[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30651-30653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12185]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0009; DS63610300 DR2PS0000.CH7000 134D0102R2]
Information Collection Request Renewal; Collection of Monies Due
the Federal Government; Agency Information Collection Activities:
Submitted for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of an extension of a currently approved information
collection (OMB Control Number 1012-0008).
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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the
Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is inviting comments on the
renewal of a collection of information that we will submit to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This
Information Collection Request (ICR) covers the paperwork requirements
in the regulations under 30 CFR part 1218.
DATES: Submit written comments on or before July 28, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR by using one of
the following three methods (please reference ICR 1012-0008 in your
comments):
Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the
entry titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ONRR-2011-0009, and then
click search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments. We
will post all comments.
Mail comments to Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist,
Office of Natural Resources Revenue, P.O. Box 25165, MS 61013A, Denver,
Colorado 80225.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues,
contact Ms. Lee-Ann Martin, Reporting and Solid Mineral Services, ONRR,
telephone (303) 231-3313, or email at [email protected]. For other
questions, contact Mr. Luis Aguilar, telephone (303) 231-3418, or email
at [email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain
copies (free of charge) of (1) the ICR, (2) any associated forms, and
(3) the regulations that require the subject collection of information.
[[Page 30652]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR Part 1218, Collection of Monies Due the Federal
Government.
OMB Control Number: 1012-0008.
Bureau Form Number: Form ONRR-4425.
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 to seek advice and information from Indian
beneficiaries. 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/PubLaws/default.htm.
Minerals produced from Federal and Indian leases vary greatly in
the nature of occurrence, production, and processing methods. 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 is required to
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. The information collected includes data necessary to ensure
that production is accurately valued and that royalties are
appropriately paid.
This ICR covers unique reporting circumstances, including (1)
Cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest; (2)
designation of a designee; and (3) and Tribal permission for recoupment
on Indian oil and gas leases.
Cross-Lease Netting in Calculation of Late-Payment Interest
Regulations at Sec. 1218.54 require ONRR to assess interest on
unpaid or underpaid amounts. ONRR distributes these interest revenues
to States, Indian tribes, and the U.S. Treasury, based on financial
lease distribution information. Current regulations at Sec. 1218.42
provide that an overpayment on a lease or leases may be offset against
an underpayment on a different lease or leases to determine the net
payment subject to interest when certain conditions are met. This
process is called cross-lease netting. Sections 6(a), (b), and (c) of
the Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act (RSFA) require ONRR to pay
interest on lessees' Federal oil and gas overpayments made on or after
February 13, 1997 (six months after the August 13, 1996, enactment of
RSFA). ONRR implemented this RSFA provision in 1997 and began
calculating interest on both underpayments and overpayments for Federal
oil and gas leases, making the cross-lease netting provisions at Sec.
1218.42 no longer applicable for these leases. However, lessees must
still comply with the provisions at 30 CFR 1218.42(b) and (c) for
Indian Tribal leases or Federal leases other than oil and gas. They
must demonstrate that cross-lease netting is correct by submitting
production reports, pipeline allocation reports, or other similar
documentary evidence. This information is necessary in order for ONRR
to determine the correct amount of interest that the lessee owes and to
ensure that we collect in full all monies owed to the Federal
Government.
Designation of Designee
Requirements of RSFA established that owners of, primarily,
operating rights or, secondarily, lease record title (both referred to
as ``lessees'') are responsible for making royalty and related payments
on Federal oil and gas leases (see 30 CFR 1218.52). It is common
however, for a payor--rather than a lessee--to make these payments.
When a payor makes payments on behalf of a lessee, RSFA section 6(g)
requires that the lessee designate the payor as its designee and notify
ONRR of this arrangement in writing. We designed Form ONRR-4425,
Designation Form for Royalty Payment Responsibility, to request all the
information necessary for lessees to comply with these RSFA
requirements when choosing to designate an agent to pay for them. We
require this information to ensure proper mineral revenue collection.
Tribal Permission for Recoupment on Indian Oil and Gas Leases
In order to report cross-lease netting on Indian oil and gas
leases, lessees must also comply with regulations at 30 CFR 1218.53(b),
allowing only lessees with written permission from the Tribe to recoup
overpayments on one lease against a different lease for which the Tribe
is the lessor. The payor must provide ONRR with a copy of the Tribe's
written permission. Generally, a payor may recoup an overpayment
against the current month's royalties or other revenues owed on the
same Tribal lease. For any month, a payor may not recoup more than 50
percent of the royalties or other revenues owed in that month (under an
individual allotted lease) or more than 100 percent of the royalties or
other revenues owed in that month (under a Tribal lease). Lessees
report oil and gas lease recoupments on Form ONRR-2014, Report of Sales
and Royalty Remittance. The burden hours are covered under OMB Control
Number 1012-0004.
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 duties of the office and may also
result in the loss of royalty payments. Proprietary information
submitted is protected, and there are no questions of a sensitive
nature included in this information collection.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 1,630 Federal and
Indian lessees.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 1,255
hours.
We have not included in our estimates certain requirements
performed in the normal course of business and that are considered
usual and customary. The following chart shows the estimated burden
hours by CFR section and paragraph:
[[Page 30653]]
Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
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Average number
Citation 30 CFR Part 1218 Reporting and recordkeeping Hour burden of annual Annual burden
requirement responses hours
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Subpart A--General Provisions--Cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest.
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1218.42 (b) and (c)........... Cross-lease netting in 2 25 50
calculation of late-payment
interest. (b) Royalties
attributed to production from a
lease or leases which should
have been attributed to
production from a different
lease or leases may be offset .
. . if . . . the payor submits
production reports, pipeline
allocation reports, or other
similar documentary evidence
pertaining to the specific
production involved which
verifies the correct production
information . . . . (c) If ONRR
assesses late-payment interest
and the payor asserts that some
or all of the interest is not
owed . . . the burden is on the
payor to demonstrate that the
exception applies. . ..
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Subpart B--Oil and Gas, General--How does a lessee designate a Designee?
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1218.52 (a), (c), and (d)..... How does a lessee designate a 0.75 1,600 1,200
Designee? (a) If you are a
lessee under 30 U.S.C. 1701(7),
and you want to designate a
person to make all or part of
the payments due under a lease
on your behalf . . . you must
notify ONRR . . . in writing of
such designation. . . . (c) If
you want to terminate a
designation . . . you must
provide [the following] to ONRR
in writing . . . . (d) ONRR may
require you to provide notice
when there is a change in the
percentage of your record title
or operating rights ownership.
The ONRR currently uses Form MMS-
4425, Designation Form for
Royalty Payment Responsibility,
to collect this information.
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Subpart B--Oil and Gas, General--Recoupment of overpayments on Indian mineral leases.
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1218.53 (b)................... Recoupment of overpayments on 1 5 5
Indian mineral leases. (b) With
written permission authorized
by tribal statute or
resolution, a payor may recoup
an overpayment against
royalties or other revenues
owed . . . under other leases .
. . . A copy of the tribe's
written permission must be
furnished to ONRR . . ..
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Total Burden.............. ................................ .............. 1,630 1,255
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Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden associated with
this 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: 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.
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.
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: David Alspach (202) 219-
8526
Dated: May 16, 2014.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2014-12185 Filed 5-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P