Land Management Bureau April 8, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requests the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend an existing approval to collect information from all owners of unpatented mining claims or mill sites who desire to apply for a mineral patent to their mining claim or mill site. The BLM uses the information to determine the right to a mineral patent and to secure a settlement of all disputes concerning the property in order to issue the patent to the rightful owner.

This notice announces the intent to hold a Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Council (RAC) meeting in the Twin Falls District of Idaho on Tuesday, May 17, 2005. The meeting will be held in the Oak Room at the Red Lion Canyon Springs Hotel, 1357 Blue Lakes Boulevard, in Twin Falls, Idaho at 8 a.m.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas Lease WYW155759 for lands in Sheridan County, Wyoming. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the Lease terminated under the law.

The purpose of this action is to continue implementation of the terms of the Helium Privatization Act (HPA) of 1996 dealing with the disposal of the Conservation Helium Reserve. The HPA requires the Department of the Interior to offer for sale, beginning no later than 2005, a portion of the Conservation Helium stored underground at the Cliffside Field, north of Amarillo, Texas. The Department of the Interior, in consultation with the private helium industry, has determined that private companies, with refining capacity along the crude helium pipeline, will need a supply of helium in excess of that available from their own storage accounts and that available from crude helium extractors in the region. Given the current market, Conservation Helium sold in this sale will cause minimal market disruption.

Per 30 U.S.C. 188(d), the lessee timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas Lease NDM 75388, Billings County, North Dakota. The lessee paid the required rental accruing from the date of termination. No Leases were issued that affect these lands. The lessee agrees to new Lease terms for rentals and royalties of $5 per acre and 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate. The lessee paid the $500 administration fee for the reinstatement of the Lease and $155 cost for publishing this Notice. The lessee met the requirements for reinstatement of the Lease per Sec. 31 (d) and (e) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188). We are proposing to reinstate the Lease, effective the date of termination subject to: The original terms and conditions of the Lease; The increased rental of $5 per acre; The increased royalty of 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate; and The $155 cost of publishing this Notice.