Title 43
SECTION 3451.1
3451.1 Readjustment of lease terms.
§ 3451.1 Readjustment of lease terms.(a) (1) All leases issued prior to August 4, 1976, shall be subject to readjustment at the end of the current 20-year period and at the end of each 10-year period thereafter. All leases issued after August 4, 1976, shall be subject to readjustment at the end of the first 20-year period and, if the lease is extended, each 10-year period thereafter.
(2) Any lease subject to readjustment which contains a royalty rate less than the minimum royalty prescribed in § 3473.3-2 of this title shall be readjusted to conform to the minimum prescribed in that section.
(b) If the lease became subject to readjustment of terms and conditions before August 4, 1976, but the authorized officer prior to that date neither readjusted the terms and conditions nor informed the lessee whether or not a readjustment would be made, the terms and conditions of that lease shall not be readjusted retroactively to conform to the requirements of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976.
(c)(1) The authorized officer shall, prior to the expiration of the current or initial 20-year period or any succeeding 10-year period thereafter, notify the lessee of any lease which becomes subject to readjustment after June 1, 1980, whether any readjustment of terms and conditions will be made prior to the expiration of the initial 20-year period or any succeeding 10-year period thereafter. On such a lease the failure to so notify the lessee shall mean that the United States is waiving its right to readjust the lease for the readjustment period in question.
(2) In any notification that a lease will be readjusted under this subsection, the authorized officer will prescribe when the decision transmitting the readjusted lease terms will be sent to the lessee. The time for transmitting the information will be as soon as possible after the notice that the lease shall be readjusted, but will not be longer than 2 years after such notice. Failure to send the decision transmitting the readjusted lease terms in the specified period shall constitute a waiver of the right to readjust, unless the delay is caused by events beyond the control of the Department.
(d) In the notification that the lease will be readjusted, the authorized officer may require the lessee to furnish information specified in § 3422.3-4 of this title for review by the Attorney General as required by section 27(1) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended. If the authorized officer requests the information specified, no lease readjustment shall be effective until 30 days after the authorized officer has transmitted the required information to the Attorney General. The lease shall be subject to cancellation if the lessee fails to furnish the required information within the time allowed.
(e) The Governor of the affected State will be sent a copy of the readjusted lease terms.
[44 FR 42635, July 19, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 33146, July 30, 1982; 48 FR 37656, Aug. 19, 1983; 53 FR 37300, Sept. 26, 1988]