Document ID: USCG-1998-3786-0116
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Commercial Diving Operations (Federal Register Publication)
Posted Date: 2015-02-19T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9151-9187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02714]

[[Page 9151]]

Vol. 80

Thursday,

No. 33

February 19, 2015

Part V

 Department of Homeland Security

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 Coast Guard

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46 CFR Parts 8 and 197

Commercial Diving Operations; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 2015 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 9152]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Parts 8 and 197

[Docket No. USCG-1998-3786]
RIN 1625-AA21

Commercial Diving Operations

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to amend its regulations for 
commercial diving that is conducted from deepwater ports or deepwater 
port safety zones, or in connection with Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 
activities, or from vessels that are required to have a Coast Guard 
certificate of inspection. The regulations would be revised and updated 
to improve safety and to reflect current industry best practices. The 
proposed regulations would also allow the Coast Guard to approve 
independent third-party organizations to assist with ensuring 
regulatory compliance of commercial diving regulations. The proposed 
amendments promote the Coast Guard's maritime safety mission.

DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before May 20, 2015 
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date. Comments sent to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on collection of information 
must reach OMB on or before May 20, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments using one of the listed methods, and see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information on public comments.
     Online--http://www.regulations.gov following Web site 
instructions.
     Fax--202-493-2251.
     Mail--Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department 
of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand deliver--mail address, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays (telephone 202-366-9329).
    Collection of information. You must submit comments on the 
collection of information discussed in section IX.D of this preamble 
both to the Coast Guard's docket and to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House Office of Management and 
Budget. OIRA submissions can use one of the listed methods.
     Email (preferred)_oira_submission@omb.eop.gov (include 
the docket number and ``Attention: Desk Officer for Coast Guard, DHS'' 
in the subject line of the email).
     Fax--202-395-6566.
     Mail--Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 
ATTN: Desk Officer, U.S. Coast Guard.
    Viewing material proposed for incorporation by reference. Make 
arrangements to view this material by calling the Coast Guard's Office 
of Regulations and Administrative Law at 202-372-3870 or by emailing 
uscg.mil">HQS-SMB-CoastGuardRegulationsLaw@uscg.mil.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call or email Mr. Ken Smith, Project Manager, U.S. Coast Guard, 
Headquarters, Vessel and Facility Operating Standards Division, 
Commandant (CG-OES-2); telephone 202-372-1413, email 
uscg.mil">Ken.A.Smith@uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents for Preamble

I. Public Participation and Comments
II. Abbreviations
III. Basis and Purpose
IV. Background
V. Discussion of Comments on 2009 ANPRM
VI. Discussion of Proposed Rule
VII. Requests for Specific Comments
VIII. Incorporation by Reference
IX. Regulatory Analyses
    A. Regulatory Planning and Review
    B. Small Entities
    C. Assistance for Small Entities
    D. Collection of Information
    E. Federalism
    F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    G. Taking of Private Property
    H. Civil Justice Reform
    I. Protection of Children
    J. Indian Tribal Governments
    K. Energy Effects
    L. Technical Standards
    M. Environment

I. Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on this 
rulemaking. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final 
action based on your comments. Comments should be marked with docket 
number USCG-1998-3786, and should provide a reason for each suggestion 
or recommendation. You should provide personal contact information so 
that we can contact you if we have questions regarding your comments; 
but please note that all comments will be posted to the online docket 
without change and that any personal information you include can be 
searchable online (see the Federal Register Privacy Act notice 
regarding our public dockets, 73 FR 3316, Jan. 17, 2008).
    Mailed or hand-delivered comments should be in an unbound 8\1/2\ x 
11 inch format suitable for reproduction. The Docket Management 
Facility will acknowledge receipt of mailed comments if you enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope with your submission. 
Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public comments, are in our 
online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by 
following the Web site's instructions. You can also view the docket at 
the Docket Management Facility (see the mailing address under 
ADDRESSES) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
    We are not planning to hold a public meeting but will consider 
doing so if public comments indicate a meeting would be helpful. We 
would issue a separate Federal Register notice to announce the date, 
time, and location of such a meeting.

II. Abbreviations

ACDE Association of Commercial Diving Educators
ADCI Association of Diving Contractors International
ANPRM Advance notice of proposed rulemaking
ANSI American National Standards Institute
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
CDO Commercial Diving Operator
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CG Coast Guard
DHS Department of Homeland Security
DMT Diving medical technician
FR Federal Register
IMO International Maritime Organization
MISLE Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement
NAICS North American Industry Classification System
NOSAC National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
OCMI Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection
OCS Outer Continental Shelf
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Psi (g) Pounds per square inch (gauge)
RA Regulatory Analysis
SCUBA Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Sec.  Section symbol
TPO Third-party organization
U.S.C. United States Code

[[Page 9153]]

III. Basis and Purpose

    The legal basis for this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is 33 
U.S.C. 1509(b), which requires safety regulations for deepwater ports; 
43 U.S.C. 1333(d)(1), which permits safety regulations for Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) facilities and their equipment; 46 U.S.C. 3306, 
which requires regulations to implement subtitle II of Title 46 of the 
U.S. Code with respect to inspected vessels, including offshore supply 
vessels and their equipment; 46 U.S.C. 3703, which requires safety and 
environmental protection regulations for liquid bulk dangerous cargo 
carriers and their equipment, to be issued after consultation with 
Federal, State, and local governments and with private sector entities 
(we specifically request interested government agencies and private 
sector entities to comment on this NPRM); and 46 U.S.C. 6101, which 
requires regulations for reporting and investigating marine casualties. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security's authority under all of these 
statutes has been delegated to the Commandant of the Coast Guard by 
Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1, para. II (75), 
(90), and (92).
    The purpose of the NPRM is to propose revisions and updates to our 
existing commercial diving regulations, to improve safety, to reflect 
current industry best practices, and to facilitate the use of approved 
third-party organizations to ensure regulatory compliance.

IV. Background

    History. The Coast Guard issued commercial diving operation 
regulations (found at 46 CFR part 197, subpart B), in 1978. Generally, 
the regulations apply to commercial operations conducted from deepwater 
ports (such as offshore liquefied natural gas facilities), or as a part 
of OCS activities, or from vessels that are required to have a Coast 
Guard certificate of inspection.\1\ Commercial diving operations 
conducted near shore or in U.S. internal waters from a vessel not 
required to have a Coast Guard certificate of inspection are not 
covered by Coast Guard regulations, but are regulated by the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).\2\
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    \1\ 46 CFR 197.202.
    \2\ 29 CFR 1910.401-1910.441, 1915.6.
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    We began this rulemaking in 1994 at the request of an industry 
group now known as the Association of Diving Contractors International 
(ADCI). Among other recommendations for updating our 1978 regulations, 
ADCI suggested the Coast Guard incorporate its consensus standards into 
regulation. We issued our first advance notice of proposed rulemaking 
(ANPRM) in 1998 \3\ and noted that our regulations were then already 20 
years old and did not reflect the latest safety and technology 
standards and industry best practices. In 2009, a second ANPRM \4\ 
discussed in detail the public comments we received for the 1998 ANPRM, 
recounted the early history of the rulemaking, and summarized 
developments between 1998 and 2009. The public comments received on the 
1998 ANPRM revealed a deep split of opinion as to which industry 
group's standards should be incorporated in our regulations. Our 
position in the 2009 ANPRM was to encourage continued industry interest 
in this rulemaking and to solicit a new round of public comments.
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    \3\ 63 FR 34840 (Jun. 26, 1998).
    \4\ 74 FR 414 (Jan. 6, 2009).
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    Recommendations to the Coast Guard. We are aware of continuing 
issues such as proper dive manning, drill, medical and audit practices/
requirements among others, that have continued to be evident in the 
industry. Consequently, in this NPRM, we propose a complete revision of 
the commercial diving operation regulations in 46 CFR part 197, subpart 
B. In doing so, we are mindful of the recommendations made in the Coast 
Guard's 1996 formal investigation report into a commercial diving 
fatality involving Cliff's Drilling Rig No. 12 (``the Rig 12 report''), 
and of recommendations made in 2008 and 2012 by the Diving Subcommittee 
of the National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee (``the NOSAC 
report''). (NOSAC is a Federal advisory committee that advises the 
Coast Guard on matters related to operations and safety on the OCS.) 
All recommendations in the reports discussed above are available in the 
online docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
    The Rig 12 report recommended new requirements for additional 
safety equipment, standby divers, equipment maintenance records, and 
pre-dive planning. This NPRM proposes many of these measures. The Rig 
12 report also recommended against delegating Coast Guard dive safety 
enforcement duties to third-parties. Although this NPRM proposes the 
use of independent third-party auditors, their proposed use is intended 
to leverage industry expertise and capabilities, and provide a 
framework for Coast Guard enforcement, not to relieve us of our 
regulatory responsibilities. Therefore, we do not regard the use of 
third-party organizations as being contrary to the Rig 12 report 
recommendation.
    The 2008 NOSAC report to the Coast Guard \5\ noted that two 
industry groups, ADCI and the International Marine Contractors 
Association, had published standards that were more up to date than our 
regulations. The 2008 NOSAC report's major recommendations included 
avoiding overly-prescriptive requirements that might stifle innovation 
in diving safety, developing specific requirements for each diving 
mode, and setting training requirements that balance practical 
experience with classroom instruction. To implement those major 
recommendations, we concluded that it would be better to completely 
revise our regulations instead of making the section-by-section changes 
NOSAC suggested.
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    \5\ ``NOSAC Diving Subcommittee 46 CFR 197 Sub Part B General 
Revision Recommendations,'' Apr. 18, 2008.
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    The 2008 NOSAC report found that audits would be ``of great 
benefit'' but ``should be developed, implemented, and performed by 
industry in order to ensure full consideration of the operation in that 
geographical area.'' We encourage industry to conduct its own audits, 
this NPRM proposes the use of Coast Guard-approved third-party 
organizations subject to Coast Guard approval and oversight. In 
determining whether to approve a third-party organization, we would 
take into account the organization's ability to understand operating 
conditions within specific geographical areas.
    NOSAC also recommended in 2008 against recognizing self-contained 
underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving as an offshore commercial 
diving application. However, our discussions with members of the 
commercial diving industry and knowledge of known commercial diving 
activities indicates that this mode of diving continues to be used in 
some commercial diving operations, especially in shallow water. Since 
we are aware that SCUBA continues to be used in commercial diving 
activities regulated by the Coast Guard, we believe SCUBA diving should 
continue to be addressed in our commercial diving regulations in order 
to maintain established minimum safety standards for that mode of 
diving.
    In November 2009, NOSAC issued a report to the Coast Guard voicing 
concerns about the evacuation and medical treatment of injured workers 
from remote OCS facilities. Recognizing the importance of this matter, 
we asked NOSAC to reestablish the subcommittee

[[Page 9154]]

on commercial diving operations to review and assess the various issues 
and challenges associated with providing timely medical attention and 
treatment to divers who become ill or are injured while working subsea/
under pressures at remote OCS facilities or from the vessels servicing 
them. We asked the subcommittee to review and assess present 
capabilities, practices, and procedures for medical treatments and 
evacuations for injured divers to shore treatment facilities from 
offshore facilities, including industry and government agency resources 
and capabilities. We also asked the subcommittee to prepare a final 
report for NOSAC's review and approval, recommending how to alleviate 
the issues and problems associated with medical treatment or evacuation 
of injured divers from remote OCS facilities. On May 8, 2012, NOSAC 
made their final report to us, containing the following recommendations 
concerning commercial diving operations:
    1. Require a certified diver medical technician on each surface-
supplied and saturation diving operation taking place on the Outer 
Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico;
    2. Ensure that the certified diver medical technician in a 
saturation diving operation shall have saturation diving certification 
and experience;
    3. Ensure that the certified diver medical technician in a surface 
diving operation shall have surface diving certification and 
experience; and
    4. Ensure a detailed emergency action plan is in place for medical 
trauma or barotrauma related injuries for each diving operation. 
Environmental parameters, equipment, personnel, onboard medical 
supplies for remote operations and logistics should also be considered.
    Our NPRM addresses these recommendations, except that we believe 
that certified diver medical technicians may only be necessary for 
saturated diving operations, which would be in keeping with current 
U.S. industry practices. Presently, the commercial diving industry is 
required to have at least one diver medical technician on all 
saturation diving projects, in accordance with the 6th edition of the 
Association of Diving Contractors, ``International Standards for 
Commercial Diving and Underwater Operations.'' Additionally, as part of 
adopting this industry standard for saturated diving operations, we 
would require an emergency evacuation system to help ensure that divers 
undergoing hyperbaric treatment can be safely removed in the event of 
an emergency.

V. Discussion of Comments on 2009 ANPRM

    Comments received during the public comment period. The 2009 ANPRM 
specifically requested comment on six topics: (1) the possible 
regulatory adoption of industry standards, (2) the use of third-party 
organizations (TPOs) to conduct regulatory compliance audits, (3) 
compliance documentation, (4) recommendations made by the Rig 12 
report, (5) regulatory priorities, and (6) regulatory costs and 
benefits. We received comments from seven individuals or associations 
during the public comment period and, for the most part, the seven did 
not explicitly address the six topics we requested.
    One commenter asked if certain other organizations had posted 
comments and, if so, how to view their comments. Only one of the 
organizations mentioned by this commenter submitted a comment and it 
had already been posted online at http://www.regulations.gov. A second 
commenter asked the Coast Guard to regulate SCUBA diving for the 
commercial harvesting of coral in Hawaii. Coral harvesting is a form of 
commercial fishing and, as such, it is not covered by either our 
current or our proposed regulations, except when conducted from a Coast 
Guard-inspected vessel (most commercial fishing vessels are 
uninspected). Another commenter asked us to extend our commercial 
diving regulations to all marine assistance towing and salvage industry 
vessels. Proposals to extend the applicability of the commercial diving 
regulations to vessels or operations that are not now covered by those 
regulations are beyond the scope of this rulemaking.
    The fourth commenter expressed support for the use of TPOs to help 
provide a consistent level of compliance auditing. We agree with this 
comment, and third-party auditing is a central concept of this NPRM.
    The fifth commenter said that visual inspection of diver helmets is 
sufficient and that a requirement for annual helmet inspection only 
imposes unnecessary cost. Our review of commercial diving casualty data 
indicates that visual inspections are not enough to ensure that a 
helmet can be used safely in the hazardous conditions for which it is 
designed. We propose that helmets, as well as all other essential 
diving equipment, be inspected, maintained, and serviced in accordance 
with the manufacturer's instructions.
    The sixth commenter, an association, noted its participation in 
developing NOSAC's 2008 recommendations for improving our commercial 
diving regulations, and confirmed its ongoing interest in improving 
safety and efficiency. This comment requires no substantive response.
    The final commenter made 15 specific recommendations. In general, 
the recommendations dealt with safety equipment maintenance and repair 
guidelines and documentation, and with training requirements for safety 
equipment technicians and users. We believe our proposals align with 
the intent of those recommendations. The commenter also recommended 
specific reporting and chain of custody requirements for equipment 
involved in diving fatalities. In the event of a marine casualty or a 
serious marine incident, this NPRM proposes requiring the commercial 
diving operator (CDO) to suspend the commercial diving operation, take 
action to protect the safety of life and the environment, and resume 
the operation only after all commercial diving employees have fully 
complied with the reporting requirements of 46 CFR part 4. 
Additionally, the CDO would be required to analyze the event and take 
all reasonable action required to prevent further events from 
occurring, arrange for a timely post-casualty audit, and ensure that 
any equipment that may have contributed to the event is immediately 
removed from service and secured against unauthorized access and any 
change in its material condition. This NPRM also proposes requiring 
most diving equipment to carry a serial number or other unique 
identifier to aid in recording equipment maintenance and to facilitate 
casualty investigations. Finally, the commenter recommended 
standardizing training for Coast Guard regulatory compliance personnel. 
In lieu of standardizing training for Coast Guard regulatory compliance 
personnel, this NPRM would augment Coast Guard enforcement activities 
through the use of TPOs to provide another method for improving 
regulatory compliance. We invite the commenter to consider whether our 
NPRM proposals adequately address the concerns and to comment on those 
proposals.
    Late comments. We also received six comments after the close of the 
public comment period.
    The first late commenter said we should license all dive 
supervisors and life support technicians, that licensed supervisors and 
technicians should not be removed during diving operations except at 
their own request or for cause, and that we should make unannounced 
dive site inspections. We do not have authority to license commercial 
divers

[[Page 9155]]

or dive support personnel at this time. However, in this NPRM, we 
propose requiring commercial diving personnel to have the knowledge, 
skills, experience, and certification necessary to perform their 
assigned duties. Many of the desirable outcomes of a Coast Guard 
licensing program would be provided for by completing the training and 
experience requirements defined in this NPRM. We would enforce 
compliance through documentation requirements, inspections, and third-
party audits. This commenter also recommended United States and British 
coordination of dive personnel requirements. We believe our 
incorporation of the international dive standards of ADCI and of 
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly Resolution 
A.831(19), the International Code of Safety for Diving Systems, meets 
the intent of the commenter.
    The other late commenters all suggested minimum dive team size and 
composition requirements. This NPRM reflects many of those suggestions 
and we are interested in hearing from the public as to whether our 
proposed minimum requirements are appropriate.

VI. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    We propose revising the 1978 commercial diving regulations in 
subpart B of 46 CFR part 197 (Marine Occupational Safety and Health 
Standards, General Provisions). The scope of diving operations affected 
by these regulations would not change, and affected diving operators 
would still be able to substitute alternative measures, standards, or 
equipment if those can be shown to provide an equivalent level of 
safety. However, we would replace most of the regulations that impose 
specific operational, personnel, and equipment requirements with new 
regulations that draw on industry's best practices incorporated in 
ADCI's current consensus standards. We would also incorporate ADCI's 
commercial diver training requirements which are based in part on the 
consensus standards of the Association of Commercial Diving Educators 
(ACDE). Our proposed regulatory language does not duplicate all the 
provisions of either the ADCI or ACDE standards, but instead adapts 
them to create a new regulatory baseline. Affected diving operations 
would have to comply with that baseline, but where they can use 
practices that provide greater safety than our baseline, we encourage 
them to voluntarily do so.
    The 2009 ANPRM \6\ discussed our preference for using ``regulations 
as a tool to encourage compliance, before injuries or deaths occur, 
rather than as a way of punishing violators in the wake of a tragedy.'' 
Currently, the enforcement of commercial diving regulations is governed 
by the general civil and criminal penalty procedures found in 33 CFR 
subpart 1.07, and on the authority to initiate personnel actions 
against licensed mariners authorized under 46 CFR subchapter A 
(Procedures Applicable to the Public). We will retain these tools but 
believe they, alone, are inadequate to prevent accidents from 
happening. Therefore, this NPRM focuses on proactively promoting and 
supporting appropriate administrative, operational, and auditing 
environments to ensure or improve safety. Under our proposals, 
commercial diving operators would have to provide additional compliance 
documentation. Coast Guard personnel or approved TPOs would be 
authorized to inspect operator records, observe diving operations, and 
interview an operator's employees.
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    \6\ 74 FR 414, 415.
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    In some diving accidents, the dive team has been so small that it 
was unable to respond to the emergency or retrieve a disabled diver in 
time to avoid a serious injury or death. Often, a single dive team 
member holds multiple duties (for example serving as both the dive 
supervisor and as a standby diver). This NPRM proposes new minimum 
standards for the size and composition of dive teams. We also propose 
prohibiting standby divers from having multiple duties that could 
interfere with their ability to focus on their primary role or respond 
adequately to an emergency. These proposals are based on manning levels 
adopted by the ADCI and the International Association of Oil and Gas 
Producers. They are minimum levels for safe team operation in the 
emergency conditions that can readily arise in a dynamic operating 
environment.
    We propose requiring U.S. inspected vessels conducting commercial 
diving operations in any waters and foreign vessels conducting diving 
operations on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf to meet the IMO's 
International Code of Safety for Diving Systems.\7\ This will help 
ensure that diving systems are designed, constructed, and surveyed in 
accordance with an accepted international standard. A diving system 
safety certificate would provide evidence of compliance. This 
certificate would be issued to a U.S. vessel by a recognized 
classification society; a foreign vessel's certificate would be issued 
by its flag state or their delegated authority.
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    \7\ IMO Assembly Resolution A.831(19).
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    Finally, we propose using TPOs to audit CDOs and determine, on our 
behalf, whether or not those CDOs are in compliance with our 
regulations. Our proposed use of TPOs to perform delegated regulatory 
oversight functions is similar to our longstanding use of recognized 
classification societies to perform delegated Coast Guard vessel 
inspection and certification functions, as described in 46 CFR part 8 
subpart B. These arrangements enable the Coast Guard to make use of a 
commercial organization's trained personnel and resources. However, the 
Coast Guard specifically seeks public input on the following question: 
What merits and drawbacks can be associated with the proposed use of 
third parties acting on behalf of the Coast Guard to conduct audits of 
commercial diving operations?
    Table 1 shows how the content of the current commercial diving 
regulations would be affected by this NPRM. Table 2 provides details 
about specific sections in the proposed regulations.

         Table 1--Treatment of Current 46 CFR Part 197 Subpart B Subject Matter in Proposed Regulations
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                                            Proposed 46 CFR part 197
    Current 46 CFR part 197 subpart B              subpart B                           Discussion
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General, 197.201-197.210................  General, 197.201-197.205...  General provisions would be revised and
                                                                        reorganized with no change in substance,
                                                                        except for the addition of new
                                                                        definitions. Current 197.200 (Purpose of
                                                                        subpart) would be removed as
                                                                        unnecessary. Current 197.203 (Right of
                                                                        appeal) would be removed as
                                                                        unnecessarily duplicative of 46 CFR
                                                                        subpart 1.03. Current 197.208
                                                                        (designation of person in charge) and
                                                                        197.210 (designation of diving
                                                                        supervisor) would be replaced by new
                                                                        197.220.
Equipment, 197.300-197.346..............  Equipment, 197.270-197.286.  Equipment provisions would be
                                                                        substantively revised.

[[Page 9156]]

 
Operations, 197.400-197.420.............  Specific Operations,         Operations provisions would be
                                           197.260-197.267.             substantively revised.
Specific Diving Mode Procedures, 197.430- Specific Operations,         New provisions would be added for
 197.436.                                  197.260-197.267.             specific diving modes.
Periodic Tests and Inspections of Diving  Equipment, 197.270-197.286.  Testing and inspection requirements for a
 Equipment, 197.450-197.462.                                            specific item of equipment would appear
                                                                        in the section providing overall
                                                                        equipment requirements for that item.
                                                                        General testing and inspection
                                                                        requirements would appear under
                                                                        ``Operational Duties'' (197.220-197.225)
                                                                        and ``Specific Operations (197.260-
                                                                        197.267).''
Records, 197.480-197.488................  See Discussion column......  Logbook requirements would appear in
                                                                        197.221. Casualty record requirements
                                                                        would appear in 197.224.
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                              Table 2--Proposed New or Amended Regulations, 46 CFR
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           46 CFR section                  Proposed version                 Comment on proposed version
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                     46 CFR Part 8, Subpart C--International Convention Certificate Issuance
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8.320..............................  Classification society       Amend this section to add IMO diving system
                                      authorization to issue       safety certificate to the list of
                                      international certificates.  certificates.
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                            46 CFR Part 197, Subpart B--Commercial Diving Operations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             197.200-197.205 General
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.200............................  Applicability..............  Add paragraph (d) concerning foreign vessels;
                                                                   otherwise, rewrite current 197.202 for
                                                                   improved clarity but without changing scope.
197.201............................  Definitions................  Current 197.204 definitions with some revision
                                                                   and supplementing to reflect other proposed
                                                                   changes.
197.202............................  Incorporation by reference.  Current 197.205 updated to conform to Office
                                                                   of Federal Register requirements and to
                                                                   reflect other proposed changes.
197.203............................  Equivalents................  Current 197.206 dealing with acceptable
                                                                   regulatory substitutes, revised for clarity
                                                                   without changing the public's ability to use
                                                                   approved substitutes (equivalents) for
                                                                   regulatory standards.
197.204............................  Commercial diving            New provisions requiring certain operations to
                                      operations conducted in      comply with the International Code of Safety
                                      foreign waters.              for Diving Systems and to possess valid
                                                                   diving system safety certificates.
197.205............................  Enforcement................  New provisions giving the Coast Guard
                                                                   additional enforcement authority and
                                                                   requiring certain vessels to document
                                                                   compliance with the International Code of
                                                                   Safety for Diving Systems.
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                                             197.209-197.213 Audits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.209............................  Third-party audits.........  New provisions for the internal and external
197.210............................  Internal audits............   auditing of diving-related operations.
197.211............................  External audits............
197.212............................  Pre-audit notification.....
197.213............................  Audit reporting............
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                                       197.220-197.225 Operational Duties
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.220............................  Commercial diving operators  Places specific regulatory responsibilities on
                                                                   CDOs to ensure full organizational
                                                                   accountability. Current regulations provide
                                                                   specific responsibilities only for the person
                                                                   in charge and dive supervisor.
197.221............................  Persons in charge..........  Largely retains the person in charge's
                                                                   responsibilities listed in current 197.402,
                                                                   while adding new provisions relating to dive
                                                                   planning and dynamic positioning.
197.222............................  Dive supervisors...........  Retains several responsibilities that dive
                                                                   supervisors have under current 197.404, but
                                                                   adds new safety requirements, for example,
                                                                   explicitly giving the dive supervisor final
                                                                   authority over the dive, and requiring the
                                                                   dive supervisor to communicate with dive team
                                                                   members in a language they understand.
197.223............................  Operations manual..........  Largely unchanged from current 197.420, but
                                                                   revised for clarity.
197.224............................  Operational duties in the    Substantively identical to requirements in
                                      event of marine casualty     current 197.484-197.488; revised for clarity.
                                      or serious marine incident.
197.225............................  Safety management system...  New provisions establishing operations under a
                                                                   safety management system.
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[[Page 9157]]

 
                              197.240-197.247 Personnel Training and Qualifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.240............................  General requirement........  New provisions to set minimum standards,
                                                                   generally and for each dive team position.
197.241............................  Standby divers.............
197.242............................  Dive supervisors...........
197.243............................  Divers and dive tenders....
197.244............................  Life-support technicians...
197.245............................  Saturation technicians.....
197.246............................  Individuals conducting
                                      underwater burning,
                                      welding, or exothermic
                                      cutting.
197.247............................  Diver medical technicians..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 197.250-197.253 Health and Medical Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.250............................  Medical examinations.......  New minimum health and medical standards.
197.251............................  Pre-operational
                                      verification.
197.252............................  Work hours.................
197.253............................  Ascent to altitude after
                                      diving or flying after
                                      diving.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       197.260-197.267 Specific Operations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.260............................  Operations with potential    New minimum standards for specific operations.
                                      for differential pressures
                                      in adjacent areas.
197.261............................  Operations conducted from a
                                      dynamic positioning vessel.
197.262............................  Operations conducted from a
                                      vessel that is liveboating.
197.263............................  Operations involving SCUBA.
197.264............................  Operations involving
                                      multiple dives by a diver.
197.265............................  Operations in which a
                                      diver's decompression is
                                      required, but has been
                                      omitted.
197.266............................  Operations in contaminated
                                      water.
197.267............................  Operations involving
                                      underwater welding and
                                      burning.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            197.270-197.286 Equipment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.270............................  General requirements.......  New minimum equipment standards.
197.271............................  Commercial diving
                                      operator's general
                                      equipment duties.
197.272............................  Person in charge's
                                      equipment duties.
197.273............................  Dive supervisor's equipment
                                      maintenance logbook duties.
197.274............................  Diver's equipment duties...
197.275............................  Volume tanks...............
197.276............................  Compressed gas cylinders...  Covers same topic as current 197.338, but adds
                                                                   new industry standard requirement.
197.277............................  Pressure vessels for human   Covers same topic as current 197.328-197.332,
                                      occupancy.                   but adds new industry standard requirement.
197.278............................  Pressure piping............  Similar to current 197.336, but proposes
                                                                   updated industry standard.
197.279............................  First aid and treatment      Covers same topic as current 197.454, but adds
                                      equipment.                   new industry standard requirement and greater
                                                                   detail.
197.280............................  Diving ladders and stages..  Covers same topic as current 197.320, but adds
                                                                   new industry standard requirement.
197.281............................  Surface-supplied helmets     Covers same topic as current 197.322, but adds
                                      and masks.                   new industry standard requirement.
197.282............................  Diver's safety harness.....  Covers same topic as current 197.324, but adds
                                                                   new industry standard requirement.
197.283............................  Buoyancy-changing devices..  Identical to current 197.342.
197.284............................  Inflatable flotation         Identical to current 197.344.
                                      devices.
197.285............................  Oxygen safety..............  Substantively identical to current 197.326 and
                                                                   197.452.
197.286............................  Miscellaneous equipment      See discussion for specific items.
                                      requirements.
                                     --Breathing gas supply,      Similar to current 197.340(e), but adds detail
                                      diver-carried reserve.       for unused ports.
                                     --Breathing gas supply,      Substantively identical to current 197.340(a).
                                      primary.
                                     --Breathing gas supply,      Substantively identical to current 197.340(b).
                                      secondary.
                                     --Oxygen...................  Substantively identical to current 197.340(f).

[[Page 9158]]

 
                                     --Nitrogen.................  Substantively identical to current 197.340(g).
                                     --Helium...................  Substantively identical to current 197.340(h).
                                     --Compressed air...........  Substantively identical to current 197.340(i).
                                     --Diving system power......  New minimum equipment standards.
                                     --Equipment to which a
                                      manufacturer's service
                                      life specification applies.
                                     --Equipment used with
                                      oxygen mixture greater
                                      than 23.5 percent by
                                      volume.
                                     --Gauges and timekeeping     Substantively identical to current 197.318,
                                      devices.                     but adds readability requirement for devices
                                                                   for monitoring diver exposure time under
                                                                   pressure.
                                     --Oxygen system, pressure    Substantively identical to current 197.326.
                                      greater than 125 psi(g).
                                     --Pressure piping repairs..  Covers same topic as current 197.462, but adds
                                                                   new industry standards requirement.
                                     --Pressure vessel repairs..  Covers same topic as current 197.462, but adds
                                                                   new industry standards requirement.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           197.290 Dive Team Staffing
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197.290............................  Dive team staffing           New minimum team size and composition
                                      requirements.                standards.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VII. Requests for Specific Comments

    We would like more information about the SCUBA dive teams, whether 
all dive teams should include medical technicians, and whether or not 
we should consider alternative approaches to our proposed regulations. 
The following questions relate to these three issues. In response to 
these questions we ask for public comments with supporting data and 
references if possible.
    SCUBA dive teams. Our first issue is the minimum size of a SCUBA 
dive team. Our NPRM proposes setting the minimum at four members, the 
same as required by the Army Corps of Engineers, but one more than 
OSHA's minimum.
    QUESTION 1: The Coast Guard proposes a SCUBA dive team consisting 
of four members, based on the assumption that prudent commercial diving 
operators use SCUBA only when conditions are favorable to the diver and 
risk is minimal: That is, underwater visibility is greater than 3 feet, 
currents are less than 1 knot, and dive depth is no more than 100 fsw 
with no decompression. Is that assumption valid? Should a SCUBA dive 
team consist of more or fewer than four members? Why? What costs would 
be incurred and what benefits would be gained by setting the minimum 
higher or lower than four members?
    Medical technicians. The second issue involves certified diving 
medical technicians (DMTs). Commercial diving exposes divers to unique 
risks and physical challenges, such as barotrauma, that may require 
specialized and readily available medical care.
    QUESTION 2: Should a DMT always be available, either as part of the 
dive team or at the dive site during a dive? Why or why not? What costs 
would be incurred and what benefits would be gained by requiring this 
level of availability?
    Alternative approaches. Our third issue involves alternative 
approaches.
    QUESTION 3: Under one alternative to our proposals, the Coast Guard 
would not directly oversee TPO audits of commercial diving operations 
and would allow TPOs to self-certify that their audits comply with 
Coast Guard standards. However, we would indirectly oversee audits by 
investigating reported marine casualties and associated civil penalty 
proceedings. Under a second alternative, neither the Coast Guard nor a 
TPO would conduct inspections or audits of commercial diving 
operations. The only compliance oversight would come through casualty 
investigations and civil penalty proceedings.
    The Coast Guard requests input on what merits and drawbacks may be 
associated with these two alternative approaches?

VIII. Incorporation by Reference

    Material for incorporation by reference appears in proposed 46 CFR 
197.202. See ADDRESSES for information on viewing this material. Copies 
of the material are available from the sources listed in Sec.  197.202. 
Before publishing a binding rule, we will submit this material to the 
Director of the Federal Register for approval of the incorporation by 
reference.
    The following are proposed for incorporation by reference: 
International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and Underwater 
Operations, 6th Edition, 2010 (``ADCI Standards''): Industry consensus 
standards for commercial diving and underwater operations for 
commercial divers, tenders, deck support personnel and supervisors 
including requirements and guidelines for training, qualification, and 
certification of commercial divers and conducting various types of 
diving operations.
    IMO Resolution A.831(19), International Code of Safety for Diving 
Systems, 1995: Internationally accepted minimum standards for design, 
construction and survey of diving systems on ships and floating 
structures engaged in commercial diving operations. IMO Resolution 
A.692(17), Guidelines and Specifications for Hyperbaric Evacuation 
Systems: International guidelines and specifications developed for 
design and operation of hyperbaric evacuation systems.
    ASME PVHO-1-2012, Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human 
Occupancy, 2012 (``ASME PVHO-1''): American standard for design, 
materials, fabrication, tests, inspection and marking of pressure 
vessels used for human occupancy.
    ASME B31.1-2010, ASME Code for Pressure Piping, Power Piping, 2010 
(``ASME B31.1''): American standard for design, materials, fabrication, 
tests, inspection, operation and maintenance of pressurized piping 
systems.
    ASME National Board Inspection Code, NBBPVI, NB23-2011 (``ASME 
NBBPVI''): American standard for inspection, repair and alteration of 
boilers, pressure vessels, and pressure relief devices.

[[Page 9159]]

    ANSI/ISO 15618-1:2001, Qualification testing of welders for 
underwater welding--Part 1: Diver-welders for hyperbaric wet welding 
(``ANSI/ISO 15618''): American standard specifying essential 
requirements, ranges of approval, acceptance requirements and 
certification for approval testing of diver-welder performance for 
welding steels underwater in hyperbaric wet environments.
    ANSI/ACDE-01-2009, Divers--Commercial Diver Training--Minimum 
Standards, (``ANSI/ACDE-01-2009''): American standard specifying 
minimum standards for commercial diver training including what is to be 
taught, minimum length of training required, minimum qualifications of 
instructors, and minimum facilities and equipment required to support 
commercial diver training.
    Publication G-4.1, Cleaning Equipment for Oxygen Service, 2009 
(``Compressed Gas Association Publication G-4.1''): Cleaning methods 
for cleaning equipment used in production, storage, distribution, and 
use of liquid and gaseous oxygen.
    Publication G-7, Compressed Air for Human Respiration, 6th Edition, 
2008, (Compressed Gas Association Publication G-7''): Information 
relative to preparation, transportation, handling, storage, and use of 
compressed air used for human respiration. Publication G-7.1, Commodity 
Specification for Air, 6th Edition, 2011, (Compressed Gas Association 
Publication G-7.1): Specification requirements for air and data 
concerning quality, verification systems, sampling, analytical 
procedures, and typical uses for various grades and supplemental 
specification tables.
    Federal Specification, BB-N-411C, Nitrogen Technical, 2000 
(``Federal Specification BB-N-411C''): U.S. Federal specification 
outlining requirements for properties, purity, types, grades, classes, 
handling and storage of gaseous and liquid nitrogen.
    Federal Specification, Oxygen, Technical, Gas and Liquid, BB-O-
925a, 1961 (``Federal Specification BB-O-925a''): U.S. Federal 
specification outlining specification and standards for purity, 
sampling, inspection, testing, handling, storage and delivery of 
gaseous and liquid oxygen.
    ISO 9001--2008, Quality Management Systems--Requirements: 
International standard specifying requirements for establishing, 
documenting, implementing, and maintaining a quality management system.
    ISO 15618--2001, Qualification testing of welders for underwater 
welding--Part 1: Diver-welders for hyperbaric wet welding: 
International standard specifying essential requirements, ranges of 
approval, test conditions, acceptance requirements and certification 
for approval testing of diver-welder performance for welding steels 
underwater in hyperbaric wet environments.
    U.S. Navy Diving Manual, 6th Edition, April 2008: Specifications 
for diving principles and policies, air diving, mixed-gas surface 
supplied diving, closed-circuit and semiclosed-circuit diving, and 
diving medicine and recompression chamber operations .

IX. Regulatory Analyses

    We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes 
and Executive Orders (E.O.s) related to rulemaking. Below we summarize 
our analyses based on these statutes or E.O.s.

A. Regulatory Planning and Review

    E.O.s 12866 (``Regulatory Planning and Review'') and 13563 
(``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review'') direct agencies to 
assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, 
if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that 
maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, 
public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). 
Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both 
costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of 
promoting flexibility.
    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not 
reviewed it under that Order. Nonetheless, we developed an analysis of 
the costs and benefits of the proposed rule to ascertain its probable 
impacts on industry. We consider all estimates and analysis in this 
Regulatory Analysis (RA) to be preliminary and subject to change in 
consideration of public comments. A draft Regulatory Analysis including 
a draft preliminary Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) is 
available in the docket where indicated under the ``Public 
Participation and Request for Comments'' section of this preamble. A 
summary of the preliminary Regulatory Analysis and Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis follows. Our preliminary RA provides an evaluation 
of the impacts associated with this proposed rule. Table 3 below 
provides a summary of the affected population, costs, and benefits of 
the proposed rule.

 Table 3--Summary of the Affected Population, Costs and Benefits of the
                                  NPRM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Category                              Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicability.....................  Diving undertaken in connection with
                                     commercial operations conducted
                                     from deepwater ports (such as
                                     offshore liquefied natural gas
                                     facilities), or OCS activities, or
                                     from vessels that are required to
                                     have a Coast Guard certificate of
                                     inspection; 46 CFR 197.200.
Affected Population...............  87 owners or operators of commercial
                                     diving operations (mainly heavy
                                     offshore marine construction or
                                     working from USCG-certificated
                                     vessels). 12 TPOs.
Costs ($, 7 percent discount rate)  Annualized:
                                    Manning: $1,460,500.
                                    Non-Manning: $350,000.
                                    Total: $1,811,000.
                                    10-Year:
                                    Manning: $14,606,000.
                                    Non-Manning: $3,501,000.
                                    Total: $18,107,000.
Benefits ($, 7 percent discount     Monetized Benefits from Manning
 rate).                              Requirement
                                    Annualized:
                                    Fatalities: $2,366,000.
                                    Injuries: $116, 935.
                                    Total: $2,482,935.

[[Page 9160]]

 
                                    10-Year:
                                    Fatalities: $23,660,000.
                                    Injuries: $1,169,350.
                                    Total: $24,635,350.
                                    Annualized Net Benefits: $1,056,000.
                                    Benefits attributable to other
                                     requirements cannot be quantified
                                     easily since they intersect with
                                     all improvements.
                                    Breakeven analysis on other rule
                                     items yields anywhere from 1
                                     fatality per 44 years to 1 fatality
                                     every 3,056 years to breakeven.\8\
                                    Sets one industry standard, and
                                     provides Coast Guard with
                                     additional inspection options to
                                     implement commercial diving
                                     operations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The purpose of this proposed rule is to save lives by revising and 
updating our existing commercial diving regulations to reflect current 
industry best practices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See RA's Appendix D for Breakeven Calculations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Agencies take regulatory action for several reasons, one being the 
failure of markets to reach the socially optimal outcome. This can 
occur when there are economic incentives lacking for industry to pursue 
that outcome and such market failures are the impetus for this proposed 
rule. A negative externality is the by-product of a transaction between 
two parties that is not accounted for in the transaction. Vessels that 
operate with lower safety standards may cause harm or increased risk of 
harm without accounting for the consequences to third parties, who do 
not directly participate in the business transactions of the business 
entities such as merchant seaman. These costs are not borne by the 
responsible entities and are therefore external to the business 
decisions of the responsible entity.
    The casualties resulting from commercial diving accidents are an 
example. The cost of the higher safety standards is typically borne by 
the vessel owner while the cost of an accident could be distributed 
across various entities, including the vessel owner, other vessel 
owners, related maritime businesses and commercial diver teams. These 
costs can be in the form of injuries and death.
    The material failure of the private market increases the risk to 
other parties. There exists an uncompensated increase in risk due to 
potentially inconsistent safety practices in the commercial diving 
industry. Consequently, regulatory action is required to spur the 
industry to take action to reduce risk industry-wide and therefore 
attain the socially optimal outcome.
    The functional benefits of this proposed rule are to reduce the 
number of accidents in all commercial diving operations that the Coast 
Guard has responsibility for (especially the offshore diving industry), 
as well as to minimize the adverse impacts in the event that an 
accident occurs.
Affected Population
    Based on a review of current Association of Diving Contractors 
International industry information and Bureau of Labor Statistics 
diving population data, there are almost 200 domestic firms involved in 
commercial diving operations, of which 87 are subject to Coast Guard 
jurisdiction. Approximately 75 of these firms are registered with ADCI 
and, as such, are required to comply with the ADCI consensus standards. 
We estimate there are 12 firms covered by Coast Guard jurisdiction that 
are not members of ADCI. Table 4 demonstrates generally how Coast Guard 
went from the commercial diving population to a distribution of dive 
types and firms both within the ADCI framework and without.

                                         Table 4--USCG Regulated Commercial Diving by Type and Firm Composition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Population of USCG regulated commercial divers by type
                                                         --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             Surface supplied air ***
                          Item                                                           --------------------------------                      Total
                                                           Saturation *      SCUBA **       100 fsw/no                       Mixed gas
                                                                                           decompression       Other
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADCI Divers.............................................             336              40              93             191              96             756
Non-ADCI Divers.........................................               0               0              20              35  ..............              55
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................             336              40             113             226              96             811
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADCI Dive teams.........................................              24              10              23              38              19             114
Non-ADCI Dive Teams.....................................               0               0               5               7               0              12
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................              24              10              28              45              19             126
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADCI Marine Firms ****..................................              12              10              13              21              19              75
Non-ADCI Marine Firms *****.............................               0               0               5               7               0              12
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 9161]]

 
    Total...............................................              12              10              18              28              19              87
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Number of Saturation Vessels * 14 crewman * 2 crews.
** USCG estimate of 5% of total diver population.
*** USCG estimates based upon ADCI member distribution.
**** Known number of ADCI firms.
***** Inferred Number of Firms based upon ``excess'' (not accounted for in ADCI) Diver population.

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP19FE15.032

    The key population subset affected by the manning additional costs 
is the Surface Supplied Air 100fsw/no decompression mode. As shown in 
Table 5, both ADCI and no-ADCI firm groups are affected given the CG 
decision to increase the number of dive team members by one number. 
Most of the remaining costs impact the non-ADCI members, since we 
cannot confirm they are following ADCI protocols. Also, one 
qualification for saturation diving, that of taking a medical course 
every two years for saturation diving technicians, is an additional 
requirement for ADCI divers in that mode. Since we assume that non-ADCI 
commercial diving is composed of small firms and simpler diving modes 
than the complex saturation diving mode, this requirement does not 
affect them.
    In addition, total TPO (auditor) population is expected to be 12. 
The TPO population includes current 10 auditors and the two estimated 
to be required by the non-ADCI firms.
Regulatory Alternatives
    We considered four alternatives before settling on the approach 
proposed in this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
    1. Take no action. We would leave the existing regulations in place 
without updating them. Voluntary compliance with commercial diving 
industry consensus standards and the possibility of civil liability 
would continue to be the primary drivers of improvements in commercial 
diver safety. We think this is inconsistent with our regulatory

[[Page 9162]]

responsibility to promote safety, and it also ignores the fact that 
some members of industry and the general public have criticized our 
existing regulations for being out of date.
    2. Develop an international code. We would work with the 
International Maritime Organization to update its Code of Safety for 
Diving Systems, and adopt it as being applicable to all U.S. commercial 
diving operations wherever they were occurring. This could promote 
diver safety, and we do not rule out continued involvement in assisting 
in development of the standard. However, it would take years to develop 
and would not be effective without additional requirements necessary to 
further define the vague language that often accompanies international 
codes. Furthermore, we believe the existing IMO Code, coupled with the 
U.S. regulations we propose in this NPRM, should be applicable for U.S. 
vessels on an international voyage, but do not believe the 
international requirements should necessarily be imposed on U.S. 
vessels that are not engaged on international voyages.
    3. Development of unique Coast Guard regulations: Under this 
alternative, the Coast Guard would develop its own updated regulations 
without reference to existing industry standards. This would involve 
additional regulatory time and effort for the Coast Guard, and 
ultimately might produce regulations that are similar to existing 
industry standards. However, this alternative would be contrary to the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, 15 U.S.C. 272 note, 
which requires agencies to use voluntary private sector consensus 
standards in their regulatory activities unless the agency provides 
Congress, through OMB, with an explanation of why using these standards 
would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. 
Additionally, Coast Guard developed standards would likely place diving 
firms who are members of ADCI in the position of facing duplicative 
enforcement costs, due to the fact that they are already complying with 
the ADCI guidelines.
    4. Adopting Industry Standards without Manning Changes Alternative: 
We considered and rejected this alternative, which entails proposing 
regulations that incorporate accepted industry consensus standards 
(e.g. ADCI International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and 
Underwater Operations, 6th edition), but without an increase in manning 
that CG might want. This would codify many current consensus industry 
standards and provide enforcement capability. CG would incorporate all 
or most of what is in the ADCI consensus standards. However, CG could 
not incorporate it in total because some of the items in our existing 
regulations are not included in the ADCI standard. Much of what is 
written in the proposed regulations is written to augment the consensus 
standards to ensure previous requirements are not lost. CG ultimately 
rejected this approach, although less expensive, because of the lack of 
direct manning benefits in reducing fatalities and injuries.
    5. Accepted alternative: Adaptation of industry standards: We 
considered and accepted this alternative, which entails proposing 
regulations that incorporate accepted industry consensus standards 
(e.g. ADCI International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and 
Underwater Operations, 6th edition). This will codify many current 
consensus industry standards and provide enforcement capability. CG 
incorporated most of what is in the ADCI consensus standards. CG could 
not incorporate it in total because some of the items in our existing 
regulations are not included in the ADCI standard. Much of what is 
written in the proposed regulations is written to augment the consensus 
standards to ensure previous requirements are not lost. CG used our 
existing regulations as a baseline and incorporated ADCI mostly based 
on that and the recommendations we got from industry on certain topics. 
These requirements also include an increase in manning (by one person) 
for the Surface Supplied Air no decompression mode.
    Table 6 summarizes these alternatives.

                                      Table 6--Description of Alternatives
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Alternative                       Costs                 Benefits                  Evaluation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take No Action.....................  None..................  None..................  Not preferred because of
                                                                                      risks that appear to still
                                                                                      exist within the industry
                                                                                      in spite of ADCI
                                                                                      protocols.
Develop an International Code......  Likely Costlier and     Reduce Remaining Risk.  Not preferred because of
                                      less Timely than best                           timely expense of having
                                      approach due to                                 many parties involved that
                                      Increased No of                                 would have slowed progress
                                      Parties Involved.                               in getting a rule out
                                                                                      expeditiously.
Develop Unique Coast Guard           Might be Costlier due   Reduce Remaining Risk.  Not preferred because of
 Regulations.                         to Duplication with                             high risk of duplication
                                      ADCI rules.                                     of many of ADCI protocols
                                                                                      that already exist.
Proposed ADCI Duplicative Rule in    $400,000..............  Reduce Remaining Risk.  Marginal Approach
 NPRM without Manning.                                                                especially given ADCI
                                                                                      standards that still would
                                                                                      not cover all CG desired
                                                                                      requirements.
Proposed Rule in NPRM with Manning.  $1.81 million.........  $2.4 million..........  Best Approach consistent
                                                                                      with comprehensive,
                                                                                      extensive and timely
                                                                                      approach that gives the
                                                                                      best bang for the buck.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG.

Costs
    This proposed rule calls for CDOs and commercial divers to comply 
with a new regulatory baseline that is based on the industry-developed 
consensus standards of ADCI plus certain CG additions (in manning and 
medical area). We believe the majority (75 out of 87 identified 
commercial diving firms) of the affected population is in compliance 
with the proposed baseline. We know that the 75 ADCI firms are in 
general (except for manning and medical upgrades from CG) in compliance 
or else they would not qualify for ADCI membership. Members of ADCI 
must meet the Association's standard or face a suspension of their 
membership and potential loss of contracts. For example, ADCI members 
who fail an ADCI audit inspired by a complaint or a random audit 
exercise, are given time to correct the deficiency. If the deficiency 
is not corrected in a reasonable time, ADCI will (and has in the past) 
dis-enroll the offending member. Members generally know this

[[Page 9163]]

is a dangerous route to take as the re-enrollment process is very 
expensive, requiring complete audits of every facet of their operation. 
In general, not having the ADCI certification will likely result in 
fewer work opportunities particularly with the oil and natural gas 
industries.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Conclusions based upon various USCG conversations with 
industry participants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We have no gauge of any compliance for the inferred non-ADCI firms. 
However, we anticipate that some CDOs and divers will need to take 
steps to ensure compliance with the proposed audit system, drills and 
exercises, medical examination requirements, personal operational 
requirements, and reporting/recordkeeping requirements. We assess the 
costs for these CDOs and divers not already in compliance with ADCI 
(based upon the twelve Non-ADCI firms), as well as for all CDOs and 
divers to meet the other requirements added by the Coast Guard.
    The costs impacting this rule are from changes in requirements in 
Dive manning, Drills, Audits, Med Issues, Records and Documentation. 
Total dive manning industry requirements are based upon 28 (23 ADCI and 
5 non-ADCI) incremental divers in that SSA mode. Audits are required 
both internally and by external means (TPO) and range from $176-$2,096 
depending on the cycle or vessel/firm. Drills can cost from $3300-
$14000 per drill/firm depending on type (Standard Operations Review, 
Diver Recovery, or Emergency Rescue) for an annual total cost of 
$18000-26000. Medical costs comprise two items: The first item is an 
annual medical exam for the 55 non-ADCI divers while the second is a 
biennial training session on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 
first aid for Saturation Technicians that were not ADCI required (an 
oversight expected to be corrected in the near future) training. The 
costs of the first medical item are the 55 non-ADCI divers times the 
annual medical examination costs plus the records storage costs for a 
total $23,375 or ($1948 per firm). The second cost is the $60 cost of 
the training every other year times the Saturation Technicians (96) for 
a total of $5,760.
    Costs for CDOs are shown in Table 7.

         Table 7--Average Cost per Firm: Commercial Diving NPRM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Cost per CDO
                   Rule requirements                        (2012 $)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dive Manning..........................................            52,163
Drills................................................     18,220-25,508
Audits................................................             3,549
Recordkeeping & Documentation.........................             2,331
Medical I: Exams......................................             1,948
Medical II: Training..................................               240
Total.................................................     78,211-85,499
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG Calculations.

    The majority of the costs are the result of new dive manning 
requirements, particularly for surface-supplied air. The proposed costs 
are the minimum required as, for example, adding more than one diver 
for all of the other modes would not be cost effective and in some 
cases. likely counter-productive. The dive manning levels now comport 
with industry practices.
    Requirements for dive manning were calculated by first identifying 
the marine commercial diving population (BLS, ADCI sources) and 
developing the mode (Saturation, SCUBA, 3 types of Surface Supplied 
Air, and Mixed Gas) teams as explained in the population development 
description. CG subject matter experts considered the ADCI requirements 
and then decided another team member (Dive Tender) was necessary for 
Surface Supplied Air (100fsw/No decompression mode) (SSAn). The 
decision was based upon the notion that all divers in the water had to 
have a dive tender taking care of all the umbilical related lines for 
the in-the-water diver. That increment was then multiplied times the 
number of SSA teams found earlier. The per man cost was from BLS 2012 
Commercial Diving Apprentice level and loaded with a 1.42 factor again 
based upon BLS information. All labor costs are generally based upon 
either an apprentice or a median experienced diver (loaded wages of 
$52,000-69,000).
    For TPOs, the total costs estimated are $14.9 thousands of dollars 
over ten years due to the NPRM. The majority of costs accrue to labor 
requirements for various activities (developing the TPO auditor 
application, change of TPO auditor, and storage of audit records).
    We estimate the total 10-year cost of the proposed rule to the 
commercial diving industry and third party organizations to be $17.8 
million undiscounted, or $12.5 million at a 7-percent discount rate. We 
estimate the annualized cost of the proposed rule to be $1.78 million 
at a 7-percent discount rate. In addition to the private sector costs, 
we estimate the government will incur ($27,874) in annual reporting and 
record keeping review costs. This increases the total 10-year cost of 
the proposed rule to $18.1 million ($1.81 million annualized, 7-percent 
discount rate) (Table 8).

[[Page 9164]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP19FE15.033

Benefits
    The primary benefits of this proposed rule are based on the 
reduction in risk of fatalities as well as injuries related to 
commercial diving incidents and are estimated from casualties foregone 
or mitigated as shown in Table 9.

           Table 9--Rule Requirements and Associated Benefits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Rule requirements                         Benefit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dive Manning.........................  Requires non-decompression
                                        Surface Supplied Air dive teams
                                        to add a 5th member to handle
                                        lines as a novice member.
Drills...............................  Requires CDO operators to conduct
                                        a series of drills at least
                                        monthly to maintain skill levels
                                        in emergencies.
Audits...............................  Requires all CDOs and associated
                                        vessels to have timely audits to
                                        record existing conditions of
                                        all equipment and record
                                        procedures. Consistent with ADCI
                                        requirements.

[[Page 9165]]

 
Recordkeeping & Documentation........  Requires CDO s to develop and
                                        maintain for 5 years records of
                                        various aspects of CD operations
                                        from equipment maintenance to
                                        diving activities, to CG
                                        notifications, to logbooks.
                                        Maintaining records also assists
                                        the CDO by reminding him or her
                                        that actions are needed to
                                        remain in compliance with the
                                        rules.
Medical I: Exams.....................  Requires all CDs, especially non-
                                        ADCI CDs to obtain an annual
                                        medical exam complete with
                                        hyperbaric analysis emulating
                                        the current ADCI requirements.
Medical II: Training.................  Requires certain members of a
                                        Saturation Dive Team (life
                                        support technician and
                                        saturation technician) to have a
                                        CPR & first aid certification.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We reviewed the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement 
(MISLE) data set of the commercial diving fatalities from 2002-2011 (12 
fatalities- an average 1.2 per year and 8 injuries an average of .8 per 
year). Exhibit 1 shows the distribution of fatalities and injuries over 
the ten year period.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP19FE15.034

    The incident reports suggest deficiencies in commercial diving 
operations, which would be addressed by the proposed provision, For 
dive manning, we identified 4 incidents that could benefit from the 
NPRM. Specific issues identified include lack of proper manning, lack 
of proper medical examination protocols, lack of maintenance of 
equipment, lack of drills lack of audits, etc. By identifying specific 
issues within each incident that likely would be mitigated by the NPRM, 
and applying an effectiveness factor, we were able to estimate a 
mitigated value using the value of a statistical life (VSL) approach.

                                  Table 10--Incident Links to the Proposed Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Activity ID                  Related provision                       Justification
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   Fatalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1483715..............................  Personnel Operational    Report indicated a standby diver was not
                                        Requirements.            properly suited up and ready to deploy as
                                                                 required by proposed rule. Investigative
                                                                 officer as well as fellow divers (during
                                                                 interviews) identified this as a potential
                                                                 cause.
                                       Drills.................  Additional drills could have exposed diver to a
                                                                 hot suit, reminded to follow procedures when in
                                                                 trouble, and provided practice on removing
                                                                 equipment.
                                       Audits.................  Regular audit procedures would likely have
                                                                 uncovered issues with equipment maintenance as
                                                                 well as operational procedures and readiness.

[[Page 9166]]

 
1645241..............................  Records & Documentation  Problems were discovered with the helmet.
                                        Related to Equipment     However, diver-owned/-maintained helmet lacked
                                        Inspection.              a comprehensive record of repairs and
                                                                 maintenance. No records available to indicate
                                                                 when breathing hoses used by diver were last
                                                                 pressure tested or hydrostatic tested. Proposed
                                                                 regulation requires that log books be updated
                                                                 to track equipment tests. This could have
                                                                 ensured equipment was inspected periodically or
                                                                 a pre-dive inspection of equipment was
                                                                 conducted.
                                       Audits.................  Auditing requirement may have identified the
                                                                 marginal state of maintenance of the diver's
                                                                 helmet. Furthermore, audit would have likely
                                                                 discovered that the vessel did not have a
                                                                 supply of medical-use oxygen on board.
                                       Personnel Operational    Standby diver was not outfitted with any rescue
                                        Requirements.            related equipment to address the situation as
                                                                 required by proposed rule.
                                       Drills.................  Drills required by proposed rule would help
                                                                 ensure diver follows procedure in an emergency.
                                                                 Diver did not slide the pneumofathometer
                                                                 underneath his neoprene neck dam and into his
                                                                 helmet. This would have taken him several
                                                                 seconds to do, but it could have provided him
                                                                 with an alternate source of breathing air.
2270536..............................  Personnel Operational    Report indicated that company personnel
                                        Requirements.            displayed fatigue due to lack of sleep.
                                                                 Proposed rule would include 12 hour work hour
                                                                 limits in 24 hour period.
                                       Drills.................  Drills would have improved the probability
                                                                 divers followed written and established safety
                                                                 procedure. As indicated in interviews, ``there
                                                                 was no safety meeting for the dive crew prior
                                                                 to incident. Divers were unaware of any safety
                                                                 procedure or plan to follow in case an
                                                                 emergency to retrieve an injured diver out of
                                                                 the water.'' As stated under the observations
                                                                 by the inspecting officer, ``Training for dive
                                                                 team personnel seemed to be lacking.''
                                       Records and              Interviews indicated that the diver's umbilical
                                        Documentation Related    may have been fouled. Documentation of
                                        to Equipment             maintenance and inspection of equipment is
                                        Inspection.              required under the proposed regulation. This
                                                                 could have helped ensure equipment was
                                                                 periodically inspected.
2734747..............................  Medical Exams..........  Proper medical examination may have revealed
                                                                 tears or irregularities in the diver's lungs
                                                                 and kept him from diving.
                                       Audits.................  Audits would ensure compliance with the medical
                                                                 fitness requirement for divers.
                                       Records and              Documentation of medical examination is required
                                        Documentation Related    by the proposed rule and maintains a history of
                                        to Medical Records.      medical conditions that could be used to avoid
                                                                 putting a diver in danger.
2765094..............................  Personnel Operational    Standby diver was not ready to enter water as
                                        Requirements.            required by rule.
                                       Audits.................  Regular Audits may identify failures of
                                                                 sufficient manning/certification levels of the
                                                                 dive team.
                                       Drills.................  Rescue diver had trouble donning gear when
                                                                 preparing to enter water. Investigating officer
                                                                 recommendation is for monthly emergency rescue
                                                                 and recovery diving training for all commercial
                                                                 diving vessels. In addition to a fatality,
                                                                 multiple injuries resulted from incident.
3281272..............................  Personnel Operational    One of the supervisors was also the standby
                                        Requirements.            diver. Proposed rules would not allow multiple
                                                                 responsibilities.
                                       Audits.................  Regular Audits may identify failures of
                                                                 sufficient manning/certification levels of the
                                                                 dive team.
                                       Medical Exam...........  Diver had previously unknown cardiac condition.
                                                                 A medical exam focused on hyperbaric exposure
                                                                 would have led to a cardiac exam which could
                                                                 have identified the cardiac condition and not
                                                                 permitted the dive.
3100303..............................  Records and              Documentation of diver's medical fitness may
                                        Documentation Related    identify the diver's condition and medication
                                        to Medical Records.      risk.
2866598                                Drills.................  Delays were experience in recovering troubled
                                                                 diver. Drills would have identified the
                                                                 difficulty of one tender/diver conducting diver
                                                                 retrieval.
                                       Personnel Operational    Superintendent also was serving as dive
                                        Requirements.            supervisor. The proposed rules would not allow
                                                                 multiple responsibilities.
                                       Audits.................  Audits would ensure compliance with the medical
                                                                 fitness requirement for divers.
                                       Records and              Documentation serving as a guide and checklist
                                        Documentation.           during the JHA may have prevented the diver's
                                                                 entanglement and the uncontrolled ascent of the
                                                                 lift bags.
1970383..............................  Medical Exams..........  Lab test results indicated diver had
                                                                 hypertensive heart disease and drowned.
                                                                 Potential causal factor for this fatality was a
                                                                 pre-existing medical condition apparently
                                                                 aggravated by the individual performing
                                                                 strenuous activity while diving. Medical exams
                                                                 may have identified this precondition and
                                                                 prevented fatality.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Injuries
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2762375..............................  Personnel Operation      The need for a diver to work for such extended
                                        Requirements.            periods indicates a lack of sufficient manning
                                                                 as required by rule.
                                       Audits.................  Regular audits would identify substandard
                                                                 practices and excessive work hours resulting in
                                                                 fatigue.
1600506..............................  Personnel Operational    Dive supervisor was acting as the diving tender.
                                        requirements.            The Diving Supervisor could not oversee the
                                                                 safety of the operation if he was performing
                                                                 dive tender duties. The proposed rules would
                                                                 not allow multiple responsibilities.
2765094..............................  (See Details Above)....  (See Details Above).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 9167]]

    For safety and security analysis, the VSL approach is used to 
monetize the value of fatalities prevented. The VSL does not represent 
the dollar value of a person's life, but the amount society would be 
willing to pay to reduce the probability of death. The VSL value used 
in this analysis to calculate an average annual cost of fatalities 
mitigated is $9.1 million.\10\ The resulting benefit of the NPRM is 
$2.4 million. Subtracting out the $1.46 million in manning costs yields 
a marginal benefit of $940,000 for the manning provisions only. This 
amount is also the marginal fatality benefit for the rule since 
benefits from the other items could not be quantified even though they 
provide benefits. For example, the summaries of the following two case 
studies illustrate how complex and difficult it is to estimate benefits 
for this rule let alone quantify them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ U.S. Department of Transportation Memorandum, Guidance on 
Treatment of the Economic Value of a Statistical Life in U.S. 
Department of Transportation Analyses, available at http://www.dot.gov/sites/dot.dev/files/docs/VSL%20Guidance%202013.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Case Review Example 1

Incident Report 2765094

Vessel: Rowan Halifax/Global Explorer
Date:8/29/06
Damages:0
Deaths:1
Injuries:2
Edited Brief from MISLE (see RA for complete text)

    Commercial divers using surface-supplied air were working on the 
rigging of the legs of a sunken MODU. A diver was attempting to attach 
a 2 and \3/4\ inch chain to a shackle for pre-rigging the MODU. Shortly 
after diver 1entered the water, there was a loss of communication with 
him, although a gurgling sound inside helmet was heard. The standby 
diver was ordered to splash. Diver 1 visibly panics and begins ascent 
towards diving bell Diver 2 dons gear, but has trouble with airflow to 
helmet. Problem fixed and he enters the water. Somehow Diver 1's helmet 
lands in worksite. Diver 2 descends, switching to 14% O2. He pulled his 
way to Diver 1 via latter's hose. He notices Diver 1's helmet from 20 
feet away. Diver 2 arrives at Diver 1, shakes him with no response. 
Diver 2 notifies topside to pull up slack. Divers arrive at bell and 
with standby diver, attempt to pull Diver 1 into bell. Diver 1 is 
finally pulled up topside. Diver 2 becomes fouled on the bell, then 
unfouls himself. He begins his ascent but switches to air ``on the 
fly''. Vessel paramedic performs lifesaving procedures. Since the 
paramedic is not hyperbaric qualified, backup is ordered into 
hyperbaric chamber to continue lifesaving procedures. Shore side 
physician finally orders halt to lifesaving procedures. Shortly 
afterwards, Diver 2 shows signs of the bends, while backup, still 
``dirty'', from an earlier dive that day, experiences decompression 
sickness. Investigation concluded that there was inadequate supervision 
and a good rule was misused.
    Location Lat 028[deg]04''4' N, Lon 092[deg]42''0' W Gulf of Mexico.

    Reviewer Notes: Supervisor did not have a standby diver ready on 
a moment's notice to splash and assist another diver in the water. 
The proposed NPRM rules provide for a very strict regime for the 
supervisor to follow. From Section 290 (a), (b) and (c) clearly 
require the supervisor to make sure ``. . . that minimum dive team 
requirements are met . . .'' and ``ensure that the necessary levels 
of personnel and equipment are available for all commercial diving 
operations.'' Further, Section 197.222 of the NPRM requires ``Each 
supervisor . . . must . . .: (a) Comply with this subpart and The 
applicable requirements for dive supervisors and diving modes 
outlined in sections 3.0 and 4.0 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated 
by reference . . .) . . .
    Fatality at least partially resulted from inadequate supervision 
according to the report's conclusions. From the facts of the report, 
the standby diver was not ready to splash at a moment's notice and 
subsequently had equipment issues. This delay contributed to 
valuable time in getting the troubled diver out of the water. Also, 
the vessel paramedic was not trained in hyperbaric ailments.
    Regular Audits may identify failures of sufficient manning/
certification levels of the dive team.
    Regular drills may have mitigated this incident. The rescue 
diver had trouble donning gear when preparing to enter water. 
Investigating officer recommendation is for monthly emergency rescue 
and recovery diving training for all commercial diving vessels. In 
addition to a fatality, multiple injuries resulted from incident.

Case Review Example 2

Incident Report 3929340

Vessel: NS Power
Date:1/26/2011
Damages:0
Deaths:1
Injuries:0
Edited Brief from MISLE (see RA for complete text)

    On January 8, 2011, a series of divers were engaged in bottom 
cleaning, through solo dives, on the NS Power from a series of other 
vessels including the King Arthur. Four divers used in sequence to 
perform bottom cleaning work on the NS Power. During the course of the 
work evolution, a diver's helmet neck seal failed flooding the helmet. 
While the diver was able to leave the water, delay caused time 
constraints on the activity.. Then another diver reported regulator 
problems in his dive. Attempts to retrieve him are less than by the 
book and result in his drowning. Some 13 hours after the beginning of 
the dive evolution, Galveston receives word of an unresponsive diver on 
the King Arthur.
15 NM SE Galveston Texas Galveston Bay

    Reviewer Notes: From the MISLE report: dive support team members 
were negligent in their duties while a diver was in the water 
resulting in the loss of life. Investigation concluded that there 
was inadequate supervision and a good rule was misused as well as 
active failures of equipment. Supervisor did not have a standby 
diver ready on a moment's notice to splash and assist another diver 
in the water. The proposed NPRM rules provide for a very strict 
regime for the supervisor to follow. From Section 290 (a), (b) and 
(c) clearly require the supervisor to make sure ``. . . that minimum 
dive team requirements are met . . .'' and ``ensure that the 
necessary levels of personnel and equipment are available for all 
commercial diving operations.'' Further, Section 197.222 of the NPRM 
requires ``Each supervisor . . . must . . .: (a) Comply with this 
subpart and The applicable requirements for dive supervisors and 
diving modes outlined in sections 3.0 and 4.0 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference . . .) . . .
    Regular Audits may identify failures of sufficient manning/
certification levels of the dive team.
    Regular drills may have mitigated this incident. The rescue 
diver had trouble donning gear when preparing to enter water.
    In both cases, the addition of one more dive team member so that 
responsibilities were adequately spread around might have made all 
the difference in the world to the victims. In addition, other 
requirements of the NPRM rule could have mitigated the incidents. 
The rule's other benefits besides proper manning and manning 
procedures, while very visible, are more difficult to quantify. They 
are drills, audits, records and documentation, as well as medical 
requirements.
    As seen in the first example case, regular drills likely would 
have mitigated one of the problems in that incident. Drills provide 
regular practice for situations that require immediate instinctive 
response.
    Regular audits would have provided a paper trail to maintenance 
needs and if recommendations were followed through on. Audit 
procedures likely would have mitigated issues ion both incidents. 
Records and documentation are parallel with audits in providing a 
trail of responsibility for

[[Page 9168]]

maintaining equipment in proper working order.
    Finally, at least two incidents in our baseline and one in the 
cases above might have been mitigated if the divers were undergoing 
regular medical examinations. Also, one other medical requirement in 
the NPRM rule has certain saturation dive team members taking CPR 
and first aid training. This requirement, only for the saturation 
dive team technicians (all other dive team members already satisfy 
this requirement), is critical to the successful operation of that 
dive mode.
    Injury mitigation also is a benefit of this rule. Almost 
$117,000 per year in injury mitigation benefits are received from 
this rule as well. These benefits result from improved protocols in 
a wide variety of areas covered by the rule.
    The total net benefits from the rule are $1,056,000 combined 
fatality mitigation and injury mitigation.
    We also used a breakeven analysis approach for benefit 
estimation for the other rule items. In general, the typical CDO 
incident involves the death or injury of 1 diver, therefore the 
breakeven comparison against the VSL for 1 fatality is applicable, 
rather than other breakeven scenarios.

                                                Table 11--Incremental Breakeven Analysis of Proposed Rule
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Average annual cost *
                                                              -----------------------------------------   Net benefits (7%,  $     Fatalities reduced to
                Item                    Benefits description                              Annualized            millions)                breakeven
                                                                                        (7%, millions)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Rule Increment:
    Manning.........................  Increase 1 crewman/team  2.4....................          1.46    0.94....................  N/A.
                                       for SSA for both ADCI
                                       and non-ADCI firms.
    Documentation & Recordkeeping...  Assists CG with          Not Quantifiable.......          0.205   N/A.....................  1 every 44 years.
                                       enforcement.
    Drills..........................  Non-ADCI Firm Drills     Not Quantifiable.......          0.0437  N/A.....................  1 every 208 years.
                                       provides regular
                                       training.
    Audits..........................  Non-ADCI Firm Audits     Not Quantifiable.......           .0426  N/A.....................  1 every 214 years.
                                       assists CG with
                                       enforcement.
    Medical Exams...................  Medical Exams for Non-   Not Quantifiable.......          0.0238  N/A.....................  1 every 389 years.
                                       ADCI Firms provides
                                       safety measure.
    Medical Training................  Support Saturation       Not Quantifiable.......          0.003   N/A.....................  1 every 3,056 years.
                                       Diver Crewmen receive
                                       First Aid and CPR
                                       Training.
                                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        TOTAL.......................  .......................  >=2.4..................          1.755   >=0.645.................  ......................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG Calculations
* Total may not sum due to rounding.

    We assume that this proposed rule would result in a constant 
reduction in the risk of fatality due to a commercial diving fatal 
accident every year following the rule's implementation and therefore 
use annualized costs in the equation. For these other rule items, we 
use annualized costs at a 7-percent discount rate over a 10-year 
period, or $.3 million, for this proposed rule. We then take the $9.1 
million,\11\ as the benefit that would be derived from the proposed 
rule if one fatality per year is prevented and compare it to the 
annualized individual item's cost that would be incurred (e.g. for 
drills: $9.1 million/$43,729=218 years). At a 7-percent discount rate, 
this proposed rule's other cost elements would need to prevent anywhere 
from 1 fatality in 44 years to 1 in 3,056 years to breakeven.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Op. cit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we have 
conducted an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and considered 
whether this proposed rule would have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities. The analysis is as follows: The 
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has performed this analysis of the impacts on 
small businesses from the proposed rule. USCG performed this assessment 
using the cost information discussed in cost chapter of this RA.
    Whenever an agency is required by section 553 of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act of 1980 \12\ (RFA) or any other law, to publish general 
notice of proposed rulemaking for any proposed rule, or publishes a 
notice of proposed rulemaking for an interpretative rule involving the 
internal revenue laws of the United States, the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act requires that the agency prepare and make available for public 
comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. The RFA requires 
that such analysis describe the impact of the proposed rule on small 
entities and that the initial regulatory flexibility analysis or a 
summary be published in the Federal Register at the time of the 
publication of general notice of proposed rulemaking for the rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ Public Law 96-354 (5 U.S.C. 601-612).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, the RFA requires that the agency transmit a copy of an 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. In the case of an 
interpretative rule involving the internal revenue laws of the United 
States, The RFA's requirements apply to interpretative rules published 
in the Federal Register for codification in the Code of Federal 
Regulations, but only to the extent that such interpretative rules 
impose on small entities a collection of information requirement.
    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act \13\ the Coast Guard must 
consider whether the rule would have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Small entities \14\ include small

[[Page 9169]]

businesses,\15\ small not-for-profit organizations that are 
independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields,\16\ and small governmental jurisdictions with populations of 
less than 50,000.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/regflex.html
    \14\ The RFA considers ``small entity'' as having the same 
meaning as the terms ``small business,'' ``small organization'' and 
``small governmental jurisdiction.''
    \15\ The RFA defines ``small business'' has the same meaning as 
the term ``small business concern'' under section 3 of the Small 
Business Act, unless an agency, after consultation with the Office 
of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and after 
opportunity for public comment, establishes one or more definitions 
of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency 
and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register.
    \16\ The RFA defines the term ``small organization'' means any 
not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated 
and is not dominant in its field, unless an agency establishes, 
after opportunity for public comment, one or more definitions of 
such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and 
publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register;
    \17\ The RFA defines small governmental jurisdiction ``means 
governments of cities, counties, towns, townships, villages, school 
districts, or special districts, with a population of less than 
fifty thousand, unless an agency establishes, after opportunity for 
public comment, one or more definitions of such term which are 
appropriate to the activities of the agency and which are based on 
such factors as location in rural or sparsely populated areas or 
limited revenues due to the population of such jurisdiction, and 
publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on the information from this analysis, we found that:
     There are no governments or not-for-profit organizations 
which are anticipated to be affected by the proposed rule.
     There are 87 U.S. entities (all private firms) that would 
potentially be impacted by the proposed rule. Of the 87, 75 are ADCI-
registered firms of which we have some information on, and 12 are non-
ADCI firms of which we have no information on but are assumed to be 
small. Furthermore, of the 75 firms we can identify, we found ownership 
and revenue data for only 45 firms. Of these 45 firms, 37 were 
determined to be small entities based on available data.
     We assume firms without available ownership or revenue 
data are small. Therefore, of the 87 firms considered only 8 can be 
considered non-small given the evidence available for this analysis.
     Initial and annual recurring costs of the proposed rule 
would result in less than 1 percent impact on revenue for 32 percent of 
the small entities with available data;
     68 percent of small entities with available data will 
incur costs greater than 1 percent of revenue.
    This chapter provides an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
for commercial diving operations.
Preliminary Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354) establishes 
``as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor, 
consistent with the rule and of applicable statutes, to fit regulatory 
and informational requirements to the scale of the businesses, 
organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to regulation. To 
achieve this principle, agencies are required to solicit and consider 
flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the rationale for their 
actions to assure that such proposals are given serious 
consideration.''
    Under the RFA, we are required to consider if this rule will have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a rule will have 
such an impact. If the agency determines that it will, the agency must 
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in the RFA. 
Under Section 603(b) of the RFA, the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA) must provide and address:
     A description of the reasons why action by the agency is 
being considered;
     A succinct statement of the objectives of, and legal basis 
for, the proposed rule;
     A description of and, where feasible, an estimate of the 
number of small entities to which the proposed rule will apply;
     A description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping 
and other compliance requirements of the proposed rule, including an 
estimate of the classes of small entities which will be subject to the 
requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for 
preparation of the report or record;
     An identification, to the extent practicable, of all 
relevant Federal rules which may duplicate, overlap or conflict with 
the proposed rule;
     A description of any significant alternatives to the 
proposed rule which accomplish the stated objectives of the applicable 
statutes and which minimize any significant economic impact of the 
proposed rule on small entities.
    The term ``small entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-
profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are 
not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations of less than 50,000. The rule affects only small private 
entities. The following describes the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (TRFA) process for this rule.
    We determined that the rule affects a variety of small private 
entities and therefore, based on the requirements mentioned above, we 
have prepared the following IRFA assessing the impact on small entities 
for this proposed rule. The analysis presented below addresses the 
issues specific to small entities that we have not addressed elsewhere 
in this RA
5.2 IRFA Requirements
5.2.1 Descriptions of Reasons Why Action of by the Agency Is Being 
Considered
    Agencies take regulatory action for various reasons, one being the 
failure of the market to reach the socially optimal outcome. This can 
occur when there are economic incentives lacking for industry to pursue 
that outcome and such market failures are the impetus for this proposed 
rule. A negative externality is the byproduct of a transaction between 
two parties that is not accounted for in the transaction. Vessels and 
commercial diving operations that operate with lower safety standards 
may cause harm or increased risk of harm without accounting for the 
consequences to third parties, who do not directly participate in the 
business transactions of the affected entities. These costs are not 
borne by the responsible entities and are therefore external to the 
business decisions of the responsible entity. Section 4.2 describes the 
externality addressed by this rule.
Objectives of, and Legal Basis for, the Proposed Rule
    The purpose of this rulemaking is to clarify and update our 
existing commercial diving regulations to reflect current industry best 
practices and to facilitate the use of approved third-party 
organizations (TPOs) in ensuring regulatory compliance. There has been 
no update since the 1978 original diving rules.
    In addition, a series of reports on commercial diving safety 
demonstrated a need for updating USCG commercial diving regulations. 
These reports were developed in response to a series of commercial 
diving accidents that gained major public attention starting with one 
in 1996. The report titled ``Investigation into the Circumstances 
Surrounding the Commercial Diving Accident Onboard the Mobile Offshore 
Diving Unit Cliff's Drilling Rig No. 12 on March 4, 1996 with the Loss 
of Life'' influenced the Coast Guard to improve its regulations for 
commercial diving. That report, released in March, 2001, and also known 
as the RIG 12 Report, started a

[[Page 9170]]

process that has slowly gained momentum these past few years. The most 
recent findings, the 2008 National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee 
(NOSAC) report, provided Coast Guard with additional appropriate 
information regarding the industry and its safety efforts. The 
objective of the proposed rule is to establish safety regulations 
governing the inspection, standards, and operation of commercial diving 
operations. The proposed rule would promote safer work practices and 
reduce casualties in commercial diving operations by ensuring that 
those operations adhere to recommended safety standards and operational 
protocols.
    The statutory bases for the Coast Guard's rulemaking are located 
in: 33 U.S.C. 1509(b), which requires safety regulations for deepwater 
ports; 43 U.S.C. 1333(d)(1), which permits safety regulations for Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) facilities and their equipment; 46 U.S.C. 3306, 
which requires regulations to implement subtitle II of Title 46 of the 
U.S. Code with respect to inspected vessels, including offshore supply 
vessels (OSVs) and their equipment; 46 U.S.C. 3703, which requires 
safety and environmental protection regulations for liquid bulk 
dangerous cargo carriers and their equipment, to be issued after 
consultation with Federal, State, and local governments and with 
private sector entities; and 46 U.S.C. 6101, which requires regulations 
for reporting and investigating marine casualties. These statutes 
confer regulatory authority on the Secretary of Homeland Security, who 
has delegated this authority to the Coast Guard; DHS Delegation No. 
0170.1(75), (90), and (92). In addition, we are conducting this 
rulemaking in accordance with a December 19, 1979, Memorandum of 
Understanding between the Coast Guard and the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration (OSHA), which regulates commercial diving 
operations conducted near shore or in U.S. internal waters.
Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the 
Proposed Rule Will Apply
5.2.3.1 Data Development
    We used MISLE owner and operator name and address information as 
well as ADCI member information to research public databases (MANTA) 
for entity type (subsidiary or parent company), primary line of 
business, employee size, revenue, and other information.\18\ We matched 
this information to the Small Business Administration's ``Table of 
Small Business Size Standards'' to determine if an entity is small in 
its primary line of business as classified in the North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS).\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ We used information and data from Manta (http://Manta.com).
    \19\ The SBA lists small business size standards for industries 
described in the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS). See http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/fedgovernment/sba/13cfr121/201-4849.html (as of April 7, 2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ADCI member data and Coast Guard data shows that there are 87 
entities engaging in marine oriented commercial diving in the 2009-2011 
timeframe. We acknowledge that only 75 diving firms belong to the 
ADCI.\20\ USCG estimates that number of non-ADCI firms to be 12 based 
on our total population estimate (see affected population section for 
details). We found revenue and employment data for 45 firms that were 
ADCI in origin. Of the 45 firms, 37 were determined to be small 
businesses according to Small Business Administration standards. We 
assume that entities without small business data are small. In Table 
12, we provide a summary of the small business data. As a result of our 
analysis, we concluded that small entities make up approximately 79 
percent of the total affected marine population ((37 known small firms 
+ 10 estimated and likely small firms + 30 firms with no revenue data)/
87 total marine firms).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ See commercial dive firm population calculation in Appendix 
B.

                     Table 12--Firm Data Development
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Number of
                          Firm type                              firms
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marine Commercial Marine Diving Firms in ADCI................         75
Revenue and Employment Info..................................         45
Number of Small Business Firms Based on Available Data.......         37
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG Calculations.

    Table 13 provides small entity information, in the detail of the 
NAICS Code industries affected by this rule.

                         Table 13--Small Entities by NAICS Codes With SBA Size Standards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    SBA Size        Number of
            NAICS Codes                     Description            standards     small entities     Percent of
                                                                     (<=$M)             *         small entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
236220............................  Commercial & Inst.                     33.5               1              4.2
                                     Building Construction.
237990............................  Other Heavy and Civil                  33.5               3             12.5
                                     Engineering Cons.
238910............................  Site Preparation                       14                 5             20.8
                                     Contractors.
541330............................  Marine Engineering and                 18.5               1              4.2
                                     Naval Architecture.
541990............................  All Other Prof.,                        7                11             45.8
                                     Scientific & Tech.
                                     Services.
561499............................  All Other business Support              7                 1              4.2
                                     Services.
561990............................  All Other Support Services             18.5               2              8.3
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................  ..........................  ...............              24            100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG Calculations.
* ADCI Firms identified with revenue data.

Industries Affected by the Proposed Rule
    A brief description of the industries \21\ most affected by this 
proposed rule is presented as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ These descriptions were excerpted from the U.S. Census 
Bureau. (http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction--This 
industry comprises establishments primarily responsible for the 
construction (including new work, additions, alterations, maintenance, 
and repairs) of commercial and institutional buildings and related 
structures, such as stadiums, grain elevators, and indoor swimming 
facilities. This industry includes establishments responsible for the 
on-site assembly of modular or prefabricated commercial and 
institutional buildings. Included in this

[[Page 9171]]

industry are commercial and institutional building general contractors, 
commercial and institutional building for-sale builders, commercial and 
institutional building design-build firms, and commercial and 
institutional building project construction management firms.
    237990 Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction--This 
industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in heavy and 
engineering construction projects (excluding highway, street, bridge, 
and distribution line construction). The work performed may include new 
work, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and repairs. Specialty trade 
contractors are included in this group if they are engaged in 
activities primarily related to engineering construction projects 
(excluding highway, street, bridge, distribution line, oil and gas 
structure, and utilities building and structure construction). 
Construction projects involving water resources (e.g., dredging and 
land drainage), development of marine facilities, and projects 
involving open space improvement (e.g., parks and trails) are included 
in this industry.
    238910 Site Preparation Contractors--This industry comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in site preparation activities, such 
as excavating and grading, demolition of buildings and other 
structures, and septic system installation. Earth moving and land 
clearing for all types of sites (e.g., building, non-building, and 
mining) are included in this industry. Establishments primarily engaged 
in construction equipment rental with operator (except cranes) are also 
included.
    541330 Engineering Services--This industry comprises establishments 
primarily engaged in applying physical laws and principles of 
engineering in the design, development, and utilization of machines, 
materials, instruments, structures, processes, and systems. The 
assignments undertaken by these establishments may involve any of the 
following activities: Provision of advice, preparation of feasibility 
studies, preparation of preliminary and final plans and designs, 
provision of technical services during the construction or installation 
phase, inspection and evaluation of engineering projects, and related 
services.
    541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services--
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the 
provision of professional, scientific, or technical services (except 
legal services; accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and related 
services; architectural, engineering, and related services; specialized 
design services; computer systems design and related services; 
management, scientific, and technical consulting services; scientific 
research and development services; advertising, public relations and 
related services; market research and public opinion polling; 
photographic services; translation and interpretation services; and 
veterinary services).
    561499 All Other Business Support Services--This U.S. industry 
comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing business 
support services (except secretarial and other document preparation 
services; telephone answering and telemarketing services; private mail 
services or document copying services conducted as separate activities 
or in conjunction with other office support services; monetary debt 
collection services; credit reporting services; repossession services; 
and court reporting and stenotype recording services).
    561990 All Other Support Services--This industry comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in providing day-to-day business and 
other organizational support services (except office administrative 
services, facilities support services, employment services, business 
support services, travel arrangement and reservation services, security 
and investigation services, services to buildings and other structures, 
packaging and labeling services, and convention and trade show 
organizing services).
Census Data by NAICS
    Table 5-3 presents census data for selected industries in Table 14. 
The Small Business Administration uses industry NAICS to determine if 
an entity is small based on their revenue data. The table below 
provides a distribution of the number of entities per industry by 
revenue.

                                                       Table 14--Distribution of Firms by Revenue
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                            Number of entities by revenue
          NAICS Code                  Industry title       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              $0-$99k      $100k-$500k    $500k-$1M     $1M-$5M      $5M-$10M      $10M+     Grand total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
236220.......................  Commercial and Inst.               2,373           9,805        5,695       11,601        3,319        4,415       37,208
                                Building Construction.
237990.......................  Other Heavy and Civil              1,463           4,504        1,770        2,083          339          343       10,502
                                Engineering Construction.
238910.......................  Site Preparation                   3,968          14,725        5,091        5,217          887          608       30,496
                                Contractors.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: US Census Bureau 2002. (http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/INDRPT23.HTM).

Revenue Impact on Small Entities
    The regulatory costs in this rule (including Manning, Drills, 
Audits, Records & Documentation and Medical Examinations) are evaluated 
in total in the following conventional IRFA analysis. To estimate the 
revenue impact on the identified small businesses, we followed guidance 
from the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy's ``A 
Guide for Government Agencies: How to Comply with the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act.'' We compared the total cost per business to the 
revenue data collected to assess the impact of the rule to those 
businesses. Using this information we were able to estimate the impact 
as a percentage of revenue for the affected firms.
    As a result of our analysis, we concluded that small entities with 
a significant impact likely comprise 68 percent of the small entity 
population evaluated. Of the 37 small entities with available business 
data, we determined that 32 percent of small entities would have an 
annual cost-to-revenue impact of less than 1 percent. Further, we 
estimated that 41 percent of the small entities would have a cost-to-
revenue impact between 1 and 3 percent and 27 percent would have an 
impact equal to or greater than 3 percent. These results are summarized 
in Table 15. We estimate 68 percent of small entities would have an 
impact greater than 1 percent from a cost to revenue ratio perspective.

[[Page 9172]]

               Table 15--Revenue Impacts on Small Entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Impact                       Sample        Percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0% <= Impact <= 1%......................              12              32
1% > Impact < 3%........................              15              41
>= 3% Impact............................              10              27
                                         -------------------------------
    Total...............................              37             100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USCG Calculations in Appendix B.

Description of the Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements of Small Entities
    The Coast Guard expects new reporting or record keeping 
requirements resulting from this rule. The proposed rule impacts 
commercial marine diving operations under Coast Guard jurisdiction and 
requires each operation perform documentation preparation and 
maintenance tasks that fall under the category of reporting and 
recordkeeping. This documentation provides a historical record of when 
a piece of equipment was inspected or serviced and by whom. The process 
will also include the documentation of new equipment as often as new 
equipment is added to a firm's asset base. In addition, the 
documentation also takes into account logbook entries of diving 
activities as well as maintenance of logbooks, audit reporting, and 
operations manuals.
Duplication With Other Federal Rules
    There are no relevant Federal rules that may duplicate, overlap, or 
conflict with the proposed rule. OSHA has commercial diving 
responsibility to the 3-mile limit, and Coast Guard has responsibility 
beyond the 3-mile limit, and also for any activity off of a Coast Guard 
inspected vessel within the 3-mile limit. The latter is composed of 
most of the non-Gulf of Mexico commercial divers discussed earlier.
Description of Any Significant Alternatives to the Proposed Rule
    The Coast Guard considered four alternatives to the NPRM 
alternative. A description of these alternatives is presented in 
Chapter 1. In general, safety rules do not lend themselves to 
alternatives favoring smaller entities. Being a small entity does not 
change necessarily the safety requirement.
    Three alternatives involved a different regulatory approach from a 
status quo and ranged from involving the IMO in a global rulemaking to 
a consolidation of OSHA and US Coast Guard rules. All were rejected for 
reasons presented in Chapter 1.
SBREFA Compliance
    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-
612) and section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), the Coast Guard considered 
whether this rulemaking would have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The term ``small entities'' 
comprises small business, not-for-profit organizations and governmental 
jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000. In reviewing the 
potential costs of compliance and the relative impact on a small 
business' revenue, the Coast Guard cannot certify the proposed 
rulemaking would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    The Coast Guard will help small entities understand the proposed 
rulemaking so that they can better evaluate its effect on them and 
participate in the rulemaking process. The preamble of the proposed 
rulemaking provides small businesses or organizations an opportunity to 
comment and lists a point of contact for any questions concerning the 
proposed rulemaking's provisions or options for compliance.
Executive Order 13272: Consideration for Small Entities
    Section 1 of Executive Order 13272 directs Federal agencies to 
establish procedures and policies to promote compliance with the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. It also requires Federal agencies to review 
thoroughly draft rules to assess and take appropriate account of the 
potential impact on small businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, 
and small organizations, as provided by the Act.
    Executive Order 13272 requires Federal agencies to notify the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration of any 
proposed rulemakings that may have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The proposed rulemaking is 
anticipated to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. USCG will seek input from the Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in the promulgation 
of this rulemaking.
    The Coast Guard solicits comments from Advocacy on the proposed 
rulemaking and will give every appropriate consideration to any 
comments provided by Advocacy on the proposed rulemaking. Similarly, 
USCG has proffered a comment period to small entities in compliance 
with the Executive Order and relevant laws and regulations.
    Small businesses are encouraged to contact the agency for more 
information on the proposed rulemaking. For questions on this proposed 
rulemaking, call Ken Smith at the US Coast Guard (202) 372-1413. The 
public may also write the Coast Guard at the following address: U.S. 
Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-
0001.

C. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under Section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule. If you think that your 
business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction qualifies as a 
small entity and you have questions concerning its provisions or 
options for compliance, please consult Mr. Ken Smith, U.S Coast Guard, 
using the contact information listed above. Small businesses may send 
comments on the actions of Federal employees who enforce, or otherwise 
determine compliance with Federal regulations to the Small Business and 
Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small 
Business Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these 
actions annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small 
business. If you wish to comment on actions by Coast Guard employees, 
call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). The Coast Guard will not 
retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this 
proposed rulemaking or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.
    The Coast Guard Office of Domestic Compliance has prepared a notice 
to be

[[Page 9173]]

circulated to the general public and to be placed on the Coast Guard's 
Web site to assist small businesses and other interested parties in 
understanding the proposed rulemaking. The Coast Guard plans to 
continue its coordination and communication with maritime organizations 
such as the Chamber of Shipping of America and other ship owner 
associations so that they may inform and assist their respective 
members with understanding the rule.
    In compliance with Executive Order 13563,\22\ USCG will offer a 
public comment period of at least 60 days. Information about the 
proposed rule will be provided to USCG contacts as well as through 
Federal Register notice and press releases to encourage public 
participation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ The Executive Order directs Federal agencies to take action 
to use and encourage public participation; it states ``Regulations 
shall be adopted through a process that involves public 
participation. To that end, regulations shall be based, to the 
extent feasible and consistent with law, on the open exchange of 
information and perspectives among State, local, and Tribal 
officials, experts in relevant disciplines, affected stakeholders in 
the private sector, and the public as a whole.''
    In accordance with Executive Order 13563, USCG solicited public 
input on the current voluntary compliance of the regulated public on 
several of the proposed provisions. This action was limited due to 
the restrictions of the Paperwork Reduction Act for which contacts 
with the public exceeding nine contacts on the same question must be 
approved by OMB. In addition, a Notice of Inquiry was issued in the 
Federal Register in January 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Collection of Information

    This proposed rule would call for a new collection of information 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). As 
defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(c), ``collection of information'' comprises 
reporting, recordkeeping, monitoring, posting, labeling, and other 
similar actions. The title and description of the new information 
collection, a description of those who must collect the information, 
and an estimate of the total annual burden follow. The estimate covers 
the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing sources of 
data, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection.
    Title: Marine Occupational Health and Safety Standards for 
Commercial Diving Operations--46 CFR 197 Subpart B.
    OMB Control Number: 1625-NEW.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: This proposed rule would 
include reporting and record keeping requirements ranging from updating 
the operations manual, maintaining and periodically updating a log 
book, reporting and storing examination scores and certifications, and 
maintaining records of equipment inspections. The collection of 
information would aid the regulated public in assuring safe practices 
associated with commercial diving operations.
    Need for Information: The Coast Guard needs this information to 
determine whether an entity meets the regulatory requirements.
    Proposed Use of Information: The Coast Guard would use this 
information to determine compliance with the regulatory requirements.
    Description of the Respondents: The respondents are owners and 
operators of U.S. commercial diving operations.
    Number of Respondents: The burden of this proposed rule for this 
collection of information includes certifications, procurement of 
written materials, preparation of records, and records of inspections. 
This collection of information applies to owners/operators of 
commercial diving operations. We estimate the maximum number of 
respondents to be 87.
    Frequency of Responses: This proposed rule would vary the number of 
responses each year by requirement. Details are provided in the 
preliminary regulatory analysis.
    Burden of Response: The burden of response for each regulatory 
requirement varies. Details are provided in the preliminary regulatory 
analysis.
    Estimate of Total Annual Burden: We estimate an annual burden of 
6,059 hours for the industry.
    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, we will submit a copy 
of this proposed rule to OMB for its review of the collection of 
information.
    We ask for public comment on the proposed collection of information 
to help us determine how useful the information is; whether it can help 
us perform our functions better; whether it is readily available 
elsewhere; how accurate our estimate of the burden of collection is; 
how valid our methods for determining burden are; how we can improve 
the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information; and how we can 
minimize the burden of collection.
    If you submit comments on the collection of information, submit 
them both to OMB and to the Docket Management Facility where indicated 
under ADDRESSES, by the date under DATES.
    You need not respond to a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid control number from OMB. Before the Coast 
Guard could enforce the collection of information requirements in this 
proposed rule, OMB would need to approve the Coast Guard's request to 
collect this information.

E. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this rule under that Order and have 
determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism 
principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 
13132. Our analysis is explained below.
    It is well settled that States may not regulate in categories 
reserved for regulation by the Coast Guard. It is also well settled, 
now, that all of the categories covered in 46 U.S.C. 3306, 3703, 7101, 
and 8101 (design, construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, 
operation, equipping, personnel qualification, and manning of vessels), 
as well as the reporting of casualties and any other category in which 
Congress intended the Coast Guard to be the sole source of a vessel's 
obligations, are within the field foreclosed from regulation by the 
States. (See the decision of the Supreme Court in the consolidated 
cases of United States v. Locke and Intertanko v. Locke, 529 U.S. 89, 
120 S.Ct. 1135 (March 6, 2000)). This proposed rule regulates equipment 
and operations for commercial diving conducted from inspected vessels 
in order to promote the safety of life. States may not regulate within 
this category, and therefore, this rule is consistent with the 
principles of federalism and preemption requirements in Executive Order 
13132. Additionally, Congress specifically granted the authority to 
regulate artificial islands, installations, and other devices 
permanently or temporarily attached to the OCS and in the waters 
adjacent thereto as it relates to the safety of life to the Secretary 
of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating. This includes 
floating installations and other devices engaged in OCS activities. 43 
U.S.C. 1333(d)(1) states that the Secretary ``shall have authority to 
promulgate and enforce such reasonable regulations with respect to 
lights and other warning devices, safety equipment, and other matters 
relating to the promotion of safety of life and property on the 
artificial islands, installations, and other devices . . . as he may 
deem necessary.'' As this proposed rule would regulate equipment and 
operations to ensure safety of life for commercial diving

[[Page 9174]]

being conducted from such OCS installations, it falls within the scope 
of authority Congress granted exclusively to the Secretary. This 
authority has been delegated to the Coast Guard and is exercised in 
this proposed rule. Therefore, since the States may not regulate within 
this category, preemption under Executive Order 13132 is not an issue.
    Finally, Congress granted the authority to regulate deepwater ports 
to the Secretary of Transportation. 33 U.S.C. 1509(b) states that the 
Secretary of Transportation ``shall issue and enforce regulations with 
respect to lights and other warning devices, safety equipment, and 
other matters relating to the promotion of safety of life and property 
in any deepwater port and the waters adjacent thereto.'' When the Coast 
Guard was an agency within the Department of Transportation, the 
authority to issue regulations with respect to safety on deepwater 
ports was delegated to the Coast Guard. See 49 CFR 1.46(s) (2002). The 
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, transferred the 
Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security. Pursuant to the 
Homeland Security Act, authorities that were delegated to the Coast 
Guard remained intact during this transfer by operation of law. The 
authority was then delegated to the Commandant of the Coast Guard 
through Department of Homeland Security Delegation 0170.1. Since this 
rule regulates equipment and operation to ensure safety for commercial 
diving being conducted from deepwater ports, it falls within the scope 
of authority that has been transferred and delegated to and exercised 
by the Coast Guard.

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this proposed rule would not 
result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule 
elsewhere in this preamble.

G. Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not cause a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

H. Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

I. Protection of Children

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This proposed rule is not an economically significant rule and 
would not create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that 
might disproportionately affect children.

J. Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

K. Energy Effects

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13211, 
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use. We have determined that it is not a ``significant 
energy action'' under that order because it is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866 and is not likely to 
have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use 
of energy. The Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs has not designated it as a significant energy 
action. Therefore, it does not require a statement of energy effects 
under Executive Order 13211.

L. Technical Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) directs agencies to use voluntary consensus standards in their 
regulatory activities unless the agency provides Congress, through the 
Office of Management and Budget, with an explanation of why using these 
standards would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise 
impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards 
(e.g., specifications of materials, performance, design, or operation; 
test methods; sampling procedures; and related management systems 
practices) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus 
standards bodies. The proposed regulations use voluntary consensus 
standards developed by ADCI and would allow commercial diving operators 
to apply for equivalency determinations if they comply with similar 
voluntary consensus standards used by other organizations.

M. Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Department of Homeland 
Security Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction 
M16475.lD, which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and 
have made a preliminary determination that this action is one of a 
category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant effect on the human environment. A preliminary 
environmental analysis checklist supporting this determination is 
available in the docket where indicated under the ``Public 
Participation and Request for Comments'' section of this preamble. This 
rule is likely to be categorically excluded under section 2.B.2, figure 
2-1, paragraphs (34)(a), (c), (d) and (e) of the Instruction and 6(a) 
of the Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 141, Tuesday, July 23, 2002, page 
48243. This proposed rule involves regulations that are procedural, 
involving reporting and recordkeeping requirements; regulations 
concerning the training and qualifying of maritime personnel; 
regulations concerning manning and equipping of vessels; regulations 
concerning equipment approval and carriage requirements; and regulatory 
actions involving vessel operation safety standards. We seek any 
comments or information that may lead to the discovery of a significant 
environmental impact from this proposed rule.

List of Subjects

46 CFR Part 8

    Administrative practice and procedure, Incorporation by reference, 
Organization and functions (Government agencies), Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Vessels.

46 CFR Part 197

    Benzene, Diving, Marine safety, Incorporation by reference, 
Occupational safety and health, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Vessels.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 46 CFR parts 8 and 197 as follows:

[[Page 9175]]

PART 8--VESSEL INSPECTION ALTERNATIVES

0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 8 to read as follows:

    Authority: 46 U.S.C. 3103, 3306, 3316, 3703; Department of 
Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1(92.a), (92.b).

0
2. Amend Sec.  8.320 as follows:
0
a. In paragraph (b)(13), remove the word ``and'';
0
b. In paragraph (b)(14), after the word ``Certificate;'', remove the 
period and add in its place ``; and''; and
0
c. Add paragraph (b)(15).
    The addition reads as follows:

Sec.  8.320  Classification society authorization to issue 
international certificates.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (15) International Diving System Safety Certificate.
* * * * *

PART 197--GENERAL PROVISIONS

0
3. Revise the authority citation for part 197 to read as follows:

    Authority:  33 U.S.C. 1509; 43 U.S.C. 1333; 46 U.S.C. 3306, 
3703, 6101; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1 
(75), (90), (92.b), (92.d).

0
4. Revise subpart B to read as follows:

Subpart B--Commercial Diving Operations

Sec.

General

197.200 Applicability.
197.201 Definitions.
197.202 Incorporation by reference.
197.203 Equivalents.
197.204 Commercial diving operations conducted in foreign waters.
197.205 Enforcement.
197.206-197.208 [Reserved]

Audits

197.209 Third-party audits.
197.210 Internal audits.
197.211 External audits.
197.212 Pre-audit notification.
197.213 Audit reporting.
197.214-197.219 [Reserved]

Operational Duties

197.220 Commercial diving operators.
197.221 Persons in charge.
197.222 Dive supervisors.
197.223 Operations manual.
197.224 Operational duties in the event of marine casualty or 
serious marine incident.
197.225 Safety management system.
197.226-197.239 [Reserved]

Personnel Training and Qualifications

197.240 General requirements.
197.241 Standby divers.
197.242 Dive supervisors.
197.243 Divers and dive tenders.
197.244 Life-support technicians.
197.245 Saturation technicians.
197.246 Individuals conducting underwater burning, welding, or 
exothermic cutting.
197.247 Diver medical technicians.
197.248-197.249 [Reserved]

Health and Medical Requirements

197.250 Medical examinations.
197.251 Pre-operational verification.
197.252 Work hours.
197.253 Ascent to altitude after diving or flying after diving.
197.255-197.259 [Reserved]

Specific Operations

197.260 Operations with potential for differential pressures in 
adjacent areas.
197.261 Operations conducted from a dynamic positioning vessel.
197.262 Operations conducted from a vessel that is liveboating.
197.263 Operations involving SCUBA.
197.264 Operations involving multiple dives by a diver.
197.265 Operations in which a diver's decompression is required, but 
has been omitted.
197.266 Operations in contaminated water.
197.267 Operations involving underwater welding and burning.
197.268-197.269 [Reserved]

Equipment

197.270 General requirements.
197.271 Commercial diving operator's general equipment duties.
197.272 Person in charge's equipment duties.
197.273 Dive supervisor's equipment maintenance logbook duties.
197.274 Diver's equipment duties.
197.275 Volume tanks.
197.276 Compressed gas cylinders.
197.277 Pressure vessels for human occupancy.
197.278 Pressure piping.
197.279 First aid and treatment equipment.
197.280 Diving ladders and stages.
197.281 Surface-supplied helmets and masks.
197.282 Diver's safety harness.
197.283 Buoyancy-changing devices.
197.284 Inflatable flotation devices.
197.285 Oxygen safety.
197.286 Miscellaneous equipment requirements.

Dive Team Staffing

197.290 Dive team staffing requirements.
197.303-197.309 [Reserved]

Subpart B--Commercial Diving Operations

General

Sec.  197.200  Applicability.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this 
subpart applies to commercial diving operations taking place at or from 
any--
    (1) Deepwater port or safety zone thereof as defined in 33 CFR part 
150;
    (2) Artificial island, installation, or other device on the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) as defined in 33 CFR part 140 and their safety 
zones defined in 33 CFR part 147;
    (3) Vessel operating on the navigable waters of the United States, 
as defined in 33 CFR part 2;
    (4) United States vessel required to have a certificate of 
inspection issued by the Coast Guard, including a mobile offshore 
drilling unit regardless of its geographic location or;
    (5) Foreign-flagged vessel engaged in an OCS activity as defined in 
33 CFR part 140, or connected to a deepwater port as defined in 33 CFR 
part 150.
    (b) This subpart does not apply to commercial diving operations 
performed solely for--
    (1) Marine scientific research and development purposes by an 
educational institution;
    (2) Research and development for the advancement of diving 
equipment and technology; or
    (3) Search and rescue or related public safety purposes conducted 
by or under the control of a governmental agency.
    (c) A commercial diving operation may deviate from the requirements 
of this subpart to the extent necessary to prevent or minimize a 
situation that is likely to cause death, injury, or major environmental 
damage. The circumstances leading to the situation, the deviations 
made, and the corrective action taken, if appropriate, to reduce the 
possibility of recurrence must be recorded by the diving supervisor in 
the logbook required by 46 CFR 197.221(c)(10).
    (d) The owner or operator of a foreign-flagged vessel to which this 
part applies shall submit documentation specified in this section to 
the cognizant OCMI before that vessel enters the navigable waters of 
the United States, engages in OCS activities, or performs work 
connected to a deepwater port. Acceptable forms of documentation are as 
follows:
    (1) An international diving systems safety certificate issued by 
the vessel's flag administration or a party acting on behalf of the 
flag administration.
    (2) Certification from the vessel's flag administration or party 
acting on behalf of the flag administration that the vessel complies 
with the regulations found in this part or the requirements of a 
recognized classification society that has been determined by the 
Commandant, Office of Design and Engineering (CG-ENG) to provide an 
equivalent level of safety.

Sec.  197.201  Definitions.

    As used in this subpart--
    Accredited school means a commercial diving educational

[[Page 9176]]

organization recognized by the Association of Commercial Diving 
Educators as meeting the standards of ANSI/ACDE-001-2009.
    Alcohol means any form or derivative of ethyl alcohol (ethanol).
    Approved third-party organization means an organization approved by 
the Commandant.
    Audit has the meaning defined in 46 CFR 197.209.
    Auditor means a person meeting the qualifications set forth in 46 
CFR 197.209(d).
    Barotrauma means injury of a body part or organ as a result of 
changes in barometric pressure.
    Bell means a compartment either at ambient pressure (open bell) or 
pressurized (closed bell) that allows a diver to be transported to and 
from an underwater work site, allows the diver access to the 
surrounding environment, and is capable of being used as a refuge 
during diving operations.
    Breathing gas means a gas supplied to a diver for aspiration.
    Commandant means the Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance, 
Commandant (CG-CVC), 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE., Stop 7501, 
Washington, DC 20593-7501 unless otherwise specified.
    Commercial diver means a diver engaged in underwater work for hire, 
excluding sport, fishing, and recreational diving or the instruction or 
supervision thereof.
    Commercial diving employee means any person providing commercial 
diving services or support to a commercial diving operator, and 
includes any commercial diver employed by or working on behalf of a 
commercial diving operator.
    Commercial diving operation means all activities in support of a 
commercial diver.
    Commercial diving operator or CDO means any person or entity that 
employs, contracts, or secures the services of commercial divers to 
undertake commercial diving operations.
    Cylinder means a pressure vessel for the storage of gas under 
pressure.
    Dangerous drug means a narcotic drug, a controlled substance, or a 
controlled substance analog, as defined in section 102 of the 
Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. 802.
    Decompression chamber means a pressure vessel for human occupancy, 
such as a surface decompression chamber, closed bell, or deep diving 
system especially equipped to recompress, decompress, and treat divers.
    Decompression table means a profile or set of profiles of depth-
time relationships for ascent rates and breathing mixtures to be 
followed after a specific depth-time exposure or exposures.
    Deepwater port has the meaning defined in 33 CFR 148.5.
    Deficiency means a failure to meet minimum requirements of an 
applicable statute or regulation.
    Depth means the depth of a dive, the maximum pressure expressed in 
feet of seawater attained by a diver.
    Dive means work performed by a diver or the activity that is taken 
in support of that work and that is the subject of a dive plan.
    Dive location means a distinct geographic location or a portion of 
a vessel or facility from which a diving operation is conducted.
    Dive mode or diving mode means a type of diving defined by the 
equipment used and supported by the relevant procedures, techniques, 
and processes, and includes self-contained underwater breathing 
apparatus, saturation, surface-supplied air, or surface-supplied mixed-
gas modes.
    Dive plan is the written plan described in 46 CFR 197.220(i).
    Dive planning meeting means the meeting described in 46 CFR 
197.220(i).
    Diver, unless otherwise modified, means a commercial diver working 
beneath the surface, exposed to hyperbaric conditions, and using 
underwater breathing apparatus.
    Dive supervisor means the person responsible to the commercial 
diving operator for planning, resourcing, supervising, and approving a 
dive to ensure its safety and directly responsible for the safety and 
health of all dive team members during the dive.
    Dive team means the working divers, dive tenders, standby divers, 
dive supervisors, persons in charge, life support and saturation 
technicians, and diver medical technicians, when provided, that are 
engaged in a specific diving operation.
    Dive tender means a properly trained and certified individual 
acting (dive tending) in support of a working or standby diver.
    Diving systems safety certificate means a certificate issued to a 
U.S. flag vessel subject to inspection under 46 U.S.C. 3301, or for a 
foreign flag vessel by or on behalf of its flag administration, 
pursuant to the International Code of Safety for Diving Systems;
    Dynamic positioning or DP refers to systems designed to maintain a 
vessel in a fixed position and heading that incorporates computerized 
control systems, thrusters, propulsion machinery, and advanced tracking 
systems in order to maintain that fixed position.
    External audit means an audit conducted by an approved third-party 
organization.
    Facility means a deepwater port, or an artificial island, 
installation, or other device on the Outer Continental Shelf subject to 
Coast Guard jurisdiction.
    FSW means feet of sea water (or equivalent static pressure head).
    Hyperbaric condition means a pressure condition in excess of 
surface atmospheric pressure.
    Internal audit means an audit that is conducted by a party that has 
a direct affiliation to the vessel, facility, owner or managing 
operator, or organization being audited.
    Life support technician means a properly trained and certified dive 
support person responsible for the safe operation of a hyperbaric 
system, gas blending system, or gas control and delivery system, and 
who is responsible for providing for the medical wellness of the dive 
team.
    Liveboating means the support of a surfaced-supplied diver from a 
vessel underway without DP ability.
    Major non-conformity means an identifiable deviation that poses a 
serious threat to personnel or vessel safety, or a serious risk to the 
environment that requires immediate corrective action.
    Marine casualty or accident means any casualty or accident as 
defined in 46 CFR 4.03-1.
    Mixed-gas dive means a dive mode in which the diver in the water is 
supplied with a breathing gas other than air.
    New dive location means a specific dive location from which no dive 
operation has been conducted in the last 90 days.
    No-decompression limits means the depth-time limits of the no-
decompression limits and repetitive dive group designation table for 
no-decompression air dives, U.S. Navy Diving manual or equivalent.
    Non-conformity means an observed situation where objective evidence 
indicates the non-fulfillment of a specified requirement.
    Objective evidence means quantitative or qualitative information, 
records, or statements of fact pertaining to safety or to the existence 
and implementation of a safety management system element, which is 
based on observation, measurement, or testing that can be verified. 
This information may include, but is not limited to, equipment 
certificates and maintenance documents, training records, repair

[[Page 9177]]

records, Coast Guard documents and certificates, surveys, or recognized 
class society reports.
    OCS activity has the meaning defined in 33 CFR 140.10.
    OCS facility has the meaning defined in 33 CFR 140.10.
    Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection or OCMI means any person 
designated as such by the Commandant of the Coast Guard and delegated 
the authority to perform the functions described in 33 CFR 1.01-20.
    Operations manual means the operations manual required by 46 CFR 
197.223.
    Person in charge or PIC means a vessel's master or the person 
acting or designated as such in accordance with Sec.  197.221(a) of 
this subpart.
    Pressure vessel means a container capable of withstanding an 
internal maximum working pressure of more than 15 psi(g).
    Psi (g) means pounds per square inch (gauge).
    Pressure vessel for human occupancy or PVHO means a pressure vessel 
that encloses a human being within its pressure boundary and includes 
diving bells, personnel transfer capsules, decompression chambers, 
recompression chambers, and hyperbaric chambers. The term does not 
include pressure vessels for human occupancy that may be subjected to 
external pressures in excess of 15 psi(g) but can only be subjected to 
maximum internal pressures of 15 psi(g) or less (i.e., submersibles, or 
one atmosphere observation bells).
    Procedure means an established series of actions, acts, or 
operations which must be executed in the same manner in order to 
achieve a uniform approach to compliance with applicable policies.
    Risk management measure means the assignment of additional or 
different personnel, equipment, or other resources, the implementation 
of effective policies or practices, or any other measure appropriate 
for the management or reduction of risks that may be anticipated during 
a dive.
    Safety management system means a structured and documented system 
enabling a commercial diving operation to effectively implement the 
commercial diving operator's safety and environmental protection 
policies and that is routinely exercised and audited in a way that 
ensures the policies and procedures are incorporated into the daily 
performance of the commercial diving operation.
    Saturation diving means a dive mode that involves saturating a 
diver's tissues with an inert gas in the breathing mixture to allow an 
extension of bottom time without additional decompression.
    Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus or SCUBA means a dive 
mode in which the diver is supplied with a compressed breathing mixture 
from diver-carried equipment.
    Serious marine incident has the meaning defined in 46 CFR 4.03-2.
    Third-party auditor means a person who conducts external audits for 
an approved third-party organization.
    Third-party organization means an entity that may be approved by 
the Coast Guard to act on behalf of the Coast Guard for the purpose of 
verifying compliance with applicable requirements outlined in Titles 33 
or 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and that is not directly 
connected to the Coast Guard, an owner or operator of a vessel, 
facility, or operation of a vessel or facility.
    Unit, in the context of a unit on the Outer Continental Shelf, has 
the meaning defined in 33 CFR 140.10.
    Vessel has the meaning given it by 33 CFR 140.10.
    Working pressure means the pressure to which a pressure containment 
device is exposed at any particular instant during normal operating 
conditions.

Sec.  197.202  Incorporation by reference.

    (a) Certain material is incorporated by reference into this subpart 
with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 
U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any edition other than that 
specified in this section, the Coast Guard must publish notice of 
change in the Federal Register and the material must be available to 
the public. All approved material is available for inspection at the 
U.S. Coast Guard by calling the Office of Regulations and 
Administrative Law at 202-372-3870 or emailing uscg.mil">HQS-SMB-CoastGuardRegulationsLaw@uscg.mil, and is available from the sources 
listed below. It is also available for inspection at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030 or go to 
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.
    (b) Association of Diving Contractors International, 5206 Cypress 
Creek Parkway, Suite 202, Houston, TX 77069, http://adc-int.org/.
    (1) International Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and 
Underwater Operations, 6th Edition, 2010 (``ADCI Standards''), IBR 
approved for: 46 CFR 197.220, 197.222, 197.240, 197.242, 197.243, 
197.244, 197.245, 197.250, 197.260, 197.261, 197.262, 197.263, 197.266, 
197.267, 197.270, 197.275, 197.276, 197.277, 197.279, 197.280, 197.281, 
and 197.282.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (c) International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment, 
London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom, http://www.imo.org.
    (1) IMO Resolution A.831(19), International Code of Safety for 
Diving Systems, 1995, IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.204.
    (2) IMO Resolution A.692(17), Guidelines and Specifications for 
Hyperbaric Evacuation Systems, IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.270.
    (d) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Three Park 
Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990, http://www.asme.org/.
    (1) ASME PVHO-1-2013, Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for 
Human Occupancy, 2013 (``ASME PVHO-1''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 
197.277 and 197.286.
    (2) ASME B31.1-2010, ASME Code for Pressure Piping, Power Piping, 
2010 (``ASME B31.1''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.278 and 197.286.
    (3) ASME National Board Inspection Code, NBBPVI, NB23-2011 (``ASME 
NBBPVI''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.286.
    (e) American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 West 43rd 
Street, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ansi.org.
    (1) ANSI/ISO 15618-1:2001, Qualification testing of welders for 
underwater welding--Part 1: Diver-welders for hyperbaric wet welding 
(``ANSI/ISO 15618''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.246.
    (2) ANSI/ACDE-01-2009, Divers--Commercial Diver Training--Minimum 
Standards, (``ANSI/ACDE-01-2009''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.209, 
197.243, and 197.246.
    (f) Compressed Gas Association, 14501 George Carter Way, Suite 103, 
Chantilly, VA 20151-2923, http://www.cganet.com/.
    (1) Publication G-4.1, Cleaning Equipment for Oxygen Service, 2009 
(``Compressed Gas Association Publication G-4.1''), IBR approved for 46 
CFR197.286.
    (2) Publication G-7, Compressed Air for Human Respiration, 6th 
Edition, 2008, (Compressed Gas Association Publication G-7''), IBR 
approved for 46 CFR197.286.
    (3) Publication G-7.1, Commodity Specification for Air, 6th 
Edition, 2011, (Compressed Gas Association Publication G-7.1), IBR 
approved for 46 CFR197.286.
    (g) U.S. General Services Administration, One Constitution

[[Page 9178]]

Square, 1275 First St. NE., Washington, DC 20417, http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100000.
    (1) Federal Specification, BB-N-411C, Nitrogen Technical, 2000 
(``Federal Specification BB-N-411C''), IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.286.
    (2) Federal Specification, Oxygen, Technical, Gas and Liquid, BB-O-
925a, 1961 (``Federal Specification BB-O-925a''), IBR approved for 46 
CFR 197.286.
    (h) International Organization for Standardization (ISO), 1, ch. de 
la Voie-Creuse, CP 56-CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
    (1) ISO 9001-2008, American National Standard, Quality Management 
Systems--Requirements, IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.209 and 197.225.
    (2) ISO 15618--2001, Qualification testing of welders for 
underwater welding--Part 1: Diver-welders for hyperbaric wet welding, 
IBR approved for 46 CFR 197.246.
    (i) U.S. Government Printing Office, 723 North Capitol St. NW., 
Washington, DC 20401, http://www.gpo.gov/.
    (1) U.S. Navy Diving Manual, 6th Edition, April 2008, IBR approved 
for 46 CFR 197.264 and 197.265.
    (2) [Reserved]

Sec.  197.203  Equivalents.

    (a) The Commandant may accept substitutes for equipment, materials, 
apparatus, arrangements, procedures, or tests required in this subpart 
if the substitute provides an equivalent level of safety.
    (b) The person or entity receiving the equivalency determination 
must keep a copy of that determination and make it available to any of 
the person's or entity's employees, an approved third-party 
organization, or Coast Guard personnel upon request.

Sec.  197.204  Commercial diving operations conducted in foreign 
waters.

    A U.S. vessel that is conducting commercial diving operations in 
foreign waters, and a foreign vessel that is conducting commercial 
diving operations on the OCS of the U.S., must have diving systems that 
comply with the International Code of Safety for Diving Systems 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202) and possess a valid 
international diving systems safety certificate issued by the vessel's 
flag administration or a party acting on that flag administration's 
behalf. U.S. vessels needing an international diving systems safety 
certificate must contact a recognized classification society authorized 
by the Coast Guard to issue international certificates in accordance 
with 46 CFR 8.320.

Sec.  197.205  Enforcement.

    (a) For the purpose of enforcing this subpart, and to the extent 
needed to verify compliance with this subpart, the Officer in Charge, 
Marine Inspection (OCMI) may at any time inspect the records and 
observe the operations of any commercial diving operator (CDO) or 
third-party organization (TPO), and may interview any employee or 
person working on behalf of the CDO or TPO.
    (b) For noncompliance with this subpart, the OCMI may suspend or 
revoke a U.S. vessel's certificate of inspection in accordance with 46 
CFR part 2, or may suspend a U.S. vessel's international diving systems 
safety certificate.
    (c) Vessels, OCS facilities, or deepwater ports that do not comply 
with these regulations are subject to the following enforcement 
actions:
    (1) The District Commander or the Captain of the Port (COTP) may 
prohibit a noncompliant vessel from engaging in commercial diving 
operations. A noncompliant vessel conducting commercial diving 
operations on the navigable waters of the United States, as defined in 
33 CFR 2.36, is subject to orders and penalties authorized by the Ports 
and Waterways Safety Act and its implementing regulations.
    (2) The OCMI may prohibit a noncompliant vessel or OCS facility 
from engaging in commercial diving operations. A noncompliant OCS 
facility, or vessel engaged in an OCS activity, is subject to penalties 
and orders authorized by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and its 
implementing regulations.
    (3) The OCMI may prohibit a noncompliant deepwater port from 
engaging in commercial diving operations. A noncompliant deepwater 
port, or a vessel connected to a deepwater port, is subject to 
penalties and orders authorized by the Deepwater Port Act and its 
implementing regulations.

Sec. Sec.  197.206-197.208  [Reserved]

Audits

Sec.  197.209  Third-party audits.

    (a) As used in this section, an ``audit'' means a systematic, 
independent, and documented process for obtaining audit evidence, which 
can be evaluated objectively to determine the extent to which audit 
criteria are fulfilled. An audit may be limited to random selection of 
a representative sampling throughout the system that presents the 
auditor with sufficient objective evidence of system compliance. It 
includes a thorough review of appropriate reports, documents, records, 
and other objective evidence to verify compliance with applicable 
regulations. It may include, but is not limited to--
    (1) Examining records;
    (2) Asking responsible persons how they accomplish specific tasks;
    (3) Observing persons performing required tasks;
    (4) Examining equipment to insure proper maintenance and operation; 
and
    (5) Checking training records and work environments.
    (b) This section establishes procedures for third-party 
organizations (TPOs) to obtain the Commandant's approval to perform 
audits on behalf of the Coast Guard for the purpose of determining 
regulatory compliance of vessels, personnel, and equipment with Coast 
Guard regulations issued under this part, and establishes criteria for 
the performance of those audits.
    (c) A TPO that the Commandant approves may--
    (1) Conduct audits of logs, records, documents, equipment, drills, 
or other data to verify compliance with applicable Coast Guard 
regulations;
    (2) Conduct audits of specific vessel operations and interview a 
TPO's personnel to verify compliance with applicable Coast Guard 
regulations; and
    (3) Issue reports detailing the results of audits.
    (d) To receive the Commandant's approval to perform audits in 
accordance with this section, a TPO must demonstrate the skills and 
experience necessary to assess compliance with the requirements of this 
part. It must demonstrate, without consideration for any recreational 
diving experience, that each of its auditors has--
    (1) Successfully completed a commercial diving training course 
meeting the requirements of ANSI/ACDE-01-2009 (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202);
    (2) Served as a diving supervisor overseeing the specific diving 
mode to be audited, with an auditor of commercial SCUBA, surface-
supplied air, or mixed-gas diving having overseen at least 500 
commercial dives in that mode and an auditor of saturation diving 
having overseen at least 100 commercial dives in that mode;
    (3) Successfully completed a lead auditor/assessor course that 
meets the requirements of International Organization for 
Standardization (ISO) 9001-2008 (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202) or a Coast Guard-recognized equivalent; and
    (4) Either conducted at least eight audits within the past 5 years 
of a commercial diving operation utilizing a recognized consensus 
standard, or

[[Page 9179]]

successfully completed a required auditor apprenticeship consisting of 
at least four audits under the direction of a lead auditor.
    (e) A TPO that the Commandant approves must notify the Commandant 
when it adds or removes an auditor. For each new auditor, the 
organization must demonstrate that the auditor qualifications specified 
in paragraph (c) of this section have been met.

Sec.  197.210  Internal audits.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO), and vessel or facility 
owner that permits a commercial diving operation to take place on 
board, must perform an annual internal audit using one or more 
designated employees or persons contracted to perform the audit.
    (b) The internal audit is not necessarily conducted as one event, 
and may be performed in segments over time, not to exceed 1 year.
    (c) The internal audit must be of sufficient depth and breadth to 
ensure the CDO or vessel or facility owner that permits a commercial 
diving operation to take place on board has established adequate 
procedures and documentation to validate and maintain compliance with 
this subpart.
    (d) Each internal auditor must have the authority to examine 
documentation, question personnel, examine vessel equipment, witness 
system testing, and observe personnel training as necessary to verify 
compliance.

Sec.  197.211  External audits.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO), and vessel or facility 
owner that permits a commercial diving operation to take place on 
board, must have an external compliance audit conducted by an approved 
third-party organization at least twice in each 5-year period. 
Additionally, an external compliance audit must be conducted as soon as 
possible after any commercial diving casualty that is a serious marine 
incident.
    (b) The external audit must be of sufficient depth and breadth to 
ensure that the CDO or vessel or facility owner that permits a 
commercial diving operation to take place on board complies with the 
requirements of this subpart.
    (c) Each external auditor must be provided access to examine any 
requested documentation, question personnel, examine equipment, witness 
system testing, and observe personnel training, to the extent necessary 
to verify compliance with this subpart.
    (d) The external auditor may broaden the scope of the audit if he 
or she finds a condition that is inconsistent with the records 
maintained or identifies an unsafe condition.
    (e) The external auditor may verify compliance through a review of 
objective evidence and may conduct a visual sampling onboard vessels or 
facilities where commercial diving operations are conducted to 
determine whether or not the conditions onboard the vessel or at the 
facility are consistent with the records reviewed.

Sec.  197.212  Pre-audit notification.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO) or vessel or facility 
owner that permits a commercial diving operation to take place on board 
must notify the cognizant Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) 
at least 5 working days before the start of any external audit 
conducted under 46 CFR 197.211.
    (b) The OCMI may require that a Coast Guard representative 
accompany the auditor during part, or all, of an external audit.
    (c) The Coast Guard may conduct an audit of the CDO or vessel or 
facility at any time.

Sec.  197.213  Audit reporting.

    (a) An approved third-party organization conducting external audits 
in accordance with this subpart must submit an audit report to the 
cognizant Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) within 30 days 
after completing each audit under 46 CFR 197.211, except that any major 
non-conformity must be reported to the local OCMI upon completion of 
the audit.
    (b) Each audit report must contain the name of the auditor, the 
audit results, and any continuing actions such as resolution of 
deficiencies and non-conformities.
    (c) The TPO must keep each audit report for 5 years and make it 
available to the Coast Guard upon request.
    (d) CDOs must retain copies of TPO audit reports and make them 
available for examination by the Coast Guard upon request.

Sec. Sec.  197.214-197.219  [Reserved]

Operational Duties

Sec.  197.220  Commercial diving operators.

    Each commercial diving operator (CDO) must ensure that--
    (a) Commercial diving operations comply with or exceed the 
requirements of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 
CFR 197.202) as modified by this subpart;
    (b) Each commercial diving operation or support function is 
conducted in a way that minimizes any prevailing or anticipated risk to 
life, property, or the environment;
    (c) Each commercial diving operation is conducted with the required 
equipment and the proper operational procedures to ensure the safety of 
all commercial diving employees involved in the commercial diving 
operation;
    (d) Each commercial diving employee taking part in a commercial 
diving operation receives written designation of the employee's 
individual roles and responsibilities for each commercial diving 
operation and has the equipment, knowledge, skills, experience, 
training, and certification necessary to perform the duties to which he 
or she is assigned;
    (e) The name of the dive supervisor for each commercial diving 
operation is provided to the person in charge (PIC) of the vessel or 
facility before beginning the operation;
    (f) Drills are conducted in accordance with table 197.220(f) in 
this section, and compliance documented by logging the date, location, 
nature, and scope of each drill and the name and job title of each 
drill participant;

                  Table 197.220(f)--Drill Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Requirement                            Detail
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ensure that each dive team member   Drill at least once every 30
 can perform his or her assigned     calendar days, before initiating a
 dive team duties.                   commercial diving operation at a
                                     new dive location, when adding a
                                     new member to the dive team, or
                                     whenever you change an emergency
                                     drill procedure or emergency
                                     response equipment described in the
                                     operations manual. Note: For each
                                     dive mode used, drill using the
                                     unique equipment, personnel, and
                                     operational procedures required by
                                     that mode.
Diver recovery....................  At least once every 90 days, drill
                                     on: (1) Deployment of standby
                                     divers; (2) recovery of a diver
                                     from depth to a decompression
                                     chamber and first aid station; and
                                     (3) for dive systems utilizing
                                     hyperbaric rescue chambers or
                                     hyperbaric rescue craft, a full
                                     launch and recovery drill at least
                                     every 90 days or when adding a new
                                     member to the dive team or when
                                     initiating a new dive location.

[[Page 9180]]

 
Emergency rescue..................  Drill at least once every 30
                                     calendar days. Ensure that
                                     personnel can successfully deploy
                                     the equipment and perform the
                                     procedures described in the
                                     operations manual for emergency
                                     rescue (it is not necessary to
                                     deploy the emergency aviation
                                     resources or vessels required to
                                     transport divers to offsite medical
                                     facilities).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (g) Each commercial diving employee's compliance with this subpart 
is documented, that the documentation is retained for at least 5 years, 
and that the documentation is made available upon request to the Coast 
Guard or approved third-party organizations operating under this 
subpart;
    (h) The dive supervisor complies with this subpart and prepares and 
updates the operations manual described in 46 CFR 197.223; the 
operations manual is provided at the dive site; and all dive team 
members, including the dive supervisor, are trained in, familiar with, 
and compliant with the operations manual's contents;
    (i) All dive team members participate in a dive planning meeting 
before each dive, that the meeting ensures that a dive plan is prepared 
specific to each dive identifying the person in charge of the vessel or 
facility, the dive supervisor, and the roles and responsibilities of 
all dive team members, the anticipated conditions and risks that could 
affect the dive and risk management measures implemented to reduce 
risks; and that each dive team member reviews and signs the plan to 
document participation in the meeting and agreement with the plan;
    (j) All dive team members have access to approved documentation, 
manuals, guidance, policies, procedures, checklists, and any other 
publications for use in planning or conducting the dive and for 
properly using equipment in connection with the dive; and
    (k) The local Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection is provided with 
a dive notice containing the contents specified in table 197.220(k) of 
this section at least 24 hours before any commercial diving operation 
begins.

            Table 197.220(k)--Dive Notice, Required Contents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Content                              Detail
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact information...............  For the CDO, dive supervisor, and
                                     PIC: Name, telephone or e-mail, or
                                     other contact information.
Date and time.....................  Scheduled start and end date and
                                     time.
Dive location.....................  Geographic position (latitude and
                                     longitude).
Diving system safety certificate..  Certificate number, date of
                                     expiration, flag administration,
                                     and issuing authority if other than
                                     the administration.
Mode..............................  Mode of diving to be used.
Support platform..................  Name of each vessel or facility
                                     providing dive support.
Work..............................  Description of work to be performed
                                     including maximum depth and
                                     exposure time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sec.  197.221  Persons in charge.

    (a) The owner or operator of a vessel or facility must designate in 
writing an individual to be the person in charge (PIC) of the vessel or 
facility.
    (b) Where a master is designated, the master is the PIC.
    (c) The PIC must--
    (1) Participate in the dive planning meeting and sign the dive 
plan;
    (2) Not allow any commercial diving operation to begin until--
    (i) The operation's dive supervisor has been designated;
    (ii) The dive supervisor provides the PIC with a report on the 
nature and planned times of the planned operation; and the planned 
involvement of the vessel or facility, its equipment, and its personnel 
in the operation;
    (3) Not permit any commercial diving operation involving dynamic 
positioning or liveboating to begin without first--
    (i) Establishing a means of rapid communication with the dive 
supervisor while the diver is entering, in, or leaving the water; and
    (ii) Ensuring a boat and crew for diver pickup is provided in the 
event of an emergency;
    (4) Ensure that a boat and crew for SCUBA diver pickup is provided 
when SCUBA divers are not line-tended from the dive location;
    (5) Coordinate the activities of the vessel or facility with the 
dive supervisor;
    (6) Ensure that the vessel or facility equipment and personnel are 
kept clear of the dive location except after coordinating with the dive 
supervisor;
    (7) Provide accurate and detailed plans of the area of the 
facility, infrastructure, or vessel that is the subject of the work to 
be performed;
    (8) Ensure that any structures or components being worked on are 
prepared so as to minimize any danger that could pose a threat to the 
members of the dive team;
    (9) Anticipate and monitor all conditions and risks that may affect 
the commercial diving operation, ensure the availability of risk 
management measures if needed, and terminate the operation if an unsafe 
condition exists; and
    (10) Maintain a logbook and make it available to the Coast Guard or 
approved TPOs upon request. For vessels subject to 46 U.S.C. 11301, 
this may be the logbook required by that section and kept on form CG-
706. The following must be included in the logbook:
    (i) Date, time, and location at the start and completion of dive 
operations;
    (ii) Approximate underwater and surface conditions (weather, 
visibility, temperatures, and currents);
    (iii) Name of the dive supervisor;
    (iv) General nature of work performed; and
    (v) Maximum depth and exposure time.

Sec.  197.222  Dive supervisors.

    Each dive supervisor for a commercial diving operation has the 
final authority to determine the required diving equipment, personnel, 
procedures, and diving modes needed to safely accomplish the intended 
task, and must--

[[Page 9181]]

    (a) Comply with this subpart and the applicable requirements for 
dive supervisors and diving modes outlined in sections 3.0 and 4.0 of 
the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202) for 
the specific modes of diving for which supervision is provided;
    (b) Ensure that diving operations conducted from a vessel or 
facility subject to this subpart comply with this subpart;
    (c) Before beginning any commercial diving operation, give the 
person in charge (PIC) the report required by 46 CFR 197.221(c)(2)(ii), 
and coordinate with the PIC any changes that are made to that report;
    (d) Anticipate and monitor all conditions and risks that may affect 
the dive, implement risk management measures as needed, and terminate 
the dive if necessary to ensure dive team safety;
    (e) Conduct the dive planning meeting required by 46 CFR 197.220(i) 
and draft and sign the dive plan;
    (f) Be properly trained and qualified to operate each diving system 
or mode used in the operation;
    (g) Be able to read and communicate in a language clearly 
understood by all members of the dive team;
    (h) Supervise and direct the actions of each dive team member;
    (i) Coordinate with the PIC to ensure that clear and prompt notice 
of the commercial diving operation is given to any person, vessel, 
installation, or organization whose work could interfere with or affect 
the planned dive;
    (j) Maintain an official dive log with information outlined in 
section 5.13 of the ADCI Standards and the--
    (1) Dive mode used;
    (2) PIC's name; and
    (3) Name, date, time, treatment, circumstances, and extent of any 
fatality, injury, or illness that results in incapacitation of more 
than 72 hours or requires any dive team member to be hospitalized for 
more than 24 hours;
    (k) Ensure that, for each diving operation deviating from the 
requirements of this subpart, the dive log records the--
    (1) Circumstances leading to the situation;
    (2) Deviation made; and
    (3) Corrective action taken to reduce the possibility of 
recurrence;
    (l) Keep a record in the dive log noting where and when testing 
occurred for each of the following, along with the test results--
    (1) Medical kit check (monthly);
    (2) Air compressor test;
    (3) Breathing mixture check;
    (4) Breathing supply system check;
    (5) Cleaning of diving equipment for oxygen service, including 
which equipment was cleaned, the general cleaning procedure, and the 
names of persons involved;
    (6) Breathing supply hose and system tests;
    (7) Breathing gas supply system inspection;
    (8) Depth gauge and timekeeping device test;
    (9) Pressure vessel for human occupancy test and inspection;
    (10) Diving equipment inspection;
    (11) Pressure piping test and inspection; and
    (12) Volume tank and cylinder test and inspection;
    (m) Supervise the planning and execution of the diving operation, 
including the responsibility for the safety and health of the dive 
team; and
    (n) Notify the PIC whenever decompression sickness or gas embolism 
is suspected or symptoms are evident, and provide a written report on 
the assessment of the decompression procedure that includes the 
following:
    (1) Details of the investigation completed for each incident 
including dive and decompression profiles and the composition, depth, 
and time of breathing mixture changes;
    (2) Symptoms, including depth and time of onset;
    (3) Nature and results of the treatment;
    (4) Evaluation of each incident based on the investigation, 
consideration of the past performance of the decompression table used, 
and individual susceptibility; and
    (5) The corrective action taken to reduce the probability of 
recurrence.

Sec.  197.223  Operations manual.

    (a) Each dive supervisor must provide the operations manual to the 
person in charge (PIC) prior to commencement of any diving operation 
and make it available at the dive location to all members of the dive 
team.
    (b) The dive supervisor must modify the operations manual to 
reflect any change in the configuration or operation of the vessel or 
facility or in the specific diving operation as planned.
    (c) The operations manual must provide for the safety and health of 
the divers, and must address the--
    (1) Safety procedures and checklists for each diving mode used;
    (2) Assignments and responsibilities of each dive team member for 
each diving mode used;
    (3) Equipment procedures and checklists for each diving mode used;
    (4) Dive team members' drills and training;
    (5) Procedures for conducting a job safety analysis; and
    (6) Procedures to be taken before, during, and after a dive for 
each diving mode conducted.
    (d) The operations manual must also provide emergency procedures in 
the event of--
    (1) Fire;
    (2) Equipment failure;
    (3) Adverse environmental conditions including, but not limited to, 
weather and sea state;
    (4) Medical illness;
    (5) Injuries; and
    (6) Barotrauma.
    (e) The operations manual must also provide procedures dealing with 
the use of--
    (1) Hand-held power tools;
    (2) Welding and burning equipment; and
    (3) Explosives.

Sec.  197.224  Operational duties in the event of marine casualty or 
serious marine incident.

    (a) In the event of a marine casualty or a serious marine incident 
the commercial diving operator must--
    (1) Ensure that the commercial diving operation is suspended as 
soon as all actions have been taken to protect the safety of life and 
the environment, and resumed only after all commercial diving employees 
have fully complied with the reporting requirements of 46 CFR part 4 
and this section;
    (2) Analyze the event and take all reasonable action required to 
prevent further events from occurring;
    (3) Arrange for a timely post-casualty audit to be conducted in 
accordance with 46 CFR 197.211;
    (4)(i) Ensure that any equipment that may have contributed to the 
event is immediately removed from service and secured against 
unauthorized access and any change in its material condition is 
recorded;
    (ii) Ensure that any repair to the equipment described in paragraph 
(a)(4)(i) of this section and any deviation from the requirements of 
paragraph (a)(4)(i) are reported to the local Officer in Charge, Marine 
Inspection (OCMI) as soon as possible;
    (iii) Ensure that any equipment described in paragraph (a)(4)(i) of 
this section and any documentation relating to the event is retained, 
made available to the OCMI upon request, and not disposed of until the 
OCMI gives written permission; and
    (5) Ensure that the commercial diving operation and all commercial 
diving employees comply with any conditions imposed by the OCMI to 
protect life, property, or the environment.

[[Page 9182]]

    (b) In addition to the reporting requirements of 46 CFR subpart 
4.05 and 33 CFR 146.30 and 150.815, the person in charge (PIC) must 
notify the OCMI as soon as possible after a diving casualty occurs if 
the casualty involves loss of life or a diving-related injury that 
causes incapacitation for more than 72 hours or hospitalization for 
more than 24 hours.
    (c) The notice required in paragraph (b) of this section must 
contain the--
    (1) Name and official number (if applicable) of the vessel or 
facility;
    (2) Name of the owner or operator of the vessel or facility;
    (3) Name of the PIC;
    (4) Name of the dive supervisor;
    (5) Description of the casualty including presumed cause;
    (6) Maximum depth and exposure time; and
    (7) Nature and extent of the injury.
    (d)(1) In addition to the notice required in paragraph (b) of this 
section, the PIC must provide a written report in accordance with 46 
CFR subpart 4.05 within 5 days of the casualty.
    (2) When the marine casualty or serious marine incident occurs on a 
vessel's diving installation, the report must be submitted on Form 
CG2692. When the marine casualty or serious marine incident occurs on a 
facility's diving installation, the report can be in narrative written 
form if it contains the information required in paragraph (c) of this 
section and the information required to be submitted on Form CG2692.
    (3) The report must be accompanied by a copy of the dive supervisor 
investigation report required in 46 CFR 197.222(n) when decompression 
sickness is involved.
    (4) The report must include information relating to alcohol or drug 
involvement as required in 46 CFR 4.05-12.
    (e) Each dive supervisor must promptly notify the PIC of any 
diving-related casualty, accident, or injury.
    (f) The owner, agent, or PIC of a vessel or facility for which a 
report of casualty is made under paragraph (d) of this section must 
retain all records onboard that are maintained on the vessel or 
facility and those records required by this subpart, including all 
logbooks and reports, for 6 months after the report of a casualty is 
made or until advised by the OCMI that records need not be retained 
onboard, and must make them available for examination by any Coast 
Guard official or approved third-party organization authorized to 
investigate the casualty.
    (g) Each CDO and owner of a vessel or facility that determines that 
a casualty or incident is, or is likely to become, a serious marine 
incident, must comply with the applicable chemical testing and 
reporting requirements outlined in 46 CFR subpart 4.06.

Sec.  197.225  Safety management system.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator, and each vessel or facility 
owner that permits a commercial diving operation to take place on board 
or at the facility, must conduct the internal and external audits 
required by 46 CFR 197.210 and 197.211 and must conduct operations in 
accordance with a safety management system meeting the requirements of 
ISO 9001-2008, or equivalent standard recognized by the Office of 
Design and Engineering Standards, Commandant (CG-ENG).
    (b) Each vessel engaged on an international voyage and subject to 
the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea must be 
operated in accordance with a Safety Management System meeting the 
requirements of the International Safety Management Code.
    Sec. Sec.  197.226-197.239 [Reserved]

Personnel Training and Qualifications

    197.240 General requirements.
    (a) Each commercial diving employee employed in a commercial diving 
operation must have the knowledge, skills, experience, training, and 
certification necessary to perform the duties to which he or she is 
assigned and must meet the requirements of the role to which he or she 
is assigned as outlined in section 3 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), except insofar as it 
has been modified by this subpart.
    (b) Each commercial diving team member must be trained in and 
maintain valid certification for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) 
and first aid (American Red Cross standard course or equivalent).

Sec.  197.241  Standby divers.

    (a) No standby diver may perform any other duty that might 
interfere with his or her duties as a standby diver while another diver 
is in the water.
    (b) Each standby diver must--
    (1) Be fully dressed and able to enter the water in less than 1 
minute and when directed to do so by the dive supervisor;
    (2) Stay in the immediate location of the dive and dive support 
equipment while a diver is in the water; and
    (3) Stay aware of events and conditions relevant to the dive.

Sec.  197.242  Dive supervisors.

    (a) Except insofar as it has been modified by this subpart, each 
dive supervisor of a commercial diving operation must meet the 
requirements for the specific mode of diving being supervised, as 
outlined in section 3 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, 
see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (b)(1) A surface-supplied air dive supervisor must meet the 
requirements of a surface-supplied air diver, and complete at least 150 
dives serving as a qualified surface-supplied air diver.
    (2) A mixed-gas dive supervisor must meet the requirements of a 
mixed-gas diver and--
    (i) Complete at least 150 mixed-gas dives as a qualified mixed-gas 
diver; and
    (ii) Complete at least 150 dives as a surface-supplied air diving 
supervisor.
    (3) A saturation dive supervisor must meet the requirements of a 
saturation diver, and--
    (i) Complete at least 150 dives as a saturation diver; and
    (ii) Complete at least 150 dives as a mixed-gas diving supervisor.

Sec.  197.243  Divers and dive tenders.

    (a) Except insofar as it has been modified by this subpart, each 
diver and dive tender for a commercial diving operation must meet the 
commercial diving training requirements of section 2.2 and the diving 
personnel responsibilities, qualifications and certification 
requirements of section 3 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (b) In lieu of the requirements in section 3.5.3(a) and (b) of the 
ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), a 
mixed-gas diver must complete at least 100 dives as an air diver; and 
complete at least 50 dives as tender to a mixed-gas diver.
    (c) In lieu of the requirements in section 3.7.3(a) and (b) of the 
ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), a 
saturation diver must complete at least 200 dives as an air or mixed-
gas diver; and complete at least 100 dives as a mixed-gas diver.
    (d) A commercial diver or dive tender conducting diving operations 
prior to (30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF FINAL RULE) and having 
more than 5 years of commercial diving experience is exempt from having 
to meet the formal training requirements specified in section 2.2.1 of 
the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (e) A commercial diver or dive tender conducting diving operations 
prior to (30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION OF FINAL RULE) and having 
less than 5 years of commercial diving experience must meet the formal 
training requirements specified in

[[Page 9183]]

section 2.2.1 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 
CFR 197.202) not later than 3 years after (30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF 
PUBLICATION OF FINAL RULE).

Sec.  197.244  Life-support technicians.

    Each life-support technician for a commercial diving operation must 
meet the requirements of section 3.9 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).

Sec.  197.245  Saturation technicians.

    Each saturation technician for a commercial diving operation must 
meet the requirements of section 3.10 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).

Sec.  197.246  Individuals conducting underwater burning, welding, or 
exothermic cutting.

    Each individual conducting underwater burning, welding, or 
exothermic cutting must provide the commercial diving operator and dive 
supervisor with documentation showing successful completion of a course 
for underwater welding, burning, and cutting containing curriculum 
based on ANSI/ACDE-01-2009 (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202) and successful completion of a written and practical exam 
based on ANSI/ISO 15618 (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202).

Sec.  197.247  Diver medical technicians.

    Each individual acting as a diver medical technician must meet the 
requirements for commercial divers outlined in 46 CFR 197.243(a), be 
trained as an emergency medical technician according to the National 
Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, and be trained as a 
certified medical technician according to the National Board of Diving 
and Hyperbaric Medical Technology.

Sec. Sec.  197.248-197.249   [Reserved]

Health and Medical Requirements

Sec.  197.250  Medical examinations.

    (a) Except insofar as it has been modified by this subpart, each 
commercial diving employee subjected to hyperbaric conditions must 
comply with section 2.3 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (b) Each commercial diving employee subjected to hyperbaric 
conditions must--
    (1) Be physically and mentally able to safely wear and operate any 
required equipment, tools, and safety gear necessary to accomplish 
diving operations or otherwise be exposed to hyperbaric activities 
without undue danger to themselves or others;
    (2) At the time of hire, and at least once every 12 months 
thereafter, undergo a medical examination by a licensed physician to 
determine the employee's physical and cognitive ability to meet the 
standard described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and must ensure 
that he or she provides the commercial diving operator and the dive 
supervisor with a written medical report from his or her attending 
physician that includes the--
    (i) Date of the examination;
    (ii) Physician's name, business address, and telephone number; and
    (iii) Physician's medical determination of fitness for diving or 
otherwise being subjected to hyperbaric conditions, and any 
restrictions or limitations that would apply to work activities.

Sec.  197.251  Pre-operational verification.

    (a) Before each commercial diving operation, the commercial diving 
operator (CDO) and the dive supervisor must ensure that each person who 
may be subjected to hyperbaric conditions has complied with 46 CFR 
197.250.
    (b) No CDO or dive supervisor may knowingly--
    (1) Expose an employee to hyperbaric conditions if the employee has 
not complied with the requirements of this subpart; or
    (2) Use the employee in a manner that is not consistent with any 
restrictions or limitations listed by a physician under 46 CFR 
197.250(b)(2)(iii).
    (c) Each CDO and dive supervisor must ensure that no dive team 
member is under the influence of alcohol, a dangerous drug, or a legal 
prescription or non-prescription medication whose use is inadvisable by 
a medical physician while performing the duty to which the person is 
assigned.

Sec.  197.252  Work hours.

    Each commercial dive operator and dive supervisor must ensure that 
each dive member is provided the opportunity to obtain at least 12 
hours of rest within any 24-hour period, except in an emergency or 
drills that may be required in accordance with 46 CFR 15.710(d).

Sec.  197.253  Ascent to altitude after diving or flying after diving.

    Commercial divers leaving a dive site and traveling over mountains 
or departing by air must comply with Chapter 9-14 of the U.S. Navy 
Diving Manual (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).

Sec. Sec.  197.254-197.259   [Reserved]

Specific Operations

Sec.  197.260  Operations with potential for differential pressures in 
adjacent areas.

    Each commercial diving operator performing a commercial diving 
operation that has the potential for developing differential pressures 
in adjacent areas must comply with section 5.17 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), and ensure that the 
recommendations outlined in section 5.17.3 of the ADCI Standards are 
implemented.

Sec.  197.261  Operations conducted from a dynamic positioning vessel.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO) performing commercial 
diving operations from a vessel using a dynamic positioning (DP) system 
must comply with section 8.3 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (b) Each CDO to whom this section applies must--
    (1) Ensure that the DP system for the vessel is periodically 
inspected, tested, and maintained in accordance with the applicable 
manufacturer and/or classification society requirements for the 
specific DP system used;
    (2) Ensure that periodic inspections, tests, and maintenance for 
the DP system on the vessel are recorded in the logbook required by 46 
CFR 197.221(c)(10); and
    (3) Ensure that the onboard dive location is not located within 5 
meters of a propulsion source.

Sec.  197.262  Operations conducted from a vessel that is liveboating.

    Each commercial diving operator performing commercial diving 
operations from a vessel that is liveboating must comply with section 
8.2 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202) and must notify the person in charge before a diver enters or 
exits the water.

Sec.  197.263  Operations involving SCUBA.

    Each commercial diving operator performing commercial diving 
operations involving the use of a self-contained underwater breathing 
apparatus must comply with section 4.2 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), and must ensure that a 
boat is available for diver pickup when a diver is not line-tended from 
the dive location.

Sec.  197.264  Operations involving multiple dives by a diver.

    Each commercial diving operator requiring divers to engage in 
multiple

[[Page 9184]]

dives must first make sure that equivalent air depth calculations are 
determined by the dive supervisor and the diver, and that those 
calculations are entered into the Standard Navy Air Tables contained in 
the U.S. Navy Dive Manual (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202) to determine the subsequent dive profile.

Sec.  197.265  Operations in which a diver's decompression is required, 
but has been omitted.

    Commercial diving operators must ensure that the procedures 
identified in the U.S. Navy Diving Manual, Sixth Edition (incorporated 
by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202) are followed when a diver's 
decompression is required but has been omitted.

Sec.  197.266  Operations in contaminated water.

    Commercial diving operations conducted in contaminated water must 
comply with section 5.38 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).

Sec.  197.267  Operations involving underwater welding and burning.

    Commercial diving operations involving underwater welding and 
burning must comply with section 5.31 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).

Sec. Sec.  197.268-197.269   [Reserved]

Equipment

Sec.  197.270  General requirements.

    (a) Each diving installation used on each vessel or facility 
subject to this subpart must comply with this subpart.
    (b) In addition to the requirements of this subpart, equipment that 
is permanently installed on vessels and is part of the diving 
installation must comply with subchapters F and J of this chapter or 
other equivalent standards acceptable to the Office of Design and 
Engineering Standards, Commandant (CG-ENG).
    (c) All equipment used to support a commercial diving operation, 
including, but not limited to, breathing gas hoses, umbilicals, 
compressor systems, volume tanks, compressed-gas cylinders, pressure 
vessels for human occupancy, diving ladders and stages, launch and 
recovery systems, entry and egress systems, emergency evacuation 
systems, helmets, masks, harnesses, gauges, timekeeping devices, and 
diver's dress must meet the applicable equipment requirements outlined 
in the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202), 
in addition to the requirements of this subpart.
    (d) A modular or packaged commercial diving unit placed aboard a 
vessel for use in a commercial diving operation must have documentation 
indicating that the unit and its installation have been reviewed and 
approved for its intended use by a recognized classification society 
that meets the requirements of 46 CFR part 8, or by another 
organization acceptable to the Office of Design and Engineering 
Standards, Commandant (CG-ENG).
    (e) Where a hyperbaric lifeboat is provided as an emergency 
evacuation system it must--
    (1) Be used for no other purpose;
    (2) Not be counted to meet applicable carriage requirements for 
survival craft;
    (3) Meet the hyperbaric evacuation system requirements of IMO 
Resolution A.692(17) (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202); 
and
    (4) Be type-approved by a recognized classification society as 
defined in 46 CFR 8.100, or issued a Coast Guard approval certificate 
under approval series 160.135.

Sec.  197.271  Commercial diving operator's general equipment duties.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO) must ensure all 
commercial diving employees comply with this subpart and document 
compliance with paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section in an 
equipment maintenance logbook.
    (b) The CDO must maintain, inspect, test, and use all equipment in 
accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
    (c) The CDO must inspect, maintain, and repair all equipment in 
accordance with a documented maintenance system that designates the 
person or persons authorized to perform inspection and maintenance and 
that includes the following for each item of equipment--
    (1) A permanently marked (by the manufacturer or equipment owner) 
unique identification number; except that no number is required for 
consumable supplies;
    (2) A description and timeframes for periodic tests and 
maintenance, whether regularly scheduled or to be performed after 
repair or modification;
    (3) Cable and lifting component certificates; and
    (4) Manufacturer service life specifications, including the 
equipment's date of entry into dive service and recommended date of 
removal from service.
    (d) The CDO must ensure that all equipment used for commercial 
diving operations is repaired or modified in accordance with 
manufacturer's recommendations by technicians certified by the 
manufacturer to make repairs or modifications.
    (e) The CDO must ensure that any non-conforming equipment is 
physically destroyed, stored, displayed, or otherwise removed from 
service to prevent its use and marked or tagged to indicate why it was 
removed and whether the removal is temporary or permanent.

197.272   Person in charge's equipment duties.

    Each person in charge (PIC) of a facility or a vessel providing 
equipment or support systems identified in this subpart and used by the 
commercial diving operator must document compliance with the 
manufacturer's equipment maintenance requirements in an equipment 
maintenance logbook. The PIC must keep the logbook for at least 5 years 
and make it available for inspection by the dive supervisor at the dive 
location.

197.273   Dive supervisor's equipment maintenance logbook duties.

    Each dive supervisor must keep the equipment maintenance logbook 
required by 46 CFR 197.272 and make it available for inspection at the 
dive location.

197.274   Diver's equipment duties.

    Each diver using personal dive equipment must maintain, inspect, 
and use the equipment in accordance with the manufacturer's 
specifications and this subpart. Before using personal equipment, the 
diver must provide the person in charge and the dive supervisor with 
documentation showing compliance with this requirement.

Sec.  197.275  Volume tanks.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator (CDO) must ensure that each 
volume tank used in a diving system for a commercial diving operation 
complies with section 6.11.1 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by 
reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
    (b) Each CDO must ensure that each volume tank--
    (1) Is equipped with intakes located away from areas containing 
internal combustion engine exhaust fumes or other hazardous 
contaminants; and
    (2) Has an efficient filtration system if the tank is in a 
compressor used to supply breathing air to a diver.

Sec.  197.276  Compressed gas cylinders.

    Each commercial diving operator must ensure that each compressed 
gas cylinder--
    (a) Complies with section 6.11.2 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202);
    (b) Complies with the applicable requirements of 49 CFR part 173,

[[Page 9185]]

subpart G; 46 CFR part 178, subpart C; and 46 CFR part 180, subpart C; 
and
    (c) Is tested after any repair, modification, or alteration to the 
pressure boundaries.

Sec.  197.277  Pressure vessels for human occupancy.

    (a) Each commercial dive operator must ensure that each pressure 
vessel for human occupancy (PVHO) complies with section 6.12 of the 
ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202); is 
designed, constructed, tested, and maintained (including any pressure 
relief device and associated systems) in accordance with ASME PVHO-1 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202); or complies with the 
design and classification requirements of a classification society 
recognized in accordance with 46 CFR part 8; and complies with 
paragraphs (b) through (g) of this section.
    (b) Each PVHO must--
    (1) Have a check valve located on the outside of the PVHO within 1 
foot of the pressure boundary on all piping exclusively carrying fluids 
into the PVHO;
    (2) Have a pressure gauge in the interior of each compartment that 
is--
    (i) Designed for human occupancy; and
    (ii) Capable of having the compartment pressure controlled from 
inside the PVHO;
    (3) Have a protective device on the inlet side of PVHO exhaust 
lines; and
    (4) Have a means of overriding and controlling from the exterior 
all interior breathing and pressure supply controls.
    (c) Each closed bell must meet the requirements of this section and 
have lifting equipment attached to the closed bell capable of returning 
the occupied closed bell when fully flooded to the dive location.
    (d) Each closed bell must have a life support capability for the 
intact closed bell and its occupants for:
    (1) Twelve hours after an accident severing the umbilical to the 
surface when the umbilical to the surface is the only installed means 
of retrieving the closed bell; or
    (2) A period of time, at least equal to 1 hour plus twice the time 
required to retrieve the bell from its designed operating depth and 
attach an auxiliary life support system, after an accident severing the 
umbilical to the surface when the umbilical is one of the two 
independent installed means of retrieving the closed bell, each meeting 
the requirements of this paragraph (d).
    (e) Each closed bell must be capable of attachment to another PVHO 
that allows the transfer of personnel and diver's equipment under 
pressure from the closed bell to a PVHO that--
    (1) Meets the requirements of this section;
    (2) Is capable of attachment to a decompression chamber meeting the 
requirements of this section; and
    (3) Allows the transfer of personnel and diver's equipment under 
pressure from the PVHO to the decompression chamber.
    (f) Each open bell must meet the requirements of section 6.8.2 of 
the ADCI Standards or other equivalent standard accepted by the Office 
of Design and Engineering Standards, Commandant (CG-ENG).

Sec.  197.278  Pressure piping.

    Each piping system that is not an integral part of the vessel or 
facility, but is carrying fluids under pressures exceeding 15 pounds 
per square inch gauge, must be designed, maintained, and repaired in 
accordance with ASME B31.1 (incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 
197.202) or other equivalent standard accepted by the Office of Design 
and Engineering Standards, Commandant (CG-ENG), and must have the point 
of connection to the integral piping system of the vessel or facility 
clearly marked.

Sec.  197.279  First aid and treatment equipment.

    (a) First aid and treatment equipment used at a commercial diving 
operation must comply with sections 5.4 and 5.20 of the ADCI Standards 
(incorporated by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202) or other equivalent 
standard accepted by the Office of Operating and Environmental 
Standards, Commandant (CG-OES) and must comply with this subpart.
    (b) The location of each commercial diving operation must have--
    (1) A medical kit approved by a physician that includes any 
additional supplies necessary to treat minor trauma and illnesses 
resulting from hyperbaric exposure;
    (2) A copy of an American Red Cross Standard First Aid handbook or 
equivalent; and
    (3) The capability to remove an injured diver from the water.
    (c) Each commercial diving operation must have a two-way 
communications system to obtain emergency assistance, except when the 
vessel or facility ship-to-shore, two-way communications system is 
readily available.
    (d) Each dive location supporting mixed-gas dives, dives deeper 
than 100 feet of sea water, or dives outside the no-decompression 
limits must meet the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section and 
have--
    (1) A decompression chamber that complies with 46 CFR 197.277;
    (2) Decompression tables;
    (3) A supply of breathing gasses sufficient to treat for 
decompression sickness;
    (4) A medical kit as required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section 
that can be carried into the decompression chamber and that is suitable 
for use under hyperbaric conditions; and
    (5) The capability to assist an injured diver into the 
decompression chamber.

Sec.  197.280  Diving ladders and stages.

    (a) Each diving ladder and stage must meet the requirements of 
section 6.8 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 
CFR 197.202) or other equivalent standard accepted by the Office of 
Operating and Environmental Standards, Commandant (CG-OES) and must 
comply with this subpart.
    (b) Each diving ladder must be firmly in place and available at the 
dive location for a diver to enter or exit the water unless a diving 
stage or bell is provided.
    (c) Each diving stage must have an open-grating platform and must 
be available for a diver to enter or exit the water from the dive 
location and must be available for in-water decompression if the diver 
is--
    (1) Wearing a heavyweight diving outfit; or
    (2) Diving outside the no-decompression limits, except when a bell 
is provided.

Sec.  197.281  Surface-supplied helmets and masks.

    (a) Each surface-supplied helmet or mask must meet the requirements 
of section 6.4 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by reference, see 46 
CFR 197.202) or other equivalent standard accepted by the Office of 
Operating and Environmental Standards, Commandant (CG-OES) and must 
comply with this subpart.
    (b) Each surface-supplied air helmet or mask must--
    (1) Ventilate at least 4.5 atmospheric cubic feet per minute at any 
depth at which it is operated; or
    (2) Be able to maintain the diver's inspired carbon dioxide partial 
pressure below 0.02 atmospheres absolute when the diver is producing 
carbon dioxide at the rate of 1.6 standard liters per minute; and
    (3) Have an exhaust valve.

Sec.  197.282  Diver's safety harness.

    Each safety harness used in surface-supplied diving must meet the 
requirements of section 6.3.4 of the ADCI Standards (incorporated by

[[Page 9186]]

reference, see 46 CFR 197.202) or other equivalent standard accepted by 
the Office of Operating and Environmental Standards, Commandant (CG-
OES), and it must have an attachment point for the umbilical life line 
that distributes the pulling force of the umbilical over the diver's 
body and prevents strain on the mask or helmet.

Sec.  197.283  Buoyancy-changing devices.

    (a) A dry suit or other buoyancy-changing device not directly 
connected to the exhaust valve of the helmet or mask must have an 
independent exhaust valve.
    (b) When used for SCUBA diving, a buoyancy-changing device must 
have an inflation source separate from the breathing gas supply.

Sec.  197.284  Inflatable flotation devices.

    An inflatable flotation device for SCUBA diving must--
    (a) Be capable of maintaining the diver at the surface in a face-up 
position;
    (b) Have a manually activated inflation device;
    (c) Have an oral inflation device;
    (d) Have an over-pressure relief device; and
    (e) Have a manually operated exhaust valve.

Sec.  197.285  Oxygen safety.

    (a) Equipment used with oxygen or oxygen mixtures greater than 40 
percent by volume must be designed for that use.
    (b) Oxygen systems with pressures greater than 125 pounds per 
square inch gauge must have slow-opening shut-off valves; except that 
pressure boundary shut-off valves may be ball valves.
    (c) The dive supervisor must ensure that equipment used with oxygen 
or oxygen mixtures greater than 40 percent by volume is cleaned of 
flammable materials, both before being placed into service, and after 
any repair, alteration, modification, or suspected contamination.

Sec.  197.286  Miscellaneous equipment requirements.

    Each commercial diving operator must ensure that the commercial 
diving operation equipment listed in table 197.286 of this section 
complies with the requirements shown in that table.

           Table 197.286--Miscellaneous Equipment Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Equipment                           Requirement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breathing gas supply, diver-        Must be sufficient to allow diver to
 carried reserve.                    reach surface, or another source of
                                     breathing gas if primary supply
                                     fails, or be reached by a standby
                                     diver equipped with another source
                                     of breathing gas for the diver.
                                     Unused ports must be capped off to
                                     prevent unintended loss of
                                     watertight integrity.
Breathing gas supply, primary.....  Must be sufficient to support the
                                     diver, the standby diver, and the
                                     open or closed bell when provided,
                                     for duration of planned dive; and
                                     sufficient to supply the
                                     decompression chamber, for duration
                                     of the dive, or the treatment of an
                                     injured diver plus 1 hour after
                                     dive's completion. Unused ports
                                     must be capped off to prevent
                                     unintended loss of watertight
                                     integrity.
Breathing gas supply, secondary...  Must be sufficient to support the
                                     diver while returning to the
                                     surface, the diver during
                                     decompression, the standby diver,
                                     the open or closed bell when
                                     returning the diver to surface, and
                                     the decompression chamber for
                                     duration of dive plus 1 hour after
                                     dive's completion. Unused ports
                                     must be capped off to prevent
                                     unintended loss of watertight
                                     integrity.
Oxygen............................  Oxygen used for breathing mixtures
                                     must meet the requirements of
                                     Federal Specification BB-O-925a,
                                     (incorporated by reference, see 46
                                     CFR 197.202), and be type 1
                                     (gaseous) grade A or B.
Nitrogen..........................  Nitrogen used for breathing mixtures
                                     must meet the requirements of
                                     Federal Specification BB-N-411c,
                                     (incorporated by reference, see 46
                                     CFR 197.202), be type 1 (gaseous);
                                     class 1 (oil free); and grade A, B,
                                     or C.
Helium............................  Helium used for breathing mixtures
                                     must be grades A, B, or C produced
                                     by the Federal government, or
                                     equivalent.
Compressed air....................  Compressed air used for breathing
                                     mixtures must meet the standards of
                                     the Compressed Gas Association
                                     Publications G-7 and G-7.1
                                     (incorporated by reference, see 46
                                     CFR 197.202).
Diving system power...............  Must minimize risk of injury, fire,
                                     explosion, or exposure of personnel
                                     to emissions or negative
                                     interaction with other equipment.
                                     Provide independent backup supply
                                     that, if the primary supply is
                                     disabled, will not interfere with
                                     the power requirements of the
                                     vessel or facility that supplies
                                     the backup, is ready for immediate
                                     use, and is sufficient to support
                                     safe termination of diving.
Equipment to which a                The date the equipment entered into
 manufacturer's service life         service, underwent repairs, and the
 specification applies.              date the service life expires must
                                     be entered into the equipment
                                     logbook.
Equipment used with oxygen mixture  Must be marked ``FOR OXYGEN USE
 greater than 23.5 percent by        ONLY'' and cleaned in accordance
 volume.                             with Compressed Gas Association
                                     Publication G-4.1 (incorporated by
                                     reference, see 46 CFR 197.202).
Gauges and timekeeping devices....  A diver depth gauge (if the dive is
                                     surface supplied) and timekeeping
                                     device must be at each dive
                                     location. All gauges and timepieces
                                     must be calibrated according to
                                     manufacturer's specifications.
                                     Devices for monitoring diver
                                     exposure time under pressure must
                                     be easily readable.
Oxygen system, pressure greater     Slow-opening shut-off valves must be
 than 125 psi(g).                    provided, except for pressure
                                     boundary shut-off valves, which may
                                     be ball valves.
Pressure piping repairs...........  Must be in accordance with ASME
                                     B31.1 (incorporated by reference,
                                     see 46 CFR 197.202) or 46 CFR part
                                     56, as applicable.
Pressure vessel repairs...........  Must be in accordance with ASME
                                     NBBPVI, ASME PVHO-1, (incorporated
                                     by reference, see 46 CFR 197.202),
                                     46 CFR part 54, or 49 CFR part 180
                                     subpart C, as applicable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dive Team Staffing

Sec.  197.290  Dive team staffing requirements.

    (a) Each commercial diving operator and dive supervisor must ensure 
that each diving operation is conducted with enough personnel to keep 
all personnel safe, to offset anticipated risks, and to properly 
perform the work. Diving operations lasting less than 12 hours, unless 
otherwise specified, must meet the minimum dive team requirements set 
forth in table 197.290 of this section.

[[Page 9187]]

     Table 197.290--Minimum Dive Team Staffing Size and Composition
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Minimum dive      Minimum dive team
           Operation                team size          composition
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturation diving *............           14 **  2 Dive supervisors, 2
                                                  Divers, 2 Standby
                                                  divers (see note 1), 4
                                                  Dive tenders, Life-
                                                  support technician
                                                  supervisor, Life-
                                                  support technician,
                                                  Saturation system
                                                  technician supervisor,
                                                  Saturation system
                                                  technician.
SCUBA..........................               4  Dive supervisor, Diver,
                                                  Tender (see note 2),
                                                  Standby diver (see
                                                  note 1).
Surface-supplied air diving....               5  Dive supervisor, Diver,
                                                  Tender (see note 2),
                                                  Standby diver (see
                                                  note 1), Standby diver
                                                  tender (see note 3).
Surface-supplied diving, mixed-               5  Dive supervisor, Diver,
 gas.                                             Tender (see note 2),
                                                  Standby diver (see
                                                  note 1), Standby diver
                                                  tender (see note 3).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
1. A standby diver must be fully dressed and either staged in the water
  as a safety diver, or capable of entering the water within 1 minute,
  at the dive supervisor's direction, to support a diver in distress.
2. The tender's only duty is to support the working diver to which
  assigned.
3. A standby diver tender may perform other duties directly supporting
  the dive in progress, except when the tender's standby diver is
  deployed.
* Staffing standards reflects operations exceeding 12-hour work cycles.
** With the exception of the supervisors and technicians, one member of
  the team shall be a diver medical technician.

    (b) Dive supervisors must ensure that the minimum dive team 
requirements shown in table 197.290 are met based on one dive and any 
applicable decompression time required. When necessary, dive 
supervisors may increase manning levels and may require additional 
equipment for any diving in excess of one dive and any applicable 
decompression time required.
    (c) Commercial dive operators and dive supervisors must ensure that 
proper pre-job planning is conducted in accordance with 46 CFR 
197.220(i) to ensure that the necessary levels of personnel and 
equipment are available for all commercial diving operations.
    (d) Mixed gas commercial diving operations must include a life 
support technician dedicated for the purpose of operating the mixed gas 
system.

Sec. Sec.  197.303-197.309   [Reserved]

    Dated: January 30, 2015.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, United States Coast 
Guard.
[FR Doc. 2015-02714 Filed 2-18-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P