[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30480-30481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14274]


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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 a revision of a currently approved collection (OMB 
Control Number 1010-0104).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we 
are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will 
submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. The information collection request (ICR) is titled 
``Certification for Not Performing Accounting for Comparison (Dual 
Accounting).''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before August 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Paul Knueven, Regulations and 
FOIA Team, Minerals Revenue Management, Minerals Management Service, 
P.O. Box 25165, MS 320B2, 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 addresses 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. Knueven at (303) 231-3316. We will post all 
comments at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNptoce/FRInfColl.htm for 
public review.
    We make copies of the comments available for public review, 
including names and addresses of respondents, 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 rulemaking 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: Paul Knueven, Regulations and FOIA 
Team, phone (303) 231-3316, FAX (303) 231-3385, email 
[email protected]. A copy of the ICR will be available to you 
without charge upon request. The ICR will also be posted to our web 
site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm when we 
submit the ICR to OMB for review and approval.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Certification for Not Performing Accounting for Comparison 
(Dual Accounting).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0104.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-4410.
    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, collecting 
royalties from lessees who produce minerals, and 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.
    Accounting for comparison (dual accounting) is required by the 
terms of most Indian leases. To not perform dual accounting, a lessee 
must certify on Form MMS-4410, Certification For Not Performing 
Accounting For Comparison, that the gas was never processed prior to 
entering the pipeline with an index located in an index zone or into a 
mainline pipeline not in an index zone. This is a one-time 
certification that

[[Page 30481]]

remains in effect until there is a change in leases status or 
ownership.
    On August 10, 1999, we published a final rule titled ``Amendments 
Gas Valuation Regulations for Indian Leases'' (64 FR 43506) with an 
effective date of January 1, 2000. 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 rule requires lessees 
to elect to perform either actual dual accounting, under 30 CFR 
Sec. 206.176 (64 FR 43506), or the alternative methodology for dual 
accounting under 30 CFR Sec. 206.173 (64 FR 43506).
    By Dear Payor letter dated December 1, 1999, we notified lessees to 
report the dual accounting election on a monthly basis using new 
calculation method codes 04, Dual Accounting (actual dual accounting), 
or 05, Percent of Increase (alternative dual accounting), on the Report 
of Sales and Royalty Remittance, Form MMS-2014 (OMB Control Number 
1010-0022). We are currently reengineering our business processes, and 
as part of this effort, we have redesigned and streamlined Form MMS-
2014, effective October 1, 2001 (OMB Control Number 1010-0140). The 
revised Form MMS-2014 does not contain the dual accounting election 
information. Therefore, we are revising Form MMS-4410, so that this 
dual accounting election information continues to be reported to us. 
The revised Form MMS-4410 will reduce the payors burden of submitting 
the dual accounting election on a monthly basis on Form MMS-2014 to 
submitting the information every 2 years or whenever the payor elects 
alternative dual accounting.
    Responses to this dual accounting requirement are mandatory for all 
Indian gas leases (except leases on the Osage Indian Reservation), 
whether the respondent's gas produced from an Indian lease is processed 
or not. Proprietary information is requested and protected, and there 
are no questions of a sensitive nature involved in this collection of 
information.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 370 payors on 
approximately 2,340 Indian gas leases.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 1,717 
hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burdens.
    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. Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA Section 
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. We will 
summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our 
submission for OMB approval, including any appropriate adjustments to 
the estimated burden.
    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 
any non-hour cost burdens for the information collection aspects of 
Form MMS-4410. Therefore, if you have costs to generate, maintain, and 
disclose this information, you should comment and provide your total 
capital and startup cost components or annual operation, maintenance, 
and purchase of service components. 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, testing 
equipment; and record storage facilities.
    Generally, 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach 
(202) 208-7744.

    May 23, 2001.
Barbara Desiderio,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 01-14274 Filed 6-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-W