Federal coal royalty reduction and product valuation
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced new guidelines in June 1987, setting forth the Department of the Interior's policy of reducing royalties for federal coal and other solid mineral leases below minimum rates established by statute. The guidelines implement Section 39 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 (MLLA), as amended, which grants the Secretary of the Interior broad discretionary authority to reduce royalty rates for purposes of encouraging recovery or conservation of solid leasable mineral deposits, promoting their development, and ensuring the successful operation of mines operating on federal lands. The guidelines establish four categories under which lessees may apply for royalty reduction and provide for uniform criteria BLM is to use to evaluate such applications. The duration of a royalty reduction can vary, depending on the category under which an application is filed. The development of the guidelines has been surrounded by controversy stemming from the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 (FCLAA) and proposed revisions of coal product valuation regulations administered by the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS). Central to the controversy are issues relating to potential coal market distortions caused by a higher royalty rate and an expansive definition of gross proceeds for royalty computation purposes. This article traces the development of the coal royalty reduction guidelines. It also addresses certain provisions of MMS's proposed coal production valuation regulations which potentially could affect the administration of royalty reduction guidelines.
- OSTI ID:
- 5499636
- Journal Information:
- West Virginia Law Review; (USA), Vol. 90:3; ISSN 0043-3268
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
COAL MINING
ROYALTIES
US DOI
RECOMMENDATIONS
COAL
CONSTRAINTS
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ECONOMIC POLICY
ENERGY POLICY
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
LEASES
LEGAL ASPECTS
MARKET
MINERAL RESOURCES
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INCOME
MATERIALS
MINING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
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US ORGANIZATIONS
017000* - Coal
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015000 - Coal
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290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology
293000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
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