Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,
[Federal Register: August 12, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 155)]
[Notices]
[Page 44043-44044]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12au99-104]
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 1010-0057).
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. 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
DATES: Submit written comments by October 12, 1999.
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.
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 C, Pollution Prevention and Control (1010-0057).
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., gives the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the responsibility to preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS. This must be done in a manner that is consistent with the need to make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance orderly energy resource development with protection of the human, marine, and coastal environments; ensure the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain free enterprise competition. The OCS Lands Act Amendments of 1978 also gave the Secretary the responsibility to minimize or eliminate conflicts among the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas and the recovery of other resources such as fish and shellfish. The OCS Lands Act at 43 U.S.C. 1332(6) states 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.'' The OCS Lands Act at 43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(8) also requires the Secretary to administer the provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of the OCS, and prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary ``for compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that activities authorized under this Act significantly affect the air quality of any State.'' The OCS Lands Act Amendments at 43 U.S.C. 1843(b) direct the Secretary to ``establish regulations requiring all materials, equipment, tools, containers, and all other items used on the Outer Continental Shelf to be properly color coded, stamped, or labeled, wherever practicable, with the owner's identification prior to actual use.''
Regulations at 30 CFR 250, subpart C, ``Pollution, Prevention and Control'' implement these statutory requirements. We use the information collected and records maintained under subpart C to ensure:
‹bullet› There is no threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate damage to the marine environment and to identify potential hazards to commercial fishing caused by OCS oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities;
‹bullet› The location of items lost overboard is recorded to aid in recovery by the operator during site clearance activities on the lease;
‹bullet› Operations are conducted according to all applicable regulations, permit conditions and requirements, and conducted in a safe and workmanlike manner;
‹bullet› OCS oil and gas operations minimize air pollution of the OCS and adjacent onshore areas and comply with the emission levels specified in the MMS Development and Production Plan approval conditions;
‹bullet› A data baseline is established for the meteorological, oceanographic, and sea-ice conditions in frontier areas of the OCS to determine that offshore facilities and operational practices can withstand the expected environmental forces in an area;
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‹bullet› Emissions from OCS activities are not significantly affecting the air quality of any State adjacent to the OCS facilities/ operations;
‹bullet› Discharge or disposal of drill cuttings, sand, and other well solids, including those containing naturally occurring radioactive materials, are properly handled for the protection of OCS workers and the environment; and
‹bullet› Facilities are inspected daily for the prevention of pollution and problems observed have been corrected.
We will protect proprietary information submitted according to the Freedom of Information Act; 30 CFR 250.118, ``Data and information to be made available to the public'; and 30 CFR Part 252, ``OCS Oil and Gas Information Program.'' No items of a sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 Federal OCS sulphur or oil and gas lessees.
Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion or monthly.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The currently approved annual hour burden for this collection is 149,510 hours, which averages 1,150 hours per respondent.
This burden includes a data collection effort for respondents to monitor emissions air quality and submit monthly reports for a 1-year study of selected in sites in the Breton National Wildlife Refuge/ Wilderness Area (BWA) under Secs. 250.303(k) and 250.304(g). OMB previously approved the information collection burden for this, however, the project has been on hold. We have now scheduled the effort to begin on January 1, 2000, as announced in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region's Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) No. 99-G14.
In addition, we will be requesting an increase in the annual burden for a 1-year data collection effort to monitor ozone and regional haze air quality of facilities in the Gulf of Mexico west of 87 deg. 30' West longitude also beginning January 1, 2000. As announced in NTL No. 99-G15, monitoring will be monthly, with an annual report due the following March in 2001. We estimate 285 additional annual burden hours per respondent for this data collection effort.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: OMB previously approved the burden on lessees and operators of each lease within 100 kilometers of the BWA to collect and report meteorological data under Secs. 250.303(l) and 250.304(h), although this collection effort has also been on hold. NTL No. 99-G03 announced the start of this project on January 1, 2000. The Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) has agreed to undertake this project. The OOC estimates this one-time data collection effort will cost approximately $750,000.00, which will be expensed to the affected OCS lessees.
Comments: We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our submission for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record. As a result of your comments and our consultations with a representative sample of respondents, 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 and maintain records 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 and recordkeeping ``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: August 6, 1999. John V. Mirabella, Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-20798Filed8-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
