[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25902-25904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11948]


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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 1010-0135).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information 
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR part 208--Surety 
Requirements. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity 
to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements. 
The ICR is titled ``30 CFR 208.11 (a), (b), (d), and (e)--Surety 
Requirements (Forms MMS-4071 and MMS-4072).''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before June 13, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0035), 725 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. Mail or hand-carry a copy of your 
comments to Sharron L. Gebhardt, 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 email 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. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received 
your email, contact Ms. Gebhardt at (303) 231-3211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3781, email [email protected]. You may 
also contact Sharron Gebhardt to obtain a copy at no cost of the forms 
and regulations that require the subject collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 208.11(a), (b), (d), and (e)--Surety Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0135.
    Bureau Form Numbers: Forms MMS-4071 and MMS-4072.
    Abstract: The Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for 
matters relevant to mineral resource development on Federal and Indian

[[Page 25903]]

lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary of the 
Interior (Secretary) under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 1923) and 
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353) 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. MMS performs the royalty management functions for the Secretary.
    When the Secretary determines that sufficient need exists among 
small refining companies to justify taking royalty oil in kind and 
offering this oil for sale to eligible refiners, small refiners may 
apply to participate in this sale of Federal royalty oil and follow 
procedures under which contracts for the purchase of royalty oil will 
be awarded. Completed applications to participate in the sale bid 
proposals, signed contracts, and surety instruments are submitted to 
MMS.
    The application must be complete and timely filed, and applicants 
for royalty oil may be required to provide a surety instrument with 
their bid package. This surety instrument may be a Letter of Credit 
(Form MMS-4071) or a Royalty In Kind Contract Surety Bond (Form MMS-
4072), or other acceptable commercial surety.
    MMS is requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this 
information. Not collecting this information would limit the 
Secretary's ability to discharge his/her duties. Without the surety 
protection, the government can lose money if a refiner does not pay for 
oil he has received. Proprietary information submitted is protected, 
and there are no questions of a sensitive nature included in this 
information collection.
    We have also changed the title of this ICR to clarify the 
regulatory language we are covering under 30 CFR part 208.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 10 purchasers.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 10 
burden hours.
    The following chart details the individual components and estimated 
hour burdens. In calculating the burdens, we assumed that respondents 
perform certain requirements in the normal course of their activities. 
Therefore, we consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in estimating the burden.

                                       Respondent Annual Burden Hour Chart
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                                                                              Burden       Annual       Annual
        30 CFR section                    Reporting requirement             hours per    number of      burden
                                                                             response    responses      hours
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208.11(a), (b), (d), and (e)..  The eligible purchaser, prior to                    1           10           10
                                 execution of the contract, shall furnish
                                 an ``MMS-specified surety instrument,''
                                 in an amount equal to the estimated
                                 value of royalty oil that could be taken
                                 by the purchaser in a 99-day period,
                                 plus related administrative charges * *
                                 * The purchaser or its surety company
                                 may elect not to renew the letter of
                                 credit at any monthly anniversary date,
                                 but must notify MMS of its intent not to
                                 renew at least 30 days prior to the
                                 anniversary date * * * The ``MMS-
                                 specified surety instrument'' shall be
                                 in the form specified by MMS
                                 instructions or approved by MMS. All
                                 surety instruments must be in a form
                                 acceptable to MMS and must include such
                                 other specific requirements as MMS may
                                 require adequately to protect the
                                 Government's interests.
-------------------------------
    Total.....................  .........................................  ...........          10           10
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour'' cost burdens.
    Public Disclosure Statement: 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.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register on December 3, 2002 (67 FR 71979), 
announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The 
notice provided the required 60-day comment period. We received no 
comments in response to the notice.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, you may send 
your comments 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 public comments by June 13, 2003.
    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 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

[[Page 25904]]

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: April 10, 2003.
Cathy J. Hamilton,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 03-11948 Filed 5-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P