30-day notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 219 / Monday, November 14, 2011 / Notices

displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of
the PRA requires each agency to ‘‘* * *
provide 60-day notice in the Federal
Register * * * 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.
To comply with the public
consultation process, we published a
notice in the Federal Register on May
4, 2011 (76 FR 25370), announcing that
we would submit this ICR to OMB for
approval. The notice provided the
required 60-day comment period. We
received no comments in response to
the notice.
If you wish to comment in response
to this notice, you may send your
comments 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 December 14, 2011.
Public Comment Policy: We post all
comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, at http://
www.regulations.gov. Before including
your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, be
advised that your entire comment—
including your personal identifying
information—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your comment to withhold from
public view your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Information Collection Clearance
Officer: Karen Burke (703) 487–3896.
Dated: November 3, 2011.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2011–29294 Filed 11–10–11; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR–2011–0008]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submitted for Office of
Management and Budget Review;
Comment Request
Office of Natural Resources
Revenue, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of an extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
AGENCY:

To comply with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Office of Natural Resources
Revenue (ONRR) is notifying the public
that we have submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) an
information collection request (ICR) to
renew approval of the paperwork
requirements in the regulations under
30 CFR part 1243. This notice also
provides the public a second
opportunity to comment on the
paperwork burden of these regulatory
requirements.

SUMMARY:

Submit written comments on or
before December 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
by either FAX (202) 395–5806 or email
([email protected]) directly to
the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer
for the Department of the Interior (OMB
Control Number 1012–0006).
Please also submit a copy of your
comments to ONRR by one of the
following methods:
• Electronically go to http://
www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled
‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter ONRR–
2011–0008, and then click search.
Follow the instructions to submit public
comments. We will post all comments.
• Mail comments to Hyla Hurst,
Regulatory Specialist, Office of Natural
Resources Revenue, P.O. Box 25165, MS
64000A, Denver, Colorado 80225. Please
reference ICR 1012–0006 in your
comments.
• Hand-carry comments or use an
overnight courier service. Our courier
address is Building 85, Room A–614,
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave.
and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado
80225. Please reference ICR 1012–0006
in your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hyla
Hurst, telephone (303) 231–3495, or
email [email protected]. You may
also contact Hyla Hurst to obtain copies,
at no cost, of (1) the ICR, (2) any
associated forms, and (3) the regulations
that require the subject collection of
DATES:

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information. You may also review the
ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR part 1243—Suspensions
Pending Appeal and Bonding—Office of
Natural Resources Revenue.
OMB Control Number: 1012–0006.
Bureau Form Numbers: ONRR–4435,
ONRR–4436, and ONRR–4437.
Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S.
Department of the Interior is responsible
for mineral resource development on
Federal and Indian lands and the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary
is required by various laws to manage
mineral resource production from
Federal and Indian lands and the OCS,
collect the royalties and other mineral
revenues due, and distribute the funds
collected in accordance with applicable
laws. The Secretary also has a trust
responsibility to manage Indian lands
and seek advice and information from
Indian beneficiaries. The ONRR
performs the minerals revenue
management functions for the Secretary
and assists the Secretary in carrying out
the Department’s trust responsibility for
Indian lands. Public laws pertaining to
mineral leases on Federal and Indian
lands are posted on our Web site at
http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/
PublicLawsAMR.htm.
If ONRR determines that a lessee has
not properly reported or paid, we may
issue an order to pay additional
royalties, a Notice of Noncompliance, or
a Civil Penalty Notice requiring correct
reporting or payment. Lessees then have
a right to appeal those ONRR actions.
Regulations at 30 CFR part 1243
govern the submission of appropriate
surety instruments to suspend
compliance with orders or decisions
and to stay the accrual of civil penalties
(if the Office of Hearings and Appeals
grants a lessee’s petition to stay accrual
of civil penalties), pending
administrative appeal for Federal and
Indian leases. For Federal oil and gas
leases, under 30 U.S.C. 1724(l) and its
implementing regulations in 30 CFR
part 1243, appellants who are requesting
a suspension without providing a surety
may submit information to demonstrate
financial solvency. This ICR covers the
burden hours associated with
submitting financial statements or
surety instruments required to stay an
ONRR order, decision, or accrual of civil
penalties.
Stay of Payment Pending Appeal
Title 30 CFR 1243.1 explains how
lessees or recipients of ONRR orders
may suspend compliance with an order
if they appeal in accordance with 30
CFR part 1290. Pending appeal, ONRR

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 219 / Monday, November 14, 2011 / Notices
suspends the payment requirement if
the appellant submits a formal
agreement of payment in case of default,
such as a bond or other surety, or, for
Federal oil and gas leases, demonstrates
financial solvency. If the Office of
Hearings and Appeals grants a lessee’s,
or other recipient of a Notice of
Noncompliance or Civil Penalty Notice,
request to stay the accrual of civil
penalties under 30 CFR 1241.55(b)(2)
and 1241.63(b)(2), the lessee or other
recipient must post a bond or other
surety, or, for Federal oil and gas leases,
demonstrate financial solvency.
The ONRR accepts the following
surety types: Form ONRR–4435,
Administrative Appeal Bond (formerly
Form MMS–4435); Form ONRR–4436,
Letter of Credit (formerly Form MMS–
4436); Form ONRR–4437, Assignment of
Certificate of Deposit (formerly Form
MMS–4437); Self-bonding; and U.S.
Treasury Securities.
When an appellant selects and puts
one of the surety types in place, the
appellant must maintain the surety until
completion of the appeal. If the appeal
is decided in favor of the appellant,
ONRR returns the surety to the
appellant. If the appeal is decided in
favor of ONRR, then we may take action
to collect the total amount due or draw
down on the surety. We draw down on
a surety if the appellant fails to pay or
fails to comply with requirements
relating to amount due, timeframe, or
surety submission or resubmission.
Whenever ONRR must draw down on a
surety, we must draw down the total
amount due, which is defined as unpaid
principal plus the interest accrued to
the projected receipt date of the surety
payment. Appellants may refer to the
Surety Instrument Posting Instructions,
which are on our Web site at http://
www.onrr.gov/FM/Forms/default.htm.

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Forms and Other Surety Types
Form ONRR–4435, Administrative
Appeal Bond
Appellants may file Form ONRR–
4435, Administrative Appeal Bond,
which ONRR uses to secure the
financial interests of the public and
Indian lessors during the entire
administrative and judicial appeal
process. Under 30 CFR 1243.4,
appellants must submit their contact
and surety amount information on the
bond to obtain the benefit of suspension
of an obligation to comply with an
order. A surety company that the U.S.
Department of the Treasury approves
(see Department of the Treasury Circular
No. 570, as revised periodically in the
Federal Register) must issue the bond.
The ONRR Director or the ONRR-

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delegated bond-approving officer
maintains these bonds in a secure
facility. After the appeal has concluded,
ONRR may release and return the bond
to the appellant or collect payment on
the bond. If collection is necessary for
a remaining balance, ONRR will issue a
demand for payment to the surety
company with a notice to the appellant.
We also will include all interest accrued
on the affected bill.
Form ONRR–4436, Letter of Credit
Appellants may choose to file Form
ONRR–4436, Letter of Credit (LOC),
with no modifications. Requirements at
30 CFR 1243.4 continue to apply. A
bank with a minimum Fitch rating of
‘‘C’’ must notarize and issue the LOC for
appellants for a LOC of less than $1
million; ‘‘B/C’’ for a LOC between $1
million and $10 million; or ‘‘B’’ for a
LOC over $10 million. A Fitch rating is
a bank rating provided by Fitch, Inc.,
and is available at http://
www.fitchratings.com. The LOC must
have a minimum coverage period of 1
year and be automatically renewable for
up to 5 years.
The appellant is responsible for
verifying that the bank provides a
current Fitch rating to ONRR. If the
issuing bank’s rating falls below the
minimum acceptable level, the
appellant must submit a satisfactory
replacement surety within 14 days or
ONRR will draw down the existing
LOC. If the bank issuing the LOC
chooses not to renew the existing LOC,
it must provide ONRR with a notice of
its decision not to renew 30 days prior
to expiration of the LOC. After the
appeal concludes, ONRR may release
and return the LOC to the appellant or
collect payment on the LOC. If
collection is necessary for a remaining
payment balance, ONRR will issue a
demand for payment, which includes all
interest assessed on the affected bill, to
the bank with a notice to the appellant.
Form ONRR–4437, Assignment of
Certificate of Deposit
Appellants also may choose to secure
a debt using a Certificate of Deposit (CD)
from their bank and by submitting Form
ONRR–4437, Assignment of Certificate
of Deposit. Appellants must file the
request with ONRR prior to the invoice
due date. We will accept only a bookentry CD that explicitly assigns the CD
to the ONRR Director. The CD must be
issued by a bank with the minimum
required Fitch rating or be confirmed by
a bank with an acceptable rating. The
acceptable ratings for a CD are the same
as for a LOC discussed above. If
collection of the CD is necessary for a
payment balance, ONRR will return

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unused CD funds to the appellant after
total settlement of the appealed issues
including applicable interest charges.
Self-Bonding
For Federal oil and gas leases,
regulations at 30 CFR 1243.201 do not
require a surety instrument when an
appellant periodically demonstrates, to
the satisfaction of ONRR, that the
guarantor or appellant is financially
solvent or otherwise able to pay the
obligation. Appellants must submit a
written request to ‘‘self-bond’’ every
time a new appeal is filed. To evaluate
the financial solvency and exemption
from requirements of appellants to
maintain a surety related to an appeal,
ONRR requires appellants to submit a
consolidated balance sheet subject to
annual audit. In some cases, we also
require copies of the most recent tax
returns (up to 3 years) filed by
appellants.
In addition, appellants must annually
submit financial statements subject to
annual audit to support a minimum net
worth of $300 million. The ONRR uses
the consolidated balance sheet or
business information supplied to
evaluate the financial solvency of a
lessee, designee, or payor seeking to
demonstrate financial solvency to stay
its payment obligation pending appeal.
If appellants do not have a consolidated
balance sheet documenting their net
worth or if they do not meet the $300
million net worth requirement, ONRR
selects a business information or credit
reporting service to provide information
concerning an appellant’s financial
solvency. We charge the appellant a $50
fee each time we need to review data
from a business information or credit
reporting service. The fee covers our
costs to determine an appellant’s
financial solvency.
U.S. Treasury Securities
Appellants may choose to secure their
debts by requesting to use a U.S.
Treasury Security (TS). Appellants must
file a letter of request with ONRR prior
to the invoice due date. The TS must:
(1) Be a U.S. Treasury note or bond with
maturity equal to or greater than 1 year;
(2) 120 percent of the appealed amount
plus 1 year of estimated interest
(necessary to protect ONRR against
interest rate fluctuations); and (3) be a
book-entry TS. Book-entry securities are
securities that are recorded in electronic
records rather than as paper certificates.
OMB Approval
We are requesting OMB’s approval to
continue to collect this information. Not
collecting this information would limit
the Secretary’s ability to discharge the

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fiduciary duties of the office and also
may result in loss of royalty and other
payments.
The ONRR protects proprietary
information submitted under this
collection. We do not collect
information of a sensitive nature in this
ICR. A response is mandatory in order

to suspend compliance with an order
pending appeal.
Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
Estimated Number and Description of
Respondents: 105 Federal or Indian
appellants.
Estimated Annual Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 210

hours. We have not included in our
estimates certain requirements
performed in the normal course of
business and considered usual and
customary. The following table shows
the estimated burden hours by CFR
section and paragraph:

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

RESPONDENTS’ ESTIMATED ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS
Average number of annual
responses

Annual
burden
hours

Citation 30 CFR part 1243

Reporting and recordkeeping requirement

Hour burden

1243.4(a)(1) .....................

How do I suspend compliance with an order?
(a) If you timely appeal an order, and if that order or
portion of that order: (1) Requires you to make a
payment, and you want to suspend compliance
with that order, you must post a bond or other
surety instrument or demonstrate financial solvency * * *.

2 hours .........

1243.6 ..............................

When must I or another person meet the bonding or
financial solvency requirements under this part?
If you must meet the bonding or financial solvency
requirements under § 1243.4(a)(1), or if another
person is meeting your bonding or financial solvency requirements, then either you or the other
person must post a bond or other surety instrument or demonstrate financial solvency within 60
days after you receive the order or the Notice of
Order.

Burden hours covered under § 1243.4(a)(1).

1243.7(a) ..........................

What must a person do when posting a bond or
other surety instrument or demonstrating financial
solvency on behalf of an appellant?
If you assume an appellant’s responsibility to post a
bond or other surety instrument or demonstrate financial solvency * * * (a) Must notify ONRR in
writing * * * that you are assuming the appellant’s responsibility * * *.

Burden hours covered under § 1243.4(a)(1).

1243.8(a)(2) and (b)(2) ....

When will ONRR suspend my obligation to comply
with an order?
(a) Federal leases. * * * (2) If the amount under appeal is $10,000 or more, ONRR will suspend your
obligation to comply with that order if you:
(i) Submit an ONRR-specified surety instrument
under subpart B of this part within a time period
ONRR prescribes; or
(ii) Demonstrate financial solvency under subpart C.
(b) Indian leases. * * * (2) If the amount under appeal is $1,000 or more, ONRR will suspend your
obligation to comply with that order if you submit
an ONRR-specified surety instrument under subpart B of this part within a time period ONRR prescribes.

Burden hours covered under § 1243.4(a)(1).

1243.101(b) ......................

How will ONRR determine the amount of my bond
or other surety instrument?
* * * (b) If your appeal is not decided within 1 year
from the filing date, you must increase the surety
amount to cover additional estimated interest for
another 1-year period. You must continue to do
this annually * * *.

Burden hours covered under § 1243.4(a)(1).

1243.200(a) and (b) .........

How do I demonstrate financial solvency?
(a) To demonstrate financial solvency under this
part, you must submit an audited consolidated
balance sheet, and, if requested by the ONRR
bond-approving officer, up to 3 years of tax returns to the ONRR, * * *.

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2 hours .........

40 (Forms ONRR–4435,
ONRR–4436, ONRR–
4437; or TS).

65 (Self-bonding submissions).

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RESPONDENTS’ ESTIMATED ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS—Continued
Citation 30 CFR part 1243

Reporting and recordkeeping requirement

Hour burden

Average number of annual
responses

Annual
burden
hours

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

(b) You must submit an audited consolidated balance sheet annually, and, if requested, additional
annual tax returns on the date ONRR first determined that you demonstrated financial solvency
as long as you have active appeals, or whenever
ONRR requests. * * *
1243.201(c)(1), (c)(2)(i)
and (c)(2)(ii) and (d)(2).

How will ONRR determine if I am financially solvent?
* * * (c) If your net worth, minus the amount we
would require as surety under subpart B for all orders you have appealed is less than $300 million,
you must submit * * *:
(1) A written request asking us to consult a business-information, or credit-reporting service or
program to determine your financial solvency; and
(2) A nonrefundable $50 processing fee:
(i) You must pay the processing fee * * *;
(ii) You must submit the fee with your request * * *
and then annually on the date we first determined
that you demonstrated financial solvency, as long
as you are not able to demonstrate financial solvency * * * and you have active appeals.
(d)* * * (2) For us to consider you financially solvent, the business-information or credit-reporting
service or program must demonstrate your degree
of risk as low to moderate: * * *

Burden hours covered under §§ 1243.4(a)(1) and 1243.200(a)
and (b).

1243.202(c) ......................

When will ONRR monitor my financial solvency?
* * * (c) If our bond-approving officer determines
that you are no longer financially solvent, you
must post a bond or other ONRR-specified surety
instrument under subpart B.

Burden hours covered under § 1243.4(a)(1).

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

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

Estimated Annual Reporting and
Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-hour’’ Cost
Burden: There are no additional
recordkeeping costs associated with this
information collection. However, ONRR
estimates five appellants per year will
pay a $50 fee to obtain credit data from
a business information or credit
reporting service, which is a total ‘‘nonhour’’ cost burden of $250 per year (5
appellants per year × $50 = $250).
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: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of
the PRA requires each agency to ‘‘* * *
provide 60-day notice in the Federal
Register * * * 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

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20:36 Nov 10, 2011

Jkt 223001

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

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.
To comply with the public
consultation process, we published a
notice in the Federal Register on May
4, 2011 (76 FR 25367), announcing that
we would submit this ICR to OMB for
approval. The notice provided the
required 60-day comment period. We
received no comments in response to
the notice.
If you wish to comment in response
to this notice, you may send your
comments 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

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105 .....................................

210

consideration, OMB should receive
public comments by December 14, 2011.
Public Comment Policy: We post all
comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, at http://
www.regulations.gov. Before including
your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, be
advised that your entire comment—
including your personal identifying
information—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your comment to withhold from
public view your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
Information Collection Clearance
Officer: Karen Burke (703) 487–3896.
Dated: November 7, 2011.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2011–29298 Filed 11–10–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–T2–P

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