[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 162 (Monday, August 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52294-52295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21305]
[[Page 52294]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0007]
30 CFR Part 1206
Second Notice of Intent To Establish an Indian Oil Valuation
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee
AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On January 31, 2011, the Department published a notice of
intent to establish an Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking
Committee. In that notice, we asked interested parties to nominate
representatives for membership on the Committee and addressed many of
the requirements of Section 564 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act. This
notice identifies the persons proposed to serve on the Committee and
addresses the rest of the requirements of Section 564 of the Negotiated
Rulemaking Act.
DATES: Submit written comments on or before September 21, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and applications by the following
methods:
Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the
entity titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ONRR-2011-0007, and then
click search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments. The
ONRR will post all comments to the docket.
Mail or hand-carry (also, courier service) comments to Mr.
Karl Wunderlich, Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), P.O. Box
25165, MS 300B2, Denver, CO 80225-0165. Please reference the Docket No.
ONRR-2011-0007 in your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Karl Wunderlich, ONRR, Telephone:
(303) 231-3663; Fax: (303) 231-3194, or E-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 31, 2011, the Department
published a notice of intent to establish an Indian Oil Valuation
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (76 FR 5317). You may refer to that
notice for background information. The Committee will develop specific
recommendations regarding proposed revisions to the existing
regulations for valuation of oil production from Indian leases. One of
the key issues to be addressed is the major portion valuation
requirement. Section 564 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act requires an
agency to consider eight elements when it is considering the
establishment of a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. In the January 2011
notice, we announced our intent to establish a negotiated rulemaking
committee to negotiate and develop a proposed rule and asked interested
parties to nominate representatives for membership on the Committee. We
received 12 responses nominating individuals to serve on the Committee.
This notice addresses the rest of the elements of Section 564. We
believe that using a negotiated rulemaking committee to make specific
recommendations regarding valuation of oil from Indian leases would
help the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) in developing a
rulemaking.
The interests significantly affected are oil and gas companies who
produce oil and pay royalties on Indian leases, and Indian Tribes and
individual Indian mineral owners who receive royalties from oil
produced from Indian leases located on their lands.
The ONRR is making a commitment to ensure that the Committee has
sufficient administrative and technical resources to complete its work
in a timely fashion. ONRR, with the help of a facilitator, will prepare
all agendas, provide meeting notes, and provide a final report of any
issues on which that the committee reached consensus. ONRR will also
obtain meeting space for all meetings.
The use of negotiated rulemaking will not unreasonably delay the
development of a proposed rule because time limits will be placed on
the negotiation. We anticipate that negotiation will expedite a
proposed rule and ultimately the acceptance of a final rule.
There is a reasonable likelihood that the Committee will reach
consensus on a proposed rule within a fixed period of time. It is
anticipated that a proposed rule will be published for notice and
comment within 30 months of convening the committee. Quarterly meetings
will be held with the first meeting planned for early fall.
Proposed Members of the Committee
The Department believes that the interests significantly affected
by this rule will be represented by the representatives listed below:
Claire Ware, A representative of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes of
the Wind River Reservation;
Manuel Myore, A representative of the Ute Indian Tribe;
Roger Bird Bear, A representative of the allottees of Fort
Berthold, North Dakota;
Marcella Giles, A representative of the allottees of Oklahoma
Indian Land/Mineral Owners of Associated Nations;
Perry Shirley, A representative of The Navajo Nation;
James Barnes, A representative of the Council of Petroleum
Accountants Societies;
Rob Thompson, A representative of the Western Energy Alliance;
Dan Riemer, A representative of the American Petroleum Institute;
Jack Vaughn, A representative of Peak Energy Resources;
Dee Ross, A representative of Chesapeake Energy Corporation;
Donald Sant, Paul Tyler, and John Barder, Three representatives of
the Office of Natural Resources Revenue; and
Weldon Loudermilk, A representative of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
Persons who will be significantly affected by a proposed rule, and who
believe their interests will not be adequately represented by any
person listed above, may apply for or nominate another person for
membership on the negotiated rulemaking committee to represent such
interests to the proposed rule. Each application or nomination should
include: (1) The name of the applicant or nominee and a description of
the interests such person shall represent; (2) evidence that the
applicant or nominee is authorized to represent parties related to the
interests the person proposes to represent; (3) a written commitment
that the applicant or nominee shall actively participate in good faith
in the development of the rule under consideration; and (4) the reasons
that the persons do not adequately represent the interests of the
person submitting the application or nomination.
All submission of comments and applications should be submitted no
later than 30 calendar days following publication of this notice.
Please submit comments and applications by instructions shown in
ADDRESSES.
The ONRR will publish the first meeting date in a Federal Register
notice. The Committee will determine the dates of future meetings, and
we will then publish notice of the dates in the Federal Register. The
first meeting will develop the ground rules on what consensus means and
if there is any issues other than the major portion analysis that needs
to be discussed.
Following receipt of comments on this notice, ONRR will establish
the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. The ONRR will participate in the
Committee to represent the Federal Government's statutory mission.
After the Committee
[[Page 52295]]
reaches consensus on the provisions of a proposed rule ONRR will
develop a proposed rule to be published in the Federal Register.
Certification
I hereby certify that the Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee is in the public interest.
Dated: August 15, 2011.
Ken Salazar,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2011-21305 Filed 8-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P