§ 2804.14 - What are the fee categories for cost recovery?

§ 2804.14 What is are the processing fee categories for a grant application?

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 25959, Apr. 12, 2024.

cost recovery?

(a) Unless you your fees are exempt waived under § 2804.16, you must pay a fee to the BLM cost recovery fees for the reasonable costs of processing associated with your application and grant. Subject to applicable laws and regulations, if processing your application involves Federal agencies other than the BLM, your fee may also include the reasonable costs estimated to be incurred by those Federal agencies. Instead of paying the BLM a fee for the reasonable costs incurred by other Federal agencies in processing your application, you may pay other Federal agencies directly for such costs. The fees for Categories 1 through 4 (see paragraph (b) of this section) are one-time fees and are not refundable. Reasonable costs are those costs as defined in Section 304(b) of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1734(b)). The fees for Processing Categories 1 through 4 (see paragraph (b) of this section) are one-time fees and are not refundable. The fees are categorized based on an estimate of the amount of time that the Federal Government will expend to process your application and , issue a decision granting or denying the application, and monitor that land use authorization.

(b) There is no processing fee if the Federal Government's work is estimated to take 1 hour or less. Processing fees are based The BLM bases cost recovery fees on categories. The BLM will update the processing fees fee schedule for Categories 1 through 4 in the schedule each calendar year, based on the previous year's change in the IPD-GDP, as measured second quarter to second quarter , rounded to the nearest dollar. The BLM will update Category 5 processing fees fees, which may include preliminary application review, processing, and monitoring, as specified in the applicable Master Agreement. These Category 6 fees are for situations when a right-of-way activity will require more than 64 hours, or when an environmental impact statement (EIS) is required and may include preliminary application review costs. The cost recovery categories and the estimated range of Federal work hours for each category are:

Processing Categories

Processing category

Table 1 to Paragraph (b)—Cost Recovery Categories

FLPMA right-of-way cost recovery category descriptions	Federal work hours involved
(1) Applications for new grants, assignments, renewals, and amendments to existing grants	Category 1. Processing and monitoring associated with an application or existing grant	Estimated Federal work hours are >1 ≤ 8	(2) Applications for new grants, assignments, renewals, and amendments to existing grants	≤8.
Category 2. Processing and monitoring associated with an application or existing grant	Estimated Federal work hours are >8 ≤ 24	(3) Applications for new grants, assignments, renewals, and amendments to existing grants	≤24.
Category 3. Processing and monitoring associated with an application or existing grant	Estimated Federal work hours are >24 ≤ 36	(4) Applications for new grants, assignments, renewals, and amendments to existing grants	≤40.
Category 4. Processing and monitoring associated with an application or existing grant	Estimated Federal work hours are >36 ≤ 50
(5) Master agreements	Varies
(6) Applications for new grants, assignments, renewals, and amendments to existing grants	Estimated Federal work hours are >50
>40 ≤64.
Category 5. Master Agreements *	Varies, depending on the agreement.
Category 6. Processing and monitoring associated with an application or existing grant, including preliminary-application reviews *	Estimated Federal work hours are >64.

* Preliminary application review costs are those expenses related to meetings held between a Federal agency and the applicant to discuss a right-of-way application. These reviews are required only when an application is for a wind or solar right-of-way but are encouraged for other right-of-way application filings. A Master Agreement may include preliminary application review costs.

(c) You may obtain a copy of the current year's processing fee schedule from any BLM Statecost recovery fee schedule at https://www.blm.gov, by contacting your local BLM state, district, or field office, or by writing: Attention to the Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (HQ-350), Bureau of Land Management, 20 M Street SE., Room 1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003. The BLM also posts the current processing fee schedule at http://www.blm.gov.20240.

(d) After an initial review of your application, the BLM will notify you of the processing cost recovery category into which your application fits. You must then submit to the BLM the appropriate payment for that category before the BLM begins will begin processing your application. Your signature on a cost recovery Master Agreement constitutes your agreement with the processing cost recovery category decision. If you disagree with the category that the BLM has determined for your application, you may appeal the decision under § 2801.10 of this part. For Processing Categories Category 5 and 6 applications or grants, see §§ 2804.17, 2804.18, and 2804.19 of this subpart. If you paid the processing cost recovery fee and you appeal a Processing Category 1 through 4 or a Processing Category 6 determination, the BLM will process work on your application or grant while the appeal is pending. If the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) finds in your favor, you will receive a refund or an adjustment of your processing cost recovery fee.

(e) In processing your application, the BLM may determine at any time that the application requires preparing an EIS. If this occurs, the BLM will send you a decision changing your processing cost recovery category to Processing Category 6. You may appeal this decision under § 2801.10 of this part.

(f) To expedite processing of your application, you may notify the BLM in writing that you are waiving paying application of the factors identified in §§ 2804.20(a) and 2804.21 to determine reasonable costs and are electing to pay the full actual costs incurred by the BLM in processing your application and monitoring your grant.

[70 89 FR 2105825959, Apr. 22, 2005, as amended at 81 FR 92208, Dec. 19, 201612, 2024]