Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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BSEE
BSEE HOSTS OIL SPILL PREPAREDNESS PROCEDURES WORKSHOP IN GULF OF MEXICO
REGION
07/31/2015
BSEE Federal Regulations
BSEE staff in the Oil Spill Preparedness Division (OSPD) led a workshop July 30 for the
offshore oil and gas industry community at the Gulf of Mexico regional office in New Orleans.
The workshop, with an attendance of 90, focused on the new Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs) for activities involving offshore oil spill response planning and preparation.
BSEE preparedness analysts explained the SOPS and answered questions pertaining to federal
regulations found in 30 CFR 254. This is the first workshop open to operators, contractors,
and the public since the new SOPs took effect. Workshop attendees also discussed
submission of oil spill response plans, spill response training and exercises, and equipment
preparedness.
The new SOPs were developed to strengthen uniformity and consistency in BSEE’s oil spill
preparedness activities throughout the nation. The OSPD Manual including the SOPs can be
viewed and downloaded here.
BSEE Participates in SEMS Forum
07/30/2015
HOUSTON – Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) SEMS Section Chief
Stan Kaczmarek delivered a presentation at the Ocean Energy Safety Institute’s (OESI) forum
“Taking SEMS to the Next Level,” held July 29 at the University of Houston.
OESI convened the forum to facilitate dialogue between industry, academia, regulators, and
non-governmental organizations about the future of SEMS, inviting presenters and
facilitators from various organizations to speak. BSEE took this opportunity to further engage
with stakeholders regarding their SEMS concerns and suggestions for improving regulations
as the oil and gas industry embarks on ventures with new technical and organizational
challenges.
http://www.bsee.gov/uploadedFiles/BSEE/A
bout_BSEE/Divisions/OSPD/BSEE%20OSPD
%20ManualRev1.pdf
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August, 2015
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The agency will review OESI’s published report on the “Taking SEMS to the Next Level” forum
in its continued effort to improve the SEMS program and ensure that effective safety
measures play an essential role in the culture of all OCS operators.
To view the slides from Mr. Kaczmarek’s presentation, please click here.
For additional information on the SEMS Program, please click here.
BSEE Releases Updated Notice To Lessees During Hurricane Season
07/27/2015
NEW ORLEANS - BSEE is providing updated guidance for the current and future hurricane
seasons through a Notice to Lessees (NTL) released July 27, 2015. NTL 2015-G02 clarifies
reporting requirements related to personnel evacuation, production curtailment, and shut-in
activity. These reports are received and processed within BSEE’s hurricane response team
and is required to help mitigate risks associated with hurricanes and tropical storms on the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Offshore oil and gas operators determine when to activate their severe weather plans for
their drilling rigs and production platforms. Once activated, operators are required to report
daily to BSEE’s hurricane response team. Reporting and monitoring continues during these
storms and until operations return to normal following the severe weather. Through an
interagency collaboration, US Coast Guard is embedded within BSEE’s hurricane response
team to better coordinate response activities should they be required.
http://www.bsee.gov/uploadedFiles/BSEE/B
SEE_Newsroom/Speeches/2015/OESI%20Fo
rum%20July%202015%20%20BSEE%20Slides.pdf
http://www.bsee.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Safety-and-EnvironmentalManagement-Systems---SEMS/Safety-andEnvironmental-Management-Systems--SEMS/
http://www.bsee.gov/uploadedFiles/BSEE/R
egulations_and_Guidance/Notices_to_Lessee
s/2015/NTL2015-G02.pdf
Current reporting requirements spelled out in 30 CFR 250.192 including: preparations for
hurricanes, tropical storms, and severe weather, and reporting requirements can be found
here along with more about how BSEE’s hurricane response team operates.
Notices To Lessees and Operators
Notices To Lessees & Operators
Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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OSHA
David Dykes – Committee contact
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Updated comprehensive guide to OSHA training requirements now available
OSHA has posted a fully updated version of its guide to
all agency training requirements to help employers,
safety and health professionals, training directors and
others comply with the law and keep workers safe.
Training Requirements in OSHA Standards* organizes
the training requirements into five categories: General
Industry, Maritime, Construction, Agriculture and
Federal Employee Programs.
Internet Link
Training Requirements in OSHA Standards*
The safety and health training requirements in OSHA
standards have prevented countless workplace
tragedies by ensuring that workers have the required
skills and knowledge to safely do their work. These
requirements reflect OSHA's belief that training is an essential part of every employer's safety
and health program for protecting workers from injuries and illnesses. For a list of
educational materials available from OSHA, please visit the Publications webpage
OSHA provides guidance to compliance officers for enforcing the revised Hazard
Communication standard
OSHA has issued instructions to compliance safety and health officers on how to ensure
consistent enforcement of the revised Hazard Communication standard*. This instruction
outlines the revisions to the standard, such as the revised hazard classification of chemicals,
standardizing label elements for containers of hazardous chemicals, and specifying the
format and required content for safety data sheets. It explains how the revised standard is to
be enforced during its transition period and after the standard is fully implemented on June
Hazard Communication Standard
Hazard Communication Instructions
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August, 2015
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1, 2016.
OSHA revised the standard in March 2012 to align with the United Nations Globally
Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. The revised standard
improves the quality, consistency and clarity of chemical hazard information that workers
receive.
Under the standard, employers were required to train workers on the new label elements
and safety data sheets by Dec. 1, 2013. Chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors
had to comply with revised safety data sheet requirements by June 1, 2015. Manufacturers
and importers had to comply with new labeling provisions by June 1, 2015. Distributors have
until Dec. 1, 2015, to comply with labeling provisions as long as they are not relabeling
materials or creating safety data sheets, in which case they must comply with the June 1
deadline.
Additional information on the revised Hazard Communication Standard may be found on
OSHA's Hazard Communication Safety and Health Topics page.
Hazard Communication Safety & Health Topics
OSHA issues proposed rulemaking clarifying the ongoing obligation to make and maintain
accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses
OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the July 29 Federal Register that clarifies
an employer's continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each
recordable injury and illness throughout the five-year period during which the employer is
required to keep the records.
"Accurate records are not simply paperwork, but have an important, in fact life-saving
purpose," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David
Michaels. "They will enable employers, employees, researchers and the government to
identify and eliminate the most serious workplace hazards - ones that have already caused
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-0729/pdf/2015-18003.pdf
Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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injuries and illnesses to occur."
OSHA issued this proposed rule to clarify the agency's long-standing position that the duty to
record an injury or illness continues for as long as the employer must keep records of the
recordable injury or illness. The proposed amendments add no new compliance obligations;
the proposal would not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for
which records are not already required.
Members of the public can submit written comments on the proposed rule at
www.regulations.gov, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Comments must be submitted by
Sept. 27. See the Federal Register notice for submission details.
OSHA Quicktakes Newsletter
https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/in
dex.html
DOT
PHMSA
-
PHMSA Issues Pipeline Damage Prevention Programs Final Rule
New rule establishes review criteria for State excavation damage prevention law enforcement
programs
July 13, 2015
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/nprmanprm/PHMSA-2009-0192
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced the issuance of a final rule to establish the
process for evaluating State excavation damage prevention programs and enforcing Federal
standards in States where such requirements are inadequate or do not exist.
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDet
ail;D=PHMSA-2009-0192-0245
"Excavation damage is a leading cause of serious pipeline incidents that cause death, injuries
Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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and property damage," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "The rule
strengthens our ability to take enforcement action against those who violate pipeline
damage prevention requirements, and to address one of the greatest threats to pipeline
safety."
Congress authorized the DOT to take this action under the Pipeline Inspection, Protection,
Enforcement and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2006. The final rule amends the Federal pipeline safety
regulations to establish the following:
 The criteria and procedures PHMSA will use to determine the adequacy of State
pipeline excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs;
 The administrative process for States to contest notices of inadequacy from PHMSA
should they elect to do so;
 The Federal requirements PHMSA will enforce against excavators for violations in
States with inadequate excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs;
and
 The adjudication process for administrative enforcement proceedings against
excavators where Federal authority is exercised.
"Between 1988 and 2014, there were 1,815 pipeline incidents caused by excavation damage
that resulted in 193 deaths, 757 injuries and nearly $545 million in property damage," said
PHMSA Interim Executive Director Stacy Cummings. "This rule represents a critical
achievement in the Department’s continuing efforts to prevent excavation damage to
pipelines."
The PIPES Act of 2006 directed PHMSA to develop criteria for evaluating the adequacy of
State damage prevention laws, and authorized PHMSA to take civil enforcement action
against excavators who violate safety requirements. PHMSA published an Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking on the excavation damage rule in 2009 and a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking in 2012.
PHMSA has undertaken a variety of efforts over many years to reduce excavation damage to
pipelines. These efforts include performing studies, advocacy, grant making, rulemaking, and
partnership with a wide spectrum of excavation damage prevention stakeholders.
Internet Link
http://www.regulations.gov/contentStreame
r?documentId=PHMSA-2009-01920245&disposition=attachment&contentType
=pdf
Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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Pipeline Safety: Risk Modeling Methodologies Public Workshop
Action - Call For Abstracts; Preliminary Notice Of Public Workshop.
Summary
This preliminary notice is to announce a public workshop to advance risk modeling
methodologies of gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines and non-pipeline systems.
This workshop will bring industry, Federal and state regulators, interested members of the
public, and other stakeholders together to share knowledge and experience on risk modelling
within the pipeline industry and other fields, ways to advance pipeline risk models, and
practical ways that operators can adopt and/or adapt them to the analyses of their systems.
Additionally, through this notice, and in preparation for this public meeting, we are inviting
abstracts on relevant engineering and technical modeling considerations related to advancing
pipeline risk models, and risk modeling methodologies used in other non-pipeline
applications. PHMSA recognizes that other industries may offer potential ideas and solutions
to risk modelling that are applicable to pipelines and therefore encourages participation in
the solicitation from outside of the pipeline industry and outside of industrial applications.
Each author of an accepted abstract will be invited to make a short presentation at the
workshop.
DATES:
The public workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2015, and Thursday,
September 10, 2015, times TBD. To be considered for presentation at the upcoming
workshop, authors must submit abstracts to the docket PHMSA-2015-0139 and email
Kenneth Lee at Kenneth.lee@dot.gov by July 15, 2015.
ADDRESSES:
Washington, DC Metro area—venue TBD.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-0702/pdf/2015-16265.pdf
Regulatory Affairs Report
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Comments: To be considered for presentation at the upcoming workshop, authors must
submit abstracts to the docket PHMSA-2015-0139 and email Kenneth Lee at
Kenneth.lee@dot.gov by July 15, 2015. PHMSA will notify authors by email by July 31, 2015,
whether their abstracts were accepted for presentation. Each author of an accepted abstract
will be invited tomake a short presentation at the workshop.
Members of the public may also submit written comments either before or after the
workshop. Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA-2015-0139. Comments may be
submitted in the following ways:
 E-Gov Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. This site allows the public to enter
comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any agency. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
 Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
 Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
 Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12-140, on the ground
floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC between
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Show citation box
Instructions: Identify the docket number at the beginning of your comments. If you submit
your comments by mail, submit two copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA
has received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet users may
submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov.
PHMSA Releases Operator Qualification, Cost Recovery and Accident Notification
Regulatory Proposal
Proposal package requires faster notification following pipeline accidents, other important
regulatory adjustments and updates.
July 1, 2015
PHMSA is proposing amendments to the pipeline safety regulations to address Sections 9 and
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-0710/pdf/2015-16264.pdf
Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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David Dykes – Committee contact
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13 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (2011 Act), and
to update and clarify certain regulatory requirements. Among other provisions, PHMSA is
proposing to add a specific time frame for telephonic or electronic notifications of accidents
and incidents and add provisions for cost recovery for design reviews of certain new projects,
for the renewal of expiring special permits, and for submitters of information to request
PHMSA keep the information confidential. We are also proposing changes to the operator
qualification (OQ) requirements and drug and alcohol testing requirements and incorporating
consensus standards by reference for in-line inspection (ILI) and Stress Corrosion Cracking
Direct Assessment (SCCDA) in Part 195.
The proposed rule would require pipeline operators to notify the National Response Center
(NRC) of a pipeline release at the earliest practicable moment following the confirmed
discovery of an accident or incident involving natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, but
not later than one hour following confirmed discovery.
In addition to establishing time limits for pipeline failure notifications, the rulemaking
proposal addresses Section 13 of the Pipeline Safety Act, which allows PHMSA to recover
costs for pipeline design reviews, as well as several National Transportation Safety Board
Recommendations related to operator qualification programs, personnel training, drug and
alcohol testing and acceptable methods for assessing crack defects in pipelines.
Currently, Federal regulations do not specify a time limit for notification after a pipeline
release, but requires pipeline operators to notify the NRC at the earliest practicable moment
once a release is discovered. Section nine of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and
Job Creation Act of 2011 directed PHMSA to revise Federal Pipeline Safety regulations to
establish time limits for the telephonic notification of pipeline releases to the NRC. PHMSA
has advised operators in the past that the earliest practicable opportunity usually means oneto-two hours after the discovery of the incident. The rulemaking proposal issued today
further establishes an enforceable time limit for pipeline failure notifications and adds to
PHMSA’s January 30, 2013 Advisory Bulletin, in which the agency advised pipeline operators
to contact the NRC within one hour of discovery of a pipeline incident. The rule also clarifies
the practical meaning of confirmed discovery to when there is sufficient information to
determine that a reportable event has occurred, even if an evaluation has not been
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Regulatory Affairs Report
August, 2015
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completed.
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985-773-6213 email: daviddykes@chevron.com
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