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OMB Control No: 1010-0006	ICR Reference No: 202310-1010-004
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202306-1010-004
Agency/Subagency: DOI/BOEM	Agency Tracking No: 1010-AE14
Title: Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 07/16/2024
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 04/24/2024
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.11, the information collection is approved for three years.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	07/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	03/31/2026
Responses	22,090	0	21,826
Time Burden (Hours)	22,012	0	21,935
Cost Burden (Dollars)	766,053	0	766,053

Abstract: The Department of the Interior, acting through BOEM, is finalizing new regulations to modify its criteria for determining whether oil, gas, and sulfur lessees, right-of-use and easement grant holders, and pipeline right-of-way grant holders are required to provide bonds or other financial assurance above the regulatorily prescribed base bonds to ensure compliance with their Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act obligations. This final rule will: streamline the criteria used for evaluating the financial health of lessees and grantees; codify the utilization of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s probabilistic estimates of decommissioning cost for determining the amount of supplemental financial assurance required; remove restrictive provisions for third-party guarantees and decommissioning accounts; add new criteria for which a bond or third-party guarantee that was provided as supplemental financial assurance may be canceled; and clarify bonding requirements for RUEs serving Federal leases. On June 29, 2023, BOEM published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register at 88 FR 42136 which proposed amendments that impact this information collection. BOEM is submitting this information collection clearance package to request OMB approval for revision of OMB control number 1010-0006.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 43 USC 1331 and 1801 Name of Law: OCSLA
   US Code: 31 USC 9701 Name of Law: IOAA
   US Code: 42 USC 6213(C) Name of Law: Energy Policy and Conservation Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
1010-AE14	Final or interim final rulemaking	89 FR 31544	04/24/2024

Federal Register Notices & Comments
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 31544	04/24/2024
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	22,090	21,826	877	-613
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	22,012	21,935	1,853	-1,776
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	766,053	766,053	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Overall, this rule results in the following adjustments in hour burden, which leads to an overall increase of 77 annual burden hours: Base Bonds and Supplemental Financial Assurance The hours per response for all respondents (i.e., a lessee, grant holder, a co-lessee, and a co-grant holder) who show financial worth/ability to carry out present and future financial obligations as demonstrated by an issuer credit rating, or a proxy credit rating determined by BOEM based on audited financial information, remains at 3.5 hours as approved by OMB. The number of responses for the provisions related to §§ 550.160, 550.166, 550.1011, and 556.900-902 decreases to 160 respondents from 166 respondents due to program changes. The related existing and new provisions results in a decrease of 21 burden hours from 581 to 560 annual burden hours (3.5 hours x -6 hours = -21 annual burden hours) BOEM adds paragraph (h) to § 556.901 to establish the limited opportunity to provide the required supplemental financial assurance demanded during the first 5 years after the effective date of this regulation in three installments. This provision establishes the timing and amounts of staggered supplemental financial assurance that would be demanded. This increases the number of submissions for the 5 payments required for supplemental financial assurance, but only for the first 5 years after the effective date of this regulation. OMB has approved 135 submissions which take 20 minutes per submission (total existing annual burden hours is 45 hours). BOEM estimates the burden hours to be 135 annual burden hours (405 submissions x 20 minutes), which is an increase of 90 hours over existing OMB approval. (+90 hours). Third-party Guarantees Section 556.905(b)(2) eliminates the requirement that, when a guarantor becomes unqualified, a lessee must cease production, until supplemental financial assurance coverage requirements are met. The regulatory provision is replaced with a requirement to immediately submit and maintain a substitute surety bond or other security. Both the existing and new provisions require the lessee to provide surety bond coverage; however, BOEM’s current OMB Control Number 1010-0006 does not quantify all of the burdens associated with either situation. Therefore, BOEM adds approximately 8 annual burden hours to OMB Control Number 1010-0006 for any lessee whose guarantor became unqualified (+8 hours).

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $2,989,249

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Anna Atkinson 202 912-7438 amatkinson@blm.gov

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