43 U.S.C. § 1734 — Fees, charges, and commissions

Page 547 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1734 (e) Uniformed desert ranger force in California Desert Conservation Area; establishment; en- forcement of Federal laws and regulations Nothing in this section shall prevent the Sec- retary from promptly establishing a uniformed desert ranger force in the California Desert Con- servation Area established pursuant to section 1781 of this title for the purpose of enforcing Federal laws and regulations relating to the public lands and resources managed by him in such area. The officers and members of such ranger force shall have the same responsibilities and authority as provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this section. (f) Applicability of other Federal enforcement provisions Nothing in this Act shall be construed as re- ducing or limiting the enforcement authority vested in the Secretary by any other statute. (g) Unlawful activities The use, occupancy, or development of any portion of the public lands contrary to any regu- lation of the Secretary or other responsible au- thority, or contrary to any order issued pursu- ant to any such regulation, is unlawful and pro- hibited. (Pub. L. 94–579, title III, § 303, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2763; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a), (b), and (f), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, known as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Ta- bles. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘United States magistrate judge’’ substituted for ‘‘United States magistrate’’ in subsec. (a) pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Proce- dure. MODIFICATION OF REGULATIONS RELATING TO MINING OPERATIONS ON PUBLIC LANDS; POSTING OF RECLAMA- TION BOND FOR ALL OPERATIONS INVOLVING SIGNIFI- CANT SURFACE DISTURBANCE Pub. L. 99–500, § 101(h) [title I], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–242, 1783–243, and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(h) [title I], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–242, 3341–243, provided: ‘‘That regulations pertaining to mining operations on public lands conducted under the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 22, et seq.) and sections 302, 303, and 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732, 1733, and 1782) shall be modified to include a re- quirement for the posting of reclamation bonds by op- erators for all operations which involve significant sur- face disturbance, (a) at the discretion of the authorized officer for operators who have a record of compliance with pertinent regulations concerning mining on public lands, and (b) on a mandatory basis only for operators with a history of noncompliance with the aforesaid reg- ulations: Provided further, That surety bonds, third party surety bonds, or irrevocable letters of credit shall qualify as bond instruments: Provided further, That evi- dence of an equivalent bond posted with a State agency shall be accepted in lieu of a separate bond: Provided further, That the amount of such bonds shall be suffi- cient to cover the costs of reclamation as estimated by the Bureau of Land Management.’’ § 1734. Fees, charges, and commissions (a) Authority to establish and modify Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may establish reasonable filing and service fees and reasonable charges, and commissions with respect to applications and other documents relating to the public lands and may change and abolish such fees, charges, and commissions. (b) Deposits for payments to reimburse reason- able costs of United States The Secretary is authorized to require a de- posit of any payments intended to reimburse the United States for reasonable costs with respect to applications and other documents relating to such lands. The moneys received for reasonable costs under this subsection shall be deposited with the Treasury in a special account and are hereby authorized to be appropriated and made available until expended. As used in this section ‘‘reasonable costs’’ include, but are not limited to, the costs of special studies; environmental impact statements; monitoring construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of any authorized facility; or other special activities. In determining whether costs are reasonable under this section, the Secretary may take into consideration actual costs (exclusive of manage- ment overhead), the monetary value of the rights or privileges sought by the applicant, the efficiency to the government processing in- volved, that portion of the cost incurred for the benefit of the general public interest rather than for the exclusive benefit of the applicant, the public service provided, and other factors relevant to determining the reasonableness of the costs. (c) Refunds In any case where it shall appear to the satis- faction of the Secretary that any person has made a payment under any statute relating to the sale, lease, use, or other disposition of public lands which is not required or is in excess of the amount required by applicable law and the regu- lations issued by the Secretary, the Secretary, upon application or otherwise, may cause a re- fund to be made from applicable funds. (Pub. L. 94–579, title III, § 304, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2765.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FILING FEES FOR APPLICATIONS FOR NONCOMPETITIVE OIL AND GAS LEASES; STUDY AND REPORT OF RENT- AL CHARGES ON OIL AND GAS LEASES Pub. L. 97–35, title XIV, § 1401(d), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 748, provided that: ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ef- fective October 1, 1981, all applications for noncom- petitive oil and gas leases shall be accompanied by a filing fee of not less than $25 for each such application: Provided, That any increase in the filing fee above $25 shall be established by regulation and subject to the provisions of the Act of August 31, 1951 (65 Stat. 290) [probably means title V of that Act which was classi- fied to section 483a of former Title 31, Money and Fi- nance and was repealed and reenacted as section 9701 of Page 548 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1734a 1 See References in Text note below. Title 31 by Pub. L. 97–258] the Act of October 20, 1976 (90 Stat. 2765) [probably should be Oct. 21, 1976, meaning this chapter] but not limited to actual costs. Such fees shall be retained as a service charge even though the application or offer may be rejected or withdrawn in whole or in part. ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to conduct a study and report to Congress within one year of the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981], regarding the current annual rental charges on all non- competitive oil and gas leases to investigate the feasi- bility and effect of raising such rentals.’’ § 1734a. Availability of excess fees In fiscal year 1997 and thereafter, all fees, ex- cluding mining claim fees, in excess of the fiscal year 1996 collections established by the Sec- retary of the Interior under the authority of sec- tion 1734 of this title for processing, recording, or documenting authorizations to use public lands or public land natural resources (including cultural, historical, and mineral) and for pro- viding specific services to public land users, and which are not presently being covered into any Bureau of Land Management appropriation ac- counts, and not otherwise dedicated by law for a specific distribution, shall be made immediately available for program operations in this account and remain available until expended. (Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(d) [title I], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–181, 3009–182.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, and not as part of the Federal Land Policy and Manage- ment Act of 1976 which comprises this chapter. § 1735. Forfeitures and deposits (a) Credit to separate account in Treasury; ap- propriation and availability Any moneys received by the United States as a result of the forfeiture of a bond or other secu- rity by a resource developer or purchaser or per- mittee who does not fulfill the requirements of his contract or permit or does not comply with the regulations of the Secretary; or as a result of a compromise or settlement of any claim whether sounding in tort or in contract involv- ing present or potential damage to the public lands shall be credited to a separate account in the Treasury and are hereby authorized to be ap- propriated and made available, until expended as the Secretary may direct, to cover the cost to the United States of any improvement, protec- tion, or rehabilitation work on those public lands which has been rendered necessary by the action which has led to the forfeiture, com- promise, or settlement. (b) Expenditure of moneys collected admin- istering Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands Any moneys collected under this Act in con- nection with lands administered under the Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181j),1 shall be expended for the benefit of such land only. (c) Refunds If any portion of a deposit or amount forfeited under this Act is found by the Secretary to be in excess of the cost of doing the work authorized under this Act, the Secretary, upon application or otherwise, may cause a refund of the amount in excess to be made from applicable funds. (Pub. L. 94–579, title III, § 305, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2765.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, known as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181j), referred to in subsec. (b), probably means act Aug. 28, 1937, ch. 876, 50 Stat. 874, which was for- merly classified principally to sections 1181a to 1181f of this title prior to editorial reclassification, and is now classified principally to subchapter I (§ 2601 et seq.) of chapter 44 of this title. Section 3 of the Act, former sec- tion 1181c of this title, was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787. Sections 1181f–1 to 1181f–4 of this title, included within the par- enthetical reference to sections 1181a to 1181j, were en- acted by act May 24, 1939, ch. 144, 53 Stat. 753, and were editorially reclassified as subchapter II (§ 2621 et seq.) of chapter 44 of this title. Sections 1181g to 1181j of this title, also included within the parenthetical reference to sections 1181a to 1181j, were enacted by act June 24, 1954, ch. 357, 68 Stat. 270, and were editorially reclassi- fied as subchapter III (§ 2631 et seq.) of chapter 44 of this title. For complete classification of these Acts to the Code, see Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR IMPROVEMENT, PROTEC- TION, OR REHABILITATION OF DAMAGED PUBLIC LANDS Pub. L. 104–134, title I, § 101(c) [title I], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321–156, 1321–158; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104–140, § 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327, provided in part: ‘‘That notwithstanding any provision to the con- trary of section 305(a) of the Act of October 21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1735(a)), any moneys that have been or will be received pursuant to that section, whether as a result of forfeiture, compromise, or settlement, if not appro- priate for refund pursuant to section 305(c) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1735(c)), shall be available and may be ex- pended under the authority of this or subsequent appro- priations Acts by the Secretary to improve, protect, or rehabilitate any public lands administered through the Bureau of Land Management which have been damaged by the action of a resource developer, purchaser, per- mittee, or any unauthorized person, without regard to whether all moneys collected from each such forfeiture, compromise, or settlement are used on the exact lands damage to which led to the forfeiture, compromise, or settlement: Provided further, That such moneys are in excess of amounts needed to repair damage to the exact land for which collected.’’ Similar provisions were contained in the following appropriation acts: Pub. L. 118–42, div. E, title I, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 220. Pub. L. 117–328, div. G, title I, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 4761. Pub. L. 117–103, div. G, title I, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 349. Pub. L. 116–260, div. G, title I, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1479. Pub. L. 116–94, div. D, title I, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2688. Pub. L. 116–6, div. E, title I, Feb. 15, 2019, 133 Stat. 207.