43 CFR 3472.1-3 – Acreage limitations
(a)(1) No person, association, or corporation, or any subsidiary, affiliate, or person controlled by or under common control with such person, association, or corporation shall take, hold, own, or control at one time Federal coal leases, lease or lease modification applications, or bids on more than 75,000 acres in any one state and in no case on more than 150,000 acres in the United States.
(2) No person, association, or corporation holding, owning, or controlling leases, lease or lease modification applications or bids (individually or through any subsidiary, affiliate, or person under common control) on more than 150,000 acres in the United States on November 7, 2000, shall be required to relinquish any lease or lease application held on that date. However, it shall not be permitted to hold any additional interests in any further leases or lease applications until such time as its holdings, ownership, or control of leases or applications has been reduced below 150,000 acres within the United States.
(b)(1) In computing acreage held, owned or controlled, the accountable acreage of a party holding, owning or controlling an undivided interest in a lease shall be the party’s proportionate part of the total lease acreage. Any subsidiary, affiliate or person controlled by or under common control with any corporation, person or association holding, owning or controlling a Federal coal lease shall be charged with lease acreage to the same extent as such corporation, person or association. The accountable acreage of a party holding, owning or controlling an interest in a corporation or association shall be that party’s proportionate part of the acreage held, owned or controlled by such corporation or association. However, no party shall be charged with its pro rata share of any acreage held, owned or controlled by any corporation or association unless that party is the beneficial owner of more than 10 percent of the stock or other instruments of ownership or control of such corporation or association.
(2) On acquired lands, if the United States owns only a fractional interest in the coal resources of the lands involved, only that part of the total acreage involved in the lease, proportionate to the extent of ownership by the United States of the coal resources, shall be charged as acreage holdings. The acreage embraced in a future interest lease is not to be charged as acreage holdings until the lease for the future interest takes effect.