Notice2021-22279
Agency Information Collection Activity: Notice of Request for Approval To Continue To Collect Information: Barrier Failure Reporting in Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 18, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentTransportation Statistics Bureau
Abstract
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 continuation of the following information collection: Barrier Failure Reporting in Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). BTS has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BSEE to expand the scope of SafeOCS to include an industry-wide repository of equipment failure data, analyze and aggregate information provided under this program, and publish reports that will provide BSEE, the industry, and all OCS stakeholders with essential information about failure types and modes of critical safety barriers for offshore operations related to well control and safety and pollution prevention.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 198 (Monday, October 18, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 198 (Monday, October 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57744-57745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22279]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
[Docket Number DOT-OST-2017-0043]
Agency Information Collection Activity: Notice of Request for
Approval To Continue To Collect Information: Barrier Failure Reporting
in Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf
AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), U.S.
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 continuation of the
following information collection: Barrier Failure Reporting in Oil and
Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). BTS has entered
into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BSEE to expand the scope
of SafeOCS to include an industry-wide repository of equipment failure
data, analyze and aggregate information provided under this program,
and publish reports that will provide BSEE, the industry, and all OCS
stakeholders with essential information about failure types and modes
of critical safety barriers for offshore operations related to well
control and safety and pollution prevention.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by December 17, 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:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the instructions for sending your
comments electronically. Docket Number: DOT-OST-2017-0043.
<bullet> Mail: Docket Services, U.S. Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
<bullet> Hand Delivery: Deliver to mail address above between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
<bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Identify all transmission 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. Please note
that all comments received, including any personal information, will be
posted and will be publicly viewable, without change, at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0662636b637274672865696a6a6f674662697228616970"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b0f0e060e1f190a4508040707020a2b0f041f450c041d">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 barrier
failure 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 data collection effort that is the
subject of this notice addresses the collection of failure data as
referenced in BSEE regulations at 30 CFR 250.730 (81 FR 25887, April
29, 2016) and 30 CFR 250.803 (81 FR 61834, September 7, 2016). BTS
received permission to start the data collection under an emergency OMB
control number on September 29, 2016. Subsequently, BTS received an OMB
control number that expires November 30, 2021. Through this notice, BTS
is requesting permission to continue this previously approved data
collection. This information collection is necessary to aid BSEE, the
oil and gas industry, and other stakeholders in identifying barrier
failure trends and causes of critical safety barrier failure events.
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 the following BTS information collection
activity:
[[Page 57745]]
Title: Barrier Failure Reporting in Oil and Gas Operations on the
Outer Continental Shelf.
OMB Control Number: 2139-0046.
Type of Review: Approval of data collection. This information
collection is limited to the establishment of BTS as an authorized
repository for the previously approved BSEE information collections
(OMB Control Number 1014-0028, expiration 01/31/2023, and OMB Control
Number 1014-0003, expiration 01/31/2022) in order to ensure the
confidentiality of submissions under CIPSEA.
Respondents: BTS has entered into a MOU with BSEE to facilitate the
collection of information from respondents identified in the BSEE
notices for OMB Control Number 1014-0028 and OMB Control Number 1014-
0003. Responsibility for establishing the actual scope and burden for
this collection resides with BSEE. This BTS information collection
request does not create any additional burden for respondents. For the
purposes of this collection BTS has identified BSEE as the sole
respondent.
Number of Potential Responses: For the purposes of this collection
BTS has identified BSEE as the sole respondent reporting to BTS at the
annual frequency of one.
Estimated Time per Response: 60 minutes.
Frequency: Once.
Total Annual Burden: 1 hour.
Abstract: The Confidential Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018 (Pub. L: 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 into 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 the barrier-related
failure reports required by 30 CFR 250.730 and the Safety and Pollution
Prevention Equipment (SPPE), failure reports required by 30 CFR
250.803, or any other data deemed necessary to administer BSEE's safety
program pertaining to barrier failures under a pledge of
confidentiality for statistical purposes only. BTS has agreed through
an MOU with BSEE to undertake the information collection identified in
the BSEE notice for OMB Control Number 1014-0028 and the BSEE notice
for OMB Control Number 1014-0003 in order to ensure the confidentiality
of submissions under CIPSEA. Since this information collection is
limited to the establishment of BTS as an authorized repository for the
previously approved information collection (OMB Control Number 1014-
0028, expiration for Well Control Equipment (WCE) is 01/31/2023 and OMB
Control Number 1014-0003, expiration for Safety and Pollution
Prevention Equipment (SPPE) is 01/31/2022), this information
collections request does not create any additional burden for
respondents.
II. Background
In July 2016, new BSEE regulations became effective which require,
in part, the reporting of barrier-related failure event and analysis
information (see 81 FR 25887) and reporting of failure event and
analysis information of safety and pollution prevention equipment (see
81 FR 61834). BSEE requested and BTS agreed to expand the scope of
SafeOCS to include reports of equipment failure mandated by BSEE
regulations (see 81 FR 25887). Both BTS and BSEE agree that reports on
equipment failures are considered a type of precursor safety
information and can be included in SafeOCS to provide a means of
identifying industry-wide data trends on barrier failures or potential
for barrier failures. This data collection will provide parties in the
oil and gas industry a trusted means to report sensitive proprietary
and safety information related to equipment failures and to foster
trust in the confidential collection, handling, and storage of the raw
data. BTS will use the data collected to establish a comprehensive
source of barrier-related failure data for statistical purposes. With
input from subject matter experts, BTS will process and analyze
information on equipment failures, and publish results of such analyses
in public reports. Such reports will provide BSEE, the industry, and
all OCS stakeholders with essential information about failure types and
modes of critical safety barriers for offshore operations related to
well control and production safety systems.
BTS will continue to collect failure notices, failure analysis
reports, and design change/modified procedures reports as described in
30 CFR 250.730 and 30 CFR 250.803 submitted by industry operators,
their contractors, original equipment manufacturers, and others
employed in the oil and gas industry; develop an analytical database
using the reported data and other pertinent information; conduct
statistical analyses and develop public reports; and protect the
confidentiality of notices and reports in accordance with BTS' own
statute and CIPSEA. Accordingly, only statistical and non-sensitive
information will be made available through BTS' publications and
reports. Those publications and reports will potentially provide the
industry, BSEE, other OCS stakeholders, and the public with valuable
information regarding precursors to safety risks and contribute to
research and development of intervention programs aimed at preventing
accidents and fatalities in the OCS.
Respondents who report equipment failures will be asked to fill out
a form and submit pertinent supplemental information as described in 30
CFR 250.730, 30 CFR 250.803 and cited industry standards. Respondents
will be asked to submit the report electronically to BTS, and provide
information such as: (1) Name and contact information; (2) time and
location of the failure event; (3) a short description of the failure
event and operating conditions that existed at the time of the event;
(4) contributing factors to the event; (5) results of an investigation
or safety analysis report; (6) any design or procedural changes as a
result of the reported equipment failure; and (7) any other information
that might be useful in determining ways to prevents such failures from
occurring.
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. 2021-22279 Filed 10-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 18, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.