(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of AS 38.05.550 - 38.05.565, the director may negotiate the sale of any amount of materials from a source or site designated under AS 38.05.550(b). The period of a contract for a sale of materials negotiated under this section may not exceed five years.
(b) Sales of materials under this section must be made at a representative regional sales price set by the commissioner under AS 38.05.550(d)(1) unless
(1) the director determines that it is in the best interests of the state to sell the materials at fair market value determined by an appraisal provided by the department;
(2) the applicant, at its own cost, elects to provide an appraisal, acceptable to the department, determining the fair market value of the materials to be sold; or
(3) the sale is to a state or federal agency or political subdivision under AS 38.05.810(a) and the material to be extracted and removed is used for public purposes; sales under this paragraph may be at a price less than appraised value as determined by the director.
(c) Subsequent sales of similar materials from the same source or site may be made by the department at the price established by an appraisal provided under (b) of this section.
(d) Individual negotiated contracts for the sale of materials authorized by (a) of this section are not subject to AS 38.05.035(e) or 38.05.945.
(e) Materials from a source or site designated under AS 38.05.550(b) may be extracted and removed for personal use without cost up to a limit of two cubic yards a person within a one-calendar-year period. Extraction and removal of materials under this subsection must be approved by the department before extraction operations.
(f) Notwithstanding (a) - (e) of this section, for the purpose of creating incentives for the development of peat as a source of heat or power, the director may negotiate the sale of peat to individuals, organized or unorganized communities, tribal governments, or private profit or nonprofit organizations. Under this subsection, the director may provide
(1) for personal use by an individual, not more than 200 cubic yards of peat a year at no cost;
(2) for commercial use, not more than 30,000 cubic yards of peat during a single 10-year period at no cost; or
(3) for commercial use requiring more than 30,000 cubic yards of peat, the amount required by the user during a 10-year period beginning when the user uses more than 30,000 yards of peat at the price of
(A) 20 percent of the representative regional sales price determined by the director under AS 38.05.550(d)(1); or
(B) 20 percent of the fair market value determined by an appraisal completed under AS 38.05.550(d)(2), if the applicant provides the appraisal at the applicant's expense and the appraisal is approved by the commissioner.