Rights-of-Way Bonds

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
Cheyenne, WY  82003-1828
www.blm.gov/wy

In Reply Refer To:
2805/2885/2920 (921 Hogan) P

April 11, 2019    
                                
EMS TRANSMISSION:   4/11/2019
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2019- 008 
Expires: 09/30/2022

To:         District Managers 
From:          State Director
Subject:    Rights-of-Way Bonds 

Program Area: Lands and Realty Management. 

Purpose: Washington Office (WO) Instruction Memorandum (IM) No. 2019-013 National Policy for Rights-of-Way Bonding conveys policy and direction for requiring bonding determinations where appropriate on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rights-of-Way (ROW) grants, and leases or permits for authorized activities.  WO IM No. 2019-013 replaces in their entirety IM Wyoming No. 2016-018 Rights-of-Way Bonds and IM Wyoming No. 2016-018, Change 1.

Administrative or Mission Related: Mission Related

Policy/Action: Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1764(i)) and Section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) (30 U.S.C. 185(m)) provides the BLM with authority to require bonding for ROW grants and land use authorizations.  This includes short-term ROWs and temporary use permits. The implementing regulations can be found at 43 CFR 2805.12(b), 2805.20, 2885.11(b)(7) and 2920.7(g)).  

As a point of clarification, this IM further instructs all Wyoming Field Offices to waive the bonding requirement for publically regulated utilities holding a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity since reclamation is provided for in that process. 

Timeframe: This IM is effective upon issuance and will remain in effect unless officially modified or rescinded.

Budget Impact: The application of this policy will have a minimal budget impact. 

Background: This Wyoming IM supplements WO IM No. 2019-013.  The bond determination, adequacy, and compliance review workload are subject to the processing and monitoring fee provisions of the regulations (43 CFR 2804.14(a), 2805.16(a), 2884.12(a), 2885.24(a), and 2920.6(b)).  The Authorized Officer will determine the correct cost recovery category and collect the required fees prior to performing any work on the application. 

Manual/Handbook Section Affected: WO IM No. 2019-013 transmits interim policy that revises interim manual sections MS-2805 at Section 12 and MS-2885 at Section 11.

Coordination: This IM was developed in coordination with the Washington Office Division Chief, Lands, Realty, and Cadastral Survey, the Regional Solicitor’s Office, and Wyoming District Office, and Field Office personnel.

Contact: For further information or if you have any questions related to this IM, please contact Michael T. Hogan, Realty Officer at 307-775-6257 or mthogan@blm.gov.

Signed by:                             Authenticated by:
Mary Jo Rugwell                   Jessica Camargo
State Director                        State Director’s Office

Distribution
Director, WO-300                1
Field Managers                    1
Central Files                        1