The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1921-02-02
Will Grant
More Latitude
Interior Department Policy is Made
Plain I'm Letter Issued
This Week

The Standard is in receipt of a
copy of a letter dealing with the oil
permit question, issued by Hon.
Clay Tallman, commissioner of the
general land Office The tenor of
the letter which follows this para
graph shows that the interior de-
partmeDt proposes to give every
consideration to those who are act
ing in good faith and are exercising
due diligence in the prosecution of
work
January IL, 1921.
The Commissioner of the General
Land Office.
Dear Mr.. Commissioner:
With your memorandum of Janu-
airy s, 1921, you submitted applica-
tions for extension of time within
which to commence drilling under
suant to section 13 of the act OF
Congress approved February 25,
1920 al Stat, 437).
The statute requires that the per-
mittee shall begin drilling opera
tions within six months from the
date of the permit. and shall. with
in one year from and after the date
of the permit, drill one or more
wells for oil or gas to a depth of
not less than five hundred feet each,
unless valuable deposits of oil or
gas shall be sooner discovered, and
shall, within two years from date of
the permit, drill for oil or gas to an
aggregate depth of not less than
two thousand feet, unless valuable
deposits of oil or gas shall be sooner
or later discovered. The secretary
of the Interior may, IL he shall find
that the permittee has been unable,
with the exercise of diligence, to
test the land in the time granted by
the permit, extend any such permit
for such time, not exceeding two
years, and upon such conditions as
he shall prescribe.
The language of the statute clear
ly implies, and paragraph Z of the
regulations so construes, that the
extension of time authorized may be
granted to cover a period of not ex-
ceeding two years from and after
the date of the expiration of the two
years fixed in the permit ito test
the land" Consequently, an extern
sion at the end of six months would
be premature and not specifically
authorized by statute.
Hnmaunr fha dano sa ..,o -
that under many of the permits is
sued the principal part of all of the
six-months' period within which to
begin drilling will fall in the winter
season when drilling may be imprac-
ticable in many sections of the coun-
try. There may be other cases
where, for good and sufficient
reasons, permittees are unable to
begin drilling within the six-months'
period.
Therefore, no action will be taken
looking to the cancellation of a per-
NIT issued under sections 13 of the
oil and gas leasing act for failure to
begin drilling operations within six
months from date of the permit II
the permittee or his assignee exer-
else due diligence. and because of
climatic conditions or other reasons
beyond his control, has been unable
to begin actual drilling within six
months.
Every permittee or his assignee
claiming under a permit issued un-
der section 13 of the oil and gas
leasing act shall, within 12 months
and 10 days from date of his per-
init, file in the local land office of
the district in which the land is sit
uated a corroborated affidavit spe-
cifically describing the work done
upon the land embraced therein, to-
gether with such other information
as may be pertinent as to his oper-
ations thereon.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) JOHN BARTON PAYNE
Secretary