[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65987-65989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31532]


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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 1010-0104).

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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 ``Accounting for Comparison (Dual Accounting).'' 
We are also soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before January 22, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of 
the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0104), 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 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, 
phone (303) 231-3151, FAX (303) 231-3385, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 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. MMS performs the royalty 
management functions for the Secretary.
    MMS regulations at 30 CFR 206.172 require lessees to certify on 
Form MMS-4410, ``Certification for Not Performing Accounting for 
Comparison (Dual Accounting),'' that dual accounting is not required 
for a specific Indian lease. This is a one-time certification that 
remains in effect until there is a change in lease status or ownership. 
In this information collection request, we are asking approval to add 
to Form MMS-4410 the lessee's reason for not performing dual 
accounting. The certification and reason for not performing dual 
accounting will be submitted on new Part A of Form MMS-4410.
    MMS regulations also require lessees to elect to perform either 
actual dual accounting under 30 CFR 206.176 or the alternative 
methodology for dual accounting under 30 CFR 206.173. Previously, 
lessees reported the dual accounting election on a monthly basis on 
Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance. However, in our 
reengineering initiative, we redesigned and streamlined Form MMS-2014 
(OMB Control Number 1010-0140). The revised Form MMS-2014 no longer 
contains the dual

[[Page 65988]]

accounting election information. Since we must collect the information, 
we are requesting approval to revise Form MMS-4410 to include the dual 
accounting election in a new Part B. Lessees will make the actual or 
alternative dual accounting election every 2 years or whenever lessees 
elect alternative dual accounting at the beginning of any month rather 
than monthly as previously required on Form MMS-2014. By moving the 
dual accounting election to Part B of Form MMS-4410, we are reducing 
the reporting burden associated with the dual accounting election from 
a monthly collection to a biennial collection.
    The revised Form MMS-4410, Parts A and B, will consolidate the 
collection of all dual accounting information on one form. The changes 
will be effective January 2002 if OMB approves our request.
    Responses to this information collection are mandatory for all 
Indian gas leases (except leases on the Osage Indian Reservation). 
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 leases.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 1,000 
hours. See the following chart for a breakdown of the burden estimate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Burden       Annual       Annual
             30 CFR Section                    Reporting requirement        hours per    number of      burden
                                                                             response    responses      hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
206.172(b)(1)(ii).......................  Gas production that you certify            4           25          100
                                           on Form MMS-4410,
                                           Certification for Not
                                           Performing Accounting for
                                           Comparison (Dual Accounting),
                                           is not processed before it
                                           flows into a pipeline with an
                                           index but which may be
                                           processed later. (New Part A
                                           of revised Form MMS-4410).
206.173(a)(1)...........................  You may elect to perform the               2          450          900
                                           dual accounting calculation
                                           according to either Sec.
                                           206.176(a) (called actual dual
                                           accounting), or paragraph (b)
                                           of this section (called the
                                           alternative methodology for
                                           dual accounting). (New Part B
                                           of revised Form MMS-4410).
206.173(a)(2)...........................  You must make a separate                See 206.173(a)(1) above.
                                           election to use the
                                           alternative methodology for
                                           dual accounting for your
                                           Indian leases in each MMS-
                                           designated area. (New Part B
                                           of revised Form MMS-4410).
206.176(b)..............................  If you are required to account          See 206.173(a)(1) above.
                                           for comparison, you may elect
                                           to use the alternative dual
                                           accounting methodology
                                           provided for in Sec.  206.173
                                           instead of the provisions in
                                           paragraph (a) of this section.
                                           (New Part B of revised Form
                                           MMS-4410).
206.176(c)..............................  If you do not perform dual            See 206.172(b)(1)(ii) above.
                                           accounting, you must certify
                                           to MMS that gas flows into
                                           such pipeline before it is
                                           processed. (New Part A of
                                           revised Form MMS-4410).
                                                                                                    ------------
    Total...............................  ...............................  ...........  ...........        1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' 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 the public consultation process, on June 6, 2001, we 
published a Federal Register notice (66 FR 30480) with the required 60-
day comment period announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval. We received comments from one company. We responded to the 
comments 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 
January 22, 2002. 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.


[[Page 65989]]


    Dated: November 30, 2001.
Milton K. Dial,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 01-31532 Filed 12-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-W