[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58097-58098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28235]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of currently approved information 
collection (1010-0057).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), we are notifying you that we have submitted the 
information collection request (ICR) discussed below to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. We are also 
inviting your comments on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments by November 29, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (1010-0057), 725 17th Street, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20503. Mail or handcarry a copy of your 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.
    OMB Control Number: 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 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 also requires the Secretary to 
administer the provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of 
the OCS, and to 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 directs the 
Secretary to ``establish regulations requiring all materials, 
equipment, tools, containers, and all other items used on the OCS to be 
properly color coded, stamped, or labeled, wherever practicable, with 
the owner's identification prior to actual use.''
    To carry out the responsibilities, we issued regulations at 30 CFR 
250, subpart C, Pollution Prevention and Control. These regulations 
collect information related to new facilities and modifications to 
existing facilities with respect to pollution prevention and control. 
In addition, we also issue Notices to Lessees and Operators to clarify 
and provide additional guidance on some aspects of the regulations.
    We collect information under subpart C to ensure that:
     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;
     Discharge or disposal of drill cuttings, sand, and other 
well solids, including those containing naturally occurring radioactive 
materials (NORM), 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.
    If we did not collect the information, we could not carry out the 
mandate of the OCS Lands Act to ensure safe and environmentally sound 
operations in the OCS. We could not determine if operations comply with 
standards to minimize air pollution of the OCS and adjacent onshore 
areas.
    Beginning January 1, 2000, we will conduct a 1-year information 
collection of meteorological data and air pollutant emissions for 
production facilities in the Breton National Wildlife Refuge/Wilderness 
Area (BWA). The information will be submitted on a monthly basis. We 
will use the information collected from the affected lessees/operators 
to determine whether emissions from OCS activities may be significantly 
affecting the air quality of the BWA, a Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration Class I Area as defined by the Clean Air Act. In 
addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated new, more 
stringent ambient air quality standards for ozone and is drafting 
regulations dealing with regional haze. It is anticipated that these 
regulations will require State agencies to perform modeling for ozone 
and regional haze for their State Implementation Plans (SIPs). The 
States will require information for the year 2000 on OCS activities in 
the central and western Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In preparation, we are 
requiring the affected respondents to collect and report facility, 
equipment, fuel usage, and other information beginning January 1, 2000. 
The information will be submitted for the entire year, sometime during 
March 2001. We will use the information collected from the affected 
lessees/operators to calculate air pollutant emissions that may 
significantly impact onshore areas. The emissions inventory will be 
available for State agencies to help them in preparing the SIPs for the 
coastal parishes/counties that have been declared as non-attainment 
areas for ozone.
    We will protect proprietary information submitted with the plans 
according to the Freedom of Information Act and 30 CFR 250.118, ``Data 
and information to be made available to the public.'' No items of a 
sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.
    The 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 OMB control number.

[[Page 58098]]

We published a Federal Register notice with the required 60-day comment 
period soliciting comments on this ICR on August 12, 1999 (64 FR 
44043).
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS sulphur or oil and gas lessees.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion, monthly, or 
annual.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
194,311 burden hours, averaging approximately 1,495 hours per 
respondent. See following chart.

                                                Burden Breakdown
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                                   Reporting and                                                        Annual
Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart C      recordkeeping              Annual number               Burden        burden
                                    requirement                                                          hours
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300(b)(1), (2)...............  Obtain approval to    130 Lessees...................  3 hours........         390
                                add petroleum-based
                                substance to
                                drilling mud system
                                or approval for
                                method of disposal
                                of drill cuttings,
                                sand, & other well
                                solids, including
                                those containing
                                NORM..
300(c).......................  Mark items that       130 Lessees...................  .5 hour........          65
                                could snag or
                                damage fishing
                                devices..
300(d).......................  Report items lost     130 Lessees...................  1 hour.........         130
                                overboard..
303(a), (b), (c), (d), (i),    Submit or revise               Burden covered under 1010-0049                   0
 (j); 304(a), (f).              Exploration Plans
                                and Development and
                                Production Plans..
303(k); 304(g)...............  Monitor emissions     350 Platforms.................  4 hrs per mo x       16,800
                                air quality and                                       12 mos=48 hrs.
                                submit monthly
                                report (1-year
                                study of selected
                                sites in the BWA
                                area)..
303(k); 304(a), (g)..........  Monitor and submit    1,500 Platforms...............  2 hrs per mo x       36,000
                                basic emission data                                   12 mos=24 hrs.
                                to MMS or to a
                                State (1-year study
                                of sites in the
                                western/central GOM
                                area on ozone and
                                regional haze air
                                quality ). Submit
                                one-time annual
                                report..
                                                     130 Reports...................  8 hours........       1,040
303(l); 304(h)...............  Collect and submit       Not routinely collected; see item A.13 for             0
                                meteorological data.            discussion of special study
304(a), (f)..................  Request by a State    5 Requests....................  40 hours.......         200
                                to MMS for basic
                                emission data from
                                existing facilities
                                to update State's
                                emission inventory.
304(e)(2)....................  Submit compliance     10 Schedules..................  40 hours.......         400
                                schedule for
                                application of best
                                available control
                                technology.
304(e)(2)....................  Apply for suspension           Burden covered under 1010-0030                   0
                                of operations.
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    Reporting--Subtotal......  ....................  2,385.........................  ...............      55,025
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300(d).......................  Record items lost     130 Recordkeepers.............  1 hour.........         130
                                overboard.
301(a).......................  Inspect drilling/     1,525 Facilities..............  .25 hour per        139,156
                                production                                            day x 365
                                facilities daily                                      days=91.25
                                for pollution;                                        hours.
                                maintain inspection/
                                repair records 2
                                years.
    Recordkeeping--Subtotal..  ....................  1,655.........................  ...............     139,286
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reporting & Recordkeeping  ....................  4,040.........................  ...............     194,311
     Total Hour Burden.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: Meteorological data will be collected for 1 year from selected 
sites pursuant to Secs. 250.303(l) and 250.304(h) to determine 
cumulative impacts of air quality within the 100-kilometer radius of 
the BWA. 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 OCS 
lessees.
    Comments: All comments are made a part of the public record. 
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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 by November 29, 1999.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: September 30, 1999.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-28235 Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P