[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62316-62317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27513]


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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 extension of an information collection (1010-0143).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), MMS 
is notifying the public that it has submitted to OMB an information 
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR 260,

[[Page 62317]]

``Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing.'' This notice also 
provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork 
burden of these regulatory requirements.

DATES: Submit written comments by December 3, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments either by fax (202) 395-6566 or 
email ([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (1010-0143). Mail or hand carry a copy of your 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 email comments to MMS, the 
address is: [email protected]. Reference Information Collection 
1010-0143 in your subject line and mark your message for return 
receipt. Include your name and return address in your message text.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlene Bajusz, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (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 260, Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0143.
    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. Section 8(a)(1) of the 
OCS Lands Act provides authority for the Secretary to offer leases 
under a variety of bidding systems. The regulations at 30 CFR part 260 
describe the bidding systems, joint bidding requirements, and royalty 
suspensions for certain leases. They encourage leasing competition 
through the use of appropriate bidding-system alternatives and a joint 
bidding ban among certain large companies. Also, these regulations 
implement the Secretary's authority to promote leasing interest in 
certain areas of the OCS through automatic suspension of royalties. The 
Minerals Management Service (MMS) administers this program for the 
Secretary.
    Regulations under part 260 require lessees to notify MMS of their 
intention to begin production. Lessees must also request confirmation 
of the size of the royalty-suspension volume that applies to the pre-
2001 eligible lease. The MMS uses the information collected to make 
decisions on the shares of the royalty-suspension volume that applies 
to multiple pre-2001 eligible leases on the same field. The information 
is used to ensure royalty suspension volume is properly allocated among 
constituent leases in a field. Respondents may request reconsideration 
of an assignment of their lease that has a qualifying well to an 
existing field or to a newly designated field. MMS will use the 
information to reconsider and adjust, if necessary, the initial field 
assignment for a lease. These decisions can be contentious because a 
favorable field assignment can save a lessee tens of millions of 
dollars in royalties.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 10 
of the 130 Federal OCS oil and gas lessees.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
estimated annual ``hour'' burden for this information collection is a 
total of 1,603 hours. The individual components and their respective 
hour burden estimates are detailed below. In calculating the burdens, 
MMS assumed that respondents perform certain requirements in the normal 
course of their activities. MMS considers these to be usual and 
customary and took that into account in estimating the burden.
    Sec. Sec.  260.114(a) and 260.124(a)--Request MMS to reconsider the 
field assignment of a lease (average of 400 hours per request x 4 
requests = 1,600 hours).
    Sec.  260.114(c)--Notify MMS of intent to begin production and 
request confirmation of the size of royalty-suspension volume (\1/2\ 
hour per notice x 6 notices = 3 hours).
    Part 260 also refers to various items of information collected 
under 30 CFR parts 203 and 256. OMB has approved those information 
collections under OMB Control Numbers 1010-0071 and 1010-0006, 
respectively.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: MMS 
has identified no non-hour 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: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.) 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, on June 19, 2003, 
MMS published a Federal Register notice (68 FR 36836) announcing that 
it would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided the 
required 60-day comment period. In addition, Sec.  260.3 provides the 
OMB control number for the information collection requirements imposed 
by the 30 CFR 260 regulations. The regulation also informs the public 
that they may comment at any time on the collections of information and 
provides the address to which they should send comments. MMS has 
received no comments in response to these efforts.
    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 December 3, 2003.
    Public Comment Policy: MMS's practice is to make comments, 
including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public 
review during regular business hours. If you wish to withhold your name 
and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of 
your comment. MMS will honor the request to the extent allowable by the 
law. However, anonymous comments will not be considered. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
    MMS Federal Register Liaison Officer: Denise Johnson, (202) 208-
3976.

    Dated: October 1, 2003.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 03-27513 Filed 10-31-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P