Agency Information Collection Activity: Notice of Request for Approval To Continue To Collect Information: Oil and Gas Industry Safety Data Program, 58391-58393 [2021-22280]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 201 / Thursday, October 21, 2021 / Notices
nathan.schoenkin@dot.gov regarding
any possible changes.
PHMSA invites public participation
and public comment on the topics
addressed in this public meeting and
forum. Please review the ADDRESSES
section of this notice for information on
how to submit written comments.
Issued in Washington, DC, on October 15,
2021, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2021–22913 Filed 10–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
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
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.
AGENCY:
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.
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Oct 20, 2021
Jkt 256001
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
https://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 selfaddressed, 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: demetra.collia@dot.gov.
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
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00145
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58391
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.
E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM
21OCN1
58392
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 201 / Thursday, October 21, 2021 / Notices
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
115–435 Foundations for EvidenceBased 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 nondisclosure 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Oct 20, 2021
Jkt 256001
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
PO 00000
Frm 00146
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM
21OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 201 / Thursday, October 21, 2021 / Notices
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
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Record of Decision for the Proposed
Construction and Operation of a
Currency Production Facility Within
the National Capital Region
Bureau of Engraving and
Printing, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of the
Treasury (Treasury), Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP) announces
the availability of the Record of
Decision (ROD) for the proposed
construction and operation of a
Currency Production Facility (CPF)
within the National Capital Region
(NCR) (Proposed Action). Treasury
previously published its Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Proposed Action on June 4, 2021.
In accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
ROD identifies all alternatives Treasury
considered for the Proposed Action,
identifies the environmentally
preferable alternative, states Treasury’s
decision to implement the Preferred
Alternative, and discusses factors
balanced by the agency in making its
decision. The ROD also adopts all
practicable mitigation measures to avoid
or minimize environmental harm and
commits to monitoring their
implementation. The Proposed Action
will replace Treasury’s insufficient
Washington, DC production facility (DC
Facility), and will provide Treasury
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Oct 20, 2021
Jkt 256001
with a modern, scalable, sufficiently
sized production facility within the
NCR that meets Treasury’s needs.
Treasury has also signed a Finding of
No Practicable Alternative (FONPA)
addressing potential impacts on
wetlands Executive Order 11990,
Protection of Wetlands.
DATES: Treasury’s Acting Assistant
Secretary for Management signed the
ROD on October 8, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
ROD, Final EIS, FONPA, and other
related materials are available on the
project website at https://
www.nab.usace.army.mil/home/bepreplacement-project. If you cannot
access the materials online, you may
request hard copies of the materials via
the methods identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this NOA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please contact Mr. Harvey Johnson,
USACE—Baltimore, Programs and
Project Management Division: (1) By
email to: BEP-EIS@usace.army.mil; (2)
by phone at: (410) 977–6733; or (3) by
mail to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Baltimore District, ATTN: Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP) Project
EIS, Michael Schuster, Planning
Division, 2 Hopkins Plaza, 10th Floor,
Baltimore, MD 21201.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BEP’s
mission includes manufacturing U.S.
currency notes; research, development,
testing, and evaluation of counterfeit
deterrents; and development of
production automation technologies.
Treasury currently operates two
production facilities for this purpose:
The DC Facility and a facility in Fort
Worth, Texas. The DC Facility has been
in operation for more than 100 years
and is neither able to support modern
currency production nor able to support
Treasury’s, and specifically the BEP’s,
current and future mission.
Within the DC Facility, manufacturing
processes are inefficient and inflexible.
The DC Facility’s configuration poses
safety risks to staff, and the downtown
location of the DC Facility prevents
Treasury from complying with physical
security standards. The condition,
configuration, and location of the DC
Facility severely limit Treasury’s ability
to modernize the DC Facility through
renovation, rendering modernization of
existing facilities an untenable longterm solution.
Over the past 20 years, Treasury has
considered several scenarios to address
the inadequacy of its current facilities in
the NCR, including renovation of the DC
Facility and new construction within
the NCR. Treasury concluded that
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58393
construction of a new replacement CPF,
as opposed to renovation of the DC
Facility, was the most efficient and costeffective option. As such, Treasury, on
behalf of the BEP, proposed to construct
and operate a new CPF within the NCR
to replace its existing DC Facility. The
Proposed Action will provide Treasury
with a modern, scalable, sufficiently
sized production facility, resulting in
more efficient, streamlined currency
production, while allowing Treasury to
maintain its presence within the NCR.
Treasury’s Final EIS analyzed the
potential environmental, cultural, and
socioeconomic impacts associated with
the Proposed Action, including
cumulative effects. Minimization of
adverse effects through avoidance and
environmentally sensitive design will be
used to avoid impacts to sensitive
resources to the maximum extent
practicable. Where these efforts are not
sufficient to avoid adverse effects, the
Final EIS identified additional
mitigation measures that Treasury may
implement to further reduce identified
adverse impacts. The ROD identifies the
mitigation measures that Treasury
formally commits to implement and
monitor.
In support of the EIS, Treasury, with
assistance from USACE, conducted sitespecific studies in accordance with
federal and state requirements, such as
Sections 404/401 of the Clean Water Act
(CWA) and Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
As part of the planning process,
Treasury gathered data on numerous
potential sites in the NCR that had the
potential to support Treasury’s initial
minimum criteria for construction of a
new CPF. Treasury evaluated each
potential site against various screening
criteria to identify reasonable
alternatives. Following an extensive and
thorough screening process, Treasury
identified one reasonable Action
Alternative (the Preferred Alternative)
that would meet the purpose of and
need for the Proposed Action. This
Preferred Alternative is summarized
below and analyzed in detail in the
Final EIS.
Preferred Alternative: Beltsville
Agricultural Research Center (BARC)
200 Area—Former Poultry Research
Area
This alternative includes a 104.2-acre
parcel of land located in BARC’s Central
Farm in the 200 Area building cluster
(Treasury’s proposed parcel). The parcel
is located in Prince George’s County,
Maryland, between Odell Road to the
north and Powder Mill Road to the
south; Poultry Road runs north to south
through the parcel. The parcel, generally
E:\FR\FM\21OCN1.SGM
21OCN1
]]>Agencies
[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 https://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
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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
