RIK Determination of Need FRN

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2008 / Notices

applications to the Marine Mammal
Commission and the Committee of
Scientific Advisors for their review.
Dated: December 21, 2007.
Lisa J. Lierheimer,
Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits,
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. E8–667 Filed 1–15–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[OR–130–1020–AL; GP8–0040]

Notice of Cancellation of Public
Meeting, Eastern Washington
Resource Advisory Council Meeting
Bureau of Land Management,
U.S. Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of cancellation of public
meeting.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The upcoming meeting for the
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) Eastern
Washington Resource Advisory Council
is cancelled.
DATES: BLM previously scheduled the
meeting for January 17, 2008, at the
BLM Spokane District Office, 1103 N.
Fancher Rd., Spokane Valley, WA
99212.

A notice
announcing meeting was published in
the Federal Register on December 13,
2007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) Idaho Falls
District Resource Advisory Council
(RAC), will meet as indicated below.
DATES: The RAC will next meet in Idaho
Falls, Idaho on February 19 and 20,
2008. Meeting topics include update on
Pocatello Resource Management Plan
and decisions on Recreation Resource
Advisory Council items. Other topics
will be scheduled as appropriate. All
meetings are open to the public.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 15member Council advises the Secretary
of the Interior, through the Bureau of
Land Management, on a variety of
planning and management issues
associated with public land
management in the BLM Idaho Falls
District (IFD), which covers eastern
Idaho.
All meetings are open to the public.
The public may present written
comments to the Council. Each formal
Council meeting will also have time
allocated for hearing public comments.
Depending on the number of persons
wishing to comment and time available,
the time for individual oral comments
may be limited. Individuals who plan to
attend and need special assistance, such
as sign language interpretation, tour
transportation or other reasonable
accommodations, should contact the
BLM as provided below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joanna Wilson, RAC Coordinator, Idaho
Falls District, 1405 Hollipark Dr., Idaho
Falls, ID 83401. Telephone (208) 524–
7550. E-mail: Joanna_Wilson@blm.gov.
Dated: January 8, 2008.
Joanna Wilson,
RAC Coordinator, Public Affairs Specialist.
[FR Doc. E8–612 Filed 1–15–08; 8:45 am]

Scott Pavey, BLM Spokane District,
1103 N. Fancher Rd., Spokane Valley,
WA, 99212 or call (509) 536–1200.
Dated: January 9, 2008.
Robert B. Towne,
District Manager.
[FR Doc. E8–632 Filed 1–15–08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–GG–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BILLING CODE 4310–33–P

Minerals Management Service
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Eligible Refiner,
Determination of Need

Bureau of Land Management

Minerals Management Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Solicitation of comments.
AGENCY:

[ID–300–1020–PH; DDG080001]

Notice of Public Meeting, Idaho Falls
District Resource Advisory Council
Meeting
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory
Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S.

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SUMMARY: The Minerals Management
Service (MMS), an agency of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, is requesting
written comments from interested
parties, particularly refiners who qualify
under the RIK eligible refiner program,
regarding their experiences in the crude
oil marketplace. Specifically, we are
interested in eligible refiners’
experiences in gaining access to

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adequate supplies of crude oil at
equitable prices. This Determination of
Need process will assist the Secretary of
the Interior in deciding whether or not
to continue with sales of Federal
Government royalty crude oil under the
RIK eligible refiner program.
DATES: Submit written comments on or
before March 3, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments
to Colin Bosworth, Minerals
Management Service, Minerals Revenue
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS
330B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you
use an overnight courier service or wish
to hand-carry your comments, our
courier address is Building 85, Room A–
614, Denver Federal Center, West 6th
Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver,
Colorado 80225. You may also e-mail
your comments to us at
mrm.comments@mms.gov. Include the
title of this Federal Register notice in
the ‘‘Attention’’ line of your comment.
Also include your name and return
address. If you do not receive a
confirmation that we have received your
e-mail, contact Mr. Bosworth at (303)
231–3186.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Armand Southall, telephone (303) 231–
3221, FAX (303) 231–3781, or e-mail
armand.southall@mms.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction: Under the provisions of
the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA),
as amended (30 U.S.C. 192), and the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(OCSLA) of August 7, 1953, as amended
(43 U.S.C. 1334, 1353), the Secretary of
the Interior can take Federal royalty
crude oil in kind, in lieu of royalty
payment, and sell it to eligible refiners
for use in their refineries. The sale of
royalty crude oil from Federal leases by
the United States to eligible refiners is
governed by the regulations at 30 CFR
part 208, effective December 1, 1987,
published in the Federal Register on
October 30, 1987 (52 FR 41908).
To purchase royalty crude oil under
the eligible refiner program, an eligible
refiner, as defined at 30 CFR 208.2,
means a crude oil refiner meets the
following criteria:
(1) For the purchase of royalty oil from
onshore leases, it means a refiner that
qualifies as a small and independent refiner
as those terms are defined in sections 3(3)
and 3(4) of the Emergency Petroleum
Allocation Act, 15 U.S.C. 751 et seq., except
that the time period for determination
contained in section 3(3)(A) would be the
calendar quarter immediately preceding the
date of the applicable ’’Notice of Availability
of Royalty Oil.’’

The Emergency Petroleum Allocation
Act of 1973 (Public Law No. 93–159; 87

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2008 / Notices
Stat. 627) defines a small refiner as a
refiner who:
(a) Obtained directly or indirectly more
than 70 percent of its refinery input of
domestic crude oil, or 70 percent of its
refinery input of domestic and imported
crude oil, from producers who do not
control, are not controlled by, and are not
under common control with, such refiner;
and
(b) marketed or distributed in such quarter
and continues to market or distribute a
substantial volume of gasoline refined by it
through branded independent marketers or
non-branded independent marketers.
Additionally, the term ‘‘small refiner’’
means a refiner whose total refinery capacity,
including the refinery capacity of any person
who controls, is controlled by, or is under
common control with such refiner, does not
exceed 175,000 barrels per day. Crude oil
received in exchange for the refiner’s own
production is considered to be part of the
refiner’s own production for purposes of this
section.

In addition, 30 CFR 208.2 defines
eligible refiner for the purchase of
royalty oil from offshore leases as
follows:
(2) For the purchase of royalty oil from
leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, it
means a refiner that qualifies as a small
business enterprise under the rules of the
Small Business Administration (13 CFR part
121).

The Small Business Administration
(SBA), as updated and published in the
Federal Register on March 28, 2003 (68
FR 15047), states the following:
The SBA standard for a small business
within the Petroleum Refining Industry is a
concern with a total Operable Atmospheric
Crude Oil Distillation Capacity of less than
or equal to 125,000 barrels per calendar day,
and that has no more than 1,500 employees.
Capacity includes owned or leased facilities
as well as facilities under a processing
agreement or an arrangement such as an
exchange agreement or throughput.

The regulation at 30 CFR 208.4(a)
governs the Determination of Need
process and states that:

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The Secretary may evaluate crude oil
market conditions from time to time. The
evaluation will include, among other things,
the availability of crude oil and the crude oil
requirements of the Federal Government,
primarily those requirements concerning
matters of national interest and defense. The
Secretary will review these items and will
determine whether eligible refiners have
access to adequate supplies of crude oil and
whether such oil is available to eligible
refiners at equitable prices. Such
determinations may be made on a regional
basis * * *.

Under its rules, the SBA draws no
distinction between offshore and
onshore oil purchases; thus, for a refiner
to qualify as an eligible refiner, the
refiner must have no more than 1,500

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employees regardless of onshore or
offshore oil purchases.
Background: The MMS established
the eligible refiner program to ensure
fair and equitable prices for eligible
refiners as defined at 30 CFR 208.2.
Historically, these eligible refiners have
supplied U.S. military functions with jet
fuel and other energy needs on military
and naval bases. In the past, the MMS
found that the eligible refiner program
provided the following benefits to
eligible refiners:
• Stability of supply;
• Access to domestic oil streams;
• Ease of hardship on obtaining
capital.
The RIK eligible refiner program has
been an important source of crude oil
for eligible refiners in the past. In
September 2007, there were three
eligible refiners participating in the
eligible refiner program. However,
beginning in October 2007, the number
of participating refiners was two. This
decline in participation can be partially
attributed to a number of eligible
refiners merging, thus becoming
ineligible, along with the removal of
Pacific and onshore properties from the
eligible refiner program.
In 1997, MMS undertook an
examination of the RIK eligible refiner
program and determined that it should
use a ‘‘proactive, structured, and
documented methodology’’ to conduct
future RIK Determinations of Need. The
MMS performed a full analysis in 1999;
an update of that analysis in 2001;
another full analysis in 2003; and an
update to that previous analysis in 2005.
These analyses supported MMS’s
continuation of the program, and each
was followed by subsequent RIK sales to
eligible refiners. The intent of the
current analysis is for MMS to
determine the need for the program in
the market’s current state and to make
a recommendation concerning the
program’s continuation.
Information Requested: To assist
MMS in completing this Determination
of Need, please respond in writing to
the following questions:
(1) Indicate your position as it relates
to the domestic crude oil market:
(a) Small/Independent Refiner
(b) Large Refiner
(c) Oil Producer
(d) Oil Transporter
(e) Oil Marketer
(f) Other (please specify)
(2) Describe your experience with the
domestic crude oil market and your
perception of the need for the eligible
refiner program.
(3) What is your perception of
whether a benefit exists in conducting
separate sales for onshore and offshore
Federal lease crude oil?

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(4) Under the definition criteria
outlined above, are you an eligible
refiner of offshore lease crude oil,
onshore lease crude oil, or both?
If you answered yes to any of the
categories in question (4), please
address all the questions that follow. If
you have multiple refineries, please
respond to questions (a) through (i) for
each refinery:
(a) For your immediate region or
geographic area of operation, how
would you characterize the general
availability of crude oil?
(b) Is your refinery operating at full or
near-full capacity in both summer and
winter? If not, why not?
(c) What is the slate of refined
products and their volumes from your
refinery over each of the past 12
months?
(d) What percentage of onshore versus
offshore crude oil volumes do you
currently run through your refinery?
(e) What type of crude oil do you need
to sustain your mix of refined products
(e.g., Wyoming Sour, Heavy Louisiana
Sweet, Light Louisiana Sweet, etc.)?
(f) Have you been denied access to
crude oil supplies in the past 18
months? If yes, what was the basis for
the denial? For example, was the denial
attributable to unavailability of desired
crude oil, a lack of access to the
transportation pipeline, or other
reasons? Please provide documentation
supporting any claim of denial.
(g) Do you use exchange agreements?
Why?
(h) Are the feeder stocks you purchase
priced above market value for your
geographic area? In other words, do you
pay a bonus or premium because of your
status as an eligible refiner? Please
identify, by crude oil type, what you
pay on the average barrel of crude oil.
(i) Have you previously participated
in the Federal royalty oil program? If
you left the program, why did you
leave? How would you now benefit from
receiving Federal royalty oil? If you
have never participated in the program,
what has deterred you from
participating?
(j) Do you currently provide refined
products (e.g., heating oil, jet fuel, etc.)
to a U.S. military base or Federal
installation? If yes, identify the recipient
facility and how long you have been
supplying refined products.
(k) Do you anticipate any near term
developments that would change your
access to necessary supplies of crude oil
at equitable prices?
Potential respondents should note
that MMS’s decision to conduct a
Determination of Need in no way
presupposes that there will or will not
be subsequent eligible refiner RIK sales.

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 16, 2008 / Notices

A Determination of Need is a logical
first step in identifying general
marketplace conditions. However, any
MMS decision to conduct additional
RIK eligible refiner sales will
necessarily be predicated on the
regulatory criteria of ‘‘access’’ and
‘‘equity,’’ i.e., whether a significant
number of refiners have limited or no
access to the marketplace and/or have
experienced difficulty in negotiating a
fair price for feeder stocks.
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) requires us to
inform you that this information is
being collected by MMS under an
approved information collection, OMB
Control Number 1010–0119, titled ‘‘30
CFR Part 208—Sale of Federal Royalty
Oil; Sale of Federal Royalty Gas; and
Commercial Contracts.’’ All
correspondence, records, or information
received, in response to this Notice and
specifically in response to the questions
listed above, are subject to disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). All information provided will
be made public unless the respondent
identifies which portions are
proprietary. Please highlight the
proprietary portions, including any
supporting documentation, or mark the
page(s) that contain proprietary data.
Proprietary information is protected by
the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C.
1733), FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(4), the
Indian Minerals Development Act of
1982 (25 U.S.C. 2103), and Department
regulations (43 CFR 2). 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.
Public reporting burden is estimated to
be 4 hours per response. Comments on
the accuracy of this burden estimate, or
suggestions on reducing this burden,
should be directed to the Information
Collection Clearance Officer, MMS, MS–
4230, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20240.
Dated: January 10, 2008.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue
Management.
[FR Doc. E8–624 Filed 1–15–08; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Proposed Information Collection
Request of the ETA–9000, on Internal
Fraud Activities Report; Comment
Request
Employment and Training
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a preclearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing collections of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This
program helps to ensure that requested
data can be provided in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed.
A copy of the proposed information
collection request (ICR) can be obtained
by contacting the office listed below in
the addresses section of this notice or by
accessing: http://www.doleta.gov/
OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before
March 17, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Susan
Hilliard, U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training
Administration, Office of Workforce
Security, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Frances Perkins Bldg., Room S–
4519, Washington, DC 20210, telephone
number (202) 693–3068 (this is not a
toll-free number) or by e-mail:
hilliard.susan@dol.gov.

I. The
ETA–9000 is the only data source
available on instances of internal fraud
activities within the Unemployment
Insurance (UI) program and the results
of safeguards that have been
implemented to deter and detect
instances of internal fraud. The report
categorizes the major areas susceptible
to internal (employee) fraud and
provides actual and ‘‘estimated’’
(predictability or cost avoidance
measures) workload. The information
from this report has been used and will
be used to review Internal Security (IS)
operations and obtain information on
composite shifting patterns of
nationwide activity and effectiveness in

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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the area of internal fraud identification
and prevention. The Employment and
Training Administration (ETA) has used
this report to assess the overall
adequacy of Internal Security
procedures in States’ UI programs.
II. Desired Focus of Comments:
Currently, the Employment and
Training Administration, Office of
Workforce Security is soliciting
comments concerning the proposed
extension of the collection for the ETA–
9000 Report on Internal Fraud
Activities.
Comments are requested to:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.
III. Current Actions: Continued
collection of the ETA–9000 data will
provide for a comprehensive evaluation
of the UI Internal Security program. The
data are collected annually, and an
analysis of the data received is
formulated into a report summarizing
internal fraud cases uncovered by the 53
SWAs.
Type of Review: Extension without
change.
Agency: Employment and Training
Administration (ETA).
Title: ETA–9000, Report on Internal
Fraud Activities.
OMB Number: 1205–0187.
Agency Number: ETA–9000.
Affected Public: 53 State
governments.
Total Respondents: 53.
Frequency: Annually.
Total Responses: 53 States.
Total Average Time per Response: 3
hours.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 159
hours.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup):
$0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/
maintaining): $0.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or

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