Minerals Management Service March 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The MMS announces the availability of the proposed Notice of Sale for proposed Sale 196 in the Central GOM OCS. This Notice is published pursuant to 30 CFR 256.29(c) as a matter of information to the public. With regard to oil and gas leasing on the OCS, the Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to section 19 of the OCS Lands Act, provides the affected States the opportunity to review the proposed Notice. The proposed Notice sets forth the proposed terms and conditions of the sale, including minimum bids, royalty rates, and rentals.

This proposed rulemaking would revise certain existing definitions, add a first production notice requirement, and make some administrative changes. MMS recently redesigned and renamed some of its forms to aid submission and streamline data. MMS also discovered inconsistent practices in first production reporting, which is a prime parameter in determining inspection and testing schedules for safety system devices. This proposed rulemaking would correspond to recently revised forms, provide clarity and explanation of definitions and forms, and correct form submittal with first production notices. It would also clarify the basis upon which the Regional Director invokes the requirement for an archaeological survey on a lease area.

This notice provides a listing of civil penalties paid January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2004, for violations of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA). The goal of the MMS OCS Civil Penalties Program is to assure safe and clean operations on the OCS. Through the pursuit, assessment, and collection of civil penalties and referrals for the consideration of criminal penalties, the program is designed to encourage compliance with OCS statutes and regulations. The purpose of publishing the penalties summary is to provide information to the public on violations of special concern in OCS operations and to provide an additional incentive for safe and environmentally sound operations.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The title of this information collection request (ICR) is ``30 CFR 208Sale of Federal Royalty Oil; Sale of Federal Royalty Gas; and Commercial Contracts (Forms MMS-4070, Application for the Purchase of Royalty Oil; MMS-4071, Letter of Credit; and MMS-4072, Royalty-in- Kind Contract Surety Bond).'' We changed the title of this ICR to clarify the regulatory language we are covering under 30 CFR part 208 and the Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) 5-Year Business Plan, and to reflect OMB consolidation approval of five RIK-related ICRs. Those ICRs were titled: 1010-0042: 30 CFR part 208Sale of Federal Royalty Oil; Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Program (Form MMS-4070, Application for the Purchase of Royalty Oil); 1010-0119: 30 CFR part 208Sale of Federal Royalty Oil, Royalty Oil Sales to Eligible Refiners (30 CFR 208.4(a) and (d)); 1010-0126: Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Pilot Program Directed Communications by Operators of Federal Oil and Gas Leases; 1010-0129: Royalty-in-Kind Pilot ProgramOffers, Financial Statements, and Surety Instruments for Sales of Royalty Oil and Gas; and 1010-0135: 30 CFR 208.11(a), (b), (d), and (e)Surety Requirements (Forms MMS-4071 and MMS-4072). In the five ICRs, much of the general information was repeated and cross referenced. This consolidated ICR 1010-0119 eliminates that duplication of effort and redundancy of data. It also provides for all RIK information-collection requirements to be reviewed on a MMS RIK operational program-wide basis.

MMS is considering an increase to the base level rentals and the use of sliding scale rentals in Gulf of Mexico lease sales. This notice explains the purpose of the change and what the sliding scale rentals might be. MMS requests comments on both the increase to the base amounts and on the structure of the sliding scale system and its potential effects.

The Minerals Management Service has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of structure-removal activities on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The activities analyzed in the EA include vessel and equipment mobilization, structure preparation, nonexplosive- and explosive-severance activities, post-severance lifting and salvage, and site-clearance verification. The impact-producing factors of structure removals considered in the EA include seafloor disturbances, air emissions and water discharges, pressure and acoustic energy from explosive detonations, and space-use conflicts with other OCS users.