(a) An applicant nominating or applying for a tract for competitive leasing must pay a cost recovery or processing fee that the BLM will determine on a case-by-case basis as described in § 3000.11 of this chapter and as modified by the following provisions.

(b) The cost recovery process for a competitive oil shale lease is as follows:

(1) The applicant nominating the tract for competitive leasing must pay the fee before the BLM will process the application and publish a notice of competitive lease sale;

(2) The BLM will publish a sale notice no later than 30 days before the proposed sale. The BLM will include in the sale notice a statement of the total cost recovery fee paid to the BLM by the applicant, up to 30 calendar days before the sale;

(3) Before the lease is issued:

(i) The successful bidder, if someone other than the applicant, must pay to the BLM the cost recovery amount specified in the sale notice, including the cost of the NEPA analysis; and

(ii) The successful bidder must pay all processing costs the BLM incurs after the date of the sale notice;

(4) If the successful bidder is someone other than the applicant, the BLM will refund to the applicant the amount paid under paragraph (b)(1) of this section;

(5) If there is no successful bidder, the applicant is responsible for all processing fees; and

(6) If the successful bidder is someone other than the applicant, within 30 calendar days after the lease sale, the successful bidder must file an application in accordance with § 3922.20.

A lease application must be filed by any party seeking to obtain a lease. Lease applications must be filed in the proper BLM State Office. No specific form of application is required, but the application must include information necessary to evaluate the impacts on the human environment of issuing the proposed lease or leases. Except as otherwise requested by the BLM, the application must include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Name, address, and telephone number of applicant, and a qualification statement, as required by subpart 3902 of this chapter;

(b) A delineation of the proposed lease area or areas, the surface ownership (if other than the United States) of those areas, a description of the quality, thickness, and depth of the oil shale and of any other resources the applicant proposes to extract, and environmental data necessary to assess impacts from the proposed development; and

(c) A description of the proposed extraction method, including personnel requirements, production levels, and transportation methods, including:

(1) A description of the mining, retorting, or in situ mining or processing technology that the operator would use and whether the proposed development technology is substantially identical to a technology or method currently in use to produce marketable commodities from oil shale deposits;

(2) An estimate of the maximum surface area of the lease area that will be disturbed or be undergoing reclamation at any one time;

(3) A description of the source and quantities of water to be used and of the water treatment and disposal methods necessary to meet applicable water quality standards;

(4) A description of the regulated air emissions;

(5) A description of the anticipated noise levels from the proposed development;

(6) A description of how the proposed lease development would comply with all applicable statutes and regulations governing management of chemicals and disposal of solid waste. If the proposed lease development would include disposal of wastes on the lease site, include a description of measures to be used to prevent the contamination of soil and of surface and ground water;

(7) A description of how the proposed lease development would avoid, or, to the extent practicable, mitigate impacts on species or habitats protected by applicable state or Federal law or regulations, and impacts on wildlife habitat management;

(8) A description of reasonably foreseeable social, economic, and infrastructure impacts on the surrounding communities, and on state and local governments from the proposed development;

(9) A description of the known historical, cultural, or archaeological resources within the lease area;

(10) A description of infrastructure that would likely be required for the proposed development and alternative locations of those facilities, if applicable;

(11) A discussion of proposed measures or plans to mitigate any adverse socioeconomic or environmental impacts to local communities, services and infrastructure;

(12) A brief description of the reclamation methods that will be used;

(13) Any other information that shows that the application meets the requirements of this subpart or that the applicant believes would assist the BLM in analyzing the impacts of the proposed development; and

(14) A map, or maps, showing:

(i) The topography, physical features, and natural drainage patterns;

(ii) Existing roads, vehicular trails, and utility systems;

(iii) The location of any proposed exploration operations, including seismic lines and drill holes;

(iv) To the extent known, the location of any proposed mining operations and facilities, trenches, access roads, or trails, and supporting facilities including the approximate location and extent of the areas to be used for pits, overburden, and tailings; and

(v) The location of water sources or other resources that may be used in the proposed operations and facilities.

At any time during processing of the application, or the environmental or similar assessments of the application, the BLM may request additional information from the applicant. Failure to provide the best available and most accurate information may result in suspension or termination of processing of the application, or in a decision to deny the application.

(a) The BLM will delineate tracts for competitive sale to provide for the orderly development of the oil shale resource.

(b) The BLM may delineate more or less lands than were covered by an application for any reason the BLM determines to be in the public interest.

(c) The BLM may delineate tracts in any area acceptable for further consideration for leasing, whether or not expressions of leasing interest or applications have been received for those areas.

(d) Where the BLM receives more than 1 application covering the same lands, the BLM may delineate the lands that overlap as a separate tract.