[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 230 (Wednesday, December 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67299-67300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31113]


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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 request.

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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 1010-0103), 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: Safety Net Report, 
Form MMS-4411, OMB Control Number 1010-0103, 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: Safety Net Report.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0103.
    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 Safety Net Report, Form MMS-4411, when gas 
production from an Indian lease is sold beyond the first index pricing 
point.
    The Safety Net Report 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.
    The safety net calculation establishes the minimum value, for 
royalty purposes, of natural gas produced from Indian leases. This 
reporting requirement will assist the Indian lessor in receiving all 
the royalties that are due and aid MMS in its compliance efforts. The 
rule requires the lessee to calculate the safety net price using prices 
received for gas sold downstream of the first index pricing point. It 
will include only the lessee's or lessee's affiliate's arm's-length 
contracts and will not require detailed calculations for the costs of 
transportation. By June 30 following any calendar year, the rule 
requires the lessee to calculate for each month of the previous 
calendar year a safety net price. The rule requires the lessee to 
submit a separate Form MMS-

[[Page 67300]]

4411 for each index zone where the lessee has an Indian lease. The 
safety net price will capture the significantly higher values for sales 
occurring beyond the first index pricing point. The lessee will submit 
its safety net prices to MMS annually (by June 30) using the Form MMS-
4411.
    The Safety Net Report will allow MMS and the tribes to ensure that 
Indian mineral lessors receive the maximum revenues from mineral 
resources on their land consistent with the Secretary's trust 
responsibility and lease terms. In the safety net calculation, the 
lessee will only include sales under those arm's-length contracts that 
establish a delivery point beyond the first index pricing point to 
which the gas flows. Moreover, those contracts must include any gas 
produced from or allocable to one or more of the lessee's Indian leases 
in the index zone. 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 37,400 hours is decreased to 10,500 
hours. This adjusted decrease of 26,900 burden hours is the result of 
our originally overestimating the number of companies submitting Form 
MMS-4411 and overstating the number of index zones for which each 
company would have to submit this form.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Companies that pay royalties on gas 
produced from tribal and allotted Indian leases.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 140 companies.
    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 10,500 
hours.
    Comments: 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.
    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. 99-31113 Filed 11-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P