[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20139-20141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09613]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

[Docket Number DOT-OST-2017-0043


Agency Information Collection Activity; Notice of Request for 
Approval To Collect New Information: Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data 
Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 
(OST-R), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) 
of Title 44 of the U.S. Code (Pub. L. 104-13, the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995), this notice announces the intention of BTS to request the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a new data collection: 
Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data.
    In August 2013, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 
(BSEE) and BTS signed an Interagency Agreement to develop and implement 
SafeOCS, a voluntary program for confidential reporting of `near 
misses' occurring on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Oil and Gas 
Industry Safety Data (ISD) program, is a component of BTS's SafeOCS 
data sharing framework, that provides a trusted, proactive means for 
the oil and gas industry to report sensitive and proprietary safety 
information, and to identify early warnings of safety problems and 
potential safety issues by uncovering hidden, at-risk conditions not 
previously exposed from analysis of reportable accidents and incidents. 
Companies participating in the ISD are voluntarily submitting safety 
data. There is no regulatory requirement to submit such data.
    The ISD identifies a broader range of data categories to ensure 
safe performance and appropriate risk management, which adds a learning 
component to assist the oil and gas industry in achieving improved 
safety performance. BTS will be the repository for the data, and will 
analyze and aggregate information proffered under this program, and 
publish reports providing identification of potential causal factors 
and trends or patterns before safety is compromised, and affording 
continuous improvement opportunities by focusing on repairing 
impediments to safety.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by July 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once 
into the docket, submit comments by only one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically. Docket Number: DOT-OST-2017-0043.
     Mail: Docket Services, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver to mail address above between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Identify all transmissions with ``Docket Number DOT-OST-2017-0043'' 
at the beginning of each page of the document.
    Instructions: All comments must include the agency name and docket 
number for this notice. Paper comments should be submitted in 
duplicate. The Docket Management Facility is open for examination and 
copying, at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. If you wish to receive confirmation of 
receipt of your written comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped postcard with the following statement: ``Comments on Docket 
Number DOT-OST-2017-0043.'' The Docket Clerk will date stamp the 
postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. mail.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). Please note that all 
comments received including any personal information, will be posted 
and will be publicly viewable, without change, at www.regulations.gov. 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Demetra V. Collia, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of 
Statistical and Economic Analysis, RTS-31, E36-302, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; Phone No. (202) 366-1610; Fax No. 
(202) 366-3383; email: [email protected]. Office hours are from 
8:30 a.m. to 5

[[Page 20140]]

p.m., EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: The confidentiality of oil and gas 
industry safety data information submitted to BTS is protected under 
the BTS confidentiality statute (49 U.S.C. 6307) and the Confidential 
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2002 
(Pub. L. 107-347, Title V). In accordance with these confidentiality 
statutes, only statistical (aggregated) and non-identifying data will 
be made publicly available by BTS through its reports. BTS will not 
release to BSEE or any other public or private entity any information 
that might reveal the identity of individuals or organizations 
mentioned in failure notices or reports without explicit consent of the 
respondent and any other affected entities.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Data Collection

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35; as 
amended) and 5 CFR part 1320 require each Federal agency to obtain OMB 
approval to initiate an information collection activity. BTS is seeking 
OMB approval to collect the following new data:
    Title: Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data (ISD) Program.
    OMB Control Number:
    Type of Review: Approval of data collection. This information 
collection for Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data is to ensure the safe 
performance and appropriate risk management within the oil and gas 
industry, including but not limited to exploration and production.
    Respondents: Oil and gas industry companies involved in the 
exploration and/or production working in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). 
Responsibility for establishing the actual scope and burden for this 
collection resides with BTS.
    Number of Potential Responses: One hundred.
    Estimated Time per Response: 40 hours.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Total Annual Burden: 400 hours.
    Abstract: The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 note), can provide 
strong confidentiality protection for information acquired for 
statistical purposes under a pledge of confidentiality. CIPSEA Guidance 
from the Office of Management and Budget advises that a non-statistical 
agency or unit (BSEE) that wishes to acquire information with CIPSEA 
protection, may consider entering an agreement with a Federal 
statistical agency or unit (BTS). BTS and BSEE have determined that it 
is in the public interest to collect, and process ISD reports and any 
other data deemed necessary to administer the Oil and Gas Industry 
Safety Data Program under a pledge of confidentiality for statistical 
purposes only.
    Working with subject matter experts BTS will then aggregate and 
further analyze these reports to identify potential causal factors and 
trends. All data reviewers would be subject to non-disclosure 
requirements mandated by CIPSEA. The results of these aggregated 
analyses will be distributed by BTS through public reports, workshops, 
and other forms. Periodic industry workshops may be scheduled by BSEE/
industry to discuss the data analysis and trend results, as well as 
share ideas and process improvements for preventing recurrence.

II. Background

    The goal of the Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data program is to 
provide BTS with essential information about accident precursors and 
other hazards associated with Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas 
operations including but not limited to exploration and production 
(E&P.) This program collects voluntarily reported safety data.
    A related goal of the ISD is to provide a mechanism whereby 
participating companies can submit safety data in whatever format they 
currently use to minimize incremental effort on the company's part. To 
realize the optimum benefits from an industrywide framework, all 
organizations associated with offshore E&P operations (operators, 
contractors, subcontractors, suppliers/OEMs) and/or regulatory agencies 
are encouraged to submit data voluntarily. BTS is conducting an 
Industry Safety Data (ISD) program pilot, in 2017-2018 with data from 
nine companies.
    The value proposition of the ISD program is its focus on the 
continual improvement in safety performance, and its implementation of 
lessons learned from incidents and events that occur within the oil and 
gas industry. This is particularly important for major hazards and 
associated prevention/mitigation barriers. Several key aspects of this 
effort includes:
     Providing a solution for a central repository for 
collection, collaboration, and sharing of lessons learned from 
collected safety-related data,
     Identifying the type of data that will provide valuable 
information,
     Gaining alignment on incident and indicator definitions,
     Utilizing a secure process for collection and analysis of 
the data,
     Implementing a robust methodology for identifying systemic 
issues,
     Disseminating the results to stakeholders who can then 
take actions to reduce or eliminate the risk of recurrence through 
greater barrier integrity,
     Providing opportunities for stakeholders to network and 
benchmark performance, both individually and as an organization, and
     Establishing a framework wherein adverse actions cannot 
legally be taken against data submitters nor can raw data be used for 
regulatory development purposes.
    One other related goal of the ISD program is to provide a mechanism 
whereby participating companies can submit safety data in whatever 
format they currently use to minimize incremental effort on the 
company's part.
    One of the key benefits associated with submitting safety data 
directly to BTS for review and analysis, is that it addresses concerns 
related to protection of the data source. SafeOCS, including the ISD, 
operates under a Federal law, the Confidential Information Protection 
and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA), which requires the 
program to protect the identity of the reporter and treat reports 
confidentially. Information submitted under CIPSEA is also protected 
from release to other government agencies, Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) requests, and subpoena. Even regulatory agencies, such as BSEE, 
cannot have access to the identity of those submitting reports under 
the program. In addition, the information from individual records 
cannot be used for enforcement purposes. CIPSEA is subject to strict 
criminal and civil penalties for noncompliance.
    Once data is aggregated, BTS will analyze safety data reports 
submitted by companies involved in OCS activities. BTS will also work 
with subject matter experts to further analyze these reports to 
identify potential causal factors and trends. The results of these 
aggregated analyses will be distributed by BTS through public reports. 
Industry workshops may then be scheduled to allow operators, service 
companies, drilling contractors, regulators, and other stakeholders to 
discuss the results and share lessons learned.
    This data collection will provide participating members within the 
oil and gas industry, a trusted means to report sensitive proprietary 
and safety information related to operations in the OCS, and to foster 
trust in the confidential collection, handling, and storage of the raw 
data. BTS will use the

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data collected to establish a comprehensive source of the safety 
related data for statistical purposes. With input from subject matter 
experts, BTS will process and analyze information on Safety Data and 
associated metadata, and publish the results of such analyses in public 
reports. These reports will provide the industry, all OCS stakeholders 
and BSEE with essential information about critical safety issues for 
offshore operations and production.
    The BTS Director or Deputy Director will review all analyses and 
reports, and issue approval for publication. While BTS's direct 
involvement will end after the aggregated trends report is published, 
the ISD program may form a committee to address the analytical 
findings.

III. Request for Public Comment

    BTS requests comments on any aspects of this information collection 
request, including: (1) Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and 
clarity of the collected information; and (2) ways to minimize the 
collection burden without reducing the quality of the information 
collected, including additional use of automated collection techniques 
or other forms of information technology.

Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of 
Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2018-09613 Filed 5-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P