[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14964-14966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7381]


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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 an information collection (1010-0057).

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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 C, 
Pollution Prevention Control.

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 C, Pollution Prevention and 
Control.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0057.
    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.), authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to prescribe rules and regulations to 
administer leasing of the OCS. Such rules and regulations will apply to 
all operations conducted under a lease. Operations on the OCS must 
preserve, protect, and develop oil and natural gas resources in a 
manner which is consistent with the need to make such resources 
available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; to 
balance orderly energy resource development with protection of human, 
marine, and coastal environments; to ensure the public a fair and 
equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and to preserve and 
maintain free enterprise competition.
    Section 1332(6) states that ``operations in the [O]uter Continental 
Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well-trained personnel 
using technology, precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or 
minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, 
spillages, 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.'' Section 
1334(a)(8) requires that regulations include provisions ``for 
compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to 
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that 
activities authorized under this Act significantly affect the air 
quality of any State.'' Section 1843(b) calls for ``regulations 
requiring all materials, equipment, tools, containers, and all other 
items used on the Outer Continental Shelf to be properly color coded, 
stamped, or labeled, wherever practicable, with the owner's 
identification prior to actual use.''
    This notice concerns the reporting and recordkeeping elements of 30 
CFR 250, subpart C, Pollution Prevention and Control, 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 30 CFR 250.196 (Data and

[[Page 14965]]

information to be made available to the public), 30 CFR part 252 (OCS 
Oil and Gas Information Program), and the Freedom of Information Act (5 
U.S.C. 552) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2).
    MMS OCS Regions collect information required under subpart C to 
ensure that there is no threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate 
damage to the marine environment, and to identify potential hazards to 
commercial fishing caused by OCS activities. We also use the 
information collected to ensure that operations are conducted according 
to all applicable regulations and permit conditions/requirements, 
comply with the approved emission levels to minimize air pollution of 
the OCS and adjacent onshore areas, and are conducted in a safe and 
workmanlike manner. In addition, we require daily inspection of 
facilities to prevent pollution and to ensure that problems observed 
have been corrected.
    In the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR), we require lessees/
operators to periodically monitor and collect air emissions and 
meteorological data to satisfy Environmental Protection Agency and 
Clean Air Act requirements. The states and regional air quality groups 
use the information to perform regional air quality modeling in support 
of State Implementation Plans (SIPs). The GOMR plans regional modeling 
for emissions data in the year 2005. In preparation, affected 
respondents will be required to collect and report air pollutant 
emissions data for OCS activities in the GOMR for the year 2005. The 
year 2005 corresponds to a Clean Air Act requirement for states with 
non-attainment areas to prepare and/or update air pollutant emission 
inventories suitable for air quality modeling in support of the 
development of SIPs. Thus the year 2005 OCS emissions inventory will be 
contemporary with the emissions inventory the states are required to 
prepare. The onshore and OCS 2005 data will be used in regional air 
quality modeling and emissions control decision-making. Respondents 
will gather OCS 2005 data during the calendar year 2005 and report in 
2006.
    Frequency: On occasion, monthly, or annually; and daily for 
inspection recordkeeping.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur lessees and 17 states.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved total ``hour'' burden for this information 
collection is 194,311 hours. The following chart details the individual 
components and respective hour burden estimates of this ICR. 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.

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                                           Reporting and recordkeeping
      Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart C                requirement                   Burden per requirement
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                                             Reporting Requirements
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300(b)(1), (2)...........................  Obtain approval to add       3 hours.
                                            petroleum-based substance
                                            to drilling mud system or
                                            approval for method of
                                            disposal of drill
                                            cuttings, sand, and other
                                            well solids.
300(c)...................................  Mark items that could snag   \1/2\ hour.
                                            or damage fishing devices.
300(d)...................................  Report items lost overboard  1 hour.
303(a), (b), (c), (d), (i), (j); 304(a),   Submit Exploration Plans
 (f).                                       and Development and
                                            Production Plans--burden
                                            covered in 1010-0049.
303(k); 304(g)...........................  If requested, submit         8 hours.
                                            additional or follow-up
                                            monitoring information for
                                            year 2000 study of
                                            selected sites in the
                                            Breton National Wildlife
                                            Area, GOMR.
303(k); 304(a), (g)......................  If requested, submit         4 hours.
                                            additional or follow-up
                                            monitoring information for
                                            year 2000 study of
                                            selected sites in the
                                            western/central GOMR on
                                            ozone and regional haze
                                            air.
303(k); 304(a), (g)......................  Monitor air quality          2 hours per month  x  12 months = 24
                                            emissions and submit data    hours.
                                            to MMS or to a State (new
                                            1-year study of sites in
                                            the western/central GOMR
                                            on ozone and regional haze
                                            air quality--data
                                            collection in 2005; report
                                            submitted in 2006).
303(l); 304(h)...........................  Collect and submit
                                            meteorological data--not
                                            routinely collected; none
                                            planned for the next 3
                                            years.
304(a), (f)..............................  Affected State may submit    4 hours.
                                            request to MMS for basic
                                            emission data from
                                            existing facilities to
                                            update State's emission
                                            inventory.
304(e)(2)................................  Submit compliance schedule   40 hours.
                                            for application of best
                                            available control
                                            technology.
304(e)(2)................................  Apply for suspension of
                                            operations--burden covered
                                            in 1010-0114.
304(f)...................................  Submit information to        8 hours.
                                            demonstrate that exempt
                                            facility is not
                                            significantly affecting
                                            air quality of onshore
                                            area of a State.
300-304..................................  General departure and        2 hours.
                                            alternative compliance
                                            requests not specifically
                                            covered elsewhere in
                                            subpart C regulations.
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                                           Recordkeeping Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
300(d)...................................  Record items lost overboard  1 hour/year.
301(a)...................................  Inspect drilling/production  \1/4\ hour/day.
                                            facilities daily for
                                            pollution; maintain
                                            inspection/repair records
                                            2 years.
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We anticipate no non-hour cost burdens during the next 3 years.
    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

[[Page 14966]]

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. We have identified none for the next 3 years. 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. You should not 
include estimates for 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 the 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 28, 2002.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 02-7381 Filed 3-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P