Calendar Year 2021 Right-of-Way Cost Recovery Fee Schedule and Strict Liability Amount
October 7, 2020
In Reply Refer To:
2800/2880/2920 (HQ-350) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 10/09/2020
Instruction Memorandum No. 2021-001
Expires: 09/30/2023
To: All Field Office Officials
From: Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management
Subject: Calendar Year 2021 Right-of-Way Cost Recovery Fee Schedule and Strict Liability Amount
Program Area: Rights-of-Way Management and Land Use Authorization Management.
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) transmits the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Cost Recovery Processing and Monitoring Fee Schedule (Attachment 1) and updates the strict liability amounts for CY 2021. The BLM updates the cost recovery fees and strict liability amounts annually in accordance with current right-of-way (ROW) regulations.
All BLM field offices shall use the attached cost recovery fees schedule for the processing of applications and monitoring of grants and land use authorizations pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and Mineral Leasing Act (MLA). The appropriate cost recovery category for processing actions and the appropriate category for monitoring actions are determined separately.
Administrative or Mission Related: Mission.
Policy/Action: The ROW regulations at 43 CFR 2804.14, 2805.16, 2884.12, and 2885.24 state that the BLM will adjust cost recovery processing and monitoring fees annually based on the previous year’s change in the Implicit Price Deflator-Gross Domestic Product Index (IPD-GDP), as measured from the second quarter of the previous year through the second quarter of the current year. The regulations at 43 CFR 2920.6 require the reimbursement of costs for land use authorizations using the provisions contained in the ROW regulations. The adjustment factor based on the percentage change for the IPD-GDP from the second quarter CY 2019 through the second quarter CY 2020 is 1.006.
Field offices will reproduce the schedule locally and make copies available to ROW and Land Use Permit applicants and other interested parties as appropriate or as requested.
In accordance with strict liability regulations at 43 CFR 2807.12(b)(3) and 43 CFR 2886.13(b)(3), the updated maximum amount for CY 2021 is $2,736,000. This reflects the Consumer Price Index-Urban (CPI-U) increase of 0.99 percent for the period of July 2019 through July 2020.
Timeframe: This IM is effective January 1, 2021.
Budget Impact: The application of this policy will have no impact on the budget. This increase is intended to be budget-neutral.
Background: Cost Recovery: Both the FLPMA and MLA authorize the BLM to collect fees in advance for the administrative and other costs incurred in processing applications for use of public lands and the subsequent monitoring when the authorization is issued. The ROW regulations at 43 CFR 2804.14, 2805.16, 2884.12, and 2885.24 established a cost recovery processing and monitoring fee schedule that became effective June 21, 2005. The BLM updates this schedule annually as described above. The CY 2021 Cost Recovery Processing and Monitoring Fee Schedule is attached.
Strict Liability: A ROW holder is strictly liable for any activity or facility associated with its ROW area that the BLM determines presents a foreseeable hazard or risk of damage or injury to the United States. The BLM will specify in the grant any activity or facility posing such hazard or risk and the financial limitations on damages commensurate with such hazard or risk (43 CFR 2807.12(b) and 2886.13(b)). The BLM updates this amount annually to account for “changes in the CPI-U, U.S. City Average as of July of each year” (43 CFR 2807.12(b)(3) and 2886.13(b)(3)).
Manual/ Handbook Sections Affected: This IM is consistent with Interim BLM Manual Section 2800 and 2880 Rights-of-Way.
Coordination: The Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey (HQ-350) coordinated preparation of this IM with the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor and the U.S. Forest Service.
Contact: If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact Stephen Fusilier, Branch Chief, Rights-of-Way and Renewable Energy, at 202-309-3209 or sfusilie@blm.gov; or Jeremy Bluma, Realty Specialist, Renewable Energy Lead, at 208-789-6014 or jbluma@blm.gov.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Nicholas E. Douglas Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director Division of Regulatory Affairs,(HQ-630)
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management
Attachment
1 - Calendar Year 2021 Cost Recovery Processing and Monitoring Fee Schedule (1 p)