2022-06540. Agency Information Collection Activities; Sulfur Operations

AGENCY:

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposes to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before May 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on this information collection request (ICR) by either of the following methods listed below:

• Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter BSEE-2022-0008 then click search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view all related materials. We will post all comments.

• Email [e-mail], fax [phone], or mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the Interior; Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; Regulations and Standards Branch; ATTN: Nicole Mason; 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166. Please reference OMB Control Number 1014-0006 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Nicole Mason by email at [e-mail] or by telephone at [phone]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States. You may also view the ICR at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the PRA and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval under the PRA. We 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, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us 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.

We are especially interested in public comment 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. We will include or summarize each comment in our 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 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 regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart P, concern sulfur operations on the OCS and are the subject of this collection. This request also covers the related Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) that BSEE issues to clarify, supplement, or provide additional guidance on some aspects of our regulations. Currently, there are no active sulfur lease operations on the OCS. Therefore, this ICR and its relevant hours represent one potential respondent.

BSEE uses the information collected under subpart P to:

• Ascertain that a discovered sulfur deposit can be classified as capable of production in paying quantities.
• ensure accurate and complete measurement of production to determine the amount of sulfur royalty payments due the United States; and that the sale locations are secure, production has been measured accurately, and appropriate follow-up actions are initiated.
• ensure the adequacy and safety of firefighting systems; the drilling unit is fit for the intended purpose; and the adequacy of casing for anticipated conditions.
• review drilling, well-completion, well-workover diagrams and procedures, as well as production operation procedures to ensure the safety of the proposed sulfur drilling, well-completion, well-workover and proposed production operations.
• monitor environmental data during sulfur operations in offshore areas where such data are not already available to provide a valuable source of information to evaluate the performance of drilling rigs under various weather and ocean conditions. This information is necessary to make reasonable determinations regarding safety of operations and environmental protection.

Title of Collection: 30 CFR 250, Subpart P, Sulfur Operations.

OMB Control Number: 1014-0006.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Potential respondents include Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulfur lessees and/or operators and holders of pipeline rights-of-way.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: Currently there are approximately 60 Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Operators in the OCS. Not all the potential respondents will submit information in any given year, and some may submit multiple times.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 510.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 30 minutes to 12 hours, depending on activity.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 897.

Respondent's Obligation: Responses are mandatory and are required to obtain/retain benefits.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: There are no non-hour cost burdens associated with this collection.

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. ).

Kirk Malstrom,

Chief, Regulations and Standards Branch.