Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Notices 18393 

after October 17, 1988, and not exempt 

under one of the other statutory 

exemptions to the prohibition on 

gaming contained in IGRA Section 20, 

would be in the best interest of the 

Indian Tribe and its members, and 

would not be detrimental to the 

surrounding community. Collection of 

this information is currently authorized 

under an approval by OMB (OMB 

Control Number 1076–0158). All 

information is collected when the Tribe 

makes a request for a Secretarial 

determination that a gaming 

establishment on land acquired in trust 

after October 17, 1988, would be in the 

best interest of the Indian Tribe and its 

members, and would not be detrimental 

to the surrounding community. 

Annually, we expect about 2 Tribes to 

apply, seeking a Secretarial 

determination that a gaming 

establishment on land acquired in trust 

after October 17, 1988, would be in the 

best interest of the Indian Tribe and its 

members, and would not be detrimental 

to the surrounding community. The 

estimated time to review instructions 

and complete each application is 2,000 

hours. Thus, the total annual reporting 

and recordkeeping burden for this 

collection is estimated to be 4,000 

hours. 

Frequency of Collection: A one-time 

collection. 

Description of Respondents: Federally 

recognized Tribes. 

Total Annual Responses: 2. 

Response Burden Hours per 

Application: 1,000. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,000 

hours. 

Request for Comments 

The BIA solicits comments in order 

to: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the bureau, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the bureau’s estimate of 

the burden of the proposed collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of the information on those 

who are to respond. 

Any public comments received will 

be addressed in the BIA’s submission of 

the information collect request to OMB. 

It is our policy to make all comments 

available to the public for review at the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section, 

room 3657, during the hours of 9 a.m.– 

4 p.m., EST Monday through Friday 

except for legal holidays. Please note 

that all comments received will be 

available for public review 2 weeks after 

comment period closes. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

e-mail address or other personally 

identifiable information, be advised that 

your entire comment—including your 

personally identifiable information— 

may be made public at any time. While 

you may request that we withhold your 

personally identifiable information, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Dated: April 15, 2009. 

Alvin Foster, 

Deputy Chief Information Officer—Indian 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. E9–9267 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4N–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Minerals Management Service 

[Docket No. MMS–2009–OMM–0004] 

MMS Information Collection Activity: 

1010–0071, Relief or Reduction in 

Royalty Rates: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service 

(MMS), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of extension of an 

information collection (1010–0071). 

SUMMARY: To comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), MMS is inviting comments on a 

collection of information that we will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and approval. 

The information collection request (ICR) 

concerns the paperwork requirements in 

the regulations under 30 CFR Part 203, 

Relief or Reduction in Royalty Rates. 

DATES: Submit written comments by 

June 22, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cheryl Blundon, Regulations and 

Standards Branch at (703) 787–1607. 

You may also contact Cheryl Blundon to 

obtain a copy, at no cost, of the 

regulation that requires the subject 

collection of information. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods listed 

below. 

• Electronically: go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Under the tab 

‘‘More Search Options,’’ click Advanced 

Docket Search, then select ‘‘Minerals 

Management Service’’ from the agency 

drop-down menu, then click ‘‘submit.’’ 

In the Docket ID column, select MMS– 

2009–OMM–0004 to submit public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available for this 

rulemaking. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’ 

link. The MMS will post all comments. 

• Mail or hand-carry comments to the 

Department of the Interior; Minerals 

Management Service; Attention: Cheryl 

Blundon; 381 Elden Street, MS–4024; 

Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817. Please 

reference ‘‘Information Collection 1010– 

0071’’ in your subject line and mark 

your message for return receipt. Include 

your name and return address in your 

message text. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: 30 CFR Part 203, Relief or 

Reduction in Royalty Rates. 

OMB Control Number: 1010–0071. 

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS) Lands Act, as amended by Public 

Law 104–58, Deep Water Royalty Relief 

Act (DWRRA), gives the Secretary of the 

Interior (Secretary) the authority to 

reduce or eliminate royalty or any net 

profit share specified in OCS oil and gas 

leases to promote increased production. 

The DWRRA also authorized the 

Secretary to suspend royalties when 

necessary to promote development or 

recovery of marginal resources on 

producing or non-producing leases in 

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) west of 87 

degrees, 30 minutes West longitude. 

Section 302 of the DWRRA provides 

that new production from a lease in 

existence on November 28, 1995, in a 

water depth of at least 200 meters, and 

in the GOM west of 87 degrees, 30 

minutes West longitude qualifies for 

royalty suspension in certain situations. 

To grant a royalty suspension, the 

Secretary must determine that the new 

production or development would not 

be economic without royalty relief. The 

Secretary must then determine the 

volume of production on which no 

royalty would be due in order to make 

the new production from the lease 

economically viable. This determination 

must be done on a case-by-case basis. 

Production from leases in the same 

water depth and area issued after 

November 28, 2000, also can qualify for 

royalty suspension in addition to any 

that may be included in their lease 

terms. 

In addition, the Independent Offices 

Appropriations Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), the 

Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 

104–133, 110 Stat. 1321, April 26, 

1996), and Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A–25, authorize 

Federal agencies to recover the full cost 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
18394 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Notices 

of services that confer special benefits. 

Under the Department of the Interior’s 

(DOI) implementing policy, the 

Minerals Management Service (MMS) is 

required to charge the full cost for 

services that provide special benefits or 

privileges to an identifiable non-Federal 

recipient above and beyond those which 

accrue to the public at large. 

Regulations at 30 CFR part 203 

implement these statutes and policy and 

require respondents to pay a fee to 

request royalty relief. Section 30 CFR 

203.3 states that, ‘‘We will specify the 

necessary fees for each of the types of 

royalty-relief applications and possible 

MMS audits in a Notice to Lessees. We 

will periodically update the fees to 

reflect changes in costs as well as 

provide other information necessary to 

administer royalty relief.’’ 

The MMS uses the information to 

make decisions on the economic 

viability of leases requesting a 

suspension or elimination of royalty or 

net profit share. These decisions have 

enormous monetary impacts to both the 

lessee and the Federal Government. 

Royalty relief can lead to increased 

production of natural gas and oil, 

creating profits for lessees and royalty 

and tax revenues for the government 

that they might not otherwise receive. 

We could not make an informed 

decision without the collection of 

information required by 30 CFR part 

203. 

We will protect information from 

respondents considered proprietary 

under the Freedom of Information Act 

(5 U.S.C. 552) and its implementing 

regulations (43 CFR part 2) and 30 CFR 

203.63(b) and 30 CFR 250.197. No items 

of a sensitive nature are collected. 

Responses are mandatory or are 

required to obtain or retain a benefit. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Estimated Number and Description of 

Respondents: Approximately 130 

Federal OCS oil and gas lessees. 

Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Hour’’ Burden: The 

currently approved annual reporting 

burden for this collection is 4,721 hours. 

The following chart details the 

individual components and respective 

hour burden estimates of this ICR. In 

calculating the burdens, we assumed 

that respondents perform certain 

requirements in the normal course of 

their activities. We consider these to be 

usual and customary and took that into 

account in estimating the burden. 

Citation 30 CFR 203 Reporting or recordkeeping requirement 

30 CFR Part 203 

Hour burden 

application fees 

2(b); 3; 4; 70 ................ These sections contain general references to submitting reports, applications, requests, 

copies, demonstrating qualifications, for MMS approval—burdens covered under specific 

requirements.

0. 

31(c) ............................. Request a refund of or recoup royalties from qualified ultra-deep wells ................................. 1. 

35(d); 44(e) .................. Request to extend the deadline for beginning production with required supporting documentation.1. 

35(a); 44(a); 47(a) ....... Notify MMS of intent to begin drilling ....................................................................................... 1. 

35(c), (d); 44(b), (d), (e) Notify MMS that production has begun, request confirmation of the size of RSV, provide 

supporting documentation.

2. 

41(d) ............................. Request a refund of or recoup royalties from qualified wells >200 meters but <400 meters 1. 

46 ................................. Provide data from well to confirm and attest well drilled was an unsuccessful certified well

with supporting documentation and request supplement.

8. 

49(b) ............................. Notify MMS of decision to exercise option to replace one set of deep gas royalty suspension terms for another set of such terms.

NOTE: The MMS SOL requires that the regulation stay for legacy purposes only. Last time 

any respondent could use was 2004.

0. 

51; 83; 84 ..................... Application—leases that generate earnings that cannot sustain continued production (endof-life lease) and required supporting documentation.100. 

Application = $8,000.* 

Audit = $12,500. 

52 ................................. Demonstrate ability to qualify for royalty relief or to re-qualify ................................................ 1. 

55 ................................. Renounce relief arrangement (end-of-life) (seldom, if ever will be used; minimal burden to 

prepare letter).

1. 

61; 62; 64; 65; 71; 83; 

85–89.

Application—leases in designated areas of GOM deep water acquired in lease sale before 

11/28/95 or after 11/28/00 and are producing (deep water expansion project) and required supporting documentation.

2,000. 

Application = $19,500. 

61; 62; 64; 65; 203.71; 

203.83; 203.85–89.

Application—leases in designated areas of deep water GOM, acquired in lease sale before 

11/28/95 or after 11/28/00 that have not produced (pre-act or post-2000 deep water 

leases) and required supporting documentation.

2,000. 

Application = $34,000.* 

Audit = $37,500. 

61; 62; 64; 65; 71; 83; 

85–89.

Application—preview assessment (seldom if ever will be used as applicants generally opt 

for binding determination by MMS instead) and required supporting documentation.

Application = $34,000. 

70; 81; 90; 91 .............. Submit fabricator’s confirmation report; extension justification ................................................ 20. 

70; 81; 90; 92 .............. Submit post-production development report; extension justification ........................................ 50. 

74; 75 ........................... Redetermination and required supporting documentation ....................................................... 500. 

Application = $16,000.* 

77 ................................. Renounce relief arrangement (deep water) (seldom, if ever will be used; minimal burden to 

prepare letter).

1. 

79(c) ............................. Request extension of deadline to start construction ................................................................ 2. 

80 ................................. Application—apart from formal programs for royalty relief for a marginal producing lease 

(Special Case Relief) and required supporting documentation.

250. 

Application = $8,000.** 

Audit = $10,000. 

80 ................................. Application—apart from formal programs for royalty relief for marginal expansion project or 

marginal non-producing lease (Special Case Relief) and required supporting documentation.

GOM—1,000. 

Application = $19,500.** 

Audit = $20,000. 

POCS—40. 

Application = $6,500.*** 

81; 83–90 ..................... Required reports; extension justification .................................................................................. Burden included with applications. 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 22, 2009 / Notices 18395 

Citation 30 CFR 203 Reporting or recordkeeping requirement 

30 CFR Part 203 

Hour burden 

application fees 

81(d) ............................. Retain supporting cost records for post-production development/fabrication reports (records 

retained as usual/customary business practice; minimal burden to make available at 

MMS request).

8. 

83 ................................. Application—short form to add or assign pre-Act lease and required supporting documentation.40 

Application = $1,000. 

* CPA certification expense burden also imposed on applicant. 

** These applications currently do not have a set fee since they are done on a case-by-case basis. In the past 11 years, three unique applications have been submitted and the respondents were charged approximately $8,000 per application, and $19,500 respectively. 

Note: Applications include numerous 

items such as: transmittal letters, letters 

of request, modifications to 

applications, reapplications, etc. 

Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’ 

Burden: There are two non-hour costs 

associated with this information 

collection. The currently approved nonhour cost burden is $280,670. This 

estimate is based on: 

(a) Application and audit fees. The 

total annual estimated cost burden for 

these fees is $145,670 (refer to burden 

chart). 

(b) Cost of reports prepared by 

independent certified public 

accountants. Under § 203.81, a report 

prepared by an independent certified 

public accountant (CPA) must 

accompany the application and postproduction report (expansion project, 

short form, and preview assessment 

applications are excluded). The OCS 

Lands Act applications will require this 

report only once; the DWRRA 

applications will require this report at 

two stages—with the application and 

post-production development report for 

successful applicants. We estimate 

approximately three submissions, 

during the information collection 

extension, at an average cost of $45,000 

per report, for a total estimated annual 

cost burden of $135,000. We have not 

identified any other non-hour cost 

burdens for this collection. 

Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA 

(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an 

agency may not conduct or sponsor a 

collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. Until OMB approves a 

collection of information, you are not 

obligated to respond. 

Comments: Before submitting an ICR 

to OMB, PRA section 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 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Agencies must also estimate the ‘‘nonhour cost’’ burdens to respondents or 

recordkeepers resulting from the 

collection of information. Therefore, if 

you have costs to generate, maintain, 

and disclose this information, you 

should comment and provide your total 

capital and startup cost components or 

annual operation, maintenance, and 

purchase of service components. 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, and 

record storage facilities. You should not 

include estimates for 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. 

We will summarize written responses 

to this notice and address them in our 

submission for OMB approval. As a 

result of your comments, we will make 

any necessary adjustments to the burden 

in our submission to OMB. 

Public Comment Procedures: Before 

including your address, phone number, 

e-mail address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

MMS Information Collection 

Clearance Officer: Arlene Bajusz (202) 

208–7744. 

Dated: April 10, 2009. 

E.P. Danenberger, 

Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs. 

[FR Doc. E9–9194 Filed 4–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R4–R–2009–N0084] [41510–1261- 

0000–4A] 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Economic Valuation and Visitor 

Satisfaction Survey, Crystal River 

National Wildlife Refuge 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife 

Service) will ask the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve the information collection (IC) 

described below. As required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

as part of our continuing efforts to 

reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, we invite the general public and 

other Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on this IC. We 

may 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. 

DATES: Your comments must be received 

by June 22, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the 

IC to Hope Grey, Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS 222–ARLSQ, 4401 North 

Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 

(mail); hope_grey@fws.gov (e-mail). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail or eVerDate Nov<24>2008 15:31 Apr 21, 2009 Jkt 217001 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\22APN1.SGM 22APN1

dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES