[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR2.22]

[Page 19-20]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 2--RECORDS AND TESTIMONY; FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart B--Requests for Records
 
Sec. 2.22  Special rules governing certain information concerning coal obtained under the Mineral Leasing Act.

    (a) Definitions. As used in the section:
    (1) Act means the Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as 
amended by the Act of August 4, 1976, Pub. L. 94-377, 90 Stat. 1083 (30 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, as 
amended (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.)
    (2) Exploration license means a license issued by the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct coal exploration operations on land subject to 
the Act pursuant to the authority in section 2(b) of the Act, as amended 
(30 U.S.C. 201(b)).
    (3) Fair-market value of coal to be leased means the minimum amount 
of a bid the Secretary has determined he is willing to accept in leasing 
coal within leasing tracts offered in general lease sales or reserved 
and offered for lease to public bodies, including Federal agencies, 
rural electric cooperatives, or non-profit corporations, controlled by 
any of such entities pursuant to section 2(a) of the Act (30 U.S.C. 
201(a)(1)).
    (4) Information means data, statistics, samples and other facts, 
whether analyzed or processed or not, pertaining to Federal coal 
resources, which fit within an exemption to the Freedom of Information 
Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b).
    (b) Applicability. This section applies to the following categories 
of information:
    (1) Category A. Information provided to or obtained by a bureau 
under section 2(b)(3) of the Act from the holder of an exploration 
license;
    (2) Category B. Information acquired from commercial or other 
sources under service contract with Geological Survey pursuant to 
section 8A(b) of the Act, and information developed by the Geological 
Survey under an exploratory program authorized by section 8A of the Act;
    (3) Category C. Information obtained from commercial sources which 
the commercial source acquired while not under contract with the United 
States Government;
    (4) Category D. Information provided to the Secretary by a federal 
department or agency pursuant to section 8A(e) of the Act; and

[[Page 20]]

    (5) Category E. The fair-market value of coal to be leased and 
comments received by the Secretary with respect to such value.
    (c) Availability of information. Information obtained by the 
Department from various sources will be made available to the public as 
follows:
    (1) Category A--Information. Category A information shall not be 
disclosed to the public until after the areas to which the information 
pertains have been leased by the Department, or until the Secretary 
determines that release of the information to the public would not 
damage the competitive position of the holder of the exploration 
license, whichever comes first.
    (2) Category B--Information. Category B information shall not be 
withheld from the public; it will be made available by means of and at 
the time of open filing or publication by Geological Survey.
    (3) Category C--Information. Category C information shall not be 
made available to the public until after the areas to which the 
information pertains have been leased by the Department.
    (4) Category D--Information. Category D information shall be made 
available to the public under the terms and conditions to which, at the 
time he or she acquired it, the head of the department or agency from 
whom the Secretary later obtained the information agreed.
    (5) Category E--Information. Category E information shall not be 
made public until the lands to which the information pertains have been 
leased, or until the Secretary has determined that its release prior to 
the issuance of a lease is in the public interest.