Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 2, 2014 / Notices 37837 

should name their file using the name 

of the person or entity submitting the 

comments. 

Please do not attach separate cover 

letters to electronic submissions; rather, 

include any information that might 

appear in a cover letter in the 

submission itself. Similarly, to the 

extent possible, please include any 

exhibits, annexes, or other attachments 

in the same file as the submission itself, 

not as separate files. 

As noted, USTR strongly urges 

submitters to file comments through the 

www.regulations.gov Web site if at all 

possible. Any alternative arrangements 

must be made with Ms. Jamison in 

advance of transmitting a comment. Ms. 

Jamison may be contacted at (202) 395– 

3475. General information concerning 

USTR is available at www.ustr.gov. 

Comments will be placed in the 

docket and open to public inspection, 

except business confidential 

information. Comments may be viewed 

on the www.regulations.gov Web site by 

entering the relevant docket number in 

the search field on the home page. 

Douglas Bell, 

Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2014–15489 Filed 7–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F4–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

[Docket Number DOT–OST–2014–0112] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activity; Notice of Request for 

Approval To Collect New Information: 

Voluntary Near Miss Reporting in Oil 

and Gas Operations on the Outer 

Continental Shelf 

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS), Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Research and Technology 

(OST–R), U.S. Department of 

Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

this notice announces the intention of 

the Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

to request the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) to approve the following 

information collection: Voluntary Near 

Miss Reporting in Oil and Gas 

Operations on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS). This data collection effort 

supports a multi-year program focused 

on improving safety in the OCS by 

collecting and analyzing data and 

information on near misses and other 

unsafe occurrences in all oil and gas 

operations on the OCS. In August 2013, 

the Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement (BSEE) and BTS signed an 

Interagency Agreement (IAA) to develop 

and implement a voluntary program for 

confidential reporting of ‘near misses’ 

occurring on the OCS. BTS will analyze 

and aggregate information provided 

under this program and publish reports 

that will provide BSEE, the industry and 

all OCS stakeholders with essential 

information about accident precursors 

and other hazards associated with OCS 

oil and gas operations so that all 

stakeholders can use that information to 

reduce safety and environmental 

hazards and continue building a more 

robust OCS safety culture. This 

information collection is necessary to 

aid BSEE, the oil and gas industry and 

other stakeholders in identifying root 

causes of potentially unsafe events. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by September 2, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your 

comments are not entered more than 

once into the docket, submit comments 

by only one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. Docket 

Number: DOT–OST–2014–0112. 

• Mail: Docket Services, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Identify all transmission with ‘‘Docket 

Number DOT–OST–2014–0112’’ at the 

beginning of each page of the document. 

Instructions: All comments must 

include the agency name and docket 

number for this notice. Paper comments 

should be submitted in duplicate. The 

DMF is open for examination and 

copying, at the above address from 9 

a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. If you 

wish to receive confirmation of receipt 

of your written comments, please 

include a self-addressed, stamped 

postcard with the following statement: 

‘‘Comments on Docket Number DOT– 

OST–2014–0112.’’ The Docket Clerk 

will date stamp the postcard prior to 

returning it to you via the U.S. mail. 

Please note that all comments received, 

including any personal information, 

will be posted and will be publicly 

viewable, without change, at 

www.regulations.gov. You may review 

DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement 

in the Federal Register published on 

April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; 

pages 19477–78) or you may review the 

Privacy Act Statement at 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Demetra V. Collia, Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Research and 

Technology, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Office of Advanced 

Studies, RTS–31, E324–302, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

20590–0001; Phone No. (202) 366–1610; 

Fax No. (202) 366–3383; email: 

demetra.collia@dot.gov. Office hours are 

from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., EST, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Data Confidentiality Provisions: The 

confidentiality of near miss data 

submitted to BTS is protected under the 

BTS confidentiality statute (49 U.S.C. 

Sec. 6307) and the Confidential 

Information Protection and Statistical 

Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2002 (Pub. L. 

107–347, Title V). In accordance with 

these confidentiality statutes, only 

statistical and non-identifying data will 

be made publicly available by BTS 

through its reports. BTS will not release 

to BSEE or any other public or private 

entity any information that might reveal 

the identity of individuals or 

organizations mentioned in near miss 

reports without explicit consent of the 

respondent and any other affected 

entities. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Data Collection 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. chapter 35; as amended) and 

5 CFR part 1320 require each Federal 

agency to obtain OMB approval to 

initiate an information collection 

activity. BTS is seeking OMB approval 

for the following BTS information 

collection activity: 

Title: Voluntary Near Miss Reporting 

in Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer 

Continental Shelf 

OMB Control Number: TBD. 

Type of Review: Approval of data 

collection. 

Respondents: Employees working in 

the oil and gas industry on the OCS. 

Number of Potential Responses: Based 

on near miss reporting trends in other 

industries, BTS expects to receive no 

more than two responses per calendar 

day during the first three years of the 

program (approximately 730 responses 

per year). 

Estimated Time per Response: not to 

exceed 60 minutes (this includes 

estimated time for a follow up 

interview, if needed.) 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

37838 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 2, 2014 / Notices 

Frequency: Intermittent for three 

years. (Reports are submitted when 

there is a qualifying event, i.e., when a 

near miss occurs in oil and gas 

operations on the OCS.) 

Total Annual Burden: 730 hours. 

Abstract: Collecting transportation 

safety data, including data on precursors 

to adverse events, is an important 

component of BTS’s responsibility to 

the transportation community and is 

authorized in BTS’ authorizing statute 

(49 U.S.C. 6302). To that end, BTS has 

entered into an IAA with BSEE to 

establish and operate a voluntary, 

confidential near miss data collection 

program. In 2013, the National 

Commission on the BP Deepwater 

Horizon Oil Spill recommended, among 

other things, that BSEE develop a 

system for reporting near miss events in 

oil and gas operations on the OCS. BSEE 

evaluated various near miss reporting 

systems that have proven successful in 

improving safety in major industries 

(such as commercial airlines, railroads, 

and firefighting programs) and 

identified BTS as an agency with 

experience in developing and operating 

such systems to improve safety. 

It is estimated that the time for an 

individual respondent to complete a 

near miss report and, if needed, 

participate in a brief confidential 

interview will be no more than 60 

minutes for a maximum total burden of 

730 hours (730 reports*60 minutes/60 = 

720 hours). Reports may be voluntarily 

submitted to BTS when there is a 

qualifying event, i.e., when a near miss 

occurs in oil and gas operations on the 

OCS. Potential respondents include 

employees of OCS oil and gas lessees 

and operators and their contractors. It 

should be noted that not all of the 

potential respondents will submit 

information at any given time and some 

may submit multiple times. 

II. Background 

Under the Outer Continental Shelf 

Lands Act (OCSLA), 43 U.S.C. 1331– 

1356a, the Secretary of the Interior (the 

Secretary) is authorized to regulate oil 

and natural gas exploration, 

development, and production 

operations on the OCS. The Secretary 

has assigned BSEE the responsibility for 

offshore safety and environmental 

enforcement under OCSLA (see 76 FR 

64432, Oct. 18, 2011). The BSEE 

promotes safety, protects the 

environment, and conserves offshore oil 

and gas resources through regulatory 

oversight and enforcement, research 

activities, public outreach, information 

sharing, and appropriate cooperation 

with industry and other OCS 

stakeholders. BSEE’s goals include 

building and maintaining a culture of 

safety and risk reduction on the OCS. 

In 2013, the National Commission on 

the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 

recommended, among other things, that 

BSEE develop a system for near miss 

reporting for oil and gas operations on 

the OCS. BSEE has decided to 

implement that recommendation 

through a system of voluntary reporting 

of near miss information. BSEE has also 

decided to encourage participation in 

that system by ensuring the 

confidentiality of such reports, 

including the reporter’s identities (if 

provided) and other identifying 

information. 

BSEE evaluated various near miss 

reporting systems that have proven 

successful in improving safety in major 

industries (such as commercial airlines, 

railroads, and firefighting programs) and 

identified BTS as an agency with 

experience in developing and operating 

such systems, on a confidential basis, to 

improve safety. In August 2013, BSEE 

and BTS signed an IAA to develop and 

implement a voluntary program for 

confidential reporting of ‘near misses’ 

occurring on the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS). 

The goal of the voluntary near miss 

reporting system is to provide BTS with 

essential information about accident 

precursors and other hazards associated 

with OCS oil and gas operations. BTS 

will develop and publish aggregate 

reports that BSEE, the industry and all 

OCS stakeholders can use—in 

conjunction with incident reports and 

other sources of information—to reduce 

safety and environmental risks and 

continue building a more robust OCS 

safety culture. 

A near miss is an event and/or 

condition that could have resulted in 

loss, or had the potential for additional 

safety, environmental or other 

consequences, but did not result in an 

adverse event. This adverse event was 

prevented only by a fortuitous break in 

the chain of events and/or conditions. 

The potential loss could be human 

injury, environmental damage, or 

negative business impact. Knowledge 

about a near miss presents an 

opportunity to address unsafe work 

conditions, prevent accidents, and 

improve safety and environmental 

protection in the workplace. Near miss 

systems in other industry sectors have 

shown that voluntary reporting of near 

misses to a confidential system can 

become a tool to identify safety issues 

and help prevent accidents by providing 

a cooperative, non-punitive 

environment to communicate safety 

concerns. 

BTS will: Collect near miss reports 

voluntarily submitted by employees and 

other respondents working on the OCS; 

conduct follow-up interviews as 

needed, develop an analytical database 

using the reported data and other 

pertinent information; conduct 

statistical analyses and develop public 

reports; and protect the confidentiality 

of the near miss reports in accordance 

with BTS’ own statute and CIPSEA. 

Accordingly, only statistical and nonsensitive information will be made 

available through BTS’ publications and 

reports. Those publications and reports 

will potentially provide the industry, 

BSEE, other OCS stakeholders, and the 

public with valuable information 

regarding precursors to safety risks and 

contribute to research and development 

of intervention programs aimed at 

preventing accidents and fatalities in 

the OCS. 

Respondents who report a near miss 

event will be asked to fill out a report 

and participate in a brief, confidential 

interview for further clarification, as 

needed. Respondents will have the 

option to mail or submit the report 

electronically to BTS. Respondents will 

be asked to provide information such as: 

(1) Name and contact information 

(optional); (2) time and location of the 

event; (3) a short description of the 

event; (4) contributing factors to the 

reported near miss; and (5) any other 

information that might be useful in 

determining a root cause of such event. 

Some of the information collected 

through this voluntary initiative will 

also help inform the continuing effort to 

work with oil and gas companies and 

other entities that already collect 

offshore near miss data. 

III. Request for Public Comment 

BTS requests comments on any 

aspects of this information collection 

request, including: (1) The accuracy of 

the estimated burden of 730 hours 

detailed in Section I; (2) ways to 

enhance the quality, usefulness, and 

clarity of the collected information; and 

(3) ways to minimize the collection 

burden without reducing the quality of 

the information collected, including 

additional use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Patricia Hu, 

Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research 

and Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2014–15455 Filed 7–1–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

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