[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 62988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25690]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Information Quality Guidelines Pursuant to Section 515 of the 
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of final Information Quality Guidelines.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidelines in 
the Federal Register on February 22, 2002 (67 FR 8452), that directed 
Federal agencies to issue and implement guidelines to ensure and 
maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of Government 
information disseminated to the public. In compliance with OMB's 
guidelines, MMS announces the availability of its final Information 
Quality Guidelines on its Web site.

ADDRESSES: You may access MMS's Information Quality Guidelines on its 
Web site at: http://www.mms.gov/qualityinfo. Our mailing address is: 
Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, (Attn: AD/
PMI), Mail Stop 4230, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Jo Ann Lauterbach, Office of Policy and 
Management Improvement; telephone (202) 208-7744; Fax (202) 208-4891; 
e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 515 of the Treasury and General 
Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554) 
directed OMB to issue government-wide guidelines that ``provide policy 
and procedural guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing 
the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information 
(including statistical information) disseminated by Federal agencies.'' 
OMB complied by issuing guidelines that directed each Federal agency 
to: (a) Issue its own guidelines; (b) establish administrative 
mechanisms allowing affected persons to seek and obtain correction of 
information that does not comply with OMB's 515 guidelines; and (c) 
report periodically to the Director of OMB on the number and nature of 
complaints received by the agency regarding the accuracy of information 
disseminated by the agency and how such complaints were handled by the 
agency.
    In compliance with OMB's directives, the Department of the Interior 
(DOI) issued draft Information Quality Guidelines in the Federal 
Register on May 24, 2002 (65 FR 26642), that instructed each bureau to 
prepare its own guidelines. In response to DOI's Federal Register 
Notice, MMS developed and issued draft guidelines for comment on its 
Web site on August 1, 2002. We received comments from one private 
organization. We considered their comments, and where applicable or 
appropriate, we incorporated them into our final guidelines.
    We have now finalized our guidelines and posted them on our Web 
site. These guidelines are a living document and may be revised 
periodically to reflect changes in DOI's or MMS's policy, or as best 
practices emerge, about how best to address, ensure, and maximize 
information quality. MMS welcomes comments on these guidelines at any 
time and will consider those comments in any future revisions.

    Dated: October 1, 2002.
Walter D. Cruickshank,
Acting Director, Minerals Management Service.
[FR Doc. 02-25690 Filed 10-8-02; 8:45 am]
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