-time payment, you must pay according to one of the following methods, as applicable:

(i) Payments by individuals. If your annual rent is $100 or less, you must pay at 10-year intervals not to exceed the term of the grant. If your annual rent is greater than $100, you may pay annually or at multi-year intervals that you may choose.

(ii) Payments by all others. You must pay rent at 10-year intervals not to exceed the term of the grant.

(b) BLM considers the first partial calendar year in the rent payment period to be the first year of the rental payment term. BLM prorates the first year rental amount based on the number of months left in the calendar year after the effective date of the grant.

(c) Perpetual grants. For linear grants issued in perpetuity, you must make a one-time rental payment before BLM will issue the grant, except individuals may choose to make rental payments as provided in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section. BLM determines the one-time payment as follows:

(1) BLM will calculate rent for grants issued in perpetuity by multiplying the annual rent by 100; or

(2) You may request from BLM a rent determination based on the prevailing price established by general practice in the vicinity of the right-of-way. You must:

(i) Prepare a report, at your expense, that explains how you estimated the rent;

(ii) Complete it to Federal appraisal standards; and

(iii) Submit it for consideration and approval by the BLM State Director with jurisdiction over the lands in the grant. If the BLM State Director does not approve the rent estimated in your report, you may appeal the decision under §2801.10 of this part.

Communication Site Rights-of-Way

§ 2806.30   What are the rents for communication site rights-of-way?

(a) Rent schedule. (1) BLM uses the rent schedule for communication uses found in paragraph (b) of this section to calculate the rent for communication site rights-of-way. The schedule is based on nine population strata (the population served), as depicted in the most recent version of the Ranally Metro Area Population Ranking, and the type of communication use or uses for which BLM normally grants communication site rights-of-way. These uses are listed as part of the definition of “communication use rent schedule,” set out at §2801.5(b) of this part. You may obtain a copy of the current schedule from any BLM state or field office or by writing: Director, BLM, 1849 C St., NW., Mail Stop 1000 LS, Washington, DC 20240. BLM also posts the current communication use rent schedule on the BLM Home Page on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov.

(2) BLM will revise paragraph (b) of this section annually to update the schedule based on two sources: the U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average (CPI-U), as of July of each year (difference in CPI-U from July of one year to July of the following year), and the RMA population rankings.

(3) BLM will limit the annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index to no more than 5 percent. At least every 10 years BLM will review the rent schedule to ensure that the schedule reflects fair market value.

(b) The annual rent schedule for communication uses for calendar year 2005 is as follows:

(c) Uses not covered by the schedule. The communication use rent schedule does not apply to:

(1) Communication site uses, facilities, and devices located entirely within the exterior boundaries of an oil and gas lease, and directly supporting the operations of the oil and gas lease (see parts 3160 through 3190 of this chapter);

(2) Communication facilities and uses ancillary to and authorized under a linear grant, such as a railroad grant or an oil and gas pipeline grant;

(3) Communication uses not listed on the schedule, such as telephone lines, fiber optic cables, and new technologies;

(4) Grants for which BLM determines the rent by competitive bidding; or

(5) Communication facilities and uses for which the BLM State Director concurs that:

(i) The expected annual rent, as BLM estimates from market data, exceeds the rent from the rent schedule by five times; or

(ii) The communication site serves a population of one million or more and the expected annual rent for the communication use or uses is more than $10,000 above the rent from the rent schedule.

§ 2806.31   How will BLM calculate rent for a right-of-way for communication uses in the schedule?

(a) Basic rule. BLM calculates rents for:

(1) Single-use facilities by applying the rent from the communication use rent schedule (see §2806.30 of this subpart) for the type of use and the population strata served; and

(2) Multiple-use facilities, whose authorizations provide for subleasing, by setting the rent of the highest value use in the facility or facilities as the base rent (taken from the rent schedule) and adding to it 25 percent of the rent from the rent schedule for all tenant uses in the facility or facilities, if a tenant use is not used as the base rent (rent = base rent + 25 percent of all rent due to additional tenant uses in the facility or facilities) (see also §§2806.32 and 2806.34 of this subpart).

(b) Exclusions. When calculating rent, BLM will exclude customer uses, except as provided for at §§2806.34(b)(4) and 2806.42 of this subpart. BLM will also exclude those uses exempted from rent by §2806.14 of this subpart, and any uses whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero as described in §2806.15 of this subpart.

(c) Annual statement. By October 15 of each year, you, as a grant or lease holder, must submit to BLM a certified statement listing any tenants and customers in your facility or facilities and the category of use for each tenant or customer as of September 30 of the same year. BLM may require you to submit any additional information needed to calculate your rent. BLM will determine the rent based on the certified statement provided. We require only facility owners or facility managers to hold a grant or lease (unless you are an occupant in a federally-owned facility as described in §2806.42 of this subpart), and will charge you rent for your grant or lease based on the total number of communication uses within the right-of-way and the type of uses and population strata the facility or site serves.

§ 2806.32   How does BLM determine the population strata served?

(a) BLM determines the population strata served as follows:

(1) If the site or facility is within a designated RMA, BLM will use the population strata of the RMA;

(2) If the site or facility is within a designated RMA, and it serves two or more RMAs, BLM will use the population strata of the RMA having the greatest population;

(3) If the site or facility is outside an RMA, and it serves one or more RMAs, BLM will use the population strata of the RMA served having the greatest population;

(4) If the site or facility is outside an RMA and the site does not serve an RMA, BLM will use the population strata of the community it serves having the greatest population, as identified in the current edition of the Rand McNally Road Atlas;

(5) If the site or facility is outside an RMA, and it serves a community of less than 25,000, BLM will use the lowest population strata shown on the rent schedule.

(b)(1) BLM considers all facilities (and all uses within the same facility) located at one site to serve the same RMA or community. However, BLM may make case-by-case exceptions in determining the population served at a particular site by uses not located within the same facility and not authorized under the same grant or lease. BLM has the sole responsibility to make this determination. For example, when a site has a mix of high-power and low-power uses that are authorized by separate grants or leases, and only the high-power uses are capable of serving an RMA or community with the greatest population, BLM may separately determine the population strata served by the low-power uses (if not collocated in the same facility with the high-power uses), and calculate their rent as described in §2806.30 of this subpart.

(2) For purposes of rent calculation, all uses within the same facility and/or authorized under the same grant or lease must serve the same population strata.

(3) For purposes of rent calculation, BLM will not modify the population rankings published in the Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide or the population of the community served.

§ 2806.33   How will BLM calculate the rent for a grant or lease authorizing a single use communication facility?

BLM calculates the rent for a grant or lease authorizing a single-use communication facility from the communication use rent schedule (see §2806.30 of this subpart), based on your authorized single use and the population strata it serves (see §2806.32 of this subpart).

§ 2806.34   How will BLM calculate the rent for a grant or lease authorizing a multiple-use communication facility?

(a) Basic rule. BLM first determines the population strata the communication facility serves according to §2806.32 of this subpart and then calculates the rent assessed to facility owners and facility managers for a grant or lease for a communication facility that authorizes subleasing with tenants, customers, or both, as follows:

(1) Using the communication use rent schedule. BLM will determine the rent of the highest value use in the facility or facilities as the base rent, and add to it 25 percent of the rent from the rent schedule (see §2806.30 of this subpart) for each tenant use in the facility or facilities;

(2) If the highest value use is not the use of the facility owner or facility manager, BLM will consider the owner's or manager's use like any tenant or customer use in calculating the rent (see §2806.35(b) for facility owners and §2806.39(a) for facility managers);

(3) If a tenant use is the highest value use, BLM will exclude the rent for that tenant's use when calculating the additional 25 percent amount under paragraph (a)(1) of this section for tenant uses;

(4) If a holder has multiple uses authorized under the same grant or lease, such as a TV and a FM radio station, BLM will calculate the rent as in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. In this case, the TV rent would be the highest value use and BLM would charge the FM portion according to the rent schedule as if it were a tenant use.

(b) Special applications. The following provisions apply when calculating rents for communication uses exempted from rent under §2806.14 of this subpart or communication uses whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero under §2806.15 of this subpart:

(1) BLM will exclude exempted uses or uses whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero (see §§2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart) of either a facility owner or a facility manager in calculating rents. BLM will exclude similar uses (see §§2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart) of a customer or tenant if they choose to hold their own grant or lease (see §2806.36 of this subpart) or are occupants in a Federal facility (see §2806.42(a) of this subpart);

(2) BLM will charge rent to a facility owner whose own use is either exempted from rent or whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero (see §§2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart), but who has tenants in the facility, in an amount equal to the rent of the highest value tenant use plus 25 percent of the rent from the rent schedule for each of the remaining tenant uses subject to rent;

(3) BLM will not charge rent to a facility owner, facility manager, or tenant (when holding a grant or lease) when all of the following occur:

(i) BLM exempts from rent, waives, or reduces to zero the rent for the holder's use (see §§2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart);

(ii) Rent from all other uses in the facility is exempted, waived, or reduced to zero, or BLM considers such uses as customer uses; and

(iii) The holder is not operating the facility for commercial purposes (see §2801.5(b) of this part) with respect to such other uses in the facility; and

(4) If a holder, whose own use is exempted from rent or whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero, is conducting a commercial activity with customers or tenants whose uses are also exempted from rent or whose rent has been waived or reduced to zero (see §§2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart), BLM will charge rent, notwithstanding section 2806.31(b), based on the highest value use within the facility. This paragraph does not apply to facilities exempt from rent under §2806.14(d) of this subpart except when the facility also includes non-eligible facilities.

§ 2806.35   How will BLM calculate rent for private mobile radio service (PMRS), internal microwave, and “other” category uses?

If an entity engaged in a PMRS, internal microwave, or “other” use is:

(a) Using space in a facility owned by either a facility owner or facility manager, BLM will consider the entity to be a customer and not include these uses in the rent calculation for the facility; or

(b) The facility owner, BLM will follow the provisions in §2806.31 of this subpart to calculate rent for a lease involving these uses. However, we include the rent from the rent schedule for a PMRS, internal microwave, or other use in the rental calculation only if the value of that use is equal to or greater than the value of any other use in the facility. BLM excludes these uses in the 25 percent calculation (see §2806.31(a) of this subpart) when their value does not exceed the highest value in the facility.

§ 2806.36   If I am a tenant or customer in a facility, must I have my own grant or lease and if so, how will this affect my rent?

(a) You may have your own authorization, but BLM does not require a separate grant or lease for tenants and customers using a facility authorized by a BLM grant or lease that contains a subleasing provision. BLM charges the facility owner or facility manager rent based on the highest value use within the facility (including any tenant or customer use authorized by a separate grant or lease) and 25 percent of the rent from the rent schedule for each of the other uses subject to rent (including any tenant or customer use a separate grant or lease authorizes and the facility owner's use if it is not the highest value use).

(b) If you own a building, equipment shelter, or tower on public lands for communication purposes, you must have an authorization under this part, even if you are also a tenant or customer in someone else's facility.

(c) BLM will charge tenants and customers who hold their own grant or lease in a facility, as grant or lease holders, the full annual rent for their use based on the BLM communication use rent schedule. BLM will also include such tenant or customer use in calculating the rent the facility owner or facility manager must pay.

§ 2806.37   How will BLM calculate rent for a grant or lease involving an entity with a single use (holder or tenant) having equipment or occupying space in multiple BLM-authorized facilities to support that single use?

BLM will include the single use in calculating rent for each grant or lease authorizing that use. For example, a television station locates its antenna on a tower authorized by grant or lease “A” and locates its related broadcast equipment in a building authorized by grant or lease “B.” The statement listing tenants and customers for each facility (see §2806.31(c) of this subpart) must include the television use because each facility is benefitting economically from having the television broadcast equipment located there, even though the combined equipment is supporting only one single end use.

§ 2806.38   Can I combine multiple grants or leases for facilities located on one site into a single grant or lease?

If you hold authorizations for two or more facilities on the same site, you can combine all those uses under one grant or lease, with BLM's approval. The highest value use in all the combined facilities determines the base rent. BLM then charges for each remaining use in the combined facilities at 25 percent of the rent from the rent schedule. These uses include those uses we previously calculated as base rents when BLM authorized each of the facilities on an individual basis.

§ 2806.39   How will BLM calculate rent for a lease for a facility manager's use?

(a) BLM will follow the provisions in §2806.31 of this subpart to calculate rent for a lease involving a facility manager's use. However, we include the rent from the rent schedule for a facility manager's use in the rental calculation only if the value of that use is equal to or greater than the value of any other use in the facility. BLM excludes the facility manager's use in the 25 percent calculation (see §2806.31(a) of this subpart) when its value does not exceed the highest value in the facility.

(b) If you are a facility owner and you terminate your use within the facility, but want to retain the lease for other purposes, BLM will continue to charge you for your authorized use until BLM amends the lease to change your use to facility manager or to some other communication use.

§ 2806.40   How will BLM calculate rent for a grant or lease for ancillary communication uses associated with communication uses on the rent schedule?

If the ancillary communication equipment is used solely in direct support of the primary use (see the definition of communication use rent schedule in §2801.5 of this part), BLM will calculate and charge rent only for the primary use.

§ 2806.41   How will BLM calculate rent for communication facilities ancillary to a linear grant or other use authorization?

When a communication facility is ancillary to, and authorized by BLM under, a grant for a linear use, or some other type of use authorization (e.g., a mineral lease or sundry notice), BLM will determine the rent using the linear rent schedule (see §2806.20 of this subpart) or rent scheme associated with the other authorization, and not the communication use rent schedule.

§ 2806.42   How will BLM calculate rent for a grant or lease authorizing a communication use within a federally-owned communication facility?

(a) If you are an occupant of a federally-owned communication facility, you must have your own grant or lease and pay rent in accordance with these regulations.

(b) If a Federal agency holds a grant or lease and agrees to operate the facility as a facility owner under §2806.31 of this subpart, occupants do not need a separate BLM grant or lease and BLM will calculate and charge rent to the Federal facility owner under §§2806.30 through 2806.44 of this subpart.

§ 2806.43   How does BLM calculate rent for passive reflectors and local exchange networks?

(a) BLM calculates rent for passive reflectors and local exchange networks by using the same rent schedules for passive reflectors and local exchange networks as the Forest Service uses for the region in which the facilities are located. You may obtain the pertinent schedules from the Forest Service or from any BLM state or field office in the region in question. For passive reflectors and local exchange networks not covered by a Forest Service regional schedule, BLM uses the provisions in §2806.50 of this subpart to determine rent. See Forest Service regulations at 36 CFR chapter II.

(b) For the purposes of this subpart, the term:

(1) Passive reflector includes various types of nonpowered reflector devices used to bend or ricochet electronic signals between active relay stations or between an active relay station and a terminal. A passive reflector commonly serves a microwave communication system. The reflector requires point-to-point line-of-sight with the connecting relay stations, but does not require electric power; and

(2) Local exchange network means radio service which provides basic telephone service, primarily to rural communities.

§ 2806.44   How will BLM calculate rent for a facility owner's or facility manager's grant or lease which authorizes communication uses subject to the communication use rent schedule and communication uses whose rent BLM determines by other means?

(a) BLM establishes the rent for each of the uses in the facility that are not covered by the communication use rent schedule using §2806.50 of this subpart.

(b) BLM establishes the rent for each of the uses in the facility that are covered by the rent schedule using §§2806.30 and 2806.31 of this subpart.

(c) BLM determines the facility owner or facility manager's rent by identifying the highest rent in the facility of those established under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, and adding to it 25 percent of the rent of all other uses subject to rent.

Other Rights-of-Way

§ 2806.50   How will BLM determine the rent for a grant when neither the linear rent schedule at §2806.20 nor the communication use rent schedule at §2806.30 applies?

When neither the linear nor the communication use rent schedule is appropriate, BLM determines your rent through a process based on comparable commercial practices, appraisals, competitive bid, or other reasonable methods. BLM will notify you in writing of the rent determination. If you disagree with the rent determination, you may appeal BLM's final determination under §2801.10 of this part.

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