I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5695 
To require operators of offshore oil and gas facilities to report failures 
of critical systems to the Secretary of Interior, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2020 
Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. HUFFMAN, 
Mr. GAETZ, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Mr. BUCHANAN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require operators of offshore oil and gas facilities to 
report failures of critical systems to the Secretary of 
Interior, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be referred to as the ‘‘Offshore Ac-
countability Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 30 days after the 
discovery of an equipment failure of a critical system oper-
ated at an offshore oil or gas facility, the operator of such 
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facility shall provide a written notice of such failure to 
the Secretary and the manufacturer of such equipment. 
(b) INVESTIGATION.— 
(1) ANALYSIS REPORT.—Subject to subsection 
(d), an operator required to provide notice to the 
Secretary under subsection (a) shall ensure that an 
investigation and an equipment failure analysis are 
completed within 120 days of the failure to deter-
mine the cause of such failure. The operator shall 
provide an analysis report to the Secretary and to 
the manufacturer of such equipment documenting 
such investigation and any corrective action taken. 
(2) PUBLICATION.—Not more than 30 days 
after receiving an analysis report submitted under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make such anal-
ysis report available to the public on the Department 
of Interior website. 
(c) EXTENSION.—An operator required to provide an 
analysis report under subsection (b) may request an exten-
sion of up to 60 days from the Secretary for such require-
ment by submitting a written request detailing how such 
operator will complete the investigation and report re-
quired by subsection (b). The Secretary shall review and 
respond to such request not later than 30 days after the 
date on which such request is submitted, and may not 
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grant more than one such extension with respect to a sin-
gle investigation and report. 
(d) NOTICE OF CHANGE IN EQUIPMENT OR PROCE-
DURES.—An operator required to provide a notice under 
subsection (a) shall— 
(1) not more than 30 days after receiving notice 
from a manufacturer of any critical system that 
made changes in the design of a critical system as 
the result of the reported failure, report in writing 
such notice to the Secretary; and 
(2) not more than 30 days after a change in 
such operator’s operating or repair procedures as a 
result of the reported failure, report in writing such 
change to the Secretary. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘blowout preventer system’’ means a wellhead device 
or combination of devices that is specifically de-
signed to prevent the uncontrolled release of gas, oil, 
or other fluids or hydrocarbons. 
(2) CRITICAL SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘critical sys-
tem’’ means safety and pollution prevention equip-
ment or a blowout preventer system. 
(3) EQUIPMENT FAILURE.—The term ‘‘equip-
ment failure’’ means any conditions that prevents 
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equipment from meeting its functional specifications 
or purpose. 
(4) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ means 
the operator of an offshore oil or gas facility. 
(5) SAFETY
AND
POLLUTION
PREVENTION 
EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘safety and pollution pre-
vention system’’ means any equipment that is spe-
cifically designed to prevent a malfunction or failure 
of an offshore well, resulting in injury or loss of life, 
damage to the environment, or serious damage to 
the equipment, including— 
(A) surface safety valves and actuators; 
(B) boarding shutdown valves and the ac-
tuators of such valves; 
(C) underwater safety valves and actu-
ators; 
(D) subsurface safety valves and associated 
safety valve locks and landing nipples; and 
(E) gas lift shutdown valves and actuators 
associated with such valves. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
Æ 
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