43 C.F.R. Subpart 3422—Lease Sales
Title 43 - Public Lands: Interior
(a) Not less than 30 days prior to the publication of a notice of sale, the Secretary shall solicit public comments on fair market value (FMV) appraisal and the maximum economic recovery (MER) of the tract or tracts proposed to be offered and on factors that may affect these 2 determinations. BLM will publish the solicitation in the (b) The authorized officer shall prepare a written report containing information on the mining method evaluation, estimated coal reserves by bed, coal quality assessment, royalty and lease bond recommendations and an evaluation of the public comments on the FMV and MER. (c)(1) The authorized officer shall not accept any bid that is less than the fair market value as determined by the Department. (2) Minimum bids shall be set on a regional basis and may be expressed in either dollars-per-acre or cents-per-ton. In no case shall the minimum bid be less than $100 per acre or its equivalent in cents-per-ton. [47 FR 33140, July 30, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 8626, Mar. 4, 1985; 51 FR 18888, May 23, 1986; 64 FR 52243, Sept. 28, 1999] (a) Prior to the lease sale, the authorized officer shall publish a notice of the proposed sale in the (b) The notice shall: (1) List the time and place of sale, the type of sale, bidding method, rental, and the description of the tract(s) being offered and the minimum bid(s) to be considered; (2) Contain a description of the coal resources to be offered; and (3) Contain information on where a detailed statement of the terms and conditions of the lease(s) which may result from the lease sale may be obtained. (c) The detailed statement of the terms and conditions of the lease(s) offered and bidding instructions for sale shall: (1) Contain an explanation of the manner in which the bids may be submitted; (2) Contain a warning to all bidders concerning 18 U.S.C. 1860, which prohibits unlawful combination or intimidation of bidders; (3) Specify that the Secretary reserves the right to reject any and all bids and the right to offer the lease to the next highest qualified bidder if the successful bidder fails to obtain the lease for any reason; (4) Contain a notice that each bid shall be accompanied by the bidder's qualifications (See 43 CFR 3472.2–2); (5) Contain a notice to bidders that the winning bidders shall have to submit the information required by the Attorney General for post-sale review (See 43 CFR 3422.3–4); (6) If appropriate, contain (i) a copy of any written qualified surface owner consent, including purchase price, financial obligations and terms and conditions, filed and verified prior to the posting of the notice of lease sale in the appropriate Bureau of Land Management State office; or (ii) a listing of lands for which qualified surface owner consent is required prior to lease sale but has not yet been filed, along with a statement that any consent for those lands filed prior to the deadline for such filings shall be made a part of the official file and shall be available for inspection by the public; (7) If appropriate, contain a notice that bidders shall file a statement that all information they hold relevant to written consents affecting any area offered in the sale in which the bid is submitted has been filed with the proper Bureau of Land Management State office (43 CFR subpart 1821) in accordance with the provisions of subpart 3427 of this title; (8) Contain a copy of the proposed lease, including all terms and special stipulations; and (9) Contain any other information deemed appropriate by the authorized officer. (d) Each successful bidder, if any, shall reimburse the United States for a proportionate share of the cost of publishing the notice of sale as a condition of lease issuance. [44 FR 42615, July 19, 1979. Redesignated and amended at 47 FR 33140, July 30, 1982; 64 FR 52243, Sept. 28, 1999]
Title 43: Public Lands: Interior
PART 3420—COMPETITIVE LEASING
Subpart 3422—Lease Sales
§ 3422.1 Fair market value and maximum economic recovery.
§ 3422.2 Notice of sale and detailed statement.
§ 3422.3 Sale procedures.
§ 3422.3-1 Bidding systems.
(a) The provisions of 10 CFR part 3781
1 Redesignated as 30 CFR part 260 and removed at 48 FR 1182, Jan. 11, 1983.
(b) The Department may conduct lease sales using cash bonus—fixed royalty bidding systems or any other bidding system adopted through rulemaking procedures.
[47 FR 33140, July 30, 1982]
§ 3422.3-2 Conduct of sale.
(a)(1) Sealed bids shall be received only until the hour on the date specified in the notice of competitive leasing; all sealed bids submitted after that hour shall be returned. The authorized officer shall read all sealed bids, and shall announce the highest bid.
(2) No decision to accept or reject the high bid will be made at the time of sale.
(b) A sale panel shall convene to determine: (1) If the high bid was properly submitted; (2) if it reflects the FMV of the tract; and (3) whether the bidder is qualified to hold the lease. The recommendations of the panel shall be in writing and sent to the authorized officer who shall make the final decision to accept a bid or reject all bids. The sale panel's recommendation and the authorized officer's written decision shall be entered in the case file for the offered tract. The successful bidder shall be notified in writing. The Department reserves the right to reject any and all bids regardless of the amount offered, and shall not accept any bid that is less than fair market value. The authorized officer shall notify any bidder whose bid has been rejected and include in such notice a statement of the reason for the rejection. The Department reserves the right to offer the lease to the next highest qualified bidder if the successful bidder fails to execute the lease, or is for any reason disqualified from receiving the lease.
(c) Each sealed bid shall be accompanied by a certified check, cashier's check, bank draft, money order, certificate of bidding rights, personal check or cash for one-fifth of the amount of the bonus, and a qualifications statement over the bidder's own signature with respect to citizenship and interests held, as prescribed in §3472.2–2 of this title.
[44 FR 42615, July 19, 1979. Redesignated and amended at 47 FR 33140, July 30, 1982]
§ 3422.3-3 Unsurveyed lands.
If the land is unsurveyed, the successful bidder shall not be given notice to comply with the requirements of §3422.4 of this title for lease issuance until the land has been surveyed as provided in §3471.1–2 of this title.
§ 3422.3-4 Consultation with the Attorney General.
(a) Subsequent to a lease sale, but prior to issuing a lease, the authorized officer shall require the successful bidder to submit on a form or in a format approved by the Attorney General information relating to the bidder's coal holdings to the authorized officer for transmittal to the Attorney General. Upon receipt of the information, the authorized officer shall notify the Attorney General of the proposed lease issuance, the name of the successful bidder and terms of the proposed lease sale and shall transmit the bidder's statement on coal holdings. A description of the information required by the Attorney General and the form or format for submission of the information may be obtained from the authorized officer.
(b) Where a successful bidder has previously submitted the currently required information, a reference to the date of submission and to the serial number of the record in which it is filed, together with a statement of any and all changes in holdings since the date of the previous submission, shall be accepted.
(c) The authorized officer shall not issue a lease until 30 days after the Attorney General receives the notice and statement of the successful bidder's coal holdings, or the Attorney General notifies the Director that lease issuance would not create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws, whichever comes first. The Attorney General shall inform the successful bidders and simultaneously, the authorized officer, if the successful bidder's statement of coal holdings is incomplete or inadequate, and shall specify what information is required for the Attorney General to complete his review. The 30 day period shall stop running on the date of such notification and not resume running until the Attorney General receives the supplemental information.
(d) The authorized officer shall not issue the lease to the successful bidder, if, during the 30 day period, the Attorney General notifies the Director that the lease issuance would create or maintain a situation inconsistent with antitrust law, except after complying with paragraph (e)(2) of this section.
(e) If the Attorney General notifies the Director that a lease should not be issued, the authorized officer may:
(1) Reject all bids or many notify the Attorney General in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section that issuance of the proposed lease to the next qualified high bidder is under consideration; or
(2) Issue the lease if, after a public hearing is conducted on the record in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the authorized officer determines that:
(i) Issuance of the lease is necessary to carry out the purposes of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976;
(ii) Issuance of the lease is consistent with the public interest; and
(iii) There are no reasonable alternatives to the issuance of the lease consistent with the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976, the anti-trust laws, and the public interest.
(f) If the Attorney General does not reply in writing to the notification in paragraph (a) of this section within 30 days, the authorized officer may issue a lease without waiting for the advice of the Attorney General.
(g) Information submitted to the authorized officer to comply with this section shall be treated as confidential and proprietary data if marked “confidential” by the reporting company. Confidential information shall be submitted to the authorized officer in a sealed envelope and shall be transmitted in that form to the Attorney General.
[44 FR 42615, July 19, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 33140, July 30, 1982]
§ 3422.4 Award of lease.
(a) After the authorized officer has accepted a high qualified bid, and the Attorney General has not objected to lease issuance or the procedures in §3422.3–4(e)(2) of this title have been completed, the authorized officer shall send 4 copies of the lease form to the successful bidder. The successful bidder shall complete, sign and return these forms and shall: pay the balance of the bonus bid, if required; pay the first year's rental; pay the proportionate share of the cost of publishing the notice of sale; and file a lease bond. Upon receipt of the above, the authorized officer shall execute the lease.
(b) If the successful bidder dies before the lease is issued, the provisions of §3472.2–4 of this title shall apply.
(c) At least half of the acreage offered for competitive lease in any 1 year shall be offered on a deferred bonus payment basis. In a deferred bonus payment, the lessee shall pay the bonus in 5 equal installments; the first installment shall be submitted with the bid. The balance shall be paid in equal annual installments due and payable on the next 4 anniversary dates of the lease. If a lease is relinquished or otherwise cancelled or terminated, the unpaid remainder of the bid shall be immediately payable to the United States.
(d) If the successful bidder fails to comply with any requirement of paragraph (a) of this section or of §3422.3–4 of this title, the deposit on the successful bid shall be forfeited to the United States.
(e) If the lease cannot be awarded for reasons determined by the authorized officer to be beyond the control of the successful bidder, the deposit submitted with the bid shall be refunded.
[47 FR 33141, July 30, 1982]
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