United States Department of the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals

Interior Board of Land Appeals 801 N. Quincy St., Suite 300

Arlington, VA 22203

703-235-3750 703-235-8349 (fax)

June 12, 2019

IBLA 2019-130 ) ORMC 166643

SARA J. DEARDORF-KINDER ) Mining Claim Maintenance Fee

Affirmed; Petition for Stay Denied as Moot

Sara J. Deardorf-Kinder appeals from and petitions to stay the effect of an April 25, 2019, Decision of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Oregon State Office. In that Decision, BLM declared the Big Dollar unpatented mining claim, ORMC 166643, forfeited by operation of law for failure to pay the annual maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certification on or before the September 4, 2018, deadline.

Summary

A person holding an unpatented mining claim must either pay a maintenance fee or file a maintenance fee waiver certification for the claim by September 1 each year. If a claimant fails to do so, the claim is forfeited by operation of law. Here, Ms. Deardorf-Kinder acknowledges that she did not timely pay the maintenance fee or file a waiver certification for the mining claim by the deadline. Because she failed to timely pay the fee or file a waiver certification, the mining claim was automatically forfeited, and neither BLM nor this Board has authority to excuse her lack of compliance. We therefore affirm BLM's decision.

IBLA 2019-130

A Mining Claimant Must Timely Pay the Maintenance Fee or File a Waiver Certification

Under applicable law, a person who holds an unpatented mining claim must pay a yearly maintenance fee on or before September 1 of each assessment year.' The "assessment year" is the 12-month period beginning at noon of September 1 each year. 2

BLM may waive that fee for a mining claimant who holds no more than a total of 10 claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites and who timely files a waiver certification by September 1.3 A claimant who does not pay a maintenance fee or file a waiver certification by the required deadline automatically forfeits the mining claim as a matter of law.'

Here, the claimant was required to either pay the maintenance fee or file a waiver certification for the Big Dollar mining claim for the 2019 assessment year by September 4, 2018, since September 1 fell on a non-business day.'

Because Ms. Deardorf-Kinder Did Not Timely Pay the Maintenance Fee or File a Waiver Certification by the Deadline, the Claim was Automatically Forfeited by Operation of Law

In its decision, BLM declared the Big Dollar mining claim forfeited by operation of law for failure to pay the maintenance fee or file a waiver certification by September 4, 2018, for the 2019 assessment year.' On appeal, Ms. Deardorf-Kinder's burden is to show that BLM erred in declaring the claim forfeited.'

' 30 U.S.C. § 28f(a) (2012); 43 C.F.R. §§ 3830.21(d), 3834.11(a) (2). 2 43 C.F.R. § 3830.5 (defining "assessment year") . ' 30 U.S.C. § 28f(d) (2012); 43 C.F.R. §§ 3835.1, 3835.10, 3835.11(a). ' 30 U.S.C. § 28i (2012) (failure to pay maintenance fee "shall conclusively constitute a forfeiture of the unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site by the claimant and the claim shall be deemed null and void by operation of law"); 43 C.F.R. §§ 3830.91(a) (3) and (4) (forfeiture for failure pay the annual maintenance fee or file a Waiver Certification on or before the due date), 3835.92(a) (forfeiture for failure to submit a waiver certification and pay the annual maintenance fee by September 1). ' See 43 C.F.R. § 1822.14 ("BLM considers the document timely filed if we receive it in the office on the next day it is officially open."). In 2018, September 1 was a Saturday, and September 3 was a Federal holiday (Labor Day). 6 Decision (Apr. 25, 2019) at unpaginated (unp.) 1. ' Craig M. Anderson, 194 IBLA 112, 115 (2019) .

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IBLA 2019-130

Ms. Deardorf-Kinder is the sister of Jonathon Deardorf, who owned the Big Dollar mining claim before passing away in 2017.8 Ms. Deardorf-Kinder acknowledges that she did not timely pay the maintenance fee or file a waiver certification for the claim.9 She states that after her brother died, she provided a copy of his death certificate to BLM and "attempted to call [BLM] several times."10 She states that during one phone call, BLM informed her it could not find any claim with her brother's name on it.11 After that, she says she "did not know where to go from there and let the ball drop."12 She further states that the mining claim requirements are confusing, and had BLM provided her with notification that the maintenance fee was due, she "would have promptly paid.i13 She explains that "the mine is a very special place," and asks for relief "based on misunderstanding/miscommunication ... and the unfortunate circumstances of our family's loss. i14

While the Board acknowledges the difficult circumstances facing Ms. Deardorf-Kinder's family, neither this Board nor BLM is authorized to excuse a mining claimant's lack of compliance with the maintenance fee and waiver certification requirements, extend the time for compliance, or afford any relief from the automatic claim forfeiture provisions in the law.15 This is so regardless of the reason that a claimant misses the deadline,16 and even though the claimant was not notified of the due date for the annual

Notice of Appeal at unp. 1 (NOA). 9 See id. ("I sincerely apologize that I did not pay the maintenance fee in a timely manner.") . 10 Id.

13 Id. 14 Id. at unp. 2. " Craig M. Anderson, 194 IBLA at 116 (citing Kenneth Pedersen, 187 IBLA 130, 133 (2016); Jon Roalf, 169 IBLA 58, 62 (2006); Carl A. Parker, Sr., 165 IBLA 300, 303-04 (2005)). 16 See Michael R. Ware, 189 IBLA 75, 80 (2016) (claimant injured), affirmed, 1:17-cv-01412-CL (D. Or. Mar. 15, 2019); Melville P. Stringer, 141 IBLA 34, 35-36 (1997) (claimant hospitalized); Dan Creek Placer Mines, 52 IBLA 243, 245 (1981) (claimant called out of town due to a death in the family); Beryl Rhodes, 46 IBLA 287, 288 (1980) (claimant "near death in a hospital"); E.M. Koppen, 36 IBLA 379, 382 (1978) (death of the employee entrusted with making the filing) .

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IBLA 2019-130

maintenance feel' We have explained that "persons dealing with the Government are presumed to have knowledge of relevant statutes and regulations `regardless of actual knowledge ... or of the hardship resulting from innocent ignorance."'18

Because Ms. Deardorf-Kinder did not timely pay the maintenance fee or file a waiver certification for the claim, she has not demonstrated any error in BLM's decision declaring the claim forfeited by operation of law, and we must affirm BLM's decision. As BLM noted in its decision, she may relocate the claim subject to valid existing rights and so long as the land remains open to mineral location.19

Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to the Board of Land Appeals by the Secretary of the Interior,20 we affirm BLM's April 25, 2019, decision, and deny the petition for stay as moot.

I concur:

17 Michael Warholic, 186 IBLA 358, 361 (2015) (`BLM is not required to provide a reminder of the due date for annual filings.") . 18 Id. (quoting Federal Crop Insurance Corp. v. Merrill, 332 U.S. 380, 385 (1947)). 19 Decision at unp. 2. 20 43 C.F.R. § 4.1.

Gl