Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of Management and Budget Review, Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of

Management and Budget Review, Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are soliciting

comments on an information collection titled Cooperative Agreements,

OMB Control Number 1010-0087, which expires on July 31, 2000.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before February 1,

2000.

ADDRESSES: The mailing address for written comments regarding this

information collection is David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and Publications

Staff, Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, P.O.

Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, Colorado 80225. Courier address is Building

85, Room A-613, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. Email

address is RMP.[email protected].

PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURE: If you wish to comment, you may submit your

comments by any one of several methods. You may mail comments to David

S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and Publications Staff, Minerals Management

Service, Royalty Management Program, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver,

CO 80225-0165. Courier or overnight delivery address is Building 85,

Room A-613, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also

comment via the Internet to RMP.[email protected]. Please submit

Internet comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption. Please also include Attn:

Cooperative Agreements, OMB 1010-0087, and your name and return address

in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the

system that we have received your Internet message, contact David S.

Guzy directly at (303) 231-3432.

We will post public comments after the comment period closes on the

Internet at http://www.rmp.mms.gov. You may arrange to view paper

copies of the comments by contacting David S. Guzy, Chief, Rules and

Publications Staff, telephone (303) 231-3432, FAX (303) 231-3385. Our

practice is to make comments, including names and addresses of

respondents, available for public review on the Internet and during

regular business hours at our

[[Page 67932]]

offices in Lakewood, Colorado. 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 also may be

circumstances in which we would withhold from the rulemaking 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis C. Jones, Rules and

Publications Staff, phone (303) 231-3046, FAX (303) 231-3385, email

Dennis.C.J[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act 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.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the department within the

Federal Government responsible for matters relevant to mineral resource

development on Federal and Indian Lands and the Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS). The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is responsible for

managing the production of minerals from Federal and Indian Lands and

the OCS; for collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals;

and for distributing the funds collected in accordance with applicable

laws. MMS performs the royalty management functions for the Secretary.

Cooperative agreements benefit both MMS and the State or Tribe

involved by helping to ensure proper product valuation, correct and

timely production reporting, and correct and timely royalty payment

through the application of an aggressive and comprehensive audit

program. To be considered for a cooperative agreement, States and

Tribes must comply with the regulations at 30 CFR part 228 by

submitting a request to the Director, MMS, and preparing a proposal

detailing the work to be done. While working under a cooperative

agreement, the States and Tribes must submit quarterly vouchers to

claim reimbursement for the cost of eligible activities.

We have cooperative agreements with seven Indian Tribes and ten

States. Burden estimates for participants include application

preparation, voucher preparation each quarter, and submission of an

annual work plan and budget. We estimate that the total annual burden

for participants in performing cooperative agreements is 1,224 hours.

Dated: November 23, 1999.

Lucy Querques Denett,

Associate Director for Royalty Management.

[FR Doc. 99-31337 Filed 12-2-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P