[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52221-52223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-22336]


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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 1010-0140).

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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 210--Forms and 
Reports and part 206--Product Valuation. 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 part 210--Forms and 
Reports and part 206--Product Valuation (Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales 
and Royalty Remittance).''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before October 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments by either fax (202) 395-6566 or e-
mail ([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0140). 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 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. If you do not receive a 
confirmation that we have received your e-mail, contact Ms. Gebhardt at 
(303) 231-3211.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR part 210--Forms and Reports and part 206--Product 
Valuation (Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0140.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-2014.
    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) 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. 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.
    The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (FOGRMA) of 1982, 30 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq., states in Section 101(a) that the Secretary ``* * 
* shall establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, and fiscal 
and production

[[Page 52222]]

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.'' The persons or entities described at 30 
U.S.C. 1713 are required to make reports and provide reasonable 
information as defined by the Secretary.
    Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance, is the only 
document used for reporting oil and gas royalties, certain rents, and 
other lease-related transactions to MMS (e.g., transportation and 
processing allowances, lease adjustments, and quality and location 
differentials).
    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 and may also result in 
loss of royalty payments. 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 from ``Report of Sales 
and Royalty Remittance'' to ``30 CFR part 210--Forms and Reports and 
part 206--Product Valuation (Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty 
Remittance)'' to clarify the regulatory language we are covering under 
30 CFR parts 210 and 206.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 1,600 payors.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
125,856 hours.
    The following chart details the individual components and estimated 
hour burdens. In calculating the burden hours, we assumed that 
respondents perform certain requirements in the normal course of their 
activities. These business activities are considered to be usual and 
customary, which we took into account in estimating the burden.

                                                           Respondent Annual Burden Hour Chart
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                                                                                                                                   Annual       Annual
          30 CFR section parts 210 and 206                 Reporting requirement              Burden hours per response          number of      burden
                                                                                                                                 responses      hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
210.20(a); 210.21(c)(1); 210.50; and 210.52(a)(1),    You must submit Form MMS-2014 *  .1167..................................       24,840        2,898
 (2), (b), (c), and (d); 210.354.                      * * to MMS electronically * *   (Manual 1%)............................  ...........  ...........
                                                       * You must submit an            .05....................................    2,459,160      122,958
                                                       electronic sample of your       (Electronic 99%).......................
                                                       report for MMS approval * * *
                                                       Records may be maintained in
                                                       microfilm, microfiche, or
                                                       other recorded media * * * You
                                                       must submit a completed Form
                                                       MMS-2014 (Report of Sales and
                                                       Royalty Remitttance) to MMS
                                                       with: (1) All royalty
                                                       payments; and, (2) Rents on
                                                       nonproducing leases, * * *
                                                       When you submit Form MMS-2014
                                                       data electronically, you must
                                                       not submit the form itself,
                                                       Completed Forms MMS-2014 for
                                                       royalty payments are due by
                                                       the end of the month following
                                                       the production month * * *
                                                       completed Forms MMS-2014 for
                                                       rental payments are due no
                                                       later than the anniversary
                                                       date of the lease * * *.
                                                      A completed Report of Sales and
                                                       Royalty Remittance (Form MMS-
                                                       2014) must be submitted each
                                                       month once sales or
                                                       utilization of production
                                                       occur, * * * This report is
                                                       due on or before the last day
                                                       of the month following the
                                                       month in which production was
                                                       sold or utilized, * * *.
206.55(c)(4)........................................  Transportation allowances must                 Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       be reported as a separate line
                                                       item on Form MMS-2014 * * *.
206.55(e)(2)........................................  For lessees transporting                       Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       production from Indian leases,
                                                       the lessee must submit a
                                                       corrected Form MMS-2014 to
                                                       reeflect actual costs, * * *.
206.110(c)(1).......................................  You may use your proposed                      Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       procedure to calculate a
                                                       transportation allowance until
                                                       MMS accepts or rejects your
                                                       cost allocation. If MMS
                                                       rejects your cost allocation,
                                                       you must amend your Form MMS-
                                                       2014 for the months that you
                                                       used the rejected method * * *.
206.114 and 206.115(a)..............................  You or your affiliate must use                 Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       a separate entry on Form MMS-
                                                       2014 to notify MMS of an
                                                       allowance based on
                                                       transportation costs you or
                                                       your affiliate incur.
206.157(a)(1)(i); 206.157(b)(1).....................  Arm's-length transportation                    Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       contracts and non-arm's-length
                                                       or no contract. The lessee
                                                       must claim a transportation
                                                       allowance by reporting it as a
                                                       separate line entry on the
                                                       Form MMS-2014.
206.157(c)(1)(i) and (c)(2)(i); 206.159(c)(1)(i) and  Arm's-length contracts and non-                Burden hours included in hours above.
 (c)(2)(i).                                            arm's-length or no contract.
                                                       The lessee must notify MMS of
                                                       an allowance based on incurred
                                                       costs by using a separate line
                                                       entry on the Form MMS-2014.
206.157(e)(2).......................................  For lessees transporting                       Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       production from onshore
                                                       Federal leases, the lessee
                                                       must submit a corrected Form
                                                       MMS-2014 to reflect actual
                                                       costs, * * *.

[[Page 52223]]

 
206.157(e)(3).......................................  For lessees transporting gas                   Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       production from leases on the
                                                       OCS, * * * the lessee must
                                                       submit a corrected Form MMS-
                                                       2014 to reflect actual costs,
                                                       * * *.
206.157(f)(1); 206.178(f)(1)........................  You must modify the Form MMS-                  Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       2014 by the amount received or
                                                       credited for the affected
                                                       reporting period.
206.159(a)(1)(i) and (b)(1).........................  Arm's-length processing                        Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       contracts and non-arm's-length
                                                       or no contract. The lessee
                                                       must claim a processing
                                                       allowance by reporting it as a
                                                       separate line entry on the
                                                       Form MMS-2014.
206.159(e)(3).......................................  For lessees processing gas                     Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       production from leases on the
                                                       OCS, * * * the lessee must
                                                       submit a corrected Form MMS-
                                                       2014 to reflect actual costs,
                                                       * * *.
206.172(e)(6)(ii)...................................  You must pay and report on Form                Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       MMS-2014 additional royalties
                                                       due * * *.
206.174(a)(4)(ii)...................................  If the major portion value is                  Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       higher, you must submit an
                                                       amended Form MMS-2014 to MMS *
                                                       * *.
206.178(d)(2).......................................  You must report transportation                 Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       allowances as a separate line
                                                       item on Form MMS-2014.
206.180(c)(2).......................................  You must report gas processing                 Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       allowances as a separate line
                                                       item on Form MMS-2014.
206.353(d)(2); 206.354(d)(2)........................  Lessees must submit corrected                  Burden hours included in hours above.
                                                       Forms MMS-2014 to reflect
                                                       adjustments to royalty
                                                       payments * * *.
                                                                                      ------------------------------------------
    Total...........................................  ...............................  .......................................    2,484,000      125,856
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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 May 13, 2003, (68 FR 25622) 
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 this 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 October 2, 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 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 Acting Information Collection Clearance Officer: Nicolette 
Humphries (202) 208-7744.

    Dated: August 21, 2003.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 03-22336 Filed 8-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P