Crownite Corporation v. James A. Watt, Secretary of Interior of the United States of America Robert Burford, Director, Bureau of Land Management, Etc.

752 F.2d 1500 CROWNITE CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. James A. WATT, Secretary of Interior of the United States of America; Robert Burford, Director, Bureau of Land Management, etc., Defendants-Appellees. No. 83-2530. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Aug. 8, 1984. Decided Feb. 8, 1985. Don Erik Franzen, Franzen & Assoc., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. Robert Steinberg, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before BROWNING, Chief Judge, DUNIWAY and SNEED, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: 1 The Secretary of the Interior denied appellant Crownite Corporation's application to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 for conversion of its mining claims into priorities for federal geothermal steam leases. Crownite sought review in the district court. The court granted the Secretary's motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Crownite argues that (1) Crownite satisfied the requirements of the Geothermal Steam Act, and BLM erred in determining otherwise; (2) BLM's…

(concurring):

I concur in Judge Browning’s per curiam opinion.

The Secretary of the Interior denied appellant Crownite Corporation’s application to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 for conversion of its mining claims into priorities for federal geothermal steam leases. Crownite sought review in the district court. The court granted the Secretary’s motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Crownite argues that (1) Crownite satisfied the requirements of the Geothermal Steam Act, and BLM erred in determining otherwise; (2) BLM’s procedures denied Crownite an administrative hearing, violating Crownite’s right to due process of law; (3) the lengthy delay in processing Crownite’s application prejudiced Crownite and should estop the Secretary from denying the application. We affirm.

I

The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, 30 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1025 (1982), authorized the Secretary of the Interior to lease federal lands for geothermal power development. The owner of a mining claim may apply for a conversion right, which allows him to obtain a geothermal lease on lands within his claim, by matching the highest bidder. To qualify for a conversion right, a party must prove

30 U.S.C. § 1003…