Lease exchange.

§ 3430.5–4 Lease exchange. (a) Upon the request of the applicant, the Secretary may initiate lease exchange procedures under subpart 3435 of this title if the lands under application have been shown to contain coal in commercial quantities. (b) Upon the request of the authorized officer, or at the request of the regional coal team or the Governor of the affected State(s), the Secretary may initiate lease exchange procedures under subpart 3435 of this title if: (1) The lands under application have been shown to contain commercial quantities of coal; (2) All or a portion of the proposed lease has been assessed as lands which should be unavailable for coal development because of land use or resource conflicts or as lands which are unsuitable for coal mining under the provisions of subpart 3461 of this title; and (3) The lands are exempted from the application of any relevant unsuitability criteria or the Secretary lacks the authority to prevent damage to or loss of the land use or resource values threatened by lease operations. [47 FR 33143, July 30, 1982, as amended at 48 FR 37656, Aug. 19, 1983]