Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

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

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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