Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 2 / Monday, January 5, 1998 / Notices 253

reported by payors on Form MMS–2014

for the majority of its processing. In

addition to accounting for royalties

reported by payors, AFS, using Form

MMS–2014 information, performs

numerous other functions. These

functions include monthly distribution

of mineral revenues to State, Indian, and

General Treasury accounts; providing

royalty accounting and statistical

information to States, Indians, and

others who have a need for such

information; and identifying under

reporting and nonreporting so MMS can

promptly collect revenues. Sales and

royalty information gathered through

AFS is compared with production data

collected by an MMS automated

production accounting system, the

Production Accounting and Auditing

System (PAAS). This AFS/PAAS

comparison of reported sales with

reported production provides MMS

with the ability to verify that the proper

royalties are being collected.

MMS counts monthly payor responses

by line item. Each line represents one

reporting transaction. Approximately

274,000 lines are submitted each month

by about 2,000 payors. Payors include

about 1,750 oil and gas companies plus

about 250 solid mineral companies. The

total number of payors changes monthly

as old wells cease production, new

wells are brought into production,

mines cease or increase production, or

selling arrangements change. We

estimate that on the average 7 minutes

is needed to manually complete each

line. Average time includes data

assembly, value and royalty

calculations, entering data on the form,

and mailing. The total time involved

varies considerably from a small

company reporting only one or two

leases to a large company with a

multipage report. For those companies

with equipment enabling them to report

using electronic media, including

electronic data interchange, diskettes

and tape, the time to generate and

submit the data is estimated to be less

than 3 minutes per line. About 20

percent of total lines will be prepared

and submitted manually, an estimated

67,000 lines per month in FY 1997. The

remaining 80 percent of total lines will

be submitted via electronic media, about

208,000 lines per month. We also

estimate that each payor will spend 10

hours on related recordkeeping for this

collection. We estimate that the total

annual burden for this information

collection is 155,400 hours.

Dated: December 29, 1997.

Lucy Querques Denett,

Associate Director for Royalty Management.

[FR Doc. 98–120 Filed 1–2–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submitted for Office of

Management and Budget Review;

Comment Request

Title: Designation of Royalty Payment

Responsibility.

OMB Control Number: 1010–0107.

Comments: This collection of

information has been submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for approval. In compliance with

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Section 3506 (c)(2)(A), we are notifying

you, members of the public and affected

agencies, of this collection of

information and are inviting your

comments. Is this information collection

necessary for us to properly do our job?

Have we accurately estimated the

public’s burden for responding to this

collection? Can we enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity of the information we

collect? Can we lessen the burden of

this information collection on the

respondents by using automated

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology?

Comments should be made directly to

the Attention: Desk Officer for the

Interior Department, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, D.C. 20503; telephone

(202) 395–7340. Copies of these

comments should also be sent to us. The

U.S. Postal Service address is Minerals

Management Service, Royalty

Management Program, Rules and

Publications Staff, P.O. Box 25165, MS

3021, Denver, Colorado 80225–0165; the

courier address is Building 85, Room A–

613, Denver Federal Center, Denver,

Colorado 80225; and the e-Mail address

is David—Guzy@mms.gov. OMB has up

to 60 days to approve or disapprove the

information collection but may respond

after 30 days; therefore, public

comments should be submitted to OMB

within 30 days in order to assure their

maximum consideration.

Copies of the proposed information

collection and related explanatory

material may be obtained by contacting

Dennis C. Jones, Rules and Publications

Staff, telephone (303) 231–3046, FAX

(303) 231–3385, e-Mail

DennislClJones@mms.gov.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before February 4, 1998.

SUMMARY: The Federal Oil and Gas

Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act

of 1996 (RSFA), Pub. L. 104–185, as

corrected by Pub. L. 104–200,

establishes the owners of operating

rights and/or lease record title (who are

jointly defined as ‘‘lessees’’ under

RSFA) as responsible for making royalty

and related payments on a Federal lease.

Currently, it is common for a payor

rather than a lessee to make royalty and

related payments on a Federal lease.

When a payor pays royalties on a

Federal lease on behalf of a lessee,

RSFA requires that the lessee certify to

MMS in writing that a particular payor

has been designated by the lessee to

make such royalty and related payments

to MMS on behalf of the lessee. RSFA

made this payor designation

requirement effective for lease

production beginning September 1,

1996. We may require some payors to

provide us information regarding the

lessees on whose behalf they are paying

if we need to inform those lessees that

they must certify to MMS in writing

their respective payors as their

designees. We are asking payors and

lessees to provide data required under

RSFA so that we can fully implement

the Act.

Description of Respondents: Federal

lessees and payors.

Frequency of Response: As necessary.

Bureau Form Number: MMS–4425.

Estimated Reporting and

Recordkeeping Burden: 1 hour.

Annual Responses: 24,000.

Annual Burden Hours: 24,000 hours.

Bureau Clearance Officer: Jo Ann

Lauterbach, (202) 208–7744.

Dated: December 9, 1997.

R. Dale Fazio,

Acting Associate Director for Royalty

Management.

[FR Doc. 98–122 Filed 1–2–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submitted for Office of

Management and Budget Review;

Comment Request

Title: Training and Outreach

Evaluation Questionnaires

Comments: This collection of

information has been submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget for

approval. In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Section 3506(c)(2)(A), we are notifying