[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 201 (Thursday, October 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58391-58393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22280]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

[Docket Number DOT-OST-XXX-XXXX]


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

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

ACTION: Notice of request to continue to collect.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of BTS to request the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the data collection 
for: 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.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by December 20, 2021.

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 eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically. Docket Number: DOT-OST-XXXX-XXXX.
     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 transmission with ``Docket Number DOT-OST-XXXX-XXXX'' 
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-XXXX-XXXX.'' The Docket Clerk will date stamp the 
postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. mail. 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 (Volume 
65, Number 70; pages 19477-78) or you may review the Privacy Act 
Statement at 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 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), Public 
Law 115-435, Title III, Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act 
of 2018.
    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: 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, analyze and aggregate information given under this program, 
and publish reports providing identification of potential causal 
factors and trends or patterns before safety is compromised, and 
affording continuous improvement by focusing on repairing impediments 
to safety.

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 continue to collect the following new data:
    Title: Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data (ISD) Program.
    OMB Control Number: XXXX-XXXX.
    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: 30.
    Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.
    Frequency: Bi-annual.
    Total Annual Burden: 480 hours.
    Abstract: The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018 (Pub. L.

[[Page 58392]]

115-435 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, Title 
III), 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 
to promote a culture of safety, and 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 and training 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 the 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 conducted an Industry Safety Data (ISD) program pilot, in 2017-
2018 with data from 2014 through 2017 with representatives from nine 
companies, which included seven operators, one drilling contractor and 
one service company. Within this program, all companies working in the 
Gulf of Mexico (GOM) joining the ISD would submit data for safety 
events occurring after January 1, 2018. During the pilot, a Phase I 
Planning Team, formed by BTS, consisted of representatives from the 
pilot companies working in the GOM who expressed interest in 
participating as early implementers for the suggesting enhancements to 
the SafeOCS program. This team discussed the type of data that should 
be submitted to ensure the data captured has appropriate learning 
value. The scope of data reported includes incidents, near misses, stop 
work events, and associated metadata for the period 2014 through 2017. 
The aggregated data was reviewed and analyzed, and the results were 
shared with the public in a report was released in 2019.
    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 include:
     Continue efforts to build and maintain a central 
repository for collection, collaboration, and sharing of learnings of 
safety-related data,
     Identifying the type of data that will provide valuable 
information,
     Gaining alignment on incident and indicator definitions,
     Continuing to maintain 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
     Setting up 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 aggregation and review, 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 are 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 provides 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 uses the data collected to build a comprehensive source of 
safety related data for statistical purposes. With input from subject 
matter experts, information on incidents, near misses, stop work 
events, and associated metadata are analyzed, and results of such 
analyses are published. These reports provide the industry, all OCS 
stakeholders, and BSEE with essential information about critical safety 
issues for offshore operations and production.
    BTS will also establish a Disclosure Review Board to review reports 
and other data products produced by the Data Review Team in accordance 
with CIPSEA disclosure requirements, with expected compliance 
principles and practices of a statistical agency. A senior level review 
of reports prior to publication will be conducted by a Senior Review 
Board, that may include representatives from key government agencies, 
wherein all members of this review board are designated as Agents under 
CIPSEA. The BTS Director or Deputy Director will review all analyses 
and reports, and issue approval for publication. While BTS's direct

[[Page 58393]]

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.

Demetra V. Collia,
Director, Office of Safety Data and Analysis, Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and 
Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2021-22280 Filed 10-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P