[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44875-44877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16890]


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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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0119).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act 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 ``Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) 
Determination of Need.''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before September 3, 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, our courier address is Building 85, Room A-
614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also e-mail 
your comments to us at [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.

[[Page 44876]]

If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your e-mail, 
contact Ms. Shelby at (303) 231-3151.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol P. Shelby, telephone (303) 231-
3151, FAX (303) 231-3385, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Determination of Need.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0119.
    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 (Secretary) 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 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.
    MMS, on behalf of the Secretary, also performs Determinations of 
Need prior to issuing a Notice of Availability of Sale in the Federal 
Register advising industry of a forthcoming RIK sale. The first step in 
this process is to issue a Federal Register notice requesting specific 
information from eligible refiners, such as: the location of their 
refinery; desirability of offshore versus onshore crude; type of crude 
desired (e.g., Wyoming Sweet); ability to obtain long-term supply of 
desired crude (with supporting documentation such as ``denial'' by 
major supplier); ability to obtain desired crude at fair market prices 
(with supporting documentation that desired oil was not available or 
equitably priced for the area or region in question); percentage of 
total refining capacity attributable to Federal oil versus other 
sources; etc. MMS uses feedback from refiners (or other interested 
parties, like lease owners or operators) to assess current marketplace 
conditions--i.e., whether small, independent refiners have access to 
ongoing supplies of crude oil at equitable prices. If MMS determines 
that small refiners do not have adequate access to crude oil supplies, 
we will take the Government's royalty oil in kind and offer the oil for 
sale to small refiners.
    MMS is requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this 
information. Without feedback from interested refiners regarding their 
recent marketplace experience in obtaining adequate crude oil supplies 
and whether those supplies are fairly priced, MMS cannot perform a 
reasonable or meaningful Determination of Need. 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: 25 small refiners.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 100 
hours. The table below shows the breakdown of burden hours by CFR 
section and paragraph:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Burden       Annual       Annual
             30 CFR section                    Reporting requirement        hours per    number of      burden
                                                                             response    responses      hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
208.4(a) and (d).......................  The Secretary may evaluate crude           4           25          100
                                          oil market conditions from time
                                          to time. * * * The Secretary
                                          will review these items
                                          [submitted by small refiners]
                                          and will determine whether
                                          eligible refiners have access
                                          to adequate supplies of cure
                                          oil * * * Interim sales. The
                                          potentially eligible refiners,
                                          individually or collectively,
                                          must submit documentation
                                          demonstrating that adequate
                                          supplies of crude oil at
                                          equitable prices are not
                                          available for purchase * * *.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 and the ICR will also be posted on 
our web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.
    Public Comment Policy. We will post all comments in response to 
this notice on our web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/InfoColl/InfoColCom.htm. We will also make copies of the comments 
available for

[[Page 44877]]

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: June 26, 2002.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 02-16890 Filed 7-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P