When do I have to submit a plan of operations?

(a) You must submit a plan of operations and obtain BLM's approval before beginning operations greater than casual use, except as described in § 3809.21. Also see §§ 3809.31 and 3809.400 through 3809.434. (b) You must submit a plan of operations for any bulk sampling in which you will remove 1,000 tons or more of presumed ore for testing. (c) You must submit a plan of operations for any operations causing surface disturbance greater than casual use in the following special status areas where § 3809.21 does not apply: (1) Lands in the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) designated by the CDCA plan as “controlled” or “limited” use areas; (2) Areas in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and areas designated for potential addition to the system; (3) Designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern; (4) Areas designated as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System and administered by BLM; (5) Areas designated as “closed” to off-road vehicle use, as defined in § 8340.0-5 of this title; (6) Any lands or waters known to contain Federally proposed or listed threatened or endangered species or their proposed or designated critical habitat, unless BLM allows for other action under a formal land-use plan or threatened or endangered species recovery plan; and (7) National Monuments and National Conservation Areas administered by BLM.