Oregon Administrative Code

141-070-0030 Geophysical Survey Permit A geophysical survey permit is required from the Division to explore state-owned land for potential oil and gas resources. A permit may be requested in writing from the Division’s mineral leasing manager and will be issued, if approved, on a…

141-070-0040 Title Warranty The state makes no representation or warranty whatsoever with respect to its title to any lands offered for lease. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 273.780 - 273.790 History: LB 3-1988, f. & cert. ef. 9-19-88

141-070-0050 General Leasing Conditions (1) The Division of State Lands may conduct an auction of oil and gas rights upon receipt of applications nominating state-owned lands. The minimum acreage required for an auction to be conducted shall be determined by the Director. The Div…

141-070-0060 Lease Application All requests to lease state-owned oil and gas rights shall be submitted on application forms provided by the Division. (1) The completed application form must be accompanied by a $50 per parcel processing fee payable by cash or check to the Division…

141-070-0070 Rejection The Director may reject any application that is not in compliance with these rules or that is not in the public interest. If rejected, all fees shall be returned to applicant. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 273.780 - 273.…

141-070-0080 Auction Notice When the Director determines that sufficient lands have been nominated as described in OAR 141-070-0050, an auction date will be established and details pertaining thereto will be announced to all interested parties as follows: (1) The Division will ma…

141-070-0090 Auction Procedure The procedure for auctioning state oil and gas leases shall be either by sealed bid or oral bid. The selection of auction procedure shall be at the discretion of the Director based on the public interest. Bids shall include the minimum bid amounts s…

141-070-0100 Lease Conditions and Requirements All oil and gas leases shall be on a form approved by the Director of the Division of State Lands. The oil and gas lease form contains specific contractual rights and obligations including, but not limited to, the following: (1) The …

141-070-0110 Surface Entry Permit When the State owns the surface as well as the oil and gas rights, no road construction, site preparation or drilling for oil or gas shall take place on the surface of the leased premises prior to the issuance of a surface entry permit. When the …

141-070-0120 Rental Amounts Lessee shall pay to the state annually in advance, the following rental amounts per acre or fraction of an acre per year: (1) Annual Rental — The amount of $1 per acre or fraction of an acre payable in advance on an annual basis during the primary ten-…

141-070-0130 Royalties The minimum royalties on all leases shall be: (1) Oil — One-eighth of the market value at well head. (2) Gas — One-eighth of the proceeds from sale of gas as calculated at well head. (3) Sulphur — One dollar per long ton. (4) At the discretion of the Direct…

141-070-0140 Assignment of Lease The assignment of a divided or undivided lease interest, in whole or in part, may only be accomplished by compliance with the following: (1) Divided Interests. All request for assignment of divided interests must be submitted on forms provided by …

141-070-0150 Production Requirements Whether or not the state owns the surface, no production of oil, gas, and the constituents thereof shall be commenced until the lessee has submitted, and the Director has approved, an Operations Plan and an Environmental Impact Assessment, or …

141-070-0160 Lease Termination At the expiration of the lease or upon sooner termination, the lessee shall execute and deliver to the state a release or a recorded quitclaim of the leased premises if the original lease was recorded. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Statutes/Oth…

141-070-0170 Leases Issued Prior to the Effective Date of These Rules All upland oil and gas lease agreements issued prior to the effective date of these administrative rules remain subject to the provisions of OAR 141-072-0205 et seq., under division 72 of chapter 141, Division …

141-071-0400 Purpose The purpose of these regulations is to prescribe uniform procedures for obtaining and conducting operations under mineral prospecting permits and mining leases covering onshore state-owned lands and mineral rights under the jurisdiction of the Division of Sta…

141-071-0405 Definitions (1) “Division” means Division of State Lands. (2) “Director” means the Division Director. (3) “Mining claim” means as defined in ORS Chapter 517. (4) “Mining lease” means the completed lease following the form adopted by OAR 141-071-0690. (5) “Lands” mean…

141-071-0410 State Land Board Policy In order to more fully manage the mineral rights in property owned by any state agency as directed by ORS 273.780, the State Land Board adopts the following program policies: (1) The Division’s program should provide for environmental protecti…

141-071-0420 Fees and Service Charges The Division shall collect nonrefundable service charges to cover the expense of processing the following matters: (1) Original application — $50 for each lease or permit. (2) Assignment — $25 for each assignment. (3) Mineral prospecting perm…

141-071-0425 Insurance Prior to any operations on state-owned land, permittees and lessees shall provide evidence of insurance as follows: (1) Public liability of $100,000, $300,000 and property damage of $100,000, including fire coverage; and (2) Contractual liability covering t…

141-071-0430 Bonds Applicants for permits or mining leases shall furnish corporate surety bonds in amounts and with sureties acceptable to the Division. Bonds will be conditioned on compliance with all the terms of the permit or lease. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Statutes/…

141-071-0440 Reservations (1) The Division may withdraw any mineral rights from availability for exploration or leasing at any time prior to receipt of notice of a discovery. Withdrawals based on applicants’ environmental reports or state investigation shall be subject to appeal …

141-071-0445 Refunds and Withdrawals (1) If an application for a Mineral Prospecting Permit is rejected, all checks tendered by applicant, except the filing fee, will be returned. If part of an application is rejected, per acre fees applicable to the rejected acreage will be refu…

141-071-0450 Records Copies of all exploration data, including for example drilling logs, geochemical readings, and field notes, shall be deposited with the State Geologist within five years after performance of the work. If ongoing exploration work or lease performance warrants …

141-071-0455 Lands Subject to Permit All state-owned lands and mineral rights under the Division’s jurisdiction are available for prospecting except: (1) Lands and mineral rights classified as containing commercially valuable mineral deposits; and (2) Lands reserved for a Natural…

141-071-0460 Mineral Prospecting Permit Required No person shall conduct mechanized exploration operations on, in, or under land or mineral rights owned by the State of Oregon and under the jurisdiction of the Division without a permit or lease issued pursuant to these regulation…

141-071-0465 Application for Mineral Prospecting Permit Any qualified applicant wishing to obtain an original, amended, or renewal mineral prospecting permit from the Division shall submit at least two copies of a mineral prospecting application on a form provided by the Division…

141-071-0470 Priority Applications will be accepted in the order received and priority of permit issuance will be established on the same basis except as provided in the case of simultaneous filings. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 273.780 - 273…

141-071-0475 Application Approval (1) Upon receipt of a mineral prospecting permit application, the Division shall cause copies of the application to be sent to the surface rights holder and affected state agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality, Department of…

141-071-0480 Mineral Prospecting Permit Terms (1) Except for additions and modifications required to protect natural resources and environmental quality, the Division of State Lands Mineral Prospecting Permit form as adopted August 15, 1977, will be issued upon approval of a pros…

141-071-0485 Conversion Upon discovery of valuable minerals in commercial quantities, the permittee shall immediately notify the Division in writing (giving sufficient detail to enable the Division or an impartial consultant to evaluate the discovery). Thereafter, for a period of…

141-071-0490 Mining Lease Required No person, association, or corporation shall dig, extract, mine, drill and sell, remove or dispose of any hard mineral resource in commercial quantities from state-owned land under the jurisdiction of the Division of State Lands without a lease …

141-071-0495 Availability State-owned lands are available for mineral leases if: (1) A certified or proven discovery has been made under an exploration permit; or (2) A nearby discovery warrants inclusion of the state land in a unit agreement or in competitive bidding as provided…

141-071-0500 Size of Leasable Tract (1) Minimum — Except for good cause shown, no minerals lease will be issued for a tract less than a quarter-quarter section (40 acres) or surveyed lot, which could be more or less than 40 acres, except where state lands within any quarter-quart…

141-071-0505 Application Any qualified applicant wishing to obtain an original, amended, or renewal mining lease shall submit at least two copies of a written application on forms provided by the Division. The application must be completely filled out and duly signed by the appli…

141-071-0510 Receipt of Application Applications for mineral leases will be received for filing in the office of the Division during office hours. Because lease priority is obtained only by discovery, drawing, or competitive bidding, time of receipt will be recorded in the same m…

141-071-0515 Priority A permittee under a current minerals prospecting permit shall obtain a preferential right to a minerals lease if: (1) The permittee certifies that it has discovered a valuable mineral deposit and will obtain commercial production of a mineral or minerals; an…

141-071-0520 Application Supplement The application priority afforded an applicant by OAR 141-071-0515, or awarded by means of simultaneous filing drawing, or competitive bidding shall be maintained provided that, within 120 calendar days following acceptance of the application f…

141-071-0525 Application Rejection If application supplements are not received by the Division within the time limit specified in OAR 141-071-0520 or if such application supplements are not complete, the entire application shall be rejected and returned to the applicant with an e…

141-071-0530 Application and Supplement Consideration (1) Upon receipt of a lease application, the Division shall cause notice of the application to be sent to affected state agencies, including the agency having jurisdiction over the surface rights, the Department of Environment…

141-071-0535 When Applicable Upon an order of the Director, when he deems it necessary to insure competitive equity, the Division shall offer mineral resource rights for leasing by public drawing. Additionally, Prospecting Permit applications received for the same land or mineral…

141-071-0540 Procedures The following procedures shall be employed in leasing mineral resource rights by public drawing: (1) A notice of the mineral resource rights available for leasing by public drawing shall be posted in the offices of the Division and distributed to all perso…

141-071-0545 Competitive Bidding Upon a determination that mineral rights lying near a discovery site are not leased or subject to application under OAR 141-071-0535 or 141-071-0485, the Division may offer one or more parcels not exceeding 640 acres each for competitive bidding, …

141-071-0550 Notice of Bidding The Division will publish a notice of opportunity to bid for leases within the discovery area in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties where the discovery is located. The Division will provide written notice to any person or o…

141-071-0555 Contents of Notice The notice will specify the time and place of bid opening, the manner in which bids shall be submitted, a description of the mineral rights in each bidding unit, and the terms and conditions of the lease, including royalty and rental rates. The not…

141-071-0560 Bidding Requirements Each bidder shall submit with his bid an application to lease mineral rights, the filing fee required by OAR 141-071-0420, and a certified or cashier’s check, bank draft, or money order in the amount of one-half of the amount of the applicant’s b…

141-071-0565 Opening of Bids and Award of Leases The following procedures will be employed in opening bids and awarding leases: (1) All bids received within the deadline stated in the notice shall be opened and announced at the place, date, and hour specified in the notice. No bi…

141-071-0570 Oral Bidding Procedure Oral bidders will be required to conform to specific directions published in the bidding notice. Within 30 days of the oral bidding, or such longer periods as may be specified in the notice of bidding, the Director shall award a lease for each …

141-071-0575 Lease Execution If a lease is awarded, a form of lease shall be sent to the successful bidder, who must execute it within 30 days of receipt, pay the first year’s rental, and pay the balance of (his) bonus bid. Within 120 days, and prior to commencing the operations …

141-071-0580 Forfeiture of Competitive Bid Leases If a successful bidder fails to execute the lease or otherwise fails to comply with these rules, his deposit will be forfeited and the bidding unit will be reoffered for competitive leasing. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 273 Stat…