[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 97 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31598-31600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12485]


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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 (PRA) (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 
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 June 19, 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-NEW), 725 17th Street, 
NW, Washington, DC 20503. 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 [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: Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance, Form 
MMS-2014, OMB Control Number 1010-NEW, and your name and return address 
in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the 
system that we

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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: Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-NEW.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-2014.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for the 
collection of 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. MMS is responsible 
for the royalty management functions assigned to the Secretary and is 
developing a financial accounting system which includes royalty and 
production reporting as a part of an overall effort to improve 
management of the nation's resources. This new system will be effective 
October 1, 2001, and will replace both the Accounting and Financial 
System and the Production Accounting and Auditing System. MMS's 
proposal for royalty reporting requirements was published in the 
Federal Register on February 23, 1999 (64 FR 8835).
    In April 1996, RMP undertook a compliance reengineering initiative. 
The principal reengineering objective was to define and implement a new 
compliance strategy ensuring that Federal and Indian mineral lease 
revenues were accurately and timely paid in the most cost-effective 
manner possible.
    The Royalty Policy Committee (RPC), which includes representatives 
from industry, States, Indian Tribal and allottee groups, and MMS, 
issued recommendations in June 1996 to streamline both royalty and 
production reporting. An action plan was developed to implement many of 
the recommendations. However, in August 1996, the Federal Oil and Gas 
Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 (RSFA) was enacted into 
law. RSFA significantly changed many of RMP's historical operating 
assumptions as well as some fundamental Federal oil and gas mineral 
revenue financial activities. Although near-term changes in processes 
and systems were made to implement the law, long-term strategies, 
business processes, and aging systems needed to be addressed for RMP to 
be cost-effective and responsive to customer needs. The decision was 
made April 1, 1997, to expand reengineering to all RMP core business 
processes. This is the most comprehensive review of RMP's business 
processes and organization since its creation in 1982.
    When a company or individual enters into a contract to develop, 
produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal or Indian lands, that 
company or individual agrees to pay the United States, Indian tribe, or 
allottee a share (royalty) each month of the full value received for 
the minerals taken from leased lands. The Report of Sales and Royalty 
Remsittance, Form MMS-2014, is the only document used for reporting 
royalties, certain rents, and other lease-related transactions to MMS.
    As part of our reengineering effort, we analyzed current 
information collection requirements for the existing Form MMS-2014 and 
built upon the RPC's earlier recommendations. As a result of our 
analysis, we developed and incorporated revised reporting requirements 
for Form MMS-2014 which will reduce the volume of lines reported and 
processed, minimize errors and related error correction workloads, 
simplify reporting and lower costs for both industry and RMP. The 
revised Form MMS-2014 incorporates RPC's recommendations and input 
received from States, Indian Tribes, and other industry groups.
    Industry will not begin using the revised Form MMS-2014 until 
October 1, 2001, when we implement our new financial accounting system. 
However, we are requesting approval of this revised form immediately, 
so that industry can begin work on the necessary systems development 
and reprogramming adjustments and changes that may be required as they 
prepare for the new reporting requirements that will be effective 
October 1, 2001. Please note that the existing Form MMS-2014 will 
continue to be used until the change over to the revised Form MMS-2014 
in the fall of 2001.
    Failure to collect the information provided by Form MMS-2014 would 
render it impossible to ensure that MMS is collecting and disbursing 
the full value of royalties received from production of leased lands. 
Collection of royalties directly impacts the amount of funds made 
available to the United States Treasury, to State governments, and to 
Indian Tribes and allottees.
    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. As required in 
5 CFR 1320.8(d), MMS published a 60-day Federal Register Notice on 
February 23, 1999 (64 FR 8835), soliciting comments from the public on 
this revised Form MMS-2014.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Payors-companies or individuals who 
enter into a contract to develop, produce, and dispose of minerals from 
Federal or Indian lands.
    Frequency of Response: Monthly.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,300 payors.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
124,500 hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: $4.7 million.
    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,

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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 June 19, 2000.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
telephone (202) 208-7744.

    Dated: March 27, 2000.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 00-12485 Filed 5-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P