(a) Under certain conditions, you may qualify for a waiver from the annual maintenance fee requirements. You cannot obtain a waiver from service charges, the location fee, the initial maintenance fee, or the $550 oil shale fee.

(b) The following table lists the types of waivers available and how you qualify for them (detailed requirements for each category appear in § 3835.10):

(a) You must submit BLM's waiver certification form on or before September 1 of each assessment year for which you are seeking a waiver. You must submit your waiver on or before September 1 for BLM to exempt your claims or sites from the annual maintenance fee requirement that is due on the same date. You may have an agent submit a waiver form on your behalf if you file or have filed with BLM a power of attorney or other legal documentation which shows that the agent is acting on your behalf.

(b) All waiver requests must include:

(1) The names and addresses of all claimants who maintain an interest in the mining claims or sites listed on the waiver document;

(2) The original signatures of the claimants of the mining claims or sites who are requesting the waiver, or the original signature of the authorized agent of the owner or owners of those mining claims or sites;

(3) The names of the mining claims or sites for which you request a waiver;

(4) The serial numbers, if available, that BLM assigned to the mining claims or sites; and

(5) The date the maintenance fee was due from which you are seeking a waiver.

(a) Small miner waivers. Small miner waiver requests must include a declaration that:

(1) You and all related parties hold no more than a total of 10 mining claims and sites nationwide;

(2) You have completed or will complete all assessment work required by the General Mining Law and part 3836 of this chapter to maintain your claims by the end of the applicable assessment year.

(3) If you were not required to perform assessment work in the previous assessment year, you must include the reason why assessment work was not required in your certification, whether it is because:

(i) Your claim was located in that assessment year;

(ii) You paid a maintenance fee to maintain your claim during that assessment year;

(iii) Assessment work was deferred for that year; or

(iv) Any other reason recognized under Federal law.

(b) Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act waivers. Your application for waiver must include a notice of active military service or entry into active military service. You must also notify BLM in writing when you leave active duty status.

(c) Reclamation waivers. Your application must include a certified and/or notarized statement that:

(1) States that you are reclaiming the mining claims or sites;

(2) States your intent to end mining operations on the claims or sites permanently; and

(3) References a reclamation plan that you submitted to BLM or that BLM approved; or references a reclamation plan approved by a surface managing agency other than BLM.

(d) Denial-of-access waivers. (1) Your application must include a statement that you have received a declaration of taking or a notice of intent to take from the National Park Service or other Federal agency or have otherwise been denied access to your mining claim or site in writing by the surface management agency or a court.

(2) You must submit copies of all official documents you have received that demonstrate the declaration of taking, notice of intent to take, or denial of access.

(3) Applying for National Park Service (NPS) approval of a complete plan of operations does not justify your denial-of-access waiver. While the NPS is reviewing your plan of operations, or if the NPS disapproves it but has not denied you access, or issued a declaration of taking or a notice of intent to take, you must pay the annual maintenance fee.

(e) Contest actions. If the Secretary contests your mining claim or site under part 4 of this title, you must maintain the mining claim or site until the Department of the Interior issues a final decision.

(f) Appeals. If you forfeit your mining claim or site and you file an appeal under part 4 of this title and the Interior Board of Land Appeals stays BLM's voidance decision, you must maintain your mining claim or site through the appeals process.

If BLM allows you the waiver, you must then perform annual assessment work on time and file annual FLPMA documents. You will find more information about annual FLPMA documents in § 3835.30 of this part, and about assessment work in part 3836 of this chapter.

The following table states how long waivers last and explains how to renew them:

In order to obtain a small miner waiver for newly-recorded mining claims, you must—

(a)(1) Submit the waiver request on or before September 1; or

(2) If the mining claim or site was located before September 1 and recorded after September 1 in a timely manner, you must submit the waiver request at the time of recording the mining claim or site with BLM, and

(b) File on or before the December 30 immediately following the September 1st for which you applied for a waiver a notice of intent to hold the mining claim or site. The Mining Law does not require you to perform assessment work in the assessment year in which you locate a mining claim. The notice of intent to hold must conform to §§ 3835.31 through 3835.33.

You must submit a waiver request complying with § 3835.10 before the assessment year begins for which you wish to obtain a waiver. In addition, you must—

(a) Make a FLPMA filing, in the form of a notice of intent to hold under §§ 3835.31 and 3835.33 of this part on or before December 30th immediately following the submission of a waiver request;

(b) Perform your assessment work in the assessment year for which BLM waived the maintenance fee; and

(c) Make a FLPMA filing in the form of an affidavit of assessment work under §§ 3835.31 and 3835.33 of this part on or before the December 30th immediately following the close of the assessment year in which you performed assessment work.

(a) You must perform the required assessment work in the assessment year for which you obtained a waiver from payment of the annual maintenance fee, and file the annual FLPMA document required by the December 30th immediately following the payment of the maintenance fee; and

(b) You must pay the maintenance fee by the proper deadline for the following assessment year.

(a) Before performing assessment work on National Park System lands, you must submit and obtain the National Park Service (NPS)'s approval of a complete plan of operations in compliance with regulations at 36 CFR parts 6 and 9. Your proposed activities must further the ultimate commercial mineral development of each claim, such as delineation of the mineral deposit or commencement of production. Once you submit a proposed plan, NPS will evaluate the plan, conduct a validity exam if necessary, and either approve or disapprove the plan.

(b)(1) If NPS approves your plan of operations, by the September 1 on which you want to submit a small miner waiver request you must:

(i) Post a reclamation bond with NPS;

(ii) Begin the approved activity; and

(iii) Submit a waiver request complying with § 3835.10 before the assessment year begins for which you wish to obtain a waiver.

(2) By December 30, you must file your affidavit of assessment work for the mining claims and a notice of intent to hold for your mill or tunnel sites.

(c) If NPS does not approve your proposed plan of operations by July 1, to allow you sufficient time to conduct assessment work before September 1, you may—

(1) Pay BLM the maintenance fees by September 1;

(2) Petition BLM before September 1 for a deferment of assessment work; or

(3) Submit a request for a lack of access waiver.