[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28401-28402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11631]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
[Docket ID No. BSEE-2012-0008; OMB Control Number 1014-0009]
Information Collection Activities: Legacy Data Verification
Process (LDVP); Submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Review; Comment Request
ACTION: 60-day notice.
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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), BSEE
is 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 a renewal to the
paperwork requirements in a Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL)
discussed below.
DATES: You must submit comments by July 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods
listed below.
Electronically: go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the
entry titled, Enter Keyword or ID, enter BSEE-2012-0008 then click
search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view all
related materials. We will post all comments.
Email cheryl.blundon@bsee.gov. Mail or hand-carry comments
to the Department of the Interior; Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement; Regulations Development Branch; Attention: Cheryl Blundon;
381 Elden Street, MS-4024; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Please
reference ICR 1014-0009 in your comment and include your name and
return address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Blundon, Regulations
Development Branch at (703) 787-1607 to request additional information
about this ICR.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Legacy Data Verification Process (LDVP)--NTL (formerly known
as Historical Well Data Cleanup).
OMB Control Number: 1014-0009.
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, as amended
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), authorizes the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to prescribe rules and
regulations necessary for the administration of the leasing provisions
of the Act related to the mineral resources on the OCS. Such rules and
regulations will apply to all operations conducted under a lease.
Operations on the OCS must preserve, protect, and develop oil and
natural gas resources in a manner that is consistent with the need to
make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as
rapidly as possible; to balance orderly energy resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments; to ensure
the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and
to preserve and maintain free enterprise competition.
The OCSLA at 43 U.S.C. 1332(6) states that ``operations in the
[O]uter Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well-
trained personnel using technology, precautions, and techniques
sufficient to prevent or minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of
well control, fires, spillages, physical obstruction to other users of
the waters or subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause
damage to the environment or to property, or endanger life or health.''
BSEE's Legacy Data Verification Process (LDVP) requests operators
to supply missing data or corrected data for wells drilled prior to
January 2000 that do not have an assigned API number. This notice
announces our intention to request a 3-year extension for this
information collection.
The information we collect under this NTL, is missing data for
wellbores that BSEE has not assigned API numbers and other well data
discovered as missing while completing the well database cleanup. We
are not able to manage and utilize data from drilling operations
accurately without the information for the missing wells. We will use
the information to identify other well data (e.g., logs, surveys,
tests) missing from our records, geologically map existing BSEE data to
the correct wellbore/location, and correctly exchange information with
the operators and industry. Our geoscientists can use the information
to evaluate resources for lease sales for fair market value. With
respect to safety concerns, we believe that there may be anywhere from
1,500 to 4,500 unidentified completed and abandoned wellbores (bypasses
and sidetracks), some of which may contain stuck drill pipe or other
materials. In approving permits and other operations in an area, it is
important for us to know what may be adjacent to or near the vicinity
of the activity we are approving to minimize the risk of blowouts, loss
of well control, and endangerment to life, health, and the environment.
This is particularly important as, over the years, the number of wells
drilled constantly
[[Page 28402]]
increases, thereby increasing the risk to adjacent activities if
operators are not aware of what might be in the area.
We will protect information respondents submit that is considered
proprietary under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), its
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2), and 30 CFR 250.197, Data and
information to be made available to the public or for limited
inspection. No items of a sensitive nature are collected. Responses are
mandatory.
Frequency: On occasion.
Description of Respondents: Potential respondents comprise Federal
OCS oil, gas, and sulphur lessees.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The currently
approved annual reporting burden for this collection is 11,250 hours
for approximately 4,500 wells, based on:
(1) 0.5 hours to locate and copy a summary of drilling operations
(e.g., scout tickets) for each well; and
(2) 2 hours to retrieve and analyze each well file and retrieve
other missing data. There are no recordkeeping requirements.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have
identified no paperwork non-hour cost burdens for this collection.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.)
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated
to respond.
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
collection is necessary or useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy 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
technology.
Agencies must also estimate the non-hour paperwork cost burdens to
respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of
information. Therefore, if you have other than hour burden 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. For further
information on this burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(1) and (2), or
contact the Bureau representative listed previously in this notice.
We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them
in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to
OMB.
Public Comment Procedures: Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware 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 your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Dated: May 4, 2012.
Douglas W. Morris,
Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-11631 Filed 5-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P