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BSEE working on Arctic response regulations Oil spill response contingency requirements will be specified as part of a package of new Arctic outer continental shelf regulations Alan Bailey Petroleum News
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, is working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on new oil spill prevention and response regulations tailored to the Arctic outer continental shelf, Christy Bohl from BSEE’s oil spill response division told a meeting of the Alaska Regional Response Team on Jan. 29. The oil spill related regulations come as part of a package of regulation revisions designed to address specific Arctic offshore safety and environmental protection concerns.
“We propose to publish those (new regulations) in the Federal Register by the end of this first quarter of calendar year 2014,” Bohl said.
The agencies are about to ask the federal Office of Management and Budget for its final review of the proposed regulations, she said.
The Alaska Regional Response Team, or ARRT, is the advisory board to the U.S. Coast Guard oil spill response on-scene commander and maintains an oil spill contingency plan for coordinating the response efforts of federal agencies and other organizations in Alaska.
Addressing concerns The Arctic revisions to BSEE’s oil-spill-related regulations address concerns raised by various stakeholders and deal with a number of issues that are unique to Alaska, Bohl said. The regulations take into account the response tactics, personnel and equipment inventories needed to support a worst-case oil discharge lasting 30 days of more in a remote location, including the logistical support systems needed in a frontier area.
“You have to bring everything with you, so we’re looking to see that (contingency) plan holders are planning to supply the entire response,” Bohl said.
The regulations consider issues such as having available adequate communications systems, the timely application of non-mechanical response techniques, as well as having adequate on-water facilities to store recovered materials and a management plan for dealing with recovered waste.
Although the ARRT maintains a spill response plan, federal law requires an entity such as an oil company that handles liquid hydrocarbons to have its own spill prevention and response plan, suitably equipped and resourced to launch a credible spill response. Federal regulations spell out the minimum spill prevention and response requirements that such a contingency plan must meet.
Arctic research Bohl also overviewed some research that BSEE is progressing to address issues relating to oil spill response in the Arctic offshore.
In February the agency will use its Ohmsett test facility to evaluate the effectiveness of some types of dispersant on Alaska crude oils in cold water, she said. The manufacturer of the dispersant used in the response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster has placed new terms over the sale and use of its product, thus causing oil spill response organizations to consider the use of other dispersant materials, Bohl said.
In addition, an investigation of the effectiveness of dispersants for use in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas will provide information to support dispersant-use decision making.
The Ohmsett facility, located in New Jersey, consists primarily of a large water tank that can be used to simulate ocean conditions for the testing of offshore oil spill response techniques.
Surrogate ice As one of its research projects, BSEE is investigating the development of material that can be used to simulate ice during the testing of skimmers, boom and other equipment for oil spill response in sea-ice conditions. A report into another research project investigating the use of autonomous underwater vehicles for mapping spilled oil under ice is due out in July — testing of this surveillance technique will take place at Prudhoe Bay in April, Bohl said.
Some testing of the use of standard hoses and hose couplings in Arctic conditions should be completed by October. BSEE is also investigating the availability of temporary storage devices available for Arctic use, to ensure that these devices have sufficient storage capacity to handle a worst-case oil discharge, Bohl said.
Coastal imagery BSEE is also funding the development of a coastal imagery tool that will provide an inventory of the Arctic coastline from Cape Lisburne to the Canadian border. This tool, which could be used for spill response planning or during an actual spill response, should be available shortly, Bohl said.
BSEE is also funding a review of any “oil spill gaps,” the periods of the year during which an Arctic spill response would not be practical, she said.
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