§ 1734. — Fees, charges, and commissions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1734]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 35--FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
SUBCHAPTER III--ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 1734. Fees, charges, and commissions
(a) Authority to establish and modify
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may
establish reasonable filing and service fees and reasonable charges, and
commissions with respect to applications and other documents relating to
the public lands and may change and abolish such fees, charges, and
commissions.
(b) Deposits for payments to reimburse reasonable costs of United States
The Secretary is authorized to require a deposit of any payments
intended to reimburse the United States for reasonable costs with
respect to applications and other documents relating to such lands. The
moneys received for reasonable costs under this subsection shall be
deposited with the Treasury in a special account and are hereby
authorized to be appropriated and made available until expended. As used
in this section ``reasonable costs'' include, but are not limited to,
the costs of special studies; environmental impact statements;
monitoring construction, operation, maintenance, and termination of any
authorized facility; or other special activities. In determining whether
costs are reasonable under this section, the Secretary may take into
consideration actual costs (exclusive of management overhead), the
monetary value of the rights or privileges sought by the applicant, the
efficiency to the government processing involved, that portion of the
cost incurred for the benefit of the general public interest rather than
for the exclusive benefit of the applicant, the public service provided,
and other factors relevant to determining the reasonableness of the
costs.
(c) Refunds
In any case where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the
Secretary that any person has made a payment under any statute relating
to the sale, lease, use, or other disposition of public lands which is
not required or is in excess of the amount required by applicable law
and the regulations issued by the Secretary, the Secretary, upon
application or otherwise, may cause a refund to be made from applicable
funds.
(Pub. L. 94-579, title III, Sec. 304, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2765.)
Filing Fees for Applications for Noncompetitive Oil and Gas Leases;
Study and Report of Rental Charges on Oil and Gas Leases
Pub. L. 97-35, title XIV, Sec. 1401(d), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 748,
provided that:
``(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective October
1, 1981, all applications for noncompetitive oil and gas leases shall be
accompanied by a filing fee of not less than $25 for each such
application: Provided, That any increase in the filing fee above $25
shall be established by regulation and subject to the provisions of the
Act of August 31, 1951 (65 Stat. 290) [probably means title V of that
Act which was classified to section 483a of former Title 31, Money and
Finance and was repealed and reenacted as section 9701 of Title 31 by
Pub. L. 97-258] the Act of October 20, 1976 (90 Stat. 2765) [probably
should be Oct. 21, 1976, meaning this chapter] but not limited to actual
costs. Such fees shall be retained as a service charge even though the
application or offer may be rejected or withdrawn in whole or in part.
``(2) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to conduct a
study and report to Congress within one year of the date of enactment of
this Act [Aug. 13, 1981], regarding the current annual rental charges on
all noncompetitive oil and gas leases to investigate the feasibility and
effect of raising such rentals.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1734a, 2005 of this title;
title 16 section 3164.
