Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of new information collection (1010-XXXX).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), we are notifying you that we have submitted the

information collection request (ICR) discussed below to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. We are also

inviting your comments on this ICR.

DATE: Submit written comments by August 23, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for

the Department of the Interior (1010-XXXX), 725 17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503. Mail or handcarry a copy of your comments to the

Department of the Interior; Minerals Management Service; attention:

Rules Processing Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon,

Virginia 20170-4817.

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: Weekly Activity Report, Form MMS-133. (This is a change in

the title for this form which we announced in the previous notice as

``Drilling Activity Report.'')

OMB Control Number: 1010-XXXX.

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C.

1331 et seq., as amended, requires the Secretary of the Interior to

preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS; make

such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly

as possible; balance orderly energy resources development with

protection of the human, marine, and coastal environment; ensure the

public a fair and equitable return on the resources offshore; and

preserve and maintain free enterprise competition.

To carry out these responsibilities, we issued rules governing oil

and gas and sulphur operations in the OCS. Regulations requiring the

information collection that is the subject of this ICR are 30 CFR 250,

subpart D, ``Drilling Operations.'' Specifically, Sec. 250.416(c)(3)

requires respondents to submit copies of the daily driller's report at

a frequency determined by the MMS District Supervisor, but in no

prescribed format. Current practice in the Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR)

allows respondents to submit these data on a weekly basis during

drilling operations.

We published a Federal Register notice with the required 60-day

comment period soliciting comments on this ICR on March 18, 1999 (64 FR

13442). The notice announced that a new form MMS-133 would be used in

all Regions and would be titled ``Drilling Activity Report.'' However,

during the comment period, we determined that this form would be used

only in the GOMR and it would retain the same title as the unofficial

GOMR form (``Weekly Activity Report''). Current reporting procedures

for the information required by Sec. 250.416(c)(3) will remain

unchanged in the Pacific and Alaska OCS Regions.

We use this information to monitor the conditions of a well and

status of drilling operations. Specifically, the District Office

drilling engineers review the information to beware of the well

conditions and current drilling activity (i.e., well depth, drilling

fluid weight, casing types and setting depths, completed well logs, and

recent safety equipment tests and drills). The engineers use this

information to determine how accurately the lessee anticipated well

conditions and if the lessee is following the approved application for

permit to drill (APD). The information is also used by the engineers

and District Supervisor to approve revisions to an APD. With this

information at hand, they can analyze the proposed revision (i.e.,

revised grade of casing or deeper casing setting depth) and make a

quick and informed decision on the request.

[[Page 39523]]

We will protect proprietary information submitted with the plans

according to the Freedom of Information Act and 30 CFR 250.118, ``Data

and information to be made available to the public.'' No items of a

sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.

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.

Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130

Federal OCS sulphur or oil and gas lessees.

Frequency: The frequency of reporting is weekly.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden:

Average burden is one-half hour per form, including the time to gather

the information. The total annual estimated burden is 2,275 hours.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Cost'' Burden: We

have identified no information collection cost burdens for this

collection of information.

Comments: All comments are made a part of the public record.

Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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.

Send your comments directly to the offices listed under the

addresses section of this notice. The 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 public

comments by August 23, 1999.

MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,

(202) 208-7744.

Dated: July 1, 1999.

John V. Mirabella,

Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.

[FR Doc. 99-18728 Filed 7-21-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P