[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 5401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2468]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of new collection of information.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Act), the 
Department of the Interior has submitted the collection of information 
discussed below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
approval. The Act 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.

DATES: Submit written comments by March 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments and suggestions directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (1010-NEW), 725 17th Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20503. Send a copy of your comments to the Minerals 
Management Service, Attention: Rules Processing Team, Mail Stop 4020, 
381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Engineering and 
Operations Division, Minerals Management Service, telephone (703) 787-
1600. You may obtain copies of the supporting statement and collection 
of information by contacting MMS's Information Collection Clearance 
Officer at (202) 208-7744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title and Form Number: Form MMS-131, Performance Measures Data 
Form.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as 
amended, 43 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.
    The MMS will use the information collected on Form MMS-131 to 
evaluate the effectiveness of industry's continued improvement of 
safety and environmental management in the OCS. The MMS can better 
focus its regulatory and research programs on areas where the 
performance measures indicate that operators are having difficulty 
meeting MMS expectations. The MMS should be more effective in 
leveraging its resources by redirecting research efforts, promoting 
appropriate regulatory initiatives, and shifting inspection program 
emphasis. The performance measures will also give MMS a verifiable 
gauge against which we can begin to judge the reasonableness of company 
requests for any specific regulatory relief. This information will also 
provide offshore operators and organizations with a credible data 
source to demonstrate to those outside the industry how well the 
industry and individual companies are doing. Knowing how the offshore 
operators as a group are doing and where their own company ranks will 
provide company management with information to focus their continuous 
improvement efforts. This should lead to more cost-effective prevention 
actions and, therefore, better cost containment. The collection of this 
information involves no proprietary information. No items of a 
sensitive nature are collected. Responses are voluntary.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 120 
Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur lessees.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is annual. There are no 
recordkeeping requirements.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: 3,220 
total burden hours, averaging approximately 28 hours per response.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: None.
    Comments: Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
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.
    Send your comments directly to the offices listed under the 
addresses section of this notice. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve 
or disapprove the information collection but may respond after 30 days. 
Therefore, to ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive public 
comments March 4, 1998.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: January 12, 1998.
E. P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 98-2468 Filed 1-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P