by Craig K.
Ogawa, Minerals Management Service
Barbara L. Foster, Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Developing a Cooperative
Relationship
Passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990
(OPA'90) and the delegation of authority under Executive Order 12777 gave the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) oil spill prevention and
response authority for all offshore oil and facilities (except those associated with deep
water ports). This created an overlap of authority for facilities in State waters. The
California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR)
created under SB 2040, is the State agency responsible for oil spill prevention and
response in California State waters.
To cope with this overlapping authority, the MMS and OSPR fashioned a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that fosters cooperation
and facilitates coordination between the two agencies. The MOA, signed on April 24, 1995,
allows the parties to exercise their respective authorities regarding oil spill planning,
prevention, and response in a manner that ensures the best achievable protection for the
State of California. A major focus of the MOA is coordinating oil spill contingency plan
(OSCP) review.
OSCP Review and Approval Process
In the spirit of the MOA, the MMS and OSPR have developed a joint OSCP review and
approval process designed to provide a coordinated review of the OSCPs and eliminate
duplication of effort. The process is simplified and streamlined; the needs of industry
are addressed by allowing operators of offshore facilities to submit a single OSCP that
meets the needs of both agencies.
The OSCP review process was depicted in a flow diagram form to simplify the procedures
(fig. 1). The process has three main phases: the review, the revision, and the approval of
a plan or update. Each phase of the review process requires coordination between the
agencies and plan reviewers to discuss any deficiencies found in the plan or subsequent
revisions.
Figure 1. The MMS/OSPR Joint OSCP
Review Process
In the first phase of the joint OSCP review process, the facility operator submits the
OSCP or revision to the MMS and OSPR for review (fig. 2). For facilities in Federal
waters, the MMS is the lead agency, and in State waters, the lead agency is OSPR. The
secondary agency conducts a cursory review of the OSCP and provides the lead agency with
comments. The lead agency then sends a comment letter to the operator. During this phase,
other Federal and State agencies are provided copies of the OSCP for review and comment.
Their comments are forwarded to the appropriate agency for consideration.
Figure 2. The review phase of the
Joint OSCP Review Process
In the second phase of the review process, the facility operator submits revisions to
the MMS and the OSPR for review (fig. 3). If the revisions are not found acceptable by
both agencies, it is remanded to the operator for additional revision and resubmittal.
Figure 3. The revision phase of the
MMS/OSPR Joint OSCP Review Process
In the last phase of the process, the MMS and OSPR approve the OSCP. As appropriate,
the agency or agencies send the facility operator an approval letter and send a copy of
the letter to the other agency (fig. 1).
The MMS and OSPR joint OSCP review process provides a coordinated and organized review
of a plan while reducing duplicative efforts for both the agencies and industry, fosters
trust between the agencies, and provides a thorough review of the plans. This process
provides the State of California with the best achievable protection from spills occurring
at offshore facilities through the efficient use of Federal and State resources.
Craig Ogawa, Office of
Development, Operations and Safety
Minerals Management Service, Pacific OCS Region
770 Paseo Camarillo, Camarillo, CA, USA 93010
Ph: (805) 389-7569 - FAX: (805) 389-7592
Web Master:
Nollie
Gildow-Owens
Page content last updated 09/20/2006
Page last published 09/20/2006