81432 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 22, 2023 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Natural Resources Revenue 

[Docket No. ONRR–2011–0002; DS63644000 

DRT000000.CH7000 245D1113RT] 

States’ Decisions on Participating in 

Accounting and Auditing Relief for 

Federal Oil and Gas Marginal 

Properties 

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources 

Revenue, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with Office of 

Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) 

regulations, ONRR provides two types 

of accounting and auditing relief for 

Federal oil and gas production from 

marginal properties: the cumulative 

royalty reports and payments relief 

option, which allows a lessee or 

designee to submit one royalty report 

and payment for the calendar year’s 

production; and other requested relief, 

which allows a lessee or designee to 

request any type of accounting and 

auditing relief that is appropriate for 

production from the marginal property 

and meets certain requirements. By 

October 1 of each calendar year, ONRR 

provides a list of qualifying marginal 

Federal oil and gas properties to the 

States receiving a portion of Federal 

royalties from those properties. Each 

State then decides whether to 

participate in neither, one, or both relief 

options. This Notice provides the public 

each State’s decision on whether to 

participate in marginal property relief. 

DATES: Applicable January 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert Sudar, Market & Spatial 

Analytics, Research, Enforcement, 

Guidance, and Appeals, ONRR, at (303) 

231–3511; or by email to Robert.Sudar@

onrr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 

(30 U.S.C. 1726) and 30 CFR part 1204, 

subpart C, ONRR and States can relieve 

the lessee of a marginal Federal oil and 

gas property from certain reporting, 

accounting, and auditing requirements. 

ONRR’s rules under 30 CFR 1204.202 

and 1204.203 authorize two relief 

options: (1) cumulative royalty reports 

and payments relief option, which 

allows a lessee or designee to submit 

one royalty report and payment during 

a calendar year; and (2) other requested 

relief, which allows a lessee or designee 

to request any type of appropriate 

marginal property accounting and 

auditing relief that meets the 

requirements under § 1204.5 and is not 

prohibited under § 1204.204. 

To qualify for the first relief option, 

cumulative royalty reports and 

payments relief option, properties must 

produce less than 1,000 barrels-of-oilequivalent (BOE) per year for the base 

period (July 1, 2022, through June 30, 

2023). Annual reporting relief will begin 

January 1, 2024, with the annual report 

and payment due February 28, 2025. If 

a lessee has an estimated payment on 

file, the payment due date is March 31, 

2025. To qualify for the second relief 

option, other requested relief, the 

combined equivalent production of the 

marginal properties during the base 

period must equal an average daily well 

production of less than 15 BOE per well 

per day, as calculated under 30 CFR 

1204.4(c). 

Each State makes an annual 

determination as to whether it will 

participate in neither, one, or both relief 

options. This Notice fulfills the 

requirement in ONRR’s rules to publish 

a notice of the State’s ‘‘intent to allow 

or not allow certain relief options . . . 

in the Federal Register no later than 30 

days before the beginning of the 

applicable calendar year.’’ See 30 CFR 

1204.208(f). 

The following table shows the States 

with qualifying marginal properties and 

those States’ decisions on whether to 

participate in neither, one, or both relief 

options for calendar year 2024. An ‘‘N/ 

A’’ means that no properties within the 

State met that condition for that type of 

relief: 

State Cumulative royalty report and payment relief 

(less than 1,000 BOE per year) 

Other accounting and auditing relief 

(less than 15 BOE per well per day) 

Alabama .................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Arkansas ................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

California ................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Colorado ................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Kansas ...................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Louisiana .................................................................. Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

Michigan ................................................................... Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

Montana .................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Nebraska .................................................................. No ............................................................................ No. 

Nevada ..................................................................... Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

New Mexico .............................................................. No ............................................................................ Yes. 

North Dakota ............................................................ Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

Oklahoma ................................................................. Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

South Dakota ............................................................ Yes .......................................................................... Yes. 

Utah .......................................................................... No ............................................................................ No. 

Wyoming ................................................................... Yes .......................................................................... No. 

Pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 1726(c), a 

Federal oil and gas property located in 

a State where ONRR does not share a 

portion of Federal royalties with that 

State (that is, for 2024, a State not listed 

in the table above) is eligible for relief 

if it qualifies as a marginal property. For 

more information on how to obtain 

relief, please refer to 30 CFR 1204.205. 

Unless the information that ONRR 

receives is proprietary data, all 

correspondence, records, or information 

received in response to this notice may 

be subject to disclosure under the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 

U.S.C. 552 et seq.). If applicable, please 

highlight the proprietary portions, 

including any supporting 

documentation, or mark the page(s) 

containing proprietary data. ONRR 

protects proprietary information under 

the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 1905), 

FOIA Exemption 4 (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)), 

and the Department of the Interior’s 

FOIA regulations (43 CFR part 2). 

Authority: Federal Oil and Gas 

Royalty Management Act of 1982, 30 

U.S.C. 1701 et seq., as amended by 

Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 

(RSFA, Pub. L. 104–185—Aug. 13, 1996, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 22, 2023 / Notices 81433 

as corrected by Pub. L. 104–200—Sept. 

22, 1996). 

Howard M. Cantor, 

Director, Office of Natural Resources 

Revenue. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25795 Filed 11–21–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4335–30–P 

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND 

WATER COMMISSION UNITED 

STATES AND MEXICO 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment (EA) and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) for the Management of Federal 

Grazing Leases at the Falcon Dam and 

Reservoir, Starr and Zapata Counties, 

Texas 

AGENCY: United States Section, 

International Boundary and Water 

Commission, United States and Mexico 

(USIBWC). 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The USIBWC hereby gives 

notice that the Draft Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 

Management of Federal Grazing Leases 

at the Falcon Dam and Reservoir, Starr 

and Zapata Counties, Texas is available. 

The EA evaluates land management 

alternatives to grazing leases that 

address low grazing lease values and 

limited access by USIBWC to leased 

lands. An Environmental Impact 

Statement will not be prepared unless 

additional information which may affect 

this decision is brought to our attention 

within 30 days from the date of this 

Notice. 

DATES: Comments are due by December 

28, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The electronic version of 

the amended Draft EA is available at the 

USIBWC web page: https:// 

www.ibwc.gov/reports-studies/eis-eapublic-comment/. Physical copies of the 

Draft EA are available at the Joe A. 

Guerra Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. 

Calton Rd., Laredo, Texas 78041; the 

Olga V. Figueroa Zapata County Public 

Library, 901 Kennedy St., Zapata, Texas 

78076; and the Roma Public Library, 

1705 N Athens St., Roma, Texas 78584. 

Comments should be sent to: Mark 

Howe, Cultural Resources Specialist, 

USIBWC, 4191 N Mesa; El Paso, Texas 

79902. Email: falconcomments@

ibwc.gov. All comments received may 

be made publicly available without 

change, including any personal 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Howe, Cultural Resources 

Specialist, Telephone: (915) 832–4767, 

email: falconcomments@ibwc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

USIBWC is updating or eliminating 

active and inactive grazing leases in use 

for commercial, residential, or 

recreational purposes on federal land in 

the Falcon Project (i.e., Falcon Dam and 

Reservoir). Rights-of-way for the Falcon 

Project totaled 63,192 acres on the U.S. 

side of the Falcon Project as of 2000. 

This project will assist USIBWC in 

determining if grazing leases should be 

allowed or discontinued and/or whether 

land management alternatives should be 

established in lieu of grazing. 

The grazing lease program has 

continued for areas along the Falcon 

Reservoir that were originally ranches 

and farms before the land was acquired 

by the federal Government pursuant to 

the Water Treaty of 1944 between the 

U.S. and Mexico, with construction of 

the Falcon Project completed on 

October 19, 1953. The grazing lease 

program assured those areas not under 

water or flooded and owned by the 

federal Government would be 

economically used as they were in the 

past by the local community. Initially 

leases allowed for agricultural uses in 

addition to grazing, but agricultural 

activities and any clearing of leased 

lands were later restricted to reduce 

potential impacts on cultural resources 

in accordance with National Historic 

Preservation Act requirements. Active 

leases currently only allow grazing 

activities. 

Grazing leases, licenses, and permits 

consist of any written permit or other 

legal document for an individual, 

corporation, etc., to use and improve 

land owned by the U.S. Government 

under the jurisdiction of the USIBWC at 

Falcon Reservoir. In the past, 22,270.57 

acres of land were under 159 active 

grazing leases originally issued in 1956. 

As of 2020, there were 117 active 

grazing leases with many that are still 

held by the descendants of the original 

permittees and/or stakeholders. 

The purpose for the Proposed Action 

is to successfully manage federal land in 

the Falcon Project. Federal lands 

associated with the Falcon Project have 

been utilized by the public for various 

activities, including grazing leases, 

since the Falcon Project was 

established. However, the economic 

value of these leases and the challenges 

to successful land management require 

a reevaluation of the grazing lease 

program. The need is to implement land 

management alternatives to grazing 

leases that address low grazing lease 

values, limited access by USIBWC to 

leased lands, and unauthorized 

activities on leased lands. 

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969; the Council on 

Environmental Quality Final 

Regulations, and the USIBWC 

Operational Procedures for 

Implementing Section 102 of NEPA, 

published in the Federal Register 

September 2, 1981, USIBWC developed 

and analyzed eight alternatives for 

modifying the grazing lease program at 

the Falcon Project, including the No 

Action Alternative. Alternative 1, No 

Action Alternative, is a requirement of 

the NEPA process and is included to 

provide a baseline against which the 

other alternatives can be evaluated. The 

action alternatives include: Alternative 

2—Terminate Leases, Alternative 3— 

Change Rental Rates on Active Leases 

and Implement Improved Program 

Management, Alternative 4—Allow 

Hunting on Existing Grazing Leases, 

Alternative 5—Terminate Leases Not 

Directly Accessible from Public Rightsof-Way, Alternative 6—Negotiate Access 

Easements on Private Property for 

Existing Leases, Alternative 7—Amend 

Leases to Allow Vegetation 

Management, and Alternative 8—Form a 

Citizens’ Committee to Provide Lease 

Management Support. The USIBWC has 

identified that one or any combination 

of the alternatives could be 

implemented to manage the grazing 

lease program at the Falcon Project. 

Potential impacts on natural, cultural, 

and other resources were evaluated in 

the Draft EA. The USIBWC prepared a 

FONSI for the Action Alternatives, 

based on a review of the facts and 

analyses contained in the Draft EA. 

Dated: November 15, 2023. 

Rebecca A. Rizzuti, 

Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, International 

Boundary and Water Commission, United 

States Section. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25784 Filed 11–21–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7010–01–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

[USITC SE–23–055] 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: United 

States International Trade Commission. 

TIME AND DATE: November 30, 2023 at 11 

a.m. 

PLACE: Room 101, 500 E Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20436, Telephone: 

(202) 205–2000. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES