43 C.F.R. Subpart 3200—Geothermal Resource Leasing
Title 43 - Public Lands: Interior
Acquired lands means lands or mineral estates that the United States obtained by deed through purchase, gift, condemnation or other legal process. Act means the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as amended (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). Additional term means the period of years beyond the primary and any extended term of a producing lease granted when geothermal resources are produced or utilized in commercial quantities within the primary term or extended term. The additional term may not exceed 40 years beyond the end of the primary term, even if BLM grants later extensions. Byproducts are minerals (exclusive of oil, hydrocarbon gas, and helium) which are found in solution or in association with geothermal steam, and which no person would extract and produce by themselves because they are worth less than 75 percent of the value of the geothermal steam or because extraction and production would be too difficult. Casual use means activities that ordinarily lead to no significant disturbance of Federal lands, resources, or improvements. Commercial operation means delivering Federal geothermal resources, or electricity or other benefits derived from those resources, for sale. This term also includes delivering resources to the utilization point, if you are utilizing Federal geothermal resources for your own benefit and not selling energy to another entity. Commercial quantities means either: (1) For production from a lease, a sufficient volume (in terms of flow and temperature) of the resource to provide a reasonable return after you meet all costs of production; or (2) For production from a unit, a sufficient volume of the resource to provide a reasonable return after you meet all costs of drilling and production. Commercial Use Permit means BLM authorization for commercially operating a utilization facility and/or utilizing Federal geothermal resources. Cooperative agreement means an agreement to produce and utilize separately-owned interests in the geothermal resources together as a whole, where the individual interests cannot be independently operated. Development contract means a BLM-approved agreement between one or more lessees and one or more entities which makes resource exploration more efficient and protects the public interest. Exploration operations means any activity relating to the search for evidence of geothermal resources, where you are physically present on the land and your activities may cause damage to those lands. Exploration operations include, but are not limited to, geophysical operations, drilling temperature gradient wells, drilling holes used for explosive charges for seismic exploration, core drilling or any other drilling method, provided the well is not used for geothermal resource production. It also includes related construction of roads and trails, and cross-country transit by vehicles over public land. Exploration operations do not include the direct testing of geothermal resources or the production or utilization of geothermal resources. Extended term means an initial, and any successive, 5-year period beyond the primary term of a lease during which BLM will grant the lessee the right to continue activities under the existing lease. Facility Construction Permit means BLM permission to build and test a utilization facility. Facility operator means the person receiving BLM authorization to site, construct, test and/or operate a utilization facility. A facility operator may be a lessee, a unit operator, or a third party. Geothermal Drilling Permit means BLM permission to drill for and test Federal geothermal resources. Geothermal Exploration Permit means BLM permission to conduct only geothermal exploration operations and associated surface disturbance activities. Geothermal Resources Operational Order means a formal, numbered order, issued by BLM that implements or enforces the regulations in this part. Geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources are products of geothermal steam or hot water and hot brines, including those resulting from water, gas, or other fluids artificially introduced into geothermal formations; heat or other associated energy found in geothermal formations; and associated byproducts. Interest means ownership in a lease of all or a portion of the record title or operating rights. Known geothermal resource area (KGRA) means an area where BLM determines that persons knowledgeable in geothermal development would spend money to develop geothermal resources. Lessee means a person holding record title interest in a geothermal lease issued by the BLM. MMS means the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior. Notice to Lessees (NTL) means a written notice issued by BLM that implements the regulations in this part or geothermal resource operational orders, and provides more specific instructions on geothermal issues within a state, district or resource area. Notices to Lessees may be obtained by contacting the BLM state office which issued the NTL. Operating rights (working interest) means any interest held in a lease with the right to explore for, develop, and produce leased substances. Operating rights owner means a person who holds operating rights in a lease. A lessee is an operating rights owners if he/she did not transfer all of his/her operating rights. An operator may or may not own operating rights. Operations Plan, or plan of operations, means a plan which fully describes the location of proposed drill pad, access roads and other facilities related to the drilling and testing of Federal geothermal resources, and includes measures for environmental and other resources protection and mitigation. Operator means any person who has taken formal responsibility for the operations conducted on the leased lands. Pay instead of produce in commercial quantities means payment in lieu of commercial quantities production, as used in section 6(g)(1)(A) of the Act. Person means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, trust, municipality, consortium or joint venture. Primary term means the first 10 years of a lease, not including any periods of suspension. Produced or utilized in commercial quantities means a well producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities, or the completion of a well capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities when BLM determines the lessee is diligently attempting to utilize the geothermal resources. Public lands means the general public domain lands or minerals, and acquired lands or minerals, that the United States may lease for geothermal resources. Record title means legal ownership of a geothermal lease established in BLM's records. Relinquishment means the lessee's action to voluntarily end the lease in whole or in part. Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary's delegate. Site license means BLM authorization to site a utilization facility on leased Federal lands. Stipulation means additional conditions BLM attaches to a lease or permit. Sublease means the lessee's conveyance of its interests in a lease to an operating rights owner. A sublessee is responsible for complying with all terms, conditions and stipulations of the lease. Subsequent well operations are those operations done to a well after it has been drilled. Examples of subsequent well operations include: cleaning the well out, surveying it, performing well tests, chemical stimulation, running a liner or another casing string, repairing existing casing, or converting the well from a producer to an injector or vice versa. Sundry notice is your written request to perform work not covered by another type of permit, or to change operations in your previously approved permit. Surface management agency means any Federal agency, other than BLM, which is responsible for managing the surface overlying Federally-owned minerals. Temperature gradient well means a well authorized under a geothermal exploration permit drilled in order to obtain information on the change in temperature over the depth of the well. Transfer means any conveyance of an interest in a lease by assignment, sublease or otherwise. Unit agreement means an agreement to explore for, produce and utilize separately owned interests in geothermal resources as a single consolidated unit. A unit agreement defines how costs and benefits will be allocated among the holders of interest in the unit area. Unit area means all tracts committed to an approved unit agreement. Unit operator means the person who has stated in writing to BLM that the interest owners of the committed leases have designated it as operator of the unit area. Unitized substances means geothermal resources recovered from lands committed to a unit agreement. Utilization Plan, or plan of utilization, means a plan which fully describes the utilization facility, including measures for environmental protection and mitigation. Waste means: (1) Physical waste, including refuse; and/or (2) Improper use or unnecessary dissipation of geothermal resources through inefficient drilling, production, transmission, or utilization. (a) The Office of Management and Budget approved the information collection contained in this part under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and assigned clearance numbers 1004–0034, 1004–0074, 1004–0132 and 1004–0160. BLM will use this information to maintain an orderly program for leasing, development and production of Federal geothermal resources, to evaluate technical feasibility and environmental impacts of geothermal operations on Federal and Indian lands, and to determine whether exploration expenditures meet the requirements for diligence credit under 43 CFR 3210.14. The public must respond to the requests for information in order to obtain a benefit. (b) Public reporting burden for this information is estimated to average 1.6 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimates or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Administrative Record, Bureau of Land Management, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240; and the Paperwork Reduction Project (1004–0160), Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. There are many leases and agreements currently in effect, and which will remain in effect, involving Federal geothermal resources leases that specifically refer to the United States Geological Survey, USGS, Minerals Management Service, MMS, or Conservation Division. These leases and agreements may also specifically refer to various officers such as Supervisor, Conservation Manager, Deputy Conservation Manager, Minerals Manager, and Deputy Minerals Manager. Those references must now be read to mean either the Bureau of Land Management or the Minerals Management Service, as appropriate. In addition, many leases and agreements specifically refer to 30 CFR part 270 or a specific section of that part. Effective December 3, 1982, references in such leases and agreements to 30 CFR part 270 should be read as references to this part 3200, which is the successor regulation to 30 CFR part 270. When you are taking any actions or conducting any operations under this part, you must comply with: (a) The Act and the regulations of this part; (b) Geothermal resource operational orders; (c) Notices to lessees; (d) Lease terms and stipulations; (e) Approved plans and permits; (f) Conditions of approval; (g) Verbal orders from BLM which will be confirmed in writing; (h) Other instructions from BLM; and (i) Any other applicable laws and regulations. (a) If you are adversely affected by a BLM decision under this part, you may appeal that decision under parts 4 and 1840 of this title. (b) All BLM decisions or approvals under this part are immediately effective and remain in effect while appeals are pending unless a stay is granted in accordance with 43 CFR 4.21(b).
Title 43: Public Lands: Interior
PART 3200—GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE LEASING
Subpart 3200—Geothermal Resource Leasing
§ 3200.1 Definitions.
§ 3200.2 Information collection.
§ 3200.3 Changes in agency duties.
§ 3200.4 What requirements must I comply with when taking any actions or conducting any operations under this part?
§ 3200.5 What are my rights of appeal?
