(a) You must pay in advance a rent BLM establishes based on sound business management principles and, as far as practical and feasible, using comparable commercial practices. Rent does not include processing or monitoring fees and rent is not offset by such fees. BLM may exempt, waive, or reduce rent for a grant under §§ 2806.14 and 2806.15 of this subpart.

(b) If BLM issued your grant on or before October 21, 1976, under then existing statutory authority, upon request, BLM will conduct an informal hearing before a proposed rent increase becomes effective. This applies to rent increases due to a BLM-initiated change in the rent or from initially being put on a rent schedule. You are not entitled to a hearing on annual adjustments once you are on a rent schedule.

(c) You must pay rent for your grant or lease using the per-acre rent schedule for linear right-of-way grants (see § 2806.20) unless a separate rent schedule is established for your use, such as for communication sites per § 2806.30 or solar and wind energy development per § 2806.50. The BLM may also determine that these schedules do not apply to your right-of-way pursuant to § 2806.70.

(a) BLM will charge rent beginning on the first day of the month following the effective date of the grant through the last day of the month when the grant terminates. Example: If a grant became effective on January 10 and terminated on September 16, the rental period would be February 1 through September 30, or 8 months.

(b) BLM will set or adjust the annual billing periods to coincide with the calendar year by prorating the rent based on 12 months.

(c) If you disagree with the rent that BLM charges, you may appeal the decision under § 2801.10 of this part.

(a) You must pay rent for the initial rental period before the BLM issues you a grant or lease.

(1) If your grant or lease is effective on:

(i) January 1 through September 30 and qualifies for annual payments, your initial rent bill is pro-rated to include only the remaining full months in the initial year; or

(ii) October 1 through December 31 and qualifies for annual payments, your initial rent bill is pro-rated to include the remaining full months in the initial year plus the next full year.

(2) If your grant or lease allows for multiyear payments, such as a short-term grant issued for energy site-specific testing, you may request that your initial rent bill be for the full term instead of the initial rent bill periods provided under paragraph (a)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section.

(b) You must make all rent payments for rights-of-way according to the payment plan described in § 2806.24.

(c) After the first rental payment, all rent is due on January 1 of the first year of each succeeding rental period for the term of your grant.

(d) You must make all rental payments as instructed by us or as provided for by Secretarial order or legislative authority.

(a) If the BLM does not receive the rent or fee payment required in subpart 2806 within 15 calendar days after the payment was due under § 2806.12, we will charge you a late payment fee of $25 or 10 percent of the amount you owe, whichever is greater, per authorization.

(b) If BLM does not receive your rent payment and late payment fee within 30 calendar days after rent was due, BLM may collect other administrative fees provided by statute.

(c) If BLM does not receive your rent, late payment fee, and any administrative fees within 90 calendar days after the rent was due, BLM may terminate your grant under § 2807.17 of this part and you may not remove any facility or equipment without BLM's written permission (see § 2807.19 of this part). The rent due, late payment fees, and any administrative fees remain a debt that you owe to the United States.

(d) If you pay the rent, late payment fee, and any administrative fees after BLM has terminated the grant, BLM does not automatically reinstate the grant. You must file a new application with BLM. BLM will consider the history of your failure to timely pay rent in deciding whether to issue you a new grant.

(e) Subject to applicable laws and regulations, the BLM will retroactively bill for uncollected or under-collected rent, fees, and late payments.

(f) You may appeal any adverse decision BLM takes against your grant under § 2801.10 of this part.

(g) We will not approve any further activities associated with your right-of-way until we receive any outstanding payments that are due.

(h) You must pay rent even if you have not been sent or received a courtesy bill.

(a)You do not have to pay rent for your use if:

(1) BLM issues the grant under a statute which does not allow BLM to charge rent;

(2) You are a Federal, state, or local government or its agent or instrumentality, unless you are:

(i) Using the facility, system, space, or any part of the right-of-way area for commercial purposes; or

(ii) A municipal utility or cooperative whose principal source of revenue is customer charges;

(3) You have been granted an exemption under a statute providing for such; or

(4) Electric or telephone facilities constructed on the right-of-way were financed in whole or in part, or eligible for financing, under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended (REA) (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) or are extensions of such facilities. You do not need to have sought financing from the Rural Utilities Service to qualify for this exemption. The BLM may require you to document the facility's eligibility for REA financing.

(b) The exemptions in this section do not apply if you are in trespass.

(a) BLM may waive or reduce your rent payment, even to zero in appropriate circumstances. BLM may require you to submit information to support a finding that your grant qualifies for a waiver or a reduction of rent.

(b) A BLM State Director may, on a case-by-case basis, evaluate and approve any requests for waiver or reduction in the annual rent for grants if you show the BLM that:

(1) You are a non-profit organization, corporation, or association which is not controlled by, or is not a subsidiary of, a profit making corporation or business enterprise and the facility or project will provide a benefit or special service to the general public or to a program of the Secretary;

(2) You provide without charge, or at reduced rates, a valuable benefit to the public at large or to the programs of the Secretary of the Interior;

(3) Your grant describes your intended use of new and existing routes to access your right-of-way (see § 2805.11(b)). This paragraph does not apply to oil and gas leases issued under part 3100 of this chapter;

(4) Your grant involves a cost share road or a reciprocal right-of-way agreement not subject to subpart 2812 of this chapter. In these cases, the BLM will determine the rent based on the proportion of use; or

(5) Paying the full rent will cause you undue hardship and it is in the public interest to waive or reduce your rent. In your request for a waiver or rental reduction you must include a suggested alternative rental payment plan or timeframe within which you anticipate resuming full rental payments. The BLM may also require you to submit specific financial and technical data or other information that corrects or modifies the statement of financial capability required by § 2804.12(a)(5) of this part.

To expedite the processing of your grant application, BLM may estimate rent payments and collect that amount before it issues the grant. The amount may change once BLM determines the actual rent of the right-of-way. BLM will credit any rental overpayment, and you are liable for any underpayment. This section does not apply to rent payments made under a rent schedule in this part.

(a) Except as described in § 2806.26 of this chapter, the BLM will use the Per Acre Rent Schedule (see paragraph (c) of this section) to calculate rent for all linear right-of-way authorizations, regardless of the granting authority (FLPMA, MLA, and their predecessors). Counties (or other geographical areas) are assigned to an appropriate zone in accordance with § 2806.21. The BLM will adjust the per acre rent values in the schedule annually in accordance with § 2806.22(a), and it will revise the schedule at the end of each 10-year period in accordance with § 2806.22(b).

(b) The annual per acre rent for all types of linear right-of-way facilities is the product of 4 factors: The per acre zone value multiplied by the encumbrance factor multiplied by the rate of return multiplied by the annual adjustment factor (see § 2806.22(a)).

(c) You may obtain a copy of the current Per Acre Rent Schedule from any BLM state, district, or field office or by writing the address found under § 2804.14(c) of this part. We also post the current rent schedule at http://www.blm.gov.

Counties (or other geographical areas) are assigned to a County Zone Number and Per Acre Zone Value based upon 80 percent of their average per acre land and building value published in the Census of Agriculture (Census) by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The initial assignment of counties to the zones will cover years 2006 through 2010 of the Per Acre Rent Schedule and is based upon data contained in the most recent NASS Census (2002). Subsequent re-assignments of counties will occur every 5 years (in 2011 based upon 2007 NASS Census data, in 2016 based upon 2012 NASS Census data, and so forth) following the publication of the NASS Census.

(a) Each calendar year the BLM will adjust the per acre rent values in § 2806.20 for all types of linear right-of-way facilities in each zone based on the average annual change in the IPD-GDP for the 10-year period immediately preceding the year that the NASS Census data becomes available. For example, the average annual change in the IPD-GDP from 1994 to 2003 (the 10-year period immediately preceding the year (2004) that the 2002 National Agricultural Statistics Service Census data became available) was 1.9 percent. This annual adjustment factor is applied to years 2006 through 2015 of the Per Acre Rent Schedule. Likewise, the average annual change in the IPD-GDP from 2004 to 2013 (the 10-year period immediately preceding the year (2014) when the 2012 NASS Census data will become available) will be applied to years 2016 through 2025 of the Per Acre Rent Schedule.

(b) The BLM will review the NASS Census data from the 2012 NASS Census, and each subsequent 10-year period, and as appropriate, revise the number of county zones and the per acre zone values. Any revision must include 100 percent of the number of counties and listed geographical areas for all states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and must reasonably reflect the increases or decreases in the average per acre land and building values contained in the NASS Census.

(a) Except as provided by §§ 2806.25 and 2806.26, the BLM calculates your rent by multiplying the rent per acre for the appropriate county (or other geographical area) zone from the current schedule by the number of acres (as rounded up to the nearest tenth of an acre) in the right-of-way area that fall in each zone and multiplying the result by the number of years in the rental payment period (the length of time for which the holder is paying rent).

(b) If the BLM has not previously used the rent schedule to calculate your rent, we may do so after giving you reasonable written notice.

(a) Term grants. For linear grants, except those issued in perpetuity, you must make either nonrefundable annual payments or a nonrefundable payment for more than 1 year, as follows:

(1) One-time payments. You may pay in advance the total rent amount for the entire term of the grant or any remaining years.

(2) Multiple payments. If you choose not to make a one-time payment, you must pay according to one of the following methods:

(i) Payments by individuals. If your annual rent is $100 or less, you must pay at 10-year intervals, not to exceed the term of the grant. If your annual rent is greater than $100, you may pay annually or at 10-year intervals, not to exceed the term of the grant. For example, if you have a grant with a remaining term of 30 years, you may pay in advance for 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years, but not any other multi-year period.

(ii) Payments by all others. If your annual rent is $500 or less, you must pay rent at 10-year intervals, not to exceed the term of the grant. If your annual rent is greater than $500, you may pay annually or at 10-year intervals, not to exceed the term of the grant.

(b) Perpetual grants. For linear grants issued in perpetuity (except as noted in §§ 2806.25 and 2806.26), you must make either nonrefundable annual payments or a nonrefundable payment for more than 1 year, as follows:

(1) Payments by individuals. If your annual rent is $100 or less, you must pay at 10-year intervals, not to exceed 30 years. If your annual rent is greater than $100, you may pay annually or at 10-year intervals, not to exceed 30 years.

(2) Payments by all others. If your annual rent is $500 or less, you must pay rent at 10-year intervals, not to exceed 30 years. If your annual rent is greater than $500, you may pay annually or at 10-year intervals, not to exceed 30 years.

(c) Proration of payments. The BLM prorates the first year rental amount based on the number of months left in the calendar year after the effective date of the grant. If your grant requires, or you chose a 10-year payment term, or multiples thereof, the initial rent bill consists of the remaining partial year plus the next 10 years, or multiple thereof.

(a) One-time payment option for existing perpetual grants. If you have a perpetual grant and the land your grant encumbers is being transferred out of Federal ownership, you may choose to make a one-time rental payment. The BLM will determine the one-time payment for a perpetual grant by dividing the current annual rent for the subject property by an overall capitalization rate calculated from market data, where the overall capitalization rate is the difference between a market yield rate and a percent annual rent increase as described in the formula in paragraphs (a)(1), (2), and (3) of this section. The formula for this calculation is: One-time Rental Payment = Annual Rent/ (Y−CR), where:

(b) One-time payment for grants converted to perpetual grants under § 2807.15(b). If the land your grant encumbers is being transferred out of Federal ownership, and you request a conversion of your grant to a perpetual right-of-way grant, you must make a one-time rental payment in accordance with § 2806.25(a).

(c) In paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the annual rent is determined from the Per Acre Rent Schedule (see § 2806.20(c)) as updated under § 2806.22. However, the per acre zone value and zone number used in this annual rental determination will be based on the per acre land value from acceptable market information or the appraisal report, if any, for the land transfer action and not the county average per acre land and building value from the NASS Census. You may also submit an appraisal report on your own initiative in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

(d) When no acceptable market information is available and no appraisal report has been completed for the land transfer action or when the BLM requests it, you must:

(1) Prepare an appraisal report using Federal appraisal standards, at your expense, that explains how you estimated the land value per acre, the rate of return, and the encumbrance factor; and

(2) Submit the appraisal report for consideration by the BLM State Director with jurisdiction over the lands encumbered by your authorization.

(a) The BLM will use the appraisal report for the land transfer action (i.e., direct or indirect land sales, land exchanges, and other land disposal actions) and other acceptable market information to determine the one-time rental payment for a perpetual easement issued under § 2807.15(b).

(b) When no acceptable market information is available and no appraisal report has been completed for the land transfer action or when the BLM requests it, you must prepare an appraisal report as required under § 2806.25(d). You may also submit an appraisal report on your own initiative in accordance with § 2806.25(d).

If you hold a right-of-way for solar or wind energy development, you must pay an annual rent and fee in accordance with this section and subpart. The annual rent and fee is the greater of the acreage rent or the capacity fee that would be due in a given year. The acreage rent will be calculated consistent with § 2806.11 and prorated consistent with § 2806.12(a). The capacity fee will vary depending on the project's gross proceeds from the sale of electricity produced by the renewable energy project and will be calculated consistent with § 2806.52(b).

The holder of a right-of-way for a wind energy generation project may request from the BLM to apply a multiple-use reduction factor of 10-percent to the amount of a capacity fee determined under § 2806.52. Such a request may be approved if the holder demonstrates that not less than 25 percent of the land within the right-of-way is authorized for use, occupancy, or development with respect to an activity other than the generation of wind energy for the entirety of the year in which the capacity fee is collected.

You must pay the greater of either an annual acreage rent or a capacity fee. The acreage rent and capacity fee are determined as follows:

(a) Acreage rent. The BLM will calculate the acreage rent for your grant or lease by multiplying the number of acres of the authorized area (rounded up to the nearest tenth of an acre) by the annual per-acre rate for the year in which the payment is due.

(1) Per-acre rate. The annual per-acre rate for your grant or lease is calculated using the State per-acre value from the solar or wind energy acreage rent schedule, the encumbrance factor, the year of the grant or lease term, and the annual adjustment factor. The calculation for determining the annual per-acre rate is A × B × [(1 + C) ^ D] where:

(i) A is the state per-acre value from the solar or wind energy acreage rent schedule published by the BLM for the year on which your right-of-way grant or lease is issued and is based on the average of the per-acre pastureland rental rates published in the Cash Rents Survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the State in which the right-of-way is located over the 5 calendar-year period preceding the issuance or renewal of the right-of-way. The BLM will calculate the average using only those years for which rent is reported by NASS.

(ii) B is the encumbrance factor, which is 100 percent for solar energy and for wind energy an amount determined by the Secretary, but not less than 10 percent;

(iii) C is the annual adjustment factor, which is 3 percent; and,

(iv) D is the year in the term of the right-of-way.

(2) You may obtain a copy of the current solar or wind energy acreage rent schedule from any BLM state, district, or field office or by writing the address found under § 2804.14(c) of this part, Attention: Renewable Energy Coordination Office. The BLM also posts the current solar energy acreage rent schedule at http://www.blm.gov.

(b) Capacity fee. (1) The capacity fee is calculated as 3.9 percent of the project's annual gross proceeds from the sale of electricity produced by the renewable energy project. The capacity fee is due annually in the calendar year following the year in which the electricity was produced.

(2) For projects that include generation on public and non-public lands, the holder will be prorated the total energy generation by the percentage of the right-of-way footprint on public lands relative to the total development area footprint.

Rent for energy storage facilities that are not part of a solar or wind energy development facility will be determined pursuant to the linear rent formula set forth in § 2806.23. The BLM may determine your rent pursuant to § 2806.70 if we determine the linear rent schedule does not apply.

If a solar energy development project includes separate right-of-way authorizations issued for support facilities only (administration building, groundwater wells, construction lay down and staging areas, surface water management and control structures, etc.) or linear right-of-way facilities (pipelines, roads, power lines, etc.), rent is determined using the Per Acre Rent Schedule for linear facilities (see § 2806.20(c)).

(a) Grants for energy site-specific testing. You must pay $100 per year for each meteorological tower or instrumentation facility location. BLM offices with approved small site rental schedules may use those fee structures if the fees in those schedules charge more than $100 per meteorological tower per year. In lieu of annual payments, you may instead pay for the entire term of the grant (3 years or less).

(b) Grants for energy project-area testing. You must pay $2,000 per year or $2 per acre per year for the lands authorized by the grant, whichever is greater. There is no additional rent for the installation of each meteorological tower or instrumentation facility located within the site testing and monitoring project-area.

When we determine that the linear, communication use, solar, or wind energy payment schedules do not apply, we may determine your payment through a process based on comparable commercial practices, appraisals, competitive bids, or other reasonable methods. We will notify you in writing of the payment determination. If you disagree with the payment determination, you may appeal our final determination under § 2801.10.