[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44043-44044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20798]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 1010-0057).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Submit written comments by October 12, 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 C, Pollution Prevention and Control 
(1010-0057).
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., gives the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the 
responsibility to preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources 
in the OCS. This must be done in a manner that is 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 the 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 
Amendments of 1978 also gave the Secretary the responsibility to 
minimize or eliminate conflicts among the exploration, development, and 
production of oil and natural gas and the recovery of other resources 
such as fish and shellfish. The OCS Lands Act at 43 U.S.C. 1332(6) 
states that ``operations in the [O]uter Continental Shelf should be 
conducted in a safe manner by well-trained personnel using technology, 
precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or minimize the 
likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, spillages, 
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.'' The OCS Lands Act at 43 
U.S.C. 1334(a)(8) also requires the Secretary to administer the 
provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of the OCS, and 
prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary ``for 
compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to 
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that 
activities authorized under this Act significantly affect the air 
quality of any State.'' The OCS Lands Act Amendments at 43 U.S.C. 
1843(b) direct the Secretary to ``establish regulations requiring all 
materials, equipment, tools, containers, and all other items used on 
the Outer Continental Shelf to be properly color coded, stamped, or 
labeled, wherever practicable, with the owner's identification prior to 
actual use.''
    Regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart C, ``Pollution, Prevention and 
Control'' implement these statutory requirements. We use the 
information collected and records maintained under subpart C to ensure:
     There is no threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate 
damage to the marine environment and to identify potential hazards to 
commercial fishing caused by OCS oil and gas exploration, development, 
and production activities;
     The location of items lost overboard is recorded to aid in 
recovery by the operator during site clearance activities on the lease;
     Operations are conducted according to all applicable 
regulations, permit conditions and requirements, and conducted in a 
safe and workmanlike manner;
     OCS oil and gas operations minimize air pollution of the 
OCS and adjacent onshore areas and comply with the emission levels 
specified in the MMS Development and Production Plan approval 
conditions;
     A data baseline is established for the meteorological, 
oceanographic, and sea-ice conditions in frontier areas of the OCS to 
determine that offshore facilities and operational practices can 
withstand the expected environmental forces in an area;

[[Page 44044]]

     Emissions from OCS activities are not significantly 
affecting the air quality of any State adjacent to the OCS facilities/
operations;
     Discharge or disposal of drill cuttings, sand, and other 
well solids, including those containing naturally occurring radioactive 
materials, are properly handled for the protection of OCS workers and 
the environment; and
     Facilities are inspected daily for the prevention of 
pollution and problems observed have been corrected.
    We will protect proprietary information submitted 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 or monthly.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved annual hour burden for this collection is 149,510 
hours, which averages 1,150 hours per respondent.
    This burden includes a data collection effort for respondents to 
monitor emissions air quality and submit monthly reports for a 1-year 
study of selected in sites in the Breton National Wildlife Refuge/
Wilderness Area (BWA) under Secs. 250.303(k) and 250.304(g). OMB 
previously approved the information collection burden for this, 
however, the project has been on hold. We have now scheduled the effort 
to begin on January 1, 2000, as announced in the Gulf of Mexico OCS 
Region's Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) No. 99-G14.
    In addition, we will be requesting an increase in the annual burden 
for a 1-year data collection effort to monitor ozone and regional haze 
air quality of facilities in the Gulf of Mexico west of 87 deg. 30' 
West longitude also beginning January 1, 2000. As announced in NTL No. 
99-G15, monitoring will be monthly, with an annual report due the 
following March in 2001. We estimate 285 additional annual burden hours 
per respondent for this data collection effort.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: OMB previously approved the burden on lessees and operators of 
each lease within 100 kilometers of the BWA to collect and report 
meteorological data under Secs. 250.303(l) and 250.304(h), although 
this collection effort has also been on hold. NTL No. 99-G03 announced 
the start of this project on January 1, 2000. The Offshore Operators 
Committee (OOC) has agreed to undertake this project. The OOC estimates 
this one-time data collection effort will cost approximately 
$750,000.00, which will be expensed to the affected OCS lessees.
    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: August 6, 1999.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-20798 Filed 8-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P