[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74968-74970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31796]


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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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0110).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 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) is titled Training 
and Outreach Evaluation Forms.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before February 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written 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 we have received your e-mail, contact Ms. Gebhardt at 
(303) 231-3211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3781 or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Training and Outreach Evaluation Forms (Form MMS-4420A-H).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0110.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-4420A-H.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior 
(DOI) is responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce 
minerals from leased Federal and Indian lands. The Secretary is 
required by various laws to manage mineral resources production on 
Federal and Indian lands, collect the royalties due, and distribute the 
funds in accordance with those laws. The Secretary also 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 the DOI 
Indian trust responsibility.
    MMS provides training and outreach to our constituents to 
facilitate their compliance with laws and regulations and to ensure 
that constituents are well informed. We use training and outreach 
evaluation questionnaires to improve our training and outreach efforts 
and to assure its continued relevance. We present training sessions to 
the oil and gas and solid minerals reporters on various aspects of 
royalty reporting, production reporting, and valuation. We also provide 
outreach sessions to individual Indian minerals owners, Indian tribes, 
and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Indian royalty management issues. 
Additionally, we provide training sessions to our financial and systems 
contractors and State and tribal auditors.
    During the last few minutes of each training or outreach session, 
we ask participants to complete and return evaluation questionnaires. 
Participant response is voluntary. Some questions are uniform across 
all of the evaluation questionnaires; however, we also ask questions 
specific to each type of training or outreach or specific to our 
audiences.
    No proprietary information will be submitted to MMS under this 
collection. No items of a sensitive nature are collected. The 
requirement to respond is voluntary.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 1,750 industry 
representatives, State auditors, Indian auditors, Indian tribes, Indian 
allottees, MMS contractors, and MMS employees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 175 
hours.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burdens.
    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides 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. 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.
    The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or recordkeepers 
resulting from the collection of information. We have not identified 
non-hour cost burdens for this information collection. 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, sampling, and testing equipment; and record 
storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not include 
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 ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR 
to you without charge upon request and the ICR will also be posted on 
our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.
    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/FRNotices/FRInfColl.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 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

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organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety.
    MMS Federal Register Liaison Officer: Denise Johnson (202) 208-
3976.

    Dated: December 17, 2003.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 03-31796 Filed 12-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P