Title 25
SECTION 213.40
213.40 Cancellations.
§ 213.40 Cancellations.(a) When, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior, the lessee has violated any of the terms and conditions of a lease or of the applicable regulations, or if mining operations are conducted wastefully and without regard to good mining practice, the Secretary of the Interior shall have the right at any time after 30 days' notice to the lessee specifying the terms and conditions violated, and after a hearing, if the lessee shall so request within 30 days after issuance of the notice, to declare such lease null and void, and the lessor shall then be entitled and authorized to take immediate possession of the land.
(b) On the following conditions, the lessee may, on approval of the Secretary of the Interior, surrender a lease or any part of it:
(1) That he make application for cancellation to the Area Director having jurisdiction over the land.
(2) That he pay a surrender fee of $1 at the time the application is made.
(3) That he pay all royalties and rentals due to the date of such application.
(4) That he make a satisfactory showing that full provision has been made for conservation and protection of the property and that all wells, drilled on the portion of the lease surrendered, have been properly abandoned.
(5) If the lease has been recorded, that he file, with his application, a recorded release of the acreage covered by the application.
(6) If the application is for the cancellation of the entire lease or the entire undivided portion, that he surrender the lease: Provided, That where the application is made by an assignee to whom no copy of the lease was delivered, he will be required to surrender only his copy of assignment.
(7) If the lease (or portion being surrendered or canceled) is owned in undivided interests by more than one party, then all parties shall join in the application for cancellation.
(8) That all required fees and papers must be in the mail or received on or before the date upon which rents and royalties become due, in order for the lessee and his surety to be relieved from liability for the payment of such royalties and rentals.
(9) If there has been a contest respecting a lease or leases, the approved, the disapproved, or the canceled parts thereof will be held in the office of the Area Director for 5 days after the Department's decision has been promulgated, by mail or delivery, and will not be delivered, if within that period a motion for review and reconsideration be filed, until such motion is passed upon by the Department.
(10) In the event oil or gas is being drained from the leased premises by wells not covered by a lease; the lease, or any part of it, may be surrendered, only on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may determine to be reasonable and equitable.
(c) No part of any advance rental shall be refunded to the lessee nor shall he be relieved, by reason of any subsequent surrender or cancellation of the lease, from the obligation to pay said advance rental when it becomes due.
(d) For proper method of terminating departmental leases covering lands from which restrictions have been removed see section 3 of the act of May 27, 1908 (35 Stat. 312).