§ 2804.25 - How will the BLM process my application?

§ 2804.25 How will the BLM process my application?

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 35678, May 1, 2024.

(a) The BLM will notify you in writing when it receives your application. This notification will also:

(1) Identify your cost recovery fee described at § 2804.14, unless you are exempt from paying fees; and

(2) Inform you of any other grant applications which involve all or part of the lands for which you applied.

(b) The BLM will not process your application if you have any:

(1) Outstanding unpaid debts owed to the Federal Government. Outstanding debts are those currently unpaid debts owed to the Federal Government after all administrative collection actions have occurred, including any appeal proceedings under applicable Federal regulations and the Administrative Procedure Act; or

(2) Trespass action pending against you for any activity on BLM-administered lands (see § 2808.12), except those to resolve the trespass with a right-of-way as authorized in this part, or a lease or permit under the regulations found at 43 CFR part 2920, but only after outstanding unpaid debts are paid.

(c) The BLM may require you to submit additional information necessary to process the application. This information may include a detailed construction, operation, rehabilitation, and environmental protection plan (i.e., a POD), and any needed cultural resource surveys or inventories for threatened or endangered species. If the BLM needs more information, the BLM will identify this information in a written deficiency notice asking you to provide the additional information within a specified period of time.

(1) For solar or wind energy development projects, and transmission lines with a capacity of 100 kV or more, you must commence any required resource surveys or inventories within one year of the request date, unless otherwise specified by the BLM; or

(2) For all powerline rights-of-way, you must submit an operating plan or agreement, unless you have an approved plan that meets the requirements of § 2805.21; or

(3) If you are unable to meet any of the requirements of this section, you must show good cause and submit a request for an alternative under § 2804.40

The failure to provide additional information requested by the BLM under this section may result in the BLM denying your application pursuant to § 2804.26.

(d) Customer service standard. The BLM will process your complete application as follows:

Table 1 to Paragraph (d)

Processing category	Processing time	Conditions
1-4	60 calendar days	If processing your application will take longer than 60 calendar days, the BLM will notify you in writing of this fact prior to the 30th calendar day and inform you of when you can expect a final decision on your application.
5	As specified in the Master Agreement	The BLM will process applications as specified in the Master Agreement.
6	Over 60 calendar days	The BLM will notify you in writing within the initial 60-day processing period of the estimated processing time.

(e) In processing an application, the BLM will:

(1) Hold public meetings if sufficient public interest exists to warrant their time and expense. The BLM will publish a notice in the Federal Register and may use other notification methods, such as a newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the lands involved in the area affected by the potential right-of-way or the Internet, to announce in advance any public hearings or meetings;

(2) If your application is for solar or wind energy development:;

(i) Hold a local public meeting in the area affected by the potential right-of-way;

(ii) Apply screening criteria to prioritize processing applications with lesser resource conflicts over applications with greater resource conflicts and categorize screened applications according to the criteria listed in

if there is no other public meeting or opportunity for early engagement on the project, such as those completed when complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

(ii) Prioritize the application in accordance with § 2804.35; and

(iii) Evaluate the application based on the information provided by the applicant and input from other parties, such as Federal, State, Tribal, and local government agencies, and tribes, as well as comments received in preliminary application review meetings held under § 2804.12(b)(4) and the any public meeting held under paragraph (e)(21)(i) of this section. The BLM will also evaluate your application based on whether you propose to site the development appropriately (e.g. outside of a designated leasing area or exclusion area) and whether you address known resource values discussed in the preliminary application review meetings. Based on these evaluations, the BLM will either deny your application or continue processing it.

(3) Determine whether a POD schedule submitted with your application meets the development schedule or other requirements described by the BLM, such as in § 2804.12(b);

(4) Complete appropriate National Environmental Policy Act ( NEPA ) compliance for the application, as required by 43 CFR part 46 and 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508chapter V, subchapter A;

(5) Determine whether your proposed use complies with applicable Federal and State laws;

(6) If your application is for a road, determine whether it is in the public interest to require you to grant the United States an equivalent authorization across lands that you own;

(7) Consult, as necessary, on a government-to-government basis with tribes and other governmental entities; and

(8) Take any other action necessary to fully evaluate and decide whether to approve or deny your application.

(f)

(1) The BLM may segregate, if it finds it necessary for the orderly administration of the public lands, lands included in a right-of-way application under this subpart for the generation of electrical energy from wind or solar sources. In addition, the BLM may also segregate lands that it identifies for potential rights-of-way for electricity generation from wind or solar sources when initiating a competitive process for solar or wind development on particular lands. Upon segregation, such lands would not be subject to appropriation under the public land laws, including location under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), but would remain open under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The BLM would effect a segregation by publishing a Federal Register notice that includes a description of the lands being segregated. The BLM may effect segregation in this way for both pending and new right-of-way applications.

(2) The effective date of segregation is the date of publication of the notice in the Federal Register. Consistent with 43 CFR 2091-3.2, the segregation terminates and the lands automatically open on the date that is the earliest of the following:

(i) When the BLM issues a decision granting, granting with modifications, or denying the application for a right-of-way;

(ii) Automatically at the end of the segregation period stated in the Federal Register notice initiating the segregation; or

(iii) Upon publication of a Federal Register notice terminating the segregation and opening the lands.

(3) The segregation period may not exceed 2 years from the date of publication in the Federal Register of the notice initiating the segregation, unless the State Director state director determines and documents in writing, prior to the expiration of the segregation period, that an extension is necessary for the orderly administration of the public lands. If the State Director state director determines an extension is necessary, the BLM will extend the segregation for up to 2 years by publishing a notice in the Federal Register, prior to the expiration of the initial segregation period. A segregation will not be extended unless the application is complete and cost recovery has been received. Segregations under this part may only be extended once and the total segregation period may not exceed 4 years.

[81 FR 92209, Dec. 19, 2016, as amended at 89 FR 25961, Apr. 12, 2024; 89 FR 35678, May 1, 2024]