43 C.F.R. Subpart 2885—Terms and Conditions of MLA Grants and TUPs
Title 43 - Public Lands: Interior
A grant or TUP is effective after both you and BLM sign it. You must accept its terms and conditions in writing and pay any necessary rent and monitoring fees as set out in §§2885.19 and 2885.23 of this subpart. Your written acceptance constitutes an agreement between you and the United States that your right to use the Federal lands, as specified in the grant or TUP, is subject to the terms and conditions of the grant or TUP and applicable laws and regulations. (a) Duration. All grants with a term of one year or longer will terminate on December 31 of the final year of the grant. The term of a grant may not exceed 30 years. The term of a TUP may not exceed 3 years. BLM will consider the following factors in establishing a reasonable term: (1) The cost of the pipeline and related facilities you plan to construct, operate, maintain, or terminate; (2) The pipeline's or related facility's useful life; (3) The public purpose served; and (4) Any potentially conflicting land uses; and (b) Terms and conditions of use. BLM may modify your proposed use or change the route or location of the facilities in your application. By accepting a grant or TUP, you agree to use the lands described in the grant or TUP for the purposes set forth in the grant or TUP. You also agree to comply with, and be bound by, the following terms and conditions. During construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of the project you must: (1) To the extent practicable, comply with all existing and subsequently enacted, issued, or amended Federal laws and regulations, and state laws and regulations applicable to the authorized use; (2) Rebuild and repair roads, fences, and established trails destroyed or damaged by constructing, operating, maintaining, or terminating the project; (3) Build and maintain suitable crossings for existing roads and significant trails that intersect the project; (4) Do everything reasonable to prevent and suppress fires on or in the immediate vicinity of the right-of-way or TUP area; (5) Not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment during any phase of the project because of race, creed, color, sex, or national origin. You must also require subcontractors to not discriminate; (6) Pay the rent and monitoring fees described in §§2885.19 and 2885.23 of this subpart; (7) If BLM requires, obtain and/or certify that you have obtained a surety bond or other acceptable security to cover any losses, damages, or injury to human health, the environment, and property incurred in connection with your use and occupancy of the right-of-way or TUP area, including terminating the grant or TUP, and to secure all obligations imposed by the grant or TUP and applicable laws and regulations. Your bond must cover liability for damages or injuries resulting from releases or discharges of hazardous materials. BLM may require a bond, an increase or decrease in the value of an existing bond, or other acceptable security at any time during the term of the grant or TUP. This bond is in addition to any individual lease, statewide, or nationwide oil and gas bonds you may have; (8) Assume full liability if third parties are injured or damages occur to property on or near the right-of-way or TUP area (see §2886.13 of this part); (9) Comply with project-specific terms, conditions, and stipulations, including requirements to: (i) Restore, revegetate, and curtail erosion or any other rehabilitation measure BLM determines is necessary; (ii) Ensure that activities in connection with the grant or TUP comply with air and water quality standards or related facility siting standards contained in applicable Federal or state law or regulations; (iii) Control or prevent damage to scenic, aesthetic, cultural, and environmental values, including fish and wildlife habitat, and to public and private property and public health and safety; (iv) Protect the interests of individuals living in the general area who rely on the area for subsistence uses as that term is used in Title VIII of ANILCA (16 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.); and (v) Ensure that you construct, operate, maintain, and terminate the facilities on the lands in the right-of-way or TUP area in a manner consistent with the grant or TUP; (10) Immediately notify all Federal, state, tribal, and local agencies of any release or discharge of hazardous material reportable to such entity under applicable law. You must also notify BLM at the same time, and send BLM a copy of any written notification you prepared; (11) Not dispose of or store hazardous material on your right-of-way or TUP area, except as provided by the terms, conditions, and stipulation of your grant or TUP; (12) Certify that your compliance with all requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq., when you receive, assign, renew, amend, or terminate your grant or TUP; (13) Control and remove any release or discharge of hazardous material on or near the right-of-way or TUP area arising in connection with your use and occupancy of the right-of-way or TUP area, whether or not the release or discharge is authorized under the grant or TUP. You must also remediate and restore lands and resources affected by the release or discharge to BLM's satisfaction and to the satisfaction of any other Federal, state, tribal, or local agency having jurisdiction over the land, resource, or hazardous material; (14) Comply with all liability and indemnification provisions and stipulations in the grant or TUP; (15) As BLM directs, provide diagrams or maps showing the location of any constructed facility; (16) Construct, operate, and maintain the pipeline as a common carrier. This means that the pipeline owners and operators must accept, convey, transport, or purchase without discrimination all oil or gas delivered to the pipeline without regard to where the oil and gas was produced (i.e., whether on Federal or non-federal lands). Where natural gas not subject to state regulatory or conservation laws governing its purchase by pipeline companies is offered for sale, each pipeline company must purchase, without discrimination, any such natural gas produced in the vicinity of the pipeline. Common carrier provisions of this paragraph do not apply to natural gas pipelines operated by a: (i) Person subject to regulation under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.); or (ii) Public utility subject to regulation by state or municipal agencies with the authority to set rates and charges for the sale of natural gas to consumers within the state or municipality. (17) Within 30 calendar days after BLM requests it, file rate schedules and tariffs for oil and gas, or derivative products, transported by the pipeline as a common carrier with the agency BLM prescribes, and provide BLM proof that you made the required filing; (18) With certain exceptions (listed in the statute), not export domestically produced crude oil by pipeline without Presidential approval (see 30 U.S.C. 185(u) and (s) and 50 U.S.C. App. 2401); (19) Not exceed the right-of-way width that is specified in the grant without BLM's prior written authorization. If you need a right-of-way wider than 50 feet plus the ground occupied by the pipeline and related facilities, see §2885.14 of this subpart; (20) Not use the right-of-way or TUP area for any use other than that authorized by the grant or TUP. If you require other pipelines, looping lines, or other improvements not authorized by the grant or TUP, you must first secure BLM's written authorization; (21) Not use or construct on the land in the right-of-way or TUP area until: (i) BLM approves your detailed plan for construction, operation, and termination of the pipeline, including provisions for rehabilitation of the right-of-way or TUP area and environmental protection; and (ii) You receive a Notice to Proceed for all or any part of the right-of-way or TUP area. In certain situations BLM may waive this requirement in writing; and (22) Comply with all other stipulations that BLM may require. The grant or TUP conveys to you only those rights which it expressly contains. BLM issues it subject to the valid existing rights of others, including the United States. Rights which the grant or TUP conveys to you include the right to: (a) Use the described lands to construct, operate, maintain, and terminate facilities within the right-of-way or TUP area for authorized purposes under the terms and conditions of the grant or TUP; (b) Allow others to use the land as your agent in the exercise of the rights that the grant or TUP specifies; (c) Do minor trimming, pruning, and removing of vegetation to maintain the right-of-way or TUP area or facility; (d) Use common varieties of stone and soil which are necessarily removed during construction of the pipeline, without additional BLM authorization or payment, in constructing the pipeline within the authorized right-of-way or TUP area; and (e) Assign the grant or TUP to another, provided that you obtain BLM's prior written approval. The United States retains and may exercise any rights the grant or TUP does not expressly convey to you. These include the United States' right to: (a) Access the lands covered by the grant or TUP at any time and enter any facility you construct on the right-of-way or TUP area. BLM will give you reasonable notice before it enters any facility on the right-of-way or TUP area; (b) Require common use of your right-of-way or TUP area, including subsurface and air space, and authorize use of the right-of-way or TUP area for compatible uses. You may not charge for the use of the lands made subject to such additional right-of-way grants; (c) Retain ownership of the resources of the land covered by the grant or TUP, including timber and vegetative or mineral materials and any other living or non-living resources. You have no right to use these resources, except as noted in §2885.12 of this subpart; (d) Determine whether or not your grant is renewable; and (e) Change the terms and conditions of your grant or TUP as a result of changes in legislation, regulation, or as otherwise necessary to protect public health or safety or the environment. (a) You may apply to BLM at any time for a right-of-way wider than 50 feet plus the ground occupied by the pipeline and related facilities. In your application you must show that the wider right-of-way is necessary to: (1) Properly operate and maintain the pipeline after you have constructed it; (2) Protect the environment; or (3) Provide for public safety. (b) BLM will notify you in writing of its finding(s) and its decision on your application for a wider right-of-way. If the decision is adverse to you, you may appeal it under §2881.10 of this part. (a) BLM will charge rent beginning on the first day of the month following the effective date of the grant or TUP through the last day of the month when the grant or TUP terminates. Example: If a grant or TUP becomes effective on January 10 and terminates on September 16, the rental period would be February 1 through September 30, or 8 months. (b) There are no reductions or waivers of rent for grants or TUPs. (c) BLM will set or adjust the annual billing periods to coincide with the calendar year by prorating the rent based on 12 months. (d) If you disagree with the rent that BLM charges, you may appeal the decision under §2881.10 of this part. (a) You must pay rent for the initial rental period before BLM issues you a grant or TUP. (b) You make all other rental payments according to the payment plan described in §2885.21 of this subpart. (c) After the first rental payment, all rent is due on January 1 of the first year of each succeeding rental period for the term of your grant. (a) If BLM does not receive the rent payment within 15 calendar days after the rent was due under §2885.16 of this subpart, BLM will charge you a late payment fee of $25.00 or 10 percent of the rent you owe, whichever is greater, not to exceed $500 per authorization. (b) If BLM does not receive your rent payment and late payment fee within 30 calendar days after rent was due, BLM may collect other administrative fees provided by statute. (c) If BLM does not receive your rent, late payment fee, and any administrative fees within 90 calendar days after the rent was due, BLM may terminate your grant under §2886.17 of this part and you may not remove any facility or equipment without BLM's written permission. The rent due, late payment fees, and any administrative fees remain a debt that you owe to the United States. (d) If you pay the rent, late payment fees, and any administrative fees after BLM has terminated the grant, BLM does not automatically reinstate the grant. You must file a new application with BLM. BLM will consider the history of your failure to timely pay rent in deciding whether to issue you a new grant. (e) You may appeal any adverse decision BLM takes against your grant or TUP under §2881.10 of this part. To expedite the processing of your application for a grant or TUP, BLM may estimate rent payments and require you to pay that amount when it issues the grant or TUP. The rent amount may change once BLM determines the actual rent of the grant or TUP. BLM will credit you any rental overpayment, and you are liable for any underpayment. This section does not apply to rent payments made under the rent schedule in this part. (a) Except as noted in paragraph (b) of this section, BLM will use the Per Acre Rent Schedule at §2806.20(b) of this chapter to calculate the rent. The Per Acre Rent Schedule is updated annually in accordance with §2806.21 of this chapter. (b) BLM may determine your rent using the methods described in §2806.50 of this chapter, rather than by using the rent schedule cited in paragraph (a) of this section if the rent determined by comparable commercial practices or an appraisal would be 10 or more times the rent from the schedule. (c) 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 (b) of this section; or (2) You file an application to amend your grant. (d) 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 current rent schedule on the BLM Homepage on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov. (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 or TUP 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. (a) For TUPs you must make a one-time nonrefundable payment for the term of the TUP. For grants, you must make either nonrefundable annual payments or nonrefundable payments 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 in advance at ten-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. When a communication use is ancillary to, and authorized by BLM under, a grant or TUP for a linear use, or some other type of authorization (e.g., a mineral lease or sundry notice), BLM will determine the rent using the linear rent schedule (see §2885.19 of this subpart) or rent scheme associated with the other authorization, and not the communication use rent schedule (see §2806.30 of this chapter). (a) Monitoring fees. Subject to §2886.11 of this part, you must pay a fee to BLM for any costs the Federal Government incurs in monitoring the construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of the pipeline and protection and rehabilitation of the affected Federal lands your grant or TUP covers. BLM categorizes the monitoring fees based on the estimated number of work hours necessary to monitor your grant or TUP. Category 1 through 4 monitoring fees are one-time fees and are not refundable. The work hours and fees for 2005 are as follows: (b) Updating the schedule. BLM will revise paragraph (a) of this section annually to update Category 1 through 4 monitoring fees in the manner described at §2884.12(c) of this part. BLM will update Category 5 monitoring fees as specified in the Master Agreement. The monitoring cost schedule is available from any BLM state or field office or by writing: Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C St., NW., Mail Stop 1000LS, Washington, DC 20240. BLM also posts the current schedule on the BLM Homepage on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov. (a) Monitoring Categories 1 through 4. Unless BLM otherwise directs, you must pay monitoring fees when you submit to BLM your written acceptance of the terms and conditions of the grant or TUP. (b) Monitoring Category 5. You must pay the monitoring fees as specified in the Master Agreement. BLM will not issue your grant or TUP until it receives the required payment. (c) Monitoring Category 6. BLM may periodically estimate the costs of monitoring your use of the grant or TUP. BLM will include this fee in the costs associated with processing fees described at §2884.12 of this part. If BLM has underestimated the monitoring costs, we will notify you of the shortfall. If your payments exceed the actual costs that Federal employees incurred for monitoring, BLM will either reimburse you the difference, or adjust the next billing to reflect the overpayment. Unless BLM gives you written authorization, you may not offset or deduct the overpayment from your payments. (d) Monitoring Categories 1–4 and 6. If you disagree with the category BLM has determined for your application, you may appeal the decision under §2881.10 of this part.
Title 43: Public Lands: Interior
PART 2880—RIGHTS-OF-WAY UNDER THE MINERAL LEASING ACT
Subpart 2885—Terms and Conditions of MLA Grants and TUPs
§ 2885.10 When is a grant or TUP effective?
§ 2885.11 What terms and conditions must I comply with?
§ 2885.12 What rights does a grant or TUP convey?
§ 2885.13 What rights does the United States retain?
§ 2885.14 What happens if I need a right-of-way wider than 50 feet plus the ground occupied by the pipeline and related facilities?
§ 2885.15 How will BLM charge me rent?
§ 2885.16 When do I pay rent?
§ 2885.17 What happens if I pay the rent late?
§ 2885.18 When must I make estimated rent payments to BLM?
§ 2885.19 What is the rent for a linear right-of-way?
§ 2885.20 How will BLM calculate my rent for linear rights-of-way the schedule covers?
§ 2885.21 How must I make rent payments for my grant or TUP?
§ 2885.22 How will BLM calculate rent for communication uses ancillary to a linear grant, TUP, or other use authorization?
§ 2885.23 If I hold a grant or TUP, what monitoring fees must I pay?
2005 Monitoring Fee Schedule---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring fee as of June 21, 2005. To be Federal work hours adjusted annually for changes in the IPD-GDP. Monitoring category involved See paragraph (b) of this section for update information----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) Applications for new grants and Estimated Federal work $97. TUPs, assignments, renewals, and hours are > 1 [le] amendments to existing grants and 8. TUPs.(2) Applications for new grants and Estimated Federal work $343. TUPs, assignments, renewals, and hours are > 8 [le] amendments to existing grants and 24. TUPs.(3) Applications for new grants and Estimated Federal work $644. TUPs, assignments, renewals, and hours are > 24 [le] amendments to existing grants and 36. TUPs.(4) Applications for new grants and Estimated Federal work $923. TUPs, assignments, renewals, and hours are > 36 [le] amendments to existing grants and 50. TUPS.(5) Master Agreements................ Varies................. As specified in the Agreement.(6) Applications for new grants and Estimated Federal work Actual costs. TUPs, assignments, renewals, and hours > 50.. amendments to existing grants and TUPs.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
§ 2885.24 When do I pay monitoring fees?
