[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4792-4794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-2145]


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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 (1010-0128).

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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 O, 
``Well Control and Production Safety Training.''

DATES: Submit written comments by March 31, 2003.

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. 
If you wish to e-mail comments, the address is: [email protected]. 
Reference ``Information Collection 1010-0128'' in your e-mail subject 
line and mark your message for return receipt. Include your name and 
return address in your message.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart O, Well Control and Production Safety 
Training.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0128.

[[Page 4793]]

    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. 
Operations on the OCS must preserve, protect, and develop oil and 
natural gas resources 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; 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) of the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1332) requires that 
``operations in the [O]uter Continental Shelf should be conducted in a 
safe manner by well trained personnel using technology, precautions, 
and other techniques sufficient to prevent or minimize the likelihood 
of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, spillages, physical 
obstructions 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.'' This authority and 
responsibility are among those delegated to the Minerals Management 
Service (MMS). To carry out these responsibilities, MMS issues 
regulations governing oil and gas or sulphur operations in the OCS.
    Regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart O, implement these safe 
operation requirements. The MMS uses the information collected under 
subpart O to ensure that workers in the OCS are properly trained with 
the necessary skills to perform their jobs in a safe and pollution-free 
manner. In some instances, MMS will conduct oral interviews of offshore 
employees to evaluate the effectiveness of a company's training 
program. The information collected is necessary to verify personnel 
training compliance with the requirements.
    We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary 
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its 
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2) and under regulations at 30 
CFR parts 250, 251, and 252. No items of a sensitive nature are 
collected. Responses are mandatory or required to obtain or retain a 
benefit.
    Frequency: Primarily on occasion or annual.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS lessees.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved annual reporting burden for this collection is 5,739 
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.

                                                Burden Breakdown
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Reporting and
         Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart O           recordkeeping requirement               Hour burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1502..........................................  Notify MMS of early         1
                                                 implementation of revised
                                                 final regulations.
1503(b), (c)..................................  Develop training plans....  60
1503(c).......................................  Maintain copies of          plan = 15 min.
                                                 training plan and          employee record = 5 min.
                                                 employee training
                                                 documentation for 5 years.
1503(c).......................................  Upon request, provide MMS   5
                                                 copies of employee
                                                 training documentation or
                                                 provide copy of training
                                                 plan.
1507(b).......................................  Employee oral interview     10 min.
                                                 conducted by MMS.
1507(c), (d); 1508; 1509......................   Written testing conducted by MMS or authorized representative.
                                                                [Exempt under 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(7).]
1510(b).......................................  Revise training plan and    4
                                                 submit to MMS.
1500-1510.....................................  General departure or        2
                                                 alternative compliance
                                                 requests not specifically
                                                 covered elsewhere in
                                                 subpart O.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: We 
have identified no cost burdens for this collection.
    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. 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

[[Page 4794]]

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: January 22, 2003.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 03-2145 Filed 1-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P