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We recently queried State Offices of the Bureau about the scheduling of actions on pending oil shale patent applications using the standards outlined in the Deputy Assistant Secretary's letter. Only one application (Marathon 011) could be completed by mid-February 1989, but the earliest possible completion for four others is June and July 1989, because of the need for further field work by BIM to verify discovery of qualifying exposures and/or resumption of annual labor. We do not expect that many oil shale patent applications could be ready for final decision by BLM (patent or contest) prior to final rulemaking, if proposed rules are published in late January 1989 with a 30-45 day comment period and final rules are published by April 1989. Therefore, at present we do not plan to issue patents contest claims until after the effective date of final rulemaking on the issue of discovery and assessment work performance.

United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240

TAKE

IN REPLY REFER TO

4700 (880)

JAN 30 C

Honorable Nick J. Rahall, II

Chairman, Subcommittee on Mining

and Natural Resources

Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Enclosed are responses to the pre-hearing questions you identified in your letter of January 17, 1989. These questions and answers relate to the Subcommittee's oversight hearing on the Bureau of Land Management's fiscal year 1990 budget request as it relates to the Energy and Minerals Management Activity.

If you have any further questions or need additional information on these
questions, please let me know.

Pre-Hearing Questions submitted by Chairman Rahall
Bureau of Land Management

With respect to unpatented oil shale placer claims, please provide the following information:

a. Number of patent applications listed by state, name of applicant, date application was filed, number of claims in each patent application and the acreage involved in each application. For each patent application please note at what stage of adjudication the application is in, such as whether a final certificate has been issued.

COLORADO

Harlan and Dorothy HUGGC-35080 filed 2/19/82 for 7 claims encompassing 1,120 acres. First half final certificate issued 12/18/84.C-36293 filed 8/24/82 for 13 claims encompassing 2,080 acres. First half final certificate issued 6/4/85.

EXXON

C-38579 filed 1/23/84 for 20 claims encompassing 3,203.8 acres. Awaiting "waiver" from applicant to acknowledge that BLM may challenge claims on the basis of assessment work nonperformance. No response, hence certificate not issued.

UNION OIL CO. of CALIFORNIA

C-39464 filed 10/26/83 (out of C-38402) for 10 claims encompassing 1,216.14 acres. First half final certificate issued 1/11/84.

TOSCO

C-41836 filed 6/11/85 for 12 claims encompassing 1,880
acres. First half final certificate issued on 7/27/88.

MARATHON

C-43354 filed 4/4/86 for 6 claims encompassing 982.92 acres.
First half final certificate issued 05/11/88.

All the following patent applications are in the
adjudication of title documents stage only.

MT. LOGAN COMPANY

COC-48471 filed 4/19/88 for 6 claims encompassing 963.32 acres. Claims are in Garfield Co., T. 7 & 8 S., R. 97 N.

Orville ALTENBERN

COC-48472 filed 4/19/88 for 9 claims encompassing 1,320 acres. Located in Rio Blanco & Garfield Co's., T. 4 & 5 S., R.100 W.

Joan L. SAVAGE

COC-48544 filed 6/24/88 for 4 claims encompassing 640 acres.
Claims are in Garfield Co., T. 5 S., R. 99 W.COC-48944 filed
9/21/88 for 9 claims encompassing 1,440 acres. Claims are in
Garfield Co., T. 6 S., R. 100 W.

Joan L. SAVAGE & Isabell PRIEN

COC-48545 filed 6/24/88 for 1 claim encompassing 160 acres.
Claims are in Garfield Co., T. 5 S., R. 100 W.

John HERR, Neil MINCER, Jean & James LARSON

COC-48558 filed 7/1/88 for 64 claims encompassing approx. 10,240 acres. Claims are in Garfield Co., T. 6 S., R. 100 € 101 W.

Joan L., John W. Jr., Roy E., Marshall T., and Daniel W.
SAVAGE

COC-48968 filed 10/12/88 for 6 claims encompassing 716 acres.
Claims are in Garfield Co., T. 5 S., R. 99 100 W..

TOTALS FOR COLORADO:

167 claims under application containing approx. 25,962 acres

UTAH

Fred LARSON

It

U-63241 filed 3/17/88 for 175 claims, encompassing approx.
28,000 acres. Abstract of title only recently received.
appears that several non-contiguous blocks of claims are
included, thus several applications may have to be
submitted.

WYOMING

None received as of 01/23/89.

Question 1: (continued)

b. Number of unpatented claims for which no patent

applications have been filed, listed by state, name of claim holder, and the acreage involved.

Answer: Our present list of the remaining oil shale claims not under patent application follows:

Answer:

c. Status of rulemaking activities relating to establishing criteria which would be used to determine the validity of oil shale placer claims.

Proposed rules that would define the standard for discovery
of a valuable oil shale deposit within the meaning of the
Mining Law and implement the U.S. Supreme Court decision of
Andrus v.Shell Oil Co. (1980) are expected to be published in
the Federal Register in February 1989. The proposed
rulemaking also would clarify the ability of the Government
to challenge mining claims for failure to substantially
comply with assessment work requirements of the Mining Law,
consistent with Supreme Court holdings in 1930, 1935, and
1970.

Question 1 (continued)

Answer:

d. The estimated average cost per claim or patent application to conduct a validity determination.

We estimate that for each oil shale mining claim it could cost BLM $3,000 to perform on-the-ground mineral examinations for determination of validity, including the preparation of mineral reports recommending issuance of either patent or contest charges.

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