[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16623-16624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7758]


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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 extension of a currently approved Information 
Collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0095).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), we are notifying you that we have submitted an 
information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. We are also soliciting your 
comments on this ICR which describes the information collection, its 
expected costs and burden, and how the data will be collected.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before April 28, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0095), 725 17th 
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503. Copies of these comments should also 
be sent to David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and Publications Staff, Minerals 
Management Service, Royalty Management Program, PO Box 25165, MS 3021, 
Denver, Colorado 80225. Courier address is Building 85, Room A-613, 
Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. Email address is 
[email protected].
    Public Comment Procedure: Please submit Internet comments as an 
ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption. Please also include Attn: Request to Exceed Regulatory 
Allowance Limitation, Form MMS-4393, OMB Control Number 1010-0095, and 
your name and return address in your

[[Page 16624]]

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 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0095.
    Abstract: 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 
(Secretary) 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.
    MMS Royalty Management Program (RMP) is proposing to continue the 
use of Form MMS-4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance 
Limitation, to be used by royalty payors on Federal or Indian mineral 
leases. The payors will use the form when requesting MMS approval to 
exceed established transportation or processing allowance limits.
    To request permission to exceed an allowance limit, royalty payors 
must write a letter to MMS providing the reasons why a higher allowance 
limit is necessary. Although the request to exceed an allowance limit 
is voluntary on the part of the payors and results in a benefit to 
them, many times payors have not provided all of the data needed by MMS 
to approve or deny a request. The followup necessary to obtain required 
information creates an additional burden for both the payor and the 
Government. RMP developed Form MMS-4393 to be included with the payor's 
request for approval to exceed the allowance limit. The form ensures 
that MMS receives the lease data required to make a decision on the 
request by including the Accounting Identification Number identifying 
the lease, the product code identifying the product being transported 
or processed, and the selling arrangement used to identify the 
marketing outlet for the product. These are the necessary data that 
have been missing from many of the requests in the past. We estimate 
the annual reporting and recordkeeping burden to complete this 
information collection per respondent is 30 minutes.
    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. A 60-day 
Federal Register Notice soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published on December 8, 1999 (64 FR 68699). No 
comments were received.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Royalty payors.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 75 payors.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour.''
    Burden: 37 burden hours. Refer to the following chart:

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                                       Reporting &
            Citation                  recordkeeping              Frequency        Number of  respondents          Burden            Total annual burden
                                       requirements                                                                                        hours
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Sec.  206.104(b)(1); Sec.        Submit request in        Annually..............  75....................  .50 hour..............  37
 206.156(c)(3); and Sec.          writing and complete
 206.158(c)(3).                   Form MMS-4393.
                                                                                                                                 -----------------------
      Total....................  .......................  ......................  75....................  ......................  37
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no cost burdens for this collection.
    Comments: 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. 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 April 28, 2000.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: March 24, 2000.
Lawrence E. Cobb,
Acting Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 00-7758 Filed 3-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P