43 C.F.R. PART 3110—NONCOMPETITIVE LEASES
Title 43 - Public Lands: Interior
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. and 351–359; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; and Pub. L. 97–35, 95 Stat. 357.
Source: 53 FR 22840, June 17, 1988, unless otherwise noted.
(a) Offer. (1) Effective June 12, 1988, through January 2, 1989, noncompetitive lease offers may be filed only for lands available under §3110.1(b) of this title. Noncompetitive lease offers filed after December 22, 1987, and prior to June 12, 1988, for lands available for filing under §3110.1(a) of this title shall receive priority. Such offers shall be exposed to competitive bidding under subpart 3120 of this title and if no bid is received, a noncompetitive lease shall be issued all else being regular. After January 2, 1989, noncompetitive lease offers may be filed on unleased lands, except for: (i) Those lands which are in the one-year period commencing upon the expiration, termination, relinquishment, or cancellation of the leases containing the lands; and (ii) Those lands included in a Notice of Competitive Lease Sale or a List of Lands Available for Competitive Nominations. Neither exception is applicable to lands available under §3110.1(b) of this title. (2) Noncompetitive lease offers may be made pursuant to an opening order or other notice and shall be subject to all provisions and procedures stated in such order or notice. (3) No noncompetitive lease may issue for any lands unless and until they have satisfied the requirements of §3110.1(b) of this title. (b) Lease. Only lands that have been offered competitively under subpart 3120 of this title, and for which no bid has been received, shall be available for noncompetitive lease. Such lands shall become available for a period of 2 years beginning on the first business day following the last day of the competitive oral auction, or when formal nominations have been requested as specified in §3120.3–1 of this title, or the first business day following the posting of the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale, and ending on that same day 2 years later. A lease may be issued from an offer properly filed any time within the 2-year noncompetitive leasing period. [53 FR 22840, June 17, 1988; 53 FR 31958, Aug. 22, 1988] (a) Offers filed for lands available for noncompetitive offer or lease, as specified in §§3110.1(a)(1) and 3110.1(b) of this title, shall receive priority as of the date and time of filing as specified in §1821.2–3(a) of this title, except that all noncompetitive offers shall be considered simultaneously filed if received in the proper BLM office any time during the first business day following the last day of the competitive oral auction, or when formal nominations have been requested as specified in §3120.3–1 of this title, on the first business day following the posting of the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale. An offer shall not be available for public inspection the day it is filed. (b) If more than 1 application was filed for the same parcel in accordance with the regulations contained in former subpart 3112 of this title, and if no lease has been issued by the authorized officer prior to the effective date of these regulations, only a single priority application shall be selected from the filings. If the selected application fails to mature into a lease, the lands shall be available for offer under §3110.1(a) of this title. All noncompetitive leases shall be for a primary term of 10 years. [53 FR 22840, June 17, 1988; 53 FR 31958, Aug. 22, 1988] All noncompetitive leases shall be considered issued when signed by the authorized officer. Noncompetitive leases, except future interest leases issued under §3110.9 of this title, shall be effective as of the first day of the month following the date the leases are issued. A lease may be made effective on the first day of the month within which it is issued if a written request is made prior to the date of signature of the authorized officer. Future interest leases issued under §3110.9 of this title shall be effective as of the date the mineral interests vest in the United States. (a) Lease offers for public domain minerals shall not be made for less than 640 acres or 1 full section, whichever is larger, where the lands have been surveyed under the rectangular survey system or are within an approved protracted survey, except where the offer includes all available lands within a section and there are no contiguous lands available for lease. Such public domain lease offers in Alaska shall not be made for less than 2,560 acres or 4 full contiguous sections, whichever is larger, where the lands have been surveyed under the rectangular survey system or are within an approved protracted survey, except where the offer includes all available lands within the subject section and there are no contiguous lands available for lease. Where an offer exceeds the minimum 640-acre provision of this paragraph, the offer may include less than all available lands in any given section. Cornering lands are not considered contiguous lands. This paragraph shall not apply to offers made under §3108.2–4 of this title or where the offer is filed on an entire parcel as it was offered by the Bureau in a competitive sale during that period specified under §3110.5–1 of this title. (b) An offer to lease public domain or acquired lands may not include more than 10,240 acres. The lands in an offer shall be entirely within an area of 6 miles square or within an area not exceeding 6 surveyed sections in length or width measured in cardinal directions. An offer to lease acquired lands may exceed the 6 mile square limit if: (1) The lands are not surveyed under the rectangular survey system of public land surveys and are not within the area of the public land surveys; and (2) The tract desired is described by the acquisition or tract number assigned by the acquiring agency and less than 50 percent of the tract lies outside the 6 mile square area, and such acquisition or tract number is provided in accordance with §3110.5–2(d) of this title in lieu of any other description. (c) If an offer exceeds the 10,240 acre maximum by not more than 160 acres, the offeror shall be granted 30 days from notice of the excess to withdraw the excess acreage from the offer, failing which the offer shall be rejected and priority lost. (a) An offer to lease shall be made on a current form approved by the Director, or on unofficial copies of that form in current use. For noncompetitive leases processed under §3108.2–4 of this title, the current lease form shall be used. Copies shall be exact reproductions on 1 page of both sides of the official approved form, without additions, omissions, or other changes, or advertising. The original copy of each offer must be typed or printed plainly in ink, signed in ink and dated by the offeror or an authorized agent, and must include payment of the first year's rental and the processing fee for noncompetitive lease applications found in the fee schedule in §3000.12 of this chapter. The original and 2 copies of each offer to lease, with each copy showing that the original has been signed, shall be filed in the proper BLM office. A noncompetitive offer to lease a future interest applied for under §3110.9 must include the processing fee for noncompetitive lease applications found in the fee schedule in §3000.12 of this chapter. Where remittances for offers are returned for insufficient funds, the offer shall not obtain priority of filing until the date the remittance is properly made. (b) Where a correction to an offer is made, whether at the option of the offeror or at the request of the authorized officer, it shall gain priority as of the date the filing is correct and complete. The priority that existed before the date the corrected offer is filed, may be defeated by an intervening offer to the extent of any conflict in such offers, except as provided under §§3103.2–1(a) and 3110.3–3(c) of this title. (c) An offer shall be limited to either public domain minerals or acquired lands minerals, subject to the provisions for corrections under paragraph (b) of this section. (d) Compliance with subpart 3102 shall be required. (e) All offers for leases should name the United States agency from which consent to the issuance of a lease shall be obtained, or the agency that may have title records covering the ownership for the mineral interest involved, and identify the project, if any, of which the lands covered by the offer are a part. [53 FR 22840, June 17, 1988; 53 FR 31958, Aug. 22, 1988; 70 FR 58874, Oct. 7, 2005] From the first day following the end of a competitive process until the end of that same month, the only acceptable description for a noncompetitive lease offer for the lands covered by that competitive process shall be the parcel number on the List of Lands Available for Competitive Nominations or the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale, whichever is appropriate. Each such offer shall contain only a single parcel. Thereafter, the description of the lands shall be made in accordance with the remainder of this section. (a) If the lands have been surveyed under the public land rectangular survey system, each offer shall describe the lands by legal subdivision, section, township, range, and, if needed, meridian. (b) If the lands have not been surveyed under the public land rectangular system, each offer shall describe the lands by metes and bounds, giving courses and distances between the successive angle points on the boundary of the tract, and connected by courses and distances to an official corner of the public land surveys. (c) When protracted surveys have been approved and the effective date thereof published in the (d)(1) Where offers are pending for unsurveyed lands that are subsequently surveyed or protracted before the lease issuance, the description in the lease shall be conformed to the subdivisions of the approved protracted survey or the public land survey, whichever is appropriate. (2) The description of lands in an existing lease shall be conformed to a subsequent resurvey or amended protraction survey, whichever is appropriate. (e) The requirements of this section shall apply to applications for conversion of abandoned unpatented oil placer mining claims made under §3108.2–4 of this title, except that deficiencies shall be curable. (a) If the lands applied for lie within and conform to the rectangular system of public land surveys and constitute either all or a portion of the tract acquired by the United States, such lands shall be described by legal subdivision, section, township, range, and, if needed, meridian. (b) If the lands applied for do not conform to the rectangular system of public land surveys, but lie within an area of the public land surveys and constitute the entire tract acquired by the United States, such lands shall be described by metes and bounds, giving courses and distances between the successive angle points with appropriate ties to the nearest official survey corner, or a copy of the deed or other conveyance document by which the United States acquired title to the lands may be attached to the offer and referred to therein in lieu of redescribing the lands on the offer form. If the desired lands constitute less than the entire tract acquired by the United States, such lands shall be described by metes and bounds, giving courses and distances between the successive angle points with appropriate ties to the nearest official survey corner. If a portion of the boundary of the desired lands coincides with the boundary in the deed or other conveyance document, that boundary need not be redescribed on the offer form, provided that a copy of the deed or other conveyance document upon which the coinciding description is clearly identified is attached to the offer. That portion of the description not coinciding shall be tied by description on the offer by courses and distances between successive angle points into the description in the deed or other conveyance document. (c) If the lands applied for lie outside an area of the public land surveys and constitute the entire tract acquired by the United States, such lands shall be described as in the deed or other conveyance document by which the United States acquired title to the lands, or a copy of that document may be attached to the offer and referred to therein in lieu of redescribing the lands on the offer form. If the desired lands constitute less than the entire tract acquired by the United States, such lands shall be described by courses and distances between successive angle points tying by courses and distances into the description in the deed or other conveyance document. If a portion of the boundary of the desired lands coincides with the boundary in the deed or other conveyance document, that boundary need not be redescribed on the offer form, provided that a copy of the deed or other conveyance document upon which the coinciding description is clearly identified is attached to the offer. That portion of the description not coinciding shall be tied by description in the offer by courses and distances between successive angle points into the description in the deed or other conveyance document. (d) Where the acquiring agency has assigned an acquisition or tract number covering the lands applied for, without loss of priority to the offeror, the authorized officer may require that number in addition to any description otherwise required by this section. If the authorized officer determines that the acquisition or tract number, together with identification of the State and county, constitutes an adequate description, the authorized officer may allow the description in this manner in lieu of other descriptions required by this section. (e) Where the lands applied for do not conform to the rectangular system of public land surveys, without loss of priority to the offeror, the authorized officer may require 3 copies of a map upon which the location of the desired lands are clearly marked with respect to the administrative unit or project of which they are a part. Where an offer includes any accreted lands, the accreted lands shall be described by metes and bounds, giving courses and distances between the successive angle points on the boundary of the tract, and connected by courses and distances to an angle point on the perimeter of the tract to which the accretions appertain. If there is any variation in the land description among the required copies of the official forms, the copy showing the date and time of receipt in the proper BLM office shall control. [53 FR 22840, June 17, 1988; 53 FR 31868, Aug. 22, 1988] An offer for noncompetitive lease under this subpart may be withdrawn in whole or in part by the offeror. However, a withdrawal of an offer made in accordance with §3110.1(b) of this title may be made only if the withdrawal is received by the proper BLM office after 60 days from the date of filing of such offer. No withdrawal may be made once the lease, an amendment of the lease, or a separate lease, whichever covers the lands so described in the withdrawal, has been signed on behalf of the United States. If a public domain offer is partially withdrawn, the lands retained in the offer shall comply with §3110.3–3(a) of this title. (a) No lease shall be issued before final action has been taken on any prior offer to lease the lands or any extension of, or petition for reinstatement of, an existing or former lease on the lands. If a lease is issued before final action, it shall be canceled, if the prior offeror is qualified to receive a lease or the petitioner is entitled to reinstatement of a former lease. (b) The authorized officer shall not issue a lease for lands covered by a lease which terminated automatically, until 90 days after the date of termination. (c) The United States shall indicate its acceptance of the lease offer, in whole or in part, and the issuance of the lease, by signature of the authorized officer on the current lease form. A signed copy of the lease shall be delivered to the offeror. (d) Except as otherwise specifically provided in the regulations of this group, an offer that is not filed in accordance with the regulations in this part shall be rejected. (e) Filing an offer on a lease form not currently in use, unless such lease form has been declared obsolete by the Director prior to the filing shall be allowed, on the condition that the offeror is bound by the terms and conditions of the lease form currently in use. After the competitive process has concluded in accordance with subpart 3120 of this title, if any of the lands described in a lease offer for lands available during the 2-year period are open to oil and gas filing when the offer is filed but are omitted from the lease for any reason the original lease shall be amended to include the omitted lands unless, before the issuance of the amendment, the proper BLM office receives a withdrawal of the offer with respect to such lands or the offeror elects to receive a separate lease in lieu of an amendment. Such election shall be made by submission of a signed statement of the offeror requesting a separate lease, and a new offer on the required form executed pursuant to this part describing the remaining lands in the original offer. The new offer shall have the same priority as the old offer. No new application fee is required with the new offer. The rental payment held in connection with the original offer shall be applied to the new offer. The rental and the term of the lease for the lands added by an amendment shall be the same as if the lands had been included in the original lease when it was issued. If a separate lease is issued, it shall be dated in accordance with §3110.3–2 of this title. A noncompetitive future interest lease shall not be issued until the lands covered by the offer have been made available for competitive lease under subpart 3120 of this title. An offer made for lands that are leased competitively shall be rejected. An offer to lease a future interest shall be filed in accordance with this subpart, and may include tracts in which the United States owns a fractional present interest as well as the future interest for which a lease is sought. Where the United States owns both a present fractional interest and a future fractional interest in the minerals in the same tract, the lease, when issued, shall cover both the present and future interests in the lands. The effective date and primary term of the present interest lease is unaffected by the vesting of a future fractional interest. The lease for the future fractional interest, when such interest vests in the United States, shall have the same primary term and anniversary date as the present fractional interest lease. (a) No rental or royalty shall be due to the United States prior to the vesting of the oil and gas rights in the United States. However, the future interest lessee shall agree that if he/she is or becomes the holder of any present interest operating rights in the lands: (1) The future interest lessee transfers all or a part of the lessee's present oil and gas interests, such lessee shall file in the proper BLM office an assignment or transfer, in accordance with subpart 3106 of this title, of the future interest lease of the same type and proportion as the transfer of the present interest, and (2) The future interest lessee's present lease interests are relinquished, cancelled, terminated, or expired, the future interest lease rights with the United States also shall cease and terminate to the same extent. (b) Upon vesting of the oil and gas rights in the United States, the future interest lease rental and royalty shall be as for any noncompetitive lease issued under this subpart, as provided in subpart 3103 of this title, and the acreage shall be chargeable in accordance with §3101.2 of this title.
Title 43: Public Lands: Interior
PART 3110—NONCOMPETITIVE LEASES
Section Contents
§ 3110.1 Lands available for noncompetitive offer and lease.
§ 3110.2 Priority.
§ 3110.3 Lease terms.
§ 3110.3-1 Duration of lease.
§ 3110.3-2 Dating of leases.
§ 3110.3-3 Lease offer size.
§ 3110.4 Requirements for offer.
§ 3110.5 Description of lands in offer.
§ 3110.5-1 Parcel number description.
§ 3110.5-2 Public domain.
§ 3110.5-3 Acquired lands.
§ 3110.5-4 Accreted lands.
§ 3110.5-5 Conflicting descriptions.
§ 3110.6 Withdrawal of offer.
§ 3110.7 Action on offer.
§ 3110.8 Amendment to lease.
§ 3110.9 Future interest offers.
§ 3110.9-1 Availability.
§ 3110.9-2 Form of offer.
§ 3110.9-3 Fractional present and future interest.
§ 3110.9-4 Future interest terms and conditions.
Subpart 3110—Noncompetitive Leases
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§ 3110.1 Lands available for noncompetitive offer and lease.
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§ 3110.2 Priority.
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§ 3110.3 Lease terms.
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§ 3110.3-1 Duration of lease.
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§ 3110.3-2 Dating of leases.
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§ 3110.3-3 Lease offer size.
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§ 3110.4 Requirements for offer.
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§ 3110.5 Description of lands in offer.
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§ 3110.5-1 Parcel number description.
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§ 3110.5-2 Public domain.
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§ 3110.5-3 Acquired lands.
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§ 3110.5-4 Accreted lands.
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§ 3110.5-5 Conflicting descriptions.
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§ 3110.6 Withdrawal of offer.
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§ 3110.7 Action on offer.
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§ 3110.8 Amendment to lease.
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§ 3110.9 Future interest offers.
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§ 3110.9-1 Availability.
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§ 3110.9-2 Form of offer.
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§ 3110.9-3 Fractional present and future interest.
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§ 3110.9-4 Future interest terms and conditions.
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