30 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Provisions
Title 30 - Mineral Resources
It is the purpose of cooperative agreements to effectively utilize the capabilities of the States and Indian tribes in developing and maintaining an efficient and effective Federal royalty management system as indicated at 30 U.S.C. 1701. It shall be the policy of DOI to enter into cooperative agreements with States and Indian tribes to carry out audits and related investigations and enforcement actions whenever a State or tribe initiates a request to enter into an agreement and a finding is made that a State or tribe has the ability to carry out cooperative activities in a timely and efficient manner. As of the effective date of this rule, September 11, 1997, this part does not apply to Federal lands. [62 FR 43091, Aug. 12, 1997] The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with States and Indian tribes (30 U.S.C. 1732) to share oil or gas royalty management information, and to carry out auditing and related investigation or enforcement activities in cooperation with the Secretary. (a) Authority to enter into cooperative agreements to carry out audit and related investigation and enforcement activities with State and tribal governments has been delegated to the Director of the Minerals Management Service (MMS). (b) Authority to enter into cooperative agreements with State and tribal governments to carry out inspection and related investigation and enforcement activities has been delegated to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is not covered by this part. (c) The entry into a cooperative agreement with either MMS or BLM will not affect the ability of a State or Indian tribe to choose to enter into such an agreement with the other agency. A State may enter into a delegation agreement (30 U.S.C. 1735) with MMS to perform certain functions without affecting its ability to enter into a cooperative agreement with either MMS or BLM, or both, to cooperate in the performance of those functions which are not delegated in this part. For the purposes of this part, terms shall have the same meaning as in 30 U.S.C. 1702. In addition, the following definition shall apply: Audit means an examination of the financial accounting and lease related records of the lessee and other interest holders, who by lease or contract pay royalties or are obligated to pay royalties, rents, bonuses or other payments on Federal or Indian leases. An examination is to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted audit standards as adopted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Activities to be examined which are considered to be an audit function include reconciliation of lease accounts under the Royalty Accounting System; records of lease activities related to Federal leases located within the boundaries of the State entering into a cooperative agreement; records of lease activities related to leases located on Indian lands, and the review and resolution of exceptions processed by the official accounting systems for royalty reporters and payors maintained by the MMS. [49 FR 37348, Sept. 21, 1984, as amended at 67 FR 19112, Apr. 18, 2002] (a) The information collection requirements contained in this part have been approved by OMB under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned OMB Clearance Number 1010–0087. The information collected will be used to prepare a cooperative agreement with a State or Indian tribe wishing to perform royalty audits. The information should be submitted voluntarily in order to enter into a cooperative agreement authorized by 30 U.S.C. 1732. (b) Public reporting burden is estimated to average 136 hours for the preparation of the original request for consideration and application to enter into a cooperative agreement. Subsequent requests for renewal of the agreement may require about 40 hours for the preparation of an annual budget and work plan, and an estimated 8 hours per quarter for preparation of a reimbursement voucher and an audit progress report. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, Minerals Management Service, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 22070; and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project 1010–0087, Washington, DC 20503. [57 FR 41868, Sept. 14, 1992, as amended at 58 FR 64903, Dec. 10, 1993]
Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 228—COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES WITH STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 228.1 Purpose.
§ 228.2 Policy.
§ 228.3 Limitation on applicability.
§ 228.4 Authority.
§ 228.5 Delegation of authority.
§ 228.6 Definitions.
§ 228.10 Information collection.
