[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61659-61660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29623]


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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 1010-0048).

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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. We intend to submit this collection of 
information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. 
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 OMB 
control number.

DATES: Submit written comments by January 11, 2000.

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. 
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
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 may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by the 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 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: 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 Part 251, Geological and Geophysical (G&G) 
Exploration of the OCS (1010-0048).
    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 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 (43 U.S.C. 1340) also states that ``any person 
authorized by the Secretary may conduct geological and geophysical 
explorations in the [O]uter Continental Shelf, which do not interfere 
with or endanger actual operations under any lease maintained or 
granted pursuant to this OCS Lands Act, and which are not unduly 
harmful to aquatic life in such area.'' The section further requires 
that, permits to conduct such activities may only be issued if it is 
determined that the applicant is qualified; the activities are not 
polluting, hazardous, or unsafe; they do not interfere with other users 
of the area; and do not disturb a site, structure, or object of 
historical or archaeological significance. Applicants for permits are 
required to submit form MMS-327 to provide the information necessary to 
evaluate their qualifications.
    Regulations at 30 CFR part 251 implement these statutory 
requirements. We use the information to ensure there is no 
environmental degradation, personal harm or unsafe operations and 
conditions, damage to historical or archaeological sites, or 
interference with other uses; to analyze and evaluate

[[Page 61660]]

preliminary or planned drilling activities; to monitor progress and 
activities in the OCS; to acquire G&G data and information collected 
under a Federal permit offshore; and to determine eligibility for 
reimbursement from the Government for certain costs. The information is 
necessary to determine if the applicants for permits or filers of 
notices meet the qualifications specified by the OCS Lands Act. MMS 
uses information collected to understand the G&G characteristics of 
oil-and-gas bearing physiographic regions of the OCS. It aids the 
Secretary in obtaining a proper balance among the potentials for 
environmental damage, the discovery of oil and gas, and adverse impacts 
on affected coastal states. Information from permittees is necessary to 
determine the propriety and amount of reimbursement.
    We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary 
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its 
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2) and under regulations at 30 
CFR parts 250, 251, and 252. No items of a sensitive nature are 
collected. Responses are mandatory or required to obtain or retain a 
benefit.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion, annually, or 
as specified in permits.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Primarily, 
approximately 200 Federal OCS permittees or notice filers.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved annual reporting burden for this collection is 
10,604 hours, which averages 53 hours per respondent. There are no 
recordkeeping burdens.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no cost burdens for this collection.
    Comments: We will summarize written responses to this notice and 
address them in our submission for OMB approval. 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 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 ``non-hour 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: November 4, 1999.
Elmer P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-29623 Filed 11-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P