17138 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Building, Boston, MA 02203–2211;

(617) 565–2773;

Rapp.Steve@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For

additional information, see the direct

final rule which is located in the Rules

Section of this Federal Register.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401—7671q

Dated: March 8, 1997.

John P. DeVillars,

Regional Administrator, Region I.

[FR Doc. 97–9106 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Part 3190

[WO–300–07–1310–00]

RIN 1004–AD09

Delegation of Authority, Cooperative

Agreements and Contracts for Oil and

Gas Inspections; Cooperative

Agreements

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) proposes to

streamline and amend its cooperative

agreement regulations. The purpose of

this amendment is to implement section

8(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Simplification and Fairness Act that

eliminates State cooperative agreements

on Federal lands and to implement a

policy change for funding of cooperative

inspection agreements. In response to

the overall effort to reform regulations

and convert them to a more user

friendly and understandable format, this

rule is written in plain English.

DATES: Comments: Any comments must

be received by BLM at the address

below on or before May 9, 1997.

Comments received after the above date

will not necessarily be considered in the

decision making process on the

proposed rule.

ADDRESSES: Comments: If you wish to

comment, you may submit your

comments by any one of several

methods. You may mail comments to

Director (630), Bureau of Land

Management, Administrative Record,

Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20240. You may also

comment via the Internet to

WOComment@wo.blm.gov. Please

submit comments as an ASCII file

avoiding the use of special characters

and any form of encryption. Please also

include ‘‘attn: 1004–AD09’’ and your

name and return address in your

Internet message. If you do not receive

a confirmation from the system that we

have received your Internet message,

contact us directly at (202) 452–5030.

Finally, you may hand-deliver

comments to BLM at 1620 L Street, NW,

Room 401, Washington, D.C. Comments,

including names and street addresses of

respondents, will be available for public

review at this address during regular

business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.),

Monday through Friday, except

holidays. Individual respondents may

request that their name and/or home

address be kept confidential and state

the reasons that one believes that his or

her interest in privacy outweighs the

public interest in disclosure. BLM will

evaluate each request for confidentiality

on a case-by-case basis. If you wish to

withhold your name or street address,

except for the city or town, from public

review or from disclosure under the

Freedom of Information Act, you must

state this prominently at the beginning

of your comment. Anonymous

comments will not be considered. All

submissions from organizations or

businesses, and from individuals

identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, will be

made available for public inspection in

their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian

Senio, 202–452–5049 or Sue Stephens,

(505) 438–7553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Comment Procedures

II. Background

III. Discussion of Proposed Rule

IV. Procedural Matters

I. Public Comment Procedures

Written Comments

Your written comments on the

proposed rule should—

(a) Be specific;

(b) Be confined to issues pertinent to

the proposed rule;

(c) Explain the reason for any

recommended change; and

(d) Where possible, reference the

specific section or paragraph of the

proposal which you are addressing.

BLM may not necessarily consider or

include in the Administrative Record

for the final rule comments which BLM

receives after the close of the comment

period (see DATES) or comments

delivered to an address other than those

listed above (see ADDRESSES).

II. Background

In 1987 and 1991, BLM promulgated

regulations, found at 43 CFR 3190 (52

FR 27182) and 3192 (56 FR 2998),

respectively, implementing Section 202

of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Management Act of 1982, (30 U.S.C.

1732) (FOGRMA). Section 202 of

FOGRMA provides for cooperative

agreements with States and Tribes to

share oil or gas royalty management

information, and to carry out inspection,

auditing, investigation or enforcement

activities on Federal and Indian oil and

gas leases. The Federal Oil and Gas

Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act

of 1996 (P.L. 104–185), which amended

FOGRMA, eliminated cooperative

agreements on Federal lands.

BLM has cooperative agreements with

several tribes for oil and gas inspection

and enforcement activities on Tribal

lands. These agreements are funded at

50 percent of allowable costs. The

Minerals Management Service (MMS)

also entered into cooperative

agreements with several tribes for

royalty accounting activities. Initially

these MMS agreements were funded at

50 percent, but in 1991, MMS increased

its funding for cooperative agreements

to 100 percent.

This rule would amend Part 3190 by

removing references to cooperative

agreements for States on Federal lands

and by increasing funding for

cooperative agreements with Indian

tribes to up to 100 percent. This would

eliminate discrepancies in funding these

types of agreements between bureaus

within the Department of the Interior.

III. Discussion of Proposed Rule

This rulemaking amends 43 CFR

Subpart 3190 as follows: First, this rule

would amend 43 CFR 3190.2–2(b) to

increase funding for cooperative

agreements with Indian tribes to up to

100 percent. This would eliminate

discrepancies in funding these types of

agreements between agencies within the

Department of the Interior.

Second, this rule would amend the

regulations to implement Section 8(a) of

the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996

(P.L. 104–185), which made Section 202

of FOGRMA (30 U.S.C. 1732), no longer

applicable to Federal lands. The effect

of section 8(a) is to eliminate

cooperative agreements with States to

conduct oil and gas inspections on

Federal lands. The proposed regulations

would implement this requirement by

deleting from existing regulations

references to cooperative agreements on

Federal lands. States may still enter into

a cooperative agreement on Tribal lands

with the permission of the Tribe or

affected allottee.

Third, on March 4, 1995, President

Clinton issued a memorandum to all
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17139

Federal Departments and Agencies

directing them to simplify their

regulations. In response to the

President’s directive, BLM is proposing

this rule in a user-friendly and

understandable, plain English format.

Organizationally, existing regulations

(43 CFR Part 3190) implement three

related sections of FOGRMA (202, 205

and 301) that provide for non-Federal

entities (States, Tribes and contractors)

to assist in carrying out the Secretary’s

responsibilities under the Act either by

delegation of authority, cooperative

agreement, or contract. 43 CFR Subpart

3190 covers common elements of the

three programs; Subpart 3191 addresses

delegations of authority; and Subpart

3192 addresses cooperative agreements.

BLM has not yet promulgated

regulations for contracts, but should

they become necessary they will be

published at Subpart 3193.

IV. Procedural Matters

National Environmental Policy Act

BLM has determined that this

proposed rule to increase funding for

cooperative agreements with Tribes;

eliminate cooperative agreements on

Federal lands; and convert existing

regulations to plain English is

administrative, financial, and legal in

nature. Increasing funding for

cooperative agreements with tribes is

purely financial in nature, and

eliminating cooperative agreements on

Federal lands is a legal and

administrative change from existing

regulations. Therefore, it is categorically

excluded from environmental review

under section 102(2)(C) of the National

Environmental Policy Act, pursuant to

516 Departmental Manual (DM),

Chapter 2, Appendix 1, Item 1.10. In

addition, the proposed rule does not

meet any of the 10 criteria for

exceptions to categorical exclusions

listed in 516 DM, Chapter 2, Appendix

2. Pursuant to Council on

Environmental Quality regulations (40

CFR 1508.4) and the environmental

policies and procedures of the

Department of the Interior, the term

‘‘categorical exclusions’’ means a

category of actions which do not

individually or cumulatively have a

significant effect on the human

environment and that have been found

to have no such effect in procedures

adopted by a Federal agency and for

which neither an environmental

assessment nor an environmental

impact statement is required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not contain

information collection requirements that

the Office of Management and Budget

must approve under the Paperwork

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Congress enacted The Regulatory

Flexibility Act, (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et

seq., to ensure that Government

regulations do not unnecessarily or

disproportionately burden small

entities. The RFA requires a regulatory

flexibility analysis if a rule would have

a significant economic impact, either

detrimental or beneficial, on a

substantial number of small entities.

Based on the discussion contained in

this preamble above, the economic

impact of the proposed amendment

increasing funding for Indian

cooperative agreements will be less than

$250,000. The other proposed changes,

deleting cooperative agreements on

Federal lands and converting the

regulations to plain English, will have

no economic impact. BLM anticipates

that this proposed rule will have no

significant impact on the public at large.

Therefore, BLM has determined under

the RFA that this proposed rule would

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Amendment of 43 CFR Part 3190 will

not result in any unfunded mandate to

State, local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate, or to the private sector, of

$100 million or more in any one year.

Executive Order 12612

The proposed rule will not have a

substantial direct effect on the States, on

the relationship between the national

government and the States, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government.

The elimination of cooperative

agreements with States for inspection

and enforcement of oil and gas leases on

Federal lands is a requirement of

Section 8(a) Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996.

States that are interested in

conducting inspections on Federal oil

and gas leases may still do so under a

Delegation of Authority as provided in

Section 205 of FOGRMA (30 U.S.C.

1735).

Therefore, in accordance with

Executive Order 12612, BLM has

determined that this proposed rule does

not have sufficient federalism

implications to warrant preparation of a

Federalism Assessment.

Executive Order 12630

The primary effect of the proposed

rule is to increase Federal funding to

Tribes that conduct inspections of

Tribal oil and gas leases under a

cooperative agreement with BLM. Since

the rule has no impact on lands or other

properties, there will be no private

property rights impaired as a result.

Therefore, the Department of the

Interior has determined that the rule

would not cause a taking of private

property or require further discussion of

takings implications under this

Executive Order.

Executive Order 12866

According to the criteria listed in

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866,

BLM has determined that the proposed

rule is not a significant regulatory

action. As such, the proposed rule is not

subject to Office of Management and

Budget review under section 6(a)(3) of

the order.

Executive Order 12988

The Department of the Interior has

determined that this rule meets the

applicable standards provided in

sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive

Order 12988.

Author

The principal author of this rule is

Sue Stephens of BLM’s New Mexico

State Office, assisted by Ian Senio of

BLM’s Regulatory Management Group.

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 3190

Administrative practice and

procedure, Authority delegations

(Government agencies), Government

contracts, Indians-lands,

Intergovernmental relations, Mineral

royalties, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, BLM proposes to amend

43 CFR Part 3190 as follows:

PART 3190—DELEGATION OF

AUTHORITY, COOPERATIVE

AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS FOR

OIL AND GAS INSPECTIONS

1. Revise the authority citation to read

as follows:

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1735 and 1751.

2. In § 3190.2–2 revise paragraph

(b)(2) to read as follows:

§ 3190.2–2 Funding.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(2) Up to 100 percent for a cooperative

agreement.

* * * * *

3. Revise Subpart 3192 of part 3190 to

read as follows:
17140 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Subpart 3192—Cooperative Agreements

Sec.

3192.1 What is a cooperative agreement?

3192.2 Who may apply for a cooperative

agreement with BLM to conduct oil and

gas inspections?

3192.3 What must a Tribe or State include

in its application for a cooperative

agreement?

3192.4 What is the term of a cooperative

agreement?

3192.5 How do I modify a cooperative

agreement?

3192.6 How will BLM evaluate my request

for proprietary data?

3192.7 What must I do with Federal

assistance I receive?

3192.8 May I subcontract activities in the

agreement?

3192.9 What terms must a cooperative

agreement contain?

3192.10 What costs will BLM pay?

3192.11 How are civil penalties shared?

3192.12 What activities may Tribes or

States perform under cooperative

agreements?

3192.13 What activities must BLM keep?

3192.14 What are the requirements for

Tribal or State inspectors?

3192.15 May cooperative agreements be

terminated?

3192.16 How will I know if BLM intends to

terminate my agreement?

3192.17 Can BLM reinstate cooperative

agreements that have been terminated?

3192.18 Can I appeal a BLM decision?

Subpart 3192—Cooperative

Agreements

§ 3192.1 What is a cooperative agreement?

(a) A cooperative agreement is a

contract that BLM enters into with a

Tribe or State to conduct inspection,

investigation, or enforcement activities

on producing Indian oil and gas leases.

(b) BLM will enter into a cooperative

agreement with a State to inspect oil

and gas leases on Indian lands only with

the permission of the Tribe with

jurisdiction over the lands.

§ 3192.2 Who may apply for a cooperative

agreement with BLM to conduct oil and gas

inspections?

(a) The Tribal chairman, or other

authorized official, of any Tribe with

producing oil or gas leases, or

agreements under the Indian Mineral

Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C.

2101 et seq.), for Indian lands under the

Tribe’s jurisdiction.

(b) Tribes may join together to apply

for a multi-tribe cooperative agreement.

(c) The Governor of a State having a

tribal resolution from the tribe with

jurisdiction over the land, permitting

the Governor to enter into cooperative

agreements.

§ 3192.3 What must a Tribe or State

include in its application for a cooperative

agreement?

(a) You must complete—

(1) Standard Form 424, Application

for Federal Assistance;

(2) Standard Form 424A, Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs; and

(3) Standard Form 424B,

Assurances—Non-Construction

Programs.

(b) You must describe the type and

extent of oil and gas inspection,

enforcement, and investigative activities

proposed under the agreement and the

period of time the proposed agreement

will be in effect.

(c) You may include allotted lands

under an agreement with the allottee’s

written consent.

§ 3192.4 What is the term of a cooperative

agreement?

Cooperative agreements can be in

effect for a period from 1 to 5 years from

the effective date of the agreement, as

set out in the agreement.

§ 3192.5 How do I modify a cooperative

agreement?

You may modify a cooperative

agreement by having both parties to the

agreement consent to the change in

writing. If the agreement is with a State,

and the modification would effect the

duration or scope of the agreement, then

you must obtain the Tribe’s written

consent.

§ 3192.6 How will BLM evaluate my

request for proprietary data?

BLM will evaluate Tribal or State

requests for proprietary data on a caseby-case basis according to the

requirements of § 3190.1 of this part.

§ 3192.7 What must I do with Federal

assistance I receive?

You must use Federal assistance that

you receive only for costs incurred

which are directly related to the

activities carried out under the

cooperative agreement.

§ 3192.8 May I subcontract activities in the

agreement?

Yes. You must obtain BLM’s written

approval before you subcontract any

activities in the agreement with the

exception of financial audits of program

funds, that are required by the Single

Audit Act of 1984 (31 U.S.C. 7501 et

seq.).

§ 3192.9 What terms must a cooperative

agreement contain?

The cooperative agreement must—

(a) State its purpose, objective, and

authority;

(b) Define terms used in the

agreement;

(c) Describe the lands covered;

(d) Describe the roles and

responsibilities of BLM and the Tribe or

State;

(e) Describe the activities the Tribe or

State will carry out;

(f) Define the minimum performance

standards to evaluate Tribal or State

performance;

(g) Include provisions to—

(1) Protect proprietary data, as

provided in § 3190.1 of this part;

(2) Prevent conflict of interest, as

provided in § 3192.13(d);

(3) Share civil penalties, as provided

in § 3192.10; and

(4) Terminate the agreement;

(h) List BLM and Tribal or State

contacts;

(i) Provide for the avoidance of

duplication of effort between BLM and

the Tribe or State when conducting

inspections;

(j) List schedules for—

(1) Inspection activities;

(2) Training of Tribal or State

inspectors;

(3) Periodic reviews and meetings;

(k) Specify the limit on the dollar

amount of Federal funding;

(l) Describe procedures for Tribes or

States to request payment

reimbursement;

(m) Describe allowable costs subject

to reimbursement; and

(n) Describe plans for BLM oversight

of the cooperative agreement.

§ 3192.10 What costs will BLM pay?

(a) BLM will pay expenses allowed

under part 12, subpart A,

Administrative and Audit Requirements

and Cost Principles for Assistance

Programs, of this title.

(b) BLM will fund the agreements up

to 100 percent of allowable costs.

(c) Funding is subject to the

availability of BLM funds.

(d) Funding for cooperative

agreements is subject to the shared civil

penalties requirement of § 3192.11.

§ 3192.11 How are civil penalties shared?

When a Tribe or State conducts an

inspection that results in the collection

of a civil penalty, that Tribe or State and

the Federal government share the civil

penalty equally. The law requires BLM

to recover its cost for the cooperative

agreement. As a result, BLM will pay

you your share of civil penalties only

after civil penalties for the year exceed

the amount of your Federal funding for

the year.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17141

§ 3192.12 What activities may Tribes or

States perform under cooperative

agreements?

Activities carried out under the

cooperative agreement must be in

accordance with the policies of the

appropriate BLM State or field office

and as specified in the agreement, and

may include—

(a) Inspecting tribal oil and gas leases

for compliance with BLM regulations;

(b) Issuing initial Notices of Incidents

of Non-Compliance, Form 3160–9, and

Notices to Shut Down Operation, Form

3160–12;

(c) Conducting investigations; or

(d) Conducting oil transporter

inspections.

§ 3192.13 What activities must BLM keep?

(a) Under cooperative agreements,

BLM continues to—

(1) Issue Notices of Incidents of

Noncompliance that impose monetary

assessments and penalties;

(2) Collect assessments and penalties;

(3) Calculate and distribute shared

civil penalties;

(4) Train and certify Tribal or State

inspectors;

(5) Issue and control inspector

identification cards; and

(6) Identify leases to be inspected,

taking into account the priorities of the

Tribe.

(b) Entering into a cooperative

agreement does not affect the right of

BLM to enter lease sites to conduct

inspections, enforcement, investigations

or other activities necessary to supervise

lease operations.

§ 3192.14 What are the requirements for

Tribal or State inspectors?

(a) BLM must certify Tribal or State

inspectors before they conduct

independent inspections on Indian oil

and gas leases.

(b) The standards for certifying Tribal

or State inspectors must be the same as

the standards used for certifying BLM

inspectors.

(c) Tribal and State inspectors must

satisfactorily complete on-the-job and

classroom training in order to qualify for

certification.

(d) Tribal or State inspectors must

not—

(1) Inspect the operations of

companies in which they, a member of

their immediate family, or their

immediate supervisor, have a direct

financial interest; or

(2) Use for personal gain, or gain by

another person, information he or she

acquires as a result of his or her

participating in the cooperative

agreement.

§ 3192.15 May cooperative agreements be

terminated?

(a) Cooperative agreements may be

terminated at any time if all parties

agree to the termination in writing.

(b) BLM may terminate an agreement

without Tribal or State agreement if

the—

(1) Tribe or State fails to carry out the

terms of the agreement; or

(2) Agreement is no longer needed.

§ 3192.16 How will I know if BLM intends

to terminate my agreement?

(a) If BLM plans to terminate your

agreement because you did not carry out

the terms of the agreement, BLM must

send a notice to you that lists the

reasons BLM plans to terminate the

agreement.

(b) You must send BLM a plan to

correct the problems BLM listed in the

notice.

(c) If you submit a plan for correction

and BLM approves the plan, you have

30 days to correct the problem(s).

(d) If you have not corrected the

problem within 30 days, BLM will send

you a second termination notice.

(e) If you do not respond to the

second notice within 30 days, BLM will

terminate the agreement.

§ 3192.17 Can BLM reinstate cooperative

agreements that have been terminated?

(a) If your cooperative agreement was

terminated by consent, you may request

that BLM reinstate the agreement.

(b) If BLM terminated an agreement

because you did not carry out the terms

of the agreement, you must prove that

you have corrected the problem(s) and

are able to carry out the terms of the

agreement.

(c) BLM will then decide whether or

not your cooperative agreement may be

reinstated and, if so, whether you must

make any changes to the agreement

before it can be reinstated.

§ 3192.18 Can I appeal a BLM decision?

Yes, you may appeal a BLM decision

under the provisions of 43 CFR part 4.

Dated: March 31, 1997.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals

Management.

[FR Doc. 97–9100 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

43 CFR Parts 3400, 3410, 3420, 3440,

3450, 3460, 3470, 3480

[WO–320–1320–02–1A]

RIN 1004–AD11

Coal Management Regulations

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) requests comments

to assist in the revision of its regulations

governing coal operations on Federally

leased lands. The purpose of the

revision is to clarify and streamline

current processes and policies related to

exploration and post-lease actions and

to comply with the President’s

Government-wide regulatory reform

initiative to eliminate, streamline, or

rewrite regulations in plain English. The

proposed rule will reorganize, clarify

and revise portions of the existing

Federal coal management program

regulations, including exploration

licenses, lease suspensions, lease

administration, diligence, and

exploration and mining operations on

leased Federal coal. Many of the

changes contemplated will be

administrative and procedural in nature

and provide more explicit and coherent

direction for situations not anticipated

by the existing regulations.

DATES: BLM will accept comments until

5:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 9, 1997.

BLM will not necessarily consider

comments received after this time in

developing the proposed rule or include

them in the administrative record.

ADDRESSES: Commenters may mail

written comments to the Bureau of Land

Management, Administrative Record,

Room 401LS, 1849 C Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20240; or handdeliver written comments to the Bureau

of Land Management, Administrative

Record, Room 401, 1620 L Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. See the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for

the electronic access and filing address.

Comments will be available for public

review at the L Street address from 7:45

a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, Monday

through Friday, excluding Federal

holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill

Radden-Lesage, (202) 452–0350

(Commercial or FTS).