[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 62 (Monday, April 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15409-15411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7802]



[[Page 15409]]

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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 and revision of a currently approved 
information collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0050).

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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 J, 
Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way.

DATES: Submit written comments by May 31, 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 250, Subpart J, Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0050, incorporating 1010-0134.
    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 (Secretary) to prescribe rules and 
regulations to administer leasing of the OCS. Such rules and 
regulations will apply to all operations conducted under a lease. 
Section 1334(e) authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way through 
the submerged lands of the OCS for pipelines ``for the transportation 
of oil, natural gas, sulphur, or other minerals, or under such 
regulations and upon such conditions as may be prescribed by the 
Secretary, * * * including (as provided in section 1347(b) of this 
title) assuring maximum environmental protection by utilization of the 
best available and safest technologies, including the safest practices 
for pipeline burial. * * *''
    The Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA), 31 
U.S.C. 9701, authorizes Federal agencies to recover the full cost of 
services that provide special benefits. Under the Department of the 
Interior's (DOI) policy implementing the IOAA, MMS is required to 
charge the full cost for services that provide special benefits or 
privileges to an identifiable non-Federal recipient above and beyond 
those which accrue to the public at large. Pipeline rights-of-way and 
assignments are subject to cost recovery and MMS regulations specify 
filing fees for applications.
    This notice concerns the reporting and recordkeeping elements of 30 
CFR 250, subpart J and related Notices to Lessees and Operators. OMB 
approved the information collection requirements in current subpart J 
regulations under control numbers 1010-0050 and 1010-0134. The first is 
the primary collection for subpart J. The latter was approved in 
connection with a final rule amending Sec. 250.1000(c) to clarify 
regulatory issues involving the 1996 Memorandum of Understanding 
between DOI and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Our submission 
will consolidate these two subpart J collections under 1010-0050. 
Responses are mandatory or are required to obtain or retain a benefit. 
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).
    The lessees and transmission companies design the pipelines that 
they install, maintain, and operate. To ensure those activities are 
performed in a safe manner, MMS needs information concerning the 
proposed pipeline and safety equipment, inspections and tests, and 
natural and manmade hazards near the proposed pipeline route. MMS field 
offices use the information collected under subpart J to review 
pipeline designs prior to approving an application for a right-of-way 
or a pipeline permitted under a lease to ensure that the pipeline, as 
constructed, will provide for safe transportation of minerals through 
the submerged lands of the OCS. They review proposed routes of a right-
of-way to ensure that the right-of-way, if granted, would not conflict 
with any State requirements or unduly interfere with other OCS 
activities. MMS field offices review plans for taking pipeline safety 
equipment out of service to ensure alternate measures are used that 
will properly provide for the safety of the pipeline and associated 
facilities (platform, etc.). They review notification of relinquishment 
of a right-of-way grant and requests to abandon pipelines to ensure 
that all legal obligations are met and pipelines are properly 
abandoned. MMS inspectors monitor the records on pipeline inspections 
and tests to ensure safety of operations and protection of the 
environment and to schedule their workload to permit witnessing and 
inspecting operations. Information is also necessary to determine the 
point at which DOI or DOT has regulatory responsibility for a pipeline 
and to be informed of the responsible operator if not the same as the 
right-of-way holder.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion or annual.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulphur lessees and 106 holders of pipeline 
rights-of way.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved ``hour'' burden for the two subpart J information 
collections is a combined total of 79,086 hours. The following chart 
details the individual paperwork 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 
business. We consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in our estimates.

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                                                                                                    Burden per
      Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart J               Reporting and recordkeeping requirement           requirement
                                                                                                       (hrs)
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1000(b), 1007(a).........................  Submit application to install new lease term pipeline             140
                                            (P/L), including exceptions/departures.
1000(b), (d); 1007(a); 1009(a)(1),         Apply for P/L right-of-way (ROW) grant and                        140
 (b)(1); 1010; 1011.                        installation of new ROW P/L, including exceptions/
                                            departures.
1000(b); 1007(b); 1010; 1012(b)(2), (c)..  Submit application to modify lease-term or ROW P/L,                40
                                            including exceptions/departures; notify operators of
                                            deviation.

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1000(b); 1006(a); 1007(c)................  Apply to abandon lease-term P/L, including exceptions/              8
                                            departures.
1000(b); 1006(a); 1007(c); 1009(c)(9);     Apply to abandon ROW P/L and relinquish P/L ROW                     8
 1014.                                      grant, including exceptions/departures.
1000(c)(2)...............................  Identify in writing P/L operator on ROW if different            \1/4\
                                            from ROW grant holder.
1000(c)(4)...............................  Petition to MMS for exceptions to general operations                5
                                            transfer point description.
1000(c)(8)...............................  Request MMS recognize valves landward of last                   \1/2\
                                            production facility but still located on OCS as
                                            point where MMS regulatory authority begins.
1000(c)(12)..............................  Petition to MMS to continue to operate under DOT regs              40
                                            upstream of last valve on last production facility.
1000(c)(13)..............................  Transportation P/L operators petition to DOT and MMS               40
                                            to continue to operate under MMS regs.
1004(c)..................................   Place sign on safety equipment identified as ineffective and removed
                                                                 from service. See footnote1
1005(a)..................................  Inspect P/L routes for indication of leakage 1,                    20
                                            record results, maintain records 2 years 2.
1008(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h).........  Notify MMS and submit report on P/L or P/L safety                  16
                                            equipment repair, removal from service, analysis
                                            results, or potential measurements.
1008(b)..................................  Submit P/L construction report.......................              16
1008(g)..................................  Submit plan of corrective action and report of                     16
                                            remedial action.
1009(b)..................................  Submit surety bond on form MMS-2030..................           \1/4\
1009(c)(4)...............................  Notify MMS of any archaeological resource discovery..               4
1009(c)(8)...............................  Make available to MMS design, construcion, operation,              10
                                            maintenance, and repair records on ROW area and
                                            improvements 2.
1010(a)..................................  Apply to convert lease-term P/L to ROW grant P/L;                  12
                                            notify operators of deviation, including various
                                            exceptions/departures.
1011(d)..................................  Request opportunity to eliminate conflict when                      1
                                            application has been rejected.
1013.....................................  Apply for assignment of a ROW grant..................              12
1000-1014................................  General departure and alternative compliance requests              2
                                            not specifically covered elsewhere in subpart J
                                            regulations.
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1 These activities are usual and customary practices for prudent operators.
2 Retaining these records is usual and customary business practice; required burden is minimal.

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: The currently approved non-hour cost burden for collection 
1010-0050 is $332,000; there was no non-hour cost burden under 1010-
0134. Section 250.1010(a) specifies that an applicant must pay a non-
refundable filing fee when applying for a pipeline right-of-way grant 
to install a new pipeline ($2,350) or to convert an existing lease-term 
pipeline into a right-of-way pipeline ($300). Under Sec. 250.1013(b) an 
applicant must pay a non-refundable filing fee ($60) when applying for 
approval of an assignment of a right-of-way grant.
    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 collected; and (d) minimize 
the burden on respondents, including 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. Except as noted above for application filing fees required 
in Secs. 250.1010(a) and 250.1013(b), we have identified no other non-
hour cost burdens. 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 1 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

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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 12, 2002.
William S. Hauser,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 02-7802 Filed 3-29-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P