67938 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 224 / Monday, November 22, 2004 / Notices 

equipment, tools, and materials as required 

by the Authorized Officer. Any such 

structures remaining on the Leased Lands 

beyond the 180 days, or approved extension 

thereof, shall become the property of the 

Lessor. Lessee shall either remove all such 

property or shall continue to be liable for the 

cost of removal and disposal in the amount 

actually incurred by the Lessor. 

(b) Lessee shall reclaim all lands which 

have been disturbed and dispose of all debris 

or solid waste in an approved manner in 

accordance with the schedule established in 

the plan of operations and maintain bond 

coverage until such reclamation is complete. 

Section 19. Protection of Proprietary 

Information 

(a) This lease, and any activities 

thereunder, shall not be construed to grant a 

license, permit or other right of use or 

ownership to the Lessor, or any other person, 

of the patented processes, trade secrets, or 

other confidential or privileged technical 

information (hereafter in this section called 

‘‘technical processes’’) of the Lessee or any 

other party whose technical processes are 

embodied in improvements on the Leased 

Lands or used in connection with the lease. 

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

this lease, the Lessor agrees that any 

technical processes obtained from the Lessee 

which are designated by the Lessee as 

confidential shall: (1) Not be disclosed to 

persons other than employees of the Federal 

Government having a need for such 

disclosures and (2) not be copied or 

reproduced in any manner. The Lessor 

further agrees this material may not be used 

in any manner that will violate their 

proprietary nature. 

(c) Prior to any disclosure pursuant to a 

Freedom of Information Act request, the 

Bureau will notify the submitter of the 

specific information which it has initially 

determined to release and give it thirty (30) 

days to provide a justification for the 

nondisclosure of the information under 

exemption 4 or other relevant exemptions. 

Your justification should address in detail, 

pursuant to the procedures in 43 CFR 2.23, 

whether the information 

(1) Was submitted voluntarily and falls in 

a category of information that the submitter 

does not customarily release to the public, or 

(2) If the information was required to be 

submitted, how substantial competitive or 

other business harm would likely result from 

release. 

(c) If after reviewing the information you 

submit, the bureau decides to release the 

information over your objections, it will 

inform you that it intends to release the 

information 10 workdays after receipt of the 

notice by the submitter. 

Section 20. Lessee’s Liability to the Lessor 

(a) The Lessee shall be liable to the United 

States for any damage suffered by the United 

States in any way arising from or connected 

with Lessee’s activities and operations 

conducted pursuant to this lease, except 

where damage is caused by employees of the 

United States acting within the scope of their 

authority. 

(b) The Lessee shall indemnify and hold 

harmless the United States from any and all 

claims arising from or connected with 

Lessee’s activities and operations under this 

lease. 

(c) In any case where liability without fault 

is imposed on the Lessee pursuant to this 

section, and the damages involved were 

caused by the action of a third party, the 

rules of subrogation shall apply in 

accordance with the law of the jurisdiction 

where the damage occurred. 

Section 21. Appeals 

The Lessee shall have the right to appeal 

orders or decisions of the BLM under 43 CFR 

Subpart 3165. 

Section 22. Special Stipulations 

The special stipulations that are attached 

to and made a part of this lease are imposed 

upon the Lessee, and the Lessee’s employees 

and agents. The failure or refusal to comply 

with these stipulations shall be deemed a 

failure of the Lessee to comply with the terms 

of the lease. The special stipulations may be 

revised or amended, in writing, by mutual 

consent following appropriate notice to the 

public. 

Section 23. Conversion Rights 

Upon production of commercial quantities 

of shale oil from the lease, the lease may be 

converted to a commercial lease containing 

up to a total of 5,120 acres, as allowed under 

the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. Section 

241) upon payment of fair market value for 

the additional acreage and the completion of 

appropriate NEPA analysis. This commercial 

lease may be issued for a term of 20 Years 

and so long thereafter as shale oil is 

produced from the Leased Lands in 

commercial quantities, and contain terms 

consistent with regulations to be developed 

by the Secretary pursuant to section 21 of the 

Mineral Leasing Act. Such commercial lease 

shall be subject to the readjustment of lease 

terms at the end of the 20th lease year and 

each 20 year period thereafter, and subject to 

payment to the Lessor of a rental of 50 cents 

per acre or fraction thereof and a royalty of 

xxx% of the gross value (provide comment of 

the percentage of royalty for commercial 

production) of the shale oil which is removed 

or sold by the Lessee, at the First Point of 

sale. 

Section 24. Reimbursable Costs 

In applying for required approvals, the 

lessee under the oil shale research and 

development (R & D) lease shall be subject to 

the obligation to reimburse the BLM as if the 

requirements of subpart 2808 of Part 43 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR Subpart 

2808) were applicable.

Dated: September 30, 2004. 

Thomas P. Lonnie, 

Assistant Director, Minerals Realty, and 

Resource Protection.

[FR Doc. 04–25761 Filed 11–19–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–AG–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submitted for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service 

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of an 

information collection (1010–0112). 

SUMMARY: To comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), we are notifying the public that 

we have submitted to OMB an 

information collection request (ICR) to 

renew approval of the paperwork 

requirements in Form MMS–131, 

Performance Measures Data. This notice 

also provides the public a second 

opportunity to comment on the 

paperwork burden of these regulatory 

requirements.

DATES: Submit written comments by 

December 22, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

either by fax (202) 395–6566 or e-mail 

(OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov) directly 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for the Department of the 

Interior (1010–0112). Mail or hand carry 

a copy of your comments to the 

Department of the Interior; Minerals 

Management Service; Attention: Rules 

Processing Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 

Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170–

4817. Interested parties may submit a 

copy of their comments on-line to MMS, 

the address is: https://

ocsconnect.mms.gov. From the Public 

Connect ‘‘Welcome’’ screen, you will be 

able to either search for Information 

Collection 1010–0112 or select it from 

the ‘‘Projects Open For Comment’’

menu.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cheryl Blundon, Rules Processing 

Team, (703) 787–1600. You may also 

contact Cheryl Blundon to obtain a 

copy, at no cost, of the form that 

involves the subject collection of 

information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Form MMS–131, Performance 

Measures Data. 

OMB Control Number: 1010–0112. 

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS) Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

seq.), as amended, requires the Secretary 

of the Interior to preserve, protect, and 

develop OCS oil, gas, and sulphur 

resources; make such resources 

available to meet the Nation’s energy 

needs as rapidly as possible; balance 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 224 / Monday, November 22, 2004 / Notices 67939

orderly energy resource development 

with protection of the human, marine, 

and coastal environments; ensure the 

public a fair and equitable return on the 

resources of the OCS; and preserve and 

maintain free enterprise competition. 

These responsibilities are among those 

delegated to MMS. MMS generally 

issues regulations to ensure that 

operations in the OCS will meet 

statutory requirements; provide for 

safety and protect the environment; and 

result in diligent exploration, 

development, and production of OCS 

leases. 

In 1991 MMS began promoting, on a 

voluntary basis, the implementation of a 

comprehensive Safety and 

Environmental Management Program 

(SEMP) for the offshore oil and gas 

industry as a complement to current 

regulatory efforts to protect people and 

the environment during OCS oil and gas 

exploration and production activities. 

From the beginning, MMS, the industry 

as a whole, and individual companies 

realized that at some point they would 

want to know the effect of SEMP on 

safety and environmental management 

of the OCS. The natural consequence of 

this interest was the establishment of 

performance measures. We are 

requesting OMB approval for a routine 

renewal of the Form MMS–131, 

Performance Measures Data. There are a 

few editorial changes, but no changes to 

the data elements. 

The responses to this collection of 

information are voluntary, although we 

consider the information to be critical 

for assessing the effects of the OCS 

Safety and Environmental Management 

Program. We can better focus our 

regulatory and research programs on 

areas where the performance measures 

indicate that operators are having 

difficulty meeting MMS expectations. 

We are more effective in leveraging 

resources by redirecting research efforts, 

promoting appropriate regulatory 

initiatives, and shifting inspection 

program emphasis. The performance 

measures give us valuable quantitative 

information to use in judging the 

reasonableness of company requests for 

alternative compliance or departures 

under 30 CFR 250.141 and 250.142. We 

also use the information collected to 

work with industry representatives to 

identify and request ‘‘pacesetter’’

companies make presentations at 

periodic workshops. 

Knowing how the offshore operators 

as a group are doing, and where their 

own company ranks, provides company 

management with information to focus 

their continuous improvement efforts. 

This leads to more cost-effective 

prevention actions and, therefore, better 

cost containment. This information also 

provides offshore operators and 

organizations with a credible data 

source to demonstrate to those outside 

the industry how well the industry and 

individual companies are doing. 

No questions of a ‘‘sensitive’’ nature 

are asked, and the collection of 

information involves no proprietary 

information. We intend to release data 

collected on Form MMS–131 only in a 

summary format that is not companyspecific. We will protect the information 

according to the Freedom of Information 

Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its implementing 

regulations (43 CFR 2). 

Frequency: The frequency is annual, 

with responses due during the 1st 

quarter of the calendar year. 

Estimated Number and Description of 

Respondents: Approximately 100 

Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur 

lessees and we expect a 63 percent 

response rate. 

Estimated Annual Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: We 

estimate the public reporting burden 

averages 8 hours per response. This 

includes the time for reviewing 

instructions, gathering and maintaining 

data, and completing and reviewing the 

information. The total annual hour 

burden is estimated to be 504 hours. 

Estimated Annual Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’

Burden: We have identified no ‘‘nonhour cost’’ burden associated with Form 

MMS–131. 

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: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 

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 

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, on June 22, 2004, 

we published a Federal Register notice 

(69 FR 34690) announcing that we 

would submit this ICR to OMB for 

approval. The notice provided the 

required 60-day comment period. In 

addition, § 250.199 provides the OMB 

control numbers for the information 

collection requirements imposed by the 

30 CFR part 250 regulations and forms; 

specifies that the public may comment 

at any time on these collections of 

information; and provides the address to 

which they should send comments. This 

information is also contained in the 

PRA statement on Form MMS–131. We 

have received no comments in response 

to these efforts. 

If you wish to comment in response 

to this notice, send your comments 

directly 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 22, 2004. 

Public Comment Policy: Our practice 

is to make comments, including names 

and addresses of respondents, available 

for public review during regular 

business hours. Individual respondents 

may request that we withhold their 

home address from the record, which 

we will honor to the extent allowable by 

law. There may be circumstances in 

which we would withhold from the 

record a respondent’s identity, as 

allowable by the law. If you wish us to 

withhold your name and/or address, 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comment. However, 

we will not consider anonymous 

comments. We will make all 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

MMS Information Collection 

Clearance Officer: Arlene Bajusz, (202) 

208–7744.

Dated: August 27, 2004. 

E.P. Danenberger, 

Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.

[FR Doc. 04–25879 Filed 11–19–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P