[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]



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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.

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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

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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