[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61659-61660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29623]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0048).
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, MMS invites the public and other Federal agencies to
comment on a proposal to extend the currently approved collection of
information discussed below. We intend to submit this collection of
information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 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.
DATES: Submit written comments by January 11, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Rules Processing
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address
from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable
by law. There may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by the law. If you wish us
to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider
anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team,
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain
a copy of the collection of information at no cost.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR Part 251, Geological and Geophysical (G&G)
Exploration of the OCS (1010-0048).
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq., gives the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the
responsibility to preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources
in the OCS, consistent with the need to make such resources available
to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance
orderly energy resource development with protection of the human,
marine, and coastal environments; ensure the public a fair and
equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain
free enterprise competition.
The OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1340) also states that ``any person
authorized by the Secretary may conduct geological and geophysical
explorations in the [O]uter Continental Shelf, which do not interfere
with or endanger actual operations under any lease maintained or
granted pursuant to this OCS Lands Act, and which are not unduly
harmful to aquatic life in such area.'' The section further requires
that, permits to conduct such activities may only be issued if it is
determined that the applicant is qualified; the activities are not
polluting, hazardous, or unsafe; they do not interfere with other users
of the area; and do not disturb a site, structure, or object of
historical or archaeological significance. Applicants for permits are
required to submit form MMS-327 to provide the information necessary to
evaluate their qualifications.
Regulations at 30 CFR part 251 implement these statutory
requirements. We use the information to ensure there is no
environmental degradation, personal harm or unsafe operations and
conditions, damage to historical or archaeological sites, or
interference with other uses; to analyze and evaluate
[[Page 61660]]
preliminary or planned drilling activities; to monitor progress and
activities in the OCS; to acquire G&G data and information collected
under a Federal permit offshore; and to determine eligibility for
reimbursement from the Government for certain costs. The information is
necessary to determine if the applicants for permits or filers of
notices meet the qualifications specified by the OCS Lands Act. MMS
uses information collected to understand the G&G characteristics of
oil-and-gas bearing physiographic regions of the OCS. It aids the
Secretary in obtaining a proper balance among the potentials for
environmental damage, the discovery of oil and gas, and adverse impacts
on affected coastal states. Information from permittees is necessary to
determine the propriety and amount of reimbursement.
We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2) and under regulations at 30
CFR parts 250, 251, and 252. No items of a sensitive nature are
collected. Responses are mandatory or required to obtain or retain a
benefit.
Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion, annually, or
as specified in permits.
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Primarily,
approximately 200 Federal OCS permittees or notice filers.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The
currently approved annual reporting burden for this collection is
10,604 hours, which averages 53 hours per respondent. There are no
recordkeeping burdens.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost''
Burden: We have identified no cost burdens for this collection.
Comments: We will summarize written responses to this notice and
address them in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your
comments and our consultations with a representative sample of
respondents, we will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in
our submission to OMB. In calculating the burden, we assumed that
respondents perform many of the requirements in the normal course of
their activities. We consider these to be usual and customary and took
that into account in estimating the burden.
(1) We specifically solicit your comments on the following
questions:
(a) Is the proposed collection of information necessary for us to
properly perform our functions, and will it be useful?
(b) Are the estimates of the burden hours of the proposed
collection reasonable?
(c) Do you have any suggestions that would enhance the quality,
clarity, or usefulness of the information to be collected?
(d) Is there a way to minimize the information collection burden on
respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated
electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology?
(2) In addition, the PRA requires agencies to estimate the total
annual reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or
recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. We need to
know if you have costs associated with the collection of this
information for either total capital and startup cost components or
annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. Your
estimates should consider the costs to generate, maintain, and disclose
or provide the information. You should describe the methods you use to
estimate major cost factors, including system and technology
acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, discount
rate(s), and the period over which you incur costs. Capital and startup
costs include, among other items, computers and software you purchase
to prepare for collecting information; monitoring, sampling, drilling,
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 Government; or (iv) as part
of customary and usual business or private practices.
MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,
(202) 208-7744.
Dated: November 4, 1999.
Elmer P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-29623 Filed 11-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
