(a) Setting fees. Fees may be statutorily set fees, relatively nominal filing fees, or processing fees intended to reimburse BLM for its reasonable processing costs. For processing fees, BLM takes into account the factors in Section 304 (b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1734(b)) before deciding a fee. BLM considers the factors for each type of document when the processing fee is a fixed fee and for each individual document when the fee is decided on a case-by-case basis, as explained in §3000.11.

(b) Conditions for filing. BLM will not accept a document that you submit without the proper filing or processing fee amounts except for documents where BLM sets the fee on a case-by-case basis. Fees are not refundable except as provided for case-by-case fees in §3000.11. BLM will keep your fixed filing or processing fee as a service charge even if we do not approve your application or you withdraw it completely or partially.

(c) Periodic adjustment. We will periodically adjust fees established in this subchapter according to change in the Implicit Price Deflator for Gross Domestic Product, which is published quarterly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Because the fee recalculations are simply based on a mathematical formula, we will change the fees in final rules without opportunity for notice and comment.

(d) Timing of fee applicability.

(1) For a document BLM receives before November 7, 2005, we will not charge a fixed fee or a case-by-case fee under this subchapter for processing that document, except for fees applicable under then-existing regulations.

(2) For a document BLM receives on or after November 7, 2005, you must include required fixed fees with documents you file, as provided in §3000.12(a) of this chapter, and you are subject to case-by-case processing fees as provided in §3000.11 of this chapter and under other provisions of this chapter.

[70 FR 58872, Oct. 7, 2005, as amended at 72 FR 50886, Sept. 5, 2007]