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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 25, 2020 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR–2011–0008; DS63644000
DR2000000.CH7000 190D1113RT; OMB
Control Number 1012–0006]

Agency Information Collection
Activities: Suspensions Pending
Appeal and Bonding
Office of the Secretary, Office
of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Office of Natural Resources
Revenue (ONRR) is proposing to renew
an information collection. Through this
Information Collection Renewal (ICR),
ONRR seeks renewed authority to
collect information related to the
paperwork requirements under 30 CFR
part 1243 to post a surety or bond, or
demonstrate financial solvency.
DATES: Submit written comments on or
before May 26, 2020
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this ICR to ONRR through the
following three methods: (Please use
‘‘ICR 1012–0006’’ as an identifier in
your comment).
1. Electronically go to http://
www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled
‘‘Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter ‘‘ONRR–
2012–0006’’ and then click ‘‘Search.’’
Follow the instructions to submit public
comments. ONRR will post all
comments.
2. Email comments to Mr. Luis
Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, at
[email protected].
3. Hand-carry or mail comments to
ONRR by using an overnight courier
service. Our courier address is Building
85, MS 64400B, Denver Federal Center,
West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
questions on technical issues, contact
Ms. Kimberly Werner, Financial
Services, ONRR, at (303) 231–3801 or
email to [email protected]. For
other questions, contact Mr. Luis
Aguilar, at (303) 231–3418, or email to
[email protected]. You may also
contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain copies of
the ICR and the regulations requiring
ONRR to collect the information. There
is no cost to request copies of these
documents.

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SUMMARY:

In
accordance with the PRA, ONRR
provides the general public and other
Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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and continued information collections.
This helps ONRR assess the impact of
our information collection requirements
and minimize the public’s reporting
burden. It also helps the public
understand ONRR’s information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
ONRR publishes this notice to elicit
comments on the proposed ICR. ONRR
is especially interested in public
comment addressing the following
issues mentioned in the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1): (1) Is
the collection necessary to perform the
proper functions of ONRR; (2) will this
information be processed and used in a
timely manner; (3) is the estimate of
burden accurate; (4) how might ONRR
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; and
(5) how might ONRR minimize the
burden of this collection on the
respondents, including through the use
of information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. ONRR will post all
comments, including names and
addresses of respondents at http://
www.regulations.gov. ONRR will
include or summarize each comment in
our request to OMB to approve this ICR.
Before including your Personally
Identifiable Information (PII), such as
your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment(s), you
should be aware that your entire
comment, including PII, may be made
available to the public at any time.
While you can ask ONRR, in your
comment, to withhold your PII from
public view, ONRR cannot guarantee
that it will be able to do so. ONRR will
post the ICR at https://www.onrr.gov/
Laws_R_D/FRNotices/ICR0122.htm.
Abstract
The Secretary of the United States
Department of the Interior is responsible
for mineral resource development on
Federal and Indian lands and the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS). Under various
laws, the Secretary’s responsibility is to
(1) manage mineral resource production,
(2) collect royalties and other mineral
revenues due, and (3) disburse the funds
collected. ONRR posted the laws
pertaining to mineral leases on Federal
and Indian lands and the OCS at http://
www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/
default.htm.
The Secretary also has a trust
responsibility to manage Indian lands
and seek advice and information from
Indian beneficiaries. ONRR performs the
minerals revenue management functions

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for the Secretary and assists the
Secretary in carrying out the
Department’s trust responsibility for
Indian lands.
General Information
When a company or an individual
enters into a lease to explore, develop,
produce, and dispose of minerals from
Federal or Indian lands, that company
or individual agrees to pay the lessor a
share in an amount or value of
production from the leased lands. The
lessee or its designee must report
various kinds of information to the
lessor relative to the disposition of the
leased minerals. Such information is
generally available within the records of
the lessee or others involved in
developing, transporting, processing,
purchasing, or selling such minerals.
If ONRR determines that a lessee did
not properly report or pay, it may issue
orders, notices of noncompliance, and
civil penalty notices to compel
corrective reporting, payment, or both.
Lessees have a right to appeal ONRR’s
determinations.
Information Collections
Regulations under 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 under 30 CFR
part 1243, an appellant requesting a
suspension without providing a surety
must submit information to demonstrate
financial solvency. This ICR covers the
burden hours associated with
submitting financial statements and
surety instruments required to stay an
ONRR order, decision, or accrual of civil
penalties.
Stay of Payment Pending Appeal
Title 30 CFR 1243.1 states that lessees
or recipients of ONRR orders may
suspend compliance with an order if
they appeal under 30 CFR part 1290.
Pending appeal, ONRR may suspend the
payment requirement if the appellant
submits a formal agreement of payment
in the case of default, such as a bond or
other surety; for Federal oil and gas
leases, the appellant may alternatively
demonstrate 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)

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 25, 2020 / Notices
and 1241.63(b)(2), the lessee or other
recipient must post a bond or other
surety. For Federal oil and gas leases,
the appellant may alternatively
demonstrate financial solvency.
ONRR accepts the following surety
types: form ONRR–4435, Administrative
Appeal Bond; form ONRR–4436, Letter
of Credit; form ONRR–4437, Assignment
of Certificate of Deposit; Self-bonding;
and U.S. Treasury Securities.
When an appellant selects one of the
surety types and puts it in place, the
appellant must maintain the surety until
the appeal’s completion. If the appeal is
decided in favor of the appellant, ONRR
will return the surety to the appellant.
If the appeal is decided in favor of
ONRR, then ONRR will take action to
collect the total amount due or draw
down on the surety. ONRR will draw
down on a surety if the appellant fails
to comply with requirements relating to
the amount due, timeframe, or surety
submission or resubmission. Whenever
ONRR draws down on a surety, it
reduces the total amount due, which is
defined as the unpaid principal plus the
interest accrued to the projected receipt
date of the surety payment. Appellants
may refer to the Surety Instrument
Posting Instructions, available on our
website at http://www.onrr.gov/
compliance/appeals.htm.
Forms and Other Surety Types

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A. Form ONRR–4435, Administrative
Appeal Bond
An appellant 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
processes. Under 30 CFR 1243.4, an
appellant is required to submit its
contact and surety amount information
on the bond to obtain the benefit of
suspension of an obligation to comply
with an order. The bond must be issued
by a qualified surety company that the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
approves (see Department of the
Treasury Circular No. 570, revised
periodically in the Federal Register).
ONRR’s Director, or the delegated bondapproving officer, maintains the bonds
in a secure facility. After an appeal’s
conclusion, 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. ONRR will also
include all interest accrued on the
affected receivable.

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B. Form ONRR–4436, Letter of Credit
An appellant may choose to file form
ONRR–4436, Letter of Credit, with no
modifications. Requirements under 30
CFR 1243.4 continue to apply. ONRR’s
Director, or the delegated bondapproving officer, maintains the Letter
of Credit (LOC) in a secure facility. The
appellant is responsible for verifying
that the bank provides a current Fitch
rating to ONRR. After the appeal’s
conclusion, ONRR may release and
return the LOC to the appellant or
collect payment on the LOC. If
collection is necessary for a remaining
balance, ONRR will issue a demand for
payment that includes the principal
amount plus the interest assessed on the
receivable, to the bank with a notice to
the appellant.
C. Form ONRR–4437, Assignment of
Certificate of Deposit
An appellant may choose to secure a
debt by requesting to use a Certificate of
Deposit (CD) from a bank with the
required minimum rating and
submitting form ONRR–4437,
Assignment of Certificate of Deposit.
Requirements under 30 CFR 1243.4
continue to apply. The appellant must
file the request with ONRR prior to the
invoice due date. ONRR will accept a
book-entry CD that explicitly assigns the
CD to ONRR’s Director. If collection of
the CD is necessary for an unpaid
balance, ONRR will return unused CD
funds to the appellant after total
settlement of the appealed issues,
including applicable interest charges.
D. Self-Bonding
For Federal oil and gas leases,
regulations under 30 CFR 1243.201
provide that no surety instrument is
required when a person representing the
appellant periodically demonstrates, to
the satisfaction of ONRR, that the
guarantor or appellant is financially
solvent or otherwise able to pay the
obligation. The appellant 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, ONRR also
requires copies of the most recent tax
returns (up to three years) filed by the
appellant.
In addition, an appellant must
annually submit financial statements,
subject to annual audit, to support its
net worth. ONRR uses the consolidated
balance sheet or business information
supplied to evaluate the financial

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solvency of a lessee, designee, or payor
seeking a stay of payment obligation
pending review. If the appellant does
not have a consolidated balance sheet
documenting its net worth, or if it does
not meet the $300 million net worth
requirement, ONRR selects a business
information or credit reporting service
to provide information concerning the
appellant’s financial solvency. ONRR
charges the appellant a $50 fee each
time it reviews data from a business
information or credit reporting service.
The fee covers ONRR’s cost to
determine an appellant’s financial
solvency.
E. U.S. Treasury Securities
An appellant may choose to secure its
debts by requesting to use a U.S.
Treasury Security (TS). The appellant
must file the letter of request with
ONRR prior to the invoice due date. The
TS must be a U.S. Treasury note or bond
with maturity equal to or greater than
one year. The TS must equal 120
percent of the appealed amount plus 1
year of estimated interest (necessary to
protect ONRR against interest rate
fluctuations). ONRR only accepts bookentry TS.
OMB Approval
ONRR is requesting OMB’s approval
to continue to collect this information.
Not collecting this information would
limit the Secretary’s ability to discharge
the duties of the office and may result
in loss of royalty and other payments.
Proprietary information submitted to
ONRR under this collection is protected,
and there are no questions of a sensitive
nature included in this information
collection. A response is mandatory in
order to suspend compliance with an
order pending appeal.
Data
Title: Suspensions Pending Appeal
and Bonding.
OMB Control Number: 1012–0006.
Bureau Form Numbers: Forms ONRR–
4435, ONRR–4436, and ONRR–4437.
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.
The following table shows the
estimated annual burden hours by CFR
section and paragraph. ONRR has not
included in its estimates certain
requirements performed in the normal
course of business and considered usual
and customary.

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 58 / Wednesday, March 25, 2020 / Notices
RESPONDENTS’ ESTIMATED ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS
Citation
30 CFR
part 1243

Reporting and recordkeeping requirement

1243.4(a)(1); 1243.6; 1243.7(a);
1243.8(a)(2) and (b)(2);
1243.101(b); 1243.202(c).

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 * * *.
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, * * *.
(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. * * *.

1243.200(a) and (b);
1243.201(c)(1), (c)(2)(i) and
(c)(2)(ii) and (d)(2).

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 5 appellants per year will pay
a $50 fee to obtain credit data from a
business information or credit reporting
service, which is a total ‘‘non-hour’’ 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.

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Request for 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: (1) Evaluate whether the
proposed collection of information is
necessary for the agency to perform its
duties, including whether the
information is useful; (2) evaluate the
accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of
information; (3) enhance the quality,
usefulness, and clarity of the
information that ONRR collects; and (4)
minimize the burden on the

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Annual
burden
hours

2

40 (surety instruments:
Forms ONRR–4435,
ONRR–4436,
ONRR–4437, or TS).

2

65 self-bonding submissions.

130

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

210

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

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 record-keepers resulting from the
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 that you use to
estimate (1) major cost factors, including
system and technology acquisition, (2)
expected useful life of capital
equipment, (3) discount rate(s), and (4)
the period over which you incur costs.
Capital and startup costs include,
among other items: Computers and
software that 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 Federal
government; or (iv) as part of customary
and usual business or private practices.
ONRR will summarize written
responses to this notice and address
them in its ICR submission for OMB
approval, including appropriate

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Average number of
annual responses

Hour burden

80

adjustments to the estimated burden.
ONRR will provide a copy of the ICR to
you without charge upon request. ONRR
also will post the ICR at http://
www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/
ICR0122.htm.
Public Comment Policy
ONRR will post all comments,
including names and addresses of
respondents at http://
www.regulations.gov. Before including
Personally Identifiable Information (PII),
such as your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
information in your comment(s), you
should be aware that your entire
comment (including PII) may be made
available to the public at any time.
While you may ask ONRR in your
comment to withhold PII from public
view, ONRR cannot guarantee that it
will be able to do so.
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.
(Authority: Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
Kimbra G. Davis,
Director, Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2020–06207 Filed 3–24–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335–30–P

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