[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 162 (Monday, August 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50716-50718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21212]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0091).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are submitting to OMB for review and approval an information collection 
request (ICR) titled ``30 CFR Part 254, Oil-Spill Response Requirements 
for Facilities Located Seaward of the Coast Line.'' We are also 
soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments by September 20, 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 (1010-0091), 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Mail or hand carry a copy of your comments to the 
Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Attention: 
Rules Processing Team, Mail Stop 4024, 381 Elden Street; Herndon, 
Virginia 20170-4817.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. 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 may be circumstances in which we 
would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by 
the 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: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
at no cost a copy of our submission to OMB, which includes the 
regulations that require this information to be collected.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR Part 254, Oil-Spill Response Requirements for 
Facilities Located Seaward of the Coast Line.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0091.
    Abstract: The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended by 
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), requires that a spill-response 
plan be submitted for offshore facilities prior to February 18, 1993. 
The OPA specifies that after that date, an offshore facility may not 
handle, store, or transport oil unless a plan has been submitted. 
Regulations at 30 CFR part 254 establish requirements for spill-
response plans for oil-handling facilities seaward of the coast line, 
including associated pipelines.
    We use the information collected under 30 CFR part 254 to determine 
compliance with OPA by owners/operators. Specifically, MMS needs the 
information to:
     Determine effectiveness of the spill-response capability 
of owners/operators;
     Review plans prepared under the regulations of a State and 
submitted to MMS to satisfy the requirements of this rule to ensure 
that they meet minimum requirements of OPA;
     Verify that personnel involved in oil-spill response are 
properly trained and familiar with the requirements of the spill 
response plans and to witness spill-response exercises;
     Assess the sufficiency and availability of contractor 
equipment and materials;

[[Page 50717]]

     Verify that sufficient quantities of equipment are 
available and in working order;
     Oversee spill-response efforts and maintain official 
records of pollution events; and
     Assess the efforts of owners/operators to prevent oil 
spills or prevent substantial threats of such discharges.
    Responses are mandatory. No proprietary, confidential, or sensitive 
information is collected.
    Frequency: The frequency varies by regulatory requirement, but is 
mostly annual or on occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Primarily 
approximately 197 owners or operators of facilities located in both 
State and Federal waters seaward of the coast line and 3 oil spill 
response companies.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
42,233 burden hours (refer to burden chart).
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no non-hour cost burdens for this 
collection.

                                                                    Burden Breakdown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                Annual
           Citation 30 CFR 254                 Reporting requirement                         Annual number                      Burden  (in     burden
                                                                                                                                   hours)       hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
254.1(a)-(d); 254.2(a); 254.3 thru 254.5;  Submit spill response plan    25 new plans.........................................          120        3,000
 254.7; 254.20 thru 254.29; 254.44(b).      for OCS facilities and
                                            related documents.
254.1(e).................................  Request MMS jurisdiction      2 requests...........................................           .5            1
                                            over facility landward of
                                            coast line (no recent
                                            request received).
254.2(b).................................  Submit certification of       12 certifications....................................           10          120
                                            capability to respond to
                                            worst case discharge or
                                            substantial threat of such.
254.2.(c); 254.30........................  Submit revised spill          170 revised plans....................................           25        4,250
                                            response plan for OCS
                                            facilities at least every 2
                                            years.
254.8....................................  Appeal MMS orders or          Burden covered under 30 CFR 290 (1010-0121)..........  ...........            0
                                            decisions.
254.42(f)................................  Inform MMS of the date of     244 notifications....................................            1          244
                                            any exercise (triennial).
254.46(a)................................  Notify NRC of all oil spills  Burden would be included in the NRC inventory........  ...........            0
                                            from owner/operator
                                            facility.
254.46(b)................................  Notify MMS of oil spills of   59 notifications & reports...........................            1           59
                                            one barrel or more from
                                            owner/operator facility;
                                            submit follow-up report.
254.46(c)................................  Notify MMS & responsible      23 notifications.....................................            1           23
                                            party of oil spills from
                                            operations at another
                                            facility.
254.50; 254.51...........................  Submit response plan for      9 plans..............................................           45          405
                                            facility in State waters by
                                            modifying existing OCS plan.
254.50; 254.52...........................  Submit response plan for      9 plans..............................................          100          900
                                            facility in State waters
                                            following format for OCS
                                            plan.
254.50; 254.53...........................  Submit response plan for      15 plans.............................................           93        1,395
                                            facility in State waters
                                            developed under State
                                            reqmts.
254.54...................................  Submit description of oil-    36 submissions.......................................            5          180
                                            spill prevention procedures.
    Reporting--Subtotal..................  ............................  604 Responses........................................  ...........       10,577
254.41...................................  Conduct annual training;      197 owners/operators.................................           40        7,880
                                            retain training records for
                                            2 years.
254.42(a) thru (e).......................  Conduct triennial response    206 exercises........................................          110       22,660
                                            plan exercise; retain
                                            exercise records for 3
                                            years.
254.43...................................  Inspect response equipment    31 inspections  x  12 months = 372...................            3        1,116
                                            monthly; retain inspection
                                            & maintenance records for 2
                                            years.
    Recordkeeping--Subtotal..............  ............................  197 Recordkeepers (RKs)..............................            3       31,656
        Total Hour Burden................  ............................  801 Responses/RKs....................................  ...........       42,233
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    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 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. 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.
    To comply with the public consultation process, on May 25, 2000, we 
published a Federal Register notice

[[Page 50718]]

(65 FR 3826) with the required 60-day comment period announcing that we 
would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. In addition, Sec. 254.9 
displays the OMB control number, specifies that the public may comment 
at anytime on the collection of information required in the 30 CFR part 
254 regulations, and provides the address to which they should send 
comments. We have received no comments in response to those efforts. We 
also consulted with several respondents and adjusted some of the 
information collection burdens as a result of those consultations.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, send your 
comments directly to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. The 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 
September 20, 2000.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: August 3, 2000.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 00-21212 Filed 8-18-00; 8:45 am]
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