[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15495-15496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05906]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[OMB Control Number 1010-0082; Docket ID: BOEM-2017-0016]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Leasing of Minerals 
Other Than Oil, Gas, and Sulfur in the Outer Continental Shelf

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing to renew an 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 22, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent to the Office of Management and 
Budget's Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior within 30 days 
of publication of this notice at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this information collection by selecting ``Currently under 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Please provide a copy of your comments to the BOEM Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Anna Atkinson, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166; or by email 
to [email protected]. Please reference Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) Control Number 1010-0082 in the subject line of your 
comments.

[[Page 15496]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Anna Atkinson by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 703-787-1025. You may view 
the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, BOEM provides the general public and other Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps BOEM assess the 
impact of the information collection requirements and minimize the 
public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand BOEM's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format.
    Title of Collection: 30 CFR part 581, Leasing of Minerals Other 
than Oil, Gas, and Sulphur in the Outer Continental Shelf.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (Act), as amended 
(43 U.S.C. 1334 and 43 U.S.C. 1337(k)), authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior (Secretary) to administer leasing of the Outer Continental 
Shelf (OCS) and to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out such authority. Additionally, the Act authorizes 
the Secretary to grant qualified persons, offering the highest cash 
bonuses on the basis of competitive bidding, leases in any area of the 
OCS for any mineral other than oil, gas, and sulfur upon such royalty, 
rental, and other terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe 
when offering the lease. This leasing applies to any area of the OCS 
not then under lease for such mineral resources. BOEM's regulations at 
30 CFR part 581 implement the Act's requirements.
    There has been no leasing activity in the OCS for minerals other 
than oil, gas, or sulfur under these regulations for many years, so 
BOEM has not generally collected information under this part of its 
regulations. However, because 30 CFR part 581 contains information 
collections that are regulatory requirements and because there is no 
restriction on leasing for such minerals, the potential exists for 
information to be collected. Therefore, BOEM is requesting that OMB 
renew its previous approval for this information collection.
    BOEM will use the information required by 30 CFR part 581 to 
determine if statutory requirements are met prior to the issuance of a 
lease. Specifically, BOEM will use the information to:
     Evaluate the area and minerals for which a lease is being 
considered to assess the viability of offering leases for sale;
     Request the adjacent State(s) to initiate the 
establishment of a joint task force to assess the proposed action;
     Ensure excessive overriding royalty interests are not 
created in a lease that would put economic constraints on all parties 
involved;
     Document that a lease or any part thereof has been 
surrendered by the record title holder; and
     Determine if activities on the proposed lease area(s) will 
have a significant impact on the environment.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0082.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Renewal of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: As there are no active respondents, 
BOEM estimates the potential annual number of respondents to be one. 
Potential respondents include OCS lease requestors, State governments, 
and OCS lessees.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 10 responses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 984 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to retain or obtain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
    Total Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: $29 non-hour cost 
burden. BOEM is decreasing the total non-hour cost burden from $50 to 
$29 to reflect the current filing application fee amount.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: BOEM estimates 
that the annual reporting burden for this collection is 984 hours, 
which would be the same as the currently OMB-approved burden hours.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period 
soliciting comments on this proposed information collection request was 
published on November 19, 2020 (85 FR 73746). BOEM received one non-
substantive comment from a private citizen during the 60-day comment 
period. As the comment was unrelated to the ICR, no changes were made 
based on this commenter's feedback.
    BOEM is again soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is 
described above.
    BOEM is especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper 
functions of BOEM; (2) what can BOEM do to ensure this information will 
be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might BOEM enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (5) how might BOEM minimize the 
burden of this collection on the respondents, including minimizing the 
burden through the use of information technology?
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. BOEM will include or summarize each comment in its 
request to OMB for approval of this ICR. You should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personally identifying information--may be made publicly 
disclosed. In order to inform BOEM's decision on whether it can 
withhold from disclosure your personally identifiable information, you 
must identify any information contained in your comments that, if 
released, would clearly constitute an unwarranted invasion of your 
privacy, and briefly describe possible harmful consequences of 
disclosing that information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other 
harm. While you can ask BOEM in your comment to withhold your 
personally identifiable information from public disclosure, BOEM cannot 
guarantee that it will be able to do so.
    BOEM protects proprietary information in accordance with the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552), and the Department of 
the Interior's FOIA implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2).
    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.).

Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka,
Chief, Office of Policy, Regulation, and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2021-05906 Filed 3-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P