11 AAC 86.500. Permit applications

(a) The procedures of 11 AAC 82.105, 11 AAC 82.110, 11 AAC 82.200, 11 AAC 82.205, 11 AAC 82.300, 11 AAC 82.305, and 11 AAC 82.500 - 11 AAC 82.540 apply to offshore prospecting permits.

(b) An applicant may file for and be granted an offshore prospecting permit only on tide and submerged land that has been opened for offshore prospecting permits.

(c) Notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section and 11 AAC 86.565, all prospecting permit applications pending as of January 2, 1983, will be adjudicated without regard to whether the area applied for was open to filing at the time of application. This action is intended to preserve priority rights established by the applications' order of filing. The commissioner is exercising his authority under AS 38.05.020 and AS 38.05.035 (b)(2) to grant and preserve these priority rights in order to avoid inequitable detriment to diligent applicants due to situations over which the applicants had no control. The commissioner finds that this exercise of this authority under AS 38.05.035 (b)(2) is in the best interests of the state.

(d) No person may file offshore prospecting permit applications that exceed, in the aggregate or in combination with offshore prospecting permits already held by that person, 300,000 acres.

(e) Notwithstanding (d) of this section, any person who, as of January 2, 1983, has pending prospecting permit applications that exceed 100,000 acres, shall, within 24 months after January 1, 1983, reduce the acreage under prospecting permit application to 300,000 acres or less. The department will adjudicate and issue up to 100,000 acres of offshore prospecting permits according to a priority list established by the applicant to the extent administratively practicable. If excess applications are not relinquished, adjudication of pending applications will take place in an order determined by the department.

(f) All tide and submerged land will be opened for offshore prospecting permit applications on June 30, 1984, unless the department finds that

(1) the land contains known mineral deposits that will be offered by competitive leasing;

(2) mining would be incompatible with significant surface uses; or

(3) adequate funding has not been appropriated for disposal of these minerals under the procedures provided by law.

(g) Issuance of an offshore prospecting permit is subject to requirements of AS 38.05.035 (e), 38.05.830, 38.05.945, and 38.05.946.

(h) The filing of an application for an offshore prospecting permit does not vest a property right but merely creates a priority right to any permit that may be issued. The filing of an application segregates the locatable minerals in that tract. Until the application is adjudicated, those minerals are unavailable for location under AS 38.05.185 - 38.05.275. Prospecting permit applications filed will be shown as soon as possible on the department's land records and will immediately be entered on a list available by mail from the division.

(i) In deciding whether to approve an offshore prospecting permit, the director will prepare a written finding that considers the following:

(1) property descriptions and locations;

(2) the mineral potential of the application area, in general terms;

(3) fish and wildlife species and their habitats in the application area;

(4) the current and projected uses in the application area, including uses and value of fish and wildlife;

(5) the governmental powers to regulate mineral exploration, development, production, and transportation;

(6) the reasonably foreseeable cumulative effects of mineral exploration, development, production, and transportation on the application area, including effects on subsistence uses, fish and wildlife habitat and populations and their uses, and historic and cultural resources;

(7) permit and lease stipulations and mitigation measures, including any measures to prevent and mitigate releases of metal and hazardous substances, to be included in the permit or lease, and a discussion of the protections offered by these measures;

(8) the method or methods most likely to be used to mine the application area, and the advantages, disadvantages, and relative risks of each;

(9) the reasonably foreseeable fiscal effects of the offshore prospecting permit and the subsequent activity on the state and affected municipalities and communities, including the explicit and implicit subsidies associated with the lease sale, if any;

(10) the reasonably foreseeable effects of mineral exploration, development, production, and transportation on municipalities and communities within or adjacent to the application area; and

(11) other factors considered relevant by the director.

History: Eff. 9/5/74, Register 51; am 1/1/83, Register 85; am 5/30/85, Register 94; am 8/26/98, Register 147

Authority: AS 38.05.020

AS 38.05.035

AS 38.05.250

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