10248 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 44 / Thursday, March 6, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Interior’s (Secretary) trust responsibility

and lease terms; and,

• To improve the regulatory

framework so that information is

available which would permit lessees to

comply with the regulatory

requirements at the time that royalties

were due.

All commenters endorsed the concept

of revising the existing regulations to

provide simplicity and certainty,

decrease administrative costs, and

decrease litigation. Industry generally

supports the use of independent

published index prices for valuing gas

produced from Indian leases. Industry

also supports the concept of an

alternative ‘‘percentage increase’’ to

satisfy the dual accounting requirement

contained in most Indian leases to the

extent the use of this alternative

methodology is voluntarily chosen by

the lessee. Industry does not support the

language in the proposed rule and

objects to:

• the safety net concept for

nondedicated sales,

• the separate dual accounting

requirement on natural gas liquids, and

• the gross proceeds requirement if

gas production was subject to a previous

contract which was the subject of a gas

contract settlement. The Council of

Petroleum Accountants Societies

(COPAS) states ‘‘The COPAS

representative on the Committee voted

in favor of the original index-based

formula at the Committee’s May, 1995

meeting based on the belief that the use

of that formula would satisfy both the

gross proceeds and major portion

clauses contained in most Indian leases,

with the exception of gas sold under

certain high-priced contracts.’’

MMS agrees the gross proceeds

requirement in the proposed rule

dealing with the issue of gas contract

settlements changed the Committee’s

agreement that the index formula was to

replace both the gross proceeds

requirement and the major portion

requirement. The MMS would like to

receive comments on a concept where

contract settlement proceeds would be

royalty bearing, but would not require a

monthly gross proceeds comparison to

the index formula. MMS will view

contract settlement proceeds to be part

of gross proceeds when value is

determined by gross proceeds such as

for production from a dedicated

contract, or in nonindex areas where the

initial value is determined under the

gross proceeds context. For index areas,

MMS will require the gross proceeds of

gas sold under nondedicated contracts

to be calculated only if the contract

settlement proceeds per MMBTU when

added to the 80 percent of the safety net

price exceeds the formula value for the

month including any increase for dual

accounting. This computation would be

made after the safety net prices were

reported to the MMS by the lessee.

Specifically, under this concept, MMS

would revise § 206.172(b)(2)(ii) to read

as follows:

This paragraph applies to gas not sold

under a dedicated contract and that was

subject to a previous contract which was

part of a gas contract settlement. If the

contract settlement proceeds per

MMBTU added to the 80 percent of the

safety net prices calculated at

§ 206.172(e)(4)(i) exceeds the indexbased value that applies to the gas under

this section (including any adjustments

required under § 206.176), then the

value of the gas is the higher of the

value determined under this section

(including any adjustments required

under § 206.176) or § 206.174.

MMS specifically requests comments

on these revised paragraphs. You do not

need to comment on the rest of the rule.

MMS will respond to all comments in

a final rule.

February 28, 1997.

Lucy R. Querques,

Associate Director for Royalty Management.

[FR Doc. 97–5493 Filed 3–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

49 CFR Parts 223 and 239

[FRA Docket No. PTEP–1, Notice No. 2]

RIN 2130–AA96

Passenger Train Emergency

Preparedness

AGENCY: Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA), Department of

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking;

dates and locations of public hearings.

SUMMARY: By notice of proposed

rulemaking (NPRM) published on

February 24, 1997 (62 FR 8330), FRA

proposed a rule to require minimum

Federal safety standards for the

preparation, adoption, and

implementation of emergency

preparedness plans by railroads

connected with the operation of

passenger trains, including freight

railroads hosting the operations of rail

passenger service. In that notice, FRA

announced that it would soon schedule

two public hearings to allow interested

parties the opportunity to comment on

issues addressed in the NPRM.

DATES: Public Hearings: The date of the

first public hearing is Friday, April 4 at

8:30 a.m. in Chicago, Illinois, and the

date of the second public hearing is

Monday, April 7 at 8:30 a.m. in New

York City, New York. Any person

wishing to participate in a public

hearing should notify the Docket Clerk

by telephone (202–632–3198) or by mail

at the address provided below at least

five working days prior to the date of

the hearing and submit three copies of

the oral statement that he or she intends

to make at the hearing. The notification

should identify the hearing in which the

person wishes to participate, the party

the person represents, and the particular

subject(s) the person plans to address.

The notification should also provide the

Docket Clerk with the participant’s

mailing address. FRA reserves the right

to limit participation in the hearings of

persons who fail to provide such

notification.

ADDRESSES: (1) Docket Clerk: Written

notification should identify the docket

number and must be submitted in

triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Office of

Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad

Administration, RCC–10, 400 Seventh

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

(2) Public Hearings: The hearing

scheduled for April 4 in Chicago will be

held in the Special Events Room, Suite

200 on the Second Floor, Corporate

Conference Center, 200 W. Adams

Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. The

hearing scheduled for April 7 in New

York City will be held in Room 305C of

the Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza,

New York, N.Y. 10278.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Edward R. English, Director, Office of

Safety Assurance and Compliance, FRA,

400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington,

D.C. 20590 (telephone number: 202–

632–3349), or David H. Kasminoff, Esq.,

Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel,

FRA, 400 Seventh Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20590 (telephone:

202–632–3191).

Issued in Washington, D.C., on March 3,

1997.

Donald M. Itzkoff,

Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–5545 Filed 3–3–97; 3:39 pm]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P