81 FR 51923 - Eighth Coast Guard District; Interim Outer Continental Shelf Risk-Based Resource Allocation Methodology

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 151 (August 5, 2016)

The Coast Guard announces the availability of an interim risk based resource allocation methodology for inspections of certain Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) units in the Eighth Coast Guard District (D8) area of responsibility (AOR). This interim methodology will be implemented for a five-month trial period beginning August 1, 2016. After the trial period, the methodology will be finalized within D8 and submitted to Coast Guard Headquarters (CG-CVC) for consideration at the national level.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51923-51924]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18590]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2016-0640]


Eighth Coast Guard District; Interim Outer Continental Shelf 
Risk-Based Resource Allocation Methodology

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of an interim risk 
based resource allocation methodology for inspections of certain Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) units in the Eighth Coast Guard District (D8) 
area of responsibility (AOR). This interim methodology will be 
implemented for a five-month trial period beginning August 1, 2016. 
After the trial period, the methodology will be finalized within D8 and 
submitted to Coast Guard Headquarters (CG-CVC) for consideration at the 
national level.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before September 6, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2016-0640 or view documents mentioned in this notice as being available 
in the docket using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email Steve Sutton, Coast Guard; telephone 202-671-2151, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion

    This interim risk based resource allocation methodology is intended 
to improve implementation of the requirements contained in 33 CFR 
140.101(c), 143.120(c), and 143.210(a) by employing interagency 
consultation and by establishing increased focus on the industrial 
mission and regulatory compliance and casualty data. It builds upon the 
risk based matrix created for foreign Mobile Offshore Drilling Units 
(MODU), which was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 39885) by 
the Coast Guard in 2011 by applying similar principles to other OCS 
units and adding consultation with the Bureau of Safety and 
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This methodology will reallocate 
Coast Guard inspection resources from lower risk, fixed interval 
activities to higher risk activities prior to commencing an industrial 
mission. The Coast Guard will periodically evaluate MODUs and OCS 
facilities that either perform drilling or well-workover or are due for 
a Coast Guard regulatory inspection to assign an inspection priority 
and scope using risk matrices. For example, under this methodology 
Coast Guard inspection resources previously used to conduct an annual 
Certificate of Compliance inspection of a lower risk stacked MODU may 
be reallocated to conduct a higher risk inspection of any MODU or OCS 
facility with a drilling rig prior to commencement of drilling.

Outreach to the Offshore Operator's Committee

    On June 8, 2016, the Coast Guard conducted outreach to the offshore 
Operators' Committee at its annual general meeting in Houston, TX. The 
presentation, presentation script, and transcript of questions and 
answers from this outreach are available on the docket where indicated 
under ADDRESSES.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on the 
interim risk based resource allocation methodology for inspection of 
OCS units in the D8 AOR. We will consider all submissions and may 
adjust our action based on your comments, although we do not anticipate 
a written response to comments. If you submit a comment, please include 
the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific section of 
this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for 
each suggestion or recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice of availability, and 
all public comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that Web site's 
instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted to the 
docket.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted

[[Page 51924]]

without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal 
Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal 
Register (70 FR 15086).
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: August 1, 2016.
D.R. Callahan,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2016-18590 Filed 8-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P