Public Land Statistics - Continued Operation Statistics for the Fiscal Year 2009

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
October 1, 2009

In Reply Refer To:
3483 (320) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/07/2009
Instruction Memorandum No. 2010-001

Expires: 09/30/2011

To:                   State Directors

From:               Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management

Subject:           Public Land Statistics - Continued Operation Statistics for the Fiscal Year 2009

DD: 10/31/2009

Program Area:  Coal Management.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requests data from state offices concerning diligent development and continued operation compliance for all Federal coal leases.

Policy/Action:  The Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), as amended, requires that Federal coal leases be diligently developed and maintained in continued operation.  Beginning with Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, Table 3-35 was added in the Public Land Statistics (PLS) to summarize compliance with the diligent development and continued operation requirements for Federal coal leases.  This information is currently not recorded in any Bureau of Land Management central, automated database.

For all authorized Federal coal leases, as of September 30, 2009, under your management, please indicate how each lease has most recently complied with the annual diligent development or continued operation requirements of the MLA, as amended, as illustrated in Attachment A.  With the exception of Alaska, the serial numbers for Federal coal leases with an authorized case disposition in the Legacy Rehost 2000 (LR2000) database as of September 15, 2009, are shown in Attachment A.  There should be only one diligence or continued operation category that is applicable to each Federal coal lease for FY 2009.

The Washington Office will check the total number of authorized coal leases for each state from the LR2000 database as of September 30, 2007, as a part of our preparation of the annual PLS Report.  Any variance between the LR2000 total leases and the total leases provided under this IM must be reconciled.  Please provide the name and phone number of a contact person to facilitate any such reconciliation. 

Timeframe:  The diligent development and continued operation data must be received by Washington Office Division of Solid Minerals on or before October 31, 2009.

Budget Impact:  Minimal.

Background:  Requests are received several times each year for summary level statistics for the number of producing Federal coal leases or for statistics to demonstrate compliance with the diligence requirements.  Reporting this information annually provides a consistent basis to respond to such requests in the future with minimal impact on the state or field offices. 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None.

Coordination:  None.

Contact Persons:  If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact Michael D. Nedd, Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management, at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Mitchell Leverette, Solid Minerals Division Chief, at 202-912-7113 or William Radden-Lesage at 202-912-7116.

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:

Michael Nedd                                                             Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                                       Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Minerals and Realty Management

1 Attachment

    1 - Federal Coal Lease Continued Operations Statistics (8pp)