[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6759-6760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3260]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WO-310-1310-PB-24 1A]


Extension of Approved Information Collection, OMB Control Number 
1004-0134

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is requesting the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to extend an existing approval to collect certain 
information from operators and operating rights owners of Federal and 
Indian (except Osage) oil and gas leases. We collect nonform 
information to determine whether BLM may approve proposed operations 
and to enable us to monitor compliance with terms and conditions of 
approved operations. Approvals include drilling plans, prevention of 
waste, protection of resources, development of a lease, measurements, 
production verification, and protection of public health and safety.

DATES: You must submit your comments to BLM at the address below on or 
before April 11, 2003. BLM will not necessarily consider any comments 
received after the above date.

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to: Bureau of Land Management, (WO-
630), Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Blvd., Springfield, Virginia 
22153.
    You may send comments via Internet to: [email protected]. Please 
include ``ATTN: 1004-0134'' and your name and return address in your 
Internet message.
    You may deliver comments to the Bureau of Land Management, 
Administrative Record, Room 401, 1601 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.
    All comments will be available for public review at the L Street 
address during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.), Monday 
through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may contact Barbara Gamble, Fluid 
Minerals Group, on (202) 452-0338 (Commercial or FTS). Persons who use

[[Page 6760]]

a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) on 1-800-877-8330, 24 hours a day, 
seven days a week, to contact Ms. Gamble.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 5 CFR 1320.12(a) requires that we provide a 
60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning a collection of 
information to solicit comments on:
    (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper functioning of the agency, including whether the information 
will have practical utility;
    (b) The accuracy of our estimates of the information collection 
burden, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions we 
use;
    (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collected; and
    (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 
1701 et seq.); the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 
181 et seq.); the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as 
amended (30 U.S.C. 351-359); the various Indian leasing acts; and the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), and BLM's implementing regulations at 43 CFR part 3160 
require affected Federal and Indian (except Osage) oil and gas 
operators and operating rights owners to maintain records and submit 
nonform information.
    The recordkeeping and nonform information items required under 
various provisions of 43 CFR part 3160 pertain to data the operator or 
operating rights owner must submit. We will use the information the 
operator or operating rights owner provides to approve proposed 
operations and to enable us to monitor compliance with terms and 
conditions of approved operations. The specific requirements are listed 
by regulation section.
    The information we require under 43 CFR part 3160 covers a broad 
range of possible operations, and rarely will any specific operator 
have to obtain or provide each item. Many of the requirements are one-
time filings used to gain approval to conduct a variety of oil and gas 
operations. Others are routine data the operating rights owners or 
operators submit that we use to monitor production and ensure 
compliance with lease terms, regulations, Orders, Notices to Lesses, 
and conditions of approval. We use production information from each 
producing lease to verify volumes and disposition of oil and gas 
produced on Federal and Indian lands. All recordkeeping burdens are 
associated with the nonform items requested.
    Based on our experience managing the activities described above, we 
estimate the public reporting burden of each provision for the 
information collection, including recordkeeping, ranges from 10 minutes 
to 16 hours per response, depending on which information is required. 
The respondents are operators and operating rights owners of Federal 
and Indian (except Osage) oil and gas leases. The frequency of response 
varies from one-time only to occasionally to routine, depending on 
activities conducted on oil and gas leases and on operational 
circumstances. We estimate 193,855 responses per year and a total 
annual burden of 96,885 hours. The table below summarizes our 
estimates.

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                                                                     Hours per
    Information collection (43 CFR)            Requirement           response       Respondents    Burden hours
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3162.3-1(a)...........................  Well-Spacing Program....             .5              150              75
3162.3-1(e)...........................  Drilling Plans..........            8              2,875          23,000
3162.6................................  Well Markers............             .5              300             150
3162.5-2(b)...........................  Direction Drilling......            1            \1\ 165             165
3162.4-2(a)...........................  Drilling Tests, Logs,               1            \2\ 330             330
                                         Surveys.
3162.3-4(a)...........................  Plug and Abandon for                1.5            1,200           1,800
                                         Water Injection.
3162.3-4(b)...........................  Plug and Abandon for                1.5            1,200           1,800
                                         Water Source.
3162.7-1(d)...........................  Additional Gas Flaring..            1                400             400
3162.5-1(c)...........................  Report of Spills,                   2                200             400
                                         Discharges, or Other
                                         Undesirable Events.
3162.5-1(b)...........................  Disposal of Produced                2              1,500           3,000
                                         Water.
3162.5-1(d)...........................  Contingency Plan........           16                 50             800
3162.4-1(a) and 3162.7-5(d)(1)........  Schematic/Facility                  4              2,350           9,400
                                         Diagrams.
3162.7-1(b)...........................  Approval and Reporting               .5              520             260
                                         of Oil in Pits.
3164.1 (Order No. 3)..................  Prepare Run Tickets.....             .2           90,000          18,000
3162.7-5(b)...........................  Records on Seals........             .2           90,000          18,000
3165.1(a).............................  Application for                     8                100             800
                                         Suspension.
3165.3(b).............................  State Director Review...           16                100           1,600
3162.7-5(c)...........................  Site Security...........            7              2,415          16,905
                                                                 -----------------
      Totals..........................  ........................  ..............         193,855         96,885
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\1\ Or 5% of wells.
\2\ Or 10% of wells.

    The respondents already maintain the types of information collected 
for their own recordkeeping purposes and need only submit the required 
information. This approval includes all information collections under 
43 CFR part 3160 that do not require a form.
    BLM will summarize all responses to this notice and include them in 
the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.

    Dated: February 3, 2003.
Michael H. Schwartz,
Bureau of Land Management, Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-3260 Filed 2-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-M