(b) Lease application
requirements and procedures.
(1) In an
application for prospect permit on a state tract, an applicant may indicate
that a specific mineral is located on the state tract and request an immediate
issuance of a lease on that tract. A lease may be issued to the applicant in
lieu of a prospect permit if the commissioner of the GLO determines that such a
mineral is located on the state tract and that issuance of a lease to the
applicant is in the best interest of the PSF.
(2) At any time during the effective period
of a prospect permit, the permittee may submit an application to lease the area
covered by the prospect permit or a designated portion thereof.
(3) Application to lease shall include:
(A) an identification of the applicant's
prospect permit;
(B) the date of
issuance of the prospect permit;
(C) a description of the tract of land which
identifies it by section number, part of the section or survey to be leased,
block number, township number, and/or certificate number, if applicable, survey
name, number of acres contained in the section, and county or counties in which
the land lies and, if land trade lands, the name and address of surface owner
of record in the tax assessor's office;
(D) the name, address, phone number, and
Texas Comptroller's taxpayer ID number of a non-corporate applicant;
(E) the corporate name, phone number, Texas
Comptroller's taxpayer ID number, address, the name of the officer authorized
to execute permits and leases;
(F)
designation of the mineral or minerals proposed to be mined;
(G) statement of the applicant's proposed
lease terms; and
(H) field notes
prepared by the county surveyor or a licensed state land surveyor describing
the area to be leased, if such area is less than that covered by the prospect
permit and cannot be accurately described as a part of the section, such as
NE/4.
(4) The TPWD may
review the leasing of lands whose surface is owned or leased by TPWD or is
subject to a conservation easement in favor of TPWD, but whose minerals are
subject to lease under this section. Within 10 days of receipt of an
application to lease on such lands, the GLO shall notify the executive director
of TPWD.
(5) The application to
lease shall be accompanied by a filing fee prescribed by §
3.31 of this
title (relating to Fees) and the proposed lease payment which shall not be less
than $2.00 per acre.
(6) In order
to fully evaluate the application to lease, GLO staff may request that an
applicant submit additional information, including information about the
proposed mining operation.
(7) Each
application to lease shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner and
will be evaluated by the staff in order to determine whether the lease is in
the best interest of the state by considering the following:
(A) whether the proposed lease terms and
conditions are in conformity with the Texas Natural Resources Code,
§§
53.015 -
53.030, 53.155, and this section;
(B) whether the proposed lease terms are
comparable to the best leases in the area which cover the same mineral or
minerals;
(C) whether the proposed
lease terms are compatible with other valuable uses of the leased premises;
and
(D) whether the lease terms
adequately compensate the PSF for the loss of other valuable uses of the leased
premises.
(8) If the
commissioner rejects an application to lease, the applicant will be notified
and will be advised of the specific reasons for the denial. Applicant may
appeal being denied a lease by requesting a hearing.