[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 203 (Friday, October 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62010-62012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17538]


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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 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 of 1995 (PRA), we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information 
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR Part 210--Forms and 
Reports, regarding Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty 
Remittance. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity 
to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements.

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

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments by either FAX (202) 395-6566 or e-
mail ([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0140).
    Please also send a copy of your comments to MMS via e-mail 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. If you do not receive a 
confirmation that we have received your e-mail, contact Ms. Gebhardt at 
(303) 231-3211.
    You may also mail a copy of your 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-deliver your 
comments, our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver 
Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado 
80225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3781, e-mail [email protected]. You may 
also contact Sharron Gebhardt to obtain, at no cost, copies of (1) the 
ICR, (2) any associated forms, and (3) regulations that require the 
subject collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 30 CFR Part 210--Forms and Reports.
    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 matters relevant to mineral resource development on 
Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The 
Secretary, under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 1923) and the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353), is responsible for 
managing the production of minerals from Federal and Indian lands and 
the OCS, collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals, and 
distributing the funds collected in accordance with applicable laws.
    The Secretary 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 and location differentials). 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.
    Public laws pertaining to mineral royalties 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 this 
information using Form MMS-2014. Not collecting this information would 
limit the Secretary's ability to discharge his/her duties and may also 
result in

[[Page 62011]]

loss of royalty payments. Any proprietary information submitted is 
protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive nature included in 
this information collection. The requirement to respond is mandatory.
    Frequency: Monthly and as required.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 2,070 lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
158,821 hours.
    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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Reporting and
        30 CFR part 210               recordkeeping         Hour burden     Average number of    Annual burden
                                       requirement                           annual responses        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Electronic (99 percent)
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
210.20(a); 210.21(c)(1);         210.20 When is
 210.50; 210.52(a)(1), (a)(2),    electronic reporting
 (b), (c), and (d); and 210.354.  required?
                                 (a) You must submit
                                  Form MMS-2014 * * *
                                  to MMS
                                  electronically. * * *.
                                 210.21 How do you
                                  report
                                  electronically?.
                                 (c)(1) You must submit           \1\ 0.05          3,103,265            155,163
                                  an electronic sample
                                  of your report for
                                  MMS approval * * *
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Manual (1 percent)
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
                                 210.50 Required
                                  recordkeeping.
                                 * * * Records may be           \2\ 0.1167             31,346              3,658
                                  maintained in
                                  microfilm,
                                  microfiche, or other
                                  recorded media * * *
                                 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
                                  * * *
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
210.351                          210.351 Required            Burden hours covered under Sec.   210.354 above
                                  recordkeeping.
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
                                 * * * Records may be
                                  maintained on
                                  microfilm,
                                  microfiche, or other
                                  recorded media that
                                  are easily
                                  reproducible and
                                  readable. * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Burden Hour Total..................................  .................          3,134,611            158,821
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 3 minutes.
\2\ 7 minutes.
Note.--Each line is considered one response/report.

    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: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register on November 21, 2005 (70 FR 70092), 
announcing that we would submit this

[[Page 62012]]

ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided the required 60-day 
comment period. We received no comments in response to the notice.
    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. The 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 
November 20, 2006.
    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/InfoColl/InfoColCom.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. 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 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.

    Dated: June 14, 2006.
Shirley M. Conway,
Acting Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
 [FR Doc. E6-17538 Filed 10-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P