Reporting Amendments, 38545-38561 [06-5988]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is not a major rule as
defined by section 251 of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C.
804. This rule will not result in an
annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more; a major increase in
costs or prices; or significant adverse
effects on competition, employment,
investment, productivity, innovation, or
the ability of United States-based
companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and
export markets.
List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 511
Prisoners.
SUBCHAPTER A—GENERAL
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
PART 511—GENERAL MANAGEMENT
POLICY
1. Revise the authority citation for 28
CFR part 511 to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 18 U.S.C. 751,
752, 1791, 1792, 1793, 3050, 3621, 3622,
3624, 4001, 4012, 4042, 4081, 4082 (Repealed
as to offenses committed on or after
November 1, 1987), 5006–5024 (Repealed
October 12, 1984 as to offenses committed
after that date), 5039; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510;
Pub. L. 772, 80th Cong.; 18 U.S.C. 1791 and
4042; Pub. L. 108–277 (18 U.S.C. 926B); 28
CFR part 6.
2. Subpart A is added to read as
follows:
Subpart A—Personal Firearms
Sec.
511.1 Possession or introduction of
personal firearms prohibited on the
grounds of Bureau of Prisons facilities.
§ 511.1 Possession or introduction of
personal firearms prohibited on the
grounds of Bureau of Prisons facilities.
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BILLING CODE 4410–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
30 CFR Parts 206, 210, 216, and 218
Under rulemaking authority vested in
the Attorney General in 5 U.S.C. 301; 28
U.S.C. 509, 510 and delegated to the
Director, Bureau of Prisons in 28 CFR
0.96, we propose to amend 28 CFR part
511 as follows.
All persons are prohibited from
possessing or introducing personal
firearms, or attempting, aiding, or
abetting possession or introduction of
personal firearms, on the grounds of any
Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) facility, with
the following exceptions:
(a) Personal firearms are permitted as
required in the performance of official
law enforcement duties;
(b) Law enforcement personnel are
permitted to possess personal firearms
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[FR Doc. E6–10601 Filed 7–6–06; 8:45 am]
Minerals Management Service
Harley G. Lappin,
Director, Bureau of Prisons.
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on Bureau firing ranges as authorized by
the Warden, provided that continuous
personal possession and control of the
firearm is maintained; and
(c) An officer or employee of the
Bureau who resides on Bureau grounds
may store personal firearms in secure
locations designated by the Warden.
Residences must not be designated as
secure location sites for personal
firearms storage.
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RIN 1010–AD20
Reporting Amendments
Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The MMS is proposing to
amend its existing regulations for
reporting production and royalties on
oil, gas, coal, and geothermal resources
produced on Federal and Indian leases
in order to align the regulations with
current MMS business practices. These
amendments reflect changes that were
implemented as a result of a major
reengineering of MMS’s financial
system and other legal requirements.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before September 5, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Address your comments,
suggestions, or objections regarding the
proposed rule to:
By Federal eRulemaking Portal.
Follow the instructions on the Web site
at https://www.regulations.gov.
By e-mail. mrm.comments@mms.gov.
Please include ‘‘Attn: RIN 1010–AD20’’
and your name and return address in
your Internet message. If you do not
receive a confirmation that we have
received your Internet message, call the
contact person listed below.
By regular U.S. mail. Minerals
Management Service, Minerals Revenue
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS
302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225.
By overnight mail or courier. Minerals
Management Service, Minerals Revenue
Management, Building 85, Room A–614,
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave.
and Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado
80225.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead Regulatory
Specialist, Minerals Management
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38545
Service, Minerals Revenue Management,
P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver,
Colorado 80225; telephone: (303) 231–
3211; fax: (303) 231–3781; e-mail:
Sharron.Gebhardt@mms.gov. The
principal authors of this rule are
Lorraine Corona, Louise Williams,
Richard Adamski, and Paul Knueven of
Minerals Revenue Management, MMS,
Department of the Interior.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The MMS implemented integrated
reengineered systems on November 1,
2001. This process included a major
reengineering of the Minerals Revenue
Management (MRM) financial system.
The new systems are the core systems
support for MMS’s implementation of
new royalty management business
processes for the 21st century. The new
systems were developed around new
business processes and have been
reengineered to be more effective and
efficient. The reengineering, as well as
changes required by law, resulted in
changes to, or elimination of, some
forms and requirements. The MMS is
proposing to eliminate references in the
regulations to forms that are no longer
used; however, elimination of these
forms by reengineering did not
eliminate the requirements for record
retention and making the records
available to support the payment of
royalties, as stated in 30 CFR part 212,
Records and Files Maintenance.
The MMS is proposing to amend its
regulations to align the regulations with
the following changes that were
required as a result of reengineering: (1)
Aligning the regulations with the
updated Form MMS–2014, Report of
Sales and Royalty Remittance (approved
by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB)); (2) eliminating
references in the regulations to report
forms, designations, systems, and codes
that are no longer applicable; (3)
updating references to OMB-approved
information collections; (4) revising the
due date for production reports
submitted electronically; (5) clarifying
the requirement for production
reporting of inventory on leases and
agreements until all production has
ceased and all inventory has been
disposed of; (6) eliminating references
to Federal oil and gas late and incorrect
(erroneous) reporting assessments and
failure to report; (7) eliminating
references to some electronic reporting
options that no longer exist as a result
of reengineering; and (8) clarifying the
reporting requirement for taxpayer
identification numbers.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
II. Explanation of Proposed Rule
Amendments
The proposed rule would affect four
CFR parts: (1) 30 CFR Part 206—Product
Valuation; (2) Part 210—Forms and
Reports; (3) Part 216—Production
Accounting; and (4) Part 218—
Collection of Royalties, Rentals,
Bonuses and Other Monies Due the
Federal Government. The proposed
changes to the regulations would align
the regulations with current MMS
business practices. These proposed
changes to the regulations are explained
in depth in the following sections:
A. 30 CFR Part 206—Product Valuation
The proposed changes in part 206
would align the regulations with current
reporting requirements for Form MMS–
2014, Report of Sales and Royalty
Remittance (OMB Control Number
1010–0140).
1. Selling Arrangement v. Sales Type
Code. Before October 1, 2001, MMS
required payors to report at the selling
arrangement level on Form MMS–2014,
which entailed reporting one line for
each sale under each type of contract.
Effective October 1, 2001, the revised
Form MMS–2014 allows payors to roll
up all sales (including rolling up
pooling situations) under a contract
type—referred to as a ‘‘sales type code’’
to one line per lease. To incorporate this
change in our regulations, we propose to
remove references to and definition of
‘‘selling arrangement’’ wherever it
occurs and add a definition of ‘‘sales
type code’’ as follows:
Sales type code means the contract type
and/or general disposition (arm’s-length or
non-arm’s-length) of the production from
Federal and Indian oil, gas, and geothermal
leases. The sales type code applies to the
sales contract/disposition and not to the
arm’s-length/non-arm’s-length nature of the
transportation or processing allowance.
2. Transportation and Processing
Allowance Deductions. Other
reengineering changes to Form MMS–
2014 allow payors to report
transportation and processing allowance
deductions on the same line as volumes
and values. Prior to 2001, allowances
were reported on separate lines from
volumes and values. Allowances are
now reported in a separate column but
on the same line as the associated
volumes and values. Consequently, in
OMB control No.
Legal basis
1010–0073 ...............
30 CFR Part 220—Accounting Procedures for Determining
Net Profit Share Payment for Outer Continental Shelf Oil
and Gas Leases.
30 CFR Part 227—Delegation to States, and Part 228—
Cooperative Activities with States and Indian Tribes.
1010–0087 ...............
1010–0090 ...............
1010–0103 ...............
1010–0107 ...............
1010–0110 ...............
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1010–0119 ...............
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30 CFR Part 218—Collection of royalties, rentals, bonuses
and other monies due the Federal Government, Subpart
A—General Provisions, and Subpart B—Oil and Gas,
General.
Executive Order 12862—Setting Customer Service Standards.
30 CFR Part 208—Sale of Federal Royalty Oil.
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B. 30 CFR Part 210—Forms and Reports
We are proposing to revise part 210,
subparts A, B, C, D, and E; and
eliminate subparts F, G, H, and I in
order to align the regulations with
reengineered MMS business practices.
1. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart A—General
Provisions
Subpart A would provide an updated
comprehensive list of ICRs currently
approved by OMB. We propose to
include the following chart, listing the
OMB control number, legal basis, and
associated forms or information
collected.
Form or information collected
30 CFR Part 216—Production Accounting, Subpart B—Oil
and Gas, General.
30 CFR Part 202—Royalties, Subpart J—Gas Production
From Indian Leases, and Part 206—Product Valuation,
Subpart B—Indian Oil, and Subpart E—Indian Gas.
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our regulations pertaining to
transportation and processing
allowances, we propose to remove all
references to previous requirements to
report an allowance on a separate line
on Form MMS–2014. We propose to
change the text to read a separate
‘‘entry’’ rather than ‘‘line.’’ The MMS
discussed the benefit of this change in
an information collection request (ICR)
to OMB that was approved August 2000,
and renewed October 2003, under OMB
Control Number 1010–0140.
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No form, Net profit share payment information.
No form, Written delegation proposal to perform auditing
and investigative activities.
No form, Request for cooperative agreement and subsequent requirements.
Form MMS–4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification.
Form MMS–4109, Gas Processing Allowance Summary
Report.
Form MMS–4295, Gas Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4110, Oil Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4411, Safety Net Report.
Form MMS–4410, Accounting for Comparison [Dual Accounting].
Form MMS–4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation (Note: Form MMS–4393 is used for both
Federal and Indian oil and gas leases. Burden hours are
applied to both 1010–0103 and 1010–0136; however, the
form resides with ICR 1010–0136.).
Form MMS–4425, Designation Form for Royalty Payment
Responsibility.
No form, Cross-lease netting documentation.
No form, Indian over-recoupment approval.
Form MMS–4420A–E, Training and Outreach Evaluation
Form.
Form MMS–4070, Application for the Purchase of Royalty
Oil.
Form MMS–4071, Letter of Credit (RIK).
Form MMS–4072, Royalty-in-Kind Contract Surety Bond.
No form, Royalty oil sales to eligible refiners.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
38547
OMB control No.
Legal basis
Form or information collected
1010–0120 ...............
30 CFR Part 206—Production Valuation, Subpart F—Federal Coal, and Subpart J—Indian Coal; Part 210—Forms
and Reports, Subpart B—Oil, Gas, and OCS Sulfur—
General, Subpart E—Solid Minerals, General, and Subpart H—Geothermal Resources; and Part 218—Collection of royalties, rentals, bonuses and other monies due
the Federal Government, Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General, and Subpart E—Solid Minerals—General.
30 CFR Part 243—Suspensions Pending Appeal and
Bonding—Minerals Revenue Management.
Form MMS–4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty
Report.
Form 4292, Coal Washing Allowance Report.
Form 4293, Coal Transportation Allowance Report.
No form, Facility data—solid minerals.
No form, Sales contracts—solid minerals.
No form, Sales summaries—solid minerals.
1010–0122 ...............
1010–0136 ...............
30 CFR Part 206—Product Valuation, Subpart C—Federal
Oil.
1010–0139 ...............
30 CFR Part 216—Production Accounting, Subpart A—
General Provisions, and Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General; and Part 210—Forms and Reports.
30 CFR Part 210—Forms and Reports ................................
30 CFR Part 204—Alternatives for Marginal Properties,
Subpart C—Accounting and Auditing Relief.
Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 .....................................
1010–0140 ...............
1010–0155 ...............
1010–0162 ...............
The proposed sections would align
with reengineered MMS business
practices as follows:
Section 210.1
this subpart?
Section 210.20 What if I disagree with
MMS’s burden estimates?
What is the purpose of
Section 210.1 would be added to
explain that the purpose of this part is
to identify OMB-approved information
collections currently required by
reengineered MMS business operations.
Section 210.2 To whom do these
regulations apply?
Section 210.2 would apply to any
person who is assigned or assumes an
obligation to report data and/or make
payment to MMS and may include
lessees, designees, operators,
purchasers, reporters, payors, and
working interest owners, but is not
restricted to these parties.
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Section 210.10 What are MMS’s
approved information collections?
Currently, 30 CFR 210.10(a) contains
a list of information collections
approved by OMB prior to
reengineering. Paragraph (c) contains a
brief description of the information
collections listed in paragraph (a). In
this rule, we propose to update the list
of OMB-approved ICRs and combine the
information about individual ICRs in
paragraphs (a) and (c) into one chart
with references to relevant CFR
citations. Paragraph (b) would be
eliminated, and mailing addresses
would be specified only in CFR sections
relevant to specific information
collections.
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17:37 Jul 06, 2006
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Form MMS–4435, Administrative Appeal Bond.
Form MMS–4436, Letter of Credit.
Form MMS–4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit.
No form, Self bonding.
No form, U.S. Treasury securities.
Form MMS–4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation.
No form, Federal oil valuation support information.
Form MMS–4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report (OGOR).
Form MMS–4058 (Parts A, B, and C), Production Allocation
Schedule Report (PASR).
Form MMS–2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance.
No form, Notification and relief request for accounting and
auditing relief.
No form, Accounts receivable confirmations.
Section 210.30 What are my
responsibilities as a reporter/payor?
The text in § 210.10(d) pertaining to
commenting on the accuracy of our
burden estimates would be moved to
new § 210.20 and updated with current
information.
The text in § 216.21 pertaining to
reporter responsibilities would be
moved to new § 210.30.
Section 210.21 How do I report my
taxpayer identification number?
The proposed rule would clarify
taxpayer identification number (TIN)
reporting at 30 CFR 210.21. The MMS
requires reporters to use a TIN to report
and pay mineral revenues to MMS. A
TIN is either a Social Security Number
(SSN) or an Employer Identification
Number (EIN) assigned by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). The proposed
rule would require all MMS reporters to
report using an EIN. All reporters are
presumed to have entrepreneurial or
business activities and, thus, should
either already have an EIN or qualify to
apply for an EIN. To protect individuals’
privacy, MMS would no longer accept
SSNs to meet the requirement of
reporting using a TIN.
The MMS would use IRS Form W–9,
Request for Taxpayer Identification
Number, or equivalent certification, to
collect EINs. The collection of TIN data
on IRS Form W–9 is not subject to the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA) and does not require
OMB approval because only information
to identify the respondent is requested
[5 CFR 1320.3(h)]. However, filing IRS
Form SS–4, Application for Employer
Identification Number, is subject to the
PRA and is covered under an IRS
information collection (OMB Control
Number 1545–00033).
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Section 210.40 Will MMS keep the
information I provide confidential?
The text in § 216.25 pertaining to
confidentiality of information provided
to MMS would be moved to new
§ 210.40.
2. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart B—Royalty
Reports—Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources
Subpart B would explain current
reengineered MMS reporting practices,
including the report that must be
submitted when reporting royalties on
oil and gas and geothermal resources
produced from Federal and Indian
lands. In addition to the changes to the
regulations listed below, we propose to
rewrite the text in subpart B in plain
English and insert questions in the
section headings.
Section 210.50
this subpart?
What is the purpose of
We propose to add § 210.50 to state
that the purpose of subpart B is to
explain the royalty reporting
requirements for Federal and Indian oil
and gas and geothermal leases, which
were implemented as a result of
reengineering.
Section 210.51 Who must submit
royalty reports?
Section 210.51 would apply to any
person who pays royalty to MMS.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
Section 210.52 What royalty reports
must I submit?
The information in § 210.52(a) would
be moved to new § 210.52.
Section 210.53 When are my royalty
reports and payments due?
The information in § 210.52(c)
through (e) would be moved to new
§ 210.53.
Section 210.54 Must I submit this
royalty report electronically?
The information pertaining to Form
MMS–2014 in §§ 210.20, 210.21, and
210.22 would be moved to new
§ 210.54.
The proposed rule would eliminate
references in the regulations to several
electronic reporting options, which are
no longer used to submit production
and royalty reports to MMS. The MMS
has contracted with an electronic
commerce (EC) service that collects
regulatory report data electronically
from reporters and forwards that data to
MMS in American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards
Committee (ASC) X12 Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) reporting format. This
EC service allows MMS to consolidate
and streamline our infrastructure,
thereby eliminating multiple input
processes and required maintenance,
and to address changing and obsolete
technology. Based on the new
technology requirements, the proposed
rule would eliminate references to
magnetic tape/cartridge reporting as
well as electronic mail, template
software, and diskette reporting formats.
The proposed rule would describe the
revised list of approved electronic
reporting options at 30 CFR 210.54 and
210.104.
Section 210.55 May I submit this
royalty report manually?
Section 210.55 would allow manual
submission of Form MMS–2014 under
specific conditions and would provide
mailing instructions.
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Section 210.56 Where can I find more
information on how to complete the
royalty report?
The information pertaining to Form
MMS–2014 in § 210.53 would be moved
to new § 210.56.
3. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart C—
Production Reports—Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources
Subpart C would explain current
reengineered MMS reporting practices,
including the report that must be
submitted when reporting production
on oil and gas and geothermal resources
produced from Federal and Indian
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lands. To make production reporting
requirements easier to find, we propose
to combine all production reporting
information found in part 216 with the
production reporting information found
in part 210, thus eliminating part 216.
In addition to the changes to the
regulations listed below, we propose to
write the text in subpart C in plain
English and insert questions in the
section headings.
Section 210.100 What is the purpose of
this subpart?
We propose to add § 210.100 to
explain that the purpose of subpart C is
to provide the production reporting
requirements for Federal and Indian oil
and gas and geothermal leases, which
were implemented as a result of
reengineering.
Section 210.101 Who must submit
production reports?
Section 210.101—would identify
those who must submit production
reports as anyone who operates a
Federal or Indian oil and gas or
geothermal lease or federally approved
agreement.
Section 210.102 What production
reports must I submit?
In our final electronic reporting rule,
published July 15, 1999 (64 FR 38116),
we clarified a long-standing practice
concerning unsold inventory on a
terminated lease or agreement. If the last
production report submitted to MMS on
a terminated lease or agreement
indicated unsold inventory on the
property, our previous practice was to
notify the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), if the property was located
onshore, or the MMS Offshore Minerals
Management (OMM) program, if the
property was located on the Outer
Continental Shelf. The BLM and OMM
then monitored the inventory from the
point of termination, and the operator
was not required to submit further
production reports to MMS.
In this rule, we are proposing at the
new 30 CFR 210.102(a) to eliminate in
its entirety 30 CFR 216.50, which
references the eliminated Form MMS–
3160 and 30 CFR 216.53(d), which
references Form MMS–4054. We are
proposing to amend the regulations to
reflect current reengineered business
practices, which require an operator to
submit a production report (Form
MMS–4054) on a lease or agreement
until no production remains on the
property. In other words, a production
report must be submitted if any
production remains on the property and
until all inventory has been disposed of.
This would include the time after all
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production has ceased, including the
period after the well is plugged or a
lease or agreement terminates, if
inventory remains on the property. This
process has improved the tracking of
unsold inventory and is more efficient
than transferring the responsibility
between agencies.
Section 210.103 When are my
production reports due?
In our final electronic reporting rule
published July 15, 1999 (64 FR 38116),
MMS extended the due date for
submitting electronic production reports
from the 15th day of the second month
following production to the 25th day of
the second month following production
as an incentive to increase electronic
production reporting. This change is
reflected in 30 CFR 216.53, Oil and Gas
Operations Report. After operating
under these procedures for more than 7
years, we now receive more than 98
percent of our production data
electronically. However, the extended
due date for electronic reporters has had
an unexpected effect on our ability to
timely perform the MMS reservoir
management, inspection, and
enforcement functions. Production
reports on offshore leases are forwarded
to the OMM program weekly as they are
received and corrected. Consequently,
extending the due date for electronic
reporters (also our largest volume
reporters) unduly delays OMM’s
initiation of certain verification
procedures. For this reason, we are
proposing to eliminate the extended due
date for electronic reporters. Under the
proposed rule, all production reporters
(electronic and other than electronic)
would be required to submit Form
MMS–4054 by the 15th day of the
second month following production.
The proposed rule reflects this change at
30 CFR 210.103.
Section 210.104 Must I submit these
production reports electronically?
No. You may submit the forms by
non-electronic means if you qualify for
one of the exemptions under § 210.105.
The information pertaining to
completing Forms MMS–4054 and
MMS–4058 in §§ 210.20, 210.21, and
210.22 would be moved to new
§ 210.104. As we discussed above in
§ 210.54, we would also eliminate
references to some electronic reporting
options.
Section 210.105 May I submit these
production reports manually?
Section 210.105 would allow manual
submission of Forms MMS–4054 and
MMS–4058 under specific conditions
and would provide mailing instructions.
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Section 210.106 Where can I find more
information on how to complete these
production reports?
The information pertaining to Forms
MMS–4054 and MMS–4058 in § 216.15
would be moved to new § 210.106.
4. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart D—SpecialPurpose Forms and Reports—Oil and
Gas and Geothermal Resources
Subpart D would explain the special
circumstances under which each of the
remaining OMB-approved information
collections, pertaining to oil and gas and
geothermal resources in subpart A, must
be submitted.
Sections 210.150 through 210.158
would be added in subpart D to
summarize the current reengineered
MMS requirements of our specialpurpose forms and reports. Our specialpurpose forms and reports are the
remaining information collections not
discussed in subparts B (basic royalty
reporting) and C (basic production
reporting). These sections would also
provide acceptable reporting options for
each report, addresses to submit
completed reports and other required
documents, and regulatory cites to
direct the reader to additional
information about each requirement. If
you do not submit these special-purpose
forms and reports in accordance with
the regulations, MMS may disallow
allowances, assess penalties, or take
other appropriate enforcement actions.
The added sections would be:
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210.150 What reports must I submit to
claim an excess allowance?
210.151 What reports must I submit to
claim allowances on an Indian lease?
210.152 What reports must I submit for
Indian gas valuation purposes?
210.153 What reports must I submit for
Federal oil valuation purposes?
210.154 What reports must I submit for
Federal onshore stripper oil properties?
Note: This is a BLM program that has been
suspended; however it could be reinstated at
any time in the future. In addition, MMS will
continue to process amendments for Form
MMS–4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction
Notification, indefinitely. Therefore, this
section remains.
210.155 What reports must I submit for net
profit share leases?
210.156 What reports must I submit for the
small refiner royalty-in-kind program?
210.157 What reports must I submit to
suspend an MMS order under appeal?
210.158 What reports must I submit to
designate someone to make my royalty
payments?
5. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart E—Solid
Minerals, General [Amended]
Subpart E would pertain to current
reengineered business requirements for
production and royalty reporting for
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solid mineral leases on Form MMS–
4430, Solid Minerals Production and
Royalty Report (OMB Control Number
1010–0120). The title of subpart E
would be revised and a section added
on the special reporting requirements,
which were implemented as a result of
reengineering, for allowances on Indian
coal production.
Sections 210.205 and 210.206 would
be redesignated as §§ 210.206 and
210.207, respectively.
Section 210.205 What reports must I
submit to claim allowances on Indian
coal leases?
We propose to add § 210.205 to
explain requirements implemented as a
result of reengineering for reporting
allowances related to Indian leases. If
reporters do not submit these allowance
forms and reports as required in the
regulations, MMS may disallow
allowances, assess penalties, or take
other appropriate enforcement actions.
6. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart F—Coal
[Reserved]; Subpart G—Other Solid
Minerals [Reserved]; Subpart H—
Geothermal Resources; and Subpart I—
OCS Sulfur [Reserved]
We propose to remove subparts F
through I.
7. The MMS Proposes To Eliminate 30
CFR 210.51 and 210.352 in Their
Entirety, Which Reference Form MMS–
4025, Payor Information Form
Form MMS–4025, Payor Information
Form (PIF), was used to establish payor
reference data such as the lease and
agreement number and product code on
which the payor was assuming
responsibility to pay royalty. During
reengineering of our core business
processes, the specific need for Form
MMS–4025 was eliminated when MMS
removed the revenue source code
reporting requirement from Form MMS–
2014. The MMS determined that other
information reported on Form MMS–
2014 could be used to establish
necessary payor reference data in our
financial system. Therefore, Form
MMS–4025 was unnecessary.
The MMS discussed the reasons for,
and benefits of, eliminating Form MMS–
4025 in an information collection
request to OMB that was approved in
August 2000, and renewed in August
2003, under OMB Control Number
1010–0140. On May 29, 2001, MMS
issued a ‘‘Dear Payor’’ letter informing
reporters that Form MMS–4025 had
been eliminated effective April 1, 2001.
The proposed rule would eliminate 30
CFR 210.51 and 210.352 in their
entirety, remove Form MMS–4025 from
our list of required information
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38549
collections, and remove all references to
this form in the MMS regulations.
C. 30 CFR Part 216—Production
Accounting
We propose to move all production
reporting information in part 216 to
subpart C of part 210 and remove part
216 in its entirety.
1. Eliminate references to report
forms, designations, systems, and codes
that are no longer applicable.
We propose to eliminate the following
30 CFR part 216 sections, referencing
forms that are no longer used.
(a) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30
CFR 216.50 in its entirety, which
references Form MMS–3160, Monthly
Report of Operations.
Since the late 1980s, for onshore
Federal and Indian oil and gas lease
production, MMS has required
operators to submit Form MMS–3160,
Monthly Report of Operations. For
offshore oil and gas lease production,
MMS has required operators to submit
Form MMS–4054, Oil and Gas
Operations Report (OGOR). Some
operators also used Form MMS–4054 for
their onshore properties.
During the reengineering of our core
business processes, MMS determined
that Form MMS–3160 was not adequate
for our new compliance verification
process. Previously, on Form MMS–
3160, reporters grouped all dispositions,
other than the seven most common
situations, in a field called ‘‘Other’’ with
an explanation in a ‘‘Comments’’
section. When MMS detected a
reporting exception, MMS had to
analyze this grouping of several
dispositions manually to determine the
volume, method, and propriety of each
disposition. Form MMS–4054
accommodates more types of
dispositions, allowing MMS to resolve
more exceptions automatically, thus
reducing the burden on industry and
MMS.
Further, under previous reporting
using both Forms MMS–3160 and
MMS–4054, many companies that
reported both offshore and onshore
properties had to maintain and support
two separate production reporting
systems. It is more efficient for all
parties to have one form for production
reporting.
The MMS discussed the benefits of
eliminating Form MMS–3160 and
streamlining remaining production
reporting Forms MMS–4054 and MMS–
4058, Production Allocation Schedule
Report (PASR), in an information
collection request to OMB that was
approved in July 2000, and renewed in
August 2003, under OMB Control
Number 1010–0139 (formerly OMB
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Control Number 1010–0040). Moreover,
effective October 1, 2001, reporters
began reporting all onshore and offshore
production on Form MMS–4054. The
proposed rule would reflect this change
at 30 CFR part 210, subpart C—
Production Reports—Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources, by eliminating
30 CFR 216.50 in its entirety, removing
Form MMS–3160 from our list of
required information collections. The
proposed rule also would remove all
references to this form in the MMS
regulations.
(b) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30
CFR 216.51 in its entirety, which
references Form MMS–4051, Facility
and Measurement Information Form.
This information is now collected on
the Form MMS–4054.
The purpose of Form MMS–4051,
Facility and Measurement Information
Form (FMIF), was to identify facilities
where oil and gas production is stored
or processed and the metering points
where production is measured for sale
or transfer. This information established
a reference database used to account for
all oil and gas production. Effective
October 1, 2001, the MMS converted
compilations of this information into an
internal MMS worksheet and companies
were no longer required to file the Form
MMS–4051 report form.
The MMS discussed the benefits of
converting this information into an
internal MMS worksheet in an
information collection request to OMB
that was approved in July 2000, and
renewed in August 2003, under OMB
Control Number 1010–0139. The
proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR
216.51 in its entirety, remove Form
MMS–4051 from our list of required
information collections, and remove all
references to this form in the MMS
regulations.
(c) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30
CFR 216.52 in its entirety, which
references Form MMS–4053, First
Purchaser Report.
The purpose of Form MMS–4053,
First Purchaser Report, was to document
the first purchaser of minerals produced
from Federal and Indian oil and gas
leases. The MMS no longer requires this
information or uses this form. The OMB
approval for Form MMS–4053 expired
May 31, 1995. The proposed rule would
eliminate 30 CFR 216.52 in its entirety,
remove Form MMS–4053 from our list
of required information collections, and
remove all references to this form in the
MMS regulations.
(d) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30
CFR 216.54 in its entirety, which
references Form MMS–4055, Gas
Analysis Report.
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The purpose of Form MMS–4055, Gas
Analysis Report (GAR), was to report
the composition of a lease gas stream
transferred to a gas plant before royalty
determination. During the reengineering
of our core business processes, MMS
determined that it is more efficient to
obtain a copy of gas sample results, if
necessary, during our compliance
verification or audit processes than to
require reporters to transcribe and
submit the information on an MMS
form. The information requested on
Form MMS–4055 was covered under
OMB Control Number 1010–0040,
which expired September 30, 2001.
Effective October 1, 2001, companies
were no longer required to submit this
form. The proposed rule would
eliminate 30 CFR 216.54 in its entirety,
remove Form MMS–4055 from our list
of required information collections, and
remove all references to this form in the
MMS regulations.
(e) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30
CFR 216.55 in its entirety, which
references Form MMS–4056, Gas Plant
Operations Report.
The purpose of Form MMS–4056, Gas
Plant Operations Report (GPOR), was to
report a summary of all operations
conducted at a gas plant during a
specific period. Form MMS–4056, used
in conjunction with Form MMS–4055,
was used to determine the quantity and
quality of gas plant products attributed
to a specific Federal or Indian lease
when the gas was transferred to a gas
plant before royalty determination.
During the reengineering of our core
business processes, MMS determined
that it is more efficient to obtain a copy
of the entire gas plant report during our
compliance verification or audit
processes than to require reporters to
transcribe and submit the information
on an MMS form. The information
requested on Form MMS–4056 was
covered under OMB Control Number
1010–0040, which expired September
30, 2001. Effective October 1, 2001,
companies were no longer required to
submit this form. The proposed rule
would eliminate 30 CFR 216.55 in its
entirety, remove Form MMS–4056 from
our list of required information
collections, and remove all references to
this form in the MMS regulations. The
MMS is proposing to eliminate
references to forms that are no longer
used; however, elimination of these
forms by reengineering did not
eliminate the requirements for record
retention and making the records
available to support the payment of
royalties, as stated in 30 CFR part 212,
Records and Files Maintenance.
2. Revise the due date for production
reports submitted electronically.
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As we discussed above, the
information in §§ 216.53(c), 216.56(c),
and 216.16(c) would be moved to new
§ 210.104. We also propose to eliminate
the 10-day reporting extension for
production reports submitted
electronically.
3. Clarify the requirement for
production reporting of inventory on
leases and agreements until all
inventory has been disposed of and all
production has ceased.
The information in §§ 216.53(a), (b),
and (d) and 216.56(a) and (b) would be
moved to new § 210.102. As we
discussed above, we also would clarify
current requirements to submit
production reports on terminated leases
and agreements until all inventory is
disposed of.
D. 30 CFR Part 218—Collection of
Royalties, Rentals, Bonuses and Other
Monies Due the Federal Government
The proposed changes in part 218
would:
1. Eliminate references to Federal oil
and gas late or incorrect (erroneous)
reporting, failure to submit payment of
same amount as Form MMS–2014 or bill
document or to provide adequate
information assessments and failure to
report.
We propose to revise the following
sections: (1) 30 CFR 218.40,
Assessments for incorrect or late reports
and failure to report; and (2) § 218.41,
Assessments for failure to submit
payment of same amount as Form
MMS–2014 or bill document or to
provide adequate information.
The proposed rule would eliminate
only the language in § 218.40(c)(2) that
provided for assessments for Federal oil
and gas leases. This section would
remain in effect for assessments related
to solid minerals, geothermal, and
Indian oil and gas.
The primary reason we propose these
changes is that section 116 of the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996
(RSFA), 30 U.S.C. 1725, limited MMS’s
discretion to issue assessments for
Federal oil and gas lease reporting to
those who chronically submit erroneous
reports. In addition, as a result of our
extensive reengineering initiative, we
implemented a new financial system on
November 1, 2001. The new financial
system incorporated significantly
revised and streamlined reporting forms
and new electronic reporting methods,
resulting in lower error rates. For the
remaining Federal oil and gas reporting
errors, we intend to use the general
penalty provisions at 30 CFR part 241.
2. Eliminate references in § 218.50(b)
to Form DI–1040b, Bill for Collection,
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and replace with current terminology, as
appropriate.
3. Correct the definition of ‘‘Invoice
Document Identification’’ in § 218.51(a)
and eliminate parenthetical descriptions
of fields in § 218.51(f) that are no longer
relevant to the revised Form MMS–
2014.
4. Remove the requirement in
§ 218.52(a)(4) and (d) that lessees
provide the percentage of their record
title or operating rights ownership when
they designate another party to make
royalty and other payments on their
behalf.
We have determined that we can
obtain this information from records
maintained by other Federal agencies or
during our compliance verification and
audit processes. We also added Form
MMS–4425, Designation Form for
Royalty Payment Responsibility (OMB
Control Number 1010–0107), to meet
RSFA requirements. Lessees are
required to complete Form MMS–4425
when designating a designee.
5. Eliminate 30 CFR 218.57 in its
entirety, which references Form MMS–
4280, Application for Reward for
Original Information.
This section referencing a reward
program was written in the 1980s;
however, Congress has never
appropriated funds for a rewards
program, nor has MMS ever received an
application for a reward. The
information requested on Form MMS–
4280, Application for Reward for
Original Information, is currently
covered under OMB Control Number
1010–0120, which includes 1 burden
hour for this rare and unusual
possibility. The proposed rule would
eliminate 30 CFR 218.57 in its entirety,
remove Form MMS–4280 from our
listing of required information
collections, and remove all references to
this form in the MMS regulations.
6. Change the reference to paragraph
(a) to (b) in § 218.154(c).
7. Add the option to refund bonus
monies via Electronic Funds Transfer
(EFT) as well as via checks in
§ 218.155(b)(2).
III. Procedural Matters
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1. Public Comment Policy
Our practice is to make comments,
including names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review
during regular business hours and on
our Internet Web site at https://
www.mrm.mms.gov. 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
also may be circumstances in which we
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would withhold from the rulemaking
record a respondent’s identity, as
allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and/or address,
you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comments. 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.
2. Summary Cost and Royalty Impact
Data
This rule will not have any costs or
royalty impacts on any of the potentially
affected groups: Industry, state and local
governments, Indian tribes, individual
Indian mineral owners, or the Federal
Government. The proposed rule amends
existing MMS regulations to align the
regulations with current MMS business
practices, which were implemented as a
result of a major reengineering of MMS’s
financial systems.
The net impact of reengineering
resulted in an overall estimated annual
savings in reporting costs (on a
continuing basis) of $2,225,050 (44,501
burden hour reduction x $50). However,
the reporting changes and reduced costs
of reengineering have already been
incorporated into 14 information
collections, which have been approved
by OMB and published in the Federal
Register. The effects of the seven
eliminated report forms were either
incorporated in these information
collections or were associated with
insignificant burden hour reduction. For
a current listing of OMB-approved ICRs,
see the chart in new § 210.10.
Under the proposed rule, MMS would
no longer accept SSNs to meet the
requirement to report using a TIN. To
protect individual’s privacy, MMS
would require the use of an EIN as a TIN
for reporting purposes. The one-time
cost to obtain an EIN from the IRS is
covered under an IRS information
collection (OMB Control Number 1545–
0003).
A. Industry
The proposed rule would not impose
any additional burden on industry.
B. State and Local Governments
The proposed rule would not impose
any additional burden on states and
local governments.
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38551
C. Indian Tribes and Individual Indian
Mineral Owners
The proposed rule would not impose
any additional burden on Indian tribes
and individual Indian mineral owners.
D. Federal Government
The proposed rule would not impose
any additional burden on the Federal
Government.
E. Summary Cost and Royalty Impact
Data
The proposed rule would not impose
any additional burden on industry, state
and local governments, Indian tribes
and individual Indian mineral owners,
or the Federal Government.
3. Regulatory Planning and Review,
Executive Order 12866
Under the criteria in Executive Order
12866, this rule is not a significant
regulatory action requiring review by
the Office of Management and Budget.
1. This rule will not have an annual
effect of $100 million or adversely affect
an economic sector, productivity, jobs,
the environment, or other units of
government. The MMS has evaluated
the costs of this rule and has determined
that it will impose no additional
administrative costs.
2. This rule will not create
inconsistencies with other agencies’
actions.
3. This rule will not materially affect
entitlements, grants, user fees, loan
programs, or the rights and obligations
of their recipients.
4. This rule will not raise novel legal
or policy issues.
4. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department of the Interior
certifies this rule will not have a
significant economic effect on a
substantial number of small entities as
defined under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
Your comments are important. The
Small Business and Agricultural
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman
and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were
established to receive comments from
small businesses about Federal agency
enforcement actions. The Ombudsman
will annually evaluate the enforcement
activities and rate each agency’s
responsiveness to small business. You
may comment to the Small Business
Administration without fear of
retaliation. Disciplinary action for
retaliation by an MMS employee may
include suspension or termination from
employment with the Department of the
Interior.
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5. Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)
This rule is not a major rule under 5
U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.
This rule:
1. Does not have an annual effect on
the economy of $100 million or more.
See Summary Cost and Royalty Impact
Data, section III.2.E of Procedural
Matters.
2. Will not cause a major increase in
costs or prices for consumers,
individual industries, Federal, state, or
local government agencies, or
geographic regions.
3. Does not have significant adverse
effects on competition, employment,
investment, productivity, innovation, or
the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to
compete with foreign-based enterprises.
6. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
In accordance with the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501 et
seq.):
1. This rule will not significantly or
uniquely affect small governments.
Therefore, a Small Government Agency
Plan is not required.
2. This rule will not produce a
Federal mandate of $100 million or
greater in any year; i.e., it is not a
significant regulatory action under the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The
analysis prepared for Executive Order
12866 will meet the requirements of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. See
Summary Cost and Royalty Impact Data,
section III.2.E of Procedural Matters.
7. Governmental Actions and
Interference With Constitutionally
Protected Property Rights (Takings),
Executive Order 12630
In accordance with Executive Order
12630, this rule does not have
significant takings implications. A
takings implication assessment is not
required.
8. Federalism, Executive Order 13132
In accordance with Executive Order
13132, this rule does not have
federalism implications. A federalism
assessment is not required. It will not
substantially and directly affect the
relationship between Federal and state
governments. The management of
Federal leases is the responsibility of
the Secretary of the Interior. Royalties
collected from Federal leases are shared
with state governments on a percentage
basis as prescribed by law. This rule
will not alter any lease management or
royalty sharing provisions. This rule
will not impose costs on states or
localities.
9. Civil Justice Reform, Executive Order
12988
In accordance with Executive Order
12988, the Office of the Solicitor has
determined that this rule will not
unduly burden the judicial system and
meets the requirements of sections 3(a)
and 3(b)(2) of the Order.
10. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This rulemaking does not contain new
information collection requirements or
change existing information collection
requirements; therefore, a submission to
OMB is not required. The 14
information collections referenced in
this rule and listed in the chart below
are currently approved by OMB. The
total hour burden currently approved is
235,180 hours.
Annual burden hours
OMB control No. expiration date, and legal basis
Form or information collected
1010–0073, September 30, 2006 (in renewal) .............................
30 CFR Part 220—Accounting Procedures for Determining Net
Profit Share Payment for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas
Leases.
1010–0087, September 30, 2006 (in renewal) .............................
No form, Net profit share payment information ...........................
1,583
No form, Written delegation proposal to perform auditing and
investigative activities.
No form, Request for cooperative agreement and subsequent
requirements.
Form MMS–4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification
6,091
Form MMS–4109, Gas Processing Allowance Summary Report
Form MMS–4295, Gas Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4110, Oil Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4411, Safety Net Report.
Form MMS–4410, Accounting for Comparison [Dual Accounting].
Form MMS–4394, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance
Limitation (Note: Form MMS–4393 is used for both Federal
and Indian oil and gas leases. Burden hours for Indian
leases are included here. The form resides with ICR 1010–
0136.).
Form MMS–4425, Designation Form for Royalty Payment Responsibility.
No form, Cross-lease netting documentation.
No form, Indian over-recoupment approval.
Form MMS–4420A–E Training and Outreach Evaluation Form
Form MMS–4070, Application for the Purchase of Royalty Oil ..
Form MMS–4071, Letter of Credit (RIK).
Form MMS–4072, Royalty-in-Kind Contract Surety Bond.
No form, Royalty oil sales to eligible refiners.
Form MMS–4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty Report.
Form 4292, Coal. Washing Allowance Report.
Form 4293, Coal Transportation Allowance Report.
No form, Facility data—solid minerals.
No form, Sales contracts—solid minerals.
No form, Sales summaries—solid minerals.
Form MMS–4435, Administrative Appeal Bond ..........................
1,836
30 CFR Part 227—Delegation to States, and Part 228—Cooperative Activities with States and Indian Tribes.
1010–0090, October 31, 2007 ......................................................
30 CFR Part 216, Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General.
10–0103, April 30, 2006 (in renewal) ...........................................
30 CFR Part 202—Royalties, Subpart J—Gas Production ..........
From Indian Leases, and Part 206—Product Valuation, Subpart
B—Indian Oil, and Subpart E—Indian Gas.
1010–0107, August 31, 2008 ........................................................
30 CFR Part 218, Subpart A—General Provisions, and Subpart
B—Oil and Gas, General.
1010–0110, October 31, 2007, Executive Order 12862 ...............
1010–0119, February 28, 2009 ....................................................
30 CFR Part 208—Sale of Federal Royalty Oil ............................
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1010–0120, October 31, 2007 ......................................................
30 CFR Part 206, Subpart F—Federal Coal, and Subpart J—Indian Coal; Part 210, Subpart B—Oil, Gas, and OCS Sulfur—
General, Subpart E—Solid Minerals, General, and Subpart
H—Geothermal Resources; and Part 218, Subpart B—Oil and
Gas, General, and Subpart E—Solid Minerals—General.
1010–0122, July 31, 2008 ............................................................
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1,220
160
2,284
1,751
300
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OMB control No. expiration date, and legal basis
Form or information collected
30 CFR Part 243—Suspensions Pending Appeal and Bonding—
Minerals Revenue Management.
Form MMS–4436, Letter of Credit.
Form MMS–4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit.
No form, Self bonding.
No form, U.S. Treasury securities.
Form MMS–4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance
Limitation.
No form, Federal oil valuation support information.
Form MMS–4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report .....................
Form MMS–4058 (Parts A, B, and C), Production Allocation
Schedule Report.
1010–0136, May 31, 2006 (in renewal) ........................................
30 CFR Part 206—Product Valuation, Subpart C—Federal Oil ...
1010–0139, August 31, 2006 (in renewal) ...................................
30 CFR Part 216—Production Accounting, Subpart A—General
Provisions, and Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General; and Part
210—Forms and Reports.
1010–0140, October 31, 2006 (in renewal) ..................................
30 CFR Part 210—Forms and Reports.
1010–0155, May 31, 2006 (in renewal) ........................................
38553
Annual burden hours
13,863
76,630
Form MMS–2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance ......
126,144
No form, Notification and relief request for accounting and auditing relief.
2,206
30 CFR Part 204—Alternatives for Marginal Properties, Subpart
C—Accounting and Auditing Relief.
1010–0162, February 28, 2006 (in renewal) ................................
Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990.
No form, Accounts receivable confirmations ...............................
32
Total Burden Hours ................................................................
......................................................................................................
235,180
11. National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
13. Effects on the Nation’s Energy
Supply, Executive Order 13211
This rule does not constitute a major
Federal action significantly affecting the
quality of the human environment. This
rule deals with financial matters and
has no direct effect on MMS decisions
on environmental activities. According
to Departmental Manual 516 DM
2.3A(2), Section 1.10 of 516 DM 2,
Appendix 1 excludes from
documentation in an environmental
assessment or impact statement
‘‘policies, directives, regulations and
guidelines of an administrative,
financial, legal, technical or procedural
nature; or the environmental effects of
which are too broad, speculative or
conjectural to lend themselves to
meaningful analysis and will be subject
later to the NEPA process, either
collectively or case-by-case.’’ Section
1.3 of the same appendix clarifies that
royalties and audits are considered to be
routine financial transactions that are
subject to categorical exclusion from the
NEPA process. A detailed statement is
not required because none of the NEPA
exceptions apply.
In accordance with Executive Order
13211, this regulation does not have a
significant adverse effect on the Nation’s
energy supply, distribution, or use.
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12. Government-to-Government
Relationship With Tribes
In accordance with the President’s
memorandum of April 29, 1994,
‘‘Government-to-Government Relations
with Native American Tribal
Governments’’ (59 FR at 22951) and 512
DM 2, we have evaluated potential
effects on federally recognized Indian
tribes, and found no significant impacts.
We also extended our review to
individual Indian mineral owners and
determined no potential effect on them.
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Send a copy of any comments that
concern how we could make this rule
easier to understand to: Office of
Regulatory Affairs, Department of the
Interior, Room 7229, 1849 C Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20240.
14. Consultation and Coordination With
Indian Tribal Governments, Executive
Order 13175
List of Subjects
In accordance with Executive Order
13175, this rule does not have tribal
implications that impose substantial
direct compliance costs on Indian tribal
governments. As noted above, this rule
also has no implications on individual
Indian mineral owners.
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal
energy, Government contracts, Indian
lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas,
Petroleum, Public lands—mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
15. Clarity of This Regulation
Executive Order 12866 requires each
agency to write regulations that are easy
to understand. We invite your
comments on how to make this rule
easier to understand, including answers
to questions such as the following: (1)
Are the requirements in the rule clearly
stated? (2) Does the rule contain
technical language or jargon that
interferes with its clarity? (3) Does the
format of the rule (grouping and order
of sections, use of headings,
paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce its
clarity? (4) Would the rule be easier to
understand if it were divided into more
(but shorter) sections? A ‘‘section’’
appears in bold type and is preceded by
the symbol ‘‘§ ’’ and a numbered
heading. (5) What is the purpose of this
part? (6) Is the description of the rule in
the Supplementary Information section
of the preamble helpful in
understanding the rule? (7) What else
could we do to make the rule easier to
understand?
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30 CFR Part 206
30 CFR Part 210
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal
energy, Government contracts, Indian
lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas,
Petroleum, Public lands—mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
30 CFR Part 216
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal
energy, Government contracts, Indian
lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas,
Penalties, Petroleum, Public lands—
mineral resources, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
30 CFR Part 218
Coal, Continental Shelf, Electronic
funds transfers, Geothermal energy,
Government contracts, Indian lands,
Mineral royalties, Natural gas, Penalties,
Petroleum, Public lands—mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
Dated: June 13, 2006.
R.M. ‘‘Johnnie’’ Burton,
Director for Minerals Management Service,
Exercising the delegated authority of the
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals
Management.
For reasons stated in the preamble, we
propose to amend 30 CFR parts 206,
210, 216, and 218 as follows:
PART 206—PRODUCT VALUATION
1. The authority for part 206
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 et seq.; 25 U.S.C.
396 et seq., 396a et seq., 2101 et seq.; 30
U.S.C. 181 et seq., 351 et seq., 1001 et seq.,
1701 et seq.; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 43 U.S.C. 1301
et seq., 1331 et seq., and 1801 et seq.
2. Amend § 206.51 as follows:
A. Remove the definition of ‘‘selling
arrangement.’’
B. Add in alphabetical order the
definition of ‘‘sales type code.’’
The addition reads as follows:
§ 206.51
Definitions.
The revision and addition read as
follows:
§ 206.151
Definitions.
*
*
*
*
*
Netting means the deduction of an
allowance from the sales value by
reporting a net sales value, instead of
correctly reporting the deduction as a
separate entry on the Form MMS–2014.
*
*
*
*
*
Sales type code means the contract
type and/or general disposition (arms’length or non-arm’s-length) of the
production from Federal and Indian oil,
gas, and geothermal leases. The sales
type code applies to the sales contract/
disposition and not to the arm’s-length/
non-arm’s-length nature of the
transportation or processing allowance.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 206.156
§ 206.157
Subparts B and D [Nomenclature
change]
9. In § 206.158, paragraph (e), last
sentence, remove the words ‘‘line item’’
and add in their place ‘‘entry.’’
3. In subparts B and D, remove the
words ‘‘selling arrangement’’ and
‘‘selling arrangements’’ wherever they
appear and add in their place the words
‘‘sales type code’’ and ‘‘sales type
codes,’’ respectively.
§ 206.55
[Amended]
4. In § 206.55, paragraph (c)(4),
remove the words ‘‘line item’’ and add
in their place ‘‘entry.’’
5. Amend § 206.116 as follows:
A. Revise the section title to read as
set forth below.
B. Remove paragraph (a).
C. Remove the paragraph designation
from paragraph (b).
The revision reads as follows:
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§ 206.116 What interest applies if I
improperly report a transportation
allowance?
*
*
*
*
*
6. Amend § 206.151 as follows:
A. Revise the definition of ‘‘Netting.’’
B. Add in alphabetical order the
definition of ‘‘sales type code.’’
C. Remove the definition of ‘‘selling
arrangement.’’
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[Amended]
8. Amend § 206.157 as follows:
A. In paragraphs (a) and (b), remove
the words ‘‘line entry’’ wherever they
appear and add in their place the word
‘‘entry.’’
B. Remove paragraph (d)(1) and
redesignate paragraphs (d)(2) through
(d)(4) as paragraphs (d)(1) through
(d)(3), respectively.
§ 206.158
§ 206.159
[Amended]
[Amended]
10. In § 206.159, remove the word
‘‘line’’ wherever it appears and in
paragraph (d)(1), remove the words
‘‘selling arrangement’’ and add in their
place ‘‘sales type code.’’
11. Amend § 206.171 as follows:
a. Remove the definition of ‘‘selling
arrangement.’’
b. Add in alphabetical order the
definition of ‘‘sales type code.’’ The
addition reads as follows:
§ 206.171
subpart?
What definitions apply to this
*
*
*
*
*
Sales type code means the contract
type and/or general disposition (arms’length or non-arm’s-length) of the
production from Federal and Indian oil,
gas, and geothermal leases. The sales
type code applies to the sales contract/
disposition and not to the arm’s-length/
non-arm’s-length nature of the
transportation or processing allowance.
*
*
*
*
*
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[Amended]
12. In § 206.177, paragraphs (c)(1),
first sentence, and (c)(2), last sentence,
remove the words ‘‘selling arrangement’’
and add in their place ‘‘sales type
code.’’
§ 206.178
[Amended]
13. In § 206.178, paragraph (d)(2), first
sentence, remove the words ‘‘line item’’
and add in their place the word ‘‘entry.’’
§ 206.180
[Amended]
14. In § 206.180, paragraph (c)(2), first
sentence, remove the words ‘‘line item’’
and add in their place ‘‘entry.’’
15. Amend § 206.351 as follows:
a. Remove the definition of ‘‘selling
arrangement.’’
b. Add in alphabetical order the
definition of ‘‘sales type code.’’ The
addition reads as follows:
§ 206.351
[Amended]
7. In § 206.156(d), remove the last
sentence.
*
*
*
*
Sales type code means the contract
type and/or general disposition (arms’length or non-arm’s-length) of the
production from Federal and Indian oil,
gas, and geothermal leases. The sales
type code applies to the sales contract/
disposition and not to the arm’s-length/
non-arm’s-length nature of the
transportation or processing allowance.
*
*
*
*
*
*
§ 206.177
Definitions.
*
*
*
*
*
Sales type code means the contract
type and/or general disposition (armslength or non-arm’s-length) of the
production from Federal and Indian oil,
gas, and geothermal leases. The sales
type code applies to the sales contract/
disposition and not to the arm’s-length/
non-arm’s-length nature of the
transportation or processing allowance.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 206.357
[Amended]
16. Amend § 206.357 as follows:
a. In paragraph (b), remove the words
‘‘selling arrangement’’ and add in their
place ‘‘sales type code.’’
b. In paragraph (g), remove the word
‘‘lines’’ and add in its place ‘‘entries.’’
PART 210—FORMS AND REPORTS
17. The authority citation for part 210
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 et seq.; 25 U.S.C.
396, 2107; 30 U.S.C. 189, 190, 359, 1023,
1751(a); 31 U.S.C. 3716, 9701; 43 U.S.C.
1334, 1801 et seq.; and 44 U.S.C. 3506(a).
18. Revise subparts A and B, and add
subparts C and D to read as follows:
Subpart A—General Provisions
210.1 What is the purpose of this subpart?
210.2 To whom do these regulations apply?
210.10 What are MMS’s approved
information collections?
210.20 What if I disagree with MMS’s
burden estimates?
210.21 How do I report my taxpayer
identification number?
210.30 What are my responsibilities as a
reporter/payor?
210.40 Will MMS keep the information I
provide confidential?
Subpart B—Royalty Reports—Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources
210.50 What is the purpose of this subpart?
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210.51 Who must submit royalty reports?
210.52 What royalty reports must I submit?
210.53 When are my royalty reports and
payments due?
210.54 Must I submit this royalty report
electronically?
210.55 May I submit this royalty report
manually?
210.56 Where can I find more information
on how to complete the royalty report?
Subpart C—Production Reports—Oil, Gas,
and Geothermal Resources
210.100 What is the purpose of this
subpart?
210.101 Who must submit production
reports?
210.102 What production reports must I
submit?
210.103 When are my production reports
due?
210.104 Must I submit these production
reports electronically?
210.105 May I submit these production
reports manually?
210.106 Where can I find more information
on how to complete these production
reports?
Subpart D—Special-Purpose Forms and
Reports—Oil and Gas, and Geothermal
Resources
210.150 What reports must I submit to
claim an excess allowance?
210.151 What reports must I submit to
claim allowances on an Indian lease?
210.152 What reports must I submit for
Indian gas valuation purposes?
210.153 What reports must I submit for
Federal oil valuation purposes?
210.154 What reports must I submit for
Federal onshore stripper oil properties?
210.155 What reports must I submit for net
profit share leases?
210.156 What reports must I submit for the
small refiner royalty-in-kind program?
210.157 What reports must I submit to
suspend an MMS order under appeal?
210.158 What reports must I submit to
designate someone to make my royalty
payments?
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 210.1 What is the purpose of this
subpart?
This subpart identifies information
collections required by the Minerals
Management Service (MMS), Minerals
Revenue Management, in the normal
course of operations. This information is
submitted by various parties associated
with Federal and Indian leases such as
lessees, designees, and operators. The
information is collected to meet MMS’s
congressionally mandated accounting
and auditing responsibilities relating to
Federal and Indian mineral revenue
management. Information collected
regarding production, royalties, and
other payments due the Government
from activities on leased Federal or
Indian land is authorized by the Federal
OMB control No.
Legal basis
1010–0073 ...............
30 CFR Part 220—Accounting Procedures for Determining
Net Profit Share Payment for Outer Continental Shelf Oil
and Gas Leases.
30 CFR Part 227—Delegation to States, and Part 228—
Cooperative Activities with States and Indian Tribes.
1010–0087 ...............
1010–0090 ...............
1010–0103 ...............
1010–0107 ...............
1010–0110 ...............
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1010–0119 ...............
VerDate Aug<31>2005
30 CFR Part 218—Collection of royalties, rentals, bonuses
and other monies due the Federal Government, Subpart
A—General Provisions, and Subpart B—Oil and Gas,
General.
Executive Order 12862—Setting Customer Service Standards.
30 CFR Part 208—Sale of Federal Royalty Oil ....................
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Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of
1982, as amended (30 U.S.C. 1701 et
seq.), for oil and gas production; and by
30 U.S.C. 189, 359, and 396d for solid
minerals production.
§ 210.2
apply?
To whom do these regulations
These regulations apply to any
person, referred to in this subpart as a
Reporter/Payor, who is assigned or
assumes an obligation to report data
and/or make payment to MMS. The
Reporter/Payor may include lessees,
designees, operators, purchasers,
reporters, payors, and working interest
owners, but is not restricted to these
parties. This section does not affect the
liability to pay and report royalties as
established by other regulations, laws,
and the lease terms.
§ 210.10 What are MMS’s approved
information collections?
The information collection
requirements identified in this section
have been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under
44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The information
collection requests (ICR) and associated
MMS form numbers, if applicable, are
listed below:
Form or information collected
30 CFR Part 216—Production Accounting, Subpart B—Oil
and Gas, General.
30 CFR Part 202—Royalties, Subpart J—Gas Production
From Indian Leases, and Part 206—Product Valuation,
Subpart B—Indian Oil, and Subpart E—Indian Gas.
17:37 Jul 06, 2006
38555
Fmt 4702
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No form, Net profit share payment information.
No form, Written delegation proposal to perform auditing
and investigative activities.
No form, Request for cooperative agreement and subsequent requirements.
Form MMS–4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification.
Form MMS–4109, Gas Processing Allowance Summary
Report.
Form MMS–4295, Gas Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4110, Oil Transportation Allowance Report.
Form MMS–4411, Safety Net Report.
Form MMS–4410, Accounting for Comparison [Dual Accounting].
Form MMS–4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation (Note: Form MMS–4393 is used for both
Federal and Indian oil and gas leases. Burden hours are
applied to both 1010–0103 and 1010–0136; however, the
form resides with ICR 1010–0136.).
Form MMS–4425, Designation Form for Royalty Payment
Responsibility.
No form, Cross-lease netting documentation.
No form, Indian over-recoupment approval.
Form MMS–4420A–E, Training and Outreach Evaluation
Form.
Form MMS–4070, Application for the Purchase of Royalty
Oil.
Form MMS–4071, Letter of Credit (RIK).
Form MMS–4072, Royalty-in-Kind Contract Surety Bond.
No form, Royalty oil sales to eligible refiners.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
OMB control No.
Legal basis
Form or information collected
1010–0120 ...............
30 CFR Part 206—Production Valuation, Subpart F—Federal Coal, and Subpart J—Indian Coal; Part 210—Forms
and Reports, Subpart B—Oil, Gas, and OCS Sulfur—
General, Subpart E—Solid Minerals, General, and Subpart H—Geothermal Resources; and Part 218—Collection of royalties, rentals, bonuses and other monies due
the Federal Government, Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General, and Subpart E—Solid Minerals—General.
30 CFR Part 243—Suspensions Pending Appeal and
Bonding—Minerals Revenue Management.
Form MMS 4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty
Report.
Form 4292, Coal. Washing Allowance Report.
Form 4293, Coal Transportation Allowance Report.
No form, Facility data—solid minerals.
No form, Sales contracts—solid minerals.
No form, Sales summaries—solid minerals.
1010–0122 ...............
1010–0136 ...............
30 CFR Part 206—Product Valuation, Subpart C—Federal
Oil.
1010–0139 ...............
30 CFR Part 216—Production Accounting, Subpart A—
General Provisions, and Subpart B—Oil and Gas, General; and Part 210—Forms and Reports.
30 CFR Part 210—Forms and Reports ................................
30 CFR Part 204—Alternatives for Marginal Properties,
Subpart C—Accounting and Auditing Relief.
Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 .....................................
1010–0140 ...............
1010–0155 ...............
1010–0162 ...............
§ 210.20 What if I disagree with MMS’s
burden estimates?
Burden estimates are included on
MMS’s Web site at https://
www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/
FRNotices/FRNotices.htm. Send
comments on the accuracy of these
burden estimates or suggestions on
reducing the burden to the Minerals
Management Service, Attention:
Information Collection Clearance Officer
(OMB Control Number 1010–XXXX
[insert appropriate OMB control
number]), Mail Stop 4230, 1849 C
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. 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.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
§ 210.21 How do I report my taxpayer
identification number?
(a) Before paying or reporting to
MMS, you must obtain a payor code (see
our Minerals Revenue Reporter
Handbook). At the time, you request a
payor code, you must provide your
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
by submitting:
(1) An IRS Form W–9; or
(2) An equivalent certification
containing:
(i) Your name;
(ii) The name of your business, if
different from your name;
(iii) The form of your business entity;
for example a sole proprietorship,
corporation, or partnership;
(iv) The address of your business;
(v) The EIN of your business; and
(vi) A signed and dated certification
that you are a U.S. citizen or resident
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17:37 Jul 06, 2006
Jkt 208001
Form MMS–4435, Administrative Appeal Bond.
Form MMS–4436, Letter of Credit.
Form MMS–4437, Assignment of Certificate of Deposit.
No form, Self bonding.
No form, U.S. Treasury securities.
Form MMS–4393, Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation.
No form, Federal oil valuation support information.
Form MMS–4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report (OGOR).
Form MMS–4058 (Parts A, B, and C), Production Allocation
Schedule Report (PASR).
Form MMS–2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance.
No form, Notification and relief request for accounting and
auditing relief.
No Form, Accounts receivable confirmations.
alien and that the EIN number provided
is correct.
(b) If you are already paying or
reporting to MMS but do not have an
EIN, MMS may request that you submit
an IRS Form W–9 or equivalent
certification containing the information
required under paragraph (a)(2) of this
section.
(c) The collection of this data is not
subject to the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act because it
only requires information necessary to
identify the respondent [5 CFR
1320.3(h)].
(d) The EIN you provide to MMS
under paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) Means the taxpayer identification
number (TIN) of an individual or other
person (whether or not an employer),
which is assigned under 26 U.S.C.
6011(b), or a corresponding version of
prior law, or under 26 U.S.C. 6109.
(2) Must contain nine digits separated
by a hyphen as follows: 00–0000000.
(3) May not be a Social Security
Number.
§ 210.30 What are my responsibilities as a
reporter/payor?
Reporters/Payors must submit
accurate, complete, and timely
information to MMS according to the
requirements in this part. If you
discover an error in a previous report,
you must file an accurate and complete
amended report within 30 days of your
discovery of the error. Failure to comply
may result in penalties under the
provisions of 30 CFR part 241.
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§ 210.40 Will MMS keep the information I
provide confidential?
The MMS will treat information it
obtains under this part under the
regulations at 43 CFR part 2.
Subpart B—Royalty Reports—Oil, Gas,
and Geothermal Resources
§ 210.50 What is the purpose of this
subpart?
The purpose of this subpart is to
explain royalty reporting requirements
when energy and mineral resources are
removed from Federal and Indian oil
and gas and geothermal leases and
federally approved agreements. This
includes leases and agreements located
onshore and on the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS).
§ 210.51 Who must submit royalty
reports?
(a) Any person who pays royalty to
MMS must submit royalty reports to
MMS.
(b) Before you pay or report to MMS,
you must obtain a payor code. To obtain
a payor code, refer to our Minerals
Revenue Reporter Handbook for
instructions and MMS contact
information (also see § 210.56 for
information on how to obtain a
handbook).
§ 210.52 What royalty reports must I
submit?
You must submit a completed Form
MMS–2014, Report of Sales and Royalty
Remittance, to MMS with:
(a) All royalty payments; and
(b) Rents on nonproducing leases,
where specified in the lease.
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§ 210.53 When are my royalty reports and
payments due?
(a) Completed Forms MMS–2014 for
royalty payments and the associated
payments (see also § 218.50) are due by
the end of the month following the
production month.
(b) Completed Forms MMS–2014 for
rental payments, where applicable, and
the associated payments (see also
§ 218.50), are due no later than the
anniversary date of the lease.
(c) You may submit reports and
payments early.
§ 210.54 Must I submit this royalty report
electronically?
(a) You must submit Form MMS–2014
electronically unless you qualify for an
exception under § 210.55(a).
(b) You must use one of the following
electronic media types, unless MMS
instructs you differently:
(1) Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI)—The direct computer-to-computer
interchange of data using standards set
forth by the X12 American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited
Standards Committee (ASC). The
interchange uses the services of a third
party with which either party may
contract.
(2) Web-based reporting—Reporters/
Payors may enter report data directly or
upload files using the MMS electronic
Web form located at
www.mrmreports.net. The uploaded
files must be in one of the following
formats: the American Standard Code
for Information Interchange (ASCII) or
Comma Separated Values (CSV) formats.
External files created by the sender must
be in the proprietary ASCII and CSV
File Layout formats defined by MMS.
These external files can be generated
from a reporter’s system application.
(c) Refer to our electronic reporting
guidelines for the most current reporting
options, instructions, and security
measures. The guidelines may be found
on our Internet Web site or you may call
your MMS customer service
representative.
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§ 210.55 May I submit this royalty report
manually?
(a) The MMS will allow you to submit
Form MMS–2014 manually if:
(1) You have never reported to MMS
before. You have 3 months from the date
your first report is due to begin
reporting electronically;
(2) You report only rent, minimum
royalty, or other annual obligations on
Form MMS–2014; or
(3) You are a small business, as
defined by the U.S. Small Business
Administration, and you have no
computer.
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17:37 Jul 06, 2006
Jkt 208001
(b) If you meet the qualifications
under paragraph (a) of this section, you
may submit your form manually to
MMS by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 5810,
Denver, Colorado 80217–5810; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614,
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave.
and Kipling Blvd., Denver, CO 80225.
§ 210.56 Where can I find more information
on how to complete the royalty report?
(a) Specific guidance on how to
prepare and submit Form MMS–2014 is
contained in our Minerals Revenue
Reporter Handbook. The handbook is
available on our Internet Web site at
www.mrm.mms.gov/ReportingServices/
Handbooks/Handbks.htm or from MMS
at P.O. Box 5760, Denver, Colorado
80217–5760.
(b) Royalty reporters/payors should
refer to the handbook for specific
guidance on royalty reporting
requirements. If you require additional
information, you should contact MMS at
the above address. A customer service
telephone number is also listed in our
handbook.
(c) You may find copies of blank
Forms MMS–2014 on our Internet Web
site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
ReportingServices/Forms/
AFSOil_Gas.htm, or you may request
the forms from MMS at P.O. Box 5760,
Denver, Colorado 80217–5760.
Subpart C—Production Reports—Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Resources
§ 210.100
subpart?
What is the purpose of this
The purpose of this subpart is to
explain production reporting
requirements when energy and mineral
resources are removed from Federal and
Indian oil and gas and geothermal leases
and federally approved agreements.
This includes leases and agreements
located onshore and on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS).
§ 210.101
reports?
Who must submit production
(a) If you operate a Federal or Indian
oil and gas or geothermal lease or
federally approved agreement, you must
submit production reports.
(b) Before reporting production to
MMS, you must obtain an operator
number. To obtain an operator number,
refer to our Minerals Production
Reporter Handbook for instructions and
MMS contact information (also see
§ 210.106 for information on how to
obtain a handbook).
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§ 210.102
submit?
38557
What production reports must I
(a) Oil and Gas Operations Report
(Form MMS–4054). If you operate an
onshore or OCS oil and gas or
geothermal lease or federally approved
agreement that contains one or more
wells that are not permanently plugged
or abandoned, you must submit Form
MMS–4054 to MMS:
(1) You must submit Form MMS–4054
for each well for each calendar month,
beginning with the month in which you
complete drilling, unless:
(i) You have only test production from
a drilling well; or
(ii) MMS tells you in writing to report
differently.
(2) You must continue reporting until:
(i) The Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) or MMS approves all wells as
permanently plugged or abandoned or
the lease or agreement is terminated;
and
(ii) You dispose of all inventory.
(b) Production Allocation Schedule
Report (Form MMS–4058). If you
operate an offshore facility
measurement point (FMP) handling
production from a Federal oil and gas or
geothermal lease or federally approved
agreement that is commingled (with
approval) with production from any
other source prior to measurement for
royalty determination, you must file
Form MMS–4058.
(1) You must submit Form MMS–4058
for each calendar month beginning with
the month in which you first handle
production covered by this section.
(2) Form MMS–4058 is not required
whenever all of the following conditions
are met:
(i) All leases involved are Federal
leases;
(ii) All leases have the same fixed
royalty rate;
(iii) All leases are operated by the
same operator;
(iv) The facility measurement device
is operated by the same person as the
leases/agreements;
(v) Production has not been
previously measured for royalty
determination; and
(vi) The production is not
subsequently commingled and
measured for royalty determination at
an FMP for which Form MMS–4058 is
required under this part.
§ 210.103
due?
When are my production reports
(a) The MMS must receive your
completed Form MMS–4054 and Form
MMS–4058 by the 15th day of the
second month following the month for
which you are reporting.
(b) A report is considered received
when it is delivered to MMS by 4 p.m.
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mountain time at the addresses
specified in § 210.105. Reports received
after 4 p.m. mountain time are
considered received the following
business day.
§ 210.104 Must I submit these production
reports electronically?
(a) You must submit Forms MMS–
4054 and MMS–4058 electronically
unless you qualify for an exception
under § 210.105.
(b) You must use one of the following
electronic media types, unless MMS
instructs you differently:
(1) Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI)—The direct computer-to-computer
interchange of data using standards set
forth by the X12 American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited
Standards Committee (ASC). The
interchange uses the services of a third
party with which either party may
contract.
(2) Web-based reporting—Reporters
may enter report data directly or upload
files using the MMS electronic Web
form located at www.mrmreports.net.
The uploaded files must be in one of the
following formats: the American
Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII) or Comma
Separated Values (CSV) formats.
External files created by the sender must
be in the proprietary ASCII and CSV
File Layout formats defined by MMS.
These external files can be generated
from a reporter’s system application.
(c) Refer to our electronic reporting
guidelines for the most current reporting
options, instructions, and security
measures. The guidelines may be found
on our Internet Web site or you may call
your MMS customer service
representative.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
§ 210.105 May I submit these production
reports manually?
(a) The MMS will allow you to submit
Forms MMS–4054 and MMS–4058
manually if:
(1) You have never reported to MMS
before. You have 3 months from the day
your first report is due to begin
reporting electronically; and
(2) You are a small business, as
defined by the U.S. Small Business
Administration, and you have no
computer.
(b) If you meet the qualifications
under paragraph (a) of this section, you
may submit your forms manually to
MMS by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 17110,
Denver, Colorado 80217–0110; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
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Service, Building 85, Room A–614,
Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave.
and Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado
80225.
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
§ 210.151 What reports must I submit to
claim allowances on an Indian lease?
(a) General. You must submit three
additional forms to MMS to claim
transportation and processing
allowances on Indian oil and gas leases:
(a) Specific guidance on how to
(1) You must submit Form MMS–
prepare and submit production reports
4110, Oil Transportation Allowance
to MMS is contained in our Minerals
Report, to claim an allowance for
Production Reporter Handbook. The
expenses incurred by a reporter/payor to
handbook is available on our Internet
transport oil from the lease site to a
Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
point remote from the lease where value
ReportingServices/Handbooks/
is determined under § 206.55 of this
Handbks.htm or from MMS at P.O. Box
chapter. OMB Control Number 1010–
17110, Denver, Colorado 80217–0110.
0103.
(b) Production reporters should refer
(2) You must submit Form MMS–
to the handbook for specific guidance
on production reporting requirements. If 4109, Gas Processing Allowance
you require additional information, you Summary Report, to claim an allowance
for the reasonable, actual costs of
should contact MMS at the above
removing hydrocarbon and
address. A customer service telephone
nonhydrocarbon elements or
number is also listed in our handbook.
compounds from a gas stream under
(c) You may find copies of blank
Forms MMS–4054 or MMS–4058 on our § 206.180 of this chapter. OMB Control
Internet Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/ Number 1010–0103.
(3) You must submit Form MMS–
ReportingServices/Forms/PAASOff.htm,
4295, Gas Transportation Allowance
or you may request the forms from MMS
Report, to claim an allowance for the
at P.O. Box 17110, Denver, Colorado
reasonable, actual costs of transporting
80217–0110.
gas from the lease to the point of first
sale under § 206.178 of this chapter.
Subpart D—Special-Purpose Forms
OMB Control Number 1010–0103.
and Reports—Oil and Gas, and
(b) Reporting options. You may
Geothermal Resources
submit Forms MMS–4110, MMS–4109,
and MMS–4295 manually. You may
§ 210.150 What reports must I submit to
claim an excess allowance?
find copies of the forms on our Internet
Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
(a) General. If you are a lessee, you
ReportingServices/Forms/
must submit Form MMS–4393, Request
AFSOil_Gas.htm, or you may request
to Exceed Regulatory Allowance
the forms from MMS at P.O. Box 25165,
Limitation, to request approval from
MS 396B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
MMS to exceed prescribed
transportation and processing allowance 0165.
(c) Reporting address. You may
limits on Federal and Indian oil and gas
submit completed Forms MMS–4110,
leases under part 206 of this chapter.
MMS–4109, and MMS–4295 by:
OMB Control Number 1010–0136.
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
(b) Reporting options. You may find
express mail addressed to Minerals
an electronic copy of Form MMS–4393
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
on our Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
MS 396B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
ReportingServices/Forms/
0165; or
AFSOil_Gas.htm. You may also request
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
copies of the form from MMS at P.O.
addressed to Minerals Management
Box 25165, MS 392B2, Denver, Colorado
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
80217–0165.
396B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
(c) Reporting address. Submit
completed Form MMS–4393 as follows: Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
(1) Complete and submit the form
electronically as an e-mail attachment;
§ 210.152 What reports must I submit for
(2) Send the form by U.S. Postal
Indian gas valuation purposes?
Service regular or express addressed to
(a) General. For Indian gas valuation,
Minerals Management Service, P.O. Box lessees must submit the following forms
25165, MS 392B2, Denver, Colorado
under certain conditions under
80217–0165; or
§ 206.172 of this chapter:
(3) Deliver the form to MMS by
(1) Form MMS–4411, Safety Net
special couriers or overnight mail
Report, OMB Control Number 1010–
addressed to Minerals Management
0103; or
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
(2) Form MMS–4410, Accounting for
392B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th Comparison (Dual Accounting), Part A
§ 210.106 Where can I find more
information on how to complete these
production reports?
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or Part B, OMB Control Number 1010–
0103.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit Forms MMS–4410 and MMS–
4411 manually. You may find copies of
the forms on our Internet Web site at
www.mrm.mms.gov/ReportingServices/
Forms/AFSOil_Gas.htm or request forms
from MMS at P.O. Box 25165, MS
396B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–0165.
(c) Reporting address. You may
submit completed Forms MMS–4410
and MMS–4411 by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 396B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
396B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
§ 210.153 What reports must I submit for
Federal oil valuation purposes?
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
(a) General. The MMS may require
lessees to submit several documents or
other information to MMS to support
their valuation of Federal oil under 30
CFR part 206. See information
collection OMB Control Number 1010–
0136. There are no specific forms
related to this information collection.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit the documents manually.
(c) Reporting address. You may
submit required documents by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 392B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
392B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
(1) Electronically by filling the form
out in electronic format and submitting
it to MMS as an e-mail attachment; or
(2) Manually by filling out the form
and submitting it by:
(i) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 392B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(ii) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
392B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
§ 210.155 What reports must I submit for
net profit share leases?
(a) General. After entering into a net
profit share lease (NPSL) agreement, a
lessee must report under part 220 of this
chapter. OMB Control Number 1010–
0073.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit the reports manually.
(c) Reporting address. You may
submit the required documents by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 382B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
382B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
§ 210.156 What reports must I submit for
the small refiner royalty-in-kind program?
(a) General. You may be required to
submit the following forms or
documents to participate in the small
refiner royalty-in-kind program:
(1) Refiners interested in the purchase
of royalty oil must submit their
applications and Form MMS–4070
under part 208 of this chapter for
additional information. OMB Control
§ 210.154 What reports must I submit for
Number 1010–0119;
Federal onshore stripper oil properties?
(2) Eligible small refiners must
(a) General. Operators who have been provide specific information that MMS
granted a reduced royalty rate by the
requests under part 208 of this chapter.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
OMB Control Number 1010–0119;
(3) Small refiners must submit a letter
under 43 CFR 3103.4–2 must submit
Form MMS–4377, Stripper Royalty Rate of credit, Form MMS–4072, and a
contract surety bond, Form MMS–4071,
Reduction Notification under 43 CFR
as part of their bidding application
3103.4–2(b)(3). OMB Control Number
under part 208 of this chapter for
1010–0090.
(b) Reporting options. You may find
additional information. OMB Control
copies of Form MMS–4377 on our
Number 1010–0119.
(b) Reporting options. You must
Internet Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
submit the forms and other documents
ReportingServices/Forms/
manually. You may find copies of the
AFSOil_Gas.htm or request the form
forms on our Internet Web site at
from MMS at P.O. Box 17110, Denver,
www.www.mrm.mms.gov/
Colorado 80217–0110. You may file the
ReportingServices/Forms/Forms.htm, or
form:
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38559
you may request forms from MMS at the
address listed in the Federal Register
Notice of Availability of Royalty Oil.
(c) Reporting address. You must mail
the forms and documents required in
this section to the address identified in
the applicable Federal Register Notice
of Availability of Royalty Oil.
§ 210.157 What reports must I submit to
suspend an MMS order under appeal?
(a) General. Reporters/Payors or other
recipients of MMS’s Minerals Revenue
Management (MRM) orders may be
required to post a bond or other surety,
under part 243 of this chapter. The
MMS accepts the following surety types:
Form MMS–4435, Administrative
Appeal Bond; Form MMS–4436, Letter
of Credit; Self-bonding; Form MMS–
4437, Assignment of Certificate of
Deposit; and U.S. Treasury Securities.
OMB Control Number 1010–0122.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit these forms and other
documents manually.
(c) Reporting address. You may
submit the required forms and other
documents by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 5760,
MS 370B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165;
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
370B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
§ 210.158 What reports must I submit to
designate someone to make my royalty
payments?
(a) General. You must submit Form
MMS–4425, Designation Form for
Royalty Payment Responsibility, if you
want to designate a person to make
royalty payments on your behalf, under
30 CFR 218.52. OMB Control Number
1010–0107.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit Form MMS–4425 manually. You
may find copies of the form on our
Internet Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
ReportingServices/Forms/
AFSOil_Gas.htm or request the form
from MMS at P.O. Box 5760, Denver,
Colorado 80217–5760.
(c) Reporting address. You must
submit completed Form MMS–4425 by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 357B1, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
357B1, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
Subpart E—Production and Royalty
Reports—Solid Minerals
24. The authority citation for part 218
continues to read as follows:
19. Revise the title of subpart E to
read as set forth above.
§§ 210.205, 210.206
Authority: 25 U.S.C. 396 et seq., 396a et
seq., 2101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq., 351
et seq., 1001 et seq., 1701 et seq.; 31 U.S.C.
3335; 43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq., 1331 et seq.,
1801 et seq.
[Redesignated]
20. Redesignate §§ 210.205 and
210.206 as §§ 210.206 and 210.207.
21. Add new § 210.205 to read as
follows:
25. In § 218.40, revise paragraphs (a)
through (c) to read as follows:
§ 210.205 What reports must I submit to
claim allowances on Indian coal leases?
(a) General. You must submit two
MMS forms to claim transportation and
washing allowances on Indian coal
leases:
(1) Form MMS–4292, Coal Washing
Allowance Report, to claim an
allowance for the reasonable, actual
costs incurred to wash coal under
§ 206.458 of this chapter. OMB Control
Number 1010–0120.
(2) Form MMS–4293, Coal
Transportation Allowance Report, to
claim an allowance for the reasonable,
actual costs of transporting coal to a
sales point or a washing facility remote
from the mine or lease under § 206.461
of this chapter. OMB Control Number
1010–0120.
(b) Reporting options. You must
submit the forms manually. You may
find copies of the forms on our Internet
Web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/
ReportingServices/Forms/
AFSSol_Min.htm or request forms from
MMS at P.O. Box 25165, MS 390B2,
Denver, Colorado 80217–0165.
(c) Reporting address. You may
submit completed Forms MMS–4292
and MMS–4293 by:
(1) U.S. Postal Service regular or
express mail addressed to Minerals
Management Service, P.O. Box 25165,
MS 390B2, Denver, Colorado 80217–
0165; or
(2) Special couriers or overnight mail
addressed to Minerals Management
Service, Building 85, Room A–614, MS
390B2, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
Subparts F–I [Removed]
22. Remove subparts F through I.
PART 216—PRODUCTION
ACCOUNTING [Removed]
23. Remove part 216.
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PART 218—COLLECTION OF
ROYALTIES, RENTALS, BONUSES
AND OTHER MONIES DUE THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
§ 218.40 Assessments for incorrect or late
reports and failure to report.
(a) An assessment of an amount not to
exceed $10 per day may be charged for
each report not received by MMS by the
designated due date for geothermal,
solid mineral, and Indian oil and gas
leases.
(b) An assessment of an amount not
to exceed $10 may be charged for each
incorrectly completed report for
geothermal, solid mineral, and Indian
oil and gas leases.
(c) For purpose of assessments
discussed in this section, a report is
defined as follows:
(1) For coal and other solid mineral
leases, a report is each line on the Solid
Minerals Production and Royalty
Report, Form MMS–4430.
(2) For Indian oil and gas and all
geothermal leases, a report is each line
on the Report of Sales and Royalty
Remittance, Form MMS–2014.
*
*
*
*
*
26. In § 218.41, revise paragraphs (a)
through (d) to read as follows:
§ 218.41 Assessments for failure to submit
payment of same amount as Form MMS–
2014 or bill document or to provide
adequate information.
(a) An assessment of an amount not to
exceed $250 may be charged when the
amount of a payment submitted by a
payor for geothermal, solid mineral, and
Indian oil and gas leases is not
equivalent in amount to the total of
individual line items on the associated
Form MMS–2014 or bill document,
unless the difference in amount has
been authorized by MMS.
(b) An assessment of amount not to
exceed $250 may be charged for each
payment for geothermal, solid mineral,
and Indian oil and gas leases submitted
by a payor that cannot be automatically
applied by AFS to the associated Form
MMS–2014 or bill document because of
inadequate or erroneous information
submitted by the payor. For purposes of
this section, inadequate or erroneous
information is defined as:
(1) Absent or incorrect payor assigned
document number, required to be
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
identified by the payor in Block 4 on a
Form MMS–2014, or the reuse of the
same payor assigned document (‘‘4’’)
number in a subsequent reporting
period.
(2) Absent or incorrect bill document
invoice number (to include the three
character alpha prefix and the nine digit
number) or the pay-assigned 3a number
required to be identified by the payor on
the associated payment document, or
the reuse of the same payor assigned 4
number in a subsequent reporting
period.
(3) Absent or incorrect name of the
administering Bureau of Indian Affairs
Agency/Area office and the word
‘‘allotted’’ or the tribe name on payment
documents remitted to MMS for an
Indian tribe or allottee. If the payment
is made by EFT, the payor must identify
the tribe/allottee on the EFT message by
a pre-established five digit code.
(4) Absent or incorrect MMS assigned
payor code on a payment document.
(c) For purposes of this section, the
term ‘‘Form MMS–2014’’ includes
submission of reports of royalty
information.
(d) For purposes of this section, a bill
document is defined as any Invoice that
has been issued by MMS for
assessments, late-payment interest
charges, or other amount owed.
*
*
*
*
*
27. In § 218.50, revise paragraph (b) to
read as follows:
§ 218.50
Timing of payment.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) Payments made on a Invoice are
due as specified by the Invoice. Invoices
will be issued and payable as final
collection actions.
*
*
*
*
*
28. In § 218.51, in paragraph (a),
revise the definition of ‘‘Invoice
Document Identification’’ and revise
paragraphs (f)(1) and (f)(2) to read as
follows:
§ 218.51
How to make payments.
(a) * * *
Invoice Document Identification—The
MMS-assigned invoice document
identification (three alpha and nine
numeric characters).
*
*
*
*
*
(f) * * * (1) For Form MMS–2014
payments, you must include both your
payor code and your payor-assigned
document number.
(2) For invoice payments, including
RIK invoice payments, you must
include both your payor code and
invoice document identification.
*
*
*
*
*
29. Amend § 218.52 by revising
paragraphs (a) introductory text (a)(1),
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 130 / Friday, July 7, 2006 / Proposed Rules
(a)(4)(i), (a)(4)(ii), (c) introductory text,
and (d), to read as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
§ 218.52 How does a lessee designate a
Designee?
Coast Guard
(a) If you are a lessee under 30 U.S.C.
1701(7), and you want to designate a
person to make all or part of the
payments due under a lease on your
behalf under 30 U.S.C. 1712(a), you
must notify MMS or the applicable
delegated State in writing of such
designation by submitting Form MMS–
4425, Designation Form for Royalty
Payment Responsibility, OMB Control
Number 1010–0107. Your notification
for each lease must include the
following:
(1) The lease number for the lease;
*
*
*
*
*
(4) * * *
(i) A lessee of record (record title
owner) in the lease; or
(ii) An operating rights owner
(working interest owner) in the lease;
*
*
*
*
*
(c) If you want to terminate a
designation you made under paragraph
(a) of this section, you must provide to
MMS in writing using Form MMS–4425
before the termination:
*
*
*
*
*
(d) MMS may require you to provide
notice when there is a change in your
record title or operating rights
ownership.
33 CFR Part 100
§ 218.57
[Removed]
30. Remove § 218.57.
§ 218.154
[Amended]
31. In § 218.154, paragraph (c),
remove the words ‘‘paragraph (a) of this
section’’ and add in their place
‘‘paragraph (b) of this section.’’
32. In § 218.155, paragraph (b)(2),
revise the fourth and fifth sentences to
read as follows:
§ 218.155
Method of payment.
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
*
*
*
*
*
(2) * * * The one-fifth bonus
amounts submitted with bids other than
the highest valid bid shall be returned
to respective bidders after bids are
opened, recorded, and ranked. Return of
such amounts will not affect the status,
validity, or ranking of bids.* * *
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 06–5988 Filed 7–6–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
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[CGD 07–05–156]
RIN 1625–AA08
Special Local Regulation; Annual
Gasparilla Marine Parade, Hillsborough
Bay, Tampa, FL
Coast Guard, DHS.
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to
amend the permanent special local
regulation for the Annual Gasparilla
Marine Parade, Hillsborough Bay, and
Tampa Bay, FL. This proposed rule
would change the date of the event by
moving it up one week, from the first
weekend in February to the last
weekend in January. Additionally, this
regulation will create a parade staging
area and a 50 foot safety zone around
officially entered parade boats during
the parade. This action is necessary
because the date on which the parade is
held annually has changed. Restricting
access to the parade staging area box is
necessary to ensure the official parade
boats are properly lined up to begin the
parade. A 50 foot safety zone around
officially entered parade boats is
necessary to ensure the safety of the
parade participants due to safety
concerns caused by an increasing
number of spectator vessels that gather
to watch the parade.
DATES: Comments and related material
must reach the Coast Guard on or before
September 5, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may mail comments
and related material to Coast Guard
Sector St. Petersburg, Prevention
Department, 155 Columbia Drive,
Tampa, Florida 33606–3598. The
Waterways Management Division
maintains the public docket for this
rulemaking. Comments and material
received from the public, as well as
documents indicated in this preamble as
being available in the docket, will
become part of this docket and will be
available for inspection or copying at
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg
between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Waterways Management Division at
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, (813)
228–2191, Ext. 8307.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
38561
Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting
comments and related material. If you
do so, please include your name and
address, identify the docket number for
this rulemaking (CGD 07–05–156),
indicate the specific section of this
document to which each comment
applies, and give the reason for each
comment. Please submit all comments
and related material in an unbound
format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches,
suitable for copying. If you would like
to know they reached us, please enclose
a stamped, self-addressed postcard or
envelope. We will consider all
comments and material received during
the comment period. We may change
this proposed rule in view of them.
Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a public
meeting. But you may submit a request
for a meeting by writing to Coast Guard
Sector St. Petersburg at the address
under ADDRESSES explaining why one
would be beneficial. If we determine
that one would aid this rulemaking, we
will hold one at a time and place
announced by a later notice in the
Federal Register.
Background and Purpose
The Annual Gasparilla Marine Parade
is currently held annually on the first
Saturday in February and is governed by
a permanent regulation published at 33
CFR 100.734. The Annual Gasparilla
Marine Parade has been moved
permanently to the last Saturday in
January. Law enforcement officials have
also identified a need for a parade
staging area for vessels officially entered
in the parade. This area would prohibit
vessels not officially entered in the
parade from entering the area and allow
for the safe movement and lineup of the
official boats prior to the start of the
parade. Law enforcement personnel also
identified a need for a 50 foot safety
zone around all official parade boats
during the parade due to safety concerns
associated with an increased number of
spectator vessels that gather to watch
the parade.
Discussion of Proposed Rule
This rule is necessary to
accommodate the change in the date of
the event, to create a parade staging
area, and to create a 50 foot safety area
around all official parade boats. The
regulation would change the
enforcement date from the first Saturday
in February to the last Saturday in
January. It would also prohibit vessels
not officially entered in the parade from
entering the parade staging area and
E:\FR\FM\07JYP1.SGM
07JYP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 130 (Friday, July 7, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38545-38561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5988]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
30 CFR Parts 206, 210, 216, and 218
RIN 1010-AD20
Reporting Amendments
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The MMS is proposing to amend its existing regulations for
reporting production and royalties on oil, gas, coal, and geothermal
resources produced on Federal and Indian leases in order to align the
regulations with current MMS business practices. These amendments
reflect changes that were implemented as a result of a major
reengineering of MMS's financial system and other legal requirements.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 5, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Address your comments, suggestions, or objections regarding
the proposed rule to:
By Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions on the Web
site at https://www.regulations.gov.
By e-mail. mrm.comments@mms.gov. Please include ``Attn: RIN 1010-
AD20'' and your name and return address in your Internet message. If
you do not receive a confirmation that we have received your Internet
message, call the contact person listed below.
By regular U.S. mail. Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225.
By overnight mail or courier. Minerals Management Service, Minerals
Revenue Management, Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center,
West 6th Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80225.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead Regulatory
Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue Management,
P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225; telephone: (303) 231-
3211; fax: (303) 231-3781; e-mail: Sharron.Gebhardt@mms.gov. The
principal authors of this rule are Lorraine Corona, Louise Williams,
Richard Adamski, and Paul Knueven of Minerals Revenue Management, MMS,
Department of the Interior.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The MMS implemented integrated reengineered systems on November 1,
2001. This process included a major reengineering of the Minerals
Revenue Management (MRM) financial system. The new systems are the core
systems support for MMS's implementation of new royalty management
business processes for the 21st century. The new systems were developed
around new business processes and have been reengineered to be more
effective and efficient. The reengineering, as well as changes required
by law, resulted in changes to, or elimination of, some forms and
requirements. The MMS is proposing to eliminate references in the
regulations to forms that are no longer used; however, elimination of
these forms by reengineering did not eliminate the requirements for
record retention and making the records available to support the
payment of royalties, as stated in 30 CFR part 212, Records and Files
Maintenance.
The MMS is proposing to amend its regulations to align the
regulations with the following changes that were required as a result
of reengineering: (1) Aligning the regulations with the updated Form
MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)); (2) eliminating references in
the regulations to report forms, designations, systems, and codes that
are no longer applicable; (3) updating references to OMB-approved
information collections; (4) revising the due date for production
reports submitted electronically; (5) clarifying the requirement for
production reporting of inventory on leases and agreements until all
production has ceased and all inventory has been disposed of; (6)
eliminating references to Federal oil and gas late and incorrect
(erroneous) reporting assessments and failure to report; (7)
eliminating references to some electronic reporting options that no
longer exist as a result of reengineering; and (8) clarifying the
reporting requirement for taxpayer identification numbers.
[[Page 38546]]
II. Explanation of Proposed Rule Amendments
The proposed rule would affect four CFR parts: (1) 30 CFR Part
206--Product Valuation; (2) Part 210--Forms and Reports; (3) Part 216--
Production Accounting; and (4) Part 218--Collection of Royalties,
Rentals, Bonuses and Other Monies Due the Federal Government. The
proposed changes to the regulations would align the regulations with
current MMS business practices. These proposed changes to the
regulations are explained in depth in the following sections:
A. 30 CFR Part 206--Product Valuation
The proposed changes in part 206 would align the regulations with
current reporting requirements for Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and
Royalty Remittance (OMB Control Number 1010-0140).
1. Selling Arrangement v. Sales Type Code. Before October 1, 2001,
MMS required payors to report at the selling arrangement level on Form
MMS-2014, which entailed reporting one line for each sale under each
type of contract. Effective October 1, 2001, the revised Form MMS-2014
allows payors to roll up all sales (including rolling up pooling
situations) under a contract type--referred to as a ``sales type code''
to one line per lease. To incorporate this change in our regulations,
we propose to remove references to and definition of ``selling
arrangement'' wherever it occurs and add a definition of ``sales type
code'' as follows:
Sales type code means the contract type and/or general
disposition (arm's-length or non-arm's-length) of the production
from Federal and Indian oil, gas, and geothermal leases. The sales
type code applies to the sales contract/disposition and not to the
arm's-length/non-arm's-length nature of the transportation or
processing allowance.
2. Transportation and Processing Allowance Deductions. Other
reengineering changes to Form MMS-2014 allow payors to report
transportation and processing allowance deductions on the same line as
volumes and values. Prior to 2001, allowances were reported on separate
lines from volumes and values. Allowances are now reported in a
separate column but on the same line as the associated volumes and
values. Consequently, in our regulations pertaining to transportation
and processing allowances, we propose to remove all references to
previous requirements to report an allowance on a separate line on Form
MMS-2014. We propose to change the text to read a separate ``entry''
rather than ``line.'' The MMS discussed the benefit of this change in
an information collection request (ICR) to OMB that was approved August
2000, and renewed October 2003, under OMB Control Number 1010-0140.
B. 30 CFR Part 210--Forms and Reports
We are proposing to revise part 210, subparts A, B, C, D, and E;
and eliminate subparts F, G, H, and I in order to align the regulations
with reengineered MMS business practices.
1. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart A--General Provisions
Subpart A would provide an updated comprehensive list of ICRs
currently approved by OMB. We propose to include the following chart,
listing the OMB control number, legal basis, and associated forms or
information collected.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Form or information
OMB control No. Legal basis collected
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1010-0073................. 30 CFR Part 220-- No form, Net profit
Accounting share payment
Procedures for information.
Determining Net
Profit Share Payment
for Outer
Continental Shelf
Oil and Gas Leases.
1010-0087................. 30 CFR Part 227-- No form, Written
Delegation to delegation proposal
States, and Part to perform auditing
228--Cooperative and investigative
Activities with activities.
States and Indian No form, Request for
Tribes. cooperative
agreement and
subsequent
requirements.
1010-0090................. 30 CFR Part 216-- Form MMS-4377,
Production Stripper Royalty
Accounting, Subpart Rate Reduction
B--Oil and Gas, Notification.
General.
1010-0103................. 30 CFR Part 202-- Form MMS-4109, Gas
Royalties, Subpart Processing Allowance
J--Gas Production Summary Report.
From Indian Leases, Form MMS-4295, Gas
and Part 206-- Transportation
Product Valuation, Allowance Report.
Subpart B--Indian Form MMS-4110, Oil
Oil, and Subpart E-- Transportation
Indian Gas. Allowance Report.
Form MMS-4411, Safety
Net Report.
Form MMS-4410,
Accounting for
Comparison [Dual
Accounting].
Form MMS-4393,
Request to Exceed
Regulatory Allowance
Limitation (Note:
Form MMS-4393 is
used for both
Federal and Indian
oil and gas leases.
Burden hours are
applied to both 1010-
0103 and 1010-0136;
however, the form
resides with ICR
1010-0136.).
1010-0107................. 30 CFR Part 218-- Form MMS-4425,
Collection of Designation Form for
royalties, rentals, Royalty Payment
bonuses and other Responsibility.
monies due the No form, Cross-lease
Federal Government, netting
Subpart A--General documentation.
Provisions, and No form, Indian over-
Subpart B--Oil and recoupment approval.
Gas, General.
1010-0110................. Executive Order Form MMS-4420A-E,
12862--Setting Training and
Customer Service Outreach Evaluation
Standards. Form.
1010-0119................. 30 CFR Part 208--Sale Form MMS-4070,
of Federal Royalty Application for the
Oil. Purchase of Royalty
Oil.
Form MMS-4071, Letter
of Credit (RIK).
Form MMS-4072,
Royalty-in-Kind
Contract Surety
Bond.
No form, Royalty oil
sales to eligible
refiners.
[[Page 38547]]
1010-0120................. 30 CFR Part 206-- Form MMS-4430, Solid
Production Minerals Production
Valuation, Subpart and Royalty Report.
F--Federal Coal, and Form 4292, Coal
Subpart J--Indian Washing Allowance
Coal; Part 210-- Report.
Forms and Reports, Form 4293, Coal
Subpart B--Oil, Gas, Transportation
and OCS Sulfur-- Allowance Report.
General, Subpart E-- No form, Facility
Solid Minerals, data--solid
General, and Subpart minerals.
H--Geothermal No form, Sales
Resources; and Part contracts--solid
218--Collection of minerals.
royalties, rentals, No form, Sales
bonuses and other summaries--solid
monies due the minerals.
Federal Government,
Subpart B--Oil and
Gas, General, and
Subpart E--Solid
Minerals--General.
1010-0122................. 30 CFR Part 243-- Form MMS-4435,
Suspensions Pending Administrative
Appeal and Bonding-- Appeal Bond.
Minerals Revenue Form MMS-4436, Letter
Management. of Credit.
Form MMS-4437,
Assignment of
Certificate of
Deposit.
No form, Self
bonding.
No form, U.S.
Treasury securities.
1010-0136................. 30 CFR Part 206-- Form MMS-4393,
Product Valuation, Request to Exceed
Subpart C--Federal Regulatory Allowance
Oil. Limitation.
No form, Federal oil
valuation support
information.
1010-0139................. 30 CFR Part 216-- Form MMS-4054, Oil
Production and Gas Operations
Accounting, Subpart Report (OGOR).
A--General Form MMS-4058 (Parts
Provisions, and A, B, and C),
Subpart B--Oil and Production
Gas, General; and Allocation Schedule
Part 210--Forms and Report (PASR).
Reports.
1010-0140................. 30 CFR Part 210-- Form MMS-2014, Report
Forms and Reports. of Sales and Royalty
Remittance.
1010-0155................. 30 CFR Part 204-- No form, Notification
Alternatives for and relief request
Marginal Properties, for accounting and
Subpart C-- auditing relief.
Accounting and
Auditing Relief.
1010-0162................. Chief Financial No form, Accounts
Officers Act of 1990. receivable
confirmations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed sections would align with reengineered MMS business
practices as follows:
Section 210.1 What is the purpose of this subpart?
Section 210.1 would be added to explain that the purpose of this
part is to identify OMB-approved information collections currently
required by reengineered MMS business operations.
Section 210.2 To whom do these regulations apply?
Section 210.2 would apply to any person who is assigned or assumes
an obligation to report data and/or make payment to MMS and may include
lessees, designees, operators, purchasers, reporters, payors, and
working interest owners, but is not restricted to these parties.
Section 210.10 What are MMS's approved information collections?
Currently, 30 CFR 210.10(a) contains a list of information
collections approved by OMB prior to reengineering. Paragraph (c)
contains a brief description of the information collections listed in
paragraph (a). In this rule, we propose to update the list of OMB-
approved ICRs and combine the information about individual ICRs in
paragraphs (a) and (c) into one chart with references to relevant CFR
citations. Paragraph (b) would be eliminated, and mailing addresses
would be specified only in CFR sections relevant to specific
information collections.
Section 210.20 What if I disagree with MMS's burden estimates?
The text in Sec. 210.10(d) pertaining to commenting on the
accuracy of our burden estimates would be moved to new Sec. 210.20 and
updated with current information.
Section 210.21 How do I report my taxpayer identification number?
The proposed rule would clarify taxpayer identification number
(TIN) reporting at 30 CFR 210.21. The MMS requires reporters to use a
TIN to report and pay mineral revenues to MMS. A TIN is either a Social
Security Number (SSN) or an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The proposed rule would
require all MMS reporters to report using an EIN. All reporters are
presumed to have entrepreneurial or business activities and, thus,
should either already have an EIN or qualify to apply for an EIN. To
protect individuals' privacy, MMS would no longer accept SSNs to meet
the requirement of reporting using a TIN.
The MMS would use IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification
Number, or equivalent certification, to collect EINs. The collection of
TIN data on IRS Form W-9 is not subject to the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and does not require OMB approval
because only information to identify the respondent is requested [5 CFR
1320.3(h)]. However, filing IRS Form SS-4, Application for Employer
Identification Number, is subject to the PRA and is covered under an
IRS information collection (OMB Control Number 1545-00033).
Section 210.30 What are my responsibilities as a reporter/payor?
The text in Sec. 216.21 pertaining to reporter responsibilities
would be moved to new Sec. 210.30.
Section 210.40 Will MMS keep the information I provide confidential?
The text in Sec. 216.25 pertaining to confidentiality of
information provided to MMS would be moved to new Sec. 210.40.
2. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart B--Royalty Reports--Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources
Subpart B would explain current reengineered MMS reporting
practices, including the report that must be submitted when reporting
royalties on oil and gas and geothermal resources produced from Federal
and Indian lands. In addition to the changes to the regulations listed
below, we propose to rewrite the text in subpart B in plain English and
insert questions in the section headings.
Section 210.50 What is the purpose of this subpart?
We propose to add Sec. 210.50 to state that the purpose of subpart
B is to explain the royalty reporting requirements for Federal and
Indian oil and gas and geothermal leases, which were implemented as a
result of reengineering.
Section 210.51 Who must submit royalty reports?
Section 210.51 would apply to any person who pays royalty to MMS.
[[Page 38548]]
Section 210.52 What royalty reports must I submit?
The information in Sec. 210.52(a) would be moved to new Sec.
210.52.
Section 210.53 When are my royalty reports and payments due?
The information in Sec. 210.52(c) through (e) would be moved to
new Sec. 210.53.
Section 210.54 Must I submit this royalty report electronically?
The information pertaining to Form MMS-2014 in Sec. Sec. 210.20,
210.21, and 210.22 would be moved to new Sec. 210.54.
The proposed rule would eliminate references in the regulations to
several electronic reporting options, which are no longer used to
submit production and royalty reports to MMS. The MMS has contracted
with an electronic commerce (EC) service that collects regulatory
report data electronically from reporters and forwards that data to MMS
in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards
Committee (ASC) X12 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) reporting format.
This EC service allows MMS to consolidate and streamline our
infrastructure, thereby eliminating multiple input processes and
required maintenance, and to address changing and obsolete technology.
Based on the new technology requirements, the proposed rule would
eliminate references to magnetic tape/cartridge reporting as well as
electronic mail, template software, and diskette reporting formats. The
proposed rule would describe the revised list of approved electronic
reporting options at 30 CFR 210.54 and 210.104.
Section 210.55 May I submit this royalty report manually?
Section 210.55 would allow manual submission of Form MMS-2014 under
specific conditions and would provide mailing instructions.
Section 210.56 Where can I find more information on how to complete the
royalty report?
The information pertaining to Form MMS-2014 in Sec. 210.53 would
be moved to new Sec. 210.56.
3. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart C--Production Reports--Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources
Subpart C would explain current reengineered MMS reporting
practices, including the report that must be submitted when reporting
production on oil and gas and geothermal resources produced from
Federal and Indian lands. To make production reporting requirements
easier to find, we propose to combine all production reporting
information found in part 216 with the production reporting information
found in part 210, thus eliminating part 216. In addition to the
changes to the regulations listed below, we propose to write the text
in subpart C in plain English and insert questions in the section
headings.
Section 210.100 What is the purpose of this subpart?
We propose to add Sec. 210.100 to explain that the purpose of
subpart C is to provide the production reporting requirements for
Federal and Indian oil and gas and geothermal leases, which were
implemented as a result of reengineering.
Section 210.101 Who must submit production reports?
Section 210.101--would identify those who must submit production
reports as anyone who operates a Federal or Indian oil and gas or
geothermal lease or federally approved agreement.
Section 210.102 What production reports must I submit?
In our final electronic reporting rule, published July 15, 1999 (64
FR 38116), we clarified a long-standing practice concerning unsold
inventory on a terminated lease or agreement. If the last production
report submitted to MMS on a terminated lease or agreement indicated
unsold inventory on the property, our previous practice was to notify
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), if the property was located
onshore, or the MMS Offshore Minerals Management (OMM) program, if the
property was located on the Outer Continental Shelf. The BLM and OMM
then monitored the inventory from the point of termination, and the
operator was not required to submit further production reports to MMS.
In this rule, we are proposing at the new 30 CFR 210.102(a) to
eliminate in its entirety 30 CFR 216.50, which references the
eliminated Form MMS-3160 and 30 CFR 216.53(d), which references Form
MMS-4054. We are proposing to amend the regulations to reflect current
reengineered business practices, which require an operator to submit a
production report (Form MMS-4054) on a lease or agreement until no
production remains on the property. In other words, a production report
must be submitted if any production remains on the property and until
all inventory has been disposed of. This would include the time after
all production has ceased, including the period after the well is
plugged or a lease or agreement terminates, if inventory remains on the
property. This process has improved the tracking of unsold inventory
and is more efficient than transferring the responsibility between
agencies.
Section 210.103 When are my production reports due?
In our final electronic reporting rule published July 15, 1999 (64
FR 38116), MMS extended the due date for submitting electronic
production reports from the 15th day of the second month following
production to the 25th day of the second month following production as
an incentive to increase electronic production reporting. This change
is reflected in 30 CFR 216.53, Oil and Gas Operations Report. After
operating under these procedures for more than 7 years, we now receive
more than 98 percent of our production data electronically. However,
the extended due date for electronic reporters has had an unexpected
effect on our ability to timely perform the MMS reservoir management,
inspection, and enforcement functions. Production reports on offshore
leases are forwarded to the OMM program weekly as they are received and
corrected. Consequently, extending the due date for electronic
reporters (also our largest volume reporters) unduly delays OMM's
initiation of certain verification procedures. For this reason, we are
proposing to eliminate the extended due date for electronic reporters.
Under the proposed rule, all production reporters (electronic and other
than electronic) would be required to submit Form MMS-4054 by the 15th
day of the second month following production. The proposed rule
reflects this change at 30 CFR 210.103.
Section 210.104 Must I submit these production reports electronically?
No. You may submit the forms by non-electronic means if you qualify
for one of the exemptions under Sec. 210.105. The information
pertaining to completing Forms MMS-4054 and MMS-4058 in Sec. Sec.
210.20, 210.21, and 210.22 would be moved to new Sec. 210.104. As we
discussed above in Sec. 210.54, we would also eliminate references to
some electronic reporting options.
Section 210.105 May I submit these production reports manually?
Section 210.105 would allow manual submission of Forms MMS-4054 and
MMS-4058 under specific conditions and would provide mailing
instructions.
[[Page 38549]]
Section 210.106 Where can I find more information on how to complete
these production reports?
The information pertaining to Forms MMS-4054 and MMS-4058 in Sec.
216.15 would be moved to new Sec. 210.106.
4. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart D--Special-Purpose Forms and Reports--Oil
and Gas and Geothermal Resources
Subpart D would explain the special circumstances under which each
of the remaining OMB-approved information collections, pertaining to
oil and gas and geothermal resources in subpart A, must be submitted.
Sections 210.150 through 210.158 would be added in subpart D to
summarize the current reengineered MMS requirements of our special-
purpose forms and reports. Our special-purpose forms and reports are
the remaining information collections not discussed in subparts B
(basic royalty reporting) and C (basic production reporting). These
sections would also provide acceptable reporting options for each
report, addresses to submit completed reports and other required
documents, and regulatory cites to direct the reader to additional
information about each requirement. If you do not submit these special-
purpose forms and reports in accordance with the regulations, MMS may
disallow allowances, assess penalties, or take other appropriate
enforcement actions. The added sections would be:
210.150 What reports must I submit to claim an excess allowance?
210.151 What reports must I submit to claim allowances on an Indian
lease?
210.152 What reports must I submit for Indian gas valuation
purposes?
210.153 What reports must I submit for Federal oil valuation
purposes?
210.154 What reports must I submit for Federal onshore stripper oil
properties?
Note: This is a BLM program that has been suspended; however it
could be reinstated at any time in the future. In addition, MMS will
continue to process amendments for Form MMS-4377, Stripper Royalty
Rate Reduction Notification, indefinitely. Therefore, this section
remains.
210.155 What reports must I submit for net profit share leases?
210.156 What reports must I submit for the small refiner royalty-in-
kind program?
210.157 What reports must I submit to suspend an MMS order under
appeal?
210.158 What reports must I submit to designate someone to make my
royalty payments?
5. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart E--Solid Minerals, General [Amended]
Subpart E would pertain to current reengineered business
requirements for production and royalty reporting for solid mineral
leases on Form MMS-4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty Report
(OMB Control Number 1010-0120). The title of subpart E would be revised
and a section added on the special reporting requirements, which were
implemented as a result of reengineering, for allowances on Indian coal
production.
Sections 210.205 and 210.206 would be redesignated as Sec. Sec.
210.206 and 210.207, respectively.
Section 210.205 What reports must I submit to claim allowances on
Indian coal leases?
We propose to add Sec. 210.205 to explain requirements implemented
as a result of reengineering for reporting allowances related to Indian
leases. If reporters do not submit these allowance forms and reports as
required in the regulations, MMS may disallow allowances, assess
penalties, or take other appropriate enforcement actions.
6. 30 CFR Part 210, Subpart F--Coal [Reserved]; Subpart G--Other Solid
Minerals [Reserved]; Subpart H--Geothermal Resources; and Subpart I--
OCS Sulfur [Reserved]
We propose to remove subparts F through I.
7. The MMS Proposes To Eliminate 30 CFR 210.51 and 210.352 in Their
Entirety, Which Reference Form MMS-4025, Payor Information Form
Form MMS-4025, Payor Information Form (PIF), was used to establish
payor reference data such as the lease and agreement number and product
code on which the payor was assuming responsibility to pay royalty.
During reengineering of our core business processes, the specific need
for Form MMS-4025 was eliminated when MMS removed the revenue source
code reporting requirement from Form MMS-2014. The MMS determined that
other information reported on Form MMS-2014 could be used to establish
necessary payor reference data in our financial system. Therefore, Form
MMS-4025 was unnecessary.
The MMS discussed the reasons for, and benefits of, eliminating
Form MMS-4025 in an information collection request to OMB that was
approved in August 2000, and renewed in August 2003, under OMB Control
Number 1010-0140. On May 29, 2001, MMS issued a ``Dear Payor'' letter
informing reporters that Form MMS-4025 had been eliminated effective
April 1, 2001. The proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR 210.51 and
210.352 in their entirety, remove Form MMS-4025 from our list of
required information collections, and remove all references to this
form in the MMS regulations.
C. 30 CFR Part 216--Production Accounting
We propose to move all production reporting information in part 216
to subpart C of part 210 and remove part 216 in its entirety.
1. Eliminate references to report forms, designations, systems, and
codes that are no longer applicable.
We propose to eliminate the following 30 CFR part 216 sections,
referencing forms that are no longer used.
(a) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30 CFR 216.50 in its entirety,
which references Form MMS-3160, Monthly Report of Operations.
Since the late 1980s, for onshore Federal and Indian oil and gas
lease production, MMS has required operators to submit Form MMS-3160,
Monthly Report of Operations. For offshore oil and gas lease
production, MMS has required operators to submit Form MMS-4054, Oil and
Gas Operations Report (OGOR). Some operators also used Form MMS-4054
for their onshore properties.
During the reengineering of our core business processes, MMS
determined that Form MMS-3160 was not adequate for our new compliance
verification process. Previously, on Form MMS-3160, reporters grouped
all dispositions, other than the seven most common situations, in a
field called ``Other'' with an explanation in a ``Comments'' section.
When MMS detected a reporting exception, MMS had to analyze this
grouping of several dispositions manually to determine the volume,
method, and propriety of each disposition. Form MMS-4054 accommodates
more types of dispositions, allowing MMS to resolve more exceptions
automatically, thus reducing the burden on industry and MMS.
Further, under previous reporting using both Forms MMS-3160 and
MMS-4054, many companies that reported both offshore and onshore
properties had to maintain and support two separate production
reporting systems. It is more efficient for all parties to have one
form for production reporting.
The MMS discussed the benefits of eliminating Form MMS-3160 and
streamlining remaining production reporting Forms MMS-4054 and MMS-
4058, Production Allocation Schedule Report (PASR), in an information
collection request to OMB that was approved in July 2000, and renewed
in August 2003, under OMB Control Number 1010-0139 (formerly OMB
[[Page 38550]]
Control Number 1010-0040). Moreover, effective October 1, 2001,
reporters began reporting all onshore and offshore production on Form
MMS-4054. The proposed rule would reflect this change at 30 CFR part
210, subpart C--Production Reports--Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources,
by eliminating 30 CFR 216.50 in its entirety, removing Form MMS-3160
from our list of required information collections. The proposed rule
also would remove all references to this form in the MMS regulations.
(b) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30 CFR 216.51 in its entirety,
which references Form MMS-4051, Facility and Measurement Information
Form. This information is now collected on the Form MMS-4054.
The purpose of Form MMS-4051, Facility and Measurement Information
Form (FMIF), was to identify facilities where oil and gas production is
stored or processed and the metering points where production is
measured for sale or transfer. This information established a reference
database used to account for all oil and gas production. Effective
October 1, 2001, the MMS converted compilations of this information
into an internal MMS worksheet and companies were no longer required to
file the Form MMS-4051 report form.
The MMS discussed the benefits of converting this information into
an internal MMS worksheet in an information collection request to OMB
that was approved in July 2000, and renewed in August 2003, under OMB
Control Number 1010-0139. The proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR
216.51 in its entirety, remove Form MMS-4051 from our list of required
information collections, and remove all references to this form in the
MMS regulations.
(c) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30 CFR 216.52 in its entirety,
which references Form MMS-4053, First Purchaser Report.
The purpose of Form MMS-4053, First Purchaser Report, was to
document the first purchaser of minerals produced from Federal and
Indian oil and gas leases. The MMS no longer requires this information
or uses this form. The OMB approval for Form MMS-4053 expired May 31,
1995. The proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR 216.52 in its entirety,
remove Form MMS-4053 from our list of required information collections,
and remove all references to this form in the MMS regulations.
(d) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30 CFR 216.54 in its entirety,
which references Form MMS-4055, Gas Analysis Report.
The purpose of Form MMS-4055, Gas Analysis Report (GAR), was to
report the composition of a lease gas stream transferred to a gas plant
before royalty determination. During the reengineering of our core
business processes, MMS determined that it is more efficient to obtain
a copy of gas sample results, if necessary, during our compliance
verification or audit processes than to require reporters to transcribe
and submit the information on an MMS form. The information requested on
Form MMS-4055 was covered under OMB Control Number 1010-0040, which
expired September 30, 2001. Effective October 1, 2001, companies were
no longer required to submit this form. The proposed rule would
eliminate 30 CFR 216.54 in its entirety, remove Form MMS-4055 from our
list of required information collections, and remove all references to
this form in the MMS regulations.
(e) The MMS proposes to eliminate 30 CFR 216.55 in its entirety,
which references Form MMS-4056, Gas Plant Operations Report.
The purpose of Form MMS-4056, Gas Plant Operations Report (GPOR),
was to report a summary of all operations conducted at a gas plant
during a specific period. Form MMS-4056, used in conjunction with Form
MMS-4055, was used to determine the quantity and quality of gas plant
products attributed to a specific Federal or Indian lease when the gas
was transferred to a gas plant before royalty determination. During the
reengineering of our core business processes, MMS determined that it is
more efficient to obtain a copy of the entire gas plant report during
our compliance verification or audit processes than to require
reporters to transcribe and submit the information on an MMS form. The
information requested on Form MMS-4056 was covered under OMB Control
Number 1010-0040, which expired September 30, 2001. Effective October
1, 2001, companies were no longer required to submit this form. The
proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR 216.55 in its entirety, remove
Form MMS-4056 from our list of required information collections, and
remove all references to this form in the MMS regulations. The MMS is
proposing to eliminate references to forms that are no longer used;
however, elimination of these forms by reengineering did not eliminate
the requirements for record retention and making the records available
to support the payment of royalties, as stated in 30 CFR part 212,
Records and Files Maintenance.
2. Revise the due date for production reports submitted
electronically.
As we discussed above, the information in Sec. Sec. 216.53(c),
216.56(c), and 216.16(c) would be moved to new Sec. 210.104. We also
propose to eliminate the 10-day reporting extension for production
reports submitted electronically.
3. Clarify the requirement for production reporting of inventory on
leases and agreements until all inventory has been disposed of and all
production has ceased.
The information in Sec. Sec. 216.53(a), (b), and (d) and 216.56(a)
and (b) would be moved to new Sec. 210.102. As we discussed above, we
also would clarify current requirements to submit production reports on
terminated leases and agreements until all inventory is disposed of.
D. 30 CFR Part 218--Collection of Royalties, Rentals, Bonuses and Other
Monies Due the Federal Government
The proposed changes in part 218 would:
1. Eliminate references to Federal oil and gas late or incorrect
(erroneous) reporting, failure to submit payment of same amount as Form
MMS-2014 or bill document or to provide adequate information
assessments and failure to report.
We propose to revise the following sections: (1) 30 CFR 218.40,
Assessments for incorrect or late reports and failure to report; and
(2) Sec. 218.41, Assessments for failure to submit payment of same
amount as Form MMS-2014 or bill document or to provide adequate
information.
The proposed rule would eliminate only the language in Sec.
218.40(c)(2) that provided for assessments for Federal oil and gas
leases. This section would remain in effect for assessments related to
solid minerals, geothermal, and Indian oil and gas.
The primary reason we propose these changes is that section 116 of
the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996
(RSFA), 30 U.S.C. 1725, limited MMS's discretion to issue assessments
for Federal oil and gas lease reporting to those who chronically submit
erroneous reports. In addition, as a result of our extensive
reengineering initiative, we implemented a new financial system on
November 1, 2001. The new financial system incorporated significantly
revised and streamlined reporting forms and new electronic reporting
methods, resulting in lower error rates. For the remaining Federal oil
and gas reporting errors, we intend to use the general penalty
provisions at 30 CFR part 241.
2. Eliminate references in Sec. 218.50(b) to Form DI-1040b, Bill
for Collection,
[[Page 38551]]
and replace with current terminology, as appropriate.
3. Correct the definition of ``Invoice Document Identification'' in
Sec. 218.51(a) and eliminate parenthetical descriptions of fields in
Sec. 218.51(f) that are no longer relevant to the revised Form MMS-
2014.
4. Remove the requirement in Sec. 218.52(a)(4) and (d) that
lessees provide the percentage of their record title or operating
rights ownership when they designate another party to make royalty and
other payments on their behalf.
We have determined that we can obtain this information from records
maintained by other Federal agencies or during our compliance
verification and audit processes. We also added Form MMS-4425,
Designation Form for Royalty Payment Responsibility (OMB Control Number
1010-0107), to meet RSFA requirements. Lessees are required to complete
Form MMS-4425 when designating a designee.
5. Eliminate 30 CFR 218.57 in its entirety, which references Form
MMS-4280, Application for Reward for Original Information.
This section referencing a reward program was written in the 1980s;
however, Congress has never appropriated funds for a rewards program,
nor has MMS ever received an application for a reward. The information
requested on Form MMS-4280, Application for Reward for Original
Information, is currently covered under OMB Control Number 1010-0120,
which includes 1 burden hour for this rare and unusual possibility. The
proposed rule would eliminate 30 CFR 218.57 in its entirety, remove
Form MMS-4280 from our listing of required information collections, and
remove all references to this form in the MMS regulations.
6. Change the reference to paragraph (a) to (b) in Sec.
218.154(c).
7. Add the option to refund bonus monies via Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT) as well as via checks in Sec. 218.155(b)(2).
III. Procedural Matters
1. Public Comment Policy
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours and on our Internet Web site at https://www.mrm.mms.gov.
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 also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from
the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If
you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comments. 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.
2. Summary Cost and Royalty Impact Data
This rule will not have any costs or royalty impacts on any of the
potentially affected groups: Industry, state and local governments,
Indian tribes, individual Indian mineral owners, or the Federal
Government. The proposed rule amends existing MMS regulations to align
the regulations with current MMS business practices, which were
implemented as a result of a major reengineering of MMS's financial
systems.
The net impact of reengineering resulted in an overall estimated
annual savings in reporting costs (on a continuing basis) of $2,225,050
(44,501 burden hour reduction x $50). However, the reporting changes
and reduced costs of reengineering have already been incorporated into
14 information collections, which have been approved by OMB and
published in the Federal Register. The effects of the seven eliminated
report forms were either incorporated in these information collections
or were associated with insignificant burden hour reduction. For a
current listing of OMB-approved ICRs, see the chart in new Sec.
210.10.
Under the proposed rule, MMS would no longer accept SSNs to meet
the requirement to report using a TIN. To protect individual's privacy,
MMS would require the use of an EIN as a TIN for reporting purposes.
The one-time cost to obtain an EIN from the IRS is covered under an IRS
information collection (OMB Control Number 1545-0003).
A. Industry
The proposed rule would not impose any additional burden on
industry.
B. State and Local Governments
The proposed rule would not impose any additional burden on states
and local governments.
C. Indian Tribes and Individual Indian Mineral Owners
The proposed rule would not impose any additional burden on Indian
tribes and individual Indian mineral owners.
D. Federal Government
The proposed rule would not impose any additional burden on the
Federal Government.
E. Summary Cost and Royalty Impact Data
The proposed rule would not impose any additional burden on
industry, state and local governments, Indian tribes and individual
Indian mineral owners, or the Federal Government.
3. Regulatory Planning and Review, Executive Order 12866
Under the criteria in Executive Order 12866, this rule is not a
significant regulatory action requiring review by the Office of
Management and Budget.
1. This rule will not have an annual effect of $100 million or
adversely affect an economic sector, productivity, jobs, the
environment, or other units of government. The MMS has evaluated the
costs of this rule and has determined that it will impose no additional
administrative costs.
2. This rule will not create inconsistencies with other agencies'
actions.
3. This rule will not materially affect entitlements, grants, user
fees, loan programs, or the rights and obligations of their recipients.
4. This rule will not raise novel legal or policy issues.
4. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department of the Interior certifies this rule will not have a
significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities
as defined under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
Your comments are important. The Small Business and Agricultural
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were
established to receive comments from small businesses about Federal
agency enforcement actions. The Ombudsman will annually evaluate the
enforcement activities and rate each agency's responsiveness to small
business. You may comment to the Small Business Administration without
fear of retaliation. Disciplinary action for retaliation by an MMS
employee may include suspension or termination from employment with the
Department of the Interior.
[[Page 38552]]
5. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)
This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
1. Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or
more. See Summary Cost and Royalty Impact Data, section III.2.E of
Procedural Matters.
2. Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for
consumers, individual industries, Federal, state, or local government
agencies, or geographic regions.
3. Does not have significant adverse effects on competition,
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.
6. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
In accordance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501
et seq.):
1. This rule will not significantly or uniquely affect small
governments. Therefore, a Small Government Agency Plan is not required.
2. This rule will not produce a Federal mandate of $100 million or
greater in any year; i.e., it is not a significant regulatory action
under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The analysis prepared for
Executive Order 12866 will meet the requirements of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act. See Summary Cost and Royalty Impact Data, section
III.2.E of Procedural Matters.
7. Governmental Actions and Interference With Constitutionally
Protected Property Rights (Takings), Executive Order 12630
In accordance with Executive Order 12630, this rule does not have
significant takings implications. A takings implication assessment is
not required.
8. Federalism, Executive Order 13132
In accordance with Executive Order 13132, this rule does not have
federalism implications. A federalism assessment is not required. It
will not substantially and directly affect the relationship between
Federal and state governments. The management of Federal leases is the
responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. Royalties collected
from Federal leases are shared with state governments on a percentage
basis as prescribed by law. This rule will not alter any lease
management or royalty sharing provisions. This rule will not impose
costs on states or localities.
9. Civil Justice Reform, Executive Order 12988
In accordance with Executive Order 12988, the Office of the
Solicitor has determined that this rule will not unduly burden the
judicial system and meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2)
of the Order.
10. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This rulemaking does not contain new information collection
requirements or change existing information collection requirements;
therefore, a submission to OMB is not required. The 14 information
collections referenced in this rule and listed in the chart below are
currently approved by OMB. The total hour burden currently approved is
235,180 hours.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual
OMB control No. expiration date, Form or information burden
and legal basis collected hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1010-0073, September 30, 2006 (in No form, Net profit 1,583
renewal). share payment
information.
30 CFR Part 220--Accounting
Procedures for Determining Net
Profit Share Payment for Outer
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas
Leases.
1010-0087, September 30, 2006 (in No form, Written 6,091
renewal). delegation proposal to
perform auditing and
investigative
activities.
30 CFR Part 227--Delegation to No form, Request for
States, and Part 228-- cooperative agreement
Cooperative Activities with and subsequent
States and Indian Tribes. requirements.
1010-0090, October 31, 2007...... Form MMS-4377, Stripper 1,080
Royalty Rate Reduction
Notification.
30 CFR Part 216, Subpart B--Oil
and Gas, General.
10-0103, April 30, 2006 (in Form MMS-4109, Gas 1,836
renewal). Processing Allowance
Summary Report.
30 CFR Part 202--Royalties, Form MMS-4295, Gas
Subpart J--Gas Production. Transportation
Allowance Report.
From Indian Leases, and Part 206-- Form MMS-4110, Oil
Product Valuation, Subpart B-- Transportation
Indian Oil, and Subpart E-- Allowance Report.
Indian Gas. Form MMS-4411, Safety
Net Report.
Form MMS-4410,
Accounting for
Comparison [Dual
Accounting].
Form MMS-4394, Request
to Exceed Regulatory
Allowance Limitation
(Note: Form MMS-4393 is
used for both Federal
and Indian oil and gas
leases. Burden hours
for Indian leases are
included here. The form
resides with ICR 1010-
0136.).
1010-0107, August 31, 2008....... Form MMS-4425, 1,220
Designation Form for
Royalty Payment
Responsibility.
30 CFR Part 218, Subpart A-- No form, Cross-lease
General Provisions, and Subpart netting documentation.
B--Oil and Gas, General. No form, Indian over-
recoupment approval.
1010-0110, October 31, 2007, Form MMS-4420A-E 160
Executive Order 12862. Training and Outreach
Evaluation Form.
1010-0119, February 28, 2009..... Form MMS-4070, 2,284
Application for the
Purchase of Royalty Oil.
30 CFR Part 208--Sale of Federal Form MMS-4071, Letter of
Royalty Oil. Credit (RIK).
Form MMS-4072, Royalty-
in-Kind Contract Surety
Bond.
No form, Royalty oil
sales to eligible
refiners.
1010-0120, October 31, 2007...... Form MMS-4430, Solid 1,751
Minerals Production and
Royalty Report.
30 CFR Part 206, Subpart F-- Form 4292, Coal. Washing
Federal Coal, and Subpart J-- Allowance Report.
Indian Coal; Part 210, Subpart Form 4293, Coal
B--Oil, Gas, and OCS Sulfur-- Transportation
General, Subpart E--Solid Allowance Report..
Minerals, General, and Subpart No form, Facility data--
H--Geothermal Resources; and solid minerals..
Part 218, Subpart B--Oil and No form, Sales
Gas, General, and Subpart E-- contracts--solid
Solid Minerals--General. minerals..
No form, Sales
summaries--solid
minerals..
1010-0122, July 31, 2008......... Form MMS-4435, 300
Administrative Appeal
Bond.
[[Page 38553]]
30 CFR Part 243--Suspensions Form MMS-4436, Letter of
Pending Appeal and Bonding-- Credit.
Minerals Revenue Management. Form MMS-4437,
Assignment of
Certificate of Deposit..
No form, Self bonding...
No form, U.S. Treasury
securities.
1010-0136, May 31, 2006 (in Form MMS-4393, Request 13,863
renewal). to Exceed Regulatory
Allowance Limitation.
30 CFR Part 206--Product No form, Federal oil
Valuation, Subpart C--Federal valuation support
Oil. information.
1010-0139, August 31, 2006 (in Form MMS-4054, Oil and 76,630
renewal). Gas Operations Report.
30 CFR Part 216--Production Form MMS-4058 (Parts A,
Accounting, Subpart A--General B, and C), Production
Provisions, and Subpart B--Oil Allocation Schedule
and Gas, General; and Part 210-- Report.
Forms and Reports.
1010-0140, October 31, 2006 (in Form MMS-2014, Report of 126,144
renewal). Sales and Royalty
Remittance.
30 CFR Part 210--Forms and
Reports.
1010-0155, May 31, 2006 (in No form, Notification 2,206
renewal). and relief request for
accounting and auditing
relief.
30 CFR Part 204--Alternatives for
Marginal Properties, Subpart C--
Accounting and Auditing Relief.
1010-0162, February 28, 2006 (in No form, Accounts 32
renewal). receivable
confirmations.
Chief Financial Officers Act of
1990.
------------
Total Burden Hours........... ........................ 235,180
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
This rule does not constitute a major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment. This rule deals with
financial matters and has no direct effect on MMS decisions on
environmental activities. According to Departmental Manual 516 DM
2.3A(2), Section 1.10 of 516 DM 2, Appendix 1 excludes from
documentation in an environmental assessment or impact statement
``policies, directives, regulations and guidelines of an
administrative, financial, legal, technical or procedural nature; or
the environmental effects of which are too broad, speculative or
conjectural to lend themselves to meaningful analysis and will be
subject later to the NEPA process, either collectively or case-by-
case.'' Section 1.3 of the same appendix clarifies that royalties and
audits are considered to be routine financial transactions that are
subject to categorical exclusion from the NEPA process. A detailed
statement is not required because none of the NEPA exceptions apply.
12. Government-to-Government Relationship With Tribes
In accordance with the President's memorandum of April 29, 1994,
``Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal
Governments'' (59 FR at 22951) and 512 DM 2, we have evaluated
potential effects on federally recognized Indian tribes, and found no
significant impacts. We also extended our review to individual Indian
mineral owners and determined no potential effect on them.
13. Effects on the Nation's Energy Supply, Executive Order 13211
In accordance with Executive Order 13211, this regulation does not
have a significant adverse effect on the Nation's energy supply,
distribution, or use.
14. Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments,
Executive Order 13175
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, this rule does not have
tribal implications that impose substantial direct compliance costs on
Indian tribal governments. As noted above, this rule also has no
implications on individual Indian mineral owners.
15. Clarity of This Regulation
Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations
that are easy to understand. We invite your comments on how to make
this rule easier to understand, including answers to questions such as
the following: (1) Are the requirements in the rule clearly stated? (2)
Does the rule contain technical language or jargon that interferes with
its clarity? (3) Does the format of the rule (grouping and order of
sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce its
clarity? (4) Would the rule be easier to understand if it were divided
into more (but shorter) sections? A ``section'' appears in bold type
and is preceded by the symbol ``Sec. '' and a numbered heading. (5)
What is the purpose of this part? (6) Is the description of the rule in
the Supplementary Information section of the preamble helpful in
understanding the rule? (7) What else could we do to make the rule
easier to understand?
Send a copy of any comments that concern how we could make this
rule easier to understand to: Office of Regulatory Affairs, Department
of the Interior, Room 7229, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
List of Subjects
30 CFR Part 206
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal energy, Government contracts,
Indian lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas, Petroleum, Public lands--
mineral resources, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
30 CFR Part 210
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal energy, Government contracts,
Indian lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas, Petroleum, Public lands--
mineral resources, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
30 CFR Part 216
Coal, Continental Shelf, Geothermal energy, Government contracts,
Indian lands, Mineral royalties, Natural gas, Penalties, Petroleum,
Public lands--mineral resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
30 CFR Part 218
Coal, Continental Shelf, Electronic funds transfers, Geothermal
energy, Government contracts, Indian lands, Mineral royalties, Natural
gas, Penalties, Petroleum, Public lands--mineral resources, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
[[Page 38554]]
Dated: June 13, 2006.
R.M. ``Johnnie'' Burton,
Director for Minerals Management Service, Exercising the delegated
authority of the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.
For reasons stated in the preamble, we propose to amend 30 CFR
parts 206, 210, 216, and 218 as follows:
PART 206--PRODUCT VALUATION
1. The authority for part 206 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301 et seq.; 25 U.S.C. 396 et seq., 396a et
seq., 2101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq., 351 et seq., 1001 et
seq., 1701 et seq.; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq., 1331 et
seq., and 1801 et seq.
2. Amend Sec. 206.51 as follows:
A. Remove the definition of ``selling arrangement.''
B. Add in alphabetical order the definition of ``sales type code.''
The addition reads as follows:
Sec. 206.51 Definitions.
* * * * *
Sales type code means the contract type and/or general disposition
(arms'-length or non-arm's-length) of the production from Federal and
Indian oil, gas, and geothermal leases. The sales type code applies to
the sales contract/disposition and not to the arm's-length/non-arm's-
length nature of the transportation or processing allowance.
* * * * *
Subparts B and D [Nomenclature change]
3. In subparts B and D, remove the words ``selling arrangement''
and ``selling arrangements'' wh
