(a) Except as hereinafter provided, the authorized officer may reinstate a lease which has terminated for failure to pay on or before the anniversary date the full amount of rental due, provided that:

(1) Such rental was paid or tendered within 20 days after the anniversary date; and

(2) It is shown to the satisfaction of the authorized officer that the failure to timely submit the full amount of the rental due was either justified or not due to a lack of reasonable diligence on the part of the lessee (reasonable diligence shall include a rental payment which is postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, common carrier, or their equivalent (not including private postal meters) on or before the lease anniversary date or, if the designated Service office is closed on the anniversary date, postmarked on the next day the Service office is open to the public); and

(3) A petition for reinstatement, the processing fee for lease reinstatement, Class I, found in the fee schedule in §3000.12 of this chapter, and the required rental, including any back rental that has accrued from the date of the termination of the lease, are filed with the proper BLM office within 60 days after receipt of Notice of Termination of Lease due to late payment of rental. If a terminated lease becomes productive prior to the time the lease is reinstated, all required royalty that has accrued shall be paid to the Service.

(b) The burden of showing that the failure to pay on or before the anniversary date was justified or not due to lack of reasonable diligence shall be on the lessee.

(c) Under no circumstances shall a terminated lease be reinstated if:

(1) A valid oil and gas lease has been issued prior to the filing of a petition for reinstatement affecting any of the lands covered by that terminated lease; or

(2) The oil and gas interests of the United States in the lands have been disposed of or otherwise have become unavailable for leasing.

(d) The authorized officer shall not issue a lease for lands which have been covered by a lease which terminated automatically until 90 days after the date of termination.

[49 FR 30448, July 30, 1984, as amended at 53 FR 17357, May 16, 1988; 70 FR 58874, Oct. 7, 2005]