Review of the Bureau of Land Management's Administration and Use of Mining Maintenance Fees

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) administration and use of mining maintenance fees, focusing on: (1) whether BLM used Mining Law Administration Program (MLAP) fees to process mineral patent applications and whether this use was appropriate; and (2) the amount of MLAP fees collected by BLM in fiscal year (FY) 1998 and how BLM used these fees.