02-16313. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of an extension of a currently approved information collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0123).

SUMMARY:

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we are submitting to OMB for review and approval an information collection request (ICR) titled “Issuing Orders Requested by Indian Lessors.” We are also soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before July 29, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0123), 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. Also, submit copies of your written comments to Carol Shelby, Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS 320B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you use an overnight courier service, MMS's courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also submit your comments at our email address [e-mail]. Include the title of the information collection and the OMB control number in the “Attention” line of your comment. Also include your name and return address. Submit electronic comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your email, contact Ms. Shelby at [phone] or FAX [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carol Shelby, telephone [phone], FAX [phone], or email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Issuing Orders Requested by Indian Lessors.

OMB Control Number: 1010-0123.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Abstract: The Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for matters relevant to mineral resource development on Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for managing the production of minerals from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals, and distributing the funds collected in accordance with applicable laws. The Secretary also has an Indian trust responsibility to manage Indian lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. MMS performs the royalty management functions and assists the Secretary in carrying out DOI's Indian trust responsibility.

Section 101(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, as amended, requires that the Secretary “establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, and fiscal and production accounting and auditing system to provide the capability to accurately determine oil and gas royalties, interest, fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other payments owed, and collect and account for such amounts in a timely manner.” In order to accomplish these tasks, Indian lessors need a procedure for requesting the Secretary to issue orders for payments or reports. MMS published a proposed rule on January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1930), to add Subpart C—Requests from Indian Lessors for MMS to Issue an Order to 30 CFR Part 242—Orders. The subpart explained how Indian lessors could formally request that MMS issue an order to persons concerning the reporting of production and the reporting and payment of royalties and other payments due under their leases. A final rule codifying these provisions has not been published yet. Because OMB approval of this information collection expires July 31, 2002, we are seeking OMB approval to renew these reporting requirements until a final rule is published.

This information collection covers the hour burden associated with submitting requests to MMS to issue an order. Submission of the information in this collection is necessary for MMS to determine the validity of the request and investigate the reasons for perceived errors or underpayments. Proprietary information that is submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive nature included in this information collection.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 12 Indian lessors.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping “Hour” Burden: 180 hours.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping “Non-hour Cost” Burden: We have identified no “non-hour” cost burdens.

Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) requires each agency “* * * to provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information * * *.” Agencies must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

To comply with the public consultation process, on March 22, 2002, we published a Federal Register notice (67 FR 13360) with the required 60-day comment period announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. We did not receive any comments. We have posted a copy of the ICR at our Internet web site http://www.mrm.mms.gov/​Laws_​R_​D/​FRNotices/​FRInfColl.htm. We will also provide a copy of the ICR to you without charge upon request.

If you wish to comment in response to this notice, please send your comments directly to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive your comments by July 29, 2002. The 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.

Public Comment Policy. We will post all comments received in response to this notice on our Internet web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/​Laws_​R_​D/​InfoColl/​InfoColCom.htm for public review. We also make copies of the comments, including names and addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular business hours at our offices in Lakewood, Colorado.

Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the public record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by 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.

MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, [phone].

Dated: June 5, 2002.

Lucy Querques Denett,

Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.