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 a 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: Supplemental APD Information Sheet, Form MMS-123S.

OMB Control Number: 1010-NEW.

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

submission of information to be included on form MMS-123S are 30 CFR

250.414, 250.513, and 250.1617.

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

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

13443). The notice announced that we were revising form MMS-123,

Application for Permit to Drill (APD), into a two-page form to adopt a

standard reporting format for supplemental information that is

currently submitted with the APD. However, during the comment period,

we determined that instead we would not change the form MMS-123.

Instead, we would make the proposed second page a separate form (MMS-

123S, Supplemental ADP Information Sheet) that can be submitted with

either an ADP or a Sundry Notice and Report on Well (form MMS-124) to

request side tracking a well. The new form MMS-123S does not require

respondents to report any new information. It allows information

required in current regulations to be reported in a uniform, consistent

format. Respondents in the Gulf of Mexico Region have been using a

similar unofficial format for several years, which will be replaced by

the approved new form. This is also another step in our goal to

institute electronic reporting of information.

We use this information to determine the conditions of a drilling

site to avoid hazards inherent in drilling operations; to evaluate the

adequacy of respondents' drilling, well-completion, well-workover, and

well-abandonment plans and equipment; and to detemine if the proposed

operations will be conducted in an operationally safe manner that

provides adequate environmental protection. Except for proprietary

data, we are required to make the information available to the public

for information.

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.

[[Page 39526]]

Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion.

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 683 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. 99-18731 Filed 7-21-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P