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Title: Assessment of negotiation options for coal-lease sales

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7048967

The Commission on Fair Market Value Policy for Federal Coal Leasing recommended that the government have authority to negotiate a fair price for coal leases when competitive bids cannot be obtained. This report analyzes the choices the government faces in designing a coal lease sale mechanism. It considers the impact of the alternatives on economic efficiency, government revenue, administrative workability, fairness and the appearance of fairness. The report concludes that there are advantageous ways for the government to negotiate coal leases when there is only one serious potential bidder for a lease. First, the report notes the advantages of negotiating exchanges that leave the government with economically logical potentially minable tracts. It also notes the advantages of negotiating shares for the ''cooperative leasing'' by auction of such tracts. For other one bidder tracts, the report concludes that there are potential advantages to ease negotiation provided that: (1) all negotiations are tentative subject to ''validation'' of their one bidder nature in a post-negotiation formal sale process, (2) the government negotiate on more leases than it will conclude, using whenever possible, a ''round-robin'' negotiation procedure, (3) government employees and not independent agents negotiate for the government, and (4) negotiations are narrowly confined to the amount of bonus. The report also suggests that the government may wish to consider use of final-offer arbitration on those leases, such as bypasses, on which both the government and the private party have high interest in reaching an agreement.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
7048967
Report Number(s):
LBL-22501; ON: DE87007892
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English