[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70092-70095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22953]


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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 a revision of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0140).

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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 OMB for review and approval.

[[Page 70093]]

This information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR Part 210--Forms and 
Reports, regarding Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty 
Remittance.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before January 20, 2006.

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 or wish to hand-carry your comments, 
our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, 
West 6th Ave. and Kipling Blvd., 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 210--Forms and Reports 
(Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0140.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-2014.
    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 resources production on Federal and 
Indian lands, collect the royalties due, and distribute the funds in 
accordance with those laws. The Secretary also has a 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 
trust responsibility for Indian lands.
    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 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 MMS collects the 
information on Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance, 
which is the only document used for reporting oil and gas royalties, 
certain rents, and other lease-related transactions (e.g., 
transportation and processing allowances, lease adjustments, and 
quality). The information collected includes data necessary to ensure 
that the royalties are paid appropriately.
    The persons or entities described under FOGRMA at 30 U.S.C. 1713 
are required to make reports and submit reasonable information as 
defined by the Secretary. 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. Applicable public 
laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands are 
located on our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/PublicLawsAMR.htm.
    The MMS is requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect 
information using Form MMS-2014. Proprietary information submitted to 
MMS under this collection is protected, and no items of a sensitive 
nature are collected. The requirement to respond is mandatory.
    Frequency of Response: Monthly and as required.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 2,070.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
158,021 hours.
    We included 30 CFR 210.351, which was overlooked in the previous 
renewal, and added 12 burden hours to our estimates in the chart below. 
We also included 30 CFR 210.53(c)(1) and (2) from the final Federal Oil 
Valuation rule (effective August 1, 2004) and added 288 burden hours to 
our estimates in the chart below. We have not included in our estimates 
certain requirements performed in the normal course of business and 
considered usual and customary. The following chart shows the estimated 
burden hours by CFR section and paragraph:

                                   Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average number
       30 CFR part 210           Reporting and recordkeeping       Hour burden       of annual     Annual burden
                                         requirement                               responses \1\       hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
210.20(a); 210.21(c)(1);       210.20 When is electronic                     Electronic (99 percent)
 210.50; 210.52(a)(1),          reporting required?
 (2)(b), (c) and (d); and
 210.354.
                                                               -------------------
                               (a) You must submit a completed  0.05 (3 minutes)       3,103,265         155,163
                                Form MMS-2014 * * * TO mms
                                electronically.* * *.
                               210.21 How do you report                              \2\ -22,000      \2\ -1,100
                                electronically?.
                               (c)(1) You must submit an
                                electronic sample of your
                                report for MMS approval.* * *
                                                               -------------------
                               210.50 Required recordkeeping..                 Manual (1 percent)
                                                               -------------------
                               * * * Records may be maintained  0.1167 (7                 31,346           3,658
                                in microfilm, microfiche, or     minutes).
                                other recorded media.* * *.

[[Page 70094]]

 
                               210.52 Report of sales and
                                royalty remittance..
                               (a) You must submit a completed
                                Form MMS-2014 (Report of Sales
                                and Royalty Remittance) to MMS
                                with:.
                               (1) All royalty payments; and,.
                               (2) Rents on nonproducing
                                leases,.
                               (b) When you submit Form MMS-
                                2014 data electronically, you
                                must not submit the form
                                itself..
                               (c) Completed Forms MMS-2014
                                for royalty payments are due
                                by the end of the month
                                following the production
                                month..
                               (d) completed Forms MMS-2014
                                for rental payments are due no
                                later than the anniversary
                                date of the lease..
                               210.354 Monthly report of sales
                                and royalty..
                               A completed* * *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.
210.53 (c)(1) and (2)........  210.53 Reporting instructions..  8...............              36             288
                               (c) On the Form MMS-2014, the
                                operator must report* * * (1)
                                The share of the production
                                the operator purchased from
                                each working interest owner
                                and the associated royalty
                                payment; and (2) The
                                operator's own share of
                                production and the associated
                                royalty payment..
210.351......................  210.351 Required recordkeeping.  1...............              12              12
                               Records may be maintained on
                                microfilm, microfiche, or
                                other recorded media that are
                                easily reproducible and
                                readable* * *.
------------------------------
Burden Hour Total............  ...............................  3,112,659.......        158,021
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Each line is considered one response/report.
\2\Implementation of the final rule, Accounting and Auditing Relief for Marginal Properties, effective September
  13, 2004, resulted in an annual decrease of 1,100 burden hours, calculated as follows: 22,000 lines x 3
  minutes/60 minutes = 1,100 burden hours.

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden associated with 
the collection of information.
    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: 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. 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 a respondent's 
identity, as allowable by law. If you request that we withhold

[[Page 70095]]

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 Information Collection Clearance Officer: Arlene Bajusz, (202) 
208-7744.

Cathy J. Hamilton,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 05-22953 Filed 11-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P