[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36811-36817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15317]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

[Docket ID BSEE-2013-0012; OMB Control Number 1014-0022; 14XE1700DX 
EEEE500000 EX1SF0000.DAQ000]


Information Collection Activities: Oil and Gas and Sulphur 
Operations in the OCS--General; Submitted for Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

ACTION: 30-day Notice.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is notifying the 
public that we have submitted to OMB an information collection request 
(ICR) for review and approval of the paperwork requirements in the 
regulations under Subpart A, Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the 
OCS--General. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity 
to comment on the revised paperwork burden of these regulatory 
requirements.

DATES: You must submit comments by July 30, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by either fax (202) 395-5806 or email 
([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (1014-0022). Please provide a copy of your comments to 
BSEE by any of the means below:
     Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the 
Search box, enter BSEE-2013-0012 then click search. Follow the 
instructions to submit public comments and view all related materials. 
We will post all comments.
     Email [email protected], fax (703) 787-1546, or mail 
or hand-carry comments to the Department of the Interior; BSEE; 
Regulations and Standards Branch; ATTN: Nicole Mason; 381 Elden Street, 
HE3313; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Please reference ICR 1014-0022 in 
your comment and include your name and return address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Mason, Regulations and 
Standards Branch, (703) 787-1605, to request additional information 
about this ICR. To see a copy of the entire ICR submitted to OMB, go to 
http://www.reginfo.gov (select Information Collection Review, Currently 
Under Review).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR part 250, Subpart A, Oil and Gas and Sulphur 
Operations in the OCS--General.
    Form(s): BSEE-0011, BSEE-0132, BSEE-0143, BSEE-1832.
    OMB Control Number: 1014-0022.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act at 43 U.S.C. 
1334 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe rules and 
regulations necessary for the administration of the leasing provisions 
of the Act related to mineral resources on the OCS. Such rules and 
regulations will apply to all operations conducted under a lease, 
right-of-way, or a right-of-use and easement. Operations on the OCS 
must preserve, protect, and develop oil and natural gas resources in a 
manner that is consistent with the need to make such resources 
available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; to 
balance orderly energy resource development with protection of human, 
marine, and coastal environments; to ensure the public a fair and 
equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and to preserve and 
maintain free enterprise competition.
    In addition to the general rulemaking authority of the OCS Lands 
Act at 43 U.S.C. 1334, section 301(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas 
Royalty Management Act (FOGRMA), 30 U.S.C. 1751(a), grants authority to 
the Secretary to prescribe such rules and regulations as are reasonably 
necessary to carry out FOGRMA's provisions. While the majority of 
FOGRMA is directed to royalty collection and enforcement, some 
provisions apply to offshore operations. For example, section 108 of 
FOGRMA, 30 U.S.C. 1718, grants the Secretary broad authority to inspect 
lease sites for the purpose of determining whether there is compliance 
with the mineral leasing laws. Section 109(c)(2) and (d)(1), 30 U.S.C. 
1719(c)(2) and (d)(1), impose substantial civil penalties for failure 
to permit lawful inspections and for knowing or willful preparation or 
submission of false, inaccurate, or misleading reports, records, or 
other information. Because the Secretary has delegated some of the 
authority under FOGRMA to BSEE, 30 U.S.C. 1751 is included as 
additional authority for these requirements.
    The Independent Offices Appropriations Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), the 
Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 104-133, 110 Stat. 1321, April 26, 
1996), and OMB Circular A-25, authorize Federal agencies to recover the 
full cost of services that confer special benefits. Under the 
Department of the Interior's implementing policy, BSEE is required to 
charge fees for services that provide special benefits or privileges to 
an identifiable non-Federal recipient above and beyond those which 
accrue to the public at large. A request for approval required in 30 
CFR 250.171(e) is subject to cost recovery, and BSEE regulations 
specify service fees for these requests in 30 CFR 250.125.
    Regulations implementing these responsibilities are among those 
delegated to BSEE. The regulations at 30 CFR Part 250, Subpart A, 
concern the general regulatory requirements of oil, gas, and sulphur 
operations in the OCS (including the associated forms), and are the 
subject of this collection. This request also covers any related 
Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) that BSEE issues to clarify, 
supplement, or provide additional guidance on some aspects of our 
regulations.
    The BSEE uses the information collected under the Subpart A 
regulations to ensure that operations on the OCS are carried out in a 
safe and pollution-free manner, do not interfere with the rights of 
other users on the OCS, and balance the protection and development of 
OCS resources. Specifically, we use the information collected to:
     Review records of formal crane operator and rigger 
training, crane operator qualifications, crane inspections, testing, 
and maintenance to ensure that lessees/operators perform operations in 
a safe and workmanlike manner and that equipment is maintained in a 
safe condition. The BSEE also uses the information to make certain that 
all new and existing cranes installed on OCS fixed platforms must be 
equipped with anti-two block safety devices, and to assure that uniform 
methods are employed by lessees for load testing of cranes.
     Review welding plans, procedures, and records to ensure 
that welding is conducted in a safe and workmanlike manner by trained 
and experienced personnel.
     Provide lessees/operators greater flexibility to comply 
with regulatory requirements through approval of alternative equipment 
or procedures and departures to regulations if they

[[Page 36812]]

demonstrate equal or better compliance with the appropriate performance 
standards.
     Ensure that injection of gas promotes conservation of 
natural resources and prevents waste.
     Record the agent and local agent empowered to receive 
notices and comply with regulatory orders issued.
     Provide for orderly development of leases through the use 
of information to determine the appropriateness of lessee/operator 
requests for suspension of operations, including production.
     Improve safety and environmental protection on the OCS 
through collection and analysis of accident reports to ascertain the 
cause of the accidents and to determine ways to prevent recurrences.
     Ascertain when the lease ceases production or when the 
last well ceases production in order to determine the 180th day after 
the date of completion of the last production. The BSEE will use this 
information to efficiently maintain the lessee/operator lease status.
     Allow lessees/operators who exhibit unacceptable 
performance an incremental approach to improving their overall 
performance prior to a final decision to disqualify a lessee/operator 
or to pursue debarment proceedings through the execution of a 
performance improvement plan (PIP). The Subpart A regulations do not 
address the actual process that we will follow in pursuing the 
disqualification of operators under Sec. Sec.  250.135 and 250.136; 
however, our internal enforcement procedures include allowing such 
operators to demonstrate a commitment to acceptable performance by the 
submission of a PIP.
    This information collection request has current forms and a new 
form associated with this collection. We have addressed any and all 
issues/changes to the forms as follows:
     New Form BSEE-0011, iSEE, Internet-Based Safety and 
Environmental Enforcement Reporting System, was created to clarify what 
information is needed when someone reports an apparent violation (Sec.  
250.193). This reporting system provides members of the offshore oil 
and gas industry, as well as the public, with the ability for the 
electronic reporting of suspected violations of, or noncompliance with, 
any and all safety or environmentally-related laws or regulations; as 
well as any violations of or noncompliance with any associated lease, 
plan, or permit requirements that occur offshore. Information on Form 
BSEE-0011:

--The first 4 parts of the form are optional and for the purposes of 
asking follow-up questions if necessary.
     Last Name
     First Name
     Email Address
     Phone number
--The Category of Information section is used to specify what type of 
potential violation is being reported so that it can be routed 
internally to the appropriate BSEE personnel.
--The Region section is used to specify which region the potential 
violation occurred in so that it can be routed internally to the 
appropriate BSEE personnel.
--The Location Information provides BSEE with the ability to locate 
(using various data options as entered by the reporting party) where 
the potential violation took place.
     Company Name
     Area Block
     Lease Number
     Production Facility Name
     Drilling Rig Name
     GPS Coordinate Latitude and Longitude
     Date of Offense
     Other
--A Detailed Description of Problem or Event is used to facilitate BSEE 
in determining whether the potential violation warrants an 
investigation.

     Revisions to Form BSEE-1832, Incident(s) of Noncompliance 
(INCs), are due to BSEE developing a new electronic process to issue 
INCs and handle acknowledgements of INCs. The changes on the form 
pertain to giving the operator options on how to report back to BSEE 
for reporting the resolution of the issues identified in the INC, 
either via paper or electronically. The BSEE will continue the option 
to issue paper INCs and mail paper INCs; however, our inspectors will 
stop issuing hand-written INCs for most normal inspection violations 
and, instead, generate an INC on the inspector's tablet PCs. After 
marking a Preliminary-INC as a violation, the inspector will be able to 
generate an INC on the tablet and ask the operator to ``sign'' the 
tablet. The application will capture the signature and the inspector 
will generate the INC in PDF format. We added a certification to 
reflect that false statements may be subject to criminal penalties.
    Form BSEE-0132, Hurricane and Tropical Storm Evacuation and 
Production Curtailment Statistics, is used in the Gulf of Mexico OCS 
Region (GOMR) to obtain general information such as company name, 
contact, date, time, telephone number; as well as number of platforms 
and drilling rigs evacuated and not evacuated, and production shut-in 
statistics for oil (BOPD) and gas (MMSCFD). We added a certification to 
reflect that false statements may be subject to criminal penalties.
    Form BSEE-0143, Facility/Equipment Damage Report, is used to assess 
initial damage and then be aware of changes until the damaged structure 
or equipment is returned to service; as well as production rate at time 
of shut-in (BPD and/or MMCFPD), cumulative production shut-in (BPD and/
or MMCFPD), and estimated time to return to service (in days). We added 
a certification to reflect that false statements may be subject to 
criminal penalties.
    Most responses are mandatory, while others are required to obtain 
or retain benefits, or voluntary. No questions of a sensitive nature 
are asked. The BSEE protects information considered proprietary under 
the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and DOI's implementing 
regulations (43 CFR Part 2), and under regulations at 30 CFR 250.197, 
Data and information to be made available to the public or for limited 
inspection, and 30 CFR part 252, OCS Oil and Gas Information Program.
    Frequency: On occasion, daily, weekly, monthly, and varies by 
section.
    Description of Respondents: Potential respondents comprise Federal 
OCS oil, gas, and sulphur lessees/operators.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The estimated 
annual hour burden for this information collection is a total of 84,391 
hours. The following chart details the individual components and 
estimated hour burdens. In calculating the burdens, we assumed that 
respondents perform certain requirements in the normal course of their 
activities. We consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in estimating the burden.
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P

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    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have 
identified one non-hour cost burden. Requests for a Suspension of 
Operations or a Suspension of Production (Sec.  250.171) requires a 
cost recovery fee of $2,123. We estimate a total reporting non-hour 
cost burden of $1,371,458. We have not identified any other non-hour 
cost burdens associated with this collection of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.,) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.,) requires each agency ``. . . to provide notice . . . and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information . . .'' Agencies 
must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the 
collection is necessary or useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of 
technology.
    To comply with the public consultation process, we published a 
Federal Register notice on March 26, 2014 (79 FR 16810), announcing 
that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided 
the required 60-day comment period. In addition, Sec.  250.199 provides 
the OMB Control Number for the information collection requirements 
imposed by the 30 CFR Part 250, Subpart A regulations and forms. The 
regulation also informs the public that they may comment at any time on 
the collections of information and provides the address to which they 
should send comments.

[[Page 36817]]

    Between the last collection submitted and this collection, we 
received one comment from a private citizen concerning BSEE not having 
any options for electronic submission of Form BSEE-0132, Hurricane and 
Tropical Storm Evacuation and Production Curtailment Statistics (GOMR). 
Our response: An electronic option does exist. The BSEE provides a 
secure alternative for operators to report the information required on 
BSEE-0132 in eWell.
    Form BSEE-0011, iSEE, was out for comment and published in the 
Federal Register on November 18, 2013 (78 FR 69118); and on March 26, 
2014 (79 FR 16810). We received two comments from a private citizen 
(submitted same comment for both 60-day notices) that Form BSEE-0011 
should include the same or something similar as admonition to the 
reporter against false reporting. Our response: The BSEE would like 
some kind of a report of what individuals have encountered. There could 
be situations in which people think they saw something but aren't 
sure--we still would like them to report so BSEE can further 
investigate. With the statement on the form, we feel that this would 
deter individuals from reporting. Even without the statement on the 
form, the individuals/submitters are still subject to penalties for 
false statements, so we could still penalize any abuse or malicious 
intent of the system.
    Public Availability of Comments: Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Information Collection Clearance Officer: Cheryl Blundon, 703-787-
1607.

    Dated: June 19, 2014.
Robert W. Middleton,
Deputy Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-15317 Filed 6-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-C