[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16052-16057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5944]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

[Docket ID No. BSEE-2011-0002; OMB Control Number 1014-0016]


Information Collection Activities: Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-
of-Way; Submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION: 30-day Notice.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), BSEE 
is 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 Subpart J, ``Pipelines and 
Pipeline Rights-of-Way.'' This notice also provides the public a second 
opportunity to comment on the revised paperwork burden of these 
regulatory requirements.

DATES: You must submit comments by April 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit 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 (1014-0016). Please provide a copy of your comments to 
BSEE by any of the means below.
     Electronically: go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
entry titled, ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter BSEE-2011-0002 then click 
search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view all 
related materials. We will post all comments.
     Email [email protected], fax (703) 787-1546, or mail 
or hand-carry comments to: Department of the Interior; Bureau of Safety 
and Environmental Enforcement; Attention: Nicole Mason; 381 Elden 
Street, HE3313; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Please reference 1014-
0016 in your comment and include your name and return address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Mason, Regulations and 
Development Branch, (703) 787-1605, to request additional information 
about this ICR. To see a copy of the entire ICR submitted to OMB, go to 
http://www.reginfo.gov (select Information Collection Review, Currently 
Under Review).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart J, Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way.
    Form: BSEE-0149.
    OMB Control Number: 1014-0016.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, as amended 
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to prescribe rules and regulations necessary 
for the administration of the leasing provisions of the Act related to 
mineral resources on the OCS. Such rules and regulations will apply to 
all operations conducted under a lease, right-of-way (ROW), or a right-
of-use and easement. Section 1334(e) authorizes the Secretary to grant 
ROWs through the submerged lands of the OCS for pipelines ``* * * for 
the transportation of oil, natural gas, sulphur, or other minerals, or 
under such regulations and upon such conditions as may be prescribed by 
the Secretary, * * * including (as provided in section 1347(b) of this 
title) assuring maximum environmental protection by utilization of the 
best available and safest technologies, including the safest practices 
for pipeline burial * * *.''
    The Independent Offices Appropriations Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), the 
Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 104-133, 110 Stat. 1321, April 26, 
1996), and OMB Circular A-25, authorize Federal agencies to recover the 
full cost of services that confer special benefits. This authority and 
responsibility are among those delegated to BSEE. BSEE regulations 
specify cost recovery service fees for pipeline and assignment 
applications.
    This information collection (IC) request addresses the regulations 
under 30 CFR 250, subpart J, on pipelines and pipeline ROWs and is 
considered a revision. Between the initial 60-day FR notice and now, 
BSEE requested and obtained OMB approval via a Notice of Action (12/12/
2011) to transfer 1010-0050 to 1014-0016. This transfer was a result of 
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulations and Enforcement 
splitting into two bureaus and some specific subpart J regulatory 
requirements going to both bureaus. Therefore, the program change is 
due to that final rulemaking (76 FR 64432) where the requirements 
pertaining to bonding (Form BOEM-2030; Sec.  250.1011) have been 
removed from BSEE regulations and are now located in the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management regulations (30 CFR 550.1011). This collection 
also covers the related Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) that 
BSEE issues to clarify and provide additional guidance on some aspects 
of the regulations.
    Regulations at 30 CFR part 250, subpart J, implement these 
statutory requirements. We use the information to ensure those 
activities are performed in a safe manner. BSEE needs information 
concerning the proposed pipeline and safety equipment, inspections and 
tests, and natural and manmade hazards near the proposed pipeline 
route. BSEE uses the information to review pipeline designs prior to 
approving an application for an ROW or lease term pipeline to ensure 
that the pipeline, as constructed, will provide for safe transportation 
of oil and gas and other minerals through the submerged lands

[[Page 16053]]

of the OCS. We review proposed pipeline routes to ensure that the 
pipeline would not conflict with any State requirements or unduly 
interfere with other OCS activities. BSEE reviews proposals for taking 
pipeline safety equipment out of service to ensure alternate measures 
are used that will properly provide for the safety of the pipeline and 
associated facilities (platform, etc.). We review notification of 
relinquishment of an ROW grant and requests to abandon pipelines to 
ensure that all legal obligations are met and pipelines are properly 
abandoned. BSEE monitors the records concerning pipeline inspections 
and tests to ensure safety of operations and protection of the 
environment and to schedule their workload to permit witnessing and 
inspecting operations. Information is also necessary to determine the 
point at which the Department of the Interior or the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) has regulatory responsibility for a pipeline and 
to be informed of the identified operator if not the same as the ROW 
holder.
    The following form is also submitted to BSEE under subpart J:
    BSEE-0149--Assignment of Federal OCS Pipeline Right-of-Way Grant: 
BSEE uses the information to track the ownership of pipeline ROWs; as 
well as use the information to update the corporate database that is 
used to determine what leases are available for a Lease Sale and the 
ownership of all OCS leases.
    We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary 
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its 
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2); also under regulations at 30 
CFR 250.197, ``Data and information to be made available to the public 
or for limited inspection,'' and 30 CFR 252, ``Outer Continental Shelf 
(OCS) Oil and Gas Information Program.''
    No items of a sensitive nature are collected. Responses are 
mandatory or are required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency: On occasion, annual.
    Description of Respondents: Potential respondents include lessees, 
operators, and holders of pipeline ROWs.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The estimated 
annual hour burden for this information collection is a total of 55,072 
hours. The following chart details the individual components and 
estimated hour burdens. In calculating the burdens, we assumed that 
respondents perform certain requirements in the normal course of their 
activities. We consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in estimating the burden.
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    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have 
identified seven non-hour paperwork cost burdens for this collection. 
However, note that the actual service fee amounts are specified in 30 
CFR 250.125, which provides a consolidated table of the service fees 
required under the 30 CFR 250 regulations. The non-hour cost burdens 
(cost recovery fees) in this IC total an estimated $1,824,851, and they 
are required under:
    Section 250.1000(b)--New Pipeline Application (lease term)--$3,283.
    Section 250.1000(b)--Pipeline Application Modification (lease 
term)--$1,906.
    Section 250.1000(b)--Pipeline Application Modification (ROW)--
$3,865.
    Section 250.1008(e)--Pipeline Repair Notification--$360.
    Section 250.1015(a)--Pipeline ROW Grant Application--$2,569.
    Section 250.1015(a)--Pipeline Conversion from Lease term to ROW--
$219.
    Section 250.1018(b)--Pipeline ROW Assignment--$186.
    We have not identified any other non-hour cost burdens 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 a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    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 
collection is necessary or useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy 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 
technology.

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    To comply with the public consultation process, on December 5, 
2011, we published a Federal Register notice (76 FR 75894) announcing 
that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided 
the required 60-day comment period. In addition, Sec.  250.199 provides 
the OMB control number for the information collection requirements 
imposed by the 30 CFR 250 regulations and forms. The regulation also 
informs the public that they may comment at any time on the collections 
of information and provides the address to which they should send 
comments. We have received no comments in response to these efforts.
    Public Comment Procedures: Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware 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 your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Acting BSEE Information Collection Clearance Officer: Cheryl 
Blundon (703) 787-1607.

    Dated: February 22, 2012.
Douglas W. Morris,
Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-5944 Filed 3-16-12; 8:45 am]
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