2540 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 

13211) 

This rule is not a significant energy 

action under the definition in E.O. 

13211. Therefore, a Statement of Energy 

Effects is not required. 

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 250 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Continental shelf, 

Continental Shelf—mineral resources, 

Continental Shelf—rights-of-way, 

Environmental impact statements, 

Environmental protection, Government 

contracts, Investigations, Oil and gas 

exploration, Penalties, Pipelines, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sulfur. 

Joseph R. Balash, 

Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals 

Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. 

For the reasons given in the preamble, 

the Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

Enforcement amends title 30, chapter II, 

subchapter B, part 250 Code of Federal 

Regulations as follows. 

PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND 

SULFUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER 

CONTINENTAL SHELF 

■ 1. The authority citation for 30 CFR 

part 250 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1751, 31 U.S.C. 9701, 

33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(1)(C), 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 

$43,576 per day per violation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00920 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

30 CFR Part 553 

[Docket ID: BOEM–2017–0048; 

MMAA104000] 

RIN 1010–AD98 

Oil Spill Financial Responsibility 

Adjustment of the Limit of Liability for 

Offshore Facilities 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management is issuing this final rule to 

adjust the offshore facility limit of 

liability for damages under the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to reflect 

the increase in the Consumer Price 

Index (CPI) since 2013. This rule 

increases the OPA offshore facility limit 

of liability for damages from $133.65 

million to $137.6595 million. 

DATES: This rule is effective on February 

20, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions regarding the inflation 

adjustment methodology or amount 

should be directed to Mr. Martin 

Heinze, Economics Division, BOEM, at 

martin.heinze@boem.gov or at 703–787– 

1141. Questions regarding the timing of 

this adjustment or the applicability of 

the regulations should be directed to 

Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka, Chief, Office 

of Policy, Regulation and Analysis, 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

(BOEM), at deanna.meyer-pietruszka@

boem.gov or at (202) 208–6352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Calculation of the 2017 Adjustment 

III. Effective Date 

IV. Procedural Requirements 

A. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 

12866, 13563 and 13771) 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

E. Takings (E.O. 12630) 

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132) 

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988) 

H. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 

13175 and Departmental Policy) 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act 

J. National Environmental Policy Act 

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 

13211) 

I. Background 

The OPA established a 

comprehensive regime for addressing 

the consequences of oil spills, ranging 

from spill response to compensation for 

damages to injured parties. Under Title 

I of the OPA, the responsible parties for 

any vessel or facility, including any 

offshore facility that discharges or poses 

a substantial threat of discharge of oil 

into or upon navigable waters, adjoining 

shorelines, or the exclusive economic 

zone, are liable for the removal costs 

and damages that result from such 

discharge or threat of discharge, as 

specified in 33 U.S.C. 2702(a) and (b). 

Under 33 U.S.C. 2704(a), however, the 

total liability of each responsible party 

is limited, subject to certain exceptions 

specified in 33 U.S.C. 2704(c). In 1990, 

the OPA provided that responsible 

parties for an offshore facility incident 

were liable for ‘‘the total of all removal 

costs plus $75,000,000.’’ (33 U.S.C. 

2704(a)(3)). 

To prevent the real value of the OPA 

limits of liability from declining over 

time as a result of inflation, and shifting 

the financial risk of oil spill incidents to 

the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 

(OSLTF), the OPA requires that the 

President adjust the limits of liability 

‘‘not less than every three years,’’ by 

regulation, to reflect significant 

increases in the CPI. (33 U.S.C. 

2704(d)(4)). This mandate, in place 

since 1990, preserves the deterrent 

effect and ‘‘polluter pays’’ principle 

embodied in OPA. 

BOEM last adjusted for inflation the 

OPA offshore facility limit of liability 

for damages on December 12, 2014 (79 

FR 73832). That 2014 rule updated the 

offshore facility limit of liability based 

on the Consumer Price Index All Urban 

Consumer (CPI–U) using the 2013 

annual average CPI–U. The Bureau of 

Labor Statisitcs (BLS) has published the 

2016 annual average CPI–U, which 

BOEM is using to calculate this threeyear inflation adjustment for the 

offshore facility limit of liability. 

BOEM is promulgating this rule 

pursuant to the provisions of Title I of 

OPA, Executive Order (E.O.) 12777, as 

amended, and BOEM regulations at 30 

CFR part 553, subpart G—Limit of 

Liability for Offshore Facilities. A 

proposed rule is unnecessary, and 

BOEM thus has good cause for issuing 

this final rule under 5 U.S.C. 553(b), 

because the adjustment in the limit of 

liability is mandated by statute, the 

methodology for determining the 

amount is defined in BOEM’s 

regulations, and those regulations at 

§§ 553.703(b)(4) and 553.704 provide 

that inflation adjustments to the 

offshore facilities limit of liability will 

be implemented through final 

rulemaking. The legislative and 

regulatory history for OPA limit of 

liability inflation adjustments can be 

found in the rulemaking preamble for 

the last inflation adjustment at 79 FR 

73832. 

II. Calculation of the 2017 Adjustment 

The methodology for calculating the 

offshore facilities limit of liability 

inflation adjustment is provided in 

§ 553.703. 

Section 553.703(b)(2) requires that, 

not later than every three years from the 

year the limit of liability was last 

adjusted for inflation, BOEM will 

evaluate whether the cumulative 

percent change in the annual CPI since 

that year has reached a significance 

threshold of three percent or greater. 

BOEM’s regulations specify Annual 

CPI–U as the appropriate mechanism by 

which to measure CPI. The limit of 

liability was last adjusted using the 

2013 Annual CPI–U and BOEM has 

determined that the cumulative percent 

change in the Annual CPI–U since 2013 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 2541 

exceeds three percent. Therefore, as 

required by BOEM’s regulations, BOEM 

must increase the offshore limit of 

liability for damages in § 553.702 by an 

amount equal to the cumulative percent 

change in the Annual CPI–U from the 

year the limit was last adjusted by 

regulation. 

The formula for calculating a 

cumulative percent change in the 

Annual CPI–U provided in § 553.703(a) 

is as follows: The percent change in the 

Annual CPI–U = [(Annual CPI–U for 

Current Period ¥ Annual CPI–U for 

Previous Period) ÷ Annual CPI–U for 

Previous Period] × 100. Using the BLS 

Annual CPI–U index numbers for 2013 

and 2016, the calculation is: 

(240.007¥232.957) ÷ 232.957 = 0.03026. 

Multiplying × 100 yields a cumulative 

percent change of 3.026 percent. Section 

553.703(a) requires the cumulative 

percent change value to be rounded to 

one decimal place, resulting in a value 

of 3.0 percent. 

Under § 553.703(c), BOEM calculates 

the adjustment to the offshore facilities 

limit of liability for inflation using the 

following formula: New limit of liability 

= Previous limit of liability + (Previous 

limit of liability × the decimal 

equivalent of the percent change in the 

Annual CPI–U), rounded to the closest 

$100. The calculation is: $133.65 

million + ($133.65 million × 0.03) = 

$137.6595 million. 

Therefore, BOEM is revising the 

regulations at § 553.702 to increase the 

limit of liability under OPA for a 

responsible party for any offshore 

facility, including any offshore pipeline, 

to the total of all removal costs plus 

$137.6595 million for damages with 

respect to each incident. 

Further information regarding the CPI 

and the methodology used by the BLS 

to develop the CPI is available at: 

https://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpi_

dr.htm#2017. 

III. Effective Date 

BOEM’s regulations, at § 553.704, 

provide for a 90-day delay in the 

effective date of the adjustment to the 

limit of liability. Section 553.704 also 

provides that BOEM may, as part of a 

rule amending § 553.702, specify a 

different amount of time between the 

publication of the rule in the Federal 

Register and the effective date of that 

rule. The adjustment in the limit of 

liability is mandated by statute and the 

methodology for determining the 

amount of the update is defined in 

BOEM’s regulations. Given that 

§ 553.704 specifically allows other than 

a 90-day delay in effective date to be 

announced in this rule amending 

§ 553.702, BOEM has determined that a 

30-day delay in effective date is 

appropriate. 

IV. Procedural Requirements 

A. Regulatory Planning and Review 

(E.O. 12866, 13563 and 13771) 

E.O. 12866 provides that the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) will review all significant 

rules. OIRA has determined that this 

rule is not significant. 

This rule is an update to the offshore 

facility limit of liability under the OPA. 

It is neither a new regulation, nor does 

it increase the regulatory burden on 

regulated entities. This final rule simply 

maintains the value of the limit of 

liability set by the OPA in 1990 by 

updating the limit of liability for three 

years of inflation as required by the 

OPA at 33 U.S.C. 2704(d)(4). 

E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of 

E.O. 12866 while calling for 

improvements in the nation’s regulatory 

system to reduce uncertainty and to 

promote predictability and the use of 

the best, most innovative, and least 

burdensome tools for achieving 

regulatory ends. E.O. 13563 directs 

agencies to consider regulatory 

approaches that reduce burdens and 

maintain flexibility and freedom of 

choice for the public where these 

approaches are relevant, feasible, and 

consistent with regulatory objectives. 

The OPA statutory mandate does not 

give BOEM the discretion to reduce 

burdens or maintain freedom of choice. 

E.O. 13771 of January 30, 2017, 

directs Federal agencies to reduce the 

regulatory burden on regulated entities 

and control regulatory costs. The E.O., 

however, applies only to significant 

regulatory actions, as defined in Section 

3(f) of E.O. 12866. This rulemaking does 

not meet the definition for a significant 

regulatory action; thus, E.O. 13771 does 

not apply to this rulemaking. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

requires an agency to prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis for all 

rules unless the agency certifies that the 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The RFA 

applies only to rules for which an 

agency is required to first publish a 

proposed rule (see 5 U.S.C. 603(a) and 

604(a)). Thus, the RFA does not apply 

to this rulemaking. 

C. Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act 

This rule is not a major rule under 5 

U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. 

Implementation of this rule will not: 

(a) Have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more; 

(b) cause a major increase in costs or 

prices for consumers, individual 

industries, Federal, State, or local 

government agencies, or geographic 

regions; or 

(c) result in significant adverse effects 

on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to 

compete with foreign-based enterprises. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This rule does not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

tribal governments, or the private sector 

of more than $100 million per year. This 

rule does 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. 1531 et seq.) is not 

required. 

E. Takings (E.O. 12630) 

This rule does not effect a taking of 

private property or otherwise have 

takings implications under E.O. 12630. 

Therefore, a takings implication 

assessment is not required. 

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132) 

Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O. 

13132, this rule does not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement. Therefore, a 

federalism summary impact statement is 

not required. 

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 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. 

H. Consultation With Indian Tribes 

(E.O. 13175 and Departmental Policy) 

E.O. 13175 provides that tribal 

consultation is not necessary for 

regulations required by statute. Because 

this rule simply implements a statutory 

mandate, tribal consultation is not 

required by this Executive Order. 

The Department of the Interior 

continually strives to strengthen its 

government-to-government relationship 

with Indian tribes through a 


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2542 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

commitment to consultation with Indian 

tribes and recognizes their right to selfgovernance and tribal sovereignty. 

BOEM is also respectful of its 

responsibilities for consultation with 

corporations established pursuant to the 

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 

U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (ANCSA). 

BOEM has evaluated this rule under 

the consultation policy of the 

Department of the Interior in Chapters 4 

and 5 of Series 512 of the Departmental 

Manual and has determined that this 

rule has no substantial direct effects on 

any Tribe or ANCSA Corporation, as 

defined in 512 DM 4.3 to include, 

among others, Federally-recognized 

Alaska Native tribes. On the basis of this 

evaluation, BOEM has determined that 

consultation is not necessary to comply 

with any DOI policy. 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not contain 

information collection requirements, 

and a submission to the OMB under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.) is not required. We may 

not conduct or sponsor, and you are not 

required to respond to, a collection of 

information unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

J. National Environmental Policy Act 

A detailed environmental analysis 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not 

required if the rule is covered by a 

categorical exclusion (see 43 CFR 

46.205). This final rule meets the 

criteria set forth at 43 CFR 46.210(i) for 

a Departmental Categorical Exclusion in 

that this final rule is ‘‘. . . of an 

administrative, financial, legal, 

technical, or procedural nature . . .’’ We 

have also determined that the rule does 

not involve any of the extraordinary 

circumstances listed in 43 CFR 46.215 

that would require further analysis 

under NEPA. 

K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 

13211) 

This rule is not a significant energy 

action under the definition in E.O. 

13211. Therefore, a Statement of Energy 

Effects is not required. 

List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 553 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Continental shelf, Financial 

responsibility, Liability, Limit of 

liability, Oil and gas exploration, Oil 

pollution, Oil spill, Outer Continental 

Shelf, Penalties, Pipelines, Rights-ofway, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Surety bonds, Treasury 

securities. 

Dated: January 9, 2018. 

Joseph R. Balash, 

Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals 

Management. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, BOEM amends 30 CFR part 

553 as follows: 

PART 553—OIL SPILL FINANCIAL 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE 

FACILITIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 553 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 2704, 2716; E.O. 

12777, as amended. 

■ 2. Revise § 553.702 to read as follows: 

§ 553.702 What limit of liability applies to 

my offshore facility? 

Except as provided in 33 U.S.C. 

2704(c), the limit of liability under OPA 

for a responsible party for any offshore 

facility, including any offshore pipeline, 

is the total of all removal costs plus 

$137.6595 million for damages with 

respect to each incident. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00798 Filed 1–17–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

U.S. Copyright Office 

37 CFR Parts 201, 202 

[Docket No. 2016–10] 

Group Registration of Photographs 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is 

modernizing its practices to increase the 

efficiency of the group registration 

option for photographs. This final rule 

modifies the procedure for registering 

groups of published photographs 

(GRPPH), and establishes a similar 

procedure for registering groups of 

unpublished photographs (GRUPH). 

Applicants will be required to use a new 

online application specifically designed 

for each option, instead of using a paper 

application, and will be allowed to 

include up to 750 photographs in each 

claim. The ‘‘unpublished collection’’ 

option (which allows an unlimited 

number of photographs to be registered 

with one application), and the ‘‘pilot 

program’’ (which allows an unlimited 

number of published photographs to be 

registered with the application designed 

for one work) will be eliminated. The 

corresponding ‘‘pilot program’’ for 

photographic databases will remain in 

effect for the time being. The final rule 

modernizes the deposit requirements by 

requiring applicants to submit their 

photographs in a digital format when 

using GRPPH, GRUPH, or the pilot 

program for photographic databases, 

along with a separate document 

containing a list of the titles and file 

names for each photograph. The final 

rule revises the eligibility requirements 

for GRPPH and GRUPH by providing 

that all the photographs must be created 

by the same ‘‘author’’ (a term that 

includes an employer or other person 

for whom a work is made for hire), and 

clarifying that they do not need to be 

created by the same photographer or 

published within the same country. It 

also confirms that a group registration 

issued under GRPHH or GRUPH covers 

each photograph in the group, each 

photograph is registered as a separate 

work, and the group as a whole is not 

considered a compilation or a collective 

work. 

DATES: Effective February 20, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert J. Kasunic, Associate Register of 

Copyrights and Director of Registration 

Policy and Practice; Sarang Vijay Damle, 

General Counsel and Associate Register 

of Copyrights; Erik Bertin, Deputy 

Director of Registration Policy and 

Practice by telephone at 202–707–8040 

or by email at rkas@loc.gov, sdam@

loc.gov, and ebertin@loc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Copyright Act gives the Register 

of Copyrights (the ‘‘Register’’) the 

discretion to allow groups of related 

works to be registered with one 

application and one filing fee. See 17 

U.S.C. 408(c)(1). Congress cited ‘‘a 

group of photographs by one 

photographer’’ as an example of a 

‘‘group of related works’’ that would be 

suitable for a group registration. H.R. 

Rep. No. 94–1476, at 154 (1976), 

reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 

5770; S. Rep. No. 94–473, at 136 (1975). 

When large numbers of photographs are 

grouped together in one application, 

however, information about the 

individual works may not be adequately 

captured. Group registration options 

therefore require careful balancing of 

the need for an accurate public record 

and the need for an efficient method of 

facilitating the examination of those 

works. 

On December 1, 2016, the Copyright 

Office (the ‘‘Office’’) published a Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) 

setting forth proposed amendments to 

the current regulation governing the 

group registration option for published 


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