Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Notices 43345

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act of 1976, the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM),

Lake Havasu Field Office announces an

Open House to be held in Bullhead City,

Arizona, to identify issues and accept

comments concerning a proposed

development on approximately 280

acres of BLM-administered land

presently under lease. The land is

located in Bullhead City, Arizona, along

the shores of the Colorado River.

The concessioner intends to use the

land for the Silver Shores Project, a

development of multi-use recreational

facilities, including a recreational

vehicle park, sports complex, and

associated commercial facilities. This

notice is intended to invite the public to

participate in identification of issues

and the consideration of alternatives.

All comments will be considered during

analysis and assessment of the project,

including all reasonable alternatives.

DATES: An Open House to identify

public concerns will be held at the

following date and location: Tuesday,

September 9, 1997 from 4:00 p.m. to

8:00 p.m. at the Bullhead City Area

Chamber of Commerce Conference

Room, 1251 Highway 95, Bullhead City,

AZ. Comments relating to the

identification of issues and alternatives

will be accepted at the meeting, or by

mail if postmarked no later than

September 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Bureau

of Land Management, Lake Havasu

Field Office, 2610 Sweetwater Avenue,

Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Wilson, Concession Specialist,

(520) 505–1200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Silver

Shores Project proposes a recreational

vehicle (RV) park, along with an office,

postal, fueling, food service, RV storage

and other support facilities. Later

development may include a sports

complex, rooms for extended overnight

stays, live entertainment, and retail

facilities. The project would require five

to ten years to reach completion. It is

contiguous to a city park and fire station

and is consistent with city planning and

zoning requirements. No development

has taken place. No marina is planned

or proposed. No full time residency is

authorized. The government remains the

landowner.

Anticipated Issues

The following preliminary issues have

been identified by the Lake Havasu

Field Office’s interdisciplinary team.

1. Riparian habitats included within

the boundary of the parcel.

2. Potential impacts to any threatened

and endangered species that may occur

on the parcel.

3. Existing public uses of the parcel.

Other Relevant Information

Complete information of all phases of

the proposed Silver Shores Project will

be available for public review at the

Open House and at the Lake Havasu

Field Office, Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Dated: August 1, 1997.

Jaime T. Provencio,

Field Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–21347 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–32–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Safety and Environmental Management

Program (SEMP) on the Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS)

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: MMS has decided to continue

its collaborative efforts with

representatives of OCS oil and gas

operating companies to voluntarily

implement its SEMP initiative. We will

continue to work with OCS operators to

enhance their performance in safety and

environmental protection through a

variety of cooperative actions and

agency initiatives. The Agency will,

however, increase its focus on the

performance records of companies, and

will take increasingly firm actions

against poor performers.

DATES: MMS will consider all comments

received by November 12, 1997. Any

comments received after November 12,

1997 may not be fully considered.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry

comments to the Department of the

Interior; Minerals Management Service;

Mail Stop 4020; 381 Elden Street;

Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817;

Attention: Rules Processing Team

(Comments).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeff Wiese, Performance and Safety

Branch at (703) 787–1591 or e-mail to

Jeff.Wiese@MMS.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What is SEMP?

SEMP is a safety systems management

model designed around offshore oil and

gas exploration and development

activities. This concept is currently

embodied in a publication of the

American Petroleum Institute (API)

known as Recommended Practice 75

(RP75). This document is available from

the API; they can be reached by phone

at (202) 682–8375.

Why is the MMS Promoting SEMP?

MMS has developed a sound

regulatory program to protect the

public’s interests in the exploration and

development of OCS oil and gas over

the course of more than a quarter

century. This program is based, in large

measure, on standards and

recommended practices developed in

association with OCS stakeholders that

delimit how a ‘‘safe and prudent’’

operator would conduct its business.

This regulatory program has historically

focused on hardware and engineering

approaches to resolve offshore safety

and operating issues. It has been, as

well, fairly prescriptive.

The SEMP concept was created to

address the role of human and

organizational error to accidents. By

some estimates, human and

organizational factors lie at the root

cause of up to 80 percent of all

accidents.

Through SEMP, MMS is seeking

alternative ways to complement our

current regulatory efforts to protect

people and the environment during oil

and gas exploration and production

activities taking place on the U.S. OCS.

MMS undertook this initiative following

two separate, but related, studies which

indicated that many OCS operators were

led by the traditional, prescriptive

regulatory approach of MMS to focus

more on compliance with existing rules

than in systematically identifying and

mitigating all risks posed by their

operations. Implementation of SEMP

squarely places the responsibility for

protection of people, facilities, and the

environment on the shoulders of OCS

operators.

What Related Past Actions Has MMS

Taken?

MMS introduced its SEMP concept in

the Federal Register on July 2, 1991 (56

FR 30400). In response, OCS operators

requested that they be given an

opportunity to further develop SEMP

and a chance to demonstrate that they

could voluntarily adopt it on a

widespread basis. MMS joined with a

broad-based industry committee to

refine the SEMP concept under the aegis

of the API. In May 1993, the API

published RP75 as its response to

SEMP. This document clearly reflects a

consensus both within MMS and the

offshore industry on what course a safe

and prudent operator would steer—at a

minimum. On June 30, 1994, MMS

published a notice in the Federal
43346 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Notices

Register (59 FR 33779) in which it said

that RP75 generally captured the

agency’s perception of what a SEMP

should contain. At that time, MMS

committed to a 2-year moratorium on

regulatory activity related to SEMP

during which it would closely monitor

the voluntary adoption of RP75 by OCS

operators. MMS extended for one year

its observation of this experiment in a

Federal Register notice published on

July 18, 1996 (61 FR 37493).

Why Is This Action Being Taken by

MMS?

MMS and representatives of the

offshore oil and gas industry previously

agreed (see above) to allow industry to

voluntarily implement SEMP on a

widespread basis. MMS originally

established a two-year window for this

experiment and then later extended the

window for an additional year. This

extension was announced even though

MMS has seen substantial progress

across the board in program

development. There was not, however,

sufficient evidence of field-level

implementation of SEMP at that time for

the Agency to judge the results of this

experiment. The additional year has

provided MMS with the information

needed to make its decision whether or

not to require SEMP at this time.

What Information Was Used to Make

This Decision?

MMS has used a number of means to

determine how well and how

widespread voluntary implementation

of its SEMP initiative has been

undertaken by OCS operators. Among

these means we have: (1) collaborated

with the major industry trade

associations to conduct year-end SEMP

implementation surveys of all OCS

operators over the past three years

(1994, 1995, and 1996); (2) cosponsored

several SEMP implementation

workshops focused on challenges

identified by operators who responded

to these surveys in which volunteers

were recruited to share best practices;

(3) conducted twenty MMS-company

SEMP implementation interviews with a

cross-section of operators (both major

and independent); and (4) probed

whether and how well SEMP had been

implemented during routine inspections

made by MMS at the operators’s

offshore installations.

What Conclusions Has MMS Made?

The SEMP initiative has served as a

catalyst to refocus the attention of both

the offshore industry and MMS on

bottom-line performance and not solely

on regulatory compliance. We have seen

strong evidence that adoption of SEMP

cannot only accomplish public

objectives in the areas of promoting

safety and environmental protection,

but it can also make good business sense

by avoiding or containing accident and

pollution costs.

The vast majority of OCS operators

have undertaken, in earnest, to develop

and implement SEMP plans. Many of

these operators now have plans

generally in place, and they are

beginning the continuous improvement

phase marked by the conduct of internal

audits. Some companies have even

requested MMS participation in

cooperative reviews of their SEMP

plans.

MMS takes notice that many operators

have voluntarily embraced safety

systems management and SEMP. As

with any voluntary effort, some

operators will choose not to participate.

We believe that their safety and

environmental performance will suffer

relative to their peers. Accordingly,

their opportunities to explain their poor

performance to MMS will increase.

The largest challenges that MMS sees

in areas covered by SEMP are how to

better integrate the safety and

environmental programs and principles

of OCS operators with those of their

many contractors and how to develop a

common vocabulary upon which

performance reviews will be conducted.

What Decision Has MMS Reached?

We have decided to continue the nonregulatory, voluntary option for SEMP

as long as we continue to observe

satisfactory implementation efforts on

an industry-wide basis. The Agency

reserves the right, of course, to

incorporate all or any part of SEMP into

its regulatory program if we determine

that such action would better serve the

public interest. Specific areas of RP75

will continue to be examined by MMS

for incorporation into its regulatory

framework. The SEMP concept has

always been envisioned by both MMS

and the offshore industry as a strong

tool to enhance safety and

environmental performance. Given that

so many companies have now embraced

the safety systems management

concepts embodied within SEMP, the

Agency will now increasingly focus and

act on their related performance records.

What’s Next?

Though we have decided to continue

the non-regulatory approach to

implementing the SEMP initiative by

OCS operators, MMS plans to stay

actively involved by promoting the

concept and its adoption both through

collaborative activities and new Agency

projects. As appropriate, certain facets

of SEMP may be reflected in our

regulatory program where they help

both us and the offshore industry better

focus on performance. An immediate

example would be our current

performance-based training project.

We plan to collaborate with

representatives of the offshore industry

to track and improve the SEMP concept

by: (1) making minor improvements to

RP75 through the committee process

under the guidance of the API; (2)

conducting the fourth annual SEMP

implementation survey at the beginning

of 1998; (3) continuing our efforts to

develop and implement commonlydefined measures of performance; (4)

continuing to work with volunteer

companies to conduct cooperative, indepth reviews of their SEMP plans; (5)

cosponsoring workshops, or research,

that are designed to develop or share

best practices in the areas of safety and

environmental protection; and (6)

working to identify specific MMS

regulations for which OCS operators,

who can demonstrate solid performance

and a fully implemented SEMP, could

individually request approval for using

alternative means of compliance.

For our part, MMS will be refocusing

its attention on the bottom-line

performance of OCS operators by: (1)

preparing internal analyses that rank the

performance of all OCS operators on a

company-wide basis; (2) conducting

annual performance reviews with all

OCS operators during which both these

performance analyses and those of the

company, together with related

information, will be compared and

discussed; (3) increasingly risk-basing

our inspection program—past safety and

environmental performance will play an

important part in determining the risk

posed by an operator or their specific

operations; and (4) increasing the costs

of poor performance by spending much

more time with poor performers, by

factoring past performance into civil

penalty assessments, and by publishing

a notice of all settled civil penalty cases.

What More Can Companies Do?

One of SEMP’s underlying principles

is that management in the OCS oil and

gas companies must provide leadership

and take responsibility for ensuring that

SEMP is properly implemented and that

it is effective. In that regard, we would

appreciate being notified by a top

executive or operating official from each

company as soon as that company has

fully implemented their SEMP plans at

the field level. This voluntary

notification can be made by writing to

the address listed at the beginning of

this notice; a copy to the appropriate

MMS Regional Director would also be
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Notices 43347

appreciated. Additionally, companies

could request that MMS participate in

cooperative performance review

activities.

Two, one-day workshops have been

scheduled (September 9, 1997 in New

Orleans and September 23, 1997 in

Houston) to discuss implementation of

performance measures developed by a

joint industry-MMS work group. MMS

will be sending notice of this workshop

to all our lessees and operators, as will

all the major trade associations. Please

call the contact identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION section at the

beginning of this notice if would like to

discuss the workshops further.

Dated: July 31, 1997.

Cynthia Quarterman,

Director, Minerals Management Service.

[FR Doc. 97–21346 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Golden Gate National Recreation Area;

Operation of a Food and Gift Shop

SUMMARY: The National Park Service

will be releasing a concession

Prospectus to continue the operation of

the Cliff House Restaurant and Gift

Shop. This is a year-round restaurant

and gift shop business operating within

Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

This operation provides different levels

of food service, from delicatessen and

sit down style to fine dining service.

Within the same structure is a gift shop

operation providing visitors with

assorted souvenirs items. The annual

gross receipts average about $8 million.

The new contract will be for twenty (20)

years. The new contract requires a major

renovation program of the existing

structure with an estimated cost of $8

million. There is an existing

concessioner which has operated

satisfactorily under the existing contract

and has a right of preference in renewal.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The cost

for purchasing a Prospectus is $30.00.

Parties interested in obtaining a copy

should send a check, NO CASH, payable

to ‘‘National Park Service’’ to the

following address: National Park

Service, Office of Concession Program

Management, Pacific Great Basin

Support Office, 600 Harrison Street,

Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107–

1372. The front of the envelope should

be marked ‘‘Attention: Office of

Concession Program Management—Mail

Room Do Not Open.’’ Please include a

mailing address indicating where to

send the prospectus. Inquiries may be

sent to Ms. Teresa Jackson, Office of

Concession Program Management at

(415) 427–1369.

Dated: August 5, 1997.

John J. Reynolds,

Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

[FR Doc. 97–21349 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Great Basin National Park; Operation

of a Food and Gift Shop

SUMMARY: The National Park Service

will be releasing a concession

prospectus authorizing the continued

operation of a modest food and gift shop

at Lehman Caves Visitor Center within

Great Basin National Park. The park is

located in Eastern Nevada. This is a

seasonal operation and will be open to

serve the public approximately 61⁄2

months out of the year from April

through mid-October. The average

visitation over the last three years for

this period has been between 64,000

and 66,600. The annual gross receipts

over the same period of time has been

approximately $171,000. The

concessioner will be required to assist

in defraying the cost for maintenance of

a government building used by

concessioner. There is an existing

concessioner which has operated

satisfactorily and is entitled to a right of

preference in renewal.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The cost

for purchasing a Prospectus is $30.00.

Parties interested in obtaining a copy

should send a check, NO CASH, payable

to ‘‘National Park Service’’ to the

following address: National Park

Service, Office of Concession Program

Management, Pacific Great Basin

Support Office, 600 Harrison Street,

Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107–

1372. The front of the envelope should

be marked ‘‘Attention: Office of

Concession Program Management—Mail

Room Do Not Open’’. Please include a

mailing address indicating where to

send the prospectus. Inquiries may be

sent to Ms. Teresa Jackson, Office of

Concession Program Management at

(415) 427–1369.

Dated: July 8, 1997.

John J. Reynolds,

Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

[FR Doc. 97–21350 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Intent To Issue a Prospectus

for the Operation of Hotel and Related

Facilities in Sequoia National Park

SUMMARY: The National Park Service is

seeking to award a concession contract

for the operation and construction of

new visitor facilities and continued

operation of certain existing facilities

within Sequoia National Park, which is

part of Sequoia and Kings Canyon

National Parks. The contract will be

awarded on a fully competitive basis.

The Prospectus which describes the

project is expected to be issued within

a few weeks. Interested parties should

place their names on the mailing list to

be sent the Prospectus.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

development to be constructed includes

as many as 414 guest units, along with

food service and other related

commercial and support facilities.

Extensive site preparation, roads,

parking and other infrastructure work

have already been completed by the

government. The site has a panoramic

view from the western face of the Sierra

Nevada. To discuss the proposed

development, interested parties should

call Ms. Peggy Williams, Chief,

Concession Program Management,

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National

Parks, (209) 565–3103.

The cost for purchasing a Prospectus

is $30.00. Parties interested in obtaining

a copy should send a check, NO CASH,

payable to ‘‘National Park Service’’ to

the following address: Pacific Great

Basin Support Office, National Park

Service, 600 Harrison Street, Suite 600,

San Francisco, California 94107–1372,

Attention: Office of Concession Program

Management ‘‘Mail Room Do Not

Open’’.

Please include a mailing address

indicating where to send the Prospectus.

Address inquiries to Ms. Teresa Jackson,

Secretary, Office of Concession Program

Management at (415) 427–1369.

Dated: July 11, 1997.

John J. Reynolds,

Regional Director, Pacific West Region.

[FR Doc. 97–21348 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P