[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 9 (Thursday, January 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2501-2502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-878]


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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 extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0079).

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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 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

[[Page 2502]]

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Submit written comments by March 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; attention: Rules Processing 
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.

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 250, Subpart G, Abandonment of Wells (1010-0079).
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., gives the Secretary of the Interior the responsibility to 
preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS 
consistent with the need to make such resources available to meet the 
Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance orderly energy 
resource development with protection of human, marine, and coastal 
environments; ensure the public a fair and equitable return on the 
resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain free enterprise 
competition. The OCS Lands Act Amendment of 1978 amended section 3(6) 
of the OCS Lands Act to state that ``operations in the outer 
Continental Shelf should be conducted * * * using technology, 
precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or minimize * * * 
physical obstruction to other users of the waters or subsoil and 
seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to the environment 
or to property, or endanger life or health.'' We have established these 
regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart G, ``Abandonment of Wells.''
    Respondents provide annual reports describing plans for reentry to 
complete or permanently abandon a well. For us to decide the necessity 
for allowing a well to be temporarily abandoned, the lessee/operator 
must show that there is a reason for not permanently abandoning the 
well and that the temporary abandonment is not a significant threat to 
fishing, navigation, or other uses of the seabed. If we did not collect 
the information, we could not determine: (a) The intent of the lessee, 
(b) if the final disposition of the well is being diligently pursued, 
(c) any deviations from the approved Exploration or Development and 
Production Plan, and (d) if the lessee/operator has documented the 
temporary plugging of the well and marked the location.
    We will protect proprietary information submitted with the plans 
according to the Freedom of Information Act; 30 CFR 250.118, ``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 and annual.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved hour burden for this collection is 776 hours. The 
estimated average annual burden per respondent is approximately 6 
hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Cost'' Burden: We 
have identified no information collection cost burdens for this 
collection of information.
    Comments: We will summarize written responses to this notice and 
address them in our submission for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. As a result of your comments 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, we assumed that respondents perform many of the 
requirements and maintain records in the normal course of their 
activities. We consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in estimating the burden.
    (1) We specifically solicit your comments on the following 
questions:
    (a) Is the proposed collection of information necessary for us to 
properly perform our 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 costs associated with the collection of this 
information for either total capital and startup cost components or 
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: January 7, 1999.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-878 Filed 1-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P