(a) Rent schedule. You may obtain a copy of the current schedule from any 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, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C St. NW, Mail Stop 2134LM, Washington, DC 20240. The BLM also posts the current communications use rent schedule at http://www.blm.gov.

(1) The BLM uses a rent schedule to calculate the rent for communications uses. The schedule is based on population strata (the population served), as depicted in the most recent version of the Ranally Metro Area (RMA) Population Ranking, and the type of communications use or uses for which the BLM normally grants communication site rights-of-way. These uses are listed as part of the definition of “communications uses rent schedule,” set out at § 2861.5.

(2) The BLM will update the schedule annually based on the U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average (CPI-U), as of July of each year (difference in CPI-U from July of one year to July of the following year), and the RMA population rankings.

(3) The BLM will limit the annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index to no more than 5 percent. The BLM will review the rent schedule to ensure that the schedule reflects fair market value.

(b) Uses not covered by the schedule. The communications uses rent schedule does not apply to:

(1) Communications uses located entirely within the boundaries of an oil and gas lease, and solely supporting the operations of the oil and gas lease (see parts 3160 through 3190 of this Chapter);

(2) Communications facilities and uses ancillary to a linear authorization that are entirely within the scope of an authorized linear right-of-way, such as a railroad authorization or an oil and gas pipeline authorization, that solely support the operations authorized by that right-of-way and that are owned and operated by the authorization holder for that right-of-way;

(3) Linear communications uses not listed on the schedule, such as telephone lines, fiber optic cables, and new technologies;

(4) Grants for which the BLM determines the rent by competitive bidding; or

(5) Communication facilities and uses for which a BLM State Director concurs that:

(i) The expected annual rent, that the BLM estimates from market data, exceeds the rent from the rent schedule by at least five times; or

(ii) The communication site serves a population of one million or more and the expected annual rent for the communications use or uses is more than $10,000 above the rent from the rent schedule.