[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4308-4311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01447]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0008; DS63610000 DR2PS0000.CH7000 156D0102R2]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Suspensions Pending 
Appeal and Bonding--OMB Control Number 1012-0006; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a renewal for an existing Information Collection.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Final regulations that ONRR published May 13, 1999 (64 FR 
26240, RIN 1010-AC21), govern the appeal of orders from Minerals 
Management Service's Royalty Management Program (now ONRR). To comply 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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 30 CFR part 1243. This 
notice provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the 
burden of these regulatory requirements.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove this information 
collection request but may respond after 30 days; therefore, you should 
submit your public comments to OMB by February 26, 2015 for the 
assurance of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your written comments directly to the Desk 
Officer for the Department of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1012-
0006), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, by email to 
[email protected] or telefax at (202) 395-5806. Please also 
mail a copy of your comments to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory 
Specialist, ONRR, P.O. Box 25165, MS 61030A, Denver, Colorado 80225-
0165, or by email to [email protected]. Please reference ICR 1012-
0006 in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Ms. Kimberly Werner, Office of Enforcement and Appeals (OEA), 
ONRR, telephone (303) 231-3801 or email [email protected]. For 
other questions, contact Mr. Luis Aguilar, telephone (303) 231-3418, or 
email [email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain 
copies (free of charge) of (1) the ICR, (2) any associated forms, and 
(3) the regulations that require the subject collection of information. 
To see a copy of the entire ICR submitted to OMB, go to http://www.reginfo.gov/public/PRAMain and select ``Information Collection 
Review,'' then select ``Department of the Interior'' in the drop-down 
box under ``Currently Under Review.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Suspensions Pending Appeal and Bonding--30 CFR part 1243
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0006.
    Bureau Form Numbers: ONRR-4435, ONRR-4436, and ONRR-4437.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the United States Department of the 
Interior is responsible for overseeing mineral resource development on 
Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Under 
various laws, the Secretary's responsibilities are to manage mineral 
resources production from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collect 
the royalties and other mineral revenues due, and distribute the funds 
collected under these laws. The Secretary also has a trust 
responsibility to manage Indian lands and seek advice and input 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. We have posted 
these laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands and 
the OCS at http://onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.htm.
    If ONRR determines that a lessee has not properly reported or paid 
Royalties and other mineral revenues, we may issue an order to pay 
additional royalties, a Notice of Noncompliance, or a Civil Penalty 
Notice requiring correct reporting or payment. Lessees then have a 
right to appeal ONRR determinations.
    Regulations at 30 CFR part 1243 govern the submission of 
appropriate surety instruments to suspend compliance with orders or 
decisions and to stay the accrual of civil penalties (if the Office of 
Hearings and Appeals grants a lessee's petition to stay accrual of 
civil penalties), pending administrative appeal for Federal and Indian 
leases. For Federal oil and gas leases, under 30 U.S.C. 1724(l) and its 
implementing regulations in 30 CFR part 1243, appellants who are 
requesting a suspension without providing a surety must submit 
information to demonstrate financial solvency. This ICR covers the 
burden hours associated with submitting financial statements or surety 
instruments required to stay an ONRR order, decision, or accrual of 
civil penalties.

Stay of Payment Pending Appeal

    Title 30 CFR 1243.1 states that lessees or recipients of ONRR 
orders may suspend compliance with an order if they appeal under 30 CFR 
part 1290. Pending appeal, ONRR may suspend the payment requirement if 
the appellant submits a formal agreement of payment in case of default 
such as a bond or other surety; for Federal oil and gas leases, the 
appellant may demonstrate financial solvency. If the Office of Hearings 
and Appeals grants a lessee's, or other recipient of a Notice of 
Noncompliance or Civil Penalty Notice, request to stay the accrual of 
civil penalties under 30 CFR 1241.55(b)(2) and 1241.63(b)(2), the 
lessee or other recipient must post a bond or other surety, or for 
Federal oil and gas leases, demonstrate financial solvency.
    ONRR accepts the following surety types: Form ONRR-4435, 
Administrative Appeal Bond; Form ONRR-4436, Letter of Credit; Form 
ONRR-4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit; Self-bonding; and U.S. 
Treasury Securities.
    When an appellant selects and puts one of the surety types in 
place, the appellant must maintain the surety until

[[Page 4309]]

completion of the appeal. If the appeal is decided in favor of the 
appellant, ONRR returns the surety to the appellant. If the appeal is 
decided in favor of ONRR, then we will take action to collect the total 
amount due or draw down on the surety. We draw down on a surety if the 
appellant fails to comply with requirements relating to the amount due, 
timeframe, or surety submission or resubmission. Whenever ONRR must 
draw down on a surety, we must draw down the total amount due, which is 
defined as unpaid principal plus the interest accrued to the projected 
receipt date of the surety payment. Appellants may refer to the Surety 
Instrument Posting Instructions, which are at http://www.onrr.gov/compliance/appeals.htm.

Forms and Other Surety Types

Form ONRR-4435, Administrative Appeal Bond

    Appellants may file Form ONRR-4435, Administrative Appeal Bond, 
which ONRR uses to secure the financial interests of the public and 
Indian lessors during the entire administrative and judicial appeal 
process. Under 30 CFR 1243.4, appellants must submit their contact and 
surety amount information on the bond to obtain the benefit of 
suspension of an obligation to comply with an order. A surety company 
that the U.S. Department of the Treasury approves (see Department of 
the Treasury Circular No. 570, as revised periodically in the Federal 
Register) must issue the bond. The ONRR Director or the ONRR-delegated 
bond-approving officer maintains these bonds in a secure facility. 
After the appeal has concluded, ONRR may release and return the bond to 
the appellant or collect payment on the bond. If collection is 
necessary for a remaining balance, ONRR will issue a demand for payment 
to the surety company with a notice to the appellant. We also will 
include all interest accrued on the affected bill.

Form ONRR-4436, Letter of Credit

    Appellants may choose to file Form ONRR-4436, Letter of Credit 
(LOC), with no modifications. Requirements at 30 CFR 1243.4 continues 
to apply. The ONRR Director or the ONRR-delegated bond-approving 
officer maintains the LOC in a secure facility.
    The appellant is responsible for verifying that the bank provides a 
current Fitch rating to ONRR. After the appeal has been concluded, ONRR 
may release and return the LOC to the appellant or collect payment on 
the LOC. If collection is necessary for a remaining balance, we will 
issue a demand for payment, which includes all interest assessed on the 
affected bill, to the bank with a notice to the appellant.

Form ONRR-4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit

    Appellants may choose to secure a debt using a Certificate of 
Deposit (CD) from a bank with the required minimum Fitch rating and by 
submitting Form ONRR-4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit. 
Appellants must file the request with ONRR prior to the invoice due 
date. We will accept a book-entry CD that explicitly assigns the CD to 
the Director. If collection of the CD is necessary for an unpaid 
balance, we will return unused CD funds to the appellant after total 
settlement of the appealed issues including applicable interest 
charges.

Self-Bonding

    For Federal oil and gas leases, regulations at 30 CFR 1243.201 
provides that no surety instrument is required when a person 
representing the appellant periodically demonstrates to the 
satisfaction of ONRR, that the guarantor or appellant is financially 
solvent or otherwise able to pay the obligation. Appellants must submit 
a written request to ``self-bond'' every time a new appeal is filed. To 
evaluate the financial solvency and exemption from requirements of 
appellants to maintain a surety related to an appeal, ONRR requires 
appellants to submit a consolidated balance sheet subject to annual 
audit. In some cases, we also require copies of the most recent tax 
returns (up to 3 years) that appellants file.
    In addition, appellants must annually submit financial statements, 
subject to audit, to support their net worth. ONRR uses the 
consolidated balance sheet or business information supplied to evaluate 
the financial solvency of a lessee, designee, or payor seeking a stay 
of payment obligation pending review. If appellants do not have a 
consolidated balance sheet documenting their net worth or if they do 
not meet the $300 million net worth requirement, ONRR selects a 
business information or credit reporting service to provide information 
concerning an appellant's financial solvency. We charge the appellant a 
$50 fee each time we need to review data from a business information or 
credit reporting service. The fee covers our costs in determining an 
appellant's financial solvency.

U.S. Treasury Securities

    Appellants may choose to secure their debts by requesting to use a 
U.S. Treasury Security (TS). Appellants must file the letter of request 
with ONRR prior to the invoice due date. The TS must be a U.S. Treasury 
note or bond with maturity equal to or greater than 1 year. The TS must 
equal 120 percent of the appealed amount plus 1 year of estimated 
interest (necessary to protect ONRR against interest rate 
fluctuations). ONRR only accepts a book-entry TS.

OMB Approval

    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 fiduciary duties of the office and 
also may result in loss of royalty and other payments.
    ONRR protects proprietary information submitted under this 
collection. We do not collect information of a sensitive nature in this 
ICR. We require response from appellants to suspend compliance with an 
order pending appeal.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 105 Federal or 
Indian appellants.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 210 
hours.
    We have not included in our estimates certain requirements 
performed in the normal course of business and considered usual and 
customary. The following table shows the estimated burden hours by CFR 
section and paragraph:

[[Page 4310]]



                                                       Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                    Average number of      Annual burden
   Citation 30 CFR part 1243            Reporting and recordkeeping requirement               Hour burden           annual  responses          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.4(a)(1)...................  How do I suspend compliance with an order?             2 hours................  40                                   80
                                 (a) If you timely appeal an order, and if that order                            (Forms ONRR-4435, ONRR-
                                  or portion of that order: (1) Requires you to make a                            4436, ONRR-4437; or
                                  payment, and you want to suspend compliance with                                TS).
                                  that order, you must post a bond or other surety
                                  instrument or demonstrate financial solvency * * *.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.6.........................  When must I or another person meet the bonding or               Burden hours covered under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1).
                                  financial solvency requirements under this part?
                                 If you must meet the bonding or financial solvency
                                  requirements under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1), or if
                                  another person is meeting your bonding or financial
                                  solvency requirements, then either you or the other
                                  person must post a bond or other surety instrument
                                  or demonstrate financial solvency within 60 days
                                  after you receive the order or the Notice of Order.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.7(a)......................  What must a person do when posting a bond or other              Burden hours covered under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1).
                                  surety instrument or demonstrating financial
                                  solvency on behalf of an appellant?
                                 If you assume an appellant's responsibility to post a
                                  bond or other surety instrument or demonstrate
                                  financial solvency * * * (a) Must notify ONRR in
                                  writing * * * that you are assuming the appellant's
                                  responsibility * * *.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.8(a)(2) and (b)(2)........  When will ONRR suspend my obligation to comply with             Burden hours covered under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1).
                                  an order?
                                 (a) Federal leases. * * * (2) If the amount under
                                  appeal is $10,000 or more, ONRR will suspend your
                                  obligation to comply with that order if you:
                                 (i) Submit an ONRR-specified surety instrument under
                                  subpart B of this part within a time period ONRR
                                  prescribes; or
                                 (ii) Demonstrate financial solvency under subpart C.
                                 (b) Indian leases. * * * (2) If the amount under
                                  appeal is $1,000 or more, ONRR will suspend your
                                  obligation to comply with that order if you submit
                                  an ONRR-specified surety instrument under subpart B
                                  of this part within a time period ONRR prescribes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.101(b)....................  How will ONRR determine the amount of my bond or                Burden hours covered under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1).
                                  other surety instrument?
                                 * * * (b) If your appeal is not decided within 1 year
                                  from the filing date, you must increase the surety
                                  amount to cover additional estimated interest for
                                  another 1-year period. You must continue to do this
                                  annually * * *.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.200(a) and (b)............  How do I demonstrate financial solvency?               2 hours................  65                                  130
                                 (a) To demonstrate financial solvency under this                                (Self-bonding
                                  part, you must submit an audited consolidated                                   submissions).
                                  balance sheet, and, if requested by the ONRR bond-
                                  approving officer, up to 3 years of tax returns to
                                  the ONRR, * * *.
                                 (b) You must submit an audited consolidated balance
                                  sheet annually, and, if requested, additional annual
                                  tax returns on the date ONRR first determined that
                                  you demonstrated financial solvency as long as you
                                  have active appeals, or whenever ONRR requests. * *
                                  *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 4311]]

 
1243.201(c)(1), (c)(2)(i) and    How will ONRR determine if I am financially solvent?       Burden hours covered under Sec.  Sec.   1243.4(a)(1) and
 (c)(2)(ii) and (d)(2).          * * * (c) If your net worth, minus the amount we                              1243.200(a) and (b).
                                  would require as surety under subpart B for all
                                  orders you have appealed is less than $300 million,
                                  you must submit * * *:
                                 (1) A written request asking us to consult a business-
                                  information, or credit-reporting service or program
                                  to determine your financial solvency; and
                                 (2) A nonrefundable $50 processing fee:
                                 (i) You must pay the processing fee * * *;
                                 (ii) You must submit the fee with your request * * *
                                  and then annually on the date we first determined
                                  that you demonstrated financial solvency, as long as
                                  you are not able to demonstrate financial solvency *
                                  * * and you have active appeals.
                                 (d) * * * (2) For us to consider you financially
                                  solvent, the business-information or credit-
                                  reporting service or program must demonstrate your
                                  degree of risk as low to moderate: * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1243.202(c)....................  When will ONRR monitor my financial solvency?                   Burden hours covered under Sec.   1243.4(a)(1).
                                 * * * (c) If our bond-approving officer determines
                                  that you are no longer financially solvent, you must
                                  post a bond or other ONRR-specified surety
                                  instrument under subpart B.
                                                                                       -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Burden...............  .....................................................  .......................  105....................             210
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: There are no additional recordkeeping costs associated with 
this information collection. However, ONRR estimates five appellants 
per year will pay a $50 fee to obtain credit data from a business 
information or credit reporting service, which is a total ``non-hour'' 
cost burden of $250 per year (5 appellants per year x $50 = $250).
    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 that ONRR collects; 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 February 19, 2014 (79 FR 9475), 
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 the information 
collection, but they may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure 
maximum consideration, OMB should receive public comments by February 
26, 2015.
    Public Comment Policy: ONRR will post all comments, including names 
and addresses of respondents, at http://www.regulations.gov. Before 
including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as address, 
phone number, email address, or other PII in your comment(s), you 
should be aware that your entire comment (including PII) may be made 
available to the public at any time. While you may ask us in your 
comment to withhold PII from public view, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Dated: January 22, 2015.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2015-01447 Filed 1-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335-30-P