Federal Register

This notice lists programs or portions of programs that are eligible for inclusion in Fiscal Year 2009 funding agreements with self-governance tribes and lists programmatic targets according to section 405(c)(4) of the Tribal Self-Governance Act.

SUMMARY: Final regulations for valuing gas produced from Indian leases, published August 10, 1999, require MMS to determine major portion prices and notify industry by publishing the prices in the Federal Register. The regulations also require MMS to publish a due date for industry to pay additional royalty based on the major portion prices. This notice provides the major portion prices for the 12 months of 2006.

SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is announcing its intent to establish an Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The Committee will develop specific recommendations regarding proposed revisions to the existing Indian Oil regulations for oil production from Indian leases, especially the major portion valuation requirement. The Committee will include representatives of parties who would be affected by a final rule. The MMS solicits comments on this initiative and requests interested parties to nominate representatives for membership on the Committee.

SUMMARY: This notice lists programs or portions of programs that are eligible for inclusion in Fiscal Year 2008 funding agreements with self-governance tribes and lists programmatic targets.

SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is amending the existing regulations regarding valuation, for royalty purposes, of oil produced from Indian leases. These amendments will clarify and update the existing regulations.

SUMMARY: On August 23, 2007, pursuant to 30 CFR 256 and 40 CFR 1501.7 as a matter of information to the public, the MMS published in the Federal Register a Call for Information and Nomination and Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea OCS planning areas. The Call is the initial step of a multiple sale process that incorporates planning and analysis for the Alaska lease sales included in the proposed final OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2007- 2012. We inadvertently omitted a page-size map of the Beaufort Sea Planning Area which should have accompanied a page-size map of the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and instead included two duplicate page-size maps of the Chukchi Sea Planning Area. The correct Beaufort Sea Planning Area map accompanies this notice.

SUMMARY: The proposed federal action addressed in this FEIS (OCS EIS/EA MMS 2007-026) is to offer for lease areas in the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that might contain recoverable oil and gas resources. This lease sale would provide qualified bidders the opportunity to bid on certain blocks in the Chukchi Sea OCS to gain conditional rights to explore, develop, and produce oil and natural gas. This FEIS is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis to enable the MMS to make informed decisions on the configuration of the lease sale and the applicable mitigation measures. In the FEIS, the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of the sale, including estimated exploration and development and production activities related to the sale, on the physical, biological, and human environments in the Chukchi Sea area are analyzed. The FEIS also provides NEPA evaluation for exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea, including seismic survey geophysical permitting (30 CFR part 251), ancillary activities (30 CFR 250.207), and exploration plans (30 CFR 250.214). In addition, the FEIS provides information that the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) may possibly use for issuance of Incidental Harassment Authorizations to the seismic-survey industry to take marine mammals by harassment, incidental to conducting prelease and ancillary on-lease oil and gas seismic surveys in the Chukchi Sea. To address its NEPA responsibilities, the NMFS is a cooperating agency (as that term is defined in 40 CFR 1501.6).

SUMMARY: The MMS is promulgating new regulations to implement the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) governing the payment of royalty on geothermal resources produced from Federal leases and the payment of direct use fees in lieu of royalties. The EPAct provisions amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (GSA). The new regulations amend the current MMS geothermal royalty valuation regulations and simplify the royalty and direct use fee calculations for geothermal resources for leases issued under the EPAct and leases whose terms are modified under the EPAct. The new regulations also amend various related provisions in the MMS rules.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the May 10 meeting of the Royalty Policy Committee (RPC). Agenda items for the meeting of the RPC will include remarks from the Director, MMS, and the Associate Director, Minerals Revenue Management (MRM), as well as presentations on the MRM Financial Management, Audit and Compliance, and Enforcement Programs. Updates will be provided by the Federal Oil and Gas Valuation, Oil and Gas Royalty Reporting, Coal, Indian Oil Valuation, and Royalty Management subcommittees. The RPC membership includes representation from states, Indian Tribes, various mineral interests, the public-at-large (with knowledge and interest in royalty issues), and other Federal departments.

SUMMARY: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) with Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) concurrence is terminating the exclusion from valuation under the rules at 30 CFR 206.172 for gas produced from the Ute allotted leases in the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (Reservation), Utah. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 1999 (64 FR 43506).

SUMMARY: 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 Part 206--Product Valuation, Subparts F and J; Part 210--Forms and Reports, Subparts E and H; and Part 218--Collection of Royalties, Rentals, Bonuses and Other Monies Due the Federal Government, Subpart E.'' We changed the title of this ICR to clarify the regulatory language we are covering under 30 CFR parts 206, 210, and 218 and to reflect OMB consolidation approval of two solid mineral-related ICRs.

SUMMARY: Final regulations for valuing gas produced from Indian leases, published on August 10, 1999, require MMS to determine major portion prices and notify industry by publishing the prices in the Federal Register. The regulations also require MMS to publish a due date for industry to pay additional royalty based on the major portion prices. This notice provides the major portion prices for the 12 months of 2005. The due date to pay additional royalties based on the major portion prices is 60 days after the publication date of this notice.