Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2004 / Notices 67161

field, mitigation opportunities, and 

identifying who will do and who will 

pay for the monitoring. Task Group 

recommendations are due to the PAWG 

in February, 2005. At a minimum, 

public comments will be heard just 

prior to adjournment of the meeting.

Dated: November 8, 2004. 

Priscilla E. Mecham, 

Field Office Manager.

[FR Doc. 04–25373 Filed 11–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–100–05–1310–DB] 

Notice of Meeting of the Pinedale 

Anticline Working Group’s Air Quality 

Task Group

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (1976) and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (1972), the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Pinedale 

Anticline Working Group (PAWG) Air 

Quality Task Group (subcommittee) will 

meet in Pinedale, Wyoming, for a 

business meeting. Task Group meetings 

are open to the public.

DATES: The PAWG Air Quality Task 

Group will meet November 30, 2004, 

from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting of the PAWG 

Air Quality Task Group will be held in 

the conference room of the BLM 

Pinedale Field Office at 432 E. Mill St., 

Pinedale, WY.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Caplan, BLM/Air QualityTG 

Liaison, Bureau of Land Management, 

Wyoming State Office, 5353 

Yellowstone Rd., Cheyenne, WY 82009, 

or PO Box 1828, Cheyenne, WY 82003; 

307–775–6031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Pinedale Anticline Working Group 

(PAWG) was authorized and established 

with release of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the Pinedale Anticline Oil 

and Gas Exploration and Development 

Project on July 27, 2000. The PAWG 

advises the BLM on the development 

and implementation of monitoring plans 

and adaptive management decisions as 

development of the Pinedale Anticline 

Natural Gas Field (PAPA) proceeds for 

the life of the field. 

After the ROD was issued, Interior 

determined that a Federal Advisory 

Committees Act (FACA) charter was 

required for this group. The charter was 

signed by Secretary of the Interior, Gale 

Norton, on August 15, 2002, and 

renewed on August 13, 2004. An 

announcement of committee initiation 

and call for nominations was published 

in the Federal Register on February 21, 

2003 (68 FR 8522). PAWG members 

were appointed by Secretary Norton on 

May 4, 2004. 

At their second business meeting, the 

PAWG established seven resource- or 

activity-specific Task Groups, including 

one for Air Quality. Public participation 

on the Task Groups was solicited 

through the media, letters, and word-ofmouth. 

The agenda for this meeting will 

include information gathering and 

discussion related to developing an air 

quality monitoring plan to assess the 

impacts of development in the Pinedale 

Anticline gas field, and identifying who 

will do and who will pay for the 

monitoring. Task Group 

recommendations are due to the PAWG 

in February, 2005. At a minimum, 

public comments will be heard just 

prior to adjournment of the meeting.

Dated: November 8, 2004. 

Priscilla E. Mecham, 

Field Office Manager.

[FR Doc. 04–25374 Filed 11–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management 

[NV–010–05–1020PH] 

Notice of Public Meetings: 

Northeastern Great Basin Resource 

Advisory Council

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Fiscal Year 2005 

Meetings Locations and Times for the 

Northeastern Great Basin Resource 

Advisory Council (Nevada). 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Nevada 

Northeastern Great Basin Resource 

Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as 

indicated below. Topics for discussion 

at each meeting will include, but are not 

limited to: January 28, 2005 (Reno, 

Nevada)—Ely Resource Management 

Plan, Water Resources Transportation 

Panel discussion, and Sage Grouse 

Status and Governor’s Plan update; 

March 31, 2005 (Eureka, Nevada)—Ely 

Resource Management Plan follow-up, 

Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Projects, 

Elko Field Office Land Sale Parcels 

presentation, and Wind and Alternative 

Energy; May 20, 2005 (Elko, Nevada)—

Elko Land Sales Parcels selection, 

Transportation Planning, and OffHighway Vehicle; July 14 & 15, 2004 

(Battle Mountain, Nevada)—Rangeland 

Health-Carrico Lake Tour and NEPA 

streamlining discussion. Managers’

reports of field office activities will be 

given at each meeting. The council may 

raise other topics at any of the four 

planned meetings.

DATES: The RAC will meet four times in 

Fiscal Year 2005: on January 28, 2005 at 

the BLM Nevada State Office, 1340 

Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada; on 

March 31, 2005 at the Eureka Opera 

House, 31 South Main, Eureka, Nevada; 

on May 20, 2004 at the BLM Elko Field 

Office, 3900 East Idaho Street, Elko, 

Nevada; and on July 14 & 15, 2004 at the 

BLM Battle Mountain Field Office, 50 

Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada. 

All meetings are open to the public. 

Each meeting will last from 9 a.m. to 5 

p.m. and will include a general public 

comment period, where the public may 

submit oral or written comments to the 

RAC. Each public comment period will 

begin at approximately 1 p.m. unless 

otherwise listed in each specific, final 

meeting agenda. 

Final detailed agendas, with any 

additions/corrections to agenda topics, 

locations, field trips and meeting times, 

will be available on the Internet at least 

14 days before each meeting, at http://

www.nv.blm.gov/rac; hard copies can 

also be mailed or sent via FAX. 

Individuals who need special assistance 

such as sign language interpretation or 

other reasonable accommodations, or 

who wish a hard copy of each agenda, 

should contact Mike Brown, Elko Field 

Office, 3900 East Idaho Street, Elko, 

Nevada 89801, telephone (775) 753–

0386 no later than 10 days prior to each 

meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Brown, Public Affairs Officer, Elko 

Field Office, 3900 E. Idaho Street, Elko, 

NV 89801. Telephone: (775) 753–0386. 

E-mail: mbrown@nv.blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 15-

member Council advises the Secretary 

of the Interior, through the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM), on a variety 

of planning and management issues 

associated with public land 

management in Nevada. All meetings 

are open to the public. The public may 

present written comments to the 

Northeastern Great Basin Resource 

Advisory Council.

67162 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2004 / Notices 

Dated: November 5, 2004. 

Helen M. Hankins, 

Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 04–25366 Filed 11–15–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection, 

Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service 

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection (OMB Control Number 1010–

0073). 

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. 

We changed the title of this information 

collection request (ICR) to clarify the 

regulatory language we are covering 

under 30 CFR Part 220. The previous 

title of this ICR was ‘‘30 CFR Part 220, 

Accounting Procedures for Determining 

Net Profit Share Payment for Outer 

Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leases.’’

The new title of this ICR is ‘‘30 CFR Part 

220, Accounting Procedures for 

Determining Net Profit Share Payment 

for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas 

Leases, § 220.010 NPSL capital account, 

§ 220.030 Maintenance of records, 

§ 220.031 Reporting and payment 

requirements, § 220.032 Inventories, and 

§ 220.033 Audits.’’

DATES: Submit written comments on or 

before January 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead Regulatory 

Specialist, Minerals Management 

Service, Minerals Revenue Management, 

P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver, 

Colorado 80225. If you use an overnight 

courier service, our courier address is 

Building 85, Room A–614, Denver 

Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. 

You may also e-mail your comments to 

us at mrm.comments@mms.gov. 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. 

Submit electronic comments as an 

ASCII file avoiding the use of special 

characters and any form of encryption. 

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 email sharron.gebhardt@mms.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: 30 CFR Part 220, Accounting 

Procedures for Determining Net Profit 

Share Payment for Outer Continental 

Shelf Oil and Gas Leases, § 220.010 

NPSL Capital Account, § 220.030 

Maintenance of Records, § 220.031 

Reporting and Payment Requirements, 

§ 220.032 Inventories, and § 220.033 

Audits. 

OMB Control Number: 1010–0073. 

Bureau Form Number: None. 

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 

MMS performs the royalty management 

functions for the Secretary. 

Applicable citations of the laws are 

Public Law 97–451—Jan. 12, 1983 

(Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

Management Act of 1982) and Public 

Law 212—Aug. 7, 1953 (Outer 

Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, as 

amended by Public Law 93–627—Jan. 3, 

1975; Public Law 95–372—Sept. 18, 

1978; and Public Law 98–498—Oct. 19, 

1984). These citations can be viewed on 

our Web site at http://

www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/

PublicLawsAMR.htm.

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 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 royalties or net 

profit share payments are properly 

valued and appropriately paid. 

Proprietary information submitted to 

MMS under this collection is protected, 

and no items of a sensitive nature are 

collected.

Net Profit Share Lease Bidding System 

To encourage exploration and 

development of oil and gas leases on 

submerged Federal lands on the Outer 

Continental Shelf, regulations were 

promulgated at 30 CFR 260, Outer 

Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing. 

Specific implementation regulations for 

the net profit share lease (NPSL) bidding 

system are promulgated at 30 CFR 

260.110(d) (covered under ICR 1010–

0143, expires December 31, 2006). The 

MMS established the NPSL bidding 

system to properly balance a fair market 

return to the Federal Government for the 

lease of its lands, with a fair profit to 

companies risking their investment 

capital. The system provides an 

incentive for early and expeditious 

exploration and development and 

provides for sharing the risks by the 

lessee and the Federal Government. The 

NPSL bidding system incorporates a 

fixed capital recovery system as a means 

through which the lessee recovers costs 

of exploration and development from 

production revenues, along with a 

reasonable return on investment. 

The Federal Government does not 

receive a profit share payment from an 

NPSL until the lessee shows a credit 

balance in its capital account; that is, 

cumulative revenues and other credits 

exceed cumulative costs. The credit 

balance is multiplied by the net profit 

share rate (30 to 50 percent), resulting 

in the amount of net profit share 

payment due the Federal Government. 

The MMS requires lessees to maintain 

an NPSL capital account for each lease, 

which transfers to a new owner when 

sold. Following the cessation of 

production, lessees are also required to 

provide either an annual or a monthly 

report to the Federal Government, using 

data from the capital account. In 

addition, NPSL lessees must notify 

MMS of their intent to perform an 

inventory and file a report after each 

inventory of controllable material. 

Further, when non-operators of an NPSL 

call for an audit, they must notify MMS. 

When MMS calls for an audit, the lessee 

must notify all non-operators on the 

lease. These requirements are located at 

30 CFR Part 220, §§ 220.010, 220.030, 

220.031, 220.032, and 220.033. This 

collection of information is necessary in 

order to determine when net profit share 

payments are due and to determine the 

proper amount of payment. 

We are revising this ICR to add 

citations related to records management 

(30 CFR 220.030(a)) and inventories (30 

CFR 220.032(b)). We added a new 

citation for a PRA-exempt requirement