State Director Bond Review and Certification

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

April 23, 2020

In Reply, Refer To:
3809 (320) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 04/30/2020
Instruction Memorandum No. 2020-022
Expires:  09/30/2023

To:                  All Field Office Officials

From:              Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management

Subject:           State Director Bond Review and Certification                                       

Program Area:  Mining Law Administration, 43 CFR 3809 Surface Management.

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) provides guidance for completing the State Director Bond Review and Certification process to ensure financial guarantees for operations authorized by the mining laws comply with the financial guarantee requirements found at 43 CFR 3809.

Administrative or Mission Related:  Administrative.

Policy/Action:  Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Manual MS-3809, Surface Management, states that State Directors will annually certify to the BLM Director that reclamation cost estimates (RCEs) for plan and notice level 3809 operations are reviewed regularly and associated financial guarantees (a.k.a. bonds) are adequate to meet the requirements of the regulations. Appropriate District/Field office personnel need to prepare Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) for operations where these conditions are not met. BLM Handbook H-3809-1, Surface Management, Chapter 6 provides procedures for reviewing and determining the adequacy of reclamation cost estimates.

In addition, State Directors will certify to the BLM Director that the district and field offices in their jurisdiction have developed office-wide strategies to reduce the number of expired Notices. District and field offices will develop these strategies to reduce those Notices that have been expired for more than 36 months as of October 1 of the subject fiscal year.

This IM serves to transmit specific procedures for the certification process in Attachment 1.

A required Certification Memorandum template has been provided in Attachment 2. State Directors will certify to the Director, Minerals and Realty Management, on behalf of the Director, by January 31 following the end of each fiscal year.

Budget Impact: There will be minimal budget impact, but there is no estimate at this time.

Background:  The revised surface management regulations (43 CFR 3809) became effective on January 20, 2001, with subsequent amendments that took effect December 31, 2001. The final regulations require operators on all Notices and Plans of Operations to post full-cost financial guarantees in an amount sufficient to allow the BLM to contract with a third party to reclaim the operations according to 43 CFR 3809.552(a). 

In 2006, BLM initiated the State Director Bond Review and Certification process to fulfill a recommendation found in the 2005 General Accounting Office (GAO) report entitled, Hard Rock Mining; BLM Needs to Better Manage Financial Assurance to Guarantee Coverage of Reclamation Costs, GAO-05-377. In fulfillment of the recommendation, BLM initiated the review and certification process in 2006 (WO-IM-2006-172). Since that time, the GAO has examined the BLM’s surface management financial guarantee program in 2008 and 2012, with one review currently pending.  

Timeframe: Effective Immediately.

Pages of Manual/ Handbook Sections Affected: This IM transmits policy that the BLM will incorporate into MS-3809 at Section 1.4 and H-3809-1.

Instruction Memorandums Affected: None.

Coordination: The Division of Solid Minerals (WO-320) coordinated preparation of this IM with the BLM State Offices and the United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor.

Contact: State Directors may direct any questions or concerns to Mitchell Leverette mleverette@blm.gov or 202-208-4201; or your staff may contact Lindsey Curnutt at lcurnutt@blm.gov or 202-912-7113.

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:
Nicholas Douglas                                                        Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                                       Division of Regulatory Affairs,WO-630
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management

5 Attachments
      1 – Procedures for State Director Bond Review Certification (2 pp)
      2 – Certification Memorandum Template (1 p)
      3 – Corrective Action Plan Example (1 p)
      4 – Corrective Action Plan Summary (1 p)
      5 – Expired Notice Reduction Strategy (1 p)