[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 185 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49991-49992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25348]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of revision of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0049).

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, MMS invites the public and other Federal agencies to 
comment on a proposal to extend and revise the currently approved 
collection of information discussed below. The Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA) 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 Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number.

DATES: Submit written comments by November 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Mail Stop 4020; 381 Elden 
Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817; attention: Rules Processing Team.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
a copy of the collection of information at no cost.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Title: 30 CFR part 250, subpart B, Exploration and Development and 
Production Plans.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as 
amended, 43

[[Page 49992]]

U.S.C. 1331 et seq., requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) 
to preserve, protect, and develop offshore oil and gas resources; to 
make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as 
rapidly as possible; to balance orderly energy resource development 
with protection of the human, marine, and coastal environments; to 
ensure the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the 
OCS; and to preserve and maintain free enterprise competition. Section 
11 of the amended OCLSA requires the holders of OCS oil and gas and 
sulphur leases to submit exploration or development and production 
plans for approval prior to commencing these activities. The 
implementing regulations and associated information collection 
requirements are contained in 30 CFR part 250, subpart B, Exploration 
and Development and Production Plans. In addition, the MMS Regions have 
issued Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) that provide 
supplementary guidance and procedures applicable to each Region or 
nationally. These NTLs address the various surveys, reports, plans 
(including supplemental deep water operations plans and conservation 
information for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Region), etc., that are 
necessary for MMS to approve the exploration or development and 
production activities.
    The MMS engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and environmental 
scientists use the information collected under 30 CFR part 250, subpart 
B, and related NTLs, to analyze and evaluate the planned operations to 
ensure that they will not adversely affect the marine, coastal, or 
human environment and that they conserve the resources of the OCS. It 
would be impossible for the Regional Supervisor to make an informed 
decision on whether to approve the proposed plans, or whether 
modifications are necessary, without the analysis and evaluation of the 
required information. The affected States also review the information 
collected for consistency with approved Coastal Zone Management plans.
    The MMS will protect proprietary information submitted with the 
plans in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act; 30 CFR part 
250.18, Data and information to be made available to the public; and 30 
CFR part 252, OCS Oil and Gas Information Program. No items of a 
sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS sulphur or oil and gas lessees.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: 177,440 
reporting burden hours; 260 recordkeeping burden hours. The estimated 
average burden per response is:
    (1) Preliminary activities: 1 hour per notice.
    (2) Exploration or development and production plans: 480 hours per 
plan.
    (3) GOM Region Deepwater Operations Plans: 480 hours per plan.
    (4) Revised plans: 80 hours per revision.
    (5) Recordkeeping: 2 hours per respondent.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: The MMS 
has identified no burdens associated with this collection of 
information.
    Comments: The MMS will summarize written responses to this notice 
and address them in its submission for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. As a result of comments we receive 
and our consultations with a representative sample of respondents, we 
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to 
OMB. In calculating the burden, MMS assumed that respondents perform 
many of the requirements and maintain records in the normal course of 
their activities. The MMS considers these to be usual and customary and 
took that into account in estimating the burden.
    (1) The MMS specifically solicits comments on the following 
questions:
    (a) Is the proposed collection of information necessary for MMS to 
properly perform its functions, and will it be useful?
    (b) Are the estimates of the burden hours of the proposed 
collection reasonable?
    (c) Do you have any suggestions that would enhance the quality, 
clarity, or usefulness of the information to be collected?
    (d) Is there a way to minimize the information collection burden on 
respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology?
    (2) In addition, the PRA requires agencies to estimate the total 
annual reporting and recordkeeping cost burden to respondents or 
recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. We need to 
know if you have any. Your response should split the cost estimate into 
two components:
    (a) Total capital and startup cost component; and
    (b) Annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service 
components. Your estimates should consider the costs to generate, 
maintain, and disclose or provide the information. 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, drilling, and 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: September 18, 1997.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 97-25348 Filed 9-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P