[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46714-46715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22096]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


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

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are soliciting 
comments on an information collection titled Production Accounting and 
Auditing System Reports on Solid Minerals, OMB Control Number 1010-0063 
which expires on December 31, 1999.

Form

    Mine Information Form, MMS-4050; Facility and Measurement 
Information Form, MMS-4051S, Solid Minerals Operations Report, MMS-
4059A&B Solid Minerals Facility Report, MMS-4060A&B.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 25, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: The mailing address for written comments regarding this 
information collection is David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and Publications 
Staff, Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, P.O. 
Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, Colorado 80225. Courier address is Building 
85, Room A-613, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. E-mail 
address is RMP.[email protected].

Public Comment Procedure

    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
several methods. You may mail comments to David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules 
and Publications Staff, Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management 
Program, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, CO 80225-0165. Courier or 
overnight delivery address is Building 85, Room A-613, Denver Federal 
Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also comment via the Internet 
to RMP.[email protected]. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII 
file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. 
Please also include ``Attn: Production Accounting and Auditing System 
Reports on Solid Minerals, OMB Control Number 1010-0063'' and your name 
and return address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a 
confirmation from the system that we have received your Internet 
message, contact David S. Guzy directly at (303) 231-3432.
    We will post public comments after the comment period closes on the 
Internet at http://www.rmp.mms.gov. You may arrange to view paper 
copies of the comments by contacting David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and 
Publications Staff, telephone (303) 231-3432, FAX (303) 231-3385. Our 
practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of 
respondents, available for public review on the Internet and during 
regular business hours at our offices in Lakewood, Colorado. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the 
rulemaking 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 
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from

[[Page 46715]]

organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis C. Jones, Rules and 
Publications Staff, telephone (303) 231-3046, FAX (303) 231-3385, e-
mail Dennis.C.J[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
    The Department of the Interior is responsible for matters relevant 
to mineral resource development on Federal and Indian Lands and the 
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary of the Interior is 
responsible for managing the production of minerals from Federal and 
Indian Lands and the OCS; for collecting royalties from lessees who 
produce minerals; and for distributing the funds collected in 
accordance with applicable laws. MMS performs the royalty management 
functions for the Secretary.
    We developed the Production Accounting and Auditing System (PAAS), 
an integrated computer database containing production processing data 
submitted by Federal and Indian lease operators, including operators of 
solid mineral leases. The PAAS database is designed to track minerals 
produced from Federal and Indian lands from the point of production to 
the point of disposition, or royalty determination, and/or point of 
sale. The PAAS data is compared with data in our Auditing and Financial 
System (AFS) database which tracks sales of mineral production from a 
lease and associated royalty payments as reported by payors. The 
comparison between production data (PAAS) and sales and royalty data 
(AFS) enables MMS to verify that the proper amount of royalties are 
being received for the minerals extracted from a lease.
    Lessees file four forms to submit the required solid minerals data. 
Two forms are used to establish an MMS reference database of relatively 
static information on mines, facilities, and measurement points; this 
reference database eliminates the necessity for operators to 
continually report this static data. To monitor lease production, 
lessees file two operations reports to provide ongoing information on 
production, sales volumes, and inventories of mines and processing 
facilities.
    The burden imposed on lessees submitting required information is 
directly proportional to mine activity and the point of sale, or the 
royalty determination. The more complicated the operations, the greater 
the reporting burden on the respondents. Mine/facility operators are 
required to submit the required production data to allow MMS to 
accurately and completely determine the correct amount of the royalty 
due on the minerals removed from Federal and Indian lands.
    Currently the PAAS database includes 211 mine operators and 290 
mines containing 653 leases. Coal lease operators make up 45 percent of 
the total respondents. Solid mineral leases also include limestone, 
molybdenum, potassium, sodium, and sand and gravel operations. The 
total number of facilities maintained on PAAS includes 27 coal 
processing plants, 20 refiners, 13 mill and 44 remote storage 
facilities. It is estimated that there will be a continuing growth of 3 
percent per year for the number of new operators, mines, facilities, 
and leases added to PAAS.
    The annual burden for responding to this information collection 
using the PAAS solid mineral forms, including 1 hour per operator per 
year to maintain records necessary for completion of PAAS forms, is 
estimated to be 2,920 hours.

    Dated: August 20, 1999.
R. Dale Fazio,
Acting Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 99-22096 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P