La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § I-901

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section I-901 - Nomination

A. All parties desiring to nominate state owned land and waterbottom acreage or land owned by a state agency for which the State Mineral Board is being requested to issue a mineral lease must be registered with the Office of Mineral Resources on a one-time basis and have received an applicant ID number prior to submitting application for nomination.

B. The State Mineral Board has the authority to lease state owned lands and waterbottoms (see R.S. 30:124) and state agency owned land when requested to do so (see R.S. 30:153).

C. Application for nomination generally must include a diskette or CD-ROM containing a .dxf format of the proposed nominated tract polygon and a word.doc legal description of the same proposed nominated tract which must exactly match the tract polygon exploded from the .dxf as to X,Y coordinates along the polygon outline based on the Lambert Coordinate System; a paper copy of the plat and the legal description which each must match the .dxf exploded polygon and the word.doc; an electronic .pdf file of the plat; a letter of application completely and accurately filled out and a non-refundable check in the amount of the nomination fee as set forth in R.S. 9:301(2) (presently $400). More detailed requirements and certain exceptions are contained in the Leasing Manual available on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website at http://dnr.louisiana.gov/min/petlan/leasing.asp.

D. Nominated acreage for one nomination cannot exceed 2,500 acres of state owned lands and waterbottoms, in the aggregate, nor can the polygon outline of the nominated tract exceed 3 1/2 miles on a side, generally speaking, and must be given, where possible, in Lambert (X,Y) Coordinates at critical points along the boundary of the nomination polygon together with meets and bounds. Certain exceptions to this rule may be found in the leasing manual available on the DNR website as hereinabove set forth.

E. Advertising of nominations cannot occur more than 60 days prior to the date on which sealed bids are to be opened and must be done in the official state journal and the official parish journal wherein the nomination lies. The advertisement must contain a description of the land nominated, the time and place where the sealed bids shall be received and opened (which must be a state owned building in the state capital), a statement that the bid may be for the whole or any particularly described portion of the advertised land and may contain any other information deemed necessary by the mineral board [R.S. 30:126(A)]. The Office of Mineral Resources also publishes a notice book each month of tracts available for bidding at the next month's mineral lease sale which is available to the public for a yearly subscription price of $120. A copy of the notice book is available for viewing on the DNR website.

F. A nomination may be withdrawn at the request of the applicant prior to its being advertised for lease; thereafter, the request for withdrawal must be reviewed by the State Mineral Board and approved for withdrawal at the regularly scheduled monthly State Mineral Board meeting.

G. For more detailed information on nominations abutting or enclosing existing, active state mineral leases, abutting the 3 mile boundary between state and federal waters, abutting neighboring states, nominations of particular tract kinds-such as wildlife management areas under the jurisdiction of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Sixteenth Section lands, vacant state lands, school indemnity lands, state agency lands, tax adjudicated lands and other specialized types of acreage requiring type specific handling, see the leasing manual available on the DNR website as set forth hereinabove.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § I-901

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mineral Resources, LR 34:254 (February 2008).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:354(A).