Mineral Resources: Federal Coal-Leasing Program Needs Strengthening
RCED-94-10
Published: Sep 16, 1994. Publicly Released: Sep 26, 1994.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) federal coal-leasing program, focusing on: (1) BLM efforts to increase federal coal leases; (2) BLM efforts to address the environmental impacts of additional coal leasing; and (3) whether the projected demand for coal should continue to be used as a basis for BLM coal-leasing decisions.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should cease issuing any additional Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) leases to unqualified companies and amend existing regulations to ensure that lessees holding pre-FCLAA leases will not be issued new mineral leases under MLA unless they have met the coal production requirements that FCLAA added to MLA. |
On August 20, 1997, the Department of the Interior published a final rule to amend existing regulations to ensure that lessees will not be issued new mineral leases under the Mineral Leasing Act unless they have met statutory coal production requirements. This rule is effective September 19, 1997.
|
| Department of the Interior | With respect to the MLA leases already improperly issued to Kerr-McGee or other companies that were not qualified, the Secretary of the Interior should review these leases for action in accordance with all applicable statutory and regulatory provisions. |
The Bureau of Land Management has issued an instruction memorandum to state directors, which is updated annually, that provides an updated noncompliance lessee list to be used to ensure that none of the entities listed is issued a lease in violation of statutory requirements.
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| Department of the Interior | The Department of the Interior should continue its efforts to revise its regulations to provide criteria that BLM can use to determine whether the formation of LMU is consistent with FCLAA goals of discouraging speculation and encouraging the development of federal coal leases. |
On August 20, 1997, the Department of the Interior published a final rule to amend existing regulations to set forth the factors that BLM will consider in reviewing applications for logical mining units, to ensure that logical mining units are approved and administered consistently with statutory goals. This rule is effective September 19, 1997.
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| Bureau of Land Management | For each LMU approved, BLM should document how the approved LMU meets these regulatory criteria. |
On August 20, 1997, the Department of the Interior published a final rule to amend existing regulations to set forth the factors that BLM will consider in reviewing applications for logical mining units, to ensure that logical mining units are approved and administered consistently with statutory goals. This rule is effective September 19, 1997.
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Coal leasesEnvironmental impact statementsEnvironmental monitoringFair market valueLand managementLand use agreementsLeasing policiesMineral bearing landsMineral resourcesSpeculation (finance)