Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2000 / Notices 2981

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–920–1430–00–ET; WYW 149140]

Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and

Opportunity for Public Meeting;

Wyoming

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, has

filed an application to withdraw 40.00

acres of National Forest System lands

for 40 years for the protection of the Tie

Hack Campground. This notice closes

the land for up to 2 years from location

and entry under the United States

mining laws. The land will remain open

to mineral leasing and to all other forms

of disposition which may by law be

made of National Forest System lands.

DATES: Comments and requests for a

public meeting should be received on or

before April 18, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments and meeting

requests should be sent to the BLM,

Wyoming State Director, P.O. Box 1828,

Cheyenne, WY 82003–1828.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet Booth, BLM Wyoming State Office,

307–775–6124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August

31, 1999, the USDA filed an application

to withdraw the following described

National Forest System lands from

location and entry under the United

States mining laws, subject to valid

existing rights:

Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming

Bighorn National Forest

T. 50 N., R. 84 W.,

sec. 26, NW1⁄4NW1⁄4NW1⁄4;

sec. 27, NE1⁄4NE1⁄4NE1⁄4.

The area described contains 40.00 acres,

more or less, in Johnson County, Wyoming.

For a period of 90 days from the date

of publication of this notice, all persons

who wish to submit comments,

suggestions, or objections in connection

with the proposed withdrawal may

present their views in writing to the

Wyoming State Director of the BLM.

Notice is hereby given that an

opportunity for a public meeting is

afforded in connection with the

proposed withdrawal. All interested

persons who desire a public meeting for

the purpose of being heard on the

proposed withdrawal must submit a

written request to the BLM Wyoming

State Director within 90 days from the

date of publication of this notice. Upon

determination by the authorized officer

that a public meeting will be held, a

notice of time and place will be

published in the Federal Register at

least 30 days before the scheduled date

of the meeting.

The application will be processed in

accordance with the regulations set

forth in 43 CFR 2300.

For a period of 2 years from the date

of publication of this notice in the

Federal Register, the land will be

segregated as specified above unless the

application is denied or canceled or the

withdrawal is approved prior to that

date. During the segregative period, the

Forest Service will continue to permit

uses within the statutory authorities

pertinent to National Forest lands and

subject to discretionary approval.

Dated: January 11, 2000.

Michael Madrid,

Acting Deputy State Director, Mineral &

Lands Authorizations.

[FR Doc. 00–1159 Filed 1–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Small Refiners Royalty-in-Kind

Program

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and sale

of Government royalty oil to small

refiners.

SUMMARY: This notice explains how

small refiners may apply to participate

in the sale of Federal royalty oil and the

procedures under which subsequent

contracts will be awarded.

DATES: All completed applications must

be received by the close of business

(4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time) on

February 1, 2000. Applications received

after this date will be rejected. The bid

proposal, signed contracts, and the

surety instrument must be received by

close of business (4:00 p.m. Mountain

Standard Time) on February 8, 2000.

The sale will be held on February 9,

2000.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain an

application to participate in the sale

(Form MMS–4070, Application for the

Purchase of Royalty Oil) directly from

our web site http://www.rmp.mms.gov/

reportingservices/forms/forms.htm or by

writing to the Minerals Management

Service, Royalty Management Program,

Attention: Robert F. Prael, MS 3131,

P.O. Box 5760, Denver, Colorado 80217–

5760. You may also request an

application by calling (303) 231–3217 or

by e-mail to Robert.Prael@mms.gov.

Completed applications must be

returned to the same address or sent by

overnight mail or courier to Minerals

Management Service, Royalty

Management Program, Room A–212,

Document Processing Section,

Attention: Robert F. Prael, Building 85,

Denver Federal Center, Denver,

Colorado 80225. Completed

applications can also be sent via

facsimile to (303) 231–3219.

For confidentiality, please put your

bid proposal in an envelope marked as

‘‘confidential, to be opened only by

Todd W. Leneau’’ and enclose this

envelope inside the envelope containing

the signed contract and surety

instrument. Please mail the bid

proposal, signed contracts, and the

surety instrument to: Minerals

Management Service, Procurement

Branch, Attention: Todd W. Leneau, MS

2730, PO Box 25165, Denver Federal

Center, Denver, CO 80225–0165.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert F. Prael, Chief, Royalty-in-Kind

Section, at the above address, (303) 231-

3217, FAX (303) 231–3219, or e-mail at

Robert.Prael@mms.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Secretary of the Interior has determined

that sufficient need exists among small

refining companies to justify taking

royalty oil in kind and offering this oil

to eligible refiners. This notice provides

procedures that applicants must follow

to permit MMS to determine the

applicants’ eligibility to participate in

the sale and general terms under which

the contracts will be awarded.

This determination of need is based

on the following facts:

(1) Small refiners who purchase crude

oil in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico

regions have indicated to the MMS that

they have concerns about the lack of

stable access to the marketplace and the

premium prices they frequently must

pay to obtain desired feed stock;

(2) Small refiners continue to play a

prominent role in providing military jet

fuel to the Department of Defense. This

supply of military jet fuel and the

diversity in suppliers and locations

combine to make the eligible refiner oil

program an important contributor to

national security;

(3) The U.S. Small Business

Administration encourages program

continuance in the interest of

maintaining a competitive marketplace;

and 4) Small refiners also provide

valuable resources for several States and

local governments.

Accordingly, the Secretary has elected

to take royalty oil in kind from certain

Federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico and

2982 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2000 / Notices

Pacific regions and offer such oil for sale

to eligible refiners.

Improvements to the Small Refiner

Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Program

MMS is making several improvements

in the small refiner program effective

with this sale. These improvements are

summarized below:

(1) Refiners will be reporting and

paying based on their delivered

volumes. In the past, the Royalty

Management Program (RMP) billed

refiners based on volumes reported by

operators. This volume in many cases

had no relationship to the volume

delivered to the refiners. The difference

between deliveries and billings created

cash flow problems for refiners. Having

the refiners pay for what they actually

receive will eliminate this problem.

(2) Pricing will be established in the

contract. This eliminates past problems

when refiners were billed for retroactive

price adjustments and had no means to

recover the additional cost through their

end users.

(3) We will monitor imbalances

between the royalty barrels the

Government is entitled to receive and

the barrels actually received by the

refiners.

(4) Administrative fee has been

canceled. Because this sale will be a

competitive bid sale, there is no need

for an administrative fee.

(5) Deliveries of royalty oil will occur

at market centers such as St. James, etc.

Eligibility Requirements

For purposes of this sale ‘‘eligible

refiners’’ will be those refiners who

meet the criteria for small refiners as

defined in the U.S. Small Business

Administration regulations at 13 CFR

part 121 (<75,000 barrels per day

refinery capacity and <1,500

employees). An eligible refiner may not

sell royalty oil that it purchases under

an RIK contract except for purposes of

an exchange for other crude oil on a

volume or equivalent value basis. Crude

oil purchased under an RIK contract or

received in exchange for such royalty oil

must be processed into refined

petroleum products in the eligible

refiner’s refinery.

We will not accept an application

from an refiner who is not in operation

during the 60-day period before the date

of the royalty oil sale, unless such

applicant certifies to MMS that it will

begin operations by the first month in

which oil becomes available under a

royalty oil contract. Certification could

be in the form of a notarized statement

referencing a current permit to operate

from the State or local environmental

control agency. We will confirm the

operating status of the applicant’s

refinery with the Department of Energy

and/or the U.S. Small Business

Administration as appropriate. We will

terminate the royalty oil contract if

operations do not begin by the first

month in which oil becomes available.

In addition, we will disallow multiple

applications from two or more refiners

who are affiliated through common

ownership or control. Such refiners will

be limited to one allotment in the

allocation of royalty oil.

An otherwise eligible refiner will not

be permitted to participate in the sale if,

at the time of the sale, that refiner is in

arrears on payments owed to MMS.

Application Procedures

Applications must be filed on Form

MMS–4070, Application for the

Purchase of Royalty Oil. The application

must be complete and filed timely.

Improperly completed or late

applications will be rejected. We will

reject any application from a refiner that

does not meet eligibility criteria

established in this notice.

Applicants are advised that the

Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Management Act of 1982, as amended,

30 U.S.C. 1701, et seq., provides civil

and criminal penalties for false or

inaccurate reporting. Applicants are also

cautioned to provide adequate detail on

each item in the application to preclude

rejection of the application from further

consideration. Any questions

concerning the application should be

directed to the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of

this notice. We will provide an

information package to each applicant

who has filed a timely application. This

package will contain:

(1) Sale arrangements and procedures;

(2) The lease locations and

approximate quantity and quality of

royalty oil to be offered from each lease;

(3) A statement on the contract award

processes, surety requirements,

imbalance procedures;

(4) A copy of the Federal royalty oil

contract; and

(5) A copy of the regulations

governing royalty-in-kind sales.

Sale Information

Approximately 2,900 barrels per day

for the Pacific region and 82,000 barrels

per day for the Gulf of Mexico region of

royalty oil from selected Federal leases

will be offered for sale to qualified

applicants.

Royalty oil will be sold based on a

competitive bidding process. The bid

proposal will be based on formulas

representing spot market prices with

premiums added or deductions

subtracted. Royalty oil will be sold in

lease bundles representing groups of

leases, oil types, and Facility

Measurement Points. Refiners will be

required to select the entire bundle.

The highest bidder, exceeding or

meeting minimum bid, will be notified

by phone or e-mail and provided a list

of properties from which to choose.

After the highest bidder selects their

properties, the list of remaining

properties will be provided to the next

highest bidder. This process is

continued until all the oil is selected or

the minimum bid threshold is met. The

sale will be a competitive bidding

process, whereby a minimum bid, for

each oil type, near spot market prices

will be established. If the minimum bid

price is not met, MMS will have the

option to negotiate prices with the

highest bidder.

In the event that an applicant who has

participated in the allocation process

does not execute its contract, or in the

event substantial quantities of royalty

oil sold in this eligible lease sale are

subsequently turned back to MMS, we

may reallocate such oil. However, only

those refiners who hold ongoing

contracts from this sale will be allowed

to participate in any reallocation, and

then only if they continue to meet

eligibility requirements as set forth in

this notice and 30 CFR part 208 (1999).

Questions or additional information

on the allocation and reallocation

procedures should be directed to the

contact listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this

notice.

Surety Requirements

Applicants for royalty oil will be

required to provide a surety instrument

with their bid package. This surety

instrument must be an MMS-specified

surety such as a bond, irrevocable letter

of credit, etc. The amount of the surety

instrument must equal the value of 30

days of production that the refiner is

bidding on. Once the contract is

awarded, the surety must be increased

to an amount equal to the estimated

value of royalty oil that could be taken

by the purchaser in a 99-day period. The

increased surety must be received by

March 24, 2000. All sureties must be in

a form acceptable to MMS and must

include any MMS-specified

requirements to adequately protect the

Government’s interests. Sureties for

unsuccessful bidders will be

immediately returned to the financial

institution. Upon termination of

deliveries under the contract, MMS will

reduce the amount of the surety in

amounts proportionate to payments

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2000 / Notices 2983

made by the refiner to fulfill payment

obligations.

If the refiner provides a bond or a

certificate of deposit as the surety, it

must be effective for the entire term of

the contract plus a 6-month

reconciliation period. If the refiner

furnishes a letter of credit as the surety,

it must be effective for a 6-month period

beginning the first day the royalty oil

contract is effective, with a clause

providing for automatic renewal for a

new 6-month period. The purchaser or

its surety company may elect not to

renew the letter of credit at any monthly

anniversary date but must notify MMS

of its intent not to renew at least 30 days

before the anniversary date. We may

grant the purchaser 45 days to obtain a

new surety. If no replacement surety is

provided, we will terminate the contract

effective at least 6 months before the

expiration date of the letter of credit.

Financial institutions that furnish

bonds must be listed in the Department

of the Treasury’s Circular 570. Those

institutions that propose to furnish

letters of credit and certificates of

deposit must be chartered in the United

States and must be acceptable to MMS.

Contract Terms

The royalty oil contracts will be

effective April 1, 2000, and will have a

6-month term with an automatic

evergreen clause that renews the

contract for another 6-month term

subject to a 90-day termination notice

by either the refiner or MMS.

Successful applicants who are

awarded royalty oil contracts must

process that royalty oil, or oil obtained

in exchange for the royalty oil, in their

refineries and may not resell it. If a

refiner exchanges royalty oil for other

crude oil to process in its refinery, it

must provide full information to MMS,

including a copy of the exchange

agreement within 30 days of the

exchange agreement’s effective date.

Authority

These actions are taken according to

the provisions of the Outer Continental

Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 to 1356

as amended, the Outer Continental Shelf

Lands Act Amendments of 1978, 43

U.S.C. 1331 et. seq., and regulations at

30 CFR part 208.

Dated: January 12, 2000.

R. Dale Fazio,

Acting Associate Director for Royalty

Management

[FR Doc. 00–1104 Filed 1–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Oil and Gas Management Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement, Lake

Meredith National Recreation Area and

Alibates Flint Quarries National

Monument, Texas

AGENCY: National Park Service, U.S.

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an

Oil and Gas Management Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement for

Lake Meredith National Recreation Area

and Alibates Flint Quarries National

Monument.

SUMMARY: In accordance with Section

102(2)(C) of the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, the National Park

Service is preparing an Oil and Gas

Management Plan/Environmental

Impact Statement for Lake Meredith

National Recreation Area and Alibates

Flint Quarries National Monument,

Hutchinson, Moore and Potter Counties,

Texas, and is initiating the scoping

process for this document. This

statement will be approved by the

Intermountain Regional Director,

National Park Service. The Bureau of

Reclamation and Canadian River

Municipal Water Authority are

cooperating agencies.

The Oil and Gas Management Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement is

needed to address the issues of how the

National Park Service can protect its

resources and values, ensure public

safety, and minimize conflicts with

visitors and park management while

recognizing the rights of private mineral

owners to develop their oil and gas

resources. In the Oil and Gas

Management Plan/Environmental

Impact Statement and its accompanying

public involvement process, the

National Park Service will formulate

and evaluate the environmental impacts

of a reasonable range of alternatives that

will provide protection for resources

and values at Lake Meredith National

Recreation Area and Alibates Flint

Quarries National Monument while

allowing for exploration and

development of the private mineral

estate. Distinct management issues

include identifying which park

resources and values are most sensitive

to oil and gas exploration and

development disturbance, defining

impact mitigation requirements to

protect such resources and values,

establishing reasonable performance

standards and providing pertinent

information to oil and gas owners and

operators that will facilitate operations

planning.

Public Information and Comments

A public scoping newsletter will be

mailed in January 2000, to invite public

participation in the scoping process and

to describe the planning process. The

general public and affected or interested

parties are encouraged to provide

comments and suggestions, and to

identify issues and other reasonable

alternatives that should be addressed in

the Oil and Gas Management Plan/

Environmental Impact Statement.

An Open House meeting will be held

on February 9, 2000, at park

headquarters in Fritch, Texas. The

public and affected or interested parties

may request additional meetings in

other Texas cities. These requests

should be made no later than January

28, 2000, to EIS Team Leader Linda

Dansby or Paul Eubank at Lake

Meredith National Recreation Area/

Alibates Flint Quarries National

Monument, at the addresses or

telephone numbers provided below.

If you wish to comment, you may

submit your comments by mailing them

to the post office addresses provided

below by March 14, 2000. Our practice

is to make comments, including names

and home addresses of respondents,

available for public review during

regular business hours. Individual

respondents may request that we

withhold their home address from the

decisionmaking record, which we will

honor to the extent allowable by law.

There may also be circumstances in

which we would withhold from the

decisionmaking record a respondent’s

identify, as allowable by 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If

you would like to submit comments, be

placed on the mailing list, or request a

meeting in your city, please contact

Linda Dansby, EIS Team Leader, P.O.

Box 728, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504,

505/988–6095; or Paul Eubank, Lake

Meredith National Recreation Area and

Alibates Flint Quarries National

Monument at 806–857–3151, or P.O.

Box 1460, Fritch, Texas 79036.