BLM finalizes cost recovery fees

The Bureau of Land Management published final regulations Sept. 5 regarding the adjustment of fees charged to recover costs for processing documents related to mineral operations on public lands. The fees, which are being adjusted to account for inflation, cover costs for such actions as lease applications, certain exploration permits, name changes, and corporate mergers, as well as lease consolidations, transfers, and reinstatements, the agency said.

Consistent with the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the fees do not cover applications for permits to drill or geothermal permits to drill.

“These fees support a fair return to the American taxpayer by helping the BLM cover its costs for doing business,” Mike Nedd, BLM’s assistant director for Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection, said in a statement.

BLM implemented a broader cost-recovery fee schedule for mineral program activities with a November 2005 rulemaking. The 2005 rule states that fixed fees for document processing will be evaluated each year and updated as necessary to account for inflation, using a mathematical formula by which businesses nationwide commonly adjust charges for services. The agency said it aims to implement the updated fee schedule at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2008, which starts on Oct. 1. The fees will continue to be evaluated annually. A full schedule of mineral program fees is available online at: www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/lease_fees.html.

BLM said the updated fixed cost-recovery fees in the referenced fee schedule will be in effect in Alaska for the federal fiscal year 2008. For Alaska only, the processing fee for a geophysical exploration permit and permit renewals remain at the fixed cost of $25.

—Petroleum News