[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 56 (Friday, March 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13360-13361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6904]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

[OMB Control Number 1010-0123]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection, 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of a currently approved information 
collection.

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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 ``Issuing 
Orders Requested by Indian Lessors.''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before May 21, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Carol P. Shelby, Regulatory 
Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue Management, 
P.O. Box 25165, MS 320B2, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol P. Shelby, telephone (303) 231-
3151, FAX (303) 231-3385.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Issuing Orders Requested by Indian 
Lessors.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0123.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    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. The Secretary of the Interior 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. The MMS performs the royalty management functions and 
assists the Secretary in carrying out DOI's Indian trust 
responsibility.
    Section 101(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 
1982, as amended, requires that the Secretary ``establish a 
comprehensive inspection, collection, and fiscal and production 
accounting and auditing system to provide the capability to accurately 
determine oil and gas royalties, interest, fines, penalties, fees, 
deposits, and other payments owed, and collect and account for such 
amounts in a timely manner.'' In order to accomplish these tasks, 
Indian lessors need a procedure for requesting the Secretary to issue 
orders for payments or reports. The MMS developed a proposed rule, 
published January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1930), to add Subpart C--Requests 
from Indian Lessors for MMS to Issue an Order to 30 CFR Part 242--
Orders. The subpart explained how Indian lessors could formally request 
that MMS issue an order to persons concerning the reporting of 
production and the reporting and payment of royalties and other 
payments due under their leases. A final rule codifying these 
provisions has not been published yet. Because OMB approval of this 
information collection expires April 30, 2002, we are seeking OMB 
approval to renew these reporting requirements until a final rule is 
published.
    This information collection covers the hour burden associated with 
submitting requests to MMS to issue an order. Submission of the 
information in this collection is necessary for MMS to determine the 
validity of the request and investigate the reasons for perceived 
errors or underpayments. 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: 12 Indian lessors.

[[Page 13361]]

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 180 
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.
    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 for this information collection. 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.
    We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them 
in our ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR 
to you without charge upon request.
    Public Comment Policy. We will 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: February 8, 2002.
Milton K. Dial,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 02-6904 Filed 3-21-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-U