Changes in the Minerals Management Service Offshore Regulatory Programs Resulting From the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
Authors: Danenberger E.P. 
Published: October 2008

ABSRACT

By adding new authority for state waters and pipelines, the oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) expanded the Minerals Management Service's (MMS) spill prevention and preparedness responsibilities. Agreements with state and other Federal agencies will be necessary to effectively implement this authority. In addition, OPA has significantly expanded existing MMS authority for issuing civil penalties and resulted in the assignment of new authority for the certification of financial responsibility. Title VII of OPA authorizes an expanded Federal oil pollution research and development program. The MMS is actively involved in the interagency committee that is evaluating and coordinating oilspill research needs. A principal objective of the MMS oil-spill program is to integrate research activities with existing and new spill prevention and contingency planning responsibilities.

INTRODUCTION

Since the passage of the Outer continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in 1953, the Department of the Interior has been responsible for promulgating and enforcing safety and pollution prevention regulations for oil and gas operations conducted in offshore Federal waters. These regulatory responsibilities, which are now assigned to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), have expanded dramatically as a result of the oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The OPA and implementing Executive Order (E.O.) 12777, signed by the President on October 18, 1991, expand the jurisdiction of MMS to include spill prevention and response preparedness for offshore rigs, platforms, and pipelines in both State and Federal waters. The OPA also grants MMS new authority to issue civil penalties and to certify financial responsibility for all offshore oil and gas facilities.

New Authority for Pipelines and State Waters.

The safety and pollution prevention responsibilities of MMS have, since their inception, been almost exclusively linked to those Federal offshore lands commonly described as the Outer continental Shelf (OCS). The OPA has changed the organization's mission by redefining its boundaries. The MMS will no longer be concerned only with activities on the Federal offshore lands that it leases. From the standpoint of MMS regulators, offshore and OCS can no longer be considered to be onymous.

The OPA and E.O. assign to MMS new or additional authority for oil-spill prevention, response planning, and response equipment inspection. This authority applies to all offshore facilities and pipelines, except for those that are associated with deep-water ports. "Offshore facilities," as defined by OPA, are those located "in, on, or under any of the navigable waters of the united States." In addition to OCS facilities, these include facilities in State waters that were formerly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the Clean Water Act.

The MMS authority for offshore pipelines was previously limited, by a 1976 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), Department of Transportation (DOT), to flow lines and some gathering lines. However, the new OPA authority applies to all offshore pipelines.