[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 80 (Monday, April 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22548-22550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9442]


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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

[[Page 22549]]

collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0075).

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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 ``30 CFR 
Part 206, Subpart E--Indian Gas, Sec.  206.178--How do I determine a 
transportation allowance? (Form MMS-4295, Gas Transportation Allowance 
Report) and Sec.  206.180--How do I determine an actual processing 
allowance? (Form MMS-4109, Gas Processing Allowance Summary Report).'' 
We changed the title of this ICR to clarify the regulatory language we 
are covering under 30 CFR part 206. The previous title was ``Gas 
Processing and Transportation Allowances.''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before June 25, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead 
Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue 
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, 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, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3781, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR Part 206, Subpart E--Indian Gas, Sec.  206.178--How 
do I determine a transportation allowance? (Form MMS-4295, Gas 
Transportation Allowance Report) and Sec.  206.180--How do I determine 
an actual processing allowance? (Form MMS-4109, Gas Processing 
Allowance Summary Report).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0075.
    Bureau Form Number: Forms MMS-4295 and MMS-4109.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior 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 resource 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. The MMS performs the royalty management 
functions and assists the Secretary in carrying out the Department's 
Indian trust responsibility. Applicable citations of the laws 
pertaining to mineral leases on Indian lands include 25 U.S.C. 369d 
(Chapter 12--Lease, Sale or Surrender of Allotted or Unallotted Lands); 
25 U.S.C. 2103 (Indian Minerals Development Act); and Public Law 97-
451--Jan. 12, 1983 (Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 
1982).
    When a company or an individual enters into a lease to explore, 
develop, produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal or Indian lands, 
that company or individual agrees to pay the lessor a share (royalty) 
of the value received from production from the leased lands. The lease 
creates a business relationship between the lessor and the lessee. The 
lessee is required to report various kinds of information to the lessor 
relative to the disposition of the leased minerals. Such information is 
similar to data reported to private and public mineral interest owners 
and is generally available within the records of the lessee or others 
involved in developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or 
selling of such minerals. The information collected includes data 
necessary to ensure that the royalties are paid appropriately.
    Proprietary information submitted to MMS under this collection is 
protected, and no items of a sensitive nature are collected. A response 
is required to obtain the benefit of a transportation and (or) gas 
processing allowance on an Indian lease.
    Transportation Allowances--Under certain circumstances, lessees are 
authorized to deduct from royalty payments the reasonable actual costs 
of transporting the royalty portion of produced minerals from the lease 
to a processing or sales point not in the immediate lease area. 
Transportation allowances are part of the product valuation process MMS 
uses to determine if the lessee is reporting and paying the proper 
royalty amount.
    Processing Allowances--When gas is processed for the recovery of 
gas plant products, lessees may claim a processing allowance. The MMS 
normally will accept the cost as stated in the lessee's arm's-length 
processing contract as being representative of the cost of the 
processing allowance. In those instances where gas is being processed 
through a lessee-owned plant, the processing costs must be based on the 
actual plant operating and maintenance expenses, depreciation, and a 
reasonable return on investment. The allowance is expressed as a cost 
per unit of individual gas plant products. Processing allowances may be 
taken as a deduction from royalty payments.
    The MMS and tribal personnel use the information collected on Forms 
MMS-4295 and MMS-4109 for transportation and processing costs to 
evaluate the reasonableness of allowances claimed by lessees. Only 
those lessees submitting arm's-length contracts or allowance forms, as 
appropriate, are allowed to take deductions from royalties due. The 
determination of the appropriate product value or allowance rate 
directly affects royalties due. Tribes given audit authority rely 
heavily upon the data submitted on the allowance forms for verification 
purposes.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 12 Indian lessees/
lessors.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 540 
hours.
    Since the previous renewal of this ICR, we have obtained more 
accurate estimates of the number of respondents and the time required 
to provide the information requested, and we have adjusted the burden 
hours accordingly. The following chart shows the estimated burden hours 
by CFR section and paragraph:

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                                Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours Chart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Burden hours    Annual number   Annual burden
        30 CFR section                Reporting requirement        per response    of  responses       hours
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206.178 (b)(1)(ii)............  Determining a transportation                  45               7             315
                                 allowance under a non-arm's-
                                 length or no contract. * * *
                                 You must submit the actual cost
                                 information to support the
                                 allowance to MMS on Form MMS-
                                 4295, Gas Transportation
                                 Allowance Report, within 3
                                 months after the end of the 12-
                                 month period to which the
                                 allowance applies. * * *
206.180 (b)(1)(ii)............  Determining a processing                      45               5             225
                                 allowance if you have a non-
                                 arm's-length contract or no
                                 contract. * * * You must submit
                                 the actual cost information to
                                 support the allowance to MMS on
                                 Form MMS-4109, Gas Processing
                                 Allowance Summary Report,
                                 within 3 months after the end
                                 of the 12-month period for
                                 which the allowance applies. *
                                 * *
                                                                                 -----------------
    Total.....................  ................................  ..............              12             540
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 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. 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. The ICR also will 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 also will 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. Upon request, we will withhold an individual respondent's 
home address from the public record, as 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 your request 
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 Federal Register Liaison Officer: Denise Johnson (202) 208-
3976.

    Dated: April 19, 2004.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 04-9442 Filed 4-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P