§ 5473.4 Approval of request.

(a) If the purchaser shows that his delay in cutting or removal was due to causes beyond his control and without his fault or negligence, the contracting officer may grant an extension of time, upon written request by the purchaser. Such extension will not exceed one year, and will require an appraisal, if the delay was not imposed by the United States or any State government agency as provided by paragraph (c) of this section. Market fluctuations are not cause for consideration of contract extensions. Additional extensions may be granted upon written request by the purchaser. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section requiring reappraisal if the delay was not imposed by the United States or any State government under paragraph (c) of this section, the contracting officer may grant an extension of time, without reappraisal, not to exceed enough time to provide 30 days of operating time, if the delay was due to causes beyond the purchaser's control and without his fault or negligence. No additional extensions may be granted without reappraisal under the provisions of this paragraph. (c) On a showing that the purchaser performed as the average prudent operator would be expected to perform in a like time period prior to any delaying event listed in this paragraph, the contracting officer may grant, without reappraisal, an extension of time not to exceed that necessary to provide an additional amount of operating time equal to operating time lost as a result of: (1) Additional contract requirements incorporated in contract modifications requested by the Government; (2) Delays necessitated by the requirements for consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act; (3) Reviews for cultural resource values; (4) Court injunctions obtained by parties outside the contract; (5) Closure of operations by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or State fire protection agencies due to fire danger; (6) Closure of operations due to unusual weather, where BLM restricted operations during periods with specific environmental conditions, including but not limited to restrictions for low soil moisture, sustained dry periods, frozen soils, or operations requiring snow cover of specific depth; or (7) County, State, or Federal government issuance of an emergency declaration or public order affecting a purchaser's ability to conduct operations in a contract area, along a designated haul route or proximate processing facilities. (d) Upon written request of the purchaser, the State Director may extend a contract to harvest green timber to allow that purchaser to harvest timber as salvage from other Federal or non-Federal lands that have been damaged by fire or other natural or man-made disaster. The duration of the extension shall not exceed the time necessary to meet the salvage objectives, or a maximum of 36 months. The State Director may also waive reappraisal for such extension.