Pre-Plan of Operations (43 CFR 3809) Coordination
United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Washington, DC 20240
http://www.blm.gov
September 1, 2017
In Reply Refer To:
3809 (320) P
Instruction Memorandum No. 2017-103
Expires: 09/30/2020
To: All Field Officials
From: Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management
Subject: Pre-Plan of Operations (43 CFR 3809) Coordination
Program Areas: Mining Law Administration, Surface Management.
Purpose: To provide guidance to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processing Plans of Operation.
Policy/Action: Pre-submittal meetings are voluntary for operators. However, it is the policy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the appropriate personnel to contact the operator of a proposed 43 CFR 3809 Plan of Operations before plan submittal to help determine what information, studies, or data may be needed to support National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis or any other analyses necessary to process the plan in a timely and effective manner.
The BLM Handbook, Surface Management, H-3809-1 discusses voluntary pre-submittal meetings. Section 4.3.1 of the Handbook states:
The BLM is available to meet with the operator and other local, state, or Federal agencies that may be involved in the approval process to discuss (1) what to include in the Plan of Operations and (2) what may be needed to support the NEPA analysis, especially for large projects. It may be beneficial to all parties for the BLM to informally review a pre-plan, conceptual plan, or study plan prior to the formal filing of the Plan of Operations to give the operator guidance on what to include in the submission and how the review process will be conducted.
Pre-submittal meetings are voluntary on the part of the operator. As these meetings may lead to shorter review and authorization times, State and District/Field Offices should reach out to state and local mining groups to publicize the BLM’s availability to meet with future operators. In addition, because the needs of individual states may differ, State Offices are encouraged to
consider the need for additional state-specific guidance that will help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the processing of Plans of Operations in their state. If determined appropriate, State Offices should create applicable state-specific guidance.
The structure of the pre-submittal coordination process should be based on the needs of the proponent and is dependent on the nature and size of the proposed operation. It is critical that the BLM inform the operator that BLM comments are preliminary and non-binding during the pre-plan stage. Any feedback from the BLM during this process is informal and should not be in the form of a decision. A suggested pre-plan of operations coordination process is provided in Attachment 1.
Timeframe: Effective immediately.
Budget Impact: There may be costs associated with implementing this policy. When implementing this policy, Mining Law Administration funds (L19900000) may be used. Cost recovery will not be required.
Background: Government Accountability Office (GAO) report (GAO-16-165), recommended the following:
“…Take actions to improve the quality of mine plan submissions by, for example, developing guidance for mine operators and agency field officials that instructs them to hold pre-plan submittal meetings whenever possible...”
The BLM concurred with this recommendation. The pre-submittal coordination meetings outlined in this IM may help parties to establish and maintain effective communication with operators at all stages of the process and during operations.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: This IM transmits interim policy that the BLM will incorporate into H-3809-1 at Section 4.3.1 during the next revision.
Coordination: This IM was coordinated by the Washington Office, Division of Solid Minerals (WO-320).
Contact: If you have any questions or comments regarding this IM, please contact me at 202-208-4201 or Adam Merrill, WO-320, at 202-912-7044 or amerrill@blm.gov.
Signed by:
Timothy R. Spisak
Acting Assistant Director
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management
Authenticated by:
Catherine Emmett
WO-870, IT Policy and Planning
Attachment
Suggested Pre-Plan of Operations (43 CFR 3809) Coordination Process