[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44156-44157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21099]


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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 a revision of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0075).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we 
are submitting to OMB for review and approval an information collection 
request (ICR), titled ``Gas Processing and Transportation Allowances.'' 
We are also soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before September 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0075), 725 17th 
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503. Also, submit copies of your written 
comments to Carol Shelby, Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management 
Service, MS 320B2, P.O. Box 25165, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you use 
an overnight courier service, MMS's courier address is Building 85, 
Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also 
submit your comments at our email address [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 Ms. 
Shelby at (303) 231-3151 or FAX (303) 231-3385.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Shelby, Regulatory Specialist, 
telephone (303) 231-3151, FAX (303) 231-3385, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Gas Processing and Transportation Allowances.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0075.
    Bureau Form Number: Forms MMS-4109 and MMS-4295.
    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. MMS performs the 
royalty management functions for the Secretary.
    When a company or an individual enters into a lease to explore, 
develop, produce, and dispose of gas from Indian lands, that company or 
individual agrees to pay the Indian tribe or allottee a share (royalty) 
of the value received from production from the leased lands. Royalty 
rates are specified in the lease instrument. To determine whether the 
amount of royalty tendered represents the proper royalty due, it is 
first necessary to establish the proper value of the gas that is being 
sold or otherwise disposed of in some other manner, as well as the 
proper costs associated with allowable deductions.
    The lease creates a business relationship between the lessor and 
the lessee. The lessee is required to report various kinds of 
information to the lessor relative to the disposition of the leased 
minerals. Such information is similar to data which are reported to 
private and public mineral interest owners and are generally available 
within the records of the lessee or others involved in developing, 
transporting, processing, purchasing, or selling of such minerals. The 
information collected includes data necessary to assure that the 
royalties that are computed and paid are appropriate.
    The product valuation and allowance determination process is 
essential to assure that Indians receive payment on the proper value of 
the minerals removed from tribal and allottee land. To determine 
whether the amount of royalty tendered represents the proper royalty 
due, it is necessary to establish the proper value of the gas and gas 
plant products sold, or otherwise disposed of. Of equal importance is 
the proper determination of costs associated with the allowable 
deductions from the value of gas and gas plant products.
    Under certain circumstances, lessees are authorized to deduct from 
royalty payments the reasonable actual costs of transporting the 
royalty portion of produced minerals from the lease to a processing or 
sales point not in the immediate lease area. Transportation allowances 
are a part of the product valuation process that MMS uses to determine 
if the lessee is reporting and paying the proper royalty amount. In 
addition, when gas is processed for the recovery of gas plant products, 
lessees may claim a processing allowance. MMS normally will accept the 
cost as stated in the lessee's arm's-length processing contract as 
being representative of the cost of the processing allowance. In those 
instances where gas is being processed through a lessee-owned plant, 
the processing costs are based upon the actual plant operating and 
maintenance expenses, depreciation, and a reasonable return on 
investment. The allowance is expressed as a cost per unit of individual 
gas plant products. Processing allowances may be taken as a deduction 
from royalty payments. These regulatory provisions may be found at 30 
CFR part 206, subpart E.
    Submission of Forms MMS-4109 and MMS-4295 is necessary when 
claiming a gas processing or transportation allowance on an Indian 
lease. MMS is requesting OMB approval for minor revisions necessary to 
make Forms MMS-4109 and MMS-4295 compatible with our reengineered 
financial and compliance systems. Proprietary information that is 
submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive 
nature included in this information collection.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 65 Indian lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 750 
hours. In estimating the burden, we assumed that respondents perform 
certain functions, such as records maintenance, in the normal course of 
their business activities. These functions are considered usual and 
customary and therefore are not listed in the following estimate even 
though records maintenance is an MMS regulatory requirement. The 
following chart lists the components of the burden estimate.

[[Page 44157]]



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                                                                                           Annual       Annual
                 Citation                       Reporting requirement      Burden hour   number of      burden
                                                                             per line      lines        hours
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Sec.  206.178 (b)(1)(ii)..................  You must submit the actual           \1/4\        2,400          600
                                             cost information to support
                                             the allowance to MMS on Form
                                             MMS-4295, Gas Transportation
                                             Allowance Report, within 3
                                             months after the end of the
                                             12-month period to which the
                                             allowance applies..
Sec.  206.180 (b)(1)(ii)..................  You must submit the actual           \1/4\          600          150
                                             cost information to support
                                             the allowance to MMS on Form
                                             MMS-4109, Gas Processing
                                             Allowance Summary Report,
                                             within 3 months after the
                                             end of the 12-month period
                                             for which the allowance
                                             applies..
                                                                                       -------------------------
                                            Total........................  ...........        3,000          750
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.) 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 public consultation requirements, on April 6, 2001, 
we published a Federal Register notice (66 FR 18295) announcing that we 
would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided the 
required 60-day comment period. We received one comment. We responded 
to the comment in our ICR submission for OMB approval. We have posted a 
copy of the ICR at our Internet web site http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm. We will also provide a copy of the 
ICR to you without charge upon request.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, please 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 your comments by 
September 20, 2001. 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.
    Public Comment Policy: We will post all comments received in 
response to this notice on our Internet web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/InfoColl/InfoColCom.htm for public review. We 
also make copies of these comments, including names and home addresses 
of respondents, 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 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 comments. 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
telephone (202) 208-7744.

    Dated: August 7, 2001.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 01-21099 Filed 8-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P