[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 80 (Monday, April 26, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22550-22553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9443]


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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 1010-0061).

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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 B--Indian Oil, Sec.  206.55--Determination of 
Transportation Allowances [Form MMS-4110 (and Schedule 1), Oil 
Transportation Allowance 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 ``Oil Transportation Allowances.''

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

[[Page 22551]]


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 B--Indian Oil, Sec.  206.55--
Determination of Transportation Allowances [Form MMS-4110 (and Schedule 
1), Oil Transportation Allowance Report].
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0061.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-4110.
    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 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.
    The MMS collects transportation allowance data on the Form MMS-4110 
(and Schedule 1), Oil Transportation Allowance Report. The MMS and 
tribal personnel use the information collected on Form MMS-4110 to 
evaluate the reasonableness of allowances claimed by lessees. To take a 
transportation deduction, a lessee must submit Form MMS-4110 before or 
in the same month the transportation allowance is reported on the Form 
MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (OMB Control Number 
1010-0140).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 10 Indian lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 230 
hours.
    We are revising this ICR to include reporting requirements that 
were overlooked in the previous renewal, and we have increased the 
burden hours accordingly. The following chart shows the estimated 
burden hours by CFR section and paragraph:

                                Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours Chart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Burden hours   Annual  number   Annual burden
        30 CFR section                Reporting requirement        per response    of responses        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                206.55 Determination of Transportation Allowances
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
206.55(a)(1)(i)...............  Arm's-length transportation         See Sec.   206.55(c)(1)(i) and (iii) below.
                                 contracts. * * * Before any
                                 deduction may be taken, the
                                 lessee must submit a completed
                                 page one of Form MMS-4110 (and
                                 Schedule 1), Oil Transportation
                                 Allowance Report * * *.
-------------------------------
206.55(b)(1)..................  Non-arm's-length or no contract.    See Sec.   206.55(c)(2)(i), (iii), and (iv)
                                 * * * Before any estimated or                        below.
                                 actual deduction may be taken,
                                 the lessee must submit a
                                 completed Form MMS-4110 in its
                                 entirety * * *.
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(1)(i)...............  Reporting requirements. Arm's-                 4              10              40
                                 length contracts. With the
                                 exception of those
                                 transportation allowances
                                 specified in paragraphs
                                 (c)(1)(v) and (c)(1)(vi) of
                                 this section, the lessee shall
                                 submit page one of the initial
                                 Form MMS-4110 (and Schedule 1),
                                 Oil Transportation Allowance
                                 Report, prior to, or at the
                                 same time as, the
                                 transportation allowance
                                 determined under an arm's-
                                 length contract, is reported on
                                 Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales
                                 and Royalty Remittance. * * *.
-------------------------------

[[Page 22552]]

 
206.55(c)(1)(iii).............  Arm's-length contracts. After                  3              10              30
                                 the initial reporting period
                                 and for succeeding reporting
                                 periods, lessees must submit
                                 page one of Form MMS-4110 (and
                                 Schedule 1) within 3 months
                                 after the end of the calendar
                                 year, or after the applicable
                                 contract or rate terminates or
                                 is modified or amended,
                                 whichever is earlier, unless
                                 MMS approves a longer period
                                 (during which period the lessee
                                 shall continue to use the
                                 allowance from the previous
                                 reporting period).
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(1)(iv)..............  Arm's-length contracts. MMS may                2              10              20
                                 require that a lessee submit
                                 arm's-length transportation
                                 contracts, production
                                 agreements, operating
                                 agreements, and related
                                 documents. Documents shall be
                                 submitted within a reasonable
                                 time, as determined by MMS.
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(2)(i)...............  Non-arm's-length or no contract.               6              10              60
                                 With the exception of those
                                 transportation allowances
                                 specified in paragraphs
                                 (c)(2)(v), (c)(2)(vii) and
                                 (c)(2)(viii) of this section,
                                 the lessee shall submit an
                                 initial Form MMS-4110 prior to,
                                 or at the same time as, the
                                 transportation allowance
                                 determined under a non-arm's-
                                 length contract or no-contract
                                 situation is reported on Form
                                 MMS-2014. * * * The initial
                                 report may be based upon
                                 estimated costs.
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(2)(iii).............  Non-arm's-length or no contract.               6              10              60
                                 For calendar-year reporting
                                 periods succeeding the initial
                                 reporting period, the lessee
                                 shall submit a completed Form
                                 MMS-4110 containing the actual
                                 costs for the previous
                                 reporting period. If oil
                                 transportation is continuing,
                                 the lessee shall include on
                                 Form MMS-4110 its estimated
                                 costs for the next calendar
                                 year. * * * MMS must receive
                                 the Form MMS-4110 within 3
                                 months after the end of the
                                 previous reporting period,
                                 unless MMS approves a longer
                                 period (during which period the
                                 lessee shall continue to use
                                 the allowance from the previous
                                 reporting period).
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(2)(iv)..............  Non-arm's-length or no contract.         See Sec.   206.55(c)(2)(i) above.
                                 For new transportation
                                 facilities or arrangements, the
                                 lessee's initial Form MMS-4110
                                 shall include estimates of the
                                 allowable oil transportation
                                 costs for the applicable period
                                 * * *.
-------------------------------
206.55(c)(2)(vi)..............  Non-arm's-length or no contract.               2              10              20
                                 Upon request by MMS, the lessee
                                 shall submit all data used to
                                 prepare its Form MMS-4110. The
                                 data shall be provided within a
                                 reasonable period of time, as
                                 determined by MMS.
                                                                                 -----------------
    Total.....................  ................................  ..............              60             230
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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)

[[Page 22553]]

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. 04-9443 Filed 4-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P