[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58097-58098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28235]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of extension of currently approved information
collection (1010-0057).
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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), we are notifying you that we have submitted the
information collection request (ICR) discussed below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. We are also
inviting your comments on this ICR.
DATES: Submit written comments by November 29, 1999.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for
the Department of the Interior (1010-0057), 725 17th Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20503. Mail or handcarry a copy of your comments to the
Department of the Interior; Minerals Management Service; attention:
Rules Processing Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon,
Virginia 20170-4817.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team,
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain
a copy of the collection of information at no cost.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart C, Pollution Prevention and Control.
OMB Control Number: 1010-0057.
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq.) gives the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the
responsibility to preserve, protect, and develop oil and gas resources
in the OCS consistent with the need to make such resources available to
meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance orderly
energy resource development with protection of human, marine, and
coastal environments; ensure the public a fair and equitable return on
the resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain free enterprise
competition. The OCS Lands Act also requires the Secretary to
administer the provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of
the OCS, and to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be
necessary ``for compliance with the national ambient air quality
standards pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to
the extent that activities authorized under this Act significantly
affect the air quality of any State.'' The OCS Lands Act directs the
Secretary to ``establish regulations requiring all materials,
equipment, tools, containers, and all other items used on the OCS to be
properly color coded, stamped, or labeled, wherever practicable, with
the owner's identification prior to actual use.''
To carry out the responsibilities, we issued regulations at 30 CFR
250, subpart C, Pollution Prevention and Control. These regulations
collect information related to new facilities and modifications to
existing facilities with respect to pollution prevention and control.
In addition, we also issue Notices to Lessees and Operators to clarify
and provide additional guidance on some aspects of the regulations.
We collect information under subpart C to ensure that:
There is no threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate
damage to the marine environment and to identify potential hazards to
commercial fishing caused by OCS oil and gas exploration, development,
and production activities;
The location of items lost overboard is recorded to aid in
recovery by the operator during site clearance activities on the lease;
Operations are conducted according to all applicable
regulations, permit conditions and requirements, and conducted in a
safe and workmanlike manner;
OCS oil and gas operations minimize air pollution of the
OCS and adjacent onshore areas and comply with the emission levels
specified in the MMS Development and Production Plan approval
conditions;
A data baseline is established for the meteorological,
oceanographic, and sea-ice conditions in frontier areas of the OCS to
determine that offshore facilities and operational practices can
withstand the expected environmental forces in an area;
Discharge or disposal of drill cuttings, sand, and other
well solids, including those containing naturally occurring radioactive
materials (NORM), are properly handled for the protection of OCS
workers and the environment; and
Facilities are inspected daily for the prevention of
pollution, and problems observed have been corrected.
If we did not collect the information, we could not carry out the
mandate of the OCS Lands Act to ensure safe and environmentally sound
operations in the OCS. We could not determine if operations comply with
standards to minimize air pollution of the OCS and adjacent onshore
areas.
Beginning January 1, 2000, we will conduct a 1-year information
collection of meteorological data and air pollutant emissions for
production facilities in the Breton National Wildlife Refuge/Wilderness
Area (BWA). The information will be submitted on a monthly basis. We
will use the information collected from the affected lessees/operators
to determine whether emissions from OCS activities may be significantly
affecting the air quality of the BWA, a Prevention of Significant
Deterioration Class I Area as defined by the Clean Air Act. In
addition, the Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated new, more
stringent ambient air quality standards for ozone and is drafting
regulations dealing with regional haze. It is anticipated that these
regulations will require State agencies to perform modeling for ozone
and regional haze for their State Implementation Plans (SIPs). The
States will require information for the year 2000 on OCS activities in
the central and western Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In preparation, we are
requiring the affected respondents to collect and report facility,
equipment, fuel usage, and other information beginning January 1, 2000.
The information will be submitted for the entire year, sometime during
March 2001. We will use the information collected from the affected
lessees/operators to calculate air pollutant emissions that may
significantly impact onshore areas. The emissions inventory will be
available for State agencies to help them in preparing the SIPs for the
coastal parishes/counties that have been declared as non-attainment
areas for ozone.
We will protect proprietary information submitted with the plans
according to the Freedom of Information Act and 30 CFR 250.118, ``Data
and information to be made available to the public.'' No items of a
sensitive nature are collected. Responses are mandatory.
The PRA provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
[[Page 58098]]
We published a Federal Register notice with the required 60-day comment
period soliciting comments on this ICR on August 12, 1999 (64 FR
44043).
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130
Federal OCS sulphur or oil and gas lessees.
Frequency: The frequency of reporting is on occasion, monthly, or
annual.
Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden:
194,311 burden hours, averaging approximately 1,495 hours per
respondent. See following chart.
Burden Breakdown
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Reporting and Annual
Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart C recordkeeping Annual number Burden burden
requirement hours
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300(b)(1), (2)............... Obtain approval to 130 Lessees................... 3 hours........ 390
add petroleum-based
substance to
drilling mud system
or approval for
method of disposal
of drill cuttings,
sand, & other well
solids, including
those containing
NORM..
300(c)....................... Mark items that 130 Lessees................... .5 hour........ 65
could snag or
damage fishing
devices..
300(d)....................... Report items lost 130 Lessees................... 1 hour......... 130
overboard..
303(a), (b), (c), (d), (i), Submit or revise Burden covered under 1010-0049 0
(j); 304(a), (f). Exploration Plans
and Development and
Production Plans..
303(k); 304(g)............... Monitor emissions 350 Platforms................. 4 hrs per mo x 16,800
air quality and 12 mos=48 hrs.
submit monthly
report (1-year
study of selected
sites in the BWA
area)..
303(k); 304(a), (g).......... Monitor and submit 1,500 Platforms............... 2 hrs per mo x 36,000
basic emission data 12 mos=24 hrs.
to MMS or to a
State (1-year study
of sites in the
western/central GOM
area on ozone and
regional haze air
quality ). Submit
one-time annual
report..
130 Reports................... 8 hours........ 1,040
303(l); 304(h)............... Collect and submit Not routinely collected; see item A.13 for 0
meteorological data. discussion of special study
304(a), (f).................. Request by a State 5 Requests.................... 40 hours....... 200
to MMS for basic
emission data from
existing facilities
to update State's
emission inventory.
304(e)(2).................... Submit compliance 10 Schedules.................. 40 hours....... 400
schedule for
application of best
available control
technology.
304(e)(2).................... Apply for suspension Burden covered under 1010-0030 0
of operations.
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Reporting--Subtotal...... .................... 2,385......................... ............... 55,025
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300(d)....................... Record items lost 130 Recordkeepers............. 1 hour......... 130
overboard.
301(a)....................... Inspect drilling/ 1,525 Facilities.............. .25 hour per 139,156
production day x 365
facilities daily days=91.25
for pollution; hours.
maintain inspection/
repair records 2
years.
Recordkeeping--Subtotal.. .................... 1,655......................... ............... 139,286
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Reporting & Recordkeeping .................... 4,040......................... ............... 194,311
Total Hour Burden.
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Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost''
Burden: Meteorological data will be collected for 1 year from selected
sites pursuant to Secs. 250.303(l) and 250.304(h) to determine
cumulative impacts of air quality within the 100-kilometer radius of
the BWA. The Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) has agreed to undertake
this project. The OOC estimates this one-time data collection effort
will cost approximately $750,000.00, which will be expensed to the OCS
lessees.
Comments: All comments are made a part of the public record.
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires each agency ``* * * to
provide notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of the public
and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of
information * * *'' Agencies must specifically solicit comments to: (a)
evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary
for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information
is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Send your comments directly to the offices listed under the
addresses section of this notice. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve
or disapprove the information collection but may respond after 30 days.
Therefore, to ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive public
comments by November 29, 1999.
MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,
(202) 208-7744.
Dated: September 30, 1999.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 99-28235 Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P