[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14963-14964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7380]


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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 extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0079).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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) concerns the 
paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR 250, subpart G, 
Abandonment of Wells.

DATES: Submit written comments by May 28, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Rules Processing 
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
a copy at no cost of the regulations that require the subject 
collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR part 250, Subpart G, Abandonment of Wells.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0079.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, as amended 
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), gives the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the responsibility to preserve, 
protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS in a manner that 
is consistent with the need to make such resources available to meet 
the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance orderly 
energy resource development with protection of human, marine, and 
coastal environments; ensure the public a fair and equitable return on 
offshore resources in the OCS; and preserve and maintain free 
enterprise competition. The OCS Lands Act Amendment of 1978 amended 
section 3(6) to state that ``operations in the outer Continental Shelf 
should be conducted * * * using technology, precautions, and techniques 
sufficient to prevent or minimize * * * physical obstruction to other 
users of the waters or subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which 
may cause damage to the environment or to property, or endanger life or 
health.'' To carry out these responsibilities, the Secretary has 
authorized MMS to issue orders and regulations governing offshore oil 
and gas lease operations.
    This notice concerns the reporting and recordkeeping elements of 30 
CFR part 250, subpart G, Abandonment of Wells, and related Notices to 
Lessees and Operators that clarify and provide additional guidance on 
some aspects of the regulations. Responses are mandatory. No questions 
of a ``sensitive'' nature are asked. MMS will protect proprietary 
information according to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) 
and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 2), 30 CFR 250.196 (Data and 
information to be made available to the public) and 30 CFR part 252 
(OCS Oil and Gas Information Program). For MMS to determine the 
necessity to allow a well to be temporarily abandoned, the lessee/
operator must demonstrate that there is a reason to not permanently 
abandon the well, and the temporary abandonment will not constitute a 
significant threat to fishing, navigation, or other uses of the seabed. 
We use the information and documentation to verify that the lessee is 
diligently pursing final disposition of the well, and the lessee has 
performed the temporary plugging of the wellbore.
    It should be noted that MMS is in the process of issuing a final 
rulemaking that will establish a new 30 CFR 250, subpart Q, on 
decommissioning activities. When these regulations take effect, they 
will consolidate all of the OCS decommissioning activities, including 
well abandonment requirements, and 30 CFR 250, subpart G, will be 
removed from 30 CFR part 250. Should the new final subpart Q 
regulations take effect before expiration of the current OMB approval 
of the subpart G information collection requirements, we would take no 
further action to renew OMB approval of the subpart G information 
collection requirements.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion or annual.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved ``hour'' burden for this information collection is a 
total of 650 hours. The following chart details the individual 
reporting components and respective hour burden estimates of this ICR. 
There are no recordkeeping requirements under 30 CFR 250, subpart G. In 
calculating the burdens, we assumed that respondents perform certain 
requirements in the normal course of their activities. We consider 
these to be usual and customary and took that into account in 
estimating the burden.

                            Burden Breakdown
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                                     Reporting            Burden per
 Citation 30 CFR 250 Subpart G      requirement          requirement
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701; 702(i); 703(b)...........  Submit form MMS-124
                                 to request
                                 approval of well
                                 abandonment
                                 operations--burden
                                 included with 1010-
                                 0045.
703(c)........................  Submit annual        2 hours.
                                 report on plans
                                 for reentry to
                                 complete or
                                 permanently
                                 abandon the well.
704(a)........................  Request approval of  4 hours.
                                 site clearance
                                 method.
704(b)........................  Submit form MMS-124
                                 to certify
                                 location cleared
                                 of obstructions--
                                 burden included
                                 with 1010-0045.
700-704.......................  General departure    2 hours.
                                 and alternative
                                 compliance
                                 requests not
                                 specifically
                                 covered elsewhere
                                 in subpart M
                                 regulations.
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[[Page 14964]]

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no paperwork ``non-hour cost'' burdens for 
this collection of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    Comments: 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.
    Agencies must also estimate the ``non-hour cost'' burdens to 
respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of 
information. 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, 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 submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we 
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to 
OMB.
    Public Comment Policy: 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 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: February 15, 2002.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 02-7380 Filed 3-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P