Marine Transportation of Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Crude Oil Produced Offshore California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Marine Transportation of Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

Crude Oil Produced Offshore California

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Proposed Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL).

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SUMMARY: MMS proposes to issue an NTL concerning information

requirements on marine transportation of OCS crude oil produced

offshore California. MMS recognizes that the State of California and

its localities have concerns about potential impacts on the environment

from the transportation of such oil. The proposed NTL would assist

Federal lessees and operators and State and local governments in

meeting their responsibilities and addressing their concerns in this

area.

DATES: MMS will consider all comments received by February 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry comments to MMS Pacific Region; 770 Paseo

Camarillo; Camarillo, CA 93010; Attention: E. Aronson. E-mail comments

to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Aronson at 805-389-7511 or e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 17, 1996, Deputy Secretary of the

Interior John Garamendi issued a Policy Directive to MMS, which

provides in pertinent part that:

The policies of the State of California and the county of Santa

Barbara prefer that oil and gas production, including offshore

resources, be transported by onshore pipeline, rather than by offshore

tanker, whenever pipelines are economically and technically feasible.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulates activities which

occur within OCS lease boundaries, and generally up to the point of

landfall.

The MMS policies should particularly attempt to ensure that new

and, where appropriate, amended Development and Production Plans

adequately reflect the principle that transportation of OCS crude be

consistent with State and local policies.

Statutory Authority

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended, 43

U.S.C. 1331 et seq., provides the Secretary of the Interior with broad

authority relating to the development and production of mineral

resources of the OCS. The Secretary is required to provide for the

suspension or temporary prohibition of activities if a threat of

serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to the marine,

coastal, or human environment exists. The Secretary may also take

action to cancel a lease if continued activity under it would probably

cause serious harm to such environments and the threat of such harm

will not decrease to an acceptable level in a reasonable period of

time. 43 U.S.C. 1334(a). The Secretary may also disapprove or require

modification of a new Development and Production Plan (DPP) if he

determines that the lessee has failed to make adequate provision in

such plan for safe operations on the lease area or for protection of

the marine, coastal or human environment. 43 U.S.C. 1351(h)(1). To

carry out these responsibilities, MMS must monitor those activities

proximately related to the development and production of oil and gas

resources on the OCS and safeguard against activities that may threaten

the environment.

Through the OCSLA, the Congress has also recognized the OCS

activities may have significant impacts on the States. The OCSLA

emphasizes that State and local governments whose interests are

affected by activities on the OCS are entitled to participate, to the

extent consistent with the national interest, in the policy and

planning decisions made by the Federal Government relating to

exploration for, and development and production of, minerals located in

the OCS. 43 U.S.C. 1332(4)(C). Furthermore, the rights and

responsibilities of all States and, where appropriate, local

governments, to preserve and protect their marine, human, and coastal

environments through such means as regulation of land, air, and water

uses, of safety, and of related development and activity should be

considered and recognized. 43 U.S.C. 1332(5).

MMS performs its statutory responsibilities with respect to

development activities principally through the approval and periodic

review of DPP's. 43 U.S.C. 1351; 30 CFR 250.34. The lessee or operator

must

[[Page 64400]]

provide a wide range of information that enables the MMS Regional

Supervisor to take action on the plan. This includes assessing the

effects on the environment expected as a result of implementing the

plan, identifying specific and cumulative impacts that may occur both

onshore and offshore, and the measures proposed to mitigate these

impacts.\1\

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\1\ 30 CFR 250.34(b)(11).

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States that have coastal management programs approved by the

Secretary of Commerce under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972

(CZMA), 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., as well as their local governments,

play a critical role in the review of both new and revised DPP's,

primarily through the Federal consistency section of the CZMA. 16

U.S.C. 1456. The part of the consistency section dealing with OCS

exploration plans and DPP's specifies the authorities and

responsibilities of Federal lessees, the Secretary of the Interior, and

the coastal States affected by OCS operations. 16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)(B).

This OCS-specific provision of the CZMA requires that any person

who submits a DPP to the Secretary of the Interior under the OCSLA

shall attach to the plan a certification that each activity described

in the plan which affects the land, water, or natural resources of the

State's coastal zone complies with the enforceable policies of the

State's management program, and will be carried out in a manner

consistent with that program. Generally, under this provision and under

section 25(d) of the OCSLA (43 U.S.C. 1351(d)), the Secretary of the

Interior may not grant a license or permit for any such activity unless

the State concurs with the consistency certification attached to the

DPP. Further, under section 25(h)(1)(B) of the OCSLA (43 U.S.C.

1351(h)(1)(B)), the Secretary shall disapprove the entire DPP if the

State does not concur with the certification. Section 25(h)(1) of the

OCSLA also provides that any modification to a DPP required by the

Secretary, involving activities for which a Federal license or permit

is required and that affect coastal zone resources, must receive

concurrence of the certification by the affected State.\2\

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\2\ Procedures to implement the CZMA consistency certification

section are set forth generally in 15 CFR part 930. The OCS-specific

provisions regarding new or amended DPP's are processed in

accordance with Subpart E of those regulations (15 CFR 930.70 et

seq.).

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Conclusion

MMS strongly supports the right of California to exercise its

Federal consistency authorities under the CZMA and believes that

consistency is an important tool for the State and its local

governments to address, among other factors, the marine transportation

component of DDP's. MMS encourages California to review the enforceable

marine transportation policies in its coastal management program. The

State should determine whether such policies: (1) Meet the definition

of ``enforceable policy'' in section 304(6a) of the CZMA; (2) are of

sufficient clarity and specificity to make consistency determinations

understandable; and (3) incorporate, to the extent consistent with

State law and the CZMA, the marine transportation policies of local

governments.

The MMS Pacific OCS Region recognizes that the marine

transportation of OCS crude oil may cause significant impacts on the

marine, coastal, and human environments and contribute to the

cumulative environmental risks of an OCS development project. To

respond to the level of concern regarding marine transportation of OCS

crude in California, to reaffirm the agency's commitment to strong

coastal State and local involvement in OCS decisions, and to implement

Deputy Secretary Garamendi's Policy Directive regarding Federal support

of State and local policies with respect to the transportation of

Pacific OCS crude oil, the MMS Pacific OCS Region adopts the following

procedures for addressing new DPP's and proposed changes in the marine

transportation component of existing DPP's for leases offshore

California.

COMMENTS INVITED: The proposed NTL is designed to assist Federal

lessees and operators and State and local governments in meeting their

responsibilities and concerns regarding marine transportation of

Federal OCS crude oil produced offshore California. Comments on the

proposed NTL are invited.

Dated: December 1, 1997.

J. Lisle Reed,

Regional Director, Pacific OCS Region, Minerals Management Service.

United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service,

Pacific OCS Region

Proposed Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal Oil and Gas Leases,

Pacific OCS Region

NTL 97-----------------------------------------------------------------

Effective Date:--------------------------------------------------------

Lessee Responsibilities for Information on the marine

Transportation of Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Crude Oil

Produced Offshore California

In General: The Marine transportation of OCS minerals is an

activity that the Secretary of the Interior has determined must be

described in detail in a Development and Production Plan (DPP). As

such, it is an activity that requires the approval of the Secretary

and the concurrence of the State with the certification of federal

consistency. Proposed changes in the marine transportation component

of a DPP may require a revision to an approved DPP, and such

revision is also subject to Secretarial approval (delegated to the

Regional Supervisor). This revision would need the concurrence of

the State with the required certification of Federal consistency

unless it is overridden on appeal to the Secretary of Commerce as

authorized by section 307(c)(3)(B)(iii) of the Coastal Zone

Management Act (CZMA).

New DPP's: To address the concerns of California State and local

governments about potential significant effects of oil spills,

particularly those from tankering activity, in the State's sensitive

marine ecosystem, lessees or operators preparing new DPP's should

pay special attention to the marine transportation component of

their plans. Such lessees and operators are advised to develop plans

to transport the OCS minerals in a manner that is consistent with

the enforceable marine transportation policies of the State's CZM

program.

Specifically, the procedures of 30 CFR 250.34 shall be followed

in the preparation and submission of a new DPP, including the

requirement for certification of coastal zone consistency as

provided in 15 CFR part 930. Concurrence by California with the

certification is a necessary condition for approval of the new DPP

by the Regional Supervisor unless the Secretary of Commerce makes

the finding authorized by section 307(c)(3)(B)(iii) of the CZMA.

Revised DPP's: The conditions and procedures under which

revisions to existing DPP's are required are generally provided for

in sections 25(h)(3) and 25(i) of the OCSLA and implemented in MMS'

regulations at 30 CFR 250.34(q). Based on those authorities, the

Regional Supervisor will conduct periodic reviews of existing DPP's

based on changes in information and onshore or offshore conditions

affecting or affected by the DPP activities. The Regional Supervisor

will pay particular attention to any change in the marine

transportation component of the DPP and, specifically, to tankering

activity. If a lessee or operator acting under an approved DPP

anticipates any change in the mode, manner, or degree of marine

transportation of OCS crude activity described in the plan, the

lessee or operator shall provide information related to such changes

to the Regional Supervisor.

Based on the Regional Supervisor's periodic review or the lessee

or operator's notification, the Regional Supervisor will notify

appropriate State and local officials about such changes and provide

to the State and local officials copies of the information submitted

by the lessee or operator. If the Regional Supervisor determines

that the proposed change in activity requires a revision to the DPP,

the Regional Supervisor will order a revision to the DPP. If the

Regional Supervisor determines that a proposed revision either

ordered by the

[[Page 64401]]

Regional Supervisor or initiated by the operator could result in

significant change to previously identified and evaluated impacts or

to one not previously identified or evaluated, the proposed revision

shall be subject to all of the procedures contained in 30 CFR

250.34, including the requirement, under 250.34(b)(13), that a

certification of coastal zone consistency be submitted with the

revision. The Regional Supervisor may not approve the revision

unless the State concurs with the certification, or the Secretary of

Commerce makes the finding authorized by section 307(c)(3)(B)(iii)

of the CZMA. The Regional Supervisor shall prepare the appropriate

environmental documentation under the National Environmental Policy

Act for the decision to approve, require further modifications to,

or disapprove revisions to DPP's.

This notice is provided to assist lessees and operators in

planning the development of the Pacific OCS leases. Questions

concerning this information should be directed to the Regional

Supervisor for Development, Operations, and Safety at (805) 389-

7560.

The collection of information referred to in this notice

provides clarification, description, or interpretation of

requirements contained in 30 CFR Part 250, Subpart B. The Office of

Management and Budget has approved the collection of information

required by these regulations and assigned OMB Control Number 1010-

0049. This notice does not impose additional information collection

requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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Regional Supervisor, Office of Development, Operations, and Safety,

Pacific OCS Region, Minerals Management Service.

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Date

[FR Doc. 97-31944 Filed 12-4-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-M