[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 140 (Monday, July 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34333-34335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15470]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0009; DS63644000 DR2000000.CH7000 178D0102R2]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Collection of Monies 
Due the Federal Government

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), ONRR 
is inviting comments on a collection of information requests that we 
will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. This Information Collection Request (ICR) covers the 
paperwork requirements in title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
part 1218. This ICR pertains to cross-lease netting in calculation of 
late-payment interest; a lessee's designation of designee; and Tribal 
permission for recoupment on Indian oil and gas leases.

DATES: You must submit your written comments on or before September 22, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR by using one of 
the following three methods. Please reference ``ICR 1012-0008'' in your 
comments.
     Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
entry titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ``ONRR-2011-0009,'' then 
click ``Search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments. 
ONRR will post all comments.
     Email comments to Mr. Armand Southall, Regulatory 
Specialist, at [email protected].
     Hand-carry or mail comments, using an overnight courier 
service, to ONRR. Our courier address is Building 53, entrance E-20, 
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 
80225. Visitor parking is available near entrance E-20, with a phone to 
request entry. Call Mr. Armando Salazar at (303) 231-3585 or Ms. Janet 
Giron at (303) 231-3088 to gain entrance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Mr. Hans Meingast, Financial Services, FM, ONRR, telephone 
(303) 231-3382, or email [email protected]. For other questions, 
contact Mr. Armand Southall, telephone (303) 231-3221, or email 
[email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Southall 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: 
    Abstract: The Secretary of the United States 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 the royalties and other mineral 
revenues due, and distribute the funds collected. ONRR performs the 
royalty management functions and assists the Secretary in carrying out 
the Department's responsibilities. We have posted those laws pertaining 
to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands and the OCS at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.htm.

I. General Information

    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.

II. Information Collections

    This ICR covers unique reporting circumstances, including (1) 
cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest; (2) a 
lessee's designation of a designee; and (3) Tribal permission for 
recoupment on Indian oil and gas leases.

A. 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. The payor must demonstrate that 
a cross-lease netting exception exists 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 of interest that the lessee owes and to ensure that 
we collect in full all monies owed to the Federal government.

B. Designation of Designee

    The Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act (RSFA) defines a 
``lessee'' to include both the owner of operating rights and the owner 
of record title. Under RSFA, owners of operating rights are primarily 
liable, and owners of lease record title secondarily liable for making 
royalty and related payments on Federal oil and gas leases (see 30 CFR 
1218.52). It is common however, for a payor other 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 its designation 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.

[[Page 34334]]

C. Tribal Permission for Recoupment on Indian Oil and Gas Leases

    Overpayments on Tribal Indian leases may be recouped against 
royalties or other revenues owed in a month under other leases for 
which that Tribe is a lessor. To do so, lessees must 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.

III. 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.

IV. Data

    Title: Collection of Monies Due the Federal Government--30 CFR part 
1218.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0008.
    Bureau Form Number: Form ONRR-4425.
    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, which are considered usual 
and customary. The following table shows the estimated burden hours by 
CFR section and paragraph:

                                   Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

V. Request for Comments

    Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires each agency to ``* * * 
provide

[[Page 34335]]

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.
    The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or record-keepers 
resulting from the collection of information. If you have costs to 
generate, maintain, and disclose this information, you should comment 
and provide your total capital and startup cost components or annual 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. You should 
describe the methods that you use to estimate (1) major cost factors, 
including system and technology acquisition, (2) expected useful life 
of capital equipment, (3) discount rate(s), and (4) the period over 
which you incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other 
items, computers and software that you purchase to prepare for 
collecting information and monitoring, sampling, and testing equipment, 
and record-storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not 
include equipment or services purchased (i) before October 1, 1995; 
(ii) to comply with requirements not associated with the information 
collection; (iii) for reasons other than to provide information or keep 
records for the Federal government; or (iv) as part of customary and 
usual business, or private practices.
    We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them 
in our ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR 
to you, without charge, upon request. We also will post the ICR at 
http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.
    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.
    ONRR Information Collection Coordinator: Armand Southall (303) 231-
3221.

Authority

    The authorities for this action are the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 
(30 U.S.C. 192), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353), 
Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-382--Dec. 22, 1982), 
and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Gregory J. Gould,
Director for Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2017-15470 Filed 7-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4335-30-P