What is a Master Agreement and why did BLM add provisions for it in the rule?
A Master Agreement is a negotiated agreement between an applicant and BLM covering cost recovery fees for multiple BLM grant approvals within a defined geographic area. Because several applications or grants will be treated under one agreement, there should be more efficient application processing and potentially lower cost to both BLM and the applicant. To the extent that several grants in a given area will be approved at the same time under the agreement, it is possible that there will be fewer environmental impacts due to better project planning.
