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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 214 / Monday, November 6, 2006 / Notices

Please note that the meeting may close
early if all business is finished. The
Fairfax Marriott Hotel is a public
facility, but persons attending should be
ready to show a photo identification
card for admittance to the meeting. At
the Chair’s discretion, members of the
public may make oral presentations
during the meeting. If you would like to
make an oral presentation at the
meeting, please notify the NMSAC
Executive Assistant no later than
November 1, 2006. If you would like a
copy of your material distributed to
each member of the Committee in
advance of the meeting, please submit
25 copies to the Executive Assistant no
later than November 1, 2006.
Information on Services for Individuals
With Disabilities
For information on facilities or
services for individuals with disabilities
or to request special assistance at the
meeting, contact the Executive Assistant
as soon as possible.
Tina L. Burke,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Chief,
Office of Port and Facility Activities,
Designated Federal Official, NMSAC.
[FR Doc. E6–18681 Filed 11–3–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection,
Comment Request
Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of an extension of a
currently approved information
collection (OMB Control Number 1010–
0090).

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: To comply with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), we are inviting comments on a
collection of information that we will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval.
The information collection request (ICR)
concerns the paperwork requirements in
the regulations under 30 CFR part 216,
subpart B. The title of this ICR is 30 CFR
216.57 Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction
Notification. The form associated with
this ICR is Form MMS–4377, Stripper
Royalty Rate Reduction Notification.
DATES: Submit written comments on or
before January 5, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead Regulatory
Specialist, Minerals Management

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Service, Minerals Revenue Management,
P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver,
Colorado 80225. If you use an overnight
courier service or wish to hand-carry
your comments, our courier address is
Building 85, Room A–614, Denver
Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and
Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80225.
You may also e-mail your comments to
us at [email protected]. Include
the title of the information collection
and the OMB control number in the
‘‘Attention’’ line of your comment. Also
include your name and return address.
If you do not receive a confirmation that
we have received your e-mail, contact
Ms. Gebhardt at (303) 231–3211.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303)
231–3211, FAX (303) 231–3781, or
e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR 216.57 Stripper Royalty
Rate Reduction Notification.
OMB Control Number: 1010–0090.
Bureau Form Number: Form MMS–
4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction
Notification.
Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S.
Department of the Interior is responsible
for collecting royalties from lessees who
produce minerals from leased Federal
and Indian lands. The Secretary is
required by various laws to manage
mineral resources production on
Federal and Indian lands, collect the
royalties due, and distribute the funds
in accordance with those laws.
The Secretary also has a trust
responsibility to manage Indian lands
and seek advice and information from
Indian beneficiaries. The MMS performs
the royalty management functions and
assists the Secretary in carrying out the
Department’s trust responsibility for
Indian lands.
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act (FOGRMA) of 1982, 30
U.S.C. 1701 et seq., states in Section
101(a) that the Secretary ‘‘* * * shall
establish a comprehensive inspection,
collection, and fiscal and production
accounting and auditing system to
provide the capability to accurately
determine oil and gas royalties, interest,
fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other
payments owed, and collect and
account for such amounts in a timely
manner.’’ The persons or entities
described at 30 U.S.C. 1713 are required
to make reports and provide reasonable
information as defined by the Secretary.
Applicable public laws pertaining to
mineral leases on Federal and Indian
lands are located on our Web site at
http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/
PublicLawsAMR.htm.
When a company or an individual
enters into a lease to explore, develop,

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produce, and dispose of minerals from
Federal or Indian lands, that company
or individual agrees to pay the lessor a
share (royalty) of the value received
from production from the leased lands.
The lease creates a business relationship
between the lessor and the lessee. The
lessee is required to report various kinds
of information to the lessor relative to
the disposition of the leased minerals.
Such information is similar to data
reported to private and public mineral
interest owners and is generally
available within the records of the
lessee or others involved in developing,
transporting, processing, purchasing, or
selling of such minerals. The
information collected includes data
necessary to ensure that the royalties are
paid appropriately.
The Bureau of Land Management, the
surface management agency for Federal
onshore leases, granted royalty rate
reductions to operators of stripper oil
properties producing an average of less
than 15 barrels of oil per eligible well
per well-day for applicable sales periods
from October 1, 1992 through January
31, 2006. See 43 CFR 3103.4–2. The
purpose of these royalty rate reductions
was to encourage continued production,
provide an incentive for enhanced oil
recovery projects, discourage
abandonment of properties producing
an average of less than 15 barrels of oil
per eligible well per well-day, and
reduce the operator’s expenses. The
royalty rate for a stripper oil property
was lower than the royalty rate reflected
in the lease and thus reduced the
amount of revenues paid to the Federal
Government.
Reporters used the Form MMS–4377
to notify MMS of royalty rate changes
for production through January 31,
2006. Operators submitted an initial
Form MMS–4377 when a new property
qualified as a stripper oil property.
Reporters submitted Form MMS–4377
to notify MMS of a royalty rate
reduction that was lower than the initial
royalty rate reduction on an existing
stripper oil property (out-year
notification). The decision to request an
initial royalty rate reduction was
voluntary; however, failure to timely
submit the out-year notification resulted
in the royalty rate change being denied.
Although the benefits under 43 CFR
3103.4–2 terminated effective February
1, 2006, MMS continues to verify
submitted notifications and sometimes
requires the operator to submit an
amended notification.
Proprietary information submitted to
MMS under this collection is protected,
and no items of a sensitive nature are
collected. The requirement to respond is

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 214 / Monday, November 6, 2006 / Notices
required to obtain the benefit of a
royalty rate reduction.
Frequency: As requested by MMS.
Estimated Number and Description of
Respondents: 150 operators of stripper
oil properties producing an average of

less than 15 barrels of oil per eligible
well per well-day.
Estimated Annual Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 180
hours.
We have not included in our
estimates certain requirements

performed in the normal course of
business and considered usual and
customary. The following chart shows
the estimated burden hours by CFR
section and paragraph:

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RESPONDENTS’ ESTIMATED ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS
Average number
of annual
responses

Reporting and recordkeeping requirement

216.57 ...............................

Stripper royalty rate reduction notification ...........
In accordance with its regulations at 43 CFR
3103.4–1, titled ‘‘Waiver, suspension, or reduction
of rental, royalty, or minimum royalty,’’ the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) may grant reduced
royalty rates to operators of low producing oil
leases to encourage continued production. Operators who have been granted a reduced royalty
rate(s) by BLM must submit a Stripper Royalty
Rate Reduction Notification (Form MMS–4377) to
MMS for each 12-month qualifying period that a
reduced royalty rate(s) is granted.
[58 FR 64903, Dec. 10, 1993]
Please note the BLM citation and title changed to 43
CFR 3103.4–2 Stripper well royalty reductions

1.2

150

180

Total Burden ..............

.....................................................................................

..............................

150

180

Estimated Annual Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-hour Cost’’
Burden: We have identified no ‘‘nonhour cost’’ burden associated with the
collection of information.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 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.
Comments: Before submitting an ICR
to OMB, PRA Section 3506(c)(2)(A)
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 PRA also requires agencies to
estimate the total annual reporting
‘‘non-hour cost’’ burden to respondents
or recordkeepers resulting from the

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Hour burden

Annual burden
hours

30 CFR 216 Subpart B

collection of information. If you have
costs to generate, maintain, and disclose
this information, you should comment
and provide your total capital and
startup cost components or annual
operation, maintenance, and purchase
of service components. 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, 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.
We will summarize written responses
to this notice and address them in our
ICR submission for OMB approval,
including appropriate adjustments to
the estimated burden. We will provide
a copy of the ICR to you without charge
upon request. The ICR also will be
posted on our Web site at http://
www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/
FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.

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Public Comment Policy: We will post
all comments in response to this notice
on our Web site at http://
www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/
FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm. We also will
make copies of the comments available
for public review, including names and
addresses of respondents, during regular
business hours at our offices in
Lakewood, Colorado. Upon request, we
will withhold an individual
respondent’s home address from the
public record, as allowable by law.
There also may be circumstances in
which we would withhold a
respondent’s identity, as allowable by
law. If you request that we withhold
your name and/or address, state your
request 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.
MMS Information Collection
Clearance Officer: Arlene Bajusz (202)
208–7744.
Dated: October 24, 2006.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue
Management.
[FR Doc. E6–18665 Filed 11–3–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

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