[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7037-7039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3769]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Special Programs Administration
Outer Continental Shelf Pipelines
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Department of the Interior
(DOI), and Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of memorandum of understanding.
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SUMMARY: DOI and DOT have revised a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
on their respective responsibilities for pipelines on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS). The revised MOU will replace an MOU in effect
since May 6, 1976.
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 10, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
L. E. Herrick, Office of Pipeline Safety Regulatory Programs, RSPA;
telephone (202) 366-5523; e-mail l.e.herrick@rspa.dot.gov; or Carl W.
Anderson, Operations Analysis Branch, MMS; telephone (703) 787-1608; e-
mail Carl__Anderson@mms.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 24, 1995, MMS and RSPA published a notice with request for
comments in the Federal Register (60 FR 27546; May 24, 1995). The
notice announced a proposed MOU between the two agencies re-defining
their respective responsibilities for pipelines on the OCS. Over 70
people attended a public meeting in New Orleans on August 1, 1995, to
discuss the proposal. A transcript of this meeting is available through
the agency representatives listed in the ``For Further Information''
section of this notice. The public meeting generated over 100 pages of
transcribed comments from natural gas and petroleum trade
organizations, natural gas and oil exploration and production
companies, transmission companies, offshore construction companies, and
industry consultants. The DOI and DOT received twenty-three written
comments on the Federal Register Notice.
Before the close of the comment period, the American Petroleum
Institute requested a 30-day extension to provide time to convene a
regulated community task team, review the proposal, and prepare a
detailed response. RSPA and MMS responded by extending the comment
period to September 22, 1995 (60 FR 43611; August 22, 1995).
The MOU places, to the greatest extent practicable, producer
operated pipelines under DOI responsibility and transporter operated
pipelines under DOT responsibility. Producers are companies which are
engaged in he extraction and processing of hydrocarbons on the OCS.
Transporters are companies which are engaged in the transportation of
those hydrocarbons. As a result of this revision, some pipelines,
predominantly producer operated pipelines, currently under DOT
responsibility, will be under DOI responsibility.
Each agency will initiate separate public rulemakings which will
reflect the new boundaries. The DOI and DOT will propose that any
changes in requirements for design or construction of pipelines which
result from the transfer of pipelines to another agency's
responsibility not apply to existing pipeline segment until each
operator makes significant repairs or modifications to those segments.
This MOU also establishes an agreement between the two agencies for
DOI to act as agent for DOT in identifying and reporting potential
violations of DOT regulations at offshore platforms on the OCS. As an
agent, DOI may inspect all DOT-regulated pipeline facilities on
production platforms during DOI inspections. DOI may also perform
coordinated DOI/DOT inspections of pipeline facilities on DOT-regulated
platforms. The inspections may include reviewing any operating or
maintenance records or reports that are located at the inspected OCS
platform facility.
Once implemented through regulation, the changes described in the
MOU will substantially reduce the burden of overlapping Federal
jurisdictions and inconsistencies between agency requirements This will
substantially increase the efficiency of governmental resources on the
OCS without compromising safety.
Dated: February 10, 1997.
Richard B. Felder,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
Dated: February 10, 1997.
Carolita U. Kallaur,
Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
The MOU reads as follows:
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of Transportation
and the Department of the Interior, Regarding Outer Continental Shelf
Pipelines
I. Purpose
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes the boundaries
that will be used to delineate the locations over which the Department
of Transportation (DOT), Research and Special Programs Administration
(RSPA), and the Department of the Interior (DOI), Minerals Management
Service (MMS), will exercise their respective regulatory authority over
pipelines located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This MOU
replaces the MOU between DOT and DOI regarding OCS pipelines which was
signed and became effective May 6, 1976, and which terminates as of the
effective date of this MOU.
In recognition of each of the parties' respective regulatory
responsibilities for OCS pipelines, DOI and DOT agree that an MOU is
needed to avoid duplication of regulatory efforts regarding OCS
pipelines, to assure coordination and consultation during the
development and implementation of regulatory requirements, to
facilitate compatible regulatory requirements for all OCS pipelines
whether under DOI or DOT jurisdiction, and to promote safety and
environmental protection on the OCS. This MOU puts, to the greatest
extent practicable, OCS production pipelines under DOI responsibility
and OCS transportation pipelines under DOT responsibility.
II. Authority
DOT has the responsibility for promulgating and enforcing
regulations for the safe and environmentally sound transportation or
gases and hazardous liquids by pipeline. DOT administers the following
laws as they relate to pipelines: (1) the pipeline safety laws (49
U.S.C. 60101 et seq.); (2) the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C.
1501-1524); (3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (33
U.S.C. 1251-1375), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA)
(P.L. 101-380) and implemented under Executive Order (E.O.) 12777; and
(4)
[[Page 7038]]
the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.).
DOI has responsibilities for promulgating and enforcing regulations
for the promotion of safe operations, protection of the environment,
and conservation of the natural resources of the OCS, as that area is
defined in the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). DOI also
has certain responsibilities for granting rights-of-way for the
construction of pipelines and associated facilities on the OCS. DOI
administers the following laws as they related to OCS pipelines: (1)
The OCSLA for the transportation of minerals by pipeline, (2) the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 for oil and gas
production measurement, and (3) the FWPCA, as amended by OPA and
implemented under E.O. 12777.
III. Division of Responsibilities
DOI and DOT agree to the following division of OCS pipeline
regulatory responsibilities with respect to design, construction,
operation, and maintenance regulations for all pipelines on the OCS
pursuant to the statutes cited above.
DOI Responsibilities
1. DOI will establish and enforce design, construction, operation,
and maintenance regulations and investigate significant accidents
pursuant to the OCSLA for all OCS pipelines located upstream of the
point at which operating responsibility transfers from a producing
operator to a transporting operator. Such points shall be fixed and
clearly designated by the operators of the facilities.
2. DOI will perform authorized inspection tasks for OCS pipelines
under DOT responsibility, also described under paragraph 8, ``Joint
Responsibilities,'' as an agent of DOT, under DOT pipeline safety
regulations and enforcement guidelines.
3. DOI will consult with DOT during the development of regulatory
requirements and will send a copy of each draft notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR) concerning OCS pipelines to DOT for review at least 60
days before the NPR is published in the Federal Register.
4. DOI will require all applications concerning pipelines and
pipeline rights-of-way to include a statement concerning which agency
has responsibility for the pipeline. When DOI grants rights-of-way for
pipelines which are under DOT responsibility, DOI will condition its
approval on the pipelines being designed, constructed, operated, and
maintained in compliance with DOT regulations. Upon approval of grants
for right-of-way pipelines under DOT responsibility, DOI will provide
copies of its approval letters to DOT.
5. DOI will allow DOT to use, on a reimbursable basis, DOI-
contracted helicopters for the inspection of OCS pipelines, subject to
helicopter availability.
6. For pipelines under DOT responsibility, DOI will report to DOT
in writing any apparent violation of DOT regulations that is identified
during the course of DOI inspections.
DOT Responsibilities
1. DOT will establish and enforce design, construction, operation,
and maintenance regulations and investigate significant accidents for
all OCS transportation pipelines beginning downstream of the point at
which operating responsibility transfers from a producing operator to a
transporting operator. Such points shall be fixed and clearly
designated by the operators of the facilities.
2. DOT delegates authorized inspection tasks for OCS pipelines
under DOT responsibility to DOI, also described under paragraph 8,
``Joint Responsibilities,'' as an agent of DOT, under DOT pipeline
safety regulations and enforcement guidelines.
3. DOT will consult with DOI during the development of regulatory
requirements and will send a copy of each draft NPR concerning OCS
pipelines to DOI for review at least 60 days before the NPR is
published in the Federal Register.
4. For pipelines under DOI regulatory authority, DOT will report to
DOI in writing any apparent violation of DOI regulations that is
identified during the course of DOT inspections.
Joint Responsibilities
1. DOI and DOT will consult and coordinate all of their respective
rulemaking efforts affecting OCS pipelines. Supporting regulatory
analyses (e.g., Determinations of Effects of Rules, Regulatory Impact
Analyses, and information collection burdens, etc.) will also be
coordinated, although the analyses will be appropriate for each agency
and the industry segments it regulates.
2. DOI and DOT will coordinate all of their respective research and
development projects concerning OCS pipelines.
3. DOI and DOT may perform joint inspections of pipeline segments
and facilities where either has jurisdiction, particularly when there
are potential safety impacts from one facility on another.
4. DOI and DOT may perform joint or independent investigations of
accidents involving OCS pipeline segments where either has
jurisdiction.
5. DOI and DOT will each provide the other agency with any final
rule, notice, agreement, or MOU with any Federal or State agency
concerning OCS pipelines.
6. At least once every 3 calendar years, DOI and DOT will jointly
review existing standards, regulations, orders, operating practices,
and environmental and safety issues concerning OCS pipelines.
7. DOI and DOT may, through their enforcement agencies and in
consultation with the affected parties, agree to exceptions to this MOU
on a facility by facility or area by area basis. Operators may also
petition DOI and DOT for exceptions to this MOU.
8. DOI is authorized by DOT to perform coordinated OCS platform
inspection tasks for pipelines under DOT responsibility. DOI will
advise pipeline operators and DOT of inspection findings and will refer
all cases of apparent noncompliance with DOT regulations to DOT.
IV. Implementation
1. Within 120 days of the signing of this MOU, DOI and DOT will
develop and initiate a joint implementation plan and rulemakings. The
plan will also establish the procedures under which the point of
demarcation at each facility will be fixed, marked, and reported.
2. Thereafter, DOI and DOT will meet periodically to review and
update the joint implementation plan and to review this MOU for any
needed revisions.
3. The respective points of contact for the provisions of this MOU
are:
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety, Research and Special
Programs Administration, Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street,
SW., Washington, D.C. 20590
Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management, Minerals
Management Service, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW.,
Washington, D.C. 20240
V. Limitations
1. Nothing in this MOU is intended to alter, limit, or expand the
statutory or regulatory authority of DOT or DOI until implementing
regulations are adopted.
2. Nothing in this MOU limits informal consultations not otherwise
mentioned in this agreement.
3. Nothing in this MOU relieves an OCS pipeline owner or operator
from complying with the regulations of any State of Federal agency.
4. Under a separate MOU among DOI, DOT, and the U.S. Environmental
[[Page 7039]]
Protection Agency pursuant to the OPA, the agencies have divided their
respective responsibilities for oil spill prevention and response
according to the definition of ``coast line'' contained in the
Submerged Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1301(c) (59 FR 9494-9495). Nothing
herein is intended to affect the implementation or administration of
that MOU.
VI. Modification
Either party to this agreement may propose modifications by
submitting them in writing to the head of the other Department. No
modification may be adopted except with the consent of both parties.
Both parties shall indicate their consent to or disagreement with any
proposed modification within 60 days of receipt. Upon the request of
either party, representatives of both parties shall meet for the
purpose of considering modifications to this agreement.
VII. Termination
This MOU may be terminated by either party upon 60-day written
notice to the other party.
VIII. Administration
This MOU will be administered by DOI's Minerals Management Service
and DOT's Research and Special Programs Administration or such
successor agencies as may be designated by the respective Secretaries.
IX. Effective Date
This MOU is effective upon acceptance by both parties as indicated
by the signatures below.
Dated: December 10, 1996.
Department of the Interior.
Bruce Babbitt,
Secretary.
Dated: December 10, 1996.
Department of Transportation
Federico Pena,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-3769 Filed 2-13-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-M
