IBLA Claim Maintenance Fees and Maintenance Fee Payment Waivers Are Timely if Filed on September 1 During BLM Business Hours; Failure to File Original Signatures With Waiver Is a Curable Defect

摘要

In lieu of the assessment work requirements of the General Mining Law of 1872, 30 U.S.C. §§ 28-28e, and the related filing requirements of section 314(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), 43 U.S.C. § 1744(a), unpatented mining claim holders are required to pay a maintenance fee for each claim of site "on or before September 1 of each year." 30 U.S.C § 28f(a);see alsa 43 C.F.R. § 3834.11(a)(2). The fee, however, is waived for those claimants who certify in writing that the claimant and all related parties held not more than 10 mining claims and have performed the required assessment work. 30 U.S.C. § 28f(d)(l). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requires claimants seeking a waiver to file "BLM's waiver certification form on or before September 1 of each assessment year." 43 C.F.R. §3835.10(a).