[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR9.30]

[Page 154-155]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
      CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 9--MINERALS MANAGEMENT--Table of Contents
 
               Subpart--B--Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights
 
Sec. 9.30  Purpose and scope.

    Authority: Act of August 25, 1916, 39 Stat. 535 (16 U.S.C. 1, et 
seq.); and the acts establishing the units of the National Park System, 
including but not limited to: Act of April 25, 1947, 61 Stat. 54 (16 
U.S.C. 241, et seq.); Act of July 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 285 (16 U.S.C. 410, 
et seq.); Act of October 27, 1972, 86

[[Page 155]]

Stat. 1312 (16 U.S.C. 460dd, et seq.): Act of October 11, 1974, 88 Stat. 
1256 (16 U.S.C. 698-698e); Act of October 11, 1974, 88 Stat. 1258 (16 
U.S.C. 698f-698m); Act of December 27, 1974, 88 Stat. 1787 (16 U.S.C. 
460ff et seq.).

    Source: 43 FR 57825, Dec. 8, 1978, unless otherwise noted.


    (a) These regulations control all activities within any unit of the 
National Park System in the exercise of rights to oil and gas not owned 
by the United States where access is on, across or through federally 
owned or controlled lands or waters. Such rights arise most frequently 
in one of two situations: (1) When the land is owned in fee, including 
the right to the oil and gas, or (2) When in a transfer of the surface 
estate to the United States, the grantor reserved the rights to the oil 
and gas. These regulations are designed to insure that activities 
undertaken pursuant to these rights are conducted in a manner consistent 
with the purposes for which the National Park System and each unit 
thereof were created, to prevent or minimize damage to the environment 
and other resource values, and to insure to the extent feasible that all 
units of the National Park System are left unimpaired for the enjoyment 
of future generations.

These regulations are not intended to result in the taking of a property 
interest, but rather to impose reasonable regulations on activities 
which involve and affect federally-owned lands.
    (b) Regulations controlling the exercise of minerals rights obtained 
under the Mining Law of 1872 in units of the National Park System can be 
found at 36 CFR part 9, subpart A. In area where oil and gas are owned 
by the United States, and leasing is authorized, the applicable 
regulations can be found at 43 CFR, Group 3100.
    (c) These regulations allow operators the flexibility to design 
plans of operations only for that phase of operations contemplated. Each 
plan need only describe those functions for which the operator wants 
immediate approval. For instance, it is impossible to define, at the 
beginning of exploratory activity, the design that production facilities 
might take. For this reason, an operator may submit a plan which applies 
only to the exploratory phase, allowing careful preparation of a plan 
for the production phase after exploration is completed. This allows for 
phased reclamation and bonding at a level commensurate with the level of 
operations approved. However, it must be noted that because of potential 
cumulative impacts, and because of qualitative differences in the nature 
of the operations, approval of a plan of operations covering one phase 
of operations does not guarantee later approval of a plan of operations 
covering a subsequent phase.

[43 FR 57825, Dec. 8, 1978, as amended at 44 FR 37914, June 29, 1979]