[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 165 (Wednesday, August 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51841-51842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21103]



[[Page 51841]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

[Docket ID BSEE-2015-0007; OMB Control Number 1014-0013; 15XE1700DX 
EEEE500000 EX1SF0000.DAQ000]


Information Collection Activities: Global Positioning Systems 
(GPS) for Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs) NTL; 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) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements associated with 
subpart A, General, and related documents. 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 September 25, 2015.

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 (1014-0013). 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-2015-0007 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; Bureau of 
Safety and Environmental Enforcement; Regulations and Standards Branch; 
ATTN: Cheryl Blundon; 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166. Please 
reference ICR 1014-0013 in your comment and include your name and 
return address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Blundon, Regulations and 
Standards Branch, (703) 787-1607, 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: Notice to Lessees and/or Operators 
(NTL)--Gulf of Mexico OCS Region--GPS (Global Positioning System) for 
MODUs (Mobile Offshore Drilling Units).
    OMB Control Number: 1014-0013.
    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 that 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; to preserve and maintain 
free enterprise competition; and to ensure that the extent of oil and 
natural gas resources of the OCS is assessed at the earliest 
practicable time. Section 43 U.S.C. 1332(6) states that ``operations in 
the outer Continental Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by 
well-trained personnel using technology, precautions, and techniques 
sufficient to prevent or minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of 
well control, fires, spillages, physical obstruction to other users of 
the waters or subsoil and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause 
damage to the environment or to property, or endanger life or health.''
    To carry out these responsibilities, the Bureau of Safety and 
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issues regulations to ensure that 
operations in the OCS will meet statutory requirements; provide for 
safety and protect the environment; and result in diligent exploration, 
development, and production of OCS leases. In addition, we also issue 
Notice to Lessees (NTLs) that provide clarification, explanation, and 
interpretation of our regulations. These NTLs are used to convey purely 
informational material and to cover situations that might not be 
adequately addressed in our regulations.
    The subject of this information collection (IC) request is an NTL, 
GPS (Global Positioning System) for MODUs (Mobile Offshore Drilling 
Units). This NTL requires MODUs to be equipped with multiple tracking/
location devices so that during a storm event (hurricane) the 
respondent, as well as BSEE, will have the capability to monitor their 
locations. This NTL also provides BSEE GPS data access thereby granting 
BSEE real-time location information as needed for the Hurricane 
Response Team (HRT).
    The primary regulation for this IC is 30 CFR 250, subpart A, 
approved under the OMB Control Number 1014-0013. However, in connection 
with this subpart, the burden requirements in the NTL are in addition 
to the currently approved paperwork burdens under those requirements.
    Regulations implementing these responsibilities are among those 
delegated to BSEE.
    Responses are required to obtain or retain a benefit. No questions 
of a sensitive nature are asked. BSEE protects information considered 
proprietary under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and 
DOIs implementing regulations (43 CFR 2), and under regulations at 30 
CFR part 250.197, Data and information to be made available to the 
public or for limited inspection, 30 CFR part 252, OCS Oil and Gas 
Information Program.
    After Hurricane Ike in 2008, due to the loss of a MODU, the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Army Corps of 
Engineers conducted numerous side-sonar searches for dangerous 
submerged debris in several places in and around the Gulf of Mexico 
waters, including off the Louisiana coast, the Houston Ship Channel, 
and the Galveston areas. These searches continued for numerous days, 
with multiple government agencies, and covered well over 75 square 
statute miles. Nothing was found.
    On March 6, 2009, a 900-ft Norwegian flagged tank ship carrying 
approximately 130K MT of crude oil, reported listing 8 degrees and 
taking on water about 65-miles offshore of Galveston, TX. It was 
determined that the tanker had hit the sunken MODU that was submerged 
approximately 24 feet below the surface of the water, that had been 
missing since Hurricane Ike. The MODU was displaced off the coast of 
Louisiana during Hurricane Ike and ended up off the coast of Galveston, 
roughly 105 miles away.
    The information to be collected is necessary for BSEE to assess the 
whereabouts of any MODU becoming unmoored due to extreme weather 
situations; as well as, to follow the path of that facility to 
determine if other facilities/pipelines, etc., were damaged in any way. 
The offshore oil and gas industry will use the information to determine 
the safest and quickest way to either remove the obstacles or to fix 
and reuse them.
    Frequency: On occasion.

[[Page 51842]]

    Description of Respondents: Potential respondents comprise OCS 
Federal oil, gas, or sulphur lessees and/or operators.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The estimated 
annual hour burden for this information collection is a total of 1 
hour. 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.

                                                  Burden Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 NTL-GPS for MODUs Gulf of Mexico OCS                              Average number of
                Region                       Hour burden            annual responses       Annual burden hours
 
                                      ---------------------------Non-Hour Cost Burdens--------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1--Notify BSEE with tracking/locator   15 mins................  1 rig *................  1 hour (rounded).
 data access and supporting
 information; notify BSEE Hurricane
 Response Team as soon as operator is
 aware a rig has moved off location.
                                       15 mins................  1 notification.*
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2--Purchase and install tracking/          20 devices per year for replacement and/or new x $325.00 = $6,500.
 locator devices--(these are
 replacement GPS devices or new rigs).
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3--Pay monthly tracking fee for GPS                   40 rigs at $50/month = $600/year = $24,000.
 devices already placed on MODUs/rig.
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4--Rent GPS devices and pay monthly                       40 rigs @$1,800 per year = $72,000.
 tracking fee per rig.
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    Total Burden.....................  .......................  102 Responses..........  1 Hour.
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                                                             $102,500 non-hour cost burden.
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    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: Under 
this collection, the lessees and operators have already installed the 
GPS systems; therefore, we estimate a non-hour cost burden of $102,500 
which consists of:
    --Replacing/repairing locator devices and/or adding devices for new 
MODUs added to the group;
    --paying monthly rental fees for GPS tracking purposes only, or
    --paying rental fees for the GPS devices themselves as well as 
associated tracking information.
    We have not identified any other non-hour cost burdens associated 
with this collection of information. See burden table for a breakdown 
of the burdens.
    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, on May 22, 2015, we 
published a Federal Register notice (80 FR 29743) 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 Numbers for the information collection requirements imposed 
by the 30 CFR 250 regulations. The regulations also inform the public 
that they may comment at any time on a collection of information and 
provide the address to which they should send comments. The required 
PRA public disclosure and comment statement is displayed on the NTL. We 
received no comments in response to the Federal Register notice or 
unsolicited comments.
    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.

    Dated: August 5, 2015.
Robert W. Middleton,
Deputy Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-21103 Filed 8-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P