Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 5460—SALES ADMINISTRATION
§ 5461.1   Payment in advance of cutting or removal.
Except as provided in §§ 5451.2 and 5451.4 no part of any timber or other vegetative resources sold may be cut or removed unless advance payment has been made as provided in the contract.
§ 5461.2   Required payment schedule.
(a)(1) For sales of less than $500,000, installment payments shall not be less than 10 percent of the total purchase price. For sales of $500,000 or more, installment payments shall be $50,000.
(2) The first installment shall be paid prior to or at the time the authorized officer signs the contract. A purchaser cannot apply any portion of the first installment to cover other payments due on the contract until either 60 percent of the total purchase price has been paid or road construction required by the contract, the value of which when combined with contract payments is equal to 60 percent of the total purchase price, has been completed. When either of these 60-percent levels has been reached, one-half of the first installment may be applied to other payments due on the contract.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a)(2) of this section, when the contracting officer suspends or requests the purchaser to interrupt or delay operations during the operating season for a reason beyond the control of the purchaser, the contracting officer may reduce the amount of the first installment to 5 percent of the installment amount listed in the timber sale contract. Reductions may be made when the suspension, interruption, or delay can reasonably be expected to last longer than 30 days or has been in effect for more than 30 days for existing contracts. The purchaser shall request such reduction in writing from the contracting officer. The contracting officer will answer such requests within 15 days. The funds released may be refunded or credited to other contracts. When the contracting officer notifies the purchaser that operations may proceed, the purchaser shall have 15 days after such notification to return the first installment to the full amount specified in the timber sale contract. Failure to pay the full first installment amount within the specified time will be considered a material breach of contract, and the contracting officer may cancel the contract. No timber may be cut or removed from the contract area until the first installment is restored to the full amount required by the contract.
(4) The second installment shall be paid prior to the cutting or removal of the material sold. Each subsequent installment shall be due and payable without notice when the value of material cut or removed equals the sum of all payments made up to that point, not including the first installment, or one-half of the first installment after the other one-half of the first installment has been released as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(5) Timber sale contracts shall contain provisions requiring periodic payments for all sales with a contract term of 19 months or longer. For sales with a contract term of 19-26 months, one periodic payment of 20 percent of the total purchase price will be required. For all sales with a contract term of 27 months or longer, two periodic payments will be required. The first payment shall be 20 percent of the total purchase price and the second payment shall be 40 percent of the total purchase price. The value of satisfactorily completed road construction required by the contract and all completed contract payments may be used as a credit against the amount due for periodic payments. The due dates for the periodic payments will be specified in the timber sale contract. Adjustment of the periodic payment dates in the contract may be made when the contracting officer suspends, interrupts, or delays operations during the operating season prior to the due date for a periodic payment for a reason beyond the control of the purchaser. The adjustment may be made when the suspension, interruption, or delay can reasonably be expected to last longer than 30 days or has been in effect for more than 30 days for existing contracts. The purchaser shall request such adjustment in writing from the contracting officer. The contracting officer will answer such requests within 15 days.
(6) For the purpose of this section, the value of satisfactorily completed road construction shall be based on the Bureau of Land Management's appraisal allowance. Satisfactory completion of portions of the required road construction, to reasonable points that can be easily identified in the road construction appraisal, shall be considered as completed road construction for purposes of this section.
(b) Delayed payment of installments shall be allowed if the purchaser furnishes a bond as provided in § 5451.2 of this title. A deposit shall be paid in the same manner as prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section. If cutting is permitted before payment, as prescribed in § 5451.2 of this title, payment by installment shall be made before any timber may be skidded or yarded to a loading point or removed from the contract area. Each subsequent installment shall be due and payable without notice when the sale value of the timber skidded or yarded to a loading point or removed equals the sum of all payments not including the deposit. The unenhanced value of timber allowed to be cut in advance of payment shall be limited to the amount of the increase over and above the required performance bond. Upon payment, the amount of the bond may be applied to other timber sold under the contract to permit its cutting in advance of payment.
(c) Where cutting or removal is permitted under payment bond under § 5451.4 of this title, a deposit shall be paid as provided in paragraph (a) of this section. If cutting and/or removal is permitted before payment, as provided in § 5451.4 of this title, the purchaser shall be billed monthly for timber skidded or yarded to a loading point or removed from the contract area and for any related road maintenance fees unless a lesser period is agreed to by the authorized officer and the purchaser. Payment shall be made within 15 days of the billing date shown on the billing form. The unenhanced value of timber allowed to be cut and/or removed in advance of payment is limited to the amount of the payment bond. Upon payment, the amount of the bond may be applied to other timber.
§  5461.3   Total payment.
The total amount of the contract purchase price must be paid prior to expiration of the time for cutting and removal under the contract. For a lump sum sale, the purchaser shall not be entitled to a refund even though the amount of timber cut, removed, or designated for cutting may be less than the estimated total volume shown in the contract. For a scale sale, if it is determined after all designated timber has been cut and measured that the total payments made under the contract exceed the total sale value of the timber measured, such excess shall be refunded to the purchaser within 60 days after such determination is made.
§ 5462.1   Contract and permit compliance.
(a) The following minimum requirements shall be met in order to assure contract or permit compliance:
(1) Contracts or permits shall be executed by authorized purchasers or their formally designated representatives.
(2) For other than lump sum sales, only the specific timber or other vegetative resource designated for removal, in their respective quantities, shall be removed.
(3) Timber or other vegetative resources shall be removed only from designated locations or areas.
(4) Transportation of timber or other vegetative resources shall be in accordance with contract or permit requirements and shall include appropriate load or product tagging if required.
(5) Contract or permit stipulations and specification shall be adhered to.
(6) Payments shall be made in accordance with subpart 5461 of this title.
(b) All contract and permit provisions and special provisions shall be adhered to unless the contract is modified in accordance with part 5470 of this title.
(c)(1) The authorized officer may cancel a contract or permit upon determining that the holder has failed to comply with a law or regulation pertinent to the contract or permit. The authorized officer may also cancel a contract or permit upon determining that the holder has failed to comply with a stipulation or requirement contained in the contract or permit and the noncompliance is detrimental to the public interest. Individual contracts or permits may contain specific language defining the remedies or penalties associated with noncompliance.
(2) Cancellation shall be mandatory in cases of intentional falsification of information used to obtain the permit or contract.
§ 5462.2   Prohibited acts.
(a) The acts or omissions listed in paragraph (b) of this section apply only to BLM-administered lands and will render the person(s) responsible liable to the United States in a civil action for trespass, and such person(s) may be prosecuted criminally. If the authorized officer determines such acts or omissions to be detrimental to the public interest, the timber sale contract or permit held by the purchaser responsible for such acts or omissions may be canceled.
(b) The following activities are prohibited:
(1) Cutting, removing, or otherwise damaging any timber, tree, or other vegetative resource, except as authorized by a forest product sale contract, permit, or Federal law or regulation.
(2) Cutting any standing tree, under a permit or timber sale contract, before a BLM employee has marked it or has otherwise designated it for cutting.
(3) Removing any timber or other vegetative resource cut under a permit or timber sale contract, except to a place designated for scaling or measurement, or removing it from that place before it is scaled, measured, counted, or otherwise accounted for by a BLM employee.
(4) Stamping, marking with paint, tagging, or otherwise identifying any tree or other vegetative resources on BLM-administered lands in a manner similar to that employed by BLM employees to mark or designate a tree or other vegetative resources for cutting, removal, or transportation.
(5) Transporting timber or other vegetative resources without a valid haul ticket that pertains to the material in question, except as authorized by Federal law or regulation.
(6) Except as authorized by Federal law or regulation, purchasers or their designated representatives, while engaging in any activity connected with the harvest or removal of forest products, failing to have in their possession and/or failing to produce any required permit or forest product sale contract for inspection upon demand by a BLM employee or any official of a cooperating law enforcement agency acting within his or her designated authority as a sale inspector, administrator, contracting officer, or law enforcement officer.
(7) Violating any State or local laws and ordinances relating to local permits, tagging, and transportation of timber, trees, or other vegetative resources.
(8) Violating any of the provisions regulating export and substitution contained in subparts 5400, 5403, and 5420 of this title.
(9) Obtaining any forest product sale contract or permit or taking any timber, trees, or other vegetative resources through falsifying, concealing, or covering up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or making any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or making or using a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, including altering any forest product sales contract or permit or using an unauthorized reproduction of any official load tag.
(10) Negligent or intentional destruction of or injury to any timber or other vegetative resource during operations under a forest product sale contract or permit.
§ 5462.3   Penalties.
Under section 303(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1733(a)), any individual who knowingly and willfully commits the prohibited acts under § 5462.2(b) is subject to arrest and trial by the United States Magistrate and, if convicted, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100,000 in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (18 U.S.C. 3551 et seq. ), or imprisonment not to exceed 12 months, or both, for each offense, and any organization that commits these prohibited acts is subject to arrest and trial by the United States Magistrate and, if convicted, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $200,000.
§ 5463.1   Time for cutting and removal.
Time for cutting and removal of timber or other vegetative resources sold shall not exceed a period of forty-eight months such time for cutting and removal may be extended as provided in 43 CFR part 5470, subpart 5473.