In Reply Refer To:
3482 (320) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 12/19/2014
Instruction Memorandum No. 2014-155
Expires:  09/30/2014

To:                   All Washington Office and Field Office Officials

From:               Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management

Subject:           New Guidance for Reviewing and Approving Exploration Plans, Monitoring, and Reports Concerning Analysis of Coal Samples

Program Area: Coal Management.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) describes triggers for BLM to perform additional coal quality analysis, including a trigger related to an operator�s/lessee�s voluntary certification of the accuracy of their exploration reports.

Policy/Action:  This policy describes triggers for the BLM to perform coal quality analysis.

Voluntary Certification of Data Accuracy

As provided in 43 CFR 3000.2, it is a crime punishable by 5 years imprisonment or a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for any person knowingly and willfully to submit or cause to be submitted to any agency of the United States any false or fraudulent statement(s) as to any matter within the agency's jurisdiction (See 18 U.S.C 1001). The BLM will include the following statement in the exploration plan approval decision notice and will request that their exploration report is accurate and that they understand that their certification is subject to 18 U.S.C. 1001: the licensee/lessee to certify in writing

Coal Quality Analysis Triggers for BLM

As required under 43 CFR 3482.1, before conducting any exploration operations on federally leased or licensed lands, the applicant must submit an exploration plan to the BLM for approval. The regulations enumerate data submission requirements and also provide that BLM may require additional data to be included with the exploration plans (See 43 CFR 3482.1(a)(3)(x)). As part of this additional data, BLM will require applicants to provide responses (yes or no) to the following questions as part of any exploration plan application.

The operator/lessee must file exploration reports within 30 days after the end of each calendar year or upon completion or suspension of exploration operations, unless otherwise provided in the exploration license or Federal lease, and at such other times as the BLM may request (43 CFR 3485.1(a)). Among other things, the exploration report must contain analyses of coal and other pertinent tests obtained from exploration operations during the year covered by the report (See 43 CFR 3485.1(b)(6)). The BLM may also request other information (43 CFR 3485.1(b)(10)). 

The BLM inspects exploration operations on Federal leases or exploration licenses where operations are conducted or are to be conducted as frequently as necessary, but not less than quarterly. (See 43 CFR 3480.0-6(d) (4)). If the BLM determines that analysis of additional  sampling is necessary, based on the operator�s or lessee�s responses to the parameter description questions listed above, BLM will notify the operator and will conduct additional sampling during the next BLM inspection and the BLM will obtain independent laboratory analysis of that sampling. 

Timeframe: Effective immediately.

Budget Impact:  The BLM approves 10 or more exploration plans annually. BLM�s  sampling and independent laboratory analysis on exploration plans, when necessary, will require funding, but should be implemented within existing budgets.

Background:  The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published the Department of the Interior Coal Management Program report (Report) on June 11, 2013. The Report contained 13 recommendations. Recommendation 8 stated that the BLM should protect the integrity of exploration data by requiring coal companies to certify the accuracy of the data under penalty of the applicable false statement statute, and it should periodically verify data through an independent laboratory. The BLM will continue to work with the DOI Solicitor�s Office to provide additional measures that may include modification of the lease form and development of an exploration license form. 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  These policies will be included in the next revision of the Exploration License Manual MS 3410. 

Coordination:  State, district, and field offices and the Washington Office Solid Minerals Division coal specialists evaluated the OIG�s Recommendation 8 and coordinated the development of this policy.

Contact:  If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact me  at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Mitchell Leverette, Division Chief Solid Minerals (WO-320) at 202-912-7113 or [email protected]; or John A. Lewis, 202-912-7117, or [email protected].