§ 3922.10 Application processing fee.

(a) An applicant nominating or applying for a tract for competitive leasing must pay a cost recovery or processing fee that the BLM will determine on a case-by-case basis as described in § 3000.11 of this chapter and as modified by the following provisions. (b) The cost recovery process for a competitive oil shale lease is as follows: (1) The applicant nominating the tract for competitive leasing must pay the fee before the BLM will process the application and publish a notice of competitive lease sale; (2) The BLM will publish a sale notice no later than 30 days before the proposed sale. The BLM will include in the sale notice a statement of the total cost recovery fee paid to the BLM by the applicant, up to 30 calendar days before the sale; (3) Before the lease is issued: (i) The successful bidder, if someone other than the applicant, must pay to the BLM the cost recovery amount specified in the sale notice, including the cost of the NEPA analysis; and (ii) The successful bidder must pay all processing costs the BLM incurs after the date of the sale notice; (4) If the successful bidder is someone other than the applicant, the BLM will refund to the applicant the amount paid under paragraph (b)(1) of this section; (5) If there is no successful bidder, the applicant is responsible for all processing fees; and (6) If the successful bidder is someone other than the applicant, within 30 calendar days after the lease sale, the successful bidder must file an application in accordance with § 3922.20.