Code of Federal Regulations Title 36. Parks, Forests, and Public Property § 36.228.106 Operator's submission of surface use plan of operations

(a) General. No permit to drill on a Federal oil and gas lease for National Forest System lands may be granted without the analysis and approval of a surface use plan of operations covering proposed surface disturbing activities. An operator must obtain an approved surface use plan of operations before conducting operations that will cause surface disturbance. The operator shall submit a proposed surface use plan of operations as part of an Application for a Permit to Drill to the appropriate Bureau of Land Management office for forwarding to the Forest Service, unless otherwise directed by the Onshore Oil and Gas Order in effect when the proposed plan of operations is submitted.

(b) Preparation of plan. In preparing a surface use plan of operations, the operator is encouraged to contact the local Forest Service office to make use of such information as is available from the Forest Service concerning surface resources and uses, environmental considerations, and local reclamation procedures.

(c) Content of plan. The type, size, and intensity of the proposed operations and the sensitivity of the surface resources that will be affected by the proposed operations determine the level of detail and the amount of information which the operator includes in a proposed plan of operations. However, any surface use plan of operations submitted by an operator shall contain the information specified by the Onshore Oil and Gas Order in effect when the surface use plan of operations is submitted.

(d) Supplemental plan. An operator must obtain an approved supplemental surface use plan of operations before conducting any surface disturbing operations that are not authorized by a current approved surface use plan of operations. The operator shall submit a proposed supplemental surface use plan of operations to the appropriate Bureau of Land Management office for forwarding to the Forest Service, unless otherwise directed by the Onshore Oil and Gas Order in effect when the proposed supplemental plan of operations is submitted. The supplemental plan of operations need only address those operations that differ from the operations authorized by the current approved surface use plan of operations. A supplemental plan is otherwise subject to the same requirements under this subpart as an initial surface use plan of operations.