[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 109 (Friday, June 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34647-34648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12182]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0009; DS63644000 DRT000000.CH7000 201D1113RT; OMB 
Control Number 1012-0008]


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

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is proposing to 
renew an information collection. Through this Information Collection 
Request (ICR), ONRR seeks renewed authority to collect information 
related to the paperwork requirements under its regulations covering 
cross-lease netting in the calculation of late-payment interest; a 
lessee's designation of designee; and Tribal permission for recoupment 
on Indian oil and gas leases.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
August 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, ONRR, 
Building 85, MS 64400B, Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and 
Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225, or by email to 
[email protected]. Please reference Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Control Number 1012-0008 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Mr. Hans Meingast, Financial Services, FM, ONRR 
by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (303) 231-3221. 
To inquire about form ONRR-4425, please contact Ms. April Lockler, 
Reference & Reporting Management (RRM), ONRR by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at (303) 231-3105.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the PRA and 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval under the 
PRA. ONRR may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to 
respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, ONRR is inviting the public and other Federal agencies to 
comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of 
information. This helps ONRR to assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It 
also helps the public understand our information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
    ONRR is especially interested in public comments addressing the 
following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. ONRR will include or summarize each comment in its 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that

[[Page 34648]]

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.
    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 carry out a comprehensive 
inspection, collection, and fiscal and production accounting and 
auditing system that provides the capability to: (1) Accurately 
determine mineral royalties, interest, and other payments owed, (2) 
collect and account for such amounts in a timely manner, and (3) 
disburse the funds collected.
    The Secretary also has a trust responsibility to 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.
    The 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.
    (a) 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 royalty share in value or volume of production from the leased 
lands. The lessee also agrees to report certain information to the 
lessor related to the disposition of the minerals. This information is 
generally available within a lessee's records or others involved in 
developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or selling Federal 
and Indian minerals. The information collected includes data necessary 
to ensure correct product valuation and royalty payments.
    (b) Information Collections: This ICR covers unique reporting 
circumstances under 30 CFR part 1218 addressing (1) cross-lease netting 
in the calculation of late-payment interest; (2) a lessee's designation 
of designee; and (3) Tribal permission for recoupment on Indian oil and 
gas leases.
    (1) Cross-Lease Netting in Calculation of Late-Payment Interest: 
Regulations under Sec.  1218.54 require ONRR to assess interest on 
unpaid or underpaid amounts. ONRR distributes late-payment interest 
revenues to States, Indian Tribes, and the U.S. Treasury based on 
financial lease distribution information. Current regulations under 
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. ONRR calls this process 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 for ONRR to 
calculate the correct interest amount and ensure that it collects in 
full all monies owed to the Federal Government.
    (2) Designation of Designee: The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 
Management Act (FOGRMA) defines a ``lessee'' to include the record-
title holder and also any operating-rights owners if those rights were 
severed from the record title. See 30 U.S.C. 1702(7). FOGRMA states 
that operating-rights owners are primarily liable and record-title 
owners are secondarily liable for payment obligations on Federal oil 
and gas leases. See 30 U.S.C. 1712(a). A lessee may designate a person 
to make payments on its behalf. To do so, FOGRMA requires the lessee to 
``notify the Secretary . . . in writing of such designation.'' ONRR 
created form ONRR-4425, Designation Form for Royalty Payment 
Responsibility, to request the information necessary for a lessee to 
comply with FOGRMA's requirement to designate a designee. ONRR requires 
this information to ensure proper mineral revenue collection.
    (3) Tribal Permission for Recoupment on Indian Oil and Gas Leases: 
A lessee may recoup overpayments on Tribal Indian leases against 
royalties or other revenues owed in a month on other leases where that 
Tribe is the lessor. To do so, lessees must comply with Sec.  
12l8.53(b), which requires a lessee to receive a Tribe's written 
permission to recoup overpayments on one lease against another lease 
where that Tribe is the lessor. The payor must provide ONRR with a copy 
of the Tribe's written permission.
    Title: Collection of Monies Due the Federal Government.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0008.
    Bureau Form Number: Form ONRR-4425.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Federal and Indian lessees.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 35.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 35.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 1.68 hrs.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 59 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: We have identified no 
``non-hour cost'' burden associated with this collection of 
information.
    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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Kimbra G. Davis,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2020-12182 Filed 6-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4335-30-P