Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 116 / Thursday, June 15, 2000 / Notices 37571

with the required 60-day comment

period soliciting comments on this ICR

on February 23, 2000 (65 FR 8987).

Frequency: On occasion or annual.

Estimated Number and Description of

Respondents: Approximately 130

Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulphur

lessees and 52 training schools.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 2,300

burden hours. Refer to the following

chart.

Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart O Reporting and recordkeeping requirement Number Burden

hours

Annual

burden

hours

1508 ............................................ Request exceptions (departures) to training requirements.15 exceptions ............................. .25 14

1512 ............................................ Request approval of alternative training program 4 alternative programs ............... 100 400

1515 ............................................ Apply to MMS for training program accreditation

renewal.

14 renewal accreditations .......... 46 644

1516 ............................................ Apply to MMS for approval of new training program accreditation.7 new programs ......................... 100 700

1504; 1517(c), (d), (j), (k) ............ Supply trainees with various documents, manuals, course updates, and certificates of training..Supplying these documents is usual/customary practice for a training situation0

1517(h) ........................................ Furnish MMS personnel a copy of training program and plan during onsite review.These documents would be readily available. 0

1517(i) ......................................... Submit annual course schedule and changes to

MMS.

48 schedules .............................. 8 384

1517(l) ......................................... Send MMS letter and course roster at the completion of each course.2,100 letters/rosters .................... .08 168

Reporting Total ............................................................................... 2,188 Responses 2,300

1503 ............................................ Provide drilling and well-completion/ wellworkover floorhands job site well-control drill;

record in driller and operations logs.

Training drills are conducted as part of regularly scheduled drills required by subparts

D, E, or F; burdens included in 1010–

0053, 1010–0057, & 1010–0043

0

1517(a) ........................................

517(b) ..........................................

Retain records for each trainee for 5 years .........

Retain records of training program for 5 years ....

Training organizations maintain records as

usual/customary business practice. Although some might retain records for less

than 5 years, once the documentation is

recorded and filed, no additional burden

for longer retention as verified by the organizations consulted.

0

Recordkeeping Total ............................................................................... 0

1 Rounded.

Estimated Annual Recordkeeping

‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’ Burden: We have

identified no non-hour cost burdens for

this collection.

Comments: All comments are made a

part of the public record. Section

3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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.

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 July 17,

2000.

MMS Information Collection

Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,

(202) 208–7744.

Dated: May 4, 2000.

John V. Mirabella,

Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations

Division.

[FR Doc. 00–15106 Filed 6–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–U

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 a

currently approved information

collection (OMB control number 1010–

0137).

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are

submitting to OMB for review and

approval an information collection

request (ICR) titled Historical Well Data

Cleanup (HWDC) Project. We are also

soliciting comments from the public on

this ICR.

DATE: Submit written comments by July

17, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments

directly to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention:

Desk Officer for the Department of the

Interior (1010–0137), 725 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20503. 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.

Our practice is to make comments,

including names and home addresses of

37572 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 116 / Thursday, June 15, 2000 / Notices

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexis London, Rules Processing Team,

telephone (703) 787–1600. You may also

contact Alexis London to obtain a copy

of the collection of information at no

cost. For information on results of

workshops held to discuss the Historical

Well Data Cleanup Project, contact

Warren Frederick, Gulf of Mexico

Region, telephone (504) 736–2562.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Historical Well Data Cleanup

(HWDC) Project.

OMB Control Number: 1010–0137.

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf

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

gives the Secretary of the Interior

(Secretary) the responsibility to

preserve, protect, and develop oil and

gas resources in the OCS, consistent

with the need to make such resources

available to meet the Nation’s energy

needs as rapidly as possible; balance

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; preserve and

maintain free enterprise competition;

and ensure that the extent of oil and

natural gas resources of the OCS is

assessed at the earliest practicable time.

Section 1332(6) of the OCS Lands Act

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.’’

On February 4, 2000, the OMB

approved our request under emergency

processing procedures to issue

Addendum 2 to NTL No. 98–29 to begin

this project. Emergency processing

permits the collection of information for

180 days. As the project is expected to

last for several years, this Notice

informs you that we have requested

approval for a 3-year extension of this

information collection.

The information collected is missing

data for wellbores that MMS has not

assigned API numbers and other well

data discovered as missing while

completing the well database cleanup

project. We are not able to accurately

manage and utilize data from drilling

operations 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

MMS 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 3,000

to 5,000 unidentified completed and/or

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 and the

operators/lessees 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

increases, thereby increasing the risk to

adjacent activities if they are not aware

of what might be in the area.

As announced in a ‘‘Special

Information’’ release on February 2,

2000, we held two half-day workshops

to share HWDC contract goals with the

Gulf of Mexico OCS oil and gas industry

and their services company vendors and

contractors. The workshops were held

in Houston and New Orleans on

February 17 and 23, 2000. For further

information on the results of these

workshops, you may contact Warren

Frederick at (504) 736–2562.

We will protect information

respondents submit that is considered

proprietary under the Freedom of

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

implementing regulations (43 CFR part

2) and 30 CFR 250.196, ‘‘Data and

information to be made available to the

public.’’ No items of a sensitive nature

are collected. Responses are mandatory.

Frequency: The frequency of reporting

is on occasion.

Estimated Number and Description of

Respondents: Approximately 130

Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulphur

lessees.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 90,000

reporting hours for approximately

40,000 wells, based on:

(1) 1⁄4 hour to locate and copy a

summary of drilling operations (e.g.

scout tickets) for each well.

(2) 2 hours to retrieve and analyze

each well file and retrieve other missing

data. There are no recordkeeping

requirements.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’

Burden: We have identified no cost

burdens for this collection.

Comments: 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.

Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA

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.

We published a Federal Register

notice with the required 60-day

comment period soliciting comments on

this ICR on March 3, 2000 (65 FR

11600). We received no comments in

response to that notice. 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 July 17,

2000.

MMS Information Collection

Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,

(202) 208–7744.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 116 / Thursday, June 15, 2000 / Notices 37573

Dated: May 10, 2000.

E.P. Danenberger,

Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.

[FR Doc. 00–15107 Filed 6–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–U

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 a

currently approved information

collection (OMB control number 1010–

0050).

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are

submitting to OMB for review and

approval an information collection

request (ICR), titled ‘‘30 CFR 250,

Subpart J—Pipelines and Pipeline

Rights-of-Way.’’ We are also soliciting

comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments by

July 17, 2000.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments

directly to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention:

Desk Officer for the Department of the

Interior (1010–0050), 725 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20503. 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.

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 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexis London, Rules Processing Team,

telephone (703) 787–1600. You may also

contact Alexis London to obtain a copy

of the collection of information at no

cost.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: 30 CFR part 250, Subpart J,

Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way

(1010–0050).

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS) Lands Act, as amended, 43 U.S.C.

1334(e), authorizes the Secretary of the

Interior (Secretary) to grant rights-ofway through the submerged lands of the

OCS for pipelines ‘‘* * * for the

transportation of oil, natural gas,

sulphur, or other minerals, or under

such regulations and upon such

conditions as may be prescribed by the

Secretary, * * * including (as provided

in section 1347(b) of this title) assuring

maximum environmental protection by

utilization of the best available and

safest technologies, including the safest

practices for pipeline burial. * * *’’

This authority and responsibility are

among those delegated to MMS. To

carry out these responsibilities, MMS

issues regulations governing oil and gas

or sulphur operations in the OCS. In

addition, MMS issues Notices to Lessees

and Operators to supplement

regulations to provide guidance and

clarification.

The Independent Offices

Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA), 31

U.S.C. 9701, authorizes Federal agencies

to recover the full cost of services that

provide special benefits. Under the

Department of the Interior’s (DOI) policy

implementing the IOAA, MMS is

required to charge the full cost for

services that provide special benefits or

privileges to an identifiable non-Federal

recipient above and beyond those which

accrue to the public at large. Pipeline

rights-of-way and assignments are

subject to cost recovery, and MMS

regulations specify filing fees for

applications.

OMB has approved the information

collection requirements in current

subpart J regulations under control

numbers 1010–0050 and 1010–0108.

The first is the primary collection for

subpart J. The latter was approved in

connection with a final rule amending

§ 250.1000(c) to implement a provision

of the new Memorandum of

Understanding between DOI and the

Department of Transportation (DOT).

Our submission will consolidate these

two subpart J collections under 1010–

0050.

The pipelines are designed by the

lessees and transmission companies that

install, maintain, and operate them. To

ensure those activities are performed in

a safe manner, MMS needs information

concerning the proposed pipeline and

safety equipment, inspections and tests,

and natural and manmade hazards near

the proposed pipeline route. The

information collected under subpart J is

used by MMS field offices to review

pipeline designs prior to approving an

application for a right-of-way or a

pipeline permitted under a lease. The

records concerning pipeline inspections

and tests are monitored by MMS

inspectors to ensure safety of operations

and protection of the environment.

Specifically, MMS uses the information

to:

• Monitor schedules for pipeline

construction, installation, and tests to

enable MMS personnel to schedule their

workload to permit the witnessing of

these operations to ensure safety and

environmental protection.

• Review applications for pipeline

permits and rights-of-way and pipeline

construction reports to ensure that the

pipeline, as constructed, will provide

for safe transportation of minerals

through the submerged lands of the

OCS.

• Review applications for pipeline

rights-of-way for compliance with

applicable rules and other legal and

administrative requirements for the

granting of a pipeline right-of-way.

• Review proposed routes of a rightof-way to ensure that the right-of-way, if

granted, would not conflict with any

State requirements or unduly interfere

with other OCS activities.

• Review pipeline repair procedures

to ensure that the lessee takes

appropriate safety and pollutionprevention measures.

• Review plans for taking pipeline

safety equipment out of service to

ensure alternate measures are used that

will properly provide for the safety of

the pipeline and associated facilities

(platform, etc.).

• Review reports on findings of

historical or potential archeological

significance to ensure that such

resources are protected.

• Review notification of

relinquishment of a right-of-way grant to

ensure that all legal obligations are met

and that a pipeline will be abandoned

properly.

• Determine the point at which DOI

or DOT has regulatory responsibility for

a pipeline and to be informed of the

responsible operator if not the same as

the right-of-way holder.

This collection of information does

not require respondents to submit

proprietary information. If such were

submitted, we will protect it under the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552) and its implementing regulations

(43 CFR 2) and 30 CFR 250.196. No