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 1010-0041).

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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 18, 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 250, Subpart K, Production Rates (1010-0041).

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

[[Page 63054]]

resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain free enterprise

competition.

Regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart K, implement these statutory

requirements. We use the information collected to determine if produced

gas can be economically put to beneficial use, to analyze the risks of

transporting the liquid hydrocarbons against the value of the resource,

and to account for volumes of flared gas and burned liquid

hydrocarbons. The MMS uses the information in its efforts to conserve

natural resources, prevent waste, and protect correlative rights

including the Government's royalty interest. Specifically, MMS uses the

information to review records of burning liquid hydrocarbons and

venting and flaring actions to ensure that they are not excessive; to

determine maximum production and maximum efficient rates; to compare

the volume of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) flared and the sulphur

dioxide (SO2) emitted to the specified amounts in approved

contingency plans; to monitor monthly atmospheric emissions of

SO2 for air quality; to review applications for downhole

commingling to ensure that action does not result in undervalued

royalties; and to ensure that operations are effective and result in

optimum ultimate recovery.

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 250.118. No items of a sensitive nature are collected. Responses

are mandatory.

Frequency: The frequency is on occasion or monthly.

Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130

Federal OCS oil and gas lessees.

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

currently approved annual reporting and recordkeeping burden for this

collection is 13,650 hours, which averages 105 hours per respondent.

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 8, 1999.

Elmer P. Danenberger,

Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.

[FR Doc. 99-30078 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P