§190D-22  Leasing procedure.  (a)  Any
person who wants to obtain a lease for marine activities in state marine waters
shall request a lease from the board at the time of filing an application.



(b)  Upon receipt of a completed application
and authorization of a lease, the board shall:



(1)  Negotiate with and grant a lease to the
applicant; or



(2)  Conduct a public auction and grant the lease to
the highest qualified bidder.



Public auctions shall be conducted in
accordance with chapter 171.  If an auction is held and the applicant
submitting a completed application is not the highest qualified bidder, the
board shall require the highest qualified bidder to indemnify the applicant for
all legitimate costs incurred  in the preparation of any environmental assessment
or environmental impact statement included in the application pursuant to
chapter 343 and the rules adopted thereunder.  In establishing and following
internal procedures for lease applications, the board shall attempt to minimize
costs to those applicants submitting completed applications.



(c)  The board shall not revoke or modify its
approval of an application in such a way as to invalidate, impair, limit, or
affect, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, the rights of a lessee as
set forth in the lease granted to the lessee pursuant to this chapter. [L 1986,
c 91, pt of §1; am L 1999, c 176, §§6, 11; am L 2002, c 203, §1]