| The Federal Indian Minerals Office (FIMO) will provide fiduciary and
"one stop" service for Navajo allottees regarding their mineral interests. When
called upon, FIMO will provide information to other Native American allottees and tribes,
as appropriate. Providing this service under one office and director, breaks through the
artificial walls created under the three Department of the Interior bureaus (Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, and Minerals Management Service), thereby
enabling the federal government to be more responsive, effective, and accountable.
Specific Functions:
Outreach
- FIMO will provide information to allottees and ask for their input concerning the
management of their lands. The effort will come in the form of providing direct
beneficiary services, such as looking up royalty information on a computer and to having
four quarterly meetings on issues that directly affect allottee mineral royalties. In
implementing direct beneficiary services, FIMO will provide, as said in industry, one-stop
shopping, meaning that allottees will not be handed off to other offices.
Inspection and Enforcement
- FIMO will inspect all Navajo allotted oil and gas leased lands and enforce mining
regulations pertaining to operational, surface, and environmental issues. These duties
include: 1) the concurrence or approval of
applications for permit to drill, gathering systems, alternate measurement methods, Rights
of Ways design and abandonments; 2) physical
inspections of oil and gas sale facilities; and 3)
investigation of oil theft, and undesirable events. When required, FIMO will work in
conjunction with BLM and other agencies.
Lease Administration
- FIMO will manage all issues pertaining to the lease. Management of the lease instrument
involves changing ownership, obtaining proper bonding, collecting bonuses,
lease sales, assessing values, monitoring rentals and canceling
leases.
Royalty Compliance
- FIMO will (1) review volumes used to compute
royalties on the leases; (2) ensure that values and
methods used to compute royalties are in accordance with applicable Federal laws,
regulations, and lease terms; (3) determine if rentals
and royalties were correctly reported and paid; and (4)
review recoupments. Staff will reconcile royalty payments by obtaining source information
from the operators, payors, and transporters, the terms laid out in the lease instrument,
and inheritance. In performing this function, FIMO will have a thorough understanding of
local market conditions and the methods in which minerals are sold and how the royalties
are distributed to the allottees.
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