[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 245 (Thursday, December 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75443-75444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30670]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
[Docket ID BSEE-2012-0017]
Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement: Request for Public
Comments
AGENCY: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE),
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is
issuing this Draft Statement of Policy to announce its expectation that
individuals and organizations performing or overseeing activities
regulated by BSEE establish and maintain a positive safety culture
commensurate with the significance of their activities and the nature
and complexity of their organizations and functions. The BSEE defines
safety culture as the core values and behaviors resulting from a
collective commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety,
over competing goals, to ensure protection of people and the
environment. This draft policy statement would apply to all lessees,
the owners or holders of operating rights, designated operators or
agents of the lessee(s), pipeline right-of-way holders, State lessees
granted a right-of-use and easement, and contractors. The BSEE is
requesting comments on the Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement and
associated questions.
DATES: Submit comments by March 20, 2013. The BSEE may not fully
consider comments received after this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this notice by any of the
following methods. Please use Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement as
an identifier in your message. See also Public Availability of Comments
below.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In
the entry titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter BSEE-2012-0017 then
click search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments and
view supporting and related materials available for this notice. The
BSEE will post all comments.
Email: [email protected].
Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the
Interior; Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; Attention:
Regulations and Standards Branch (RSB); 381 Elden Street, HE-3313,
Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. Please reference, Draft Safety Culture
Policy Statement in your comments and include your name and return
address.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Petka, Safety and Environmental
Management Systems Branch at (703) 787-1762 to request additional
information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A major component of each report that has followed the Deepwater
Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill is the recommendation to
improve the safety culture upon the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The
Department of the Interior Outer Continental Shelf Safety Oversight
Board's Report to Secretary Ken Salazar (2010) advocated a program that
would ``create and maintain industry, worker, and regulator awareness
of, and commitment to, measures that will achieve human safety and
environmental protection'' that would also rely heavily on the industry
to ``make a widespread, forceful and long-term commitment to
cultivating a serious approach to safety that sets the highest safety
standards and consistently meets them.''
The National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and
Offshore Drilling (2011) observed, ``Government oversight must be
accompanied by the oil and gas industry's internal reinvention:
Sweeping reforms that accomplish no less than a fundamental
transformation of its safety culture.'' The National Commission
recommended looking at the nuclear industry for an example of drastic
improvement in safety culture. Following the partial meltdown in 1979
of the radioactive core in Unit Two at the Three Mile Island Nuclear
Generating Station, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the U.S.
government's regulatory agency for the nuclear industry, began
initiatives to help influence the safety culture of the
[[Page 75444]]
nuclear energy industry toward continuous improvement. One of these
initiatives was to work with the nuclear industry and public to develop
a formal policy on the NRC's expectations for a strong and effective
safety culture.
The BSEE has reviewed the NRC's safety culture policy and believes
it provides a strong foundation for a similar approach for oil and gas
operations on the OCS, with the ultimate goal of facilitating the
continued development of a robust safety culture for all persons
working on the OCS.
II. Statement of Policy
It is BSEE's policy that a strong safety culture is an essential
element for individuals, both internal to the BSEE and external,
performing or overseeing regulated activities. As such, BSEE will
include appropriate means to monitor safety culture in its oversight
programs and internal management processes. The BSEE defines safety
culture as the core values and behaviors resulting from a collective
commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over
competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment.
Further, it is important for all lessees, the owners or holders of
operating rights, designated operators or agents of the lessee(s),
pipeline right-of-way holders, State lessees granted a right-of-use and
easement, and contractors to foster in personnel an appreciation for
the importance of safety, emphasizing the need for its integration and
balance with competing performance objectives to achieve optimal
protection without compromising production goals.
Individuals and organizations performing regulated activities bear
the primary responsibility for safety.
Experience has shown that certain personal and organizational
characteristics are present in a positive safety culture. A
characteristic, in this case, is a pattern of thinking, feeling, and
behaving that emphasizes safety, particularly in goal conflict
situations (e.g., production, schedule, and the cost of the effort
versus safety).
The following are characteristics of a robust safety culture:
(1) Leadership Safety Values and Actions--Leaders demonstrate a
commitment to safety in their decisions and behaviors;
(2) Problem Identification and Resolution--Issues potentially
impacting safety are promptly identified, fully evaluated, and promptly
addressed and corrected commensurate with their significance;
(3) Personal Accountability--All individuals take personal
responsibility for safety;
(4) Work Processes--The process of planning and controlling work
activities is implemented so that safety is maintained;
(5) Continuous Learning--Opportunities to learn about ways to
ensure safety are sought out and implemented;
(6) Environment for Raising Concerns--A safety conscious work
environment is maintained where personnel feel free to raise safety
concerns without fear of retaliation, intimidation, harassment, or
discrimination;
(7) Effective Safety Communication--Communications maintain a focus
on safety;
(8) Respectful Work Environment--Trust and respect permeate the
organization; and
(9) Inquiring Attitude--Individuals avoid complacency and
continuously consider and review existing conditions and activities in
order to identify discrepancies that might result in error or
inappropriate action.
There may be traits not included in this Draft Safety Culture
Policy Statement that are also important in a positive safety culture.
It should be noted that these traits were not developed to be used for
inspection purposes.
III. Questions for Which BSEE Is Seeking Input
The previous discussion addressed BSEE's approach to safety culture
policy going forward and we would like your input. We will consider any
comments that you feel would be beneficial to this policy. We welcome
your input, your experiences, and your knowledge. The BSEE welcomes any
comments on all content in this notice, but we specifically welcome
your input on the following items.
(1) The draft Safety Culture Policy Statement provides a
description of attributes that are important to safety culture, (i.e.,
safety culture characteristics). What characteristics relevant to a
particular type of OCS activity do not appear to be addressed in this
notice?
(2) What safety culture characteristics, described in the draft
Safety Culture Policy Statement, do not contribute to safety culture on
the OCS and, therefore, should not be included?
(3) The draft Safety Culture Policy Statement defines safety
culture as: ``The core values and behaviors resulting from a collective
commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over
competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment.''
Please comment on any parts of this definition that need further
clarification to be useful for operations on the OCS.
(4) The draft policy statement states, ``[I]t is important for all
lessees, the owners or holders of operating rights, designated
operators or agents of the lessee(s), pipeline right-of-way holders,
State lessees granted a right-of-use and easement, and contractors to
foster in personnel an appreciation for the importance of safety,
emphasizing the need for its integration and balance with competing
performance objectives to achieve optimal protection without
compromising production goals.'' Given the diversity among OCS
activities regulated by BSEE, please comment on the need to provide
further clarification on this statement.
(5) How well does the draft Safety Culture Policy Statement enhance
organization's understanding of BSEE's expectations that they maintain
a safety culture?
(6) In addition to issuing a Safety Culture Policy Statement, what
might BSEE consider doing, or doing differently, to increase OCS
attention to safety culture?
(7) How can BSEE better involve stakeholders to address safety
culture?
To ensure efficient consideration of your comments, please identify
the specific question numbers with your comments when applicable.
Dated: December 13, 2012.
James A. Watson,
Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-30670 Filed 12-19-12; 8:45 am]
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