[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59451-59453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21271]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

[OMB Control Number 1010-0106; Docket ID BOEM-2017-0016]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Oil Spill Financial 
Responsibility

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing to renew an 
information collection request (ICR) with revisions.

DATES: Comments must be received by October 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your written comments on this ICR to the Office of 
Management and Budget's desk officer for the Department of the Interior 
at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain within 30 days of publication of 
this notice. From the www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain landing page, 
find this information collection by selecting ``Currently under 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Please provide a copy of your comments by parcel delivery to the BOEM 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Anna Atkinson, Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166; 
or by email to [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control 
Number 1010-0106 in the subject line of your comments. You may also 
comment by searching the docket number BOEM-2017-0016 at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Atkinson by email at 
[email protected] or by telephone at 703-787-1025. Individuals in 
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, BOEM provides the general public and other Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps BOEM assess the 
impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the 
public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand BOEM's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format.
    Title of Collection: 30 CFR part 553, ``Oil Spill Financial 
Responsibility for Offshore Facilities.''
    Abstract: This ICR concerns the paperwork requirements in 30 CFR 
part 553 and forms BOEM-1016 through -1023 and BOEM-1025. This ICR also 
includes paperwork requirements found in any supplementary notices to 
lessees and operators that provide clarification, description, or 
explanation of these regulations.
    BOEM uses forms to collect information to ensure proper and 
efficient administration of its oil spill financial responsibility 
requirements. BOEM collects information to:
     Provide a standard method for establishing whether a party 
is required to demonstrate oil spill financial responsibility for 
offshore facilities;
     Identify and maintain a record of those offshore 
facilities that have a potential oil spill liability requiring the 
demonstration of oil spill financial responsibility;
     Establish and maintain a continuous record of evidence of 
oil spill financial responsibility to assure payment of claims for oil 
spill cleanup and damages resulting from operations conducted on 
covered offshore facilities and from the transportation of oil from 
covered offshore facilities;
     Establish and maintain a continuous record of responsible 
parties, as defined in title I of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and 
their agents or authorized representatives for oil spill financial 
responsibility for covered offshore facilities; and
     Establish and maintain a continuous record of persons to 
contact and U.S. agents for service of process for claims associated 
with oil spills from covered offshore facilities.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0106.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Designated applicants and holders of 
leases, permits, right-of-way grants, and right-of-use and easement 
grants on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and in State coastal waters 
who are responsible parties. Other respondents may be designated 
applicants' insurance agents and brokers, bonding companies, and 
guarantors. Some respondents may also be claimants.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 2,233 responses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 34,695 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion or annual.
    Total Estimated Annual Non-Hour Burden Cost: There is no non-hour 
cost burden associated with this collection.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The current 
annual burden for this collection is 22,133 hours. BOEM proposes to 
increase the annual burden to 34,695 hours to account for changes in 
industry operations due to COVID and remote work. As COVID restrictions 
ease and OCS energy companies resume production, BOEM expects an 
increase in the annual number of respondents as those companies re-
establish oil spill financial coverage. This increase is attributable 
to the continued use of remote work practices developed during the 
pandemic by those companies.
    Remote work led to changes in how industry reviews and processes 
required documents. Prior to COVID, in-person meetings with a group of 
reviewers were held to complete the task quickly and efficiently. Now 
with many employees working from home, document preparation, review, 
and editing take longer as the documents move through several 
individual reviewers. Through its outreach efforts, BOEM received this 
feedback from industry. Therefore, BOEM is increasing hour burdens to 
account for the additional review and editing time. This increase in 
respondents and burden hours may be temporary and will be revisited by 
BOEM during future reviews of this control number.

[[Page 59452]]

    The following table details the hour burden estimates of this ICR. 
In the table, the term ``oil spill financial responsibility'' has been 
shortened to ``OSFR.''

                                                Burden Breakdown
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average number
       Citation 30 CFR part 553          Reporting requirement *    Hour burden      of annual     Annual burden
                                                                                     reponses          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Various sections......................  The burdens for all references to submitting evidence of               0
                                         OSFR, as well as required or supporting information,
                                         are covered with the forms below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Applicability and Amount of OSFR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11(a)(1); 40; 41......................  Form BOEM-1016--                       3             250             750
                                         Designated Applicant
                                         Information
                                         Certification.
11(a)(1); 40; 41......................  Form BOEM-1017--                      10             750           7,500
                                         Appointment of
                                         Designated Applicant.
11(a)(1); (2).........................  Form BOEM-1025--                       2             200             400
                                         Independent Designated
                                         Applicant Information
                                         Certification.
12, 45................................  Request for                            2               5              10
                                         determination of OSFR
                                         applicability. Provide
                                         required and supporting
                                         information.
15....................................  Notify BOEM of change in               1               1               1
                                         ability to comply.
15(f).................................  Provide claimant written               1              15              15
                                         explanation of denial.
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Subtotal..........................  ........................  ..............           1,221           8,676
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Methods for Demonstrating OSFR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21-28; 40.............................  Form BOEM-1018--Self-                  3              50             150
                                         Insurance Information,
                                         including renewals.
30; 40; 41; 43........................  Form BOEM-1023--                       2              50             100
                                         Financial Guarantee.
29; 40; 41; 43........................  Form BOEM-1019--                     120             150          18,000
                                         Insurance Certificate.
31; 40; 41; 43........................  Form BOEM-1020--Surety                24               4              96
                                         Bond.
32....................................  Proposal and supporting              120               1             120
                                         information for
                                         alternative method to
                                         evidence OSFR
                                         (anticipate no
                                         proposals, but
                                         regulations provide the
                                         opportunity).
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Subtotal..........................  ........................  ..............             255          18,466
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                                  Requirements for Submitting OSFR Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14; 40; 41; 43........................  Form BOEM-1021--Covered               10             255           2,550
                                         Offshore Facilities.
40-42.................................  Form BOEM-1022--Covered               10             500           5,000
                                         Offshore Facility
                                         Changes.
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Subtotal..........................  ........................  ..............             755           7,550
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                                 Claims for Oil-Spill Removal Costs and Damages
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subpart F.............................  Claims: BOEM is not involved in the claims process.                    0
                                         Assessment of burden for claims against the Oil Spill
                                         Liability Trust Fund (33 CFR parts 135, 136, 137) falls
                                         under the responsibility of the U.S. Coast Guard.
                                       ----------------------------------------------------------
60(d).................................  Claimant request for                   2               1               2
                                         BOEM assistance to
                                         determine whether a
                                         guarantor may be liable
                                         for a claim.
62....................................  Within 15-calendar days                1               1               1
                                         of claim, designated
                                         applicant must notify
                                         the guarantor and
                                         responsible parties of
                                         the claim.
    Subtotal..........................  ........................               2  ..............               3
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Total Burden..................  ........................  ..............           2,233          34,695
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* In the future, BOEM may require electronic filing of financial and bonding submissions.

    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period on 
this proposed ICR was published on April 11, 2022 (87 FR 21133). BOEM 
did not receive any comments during the 60-day comment period.
    BOEM is again soliciting comments on the proposed ICR. BOEM is 
especially interested in public comments addressing the following 
issues: (1) is the collection necessary to the proper functions of 
BOEM; (2) what can BOEM do to ensure that this information is processed 
and used in a timely manner; (3) is the burden estimate accurate; (4) 
how might BOEM enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (5) how might BOEM minimize the burden 
of this collection on the respondents, including minimizing the burden 
through the use of information technology?

[[Page 59453]]

    Comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. You should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your address, phone number, email address, or other personally 
identifiable information included in your comment--may be made publicly 
available. Even if BOEM withholds your information in the context of 
this ICR, your comment is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA). If your comment is requested under the FOIA, your information 
will only be withheld if BOEM determines that a FOIA exemption to 
disclosure applies. BOEM will make such a determination in accordance 
with the Department of the Interior's (DOI) FOIA regulations and 
applicable law.
    In order for BOEM to consider withholding from disclosure your 
personally identifiable information, you must identify, in a cover 
letter, any information contained in your comments that, if released, 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your personal 
privacy. You must also briefly describe any possible harmful 
consequence of the disclosure of information, such as embarrassment, 
injury, or other harm.
    Note that BOEM will make available for public inspection all 
comments on www.reginfo.gov, in their entirety, submitted by 
organizations and businesses or by individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives of organizations or businesses.
    BOEM protects proprietary information in accordance with FOIA (5 
U.S.C. 552), DOI's implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2), and 30 CFR 
parts 550 and 552 promulgated pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1352(c)).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid 
OMB control number.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Karen Thundiyil,
Chief, Office of Regulations, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2022-21271 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P