(a) If you are the owner or operator of an oil handling, storage, or transportation facility, and it is located seaward of the coast line, you must submit an oil spill response plan (OSRP) to BSEE for approval. Your OSRP must demonstrate that you can respond quickly and effectively whenever oil is discharged from your facility. Refer to § 254.6 for the definitions of oil, facility, and coast line if you have any doubts about whether to submit a plan.

(b) You must maintain a current OSRP for an abandoned facility until you physically remove or dismantle the facility or until the Chief, Oil Spill Preparedness Division (OSPD) notifies you in writing that a plan is no longer required.

(c) Owners or operators of offshore pipelines carrying essentially dry gas do not need to submit a plan. You must, however, submit a plan for a pipeline that carries:

(1) Oil;

(2) Condensate that has been injected into the pipeline; or

(3) Gas and naturally occurring condensate.

(d) If you are in doubt as to whether you must submit a plan for an offshore facility or pipeline, you should check with the Chief, OSPD.

(e) If your facility is located landward of the coast line, but you believe your facility is sufficiently similar to OCS facilities that it should be regulated by BSEE, you may contact the Chief, OSPD, offer to accept BSEE jurisdiction over your facility, and request that BSEE seek from the agency with jurisdiction over your facility a relinquishment of that jurisdiction.

(a) You must submit, and BSEE must approve, an OSRP that covers each facility located seaward of the coast line before you may use that facility. To continue operations, you must operate the facility in compliance with the OSRP.

(b) Despite the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, you may operate your facility after you submit your OSRP while BSEE reviews it for approval. To operate a facility without an approved OSRP, you must certify in writing to the Chief, OSPD that you have the capability to respond, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge or a substantial threat of such a discharge. The certification must show that you have ensured by contract, or other means approved by the Chief, OSPD, the availability of private personnel and equipment necessary to respond to the discharge. Verification from the organization(s) providing the personnel and equipment must accompany the certification. BSEE will not allow you to operate a facility for more than 2 years without an approved OSRP.

(a) Your OSRP may be for a single lease or facility or a group of leases or facilities. All the leases or facilities in your plan must have the same owner or operator (including affiliates) and must be located in the same BSEE Region (see definition of Regional OSRP in § 254.6).

(b) Regional OSRPs must address all the elements required for an OSRP in subpart B, or subpart D of this part, as appropriate.

(c) When developing a Regional OSRP, you may group leases or facilities subject to the approval of the Chief, OSPD, for the purposes of:

(1) Calculating response times;

(2) Determining quantities of response equipment;

(3) Conducting oil-spill trajectory analyses;

(4) Determining worst case discharge scenarios; and

(5) Identifying areas of special economic and environmental importance that may be impacted and the strategies for their protection.

(d) The Chief, OSPD, may specify how to address the elements of a Regional OSRP. The Chief, OSPD, also may require that Regional OSRPs contain additional information if necessary for compliance with appropriate laws and regulations.

You may reference information contained in other readily accessible documents in your OSRP. Examples of documents that you may reference are the National Contingency Plan (NCP), Area Contingency Plan (ACP), BSEE or BOEM environmental documents, and Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) documents that are readily accessible to the Chief, OSPD. You must ensure that the Chief, OSPD, possesses or is provided with copies of all OSRO documents you reference. You should contact the Chief, OSPD, if you want to know whether a reference is acceptable.

(a) The OSRP must provide for response to an oil spill from the facility. You must immediately carry out the provisions of the OSRP whenever there is a release of oil from the facility. You must also carry out the training, equipment testing, and periodic drills described in the OSRP, and these measures must be sufficient to ensure the safety of the facility and to mitigate or prevent a discharge or a substantial threat of a discharge.

(b) The OSRP must be consistent with the National Contingency Plan and the appropriate Area Contingency Plan(s).

(c) Nothing in this part relieves you from taking all appropriate actions necessary to immediately abate the source of a spill and remove any spills of oil.

(d) In addition to the requirements listed in this part, you must provide any other information the Chief, OSPD, requires for compliance with appropriate laws and regulations.

For the purposes of this part:

Adverse weather conditions means, for the purposes of this part, weather conditions found in the operating area that make it difficult for response equipment and personnel to clean up or remove spilled oil or hazardous substances. These conditions include, but are not limited to: fog, inhospitable water and air temperatures, wind, sea ice, extreme cold, freezing spray, snow, currents, sea states, and extended periods of low light. Adverse weather conditions do not refer to conditions under which it would be dangerous or impossible to respond to a spill, such as a hurricane.

Arctic OCS means the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas (for more information on these areas, see the Proposed Final OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (June 2012) at http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Leasing/Five-Year-Program/2012-2017/Program-Area-Maps/index.aspx).

Area Contingency Plan means an Area Contingency Plan prepared and published under section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA).

Chief, OSPD means the Chief, BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division or designee.

Coast line means the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of inland waters.

Discharge means any emission (other than natural seepage), intentional or unintentional, and includes, but is not limited to, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, or dumping.

District Manager means the BSEE officer with authority and responsibility for a district within a BSEE Region.

Facility means any structure, group of structures, equipment, or device (other than a vessel) which is used for one or more of the following purposes: Exploring for, drilling for, producing, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or transporting oil. The term excludes deep-water ports and their associated pipelines as defined by the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, but includes other pipelines used for one or more of these purposes. A mobile offshore drilling unit is classified as a facility when engaged in drilling or downhole operations.

Ice intervention practices mean the equipment, vessels, and procedures used to increase oil encounter rates and the effectiveness of spill response techniques and equipment when sea ice is present.

Maximum extent practicable means within the limitations of available technology, as well as the physical limitations of personnel, when responding to a worst case discharge in adverse weather conditions.

National Contingency Plan means the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan prepared and published under section 311(d) of the FWPCA, (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) or revised under section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9605).

National Contingency Plan Product Schedule means a schedule of dispersants and other chemical or biological products, maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, that may be authorized for use on oil discharges in accordance with the procedures found at 40 CFR 300.910.

Oil means oil of any kind or in any form, including but not limited to petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil. This also includes hydrocarbons produced at the wellhead in liquid form (includes distillates or condensate associated with produced natural gas), and condensate that has been separated from a gas prior to injection into a pipeline. It does not include petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which is specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance under paragraphs (A) through (F) of section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601) and which is subject to the provisions of that Act. It also does not include animal fats and oils and greases and fish and marine mammal oils, within the meaning of paragraph (2) of section 61(a) of title 13, United States Code, and oils of vegetable origin, including oils from the seeds, nuts, and kernels referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of that section.

Oil spill removal organization (OSRO) means an entity contracted by an owner or operator to provide spill-response equipment and/or manpower in the event of an oil or hazardous substance spill.

OSRP means an Oil Spill Response Plan.

Outer Continental Shelf means all submerged lands lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in section 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301) and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control.

Owner or operator means, in the case of an offshore facility, any person owning or operating such offshore facility. In the case of any abandoned offshore facility, it means the person who owned such facility immediately prior to such abandonment.

Pipeline means pipe and any associated equipment, appurtenance, or building used or intended for use in the transportation of oil located seaward of the coast line, except those used for deep-water ports. Pipelines do not include vessels such as barges or shuttle tankers used to transport oil from facilities located seaward of the coast line.

Qualified individual means an English-speaking representative of an owner or operator, located in the United States, available on a 24-hour basis, with full authority to obligate funds, carry out removal actions, and communicate with the appropriate Federal officials and the persons providing personnel and equipment in removal operations.

Regional Response Plan means a spill-response plan required by this part which covers multiple facilities or leases of an owner or operator, including affiliates, which are located in the same BSEE Region.

Regional Supervisor means the BSEE official with responsibility and authority for operations or other designated program functions within a BSEE Region.

Remove means containment and cleanup of oil from water and shorelines or the taking of other actions as may be necessary to minimize or mitigate damage to the public health or welfare, including, but not limited to, fish, shellfish, wildlife, public and private property, shorelines, and beaches.

Spill is synonymous with “discharge” for the purposes of this part.

Spill management team means the trained persons identified in an OSRP who staff the organizational structure to manage spill response.

Spill-response coordinator means a trained person charged with the responsibility and designated the commensurate authority for directing and coordinating response operations.

Spill-response operating team means the trained persons who respond to spills through deployment and operation of oil-spill response equipment.

State waters located seaward of the coast line means the belt of the seas measured from the coast line and extending seaward a distance of 3 miles (except the coast of Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida, where the State waters extend seaward a distance of 3 leagues).

You means the owner or the operator as defined in this section.

You must submit the number of copies of your OSRP that the appropriate BSEE regional office requires. If you prefer to use improved information technology such as electronic filing to submit your plan, ask the Chief, OSPD, for further guidance.

(a) Send OSRPs for facilities located seaward of the coast line of Alaska to: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Oil Spill Preparedness Division, Attention: Senior Analyst, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite #500, Anchorage, AK 99503-5823.

(b) Send OSRPs for facilities in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean to: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Oil Spill Preparedness Division, Attention: GOM Section Supervisor, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123-2394.

(c) Send OSRPs for facilities in the Pacific Ocean (except seaward of the coast line of Alaska) to: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Oil Spill Preparedness Division, Attention: Senior Analyst, 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 201, Camarillo, CA 93010-6002.

See 30 CFR part 290 for instructions on how to appeal any order or decision that we issue under this part.

(a) The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements in this part under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. OMB assigned the control number 1014-0007. The title of this information collection is “30 CFR part 254, Oil Spill Response Requirements for Facilities Located Seaward of the Coast line.”

(b) BSEE collects this information to ensure that the owner or operator of an offshore facility is prepared to respond to an oil spill. BSEE uses the information to verify compliance with the mandates of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The requirement to submit this information is mandatory. No confidential or proprietary information is collected.

(c) An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

(d) Send comments regarding any aspect of the collection of information under this part, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166.