Minerals Management: Adjustment of Cost Recovery Fees

AGENCY:

Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This final rule updates the fees set forth in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mineral resources regulations for the processing of certain minerals program-related actions. It also adjusts certain filing fees for minerals-related documents. These updated fees include those for actions such as lease renewals and mineral patent adjudications.

DATES:

This final rule is effective on October 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

You may send inquiries or suggestions to Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, 760 Horizon Drive, Grand Junction, CO 81506; Attention: RIN 1004-AE81.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheila Mallory, Acting Chief, Division of Fluid Minerals, 775-287-3293, smallory@blm.gov; Lindsey Curnutt, Chief, Division of Solid Minerals, 775-824-2910, lcurnutt@blm.gov; or Faith Bremner, Regulatory Analyst, Division of Regulatory Affairs, fbremner@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may leave a message for these individuals with the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The BLM has authority to charge fees for processing applications and other documents relating to public lands under section 304 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), 43 U.S.C. 1734. In 2005, the BLM published a final cost recovery rule (70 FR 58854) that established new fees or revised fees and service charges for processing documents related to its minerals programs (“2005 Cost Recovery Rule”). In addition, the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule also established the method the BLM would use to adjust those fees and service charges for inflation on an annual basis.

The regulations at 43 CFR 3000.12(a) provide that the BLM will annually adjust fees established in subchapter C (43 CFR parts 3000-3900) according to changes in the Implicit Price Deflator for Gross Domestic Product (IPD-GDP), which is published quarterly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. See also 43 CFR 3000.10. This final rule updates those fees and service charges consistent with that direction. The fee adjustments in this final rule are based on the mathematical formula set forth in the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule. The public had an opportunity to comment on that adjustment procedure as part of the 2005 rulemaking. Accordingly, the Department of the Interior for good cause finds under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3) that notice and public comment procedures are unnecessary and that the fee adjustments in this final rule may be effective less than 30 days after publication. See 43 CFR 3000.10(c).

II. Discussion of Final Rule

As set forth in the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule, the fee updates are based on the change in the IPD-GDP. The BLM's minerals program publishes the updated cost recovery fees annually, at the start of each fiscal year (FY).

This final rule updates the current (FY 2021) cost recovery fees for use in FY 2022. The current fees were set by the cost recovery fee rule published on October 9, 2020 (85 FR 64056), effective October 9, 2020. The update in this final rule adjusts the FY 2021 fees based on the change in the IPD-GDP from the 4th Quarter of 2019 to the 4th Quarter of 2020.

Under this final rule, 33 fees will remain the same and 15 fees will increase. Of the 15 fees that are being increased by this final rule, 12 fees will increase by $5 each, and one fee will increase by $10. The largest increase, $45, will be applied to the fee for adjudicating a mineral patent application containing more than 10 claims, which will increase from $3,340 to $3,385. The fee for adjudicating a patent application containing 10 or fewer claims will increase by $20, from $1,670 to $1,690. It is important to note that the “real” values of the fees are not actually increasing, since real values account for the effect of inflation. In real terms, the values of the fees are simply being adjusted to account for the changes in the prices of goods and services produced in the United States.

The calculations that resulted in the new fees are included in the table below:

III. How Fees Are Adjusted

The BLM took the base values (or “existing values”) upon which it derived the FY 2021 cost recovery fees (or “existing fees”) and multiplied them by the percent change in the IPD-GDP (1.26 percent for this update) to generate the “IPD-GDP increases” (in dollars). The BLM then added the “IPD-GDP increases” to the “existing values” to generate the “new values.” The BLM then calculated the “new fees” by rounding the “new values” to the closest multiple of $5 for fees equal to or greater than $1, or to the nearest cent for fees under $1. The “new fees” are the updated cost recovery fees for FY 2022.

The source for IDP-GDP data is the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, specifically, “Table 1.1.9. Implicit Price Deflators for Gross Domestic Product,” which the BLM accessed on May 13, 2021, on the web at https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=19&step=2#reqid=19&step=3&isuri=1&1921=survey&1903=13.

IV. Procedural Matters

Regulatory Planning and Review (Executive Order 12866)

This document is not a significant rule, and the Office of Management and Budget has not reviewed this final rule under Executive Order 12866.

The BLM has determined that this final rule will not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more. It will not adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities. The changes in this rule are much smaller than those in the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule, which did not approach the threshold in Executive Order 12866. For instructions on how to view a copy of the analysis prepared in conjunction with the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule, please contact one of the persons listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above.

This final rule will not create inconsistencies or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency. This rule does not change the relationships of the onshore minerals programs with other agencies' actions. These relationships are included in agreements and memoranda of understanding that will not change with this rule.

In addition, this final rule does not materially affect the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, or loan programs, or the rights and obligations of their recipients. This rule applies an inflationary adjustment factor to existing user fees for processing certain actions associated with the onshore minerals programs.

Finally, this final rule will not raise novel legal or policy issues. As explained earlier, this rule simply implements an annual process to account for inflation that was adopted by and explained in the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act

This final rule will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities as defined under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ). As a result, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required. The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines small entities as individual, limited partnerships, or small companies considered to be at arm's length from the control of any parent companies if they meet the following size requirements as established for each North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code:

• Iron ore mining (NAICS code 212210): 750 or fewer employees
• Gold ore mining (NAICS code 212221): 1,500 or fewer employees
• Silver ore mining (NAICS code 212222): 250 or fewer employees
• Uranium-Radium-Vanadium ore mining (NAICS code 212291): 250 or fewer employees
• All Other Metal ore mining (NAICS code 212299): 750 or fewer employees
• Bituminous Coal and Lignite Surface Mining (NAICS code 212111): 1,250 or fewer employees
• Bituminous Coal Underground Mining (NAICS code 212112): 1,500 or fewer employees
• Crude Petroleum Extraction (NAICS code 211120): 1,250 or fewer employees
• Natural Gas Extraction (NAICS code 211130): 1,250 or fewer employees
• All Other Non-Metallic Mineral Mining (NAICS code 212399): 500 or fewer employees

The SBA would consider many, if not most, of the operators with whom the BLM works in the onshore minerals programs to be small entities. The BLM notes that this final rule does not affect service industries, for which the SBA has a different definition of “small entity.”

The final rule may affect a large number of small entities because 15 fees for activities on public lands will be increased. The adjustments result in no increase in the fees for processing 33 actions relating to the BLM's minerals programs. The highest adjustment, in dollar terms, is for adjudications of mineral patent applications involving more than 10 mining claims; that fee will increase by $45. It is important to note that the “real” values of the fees are not actually increasing, since real values account for the effect of inflation. In real terms, the values of the fees are simply being adjusted to account for the changes in the prices of goods and services produced in the United States. Accordingly, the BLM has concluded that the economic effect of the rule's changes will not be significant, even for small entities.

For the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule, the BLM completed a Regulatory Flexibility Act threshold analysis, which is available for public review in the administrative record for that rule. For instructions on how to view a copy of that analysis, please contact one of the persons listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above. The analysis for the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule concluded that the fees would not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities. The fee increases implemented in this rule are substantially smaller than those provided for in the 2005 Cost Recovery Rule.

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

This final rule is not a “major rule” as defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The final rule will not have an annual effect on the economy greater than $100 million; it will not result in major cost or price increases for consumers, industries, government agencies, or regions; and it will not have significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. Accordingly, a Small Entity Compliance Guide is not required.

Executive Order 13132, Federalism

This final rule will not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. In accordance with Executive Order 13132, the BLM therefore finds that the final rule does not have federalism implications, and a federalism assessment is not required.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This final rule does not contain information-collection requirements that require a control number from the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). After the effective date of this rule, the new fees may affect the non-hour burdens associated with the following control numbers:

Oil and Gas

(1) 1004-0034, which expires August 31, 2021;

(2) 1004-0137, which expires October 31, 2021;

(3) 1004-0162, which expires October 31, 2021;

(4) 1004-0185, which expires December 31, 2021;

Geothermal

(5) 1004-0132, which expires July 31, 2023;

Coal

(6) 1004-0073, which expires April 30, 2023;

Mining Claims

(7) 1004-0025, which expires February 28, 2022;

(8) 1004-0114, which expires April 30, 2023; and

Leasing of Solid Minerals Other Than Oil Shale

(9) 1004-0121, which expires October 31, 2022.

Takings Implication Assessment (Executive Order 12630)

As required by Executive Order 12630, the BLM has determined that this final rule will not cause a taking of private property. No private property rights will be affected by a rule that merely updates fees. The BLM therefore certifies that this final rule does not represent a governmental action capable of interference with constitutionally protected property rights.

Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 12988)

In accordance with Executive Order 12988, the BLM finds that this final rule will not unduly burden the judicial system and meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Executive order.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

The BLM has determined that this final rule qualifies as a routine financial transaction and a regulation of an administrative, financial, legal, or procedural nature that is categorically excluded from environmental review under NEPA pursuant to 43 CFR 46.205 and 46.210(c) and (i). The final rule does not meet any of the 12 criteria for exceptions to categorical exclusions listed at 43 CFR 46.215. Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required in connection with the rule (40 CFR 1508.4).

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

The BLM has determined that this final rule is not significant under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., because it will not result in State, local, private sector, or tribal government expenditures of $100 million or more in any one year, 2 U.S.C. 1532. This rule will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, the BLM is not required to prepare a statement containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments (Executive Order 13175)

In accordance with Executive Order 13175, the BLM has determined that this final rule does not include policies that have tribal implications. Specifically, the rule would not have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian Tribes. Consequently, the BLM did not utilize the consultation process set forth in Section 5 of the Executive order.

Information Quality Act

In developing this final rule, the BLM did not conduct or use a study, experiment, or survey requiring peer review under the Information Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554).

Effects on the Nation's Energy Supply (Executive Order 13211)

In accordance with Executive Order 13211, the BLM has determined that this final rule is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. It merely adjusts certain administrative cost recovery fees to account for inflation.

Author

The principal author of this final rule is Faith Bremner of the Division of Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Land Management.

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 3000

• Public lands—mineral resources
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

For reasons stated in the preamble, the Bureau of Land Management amends 43 CFR part 3000 as follows:

PART 3000—MINERALS MANAGEMENT: GENERAL

1. The authority citation for part 3000 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq. ; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. , 301-306, 351-359, and 601 et seq. ; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 40 U.S.C. 471 et seq. ; 42 U.S.C. 6508; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ; and Pub. L. 97-35, 95 Stat. 357.

Subpart 3000—General

2. Amend § 3000.12 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: