[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 230 (Wednesday, December 1, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 67298-67299] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-31112] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 request. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), we are notifying you that an information collection request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. We are also soliciting your comments on the ICR describing the information collection, its expected costs and burdens, and how the data will be collected. DATES: Written comments should be received on or before January 3, 2000. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Interior Department (OMB Control Number 1010-0104), 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503; telephone (202) 395-7340. You should also send copies of these comments to us. Our 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 or overnight delivery address is Building 85, Room A- 613, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. Email address is RMP.[email protected]. PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURE: Your comments and copies of your comments may be submitted to the addresses listed above. Please submit Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include Attn: Certification for Not Performing Accounting for Comparison (Dual Accounting), Form MMS-4410, OMB Control Number 1010-0104, 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 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, phone (303) 231-3046, FAX (303) 231-3385, email Dennis.C.J[email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Certification for Not Performing Accounting for Comparison (Dual Accounting). OMB Control Number: 1010-0104. Abstract: The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for collecting royalties from leases producing minerals from leased Federal and Indian lands. The Secretary is required by various laws to manage the production of mineral resources on Indian lands and Federal onshore and offshore leases, to collect the royalties due, and to distribute the funds in accordance with those laws; we perform these royalty management functions for the Secretary. On August 10, 1999, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) published in the Federal Register (64 FR 43506) the notice of a final rulemaking titled ``Amendments to Gas Valuation Regulations for Indian Leases,'' with an effective date of January 1, 2000. In that Notice, MMS requires that lessees submit the Form MMS-4410, Certification For Not Performing Accounting for Comparison, when gas is never processed prior to entering the pipeline with an index located in an index zone or into a mainline pipeline not in an index zone. The certification form is part of MMS's final rulemaking amending its regulations governing the valuation, for royalty purposes, of natural gas produced from Indian leases. The gas regulations apply to all gas production from Indian (tribal or allotted) oil and gas leases (except leases on the Osage Indian Reservation). The new regulations resulted from a negotiated rulemaking between Indian tribes and allottees, oil and gas industry, and Government. Most Indian lease terms require accounting for comparison (dual accounting) when gas produced from the lease is processed. Under the rule, to not perform dual accounting, a lessee must certify, on Form MMS-4410, that the gas was never processed prior to entering the pipeline with an index located in an index zone or into a mainline pipeline not in an index zone. The lessee will be required to sign the certification form for each lease having production that is exempt from dual accounting. This is a one-time certification that will remain in effect until there is a change in lease status or ownership. This certification will allow MMS and the tribes to better monitor compliance with the dual accounting requirement of Indian leases. In most cases, the lessee will know the disposition of the gas. If gas is sold at the wellhead, the lessee may have to consult with the purchaser of the gas to determine its disposition. The MMS or tribal auditors, Indian representatives, MMS's Royalty Valuation Division, and the Office of Indian Royalty Assistance, may use the information provided on the form. The current OMB inventory of 5,412 hours is decreased to 2,880 hours. This adjusted decrease of 2,532 burden hours is the result of our originally overestimating the number of Indian leases that would be required to submit Form MMS-4410. Respondents/Affected Entities: Companies that pay royalties on gas produced from tribal and allotted Indian leases. Frequency of Response: One-time certification in effect until a change of lease status or ownership. [[Page 67299]] Estimated Number of Respondents: 720. Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 2,880 hours Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act requires each agency A * * * 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. 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 January 3, 2000. MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, (202) 208-7744. Dated: November 23, 1999. Lucy Querques Denett, Associate Director for Royalty Management. [FR Doc. 99-31112 Filed 11-30-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P