67 FR 56 pgs. 13360-13361 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection, Comment Request
Type: NOTICEVolume: 67Number: 56Pages: 13360 - 13361
Docket number: [OMB Control Number 1010-0123]
FR document: [FR Doc. 02-6904 Filed 3-21-02; 8:45 am]
Agency: Interior Department
Sub Agency: Minerals Management Service
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
[OMB Control Number 1010-0123]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection, Comment Request
AGENCY:
Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION:
Notice of an extension of a currently approved information collection.
SUMMARY:
To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) is titled "Issuing Orders Requested by Indian Lessors."
DATES:
Submit written comments on or before May 21, 2002.
ADDRESSES:
Submit written comments to Carol P. Shelby, Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS 320B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you use an overnight courier service, MMS's courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carol P. Shelby, telephone (303) 231-3151, FAX (303) 231-3385.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Issuing Orders Requested by Indian Lessors.
OMB Control Number: 1010-0123.
Bureau Form Number: None.
Abstract: The Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for matters relevant to mineral resource development on Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf. The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for managing the production of minerals from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals, and distributing the funds collected in accordance with applicable laws. The Secretary also has an Indian trust responsibility to manage Indian lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. The MMS performs the royalty management functions and assists the Secretary in carrying out DOI's Indian trust responsibility.
Section 101(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, as amended, requires that the Secretary "establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, and fiscal and production accounting and auditing system to provide the capability to accurately determine oil and gas royalties, interest, fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other payments owed, and collect and account for such amounts in a timely manner." In order to accomplish these tasks, Indian lessors need a procedure for requesting the Secretary to issue orders for payments or reports. The MMS developed a proposed rule, published January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1930), to add Subpart C-Requests from Indian Lessors for MMS to Issue an Order to 30 CFR Part 242-Orders. The subpart explained how Indian lessors could formally request that MMS issue an order to persons concerning the reporting of production and the reporting and payment of royalties and other payments due under their leases. A final rule codifying these provisions has not been published yet. Because OMB approval of this information collection expires April 30, 2002, we are seeking OMB approval to renew these reporting requirements until a final rule is published.
This information collection covers the hour burden associated with submitting requests to MMS to issue an order. Submission of the information in this collection is necessary for MMS to determine the validity of the request and investigate the reasons for perceived errors or underpayments. Proprietary information that is submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive nature included in this information collection.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 12 Indian lessors.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping "Hour" Burden: 180 hours.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping "Non-hour Cost" Burden: We have identified no "non-hour cost" burdens.
Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq. ) provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA Section 3506(c)(2)(A) requires each agency "* * * to provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information * * *." Agencies must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual reporting "non-hour cost" burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. We have not identified non-hour cost burdens for this information collection. If you have costs to generate, maintain, and disclose this information, you should comment and provide your total capital and startup cost components or annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. You should describe the methods you use to estimate major cost factors, including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, discount rate(s), and the period over which you incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other items, computers and software you purchase to prepare for collecting information; monitoring, sampling, testing equipment; and record storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not include equipment or services purchased: (i) Before October 1, 1995; (ii) to comply with requirements not associated with the information collection; (iii) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the Government; or (iv) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.
We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR to you without charge upon request.
Public Comment Policy. We will make copies of the comments available for public review, including names and addresses of respondents, during regular business hours at our offices in Lakewood, Colorado. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the public record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you request that we withhold your name and/or address, state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, (202) 208-7744.
Dated: February 8, 2002.
Milton K. Dial,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 02-6904 Filed 3-21-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-U