[House Report 117-562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress }                                          { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  2d Session   }                                          { 117-562

======================================================================
 
                  OFFSHORE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2021

                                _______
                                

 November 16, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

         Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 570]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 570) to require operators of offshore oil and 
gas facilities to report failures of critical systems to the 
Secretary of the Interior, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 570 is to require operators of offshore 
oil and gas facilities to report failures of critical systems 
to the Secretary of the Interior.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and 
multiple internal and external investigations, the U.S. 
Department of the Interior (DOI) implemented several safety, 
environmental, and organizational reforms to the federal 
offshore oil and gas program. These reforms included two major 
new regulations implemented in 2016 based on recommendations 
from the National Academy of Sciences and extensive discussions 
with industry and environmental advocates: the Blowout 
Preventers and Well Control Rule\1\ (Well Control Rule) and the 
Production Safety Systems Rule.\2\
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    \1\Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental 
Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control, 81 Fed. Reg. 25,887 
(Apr. 29, 2016) (to be codified at 30 C.F.R. pt. 250), https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-04-29/pdf/2016-08921.pdf.
    \2\Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental 
Shelf-Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems, 81 Fed. Reg. 61,833 (Sept. 
7, 2016) (to be codified at 30 C.F.R. pt. 250), https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-07/pdf/2016-20967.pdf; see also 
83 Fed. Reg. 49,216 (Sept. 28, 2018) (to be codified at 30 C.F.R. pt. 
250), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-09-28/pdf/2018-
21197.pdf (revising and revoking portions of the 2016 rule).
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    Under these two rules, all oil and gas operators on the 
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) were required by the Bureau of 
Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) within DOI to 
report failures of well control equipment and of safety and 
pollution prevention equipment directly to the agency. This 
requirement ensured that BSEE was aware of operators and 
equipment that experienced frequent failures, allowing the 
agency to take informed preventive action measures.
    Despite the thorough research and collaboration that went 
into the two 2016 rules, the Trump administration rescinded 
aspects of both regulations in 2019.\3\ Among other 
modifications, the 2019 revisions made changes to both rules 
that reduced transparency and allowed companies to report 
certain equipment failures and `near misses' anonymously. 
Without transparent data, BSEE lost the ability to enforce 
regulations as well as information helpful for identifying low-
performing companies and potentially widespread equipment 
failure. Environmental groups are currently challenging the 
Trump revisions to the rules in court.
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    \3\Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental 
Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Revisions, 84 Fed. 
Reg. 21,908 (May 15, 2019) (to be codified at 30 C.F.R. pt. 250), 
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-05-15/pdf/2019-09362.pdf; 
see also Press Release, U.S. DOI, BSEE Finalizes Improved Blowout 
Preventer and Well Control Regulations (May 2, 2019), https://
www.doi.gov/pressreleases/bsee-finalizes-improved-blowout-preventer-
and-well-control-regulations.
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    In September 2022, under the Biden administration, BSEE 
announced a new proposed rule that would revise some of the 
items that were amended or rescinded in 2019.\4\
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    \4\Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental 
Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control Revisions, 87 Fed. 
Reg. 56,354 (Sept. 14, 2022) (proposed Sept. 12, 2022) (to be codified 
at 30 C.F.R. pt. 250), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-09-
14/pdf/2022-19462.pdf; see also Press Release, BSSE, Interior 
Department Takes Steps to Strengthen Offshore Safety Standards (Sept. 
12, 2022), https://www.bsee.gov/newsroom/latest-news/statements-and-
releases/press-releases/interior-department-takes-steps-to.
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    H.R. 570 would legislatively restore mandatory public 
disclosure requirements for offshore oil and gas equipment 
failures that were eliminated by the Trump Administration in 
2019. The legislation requires offshore drilling operators to 
report failures of critical safety systems directly to the 
Secretary of the Interior, who then publicly discloses these 
incident reports.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 570 was introduced on January 28, 2021, by 
Representative A. Donald McEachin (D-VA). The bill was referred 
solely to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public 
Lands. On May 13, 2021, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral 
Resources held a hearing on the bill. On October 13, 2021, the 
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittees were discharged by unanimous consent. Rep. Matt 
Rosendale (R-MT) offered an amendment designated Rosendale #1. 
The amendment was not agreed to by a roll call vote of 19 yeas 
and 24 nays, as follows:
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) offered an amendment designated 
Graves #1. The amendment was not agreed to by a roll call vote 
of 19 yeas and 25 nays, as follows:
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    The bill was adopted and ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 25 yeas and 19 
nays, as follows:
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
held on May 13, 2021.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    States that the bill may be referred to as the ``Offshore 
Accountability Act of 2021.''

Section 2. Reporting requirement

    This section requires operators of offshore oil and gas 
facilities to file written notice within 30 days of the 
discovery of a critical system equipment failure to the 
Secretary of the Interior and the equipment manufacturer.
    After filing written notice of the equipment failure, 
operators are required to complete an investigation and 
equipment failure analysis within 120 days of the failure to 
determine the cause and submit that analysis to the Secretary. 
The Secretary is required to publish the analysis report on the 
Department's website within 30 days of receiving the report.
    Operators may request an extension on their analysis report 
of up to 60 days. That extension request is a written request 
that details how the operator will complete the investigation 
and analysis. The Secretary will review and respond to any 
extension requests within 30 days and may not grant more than 
one extension for a single investigation.
    If an operator who experiences an equipment failure 
receives any instructions from a manufacturer to change the 
design of a critical system, they must report it to the 
Secretary in writing within 30 days. Operators must also report 
any changes to operating or repair procedures as a result of a 
reported failure within 30 days.
    This section also defines key terms.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, as well as clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee has received the 
following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 570 would codify certain reporting requirements for 
firms that operate oil and gas facilities in the Outer 
Continental Shelf. The bill would set deadlines for reporting 
any failures of safety or pollution control equipment and would 
require operators to provide written analyses to the Secretary 
of the Interior on the causes of the failure and corrective 
actions taken. Those documents would be made available to the 
public on the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) website. The 
bill also would require operators to notify the Secretary of 
any changes made by equipment manufactures in response to such 
failures.
    CBO expects that the reporting requirements in H.R. 570 
would not significantly increase administrative costs because 
the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, an agency 
within DOI, collects similar information under current law. CBO 
estimates that the administrative expenses associated with 
implementing H.R. 570 would be less than $500,000; such 
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kathleen Gramp. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to require operators of offshore 
oil and gas facilities to report failures of critical systems 
to the Secretary of the Interior.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to CBO, this bill contains no unfunded mandates 
as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    Offshore oil and gas development on the Outer Continental 
Shelf is critical to American energy independence, providing 
approximately 15 percent of domestic oil production and 5 
percent of domestic dry natural gas production.\1\ Maintaining 
a safe and healthy offshore environment and workplace is of the 
highest importance, and remains a bipartisan priority. While 
well intentioned, H.R. 570 would not further this goal.
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    \1\ U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gulf of Mexico Fact 
Sheet. https://www.eia.gov/special/gulf_of_mexico/.
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    H.R. 570 would require offshore oil and gas operators to 
report so-called ``critical system'' failures to the Secretary 
of the Interior within 30 days and conduct investigations of 
equipment failures within 120 days. While the intent of this 
bill may be to catch potentially dangerous incidents before 
they occur, the bill ignores the new practices developed to 
avoid such incidents and is duplicative of regulations already 
in place at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 
(BSEE).
    In response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, the Obama 
Administration issued the ``Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations 
in the Outer Continental Shelf-Blowout Preventer Systems and 
Well Control'' rule, or ``Well Control Rule,'' in 2016.\2\ This 
rule was intended to help protect against blowouts during 
active oil and gas production. The Trump Administration 
finalized a revised version of the Well Control Rule in 2019\3\ 
and the Biden Administration issued a further revised version 
of the Well Control Rule in 2022.\4\ In 2021, the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) removed oversight of the offshore 
oil and gas program from its ``high-risk list,'' acknowledging 
the significant changes in recent years to continue to improve 
safety in the sector.\5\
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    \2\FR 22128, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-05-11/pdf/
2018-305.pdf.
    \3\https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/bsee-finalizes-improved-
blowout-preventer-and-well-control-regulations.
    \4\ https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-takes-
steps-strengthen-offshore-safety-standards.
    \5\https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-293.
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    H.R. 570 would overlay additional reporting requirements on 
those currently enforced by BSEE. The burdensome level of 
reporting required under this bill could actually make 
operations less safe, as a flood of reports could result in 
serious incidents being overlooked.
    For these reasons, I oppose H.R. 570.

                                                   Bruce Westerman.

                                  [all]