[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43683-43684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16313]


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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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0123).

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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 ``Issuing Orders Requested by Indian Lessors.'' We 
are also soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before July 29, 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 1010-0123), 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Also, submit copies of your written comments to 
Carol 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. 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, telephone (303) 231-
3151, FAX (303) 231-3385, or email [email protected].

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 (OCS). 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. 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. MMS published a proposed rule on 
January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1930), to add Subpart

[[Page 43684]]

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 July 31, 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.
    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: 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 March 22, 2002, 
we published a Federal Register notice (67 FR 13360) with the required 
60-day comment period announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB 
for approval. We did not receive any comments. 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 July 
29, 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 the comments, including names and 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 public record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would 
withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by 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: June 5, 2002.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 02-16313 Filed 6-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P