[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR970.208]

[Page 314]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                               OF COMMERCE
 
PART 970--DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR EXPLORATION LICENSES--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B--Applications
 
Sec. 970.208  Fee.

    (a) General. Section 104 of the Act provides that no application for 
the issuance or transfer of an exploration license will be certified 
unless the applicant pays to NOAA a reasonable administrative fee, which 
must reflect the reasonable administrative costs incurred in reviewing 
and processing the application.
    (b) Amount. In order to meet this requirement, the application must 
include a fee payment of $100,000, payable to the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce. If costs incurred by 
NOAA in reviewing and processing an application are significantly less 
than or in excess of the original fee, the agency subsequently will 
determine those differences in costs and adjust the fee accordingly. If 
the costs are significantly less, NOAA will refund the difference. If 
they are significantly greater, the applicant will be required to submit 
the additional payment prior to issue or transfer of the license. In the 
case of an application for transfer of a license to an entity which has 
previously been found qualified for a license, the Administrator may, on 
the basis of pre-application consultations pursuant to Sec. 970.200(d), 
reduce the fee in advance by an appropriate amount which reflects costs 
avoided by reliance on previous findings made in relation to the 
proposed transferee. If an applicant elects to pursue the `banking' 
option under Sec. 970.601(d), and exercises that option by submitting 
two applications, only one application fee needs to be submitted with 
respect to each use of the `banking' option.

[46 FR 45898, Sept. 15, 1981, as amended at 47 FR 5966, 5968, Feb. 9, 
1982]

                               Procedures