NTL 2020-P01 Contact with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region Offices During and Outside Regular Work Hours

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT PACIFIC OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REGION

NTL No. 2020-P01 Effective Date: May 13, 2020

NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR LEASES AND PIPELINE RIGHT-OF-WAY HOLDERS IN THE PACIFIC OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REGION

Contact with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region Offices During and Outside Regular Work Hours

This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and supersedes NTL No. 2018-P01.

Introduction

The regulations at 30 CFR parts 250 and 254 require you to obtain various drilling, production, pipeline, and flare/vent approvals from, and to make notifications to, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region (POCSR). The purpose of this NTL is to describe the procedures you should use to fulfill these requirements when you contact, at times during and outside regular office hours: the Regional Supervisor, Office of Field Operations (OFO) regarding drilling or production activities; the Regional Supervisor, Office of Strategic Operations (OSO) for pipeline and structural related issues; and the Regional Supervisor, Office of Production and Development (OPD) for flaring and venting and production measurement requests.

Office Hours Information

Regular office hours for the BSEE POCSR are 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Outside these office hours, direct all urgent telephone calls to the cellular telephone number listed below for the appropriate Office.

Outside Office Hours Contact Information

The table below lists the regular mail and email addresses, as well as office and after-hours cellular telephone numbers, for the Regional Supervisors of OFO, OSO, and OPD. Regional BSEE engineering personnel are assigned to respond after-hours and will return your calls and email messages.

Office Mailing Address Telephone Numbers Email OFO 760 Paseo Camarillo, (805) 384-6370 (office) bseepaccaliforniadistrict STE 102, Camarillo, @bsee.gov CA 93001 (805) 400-9700 (cellular)

OSO 760 Paseo Camarillo, (805) 384-6325 (office) bseepacoso@bsee.gov STE 102, Camarillo, CA 93001 (805) 504-7780 (cellular)

OPD 760 Paseo Camarillo, (805) 384-6300 (office) bseepacopd@bsee.gov STE 102, Camarillo, CA 93001 (805) 586-5011 (cellular)

Activity Approval Request and Notification Procedures

Please limit calls requesting non-emergency operational approvals to regular office hours. Your calls outside regular office hours should be for emergencies, to request approval to avoid shut-in of a drilling rig or production facility, or to meet other regulatory deadlines cited below. The assigned personnel will return your calls the same day, if possible, and within a reasonable time. You may experience a delay if assigned response personnel must attend to more immediate matters.

OFO: BSEE regulations at 30 CFR 250.187 – 250.189 describe incidents that must be reported to BSEE and how and when they must be reported. In such cases, notify the OFO using the contact information above as appropriate for your circumstances. When the incident involves an OCS pipeline or structural damage, we recommend that you also notify the OSO using the contact information listed above.

For non-emergency notifications involving drilling or production activities that occur outside regular POCSR office hours (such as items lost overboard, as specified in 30 CFR 250.300(d)), you may notify the OFO by email instead of by telephone. In these cases, the OFO’s acceptance of the official notification will be based on the date and time that OFO receives the email.

OSO: For matters involving OCS pipelines, contact the OSO during regular office hours to make the notifications required by 30 CFR 250.1008(a), (c), and (d) and the pipeline repair notifications required by 30 CFR 250.1008(e). For emergency situations involving OCS pipelines and structural damage that occur outside regular office hours, call the OSO cellular number listed above.

OPD: For matters requiring Regional Supervisor approval to flare or vent natural gas or to burn liquid hydrocarbons pursuant to 30 CFR 250.1160 through 250.1164, contact the OPD during regular office hours when possible. For situations requiring approval outside regular office hours, call the OPD cellular number listed above.

Oil Spill Notification Procedures

Pursuant to 30 CFR 254.46(a), you must immediately notify the National Response Center at (800) 424-8802 if you observe an oil spill from your facility, an oil spill from another offshore facility, or an offshore spill of unknown origin.

In accordance with 30 CFR 254.46(b), you should orally notify the OFO without delay if you have a spill from your facility that is one (1) barrel or more or if the volume is unknown but is thought to be one (1) barrel or more. If the spill is related to OCS pipeline activities, you should also notify the OSO.

In accordance with 30 CFR 254.46(c), you should immediately notify the OFO and the responsible party if you observe a spill resulting from operations at another offshore facility. If you suspect the spill is related to OCS pipeline activities, you should also, without delay, notify the OSO and the responsible party.

Guidance Document Statement

The BSEE issues NTLs as guidance documents in accordance with 30 CFR 250.103 to clarify or provide more detail about certain BSEE regulatory requirements and to outline the information you must provide in your various submittals. Except to the extent authorized by law or incorporated into a contract, the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Statement

This NTL provides clarification, description, or guidance of requirements for collection of information contained in 30 CFR part 250, Subparts A, C, J, and K, and in 30 CFR part 254. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements and assigned OMB Control Numbers 1014-0022, 1014-0023, 1014-0016, 1014-0019, and 1014-0007, respectively. This NTL does not impose additional information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Contacts

If you have any questions regarding this NTL, please contact BSEE POCSR: ● OFO, at (805) 384-6370, for drilling or production activities; ● OSO, at (805) 384-6325, for pipeline or structural questions; or ● OPD, at (805) 586-5011, for flare/vent questions.

MARK FESMIRE Mark E. Fesmire, PE JD Regional Director Pacific OCS Region