67398 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection,

Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information

collection titled Production and Royalty

Reporting for Geothermal Resources

(OMB Control Number 1010–NEW).

SUMMARY: To comply with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), we are soliciting

comments on an information collection

titled Production and Royalty Reporting

for Geothermal Resources. We will

submit an information collection

request (ICR) regarding the collection of

data supporting geothermal royalty

payments to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review and

approval after this comment period

closes. This information collection does

not involve a standard report form or

specific format. Rather, this information

collection requires information that

companies already use, and in the

format that they use it, to calculate their

royalty payments for geothermal

resources.

DATES: Submit written comments on or

before January 8, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to Connie Bartram, Acting Chief,

Regulations and FOIA Team, Minerals

Management Service, Minerals Revenue

Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS

302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you

use an overnight courier service, our

courier address is Building 85, Room A–

613, Denver Federal Center, Denver,

Colorado 80225.

Public Comment Procedure: Submit

your comments to the office listed in the

ADDRESSES section, or email your

comments to us at

MRM.comments@mms.gov. Include the

title of the information collection and

the OMB Control Number in the

‘‘Attention’’ line of your comment; also,

include your name and return address.

Submit electronic comments as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

If you do not receive a confirmation that

we have received your email, contact

Ms. Bartram at (303) 231–3410, FAX

(303) 231–3385. We will post all

comments at http://www.rmp.mms.gov

for public review.

Also, contact Ms. Bartram to review

paper copies of the comments. The

comments, including names and

addresses of respondents, are available

for public review during regular

business hours at our offices in

Lakewood, Colorado. Individual

respondents may request that we

withhold their home address from the

public record, which we will honor to

the extent allowable by law. There also

may be circumstances in which we

would withhold from the public record

a respondent’s identity, as allowable by

law. If you request that we withhold

your name and/or address, 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:

Dennis C. Jones, Rules and FOIA Team,

phone (303) 231–3046, FAX (303) 231–

3385, email Dennis.C.Jones@mms.gov. A

copy of the ICR will be available to you

without charge upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Production and Royalty

Reporting for Geothermal Resources.

OMB Control Number: 1010–NEW.

Bureau Form Number: N/A.

Abstract: The Secretary of the

Department of the Interior (Secretary) is

responsible under the Geothermal

Steam Act of 1970, as amended (30

U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), for the proper

collection and disbursement of royalties

due on Federal geothermal resources.

We perform these royalty management

functions on behalf of the Secretary by

delegated authority. We are also

designing new compliance and asset

management processes to ensure that

royalties are accurately and timely paid

in the most cost effective manner

possible. The goal of these processes is

to reduce compliance verification from

6 years, our current audit cycle, to not

more than 3 years. To achieve this goal,

we find it necessary to collect

supplemental production and valuation

information.

When a company or individual enters

into a geothermal lease with the United

States Government, that company or

individual agrees to pay a share

(royalty) of the value of production to

the United States. It is expressly

understood that the Secretary may

establish the values and minimum

values of geothermal resources to

compute royalties in accordance with

applicable regulations. Royalty rates are

specified in the lease document.

Although specific lease language may

vary, holders of Federal geothermal

leases also agree to comply with

reporting requirements prescribed by

the Secretary’s delegated official.

We currently collect only minimal

information supporting geothermal

royalty payments, usually on an asneeded, case-by-case basis at the time of

audit. In fact, the only geothermal

information that we routinely collect

(from royalty reporters) at this time is

the data reported on the Report of Sales

and Royalty Remittance, Form MMS–

2014. While this report in its revised

form (see 65 FR 31598, May 18, 2000)

will remain our principal document for

the reporting and payment of

geothermal royalties, it does not contain

sufficient data to gauge the accuracy of

the royalty payment. This is particularly

true for those geothermal resources

valued by the netback procedure and

other indirect methods, which require

multiple computational steps to derive

the resource’s value reported on the

Form MMS–2014. Accordingly, we

propose to collect supplemental

information that supports the royalty

payment. This information collection

does not involve a standard report form

or specific format. Rather, this

information collection requires

information that companies already use,

and in the format that they use it, to

calculate their royalty payment and

value for geothermal resources.

Submission of this information will

be mandatory. Proprietary information

will be protected. There are no

questions of a sensitive nature included

in this information collection.

Frequency: Monthly.

Estimated Number and Description of

Respondents: 20 geothermal lessees and

operators.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 240

hours.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-hour Cost’’

Burden: N/A.

Comments: The Paperwork Reduction

Act at 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A) 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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 218 / Thursday, November 9, 2000 / Notices 67399

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

The Paperwork Reduction Act also

requires agencies to estimate the total

annual reporting ‘‘non-hour cost’’

burden to respondents or recordkeepers

resulting from the collection of

information. We have not identified

non-hour cost burdens and need to

know if there are other costs associated

with the collection of this information

for either total capital and startup cost

components or annual operation,

maintenance, and purchase of service

components. Your estimates should

consider the costs to generate, maintain,

and disclose or provide the information.

You should describe the methods you

use to estimate major cost factors,

including system and technology

acquisition, expected useful life of

capital equipment, discount rate(s), and

the period over which you incur costs.

Capital and startup costs include,

among other items, computers and

software you purchase to prepare for

collecting information; monitoring,

sampling, drilling, and testing

equipment; and record storage facilities.

Your estimates should not include

equipment or services purchased: (i)

Before October 1, 1995; (ii) to comply

with requirements not associated with

the information collection; (iii) for

reasons other than to provide

information or keep records for the

Government; or (iv) as part of customary

and usual business or private practices.

The Paperwork Reduction Act

provides that an agency shall 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.

Dated: November 3, 2000.

Cathy J. Hamilton,

Acting Associate Director for Minerals

Revenue Management.

[FR Doc. 00–28821 Filed 11–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection,

Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of an

information collection (OMB Control

Number 1010–0074).

SUMMARY: To comply with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we

are soliciting comments on an

information collection titled, Coal

Washing and Transportation

Allowances. We will submit an

information collection request (ICR) to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and approval after this

comment period closes.

DATES: Submit written comments on or

before January 8, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

to Connie Bartram, Acting Chief,

Regulations and FOIA Team, Minerals

Management Service, Minerals Revenue

Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS

320B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you

use an overnight courier service, our

courier address is Building 85, Room A–

613, Denver Federal Center, Denver,

Colorado 80225.

PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURE: You may

mail your comments to us (see

ADDRESSES section), or you may email

your comments to us at

MRM.comments@mms.gov. Include the

title of the information collection and

the OMB Control Number in the

‘‘Attention’’ line of your comment; also,

include your name and return address.

Submit electronic comments as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

If you do not receive a confirmation that

we have received your email, contact

Ms. Bartram at (303) 231–3410, FAX

(303) 231–3385. We will post all

comments at http://www.rmp.mms.gov

for public review.

Also, contact Ms. Bartram to review

paper copies of the comments. The

comments, including names and

addresses of respondents, are available

for public review during regular

business hours at our offices in

Lakewood, Colorado. Individual

respondents may request that we

withhold their home address from the

public record, which we will honor to

the extent allowable by law.

There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold from the

public record a respondent’s identity, as

allowable by law. If you request that we

withhold your name and/or address,

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:

Dennis C. Jones, Regulations and FOIA

Team, phone (303) 231–3046, FAX (303)

231–3385, email

Dennis.C.Jones@mms.gov. A copy of the

ICR will be available to you without

charge upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Coal Washing and

Transportation Allowances.

OMB Control Number: 1010–0074.

Bureau Form Number: n/a.

Abstract: The Department of the

Interior (DOI) is responsible for matters

relevant to mineral resource

development on Federal and Indian

Lands and the Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS). The Secretary of the Interior

(Secretary) is responsible for managing

the production of minerals from Federal

and Indian Lands and the OCS; for

collecting royalties from lessees who

produce minerals; and for distributing

the funds collected in accordance with

applicable laws. The Secretary also has

an Indian trust responsibility to manage

Indian lands and seek advice and

information from Indian beneficiaries.

The Secretary is required by various

laws to manage the production of

mineral resources on Indian lands, to

collect the royalties due, and to

distribute the funds in accordance with

those laws. The product valuation and

allowance determination process that

we perform on behalf of the Secretary is

essential to assure that the Indians

receive payment on the full value of the

minerals being removed. When a

company or an individual enters into a

lease to develop, mine, and dispose of

coal deposits from Indian lands, that

company or individual (the lessee)

agrees to pay the gross proceeds

received from the sale of production

from the leased lands.

Royalty rates are specified in an

Indian lease agreement. The lessee is

required to report various kinds of

information to the lessor relative to the

transportation, processing, and

commercial transactions associated with

the disposition of the leased minerals.

In order to determine whether the

amount of royalty tendered represents

the proper royalty due, it is necessary to

establish the value of the coal being sold

or otherwise disposed of in some other

manner (for example, used by the

lessee). Under some circumstances the

lessee may be authorized to deduct

certain costs in the calculation of

royalties due from an Indian lease, and

allowances may be granted from

royalties to compensate the lessee for

the reasonable actual cost of washing

and transporting the royalty portion of

coal.

Frequency: Annually.

Estimated Number and Description of

Respondents: 1 company or individual

entering into an Indian lease.

Estimated Annual Reporting and

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: 2 hours.