Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 245 / Thursday, December 20, 2012 / Notices 75443 

The Department has prepared an 

Initial Implementation Plan based on 

preliminary planning and tribal 

consultation. The Plan has the following 

purposes: 

• Recognize and address comments 

received on the Draft Plan dated January 

31, 2012, and during the public 

comment period through March 15, 

2012; 

• Outline initial goals and priorities; 

• Summarize key parameters and 

operational concepts for the Buy-Back 

Program; 

• Outline ways in which tribes might 

participate in the Buy-Back Program 

through cooperative agreements; 

• Describe the primary land 

consolidation processes—outreach, land 

research, valuation, and acquisition; and 

• Describe next steps for additional 

tribal consultation, public comment, 

and continued program planning and 

implementation, including pilot efforts 

that will allow for improvement of the 

Buy-Back Program. 

The Plan also provides additional 

data concerning fractionation to provide 

context for planning efforts and to 

respond to tribes’ requests for more 

complete information. This Initial 

Implementation Plan is not a final plan. 

The Department expects to continually 

update its plans to reflect tribal 

feedback, lessons learned, and best 

practices. 

Tribal consultation sessions on the 

Plan and Buy-Back Program will be held 

at the following dates and cities. 

Information about the specific venue or 

location of the consultation can be 

found at www.doi.gov/cobell once they 

are confirmed. 

Date Time Venue 

January 31, 2013 ............................................................. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. .................................................................. Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

February 6, 2013 .............................................................. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. ................................................................... Rapid City, South Dakota. 

February 14, 2013 ............................................................ 9 a.m.–4 p.m. .................................................................. Seattle, Washington. 

Dated: December 14, 2012. 

David Hayes, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30622 Filed 12–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–10–P 

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. 

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: Keith.Petka@bsee.gov. 

• 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 longterm 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 


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75444 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 245 / Thursday, December 20, 2012 / Notices 

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] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement 

Ocean Energy Safety Advisory 

Committee (OESC); Notice of Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of Safety and 

Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: OESC will meet at the 

Department of the Interior’s South 

Interior Building in Washington, DC. 

DATES: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 

from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 

Thursday, January 10, 2013, from 8:00 

a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 


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