[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 116 (Thursday, June 15, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37573-37575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15108]


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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).

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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-of-way 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 Sec. 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:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Review proposed routes of a right-of-way to ensure that 
the right-of-way, if granted, would not conflict with any State 
requirements or unduly interfere with other OCS activities.
    <bullet> Review pipeline repair procedures to ensure that the 
lessee takes appropriate safety and pollution-prevention measures.
    <bullet> 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.).
    <bullet> Review reports on findings of historical or potential 
archeological significance to ensure that such resources are protected.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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

[[Page 37574]]

items of a sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion or annual.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulphur lessees and 110 holders of pipeline 
rights-of way.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
78,910 hours--refer to the following chart for a breakdown of this 
estimate.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                         Annual
  Citation  30 CFR 250  Subpart J      Reporting and recordkeeping           Number           Burden     burden
                                               requirement                                    hours      hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1000(b), (d); 1003(a); 1004(b)(5);   Apply for new pipeline (P/L)    296 applications.....        140     41,440
 1007(a); 1009(a)(1), (b)(1); 1010;   installation or P/L right-of-
 1011.                                way (ROW) grant, including
                                      various exceptions/departures
                                      requiring approval, and
                                      amendments.
1000(b); 1007(b); 1010; 1012(b)(2),  Apply to modify approved lease- 386 modification              40     15,440
 (c).                                 term P/L or ROW grant;          applications.                12        192
                                      convert lease-term P/L to ROW  16 conversion
                                      grant P/L; notify operators     applications.
                                      of deviation, including
                                      various exceptions/departures.
1000(b); 1006(a); 1007(c);           Apply to MMS to abandon lease-  257 applications.....          8      2,056
 1009(c)(9); 1014.                    term P/L or relinquish ROW
                                      grant, including various
                                      exceptions/departures.
1000(c)(2), (c)(3).................  Identify in writing P/L         One-time requirement after final          0
                                      operator on ROW if different    rule was published; now part of
                                      from ROW grant holder. Mark       application or construction
                                      specific point on P/L where     process involving no additional
                                      operating responsibility                    burdens
                                      transfers to transporting
                                      operator or depict transfer
                                      point on a schematic located
                                      on the facility.
1000(c)(4).........................  Petition to MMS for exceptions  1 Petition (None               5          5
                                      to general operations           received to date.).
                                      transfer point description.
1004(c)............................  Place sign on safety equipment           See footnote \1\                 0
                                      identified as ineffective and
                                      removed from service.
1008(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h)...  Notify MMS and submit report    569 notices/ reports.         15      8,535
                                      on P/L or P/L safety
                                      equipment repair, removal
                                      from service, analysis
                                      results, or potential
                                      measurements.
1008(b)............................  Submit P/L construction report  239 reports..........         16      3,824
1008(g)............................  Submit plan of corrective       12 plans/reports.....         16        192
                                      action and report of remedial
                                      action.
1009(c)(4).........................  Notify MMS of any               1 discovery notice...          4          4
                                      archaeological resource
                                      discovery.
1009(c)(5).........................  Inform MMS of right-of-way        Exempt under 5 CFR 1320.3(h)            0
                                      holder's name and address
                                      changes.
1011(d)............................  Request opportunity to          6 requests...........          1          6
                                      eliminate conflict when
                                      application has been rejected.
1013...............................  Apply for assignment of a ROW   248 applications.....         12     2,976
                                      grant.
    Reporting--Subtotal.................................2,031 Responses                       74,670
1005(a)............................  Inspect P/L routes for          159 lease-term/ROW P/         20      3,180
                                      indication of leakage <SUP>1</SUP>,        L operators.
                                      record results, maintain
                                      records 2 years \2\.
1009(c)(8).........................  Make available to MMS design,   106 P/L ROW holders..         10     1,060
                                      construcion, operation,
                                      maintenance, and repair
                                      records on ROW area and
                                      improvements \2\.
    Recordkeeping--Subtotal............................159 Recordkeepers                       4,240
    Total burden.............................................2,190.                           78,910
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These activities are usual and customary practices for prudent operators.
\2\ Retaining these records is usual/customary business practice; required burden is minimal.

    Estimated Annual Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: Section 
250.1010(a) specifies that an applicant must pay a non-refundable 
filing fee when applying for a pipeline right-of-way grant to install a 
new pipeline ($2,350) or to convert an existing lease-term pipeline 
into a right-of-way pipeline ($300). Under Sec. 250.1013(b) an 
applicant must pay a non-refundable filing fee ($60) when applying for 
approval of an assignment of a right-of-way grant. The estimated cost 
burden is $332,230 based on:
    <bullet> 133 applications  x  $2,350 filing fee = $312,550
    <bullet> 16 applications  x  $300 filing fee = $4,800
    <bullet> 248 applications  x  $60 filing fee = $14,880
    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

[[Page 37575]]

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 February 23, 2000 (65 
FR 8985). 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).

    Dated: May 12, 2000.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 00-15108 Filed 6-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P