[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 1, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46943-46944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19341]


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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 an extension of an information collection (OMB 
Control Number 1010-0042).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are 
soliciting comments on an information collection titled, Application 
for the Purchase of Royalty Oil. We will submit an information 
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval after this comment period closes.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before October 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and 
Publications Staff, Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management 
Program, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you use an 
overnight courier service, our courier address is Building 85, Room A-
613, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225.

PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURE: Submit your comments to the offices listed in 
the ADDRESSES section, or email your comments to us at 
[email protected]. Include the title of the information collection 
and the OMB Control Number in the ``Attention'' line of your comment; 
also, include your name and return address. Submit electronic comments 
as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received 
your email, contact Mr. Guzy at (303) 231-3432, FAX (303) 231-3385. We 
will post all comments at http://www.rmp.mms.gov for public review.
    Also, contact Mr. Guzy to review paper copies of the comments. The 
comments, including names and addresses of respondents, are available 
for public review during regular business hours at our offices in 
Lakewood, Colorado. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the public record, which we will honor to the 
extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we 
would withhold from the public record a respondent's identity, as 
allowable by law. If you request that we withhold your name and/or 
address, 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]. A copy of the ICR will be available to you 
without charge upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Application for the Purchase of Royalty Oil.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0042
    Bureau Form Number: n/a.
    Abstract: The Department of the Interior (DOI) 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. The Secretary also 
has an Indian trust responsibility to manage Indian lands and seek 
advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. We perform the 
royalty management functions and assist the Secretary in carrying out 
DOI's Indian trust responsibility.
    ``Royalty oil'' is crude oil produced from leased Federal lands, 
both onshore and offshore, in instances in which the Government 
exercises the option to accept a lessee's royalty payment in oil rather 
than in money. Title to the oil is transferred to the Government and 
then sold to an eligible refiner. When the Secretary determines that 
small refiners do not have access to adequate supplies of oil, the 
Secretary may dispose of any oil taken as royalty by conducting a sale 
of such oil, or by allocating it to eligible refiners.
    When the Secretary decides to offer royalty oil taken in kind for 
sale to eligible refiners, MMS will publish a Notice of Availability of 
Royalty Oil in

[[Page 46944]]

the Federal Register, and other printed media, when appropriate. The 
Notice includes administrative details concerning the application, 
allocation, and contract award process for the royalty oil. The 
Application for the Purchase of Royalty Oil, Form MMS-4070, is 
submitted by refiners interested in purchasing royalty oil in 
accordance with instructions in the Notice, and with instructions 
issued by MMS for completion of the form. The information collected is 
used by MMS to determine if the applicant meets eligibility 
requirements to contract to purchase royalty oil. Information collected 
also provides a basis for the allocation of available royalty oil among 
qualified refiners.
    Responses to this information are necessary for refiners to 
participate in royalty oil sales. Proprietary information that is 
submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive 
nature included in this information collection.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 25 small oil 
refiners.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 25 
hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: n/a.
    Comments: The Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), 
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.
    The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or recordkeepers 
resulting from the collection of information. We have not identified 
non-hour cost burdens and need to know if there are other 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.
    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.
    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 provides that an agency shall 
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.

    Dated: July 25, 2000.
R. Dale Fazio,
Acting Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 00-19341 Filed 7-31-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P