[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 41 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12612-12614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5009]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0019]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of 
Management and Budget Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of a currently approved information 
collection.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an 
information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under the Chief Financial Officers Act 
of 1990 (CFO). 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 April 2, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments by either Fax (202) 395-5806 or 
email ([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1012-0001).

[[Page 12613]]

    Please also submit a copy of your comments to ONRR by one of the 
following methods:
     Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
entry titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ONRR-2011-0019, and then 
click search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments. We 
will post all comments.
     Mail comments to Hyla Hurst, Regulatory Specialist, Office 
of Natural Resources Revenue, P.O. Box 25165, MS 64000A, Denver, 
Colorado 80225. Please reference ICR 1012-0001 in your comments.
     Hand-carry comments or use an overnight courier service. 
Our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, 
West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225. Please reference 
ICR 1012-0001 in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hyla Hurst, telephone (303) 231-3495, 
or email [email protected]. You may also contact Hyla Hurst to obtain 
copies, at no cost, of (1) The ICR, (2) any associated forms, and (3) 
the regulations that require the subject collection of information. You 
may also review the information collection request online at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Accounts Receivable Confirmations.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0001.
    Bureau Form Number: None.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior is 
responsible for mineral resource development on Federal and Indian 
lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Various laws require the 
Secretary to manage mineral resource production from Federal and Indian 
lands and the OCS, collect the royalties and other mineral revenues 
due, and distribute the funds collected in accordance with applicable 
laws. The Secretary also has a trust responsibility to manage Indian 
lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. ONRR 
performs the minerals revenue management functions for the Secretary 
and assists the Secretary in carrying out the Department's trust 
responsibility for Indian lands. Public laws pertaining to mineral 
leases on Federal and Indian lands are available at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PublicLawsAMR.htm.
    Minerals produced from Federal and Indian leases vary greatly in 
the nature of occurrence, production, and processing methods. 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 in an amount or 
value of production from the leased lands. The regulations require the 
lessee to report various kinds of information to the lessor relative to 
the disposition of the leased minerals. Such information is generally 
available within the records of the lessee or others involved in 
developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or selling such 
minerals. The information we collect includes data necessary to ensure 
that lessees accurately value production and appropriately pay 
royalties.
    Companies submit financial information monthly to ONRR on Form MMS-
2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (OMB Control Number 1012-
0004) and on Form MMS-4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty 
Report (OMB Control Number 1012-0010).
    Every year, under the CFO, the Department's Office of Inspector 
General, or its agent (agent), audits the Department's financial 
statements. The Department's goal is to receive an unqualified opinion. 
Accounts receivable confirmations are a common practice in the audit 
business. Due to continuously increasing scrutiny on financial audits, 
third-party confirmation of the validity of ONRR's financial records is 
necessary.
    As part of the CFO audit, the agent selects royalty payors at 
random and provides the companies' names and addresses to ONRR. In 
order to meet the CFO requirements, the letters must be on ONRR 
letterhead; and the Deputy Director for ONRR, or his or her designee, 
must sign the letters. The letter requests, by a specified date, third-
party confirmation responses that ONRR's accounts receivable records 
agree with royalty payor records for the following items: Customer 
identification; royalty/invoice number; payor-assigned document number; 
date of ONRR receipt; original amount the payor reported; and remaining 
balance due ONRR. The agent mails the letters to the payors, 
instructing them to respond directly to the agent to confirm the 
accuracy and/or validity of selected royalty receivable items and 
amounts. Verifying the amounts reported and the balances due requires 
research and analysis by payors.
    We are requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this 
information. Not collecting this information would limit the 
Secretary's ability to discharge the duties of the office. ONRR 
protects proprietary information that payors submit, and there are no 
questions of a sensitive nature included in this information 
collection.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 48 randomly 
selected Federal and Indian oil and gas and solid mineral royalty 
payors.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 12 
hours. We estimate that each response will take 15 minutes for payors 
to complete.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden associated with 
this 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 60-day notice in the Federal Register * * * 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 August 26, 2011 (76 FR 53487), 
announcing that we would submit this 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. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove this collection 
of information; however, submit your comments to OMB within 30 days in 
order to assure maximum consideration. OMB should receive your comments 
by April 2, 2012.
    Public Comment Policy: We post all comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents, at http://www.regulations.gov. Before 
including your address, phone number, email

[[Page 12614]]

address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be 
advised that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold from public view your personal 
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so.
    Information Collection Clearance Officer: Laura Dorey (202) 208-
2654.

    Dated: February 27, 2012.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2012-5009 Filed 2-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-T2-P