[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16954-16956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06207]



[[Page 16954]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0008; DS63644000 DR2000000.CH7000 190D1113RT; OMB 
Control Number 1012-0006]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Suspensions Pending 
Appeal and Bonding

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, 
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is proposing to renew an 
information collection. Through this Information Collection Renewal 
(ICR), ONRR seeks renewed authority to collect information related to 
the paperwork requirements under 30 CFR part 1243 to post a surety or 
bond, or demonstrate financial solvency.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before May 26, 2020

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR through the 
following three methods: (Please use ``ICR 1012-0006'' as an identifier 
in your comment).
    1. Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry 
titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ``ONRR-2012-0006'' and then click 
``Search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments. ONRR 
will post all comments.
    2. Email comments to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, at 
[email protected].
    3. Hand-carry or mail comments to ONRR by using an overnight 
courier service. Our courier address is Building 85, MS 64400B, Denver 
Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Ms. Kimberly Werner, Financial Services, ONRR, at (303) 231-
3801 or email to [email protected]. For other questions, contact 
Mr. Luis Aguilar, at (303) 231-3418, or email to [email protected]. 
You may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain copies of the ICR and the 
regulations requiring ONRR to collect the information. There is no cost 
to request copies of these documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the PRA, ONRR provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on new, proposed, revised, and continued information 
collections. This helps ONRR assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It 
also helps the public understand ONRR's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
    ONRR publishes this notice to elicit comments on the proposed ICR. 
ONRR is especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues mentioned in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1): (1) Is the collection necessary to 
perform the proper functions of ONRR; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might ONRR enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (5) how might ONRR minimize the 
burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use 
of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. ONRR will post all comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents at http://www.regulations.gov. ONRR will 
include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this 
ICR. Before including your Personally Identifiable Information (PII), 
such as your address, phone number, email address, or other personal 
identifying 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 can ask ONRR, in your comment, to withhold your 
PII from public view, ONRR cannot guarantee that it will be able to do 
so. ONRR will post the ICR at https://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/ICR0122.htm.

Abstract

    The Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior is 
responsible for mineral resource development on Federal and Indian 
lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Under various laws, the 
Secretary's responsibility is to (1) manage mineral resource 
production, (2) collect royalties and other mineral revenues due, and 
(3) disburse the funds collected. ONRR posted the laws pertaining to 
mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands and the OCS at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.htm.
    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.

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 or its 
designee must 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.
    If ONRR determines that a lessee did not properly report or pay, it 
may issue orders, notices of noncompliance, and civil penalty notices 
to compel corrective reporting, payment, or both. Lessees have a right 
to appeal ONRR's determinations.

Information Collections

    Regulations under 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 under 30 CFR part 1243, an appellant 
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 and 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 the case of 
default, such as a bond or other surety; for Federal oil and gas 
leases, the appellant may alternatively 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)

[[Page 16955]]

and 1241.63(b)(2), the lessee or other recipient must post a bond or 
other surety. For Federal oil and gas leases, the appellant may 
alternatively 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 one of the surety types and puts it in 
place, the appellant must maintain the surety until the appeal's 
completion. If the appeal is decided in favor of the appellant, ONRR 
will return the surety to the appellant. If the appeal is decided in 
favor of ONRR, then ONRR will take action to collect the total amount 
due or draw down on the surety. ONRR will 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 draws 
down on a surety, it reduces the total amount due, which is defined as 
the unpaid principal plus the interest accrued to the projected receipt 
date of the surety payment. Appellants may refer to the Surety 
Instrument Posting Instructions, available on our website at http://www.onrr.gov/compliance/appeals.htm.

Forms and Other Surety Types

A. Form ONRR-4435, Administrative Appeal Bond
    An appellant 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 
processes. Under 30 CFR 1243.4, an appellant is required to submit its 
contact and surety amount information on the bond to obtain the benefit 
of suspension of an obligation to comply with an order. The bond must 
be issued by a qualified surety company that the U.S. Department of the 
Treasury approves (see Department of the Treasury Circular No. 570, 
revised periodically in the Federal Register). ONRR's Director, or the 
delegated bond-approving officer, maintains the bonds in a secure 
facility. After an appeal's conclusion, 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. ONRR will also 
include all interest accrued on the affected receivable.
B. Form ONRR-4436, Letter of Credit
    An appellant may choose to file form ONRR-4436, Letter of Credit, 
with no modifications. Requirements under 30 CFR 1243.4 continue to 
apply. ONRR's Director, or the delegated bond-approving officer, 
maintains the Letter of Credit (LOC) in a secure facility. The 
appellant is responsible for verifying that the bank provides a current 
Fitch rating to ONRR. After the appeal's conclusion, ONRR may release 
and return the LOC to the appellant or collect payment on the LOC. If 
collection is necessary for a remaining balance, ONRR will issue a 
demand for payment that includes the principal amount plus the interest 
assessed on the receivable, to the bank with a notice to the appellant.
C. Form ONRR-4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit
    An appellant may choose to secure a debt by requesting to use a 
Certificate of Deposit (CD) from a bank with the required minimum 
rating and submitting form ONRR-4437, Assignment of Certificate of 
Deposit. Requirements under 30 CFR 1243.4 continue to apply. The 
appellant must file the request with ONRR prior to the invoice due 
date. ONRR will accept a book-entry CD that explicitly assigns the CD 
to ONRR's Director. If collection of the CD is necessary for an unpaid 
balance, ONRR will return unused CD funds to the appellant after total 
settlement of the appealed issues, including applicable interest 
charges.
D. Self-Bonding
    For Federal oil and gas leases, regulations under 30 CFR 1243.201 
provide 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. The appellant 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, ONRR also requires copies of 
the most recent tax returns (up to three years) filed by the appellant.
    In addition, an appellant must annually submit financial 
statements, subject to annual audit, to support its 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 the appellant does not 
have a consolidated balance sheet documenting its net worth, or if it 
does not meet the $300 million net worth requirement, ONRR selects a 
business information or credit reporting service to provide information 
concerning the appellant's financial solvency. ONRR charges the 
appellant a $50 fee each time it reviews data from a business 
information or credit reporting service. The fee covers ONRR's cost to 
determine an appellant's financial solvency.
E. U.S. Treasury Securities
    An appellant may choose to secure its debts by requesting to use a 
U.S. Treasury Security (TS). The appellant 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 one 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 book-entry TS.

OMB Approval

    ONRR is 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 
result in loss of royalty and other payments. Proprietary information 
submitted to ONRR under this collection is protected, and there are no 
questions of a sensitive nature included in this information 
collection. A response is mandatory in order to suspend compliance with 
an order pending appeal.

Data

    Title: Suspensions Pending Appeal and Bonding.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0006.
    Bureau Form Numbers: Forms ONRR-4435, ONRR-4436, and ONRR-4437.
    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.
    The following table shows the estimated annual burden hours by CFR 
section and paragraph. ONRR has not included in its estimates certain 
requirements performed in the normal course of business and considered 
usual and customary.

[[Page 16956]]



                                   Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
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                                         Reporting and
    Citation 30 CFR part 1243            recordkeeping         Hour burden    Average number of    Annual burden
                                          requirement                          annual responses        hours
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1243.4(a)(1); 1243.6; 1243.7(a);   How do I suspend                       2  40 (surety                       80
 1243.8(a)(2) and (b)(2);           compliance with an                        instruments: Forms
 1243.101(b); 1243.202(c).          order?.                                   ONRR-4435, ONRR-
                                   (a) If you timely appeal                   4436, ONRR-4437,
                                    an order, and if that                     or TS).
                                    order or portion of
                                    that order: (1)
                                    Requires you to make a
                                    payment, and you want
                                    to suspend compliance
                                    with that order, you
                                    must post a bond or
                                    other surety instrument
                                    or demonstrate
                                    financial solvency * *
                                    *.
1243.200(a) and (b);               How do I demonstrate
 1243.201(c)(1), (c)(2)(i) and      financial solvency?.
 (c)(2)(ii) and (d)(2).            (a) To demonstrate
                                    financial solvency
                                    under this part, you
                                    must submit an audited
                                    consolidated 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                 2  65 self-bonding                 130
                                    audited consolidated                      submissions.
                                    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. * * *.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total burden.................  ........................  ..............  105................             210
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: There are no additional recordkeeping costs associated with 
this information collection. However, ONRR estimates 5 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.

Request for 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: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its 
duties, including whether the information is useful; (2) evaluate the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (3) enhance the quality, usefulness, and 
clarity of the information that ONRR collects; and (4) 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; 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.
    ONRR will summarize written responses to this notice and address 
them in its ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. ONRR will provide a copy of the 
ICR to you without charge upon request. ONRR also will post the ICR at 
http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/ICR0122.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 ONRR in your 
comment to withhold PII from public view, ONRR cannot guarantee that it 
will be able to do so.
    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.

(Authority: Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

Kimbra G. Davis,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2020-06207 Filed 3-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4335-30-P