Retained Surface Mining Rights in Conservation Easement Deeds: CCA 202236010

Introduction: Separating the Surface Estate from the Retained Mineral Interest

As we have discussed in prior posts, conservation easements remain an area of focus for the IRS. The Service has spent significant effort challenging and litigating conservation easements to ensure that only donations that meet the strict standards of section 170(h) of the Code are permitted. In a recent Chief Counsel Advice, CCA 202236010[1] the IRS addressed whether a conservation easement satisfies the requirements of section 170(h) where (i) the easement donor retains a qualified mineral interest, (ii) the ownership of the surface estate and the mineral interest has never been separated, and (iii) under the terms of the deed the donor can use a surface mining method to extract the subsurface materials with the donee’s approval.

As discussed below, the IRS concluded that the conservation easement did not meet the requirements of section 170(h), and in particular, the requirement that the conservation easement was contributed “exclusively for a conservation purpose” because the qualified mineral interest was never separated from the surface estate and the deed retained the possibility of surface mining to extract the subsurface materials. Donors seeking to claim a charitable contribution deduction for a conservation easement should be sure to separate the qualified mineral interest from the surface estate and that the deed to the property permits the owner of the qualified mineral interest to extract or remove the minerals by a surface-mining method.

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