38294 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 126 / Thursday, June 30, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

13 Id. 14See Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B)) (stating that 

an agency may dispense with prior notice and 

comment when it finds, for good cause, that notice 

and comment are ‘‘impractical, unnecessary, or 

contrary to the public interest’’). This finding also 

satisfies the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 808(2), 

allowing the rules to become effective 

notwithstanding the requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 (if 

a Federal agency finds that notice and public 

comment are ‘‘impractical, unnecessary or contrary 

to the public interest,’’ a rule ‘‘shall take effect at 

such time as the Federal agency promulgating the 

rule determines’’). Also, because the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601—612) only requires 

agencies to prepare analyses when the 

Administrative Procedures Act requires general 

notice of rulemaking, that Act does not apply to the 

actions that we are taking in this release. 

15The compliance date extensions set forth in 

this release are effective upon publication in the 

Federal Register. Section 553(d)(1) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act allows effective dates 

that are less than 30 days after publication for a 

‘‘substantive rule which grants or recognizes an 

exemption or relieves a restriction.’’ 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(1). 

16The Commission identified in the Rule 15c3– 

5 Adopting Release certain ongoing costs associated 

with Rule 15c3–5. Because of the extension of the 

compliance date, certain costs may be avoided from 

July 14, 2011 to November 30, 2011. 

will require substantial effort.13 SIFMA 

and WMBA requested that the 

compliance date for these provisions be 

extended until November 30, 2011, and 

FIF requested an extension until January 

2012. 

The Commission believes that 

providing a limited extension of the 

compliance date to November 30, 2011, 

for (1) all of the requirements of Rule 

15c3–5 for fixed income securities, and 

(2) the requirements of Rule 15c3– 

5(c)(1)(i) for all securities, is reasonable 

to assure market participants have 

sufficient time to develop and 

implement the required risk 

management controls for activities 

where the application of these types of 

controls may not be widespread. 

Accordingly, the Commission is 

extending the compliance date to 

November 30, 2011, for (1) all of the 

requirements of Rule 15c3–5 for fixed 

income securities, and (2) the 

requirements of Rule 15c3–5(c)(1)(i) for 

all securities. 

II. Conclusion 

For the reasons cited above, the 

Commission, for good cause, finds that 

notice and solicitation of comment 

regarding the extension of the 

compliance date set forth herein are 

impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to 

the public interest.14 The Commission 

notes that the compliance date is 

quickly approaching, and that a limited 

extension of the compliance date for the 

reasons cited above will facilitate the 

orderly implementation of Rule 15c3–5. 

In light of time constraints, full notice 

and comment could not be completed 

prior to the July 14, 2011 compliance 

date. Broker-dealers with market access 

will have additional time to comply 

with the provisions of Rule 15c3–5 

discussed above beyond the compliance 

date originally set forth in the Rule 

15c3–5 Adopting Release. Further, the 

Commission recognizes that it is 

imperative for broker-dealers with 

market access to receive notice of the 

extended compliance date, and 

providing immediate effectiveness upon 

publication of this release will allow 

them to adjust their implementation 

plans accordingly.15

The Commission identified certain 

costs and benefits associated with the 

Rule in the Rule 15c3–5 Adopting 

Release. The extension of the 

compliance date for Rule 15c3–5 will 

delay benefits of the Rule, but the 

Commission believes that the limited 

extension is necessary and appropriate 

because it will provide broker-dealers 

with market access additional time to 

develop, test, and implement certain of 

the required risk management controls 

and supervisory procedures under the 

Rule. The extension also will delay the 

costs of complying with the Rule.16 The 

Commission believes that the extension 

does not impose any burden on 

competition not necessary or 

appropriate in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Exchange Act, because 

the extension will give broker-dealers 

with market access additional time to 

develop, test, and implement certain of 

the risk management controls and 

supervisory procedures that are required 

under the Rule. 

Dated: June 27, 2011. 

By the Commission. 

Elizabeth M. Murphy, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–16467 Filed 6–29–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement 

30 CFR Parts 250 and 253 

[Docket ID: BOEM–2010–0070] 

RIN 1010–AD74 

Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in 

the Outer Continental Shelf—Civil 

Penalties 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement (BOEMRE), Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Outer Continental Shelf 

Lands Act (OCSLA) requires the Bureau 

of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) 

to review the maximum daily civil 

penalty assessment for violations of 

regulations implementing the OCSLA at 

least once every 3 years (43 U.S.C. 

1350). Similarly, a review and 

adjustment process is required at least 

once every 4 years for the maximum 

daily civil penalty assessment allowable 

under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 

1990 for violations of regulations 

governing financial responsibility (28 

U.S.C. 2461). These reviews ensure that 

the maximum penalty assessments 

reflect any increases in the Consumer 

Price Index (CPI) as prepared by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. 

Department of Labor, and therefore keep 

up with inflation. BOEMRE conducted 

these reviews in October 2010 for the 

OCSLA regulations and in January 2011 

for the OPA regulations. BOEMRE 

determined that the maximum daily 

civil penalty assessment for violations 

of its OCSLA regulations should be 

increased to $40,000, and the maximum 

daily civil penalty assessment for 

violations of its financial responsibility 

regulations should be increased to 

$30,000. 

DATES: Effective Date: This rule becomes 

effective on August 1, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joanne McCammon, Safety and 

Enforcement Branch at (703) 787–1292 

or email at 

Joanne.McCammon@boemre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The goal of BOEMRE’s Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Civil Penalty 

Program is to help promote safe and 

environmentally sound operations on 

the OCS. The program is designed to 

encourage compliance with statutes and 

regulations that apply to activities on 

the OCS by facilitating the assessment 

and collection of civil penalties. OCSLA 

authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 

to assess civil penalties under certain 

conditions for violations of any 

provision of OCSLA; any term of a lease, 

license, or permit; or any regulation or 

order implementing OCSLA. 

Not all violations warrant a review to 

initiate civil penalty proceedings. 

Review is only triggered by violations 

that an operator fails to correct after 

notice and an opportunity to correct, or 

violations that constitute a threat of 

serious, irreparable, or immediate harm 

or damage to life, property, any mineral 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 126 / Thursday, June 30, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 38295 

deposit, or the marine, coastal, or 

human environment. The Secretary of 

the Interior delegated the authority to 

assess civil penalties to BOEMRE. 

OCSLA directs the Secretary of the 

Interior to adjust the maximum civil 

penalty amount at least once every 3 

years to reflect any increase in the CPI 

prepared by the U.S. Department of 

Labor (43 U.S.C. 1350). The purpose of 

this adjustment is to ensure that 

punitive assessments keep up with 

inflation. If an adjustment is necessary, 

BOEMRE informs the public through the 

Federal Register of the new maximum 

civil penalty amount. BOEMRE uses 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) guidelines for determining how 

penalty amounts should be rounded and 

when an adjustment is necessary. 

In August 2009, BOEMRE performed 

computations to determine if it should 

increase the current maximum civil 

penalty amount of $35,000 per violation 

per day. After running the 

computations, BOEMRE determined 

that the CPI did not increase enough to 

warrant raising the maximum civil 

penalty amount at that time. BOEMRE 

has been monitoring the CPI, and the 

computations now justify raising the 

maximum civil penalty amount. 

In computing the new maximum civil 

penalty amount, BOEMRE divided the 

October 2010 CPI of 218.9 by the 

previously used August 2006 CPI of 

203.7. This resulted in a multiplying 

factor of 1.075. The previous maximum 

amount of $35,000 per violation per day 

was multiplied by the 1.075 factor and 

resulted in a new maximum penalty 

amount of $37,625. This amount is 

rounded to $40,000 as per OMB 

guidelines. The new maximum civil 

penalty amount is now $40,000 per 

violation per day. 

BOEMRE is also authorized to impose 

civil penalties for failure to comply with 

financial responsibility regulations that 

implement OPA. OPA sets the 

maximum civil penalty amount per day 

per violation at $25,000. However, the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act, as amended, 

established a 4-year cycle for review and 

adjustment of federally imposed civil 

monetary penalties to maintain the 

deterrent effect of such penalties and 

promote compliance with the law (28 

U.S.C. 2461 note). The CPI adjustment 

for these penalties is calculated in the 

same manner as the CPI adjustment for 

the OCSLA penalties. 

The OPA maximum civil penalty 

amount was last raised in 2006 to 

$27,500. In computing the new OPA 

maximum civil penalty amount, 

BOEMRE divided the June 2010 CPI of 

216.9 by the previously used August 

2006 CPI of 203.7. This resulted in a 

multiplying factor of 1.065. The 

previous maximum amount of $27,500 

per violation per day was multiplied by 

the 1.065 factor and resulted in a new 

maximum penalty amount of $29,287. 

This amount is rounded to $30,000 as 

directed by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act. The new 

maximum civil penalty amount is now 

$30,000 per violation per day. 

BOEMRE finds that good cause exists 

under the Administrative Procedure 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), to implement 

this final rule without prior notice and 

comment for these mandatory 

adjustments. The periodic adjustments 

to the maximum penalty amount 

reflected in this final rule are required 

by statute and OMB guidelines. 

Similarly, the calculation of these 

adjustments follows the mathematical 

formulas set forth in OCSLA and the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, as 

amended, so that the amount of the 

adjustment is not within BOEMRE’s 

discretion. Accordingly, notice and 

comment procedures are unnecessary 

and contrary to the public interest. 

Procedural Matters 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

(Executive Order 12866) 

OMB has not designated this final 

rule as significant under Executive 

Order 12866. 

(1) These amendments are 

administrative and procedural. This rule 

would not have an effect of $100 million 

or more on the economy. It would not 

adversely affect in a material way the 

economy, productivity, competition, 

jobs, the environment, public health or 

safety, or State, local, or tribal 

governments or communities. A costbenefit and economic analysis is not 

required. 

(2) This rule would not create a 

serious inconsistency or otherwise 

interfere with an action taken or 

planned by another agency. 

(3) This rule would not alter the 

budgetary effects of entitlements, grants, 

user fees, or loan programs or the rights 

or obligations of their recipients. 

(4) This rule does not raise novel legal 

or policy issues. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Department of the Interior 

certifies that this final rule will not have 

a significant economic effect on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

The changes in the rule will affect 

lessees and operators of leases and 

pipeline right-of-way holders in the 

OCS. This could include about 130 

active Federal oil and gas lessees. Small 

lessees that operate under this rule fall 

under the Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

codes 211111, Crude Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Extraction, and 213111, 

Drilling Oil and Gas Wells. For these 

NAICS code classifications, a small 

company is one with fewer than 500 

employees. Based on these criteria, an 

estimated 65 percent of these companies 

are considered small. This final rule, 

therefore, will affect a substantial 

number of small entities, but it will not 

have a significant economic effect on 

those entities. 

This rule will have no impact on the 

oil and gas industry operators that 

comply with Federal OCS regulations. 

For those operators whose 

noncompliance results in a civil 

penalty, the increase resulting from the 

inflation factor of 1.075 amounts to an 

increase of less than $241,000 spread 

over an average of 32 cases per year or 

slightly over $15,500 additional per 

case. This is using data over the past 10 

years and averaging civil penalties paid 

and number of cases paid per year. This 

dollar amount is relatively insignificant 

as compared to the considerable 

operational costs and liability risks 

associated with activities on the OCS. 

This is true for even the smallest of OCS 

operators. 

Your comments are important. The 

Small Business and Agriculture 

Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 

and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were 

established to receive comments from 

small businesses about Federal agency 

enforcement actions. The Ombudsman 

will annually evaluate the enforcement 

activities and rate each agency’s 

responsiveness to small business. If you 

wish to comment on the actions of 

BOEMRE, call 1–888–734–3247. You 

may comment to the Small Business 

Administration without fear of 

retaliation. Allegations of 

discrimination/retaliation filed with the 

Small Business Administration will be 

investigated for appropriate action. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

This rule is not a major rule under the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act (5 U.S.C. 804(2)). This rule: 

a. Will not have an annual effect on 

the economy of $100 million or more. 

b. Will not cause a major increase in 

costs or prices for consumers, 

individual industries, Federal, State, or 

local government agencies, or 

geographic regions. 

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38296 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 126 / Thursday, June 30, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

c. Will not have significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to 

compete with foreign-based enterprises. 

The requirements will apply to all 

entities operating on the OCS. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

This final rule will not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

tribal governments or the private sector 

of more than $100 million per year. The 

final rule will not have a significant or 

unique effect on State, local, or tribal 

governments or the private sector. A 

statement containing the information 

required by the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is not 

required. 

Takings Implication Assessment 

(Executive Order 12630) 

According to Executive Order 12630, 

the rule does not have significant 

takings implications. The rulemaking is 

not a governmental action capable of 

interfering with constitutionally 

protected property rights. A Takings 

Implication Assessment is not required. 

Federalism (Executive Order 13132) 

Under the criteria in E.O. 13132, this 

final rule does not have federalism 

implications. This final rule will not 

substantially and directly affect the 

relationship between the Federal and 

State governments. To the extent that 

State and local governments have a role 

in OCS activities, this final rule will not 

affect that role. A Federalism 

Assessment is not required. 

Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 

12988) 

This rule complies with the 

requirements of E.O. 12988. 

Specifically, this rule: 

(a) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) 

requiring that all regulations be 

reviewed to eliminate errors and 

ambiguity and be written to minimize 

litigation; and 

(b) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) 

requiring that all regulations be written 

in clear language and contain clear legal 

standards. 

Consultation and Coordination With 

Indian Tribal Governments (E.O. 13175) 

Under the criteria in E.O. 13175, we 

evaluated this final rule and determined 

that it has no substantial effects on 

federally recognized Indian tribes. 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 

This final rule does not contain new 

information collection requirements, 

and a submission under the PRA is not 

required. Therefore, an information 

collection request is not being submitted 

to OMB for review and approval under 

the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 

This final rule does not constitute a 

major Federal action significantly 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment. BOEMRE has analyzed 

this proposed rule under the criteria of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and the Department’s 

regulations implementing NEPA. This 

proposed rule meets the criteria set forth 

at 43 CFR 46.210(i) for a Departmental 

Categorical Exclusion in that this 

proposed rule is ‘‘* * * of an 

administrative, financial, legal, 

technical, or procedural nature * * *’’ 

Further, BOEMRE has analyzed this 

proposed rule to determine if it meets 

any of the extraordinary circumstances 

that would require an environmental 

assessment or an environmental impact 

statement as set forth in 43 CFR 46.215 

and concluded that this proposed rule, 

being purely procedural, does not meet 

any of the criteria for extraordinary 

circumstances. 

Data Quality Act 

In developing this rule, we did not 

conduct or use a study, experiment, or 

survey requiring peer review under the 

Data Quality Act (Pub. L. 106–554, app. 

C § 515, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–153– 

154). 

Effects on the Nation’s Energy Supply 

(E.O. 13211) 

This rule is not a significant energy 

action under the definition in E.O. 

13211. A Statement of Energy Effects is 

not required. 

List of Subjects 

30 CFR Part 250 

Continental shelf, Investigations, 

Penalties, Public lands—mineral 

resources, Public lands—rights-of-way, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulphur development and 

production. 

30 CFR Part 250 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Continental shelf, 

Environmental impact statements, 

Environmental protection, Government 

contracts, Investigations, Oil and gas 

exploration, Penalties, Pipelines, Public 

lands—mineral resources, Public 

lands—rights-of-way, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur. 

30 CFR Part 253 

Continental shelf, Environmental 

protection, Intergovernmental relations, 

Oil and gas exploration, Oil pollution, 

Penalties, Pipelines, Public lands— 

mineral resources, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Surety 

bonds. 

Dated: June 22, 2011. 

Wilma A. Lewis, 

Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals 

Management. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Regulation and 

Enforcement (BOEMRE) amends 30 CFR 

parts 250 and 253 as follows: 

PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND 

SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE 

OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 250 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701, 43 U.S.C. 1334. 

■ 2. Revise § 250.1403 to read as 

follows: 

§ 250.1403 What is the maximum civil 

penalty? 

The maximum civil penalty is 

$40,000 per day per violation. 

PART 253—OIL SPILL FINANCIAL 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE 

FACILITIES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 253 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, 33 U.S.C. 

2716. 

■ 4. In § 253.51, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 253.51 What are the penalties for not 

complying with this part? 

(a) If you fail to comply with the 

financial responsibility requirements of 

OPA at 33 U.S.C. 2716 or with the 

requirements of this part, then you may 

be liable for a civil penalty of up to 

$30,000 per COF per day of violation 

(that is, each day a COF is operated 

without acceptable evidence of OSFR). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2011–16288 Filed 6–29–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

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