[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 74 (Monday, April 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20484-20485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9425]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0053).

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, MMS invites the public and other Federal agencies to 
comment on a proposal to extend the currently approved collection of 
information discussed below on oil and gas drilling operations. We 
intend to submit this collection of information to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. The Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA) provides that an agency 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: Submit written comments by June 16, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Rules Processing 
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. 
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable 
by law. There may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by the law. If you wish us 
to withhold your name and/or address, you must 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: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
a copy of the collection of information at no cost.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart D, Oil and Gas Drilling Operations.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0053.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., requires the Secretary of the Interior to preserve, 
protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS; make such 
resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as 
possible; balance orderly energy resources development with protection 
of the human, marine, and coastal environment; ensure the public a fair 
and equitable return on the resources offshore; and preserve and 
maintain free enterprise competition. Section 1332(6) of the OCS Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1332) requires that ``operations in the [O]uter 
Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well-trained 
personnel using technology, precautions, and techniques sufficient to 
prevent or minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, 
fires, spillages, physical obstruction to other users of the waters or 
subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to the 
environment or to property, or endanger life or health.'' This 
authority and responsibility are among those delegated to MMS. To carry 
out these responsibilities, MMS issues regulations governing oil and 
gas and sulphur operations in the OCS. This collection of information 
addresses 30 CFR 250, subpart D, Oil and Gas Drilling Operations.
    The MMS uses the information to ascertain the condition of a 
drilling site to prevent hazards inherent in drilling operations. Among 
other things, MMS specifically uses the information to ensure: (a) The 
drilling unit is fit for the intended purpose; (b) the lessee will not 
encounter geologic conditions that present a hazard to operations; (c) 
equipment is maintained in a state of readiness and meets safety 
standards; (d) each drilling crew is properly trained and able to 
promptly perform well-control activities at any time during well 
operations; (e) compliance with safety standards; and (f) the proposed 
field drilling rules will provide for safe and proper field or 
reservoir development, resource evaluation, conservation, protection of 
correlative rights, safety, and environmental protection. We also 
review well records to ascertain whether drilling operations have 
encountered hydrocarbons or H<INF>2</INF>S and to ensure that 
H<INF>2</INF>S detection equipment, personnel protective equipment, and 
training of the crew are adequate for safe operations in zones known to 
contain H<INF>2</INF>S and zones where the presence of H<INF>2</INF>S 
is unknown.
    Responses are mandatory. Proprietary information respondents submit 
is protected according to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) 
and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 2) and 30 CFR 250.196. No 
items of a sensitive nature are collected.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting varies by section, but is 
mostly on occasion.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil, gas, and sulphur lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved burden for this information collection is 107,698 
hours (3,389 reporting and 103,859 recordkeeping hours). This averages 
approximately 830 hours per respondent.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no non-hour cost burdens.

[[Page 20485]]

    Comments: 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. In calculating the burden, we assumed that 
respondents perform many of the 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.
    (1) We specifically solicit your comments on the following 
questions:
    (a) Is the proposed collection of information necessary for us to 
properly perform our functions, and will it be useful?
    (b) Are the estimates of the burden hours of the proposed 
collection reasonable?
    (c) Do you have any suggestions that would enhance the quality, 
clarity, or usefulness of the information to be collected?
    (d) Is there a way to minimize the information collection burden on 
respondents, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other forms of information technology?
    (2) In addition, the PRA requires agencies to estimate the total 
annual reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or 
recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. We need to 
know if you have 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. Generally, 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744).

    Dated: March 31, 2000.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 00-9425 Filed 4-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P