[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5134-5136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01886]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0009; DS63610300 DR2PS0000.CH7000 134D0102R2]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Collection of Monies 
Due the Federal Government; Comment Request

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

ACTION: Notice of extension.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are 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 1218. This notice also provides the public a second 
opportunity to comment on the paperwork 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 March 2, 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-
0008), 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 email [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control 
Number 1012-0008 in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Ms. Lee-Ann Martin, Reporting and Solid Minerals Services, 
ONRR, telephone (303) 231-3313, 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. 
You may also review the information collection request online at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Collection of Monies Due the Federal Government--30 CFR part 
1218.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0008.
    Bureau Form Number: Form ONRR-4425.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior is 
responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals 
from leased Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf 
(OCS). Under various laws, the Secretary's responsibility is to manage 
mineral resources production on Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, 
collect royalties due, and distribute the funds collected under those 
laws. ONRR performs the royalty management functions for the Secretary.
    Public laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian 
lands and the OCS are posted at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.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 lessee is required to 
report various kinds of information to the lessor relative to the 
disposition of the 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 collected includes data necessary to ensure that production 
is accurately valued and that royalties are appropriately paid.
    This ICR covers unique reporting circumstances, including (1) 
cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest; (2) 
designation of a designee; and (3) Tribal permission for recoupment on 
Indian oil and gas leases.

Cross-Lease Netting in Calculation of Late-Payment Interest

    Regulations at Sec.  1218.54 require ONRR to assess interest on 
unpaid or underpaid amounts. ONRR distributes these interest revenues 
to States, Indian Tribes, and the U.S. Treasury based on financial 
lease distribution information. Current regulations at Sec.  1218.42 
provide that an overpayment on a lease or leases may be offset against 
an underpayment on a different lease or leases to determine the net 
payment subject to interest when certain conditions are met. This 
process is called cross-lease netting. Sections 6(a), (b), and (c) of 
the Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act (RSFA) require ONRR to pay 
interest on lessees' Federal oil and gas overpayments made on or after 
February 13, 1997 (six months after the August 13, 1996, enactment of 
RSFA). ONRR implemented this RSFA provision in 1997 and began 
calculating interest on both underpayments and overpayments for Federal 
oil and gas leases, making the cross-lease netting provisions at Sec.  
1218.42 no longer applicable for these leases. However, lessees must 
still comply with the provisions at 30 CFR 1218.42(b) and (c) for 
Indian Tribal leases or Federal leases other than oil and gas. They 
must demonstrate that cross-lease netting is correct by submitting 
production reports, pipeline allocation reports, or other similar 
documentary evidence. This information is necessary in order for ONRR 
to determine the correct amount

[[Page 5135]]

of interest that the lessee owes and to ensure that we collect in full 
all monies owed to the Federal Government.

Designation of Designee

    Requirements of RSFA established that owners of, primarily, 
operating rights or, secondarily, lease record title (both referred to 
as ``lessees'') are responsible for making royalty and related payments 
on Federal oil and gas leases (see 30 CFR 1218.52). It is common 
however, for a payor--rather than a lessee--to make these payments. 
When a payor makes payments on behalf of a lessee, RSFA section 6(g) 
requires that the lessee designate the payor as its designee and notify 
ONRR of this arrangement in writing. We designed Form ONRR-4425, 
Designation Form for Royalty Payment Responsibility, to request all the 
information necessary for lessees to comply with these RSFA 
requirements when choosing to designate an agent to pay for them. We 
require this information to ensure proper mineral revenue collection.

Tribal Permission for Recoupment on Indian Oil and Gas Leases

    In order to report cross-lease netting on Indian oil and gas 
leases, lessees must also comply with regulations at 30 CFR 12l8.53(b), 
allowing only lessees with written permission from the Tribe to recoup 
overpayments on one lease against a different lease for which the Tribe 
is the lessor. The payor must provide ONRR with a copy of the Tribe's 
written permission.

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 duties of the office and may also 
result in the loss of royalty payments. Proprietary information 
submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive 
nature included in this information collection.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 35 Federal and 
Indian lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 59 
hours.
    We have not included in our estimates certain requirements 
performed in the normal course of business that are considered usual 
and customary. The following chart shows the estimated burden hours by 
CFR and paragraph:

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                                                                                  Average number
     Citation 30 CFR Part 1218       Reporting and recordkeeping    Hour burden      of annual     Annual burden
                                             requirement                             responses         hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Subpart A--General Provisions--Cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest.
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1218.42(b) and (c).................  Cross-lease netting in                    2              25              50
                                      calculation of late-
                                      payment interest. (b)
                                      Royalties attributed to
                                      production from a lease or
                                      leases which should have
                                      been attributed to
                                      production from a
                                      different lease or leases
                                      may be offset . . . if . .
                                      . the payor submits
                                      production reports,
                                      pipeline allocation
                                      reports, or other similar
                                      documentary evidence
                                      pertaining to the specific
                                      production involved which
                                      verifies the correct
                                      production information. .
                                      . . (c) If ONRR assesses
                                      late-payment interest and
                                      the payor asserts that
                                      some or all of the
                                      interest is not owed . . .
                                      the burden is on the payor
                                      to demonstrate that the
                                      exception applies. . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Subpart B--Oil and Gas, General--How does a lessee designate a Designee?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1218.52(a), (c), and (d)...........  How does a lessee designate            0.75               5               4
                                      a Designee? (a) If you are
                                      a lessee under 30 U.S.C.
                                      1701(7), and you want to
                                      designate a person to make
                                      all or part of the
                                      payments due under a lease
                                      on your behalf . . . you
                                      must notify ONRR . . . in
                                      writing of such
                                      designation. . . . (c) If
                                      you want to terminate a
                                      designation . . . you must
                                      provide [the following] to
                                      ONRR in writing. . . . (d)
                                      ONRR may require you to
                                      provide notice when there
                                      is a change in the
                                      percentage of your record
                                      title or operating rights
                                      ownership.
                                     ONRR currently uses Form
                                      ONRR-4425, Designation
                                      Form for Royalty Payment
                                      Responsibility, to collect
                                      this information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Subpart B--Oil and Gas, General--Recoupment of overpayments on Indian mineral leases.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1218.53(b).........................  Recoupment of overpayments                1               5               5
                                      on Indian mineral leases.
                                      (b) With written
                                      permission authorized by
                                      tribal statute or
                                      resolution, a payor may
                                      recoup an overpayment
                                      against royalties or other
                                      revenues owed . . . under
                                      other leases. . . . A copy
                                      of the tribe's written
                                      permission must be
                                      furnished to ONRR. . . .
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    TOTAL BURDEN...................  ...........................  ..............              35              59
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 5136]]

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 May 28, 2014 (79 FR 30651), 
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 may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum 
consideration, OMB should receive public comment by March 2, 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 your 
address, phone number, email address, or other personal information 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 28, 2015.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2015-01886 Filed 1-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335-30-P