Recent development in the preference right coal lease application process

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Journal of Energy Law and Policy; (USA)

OSTI ID:7110996

Bunnell, C M

The Department of the Interior (DOI) has recently promulgated a rule that amends previous regulations concerning the processing of preference right lease applications for coal on federal lands. The rule requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to consider environmental impact and mitigation cost factors in the decision making process. This noncompetitive coal leasing rule is the culmination of nearly twenty years of disagreement, litigation, and negotiation between various environmental groups and the BLM. The rule still requires the Secretary to automatically issue preference right leases to applicants who demonstrate discovery of commerical quantities of coal. However, the rule mitigates the effects of the automatic issuance by giving the Secretary discretion to decide whether the application has met the commercial quantities requirement and to formulate the terms for the proposed lease. This Note discusses the previous process of issuing preference right coal leases, the issues emerging from that process that resulted in the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Berklund decision, and the subsequent negotiation efforts to change that process. The new lease issuance rule is then described and analyzed. Finally, there is a discussion of the primary issues that the rule attempts to resolve.

• OSTI ID: 7110996
• Journal Information: Journal of Energy Law and Policy; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Energy Law and Policy; (USA) Vol. 9:1; ISSN JELPE; ISSN 0275-9926
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
017000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Legislation & Regulations
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
AMENDMENTS
COAL DEPOSITS
COST
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
LAND RESOURCES
LEASING
LEGAL ASPECTS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PERMIT APPLICATIONS
REGULATIONS
RESOURCES
US DOI
US ORGANIZATIONS