Description:
H.R. 570 would codify certain reporting requirements for firms that operate oil and gas facilities in the Outer Continental Shelf. The bill would set deadlines for reporting any failures of safety or pollution control equipment and would require operators to provide written analyses to the Secretary of the Interior on the causes of the failure and corrective actions taken. Those documents would be made available to the public on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) website. The bill also would require operators to notify the Secretary of any changes made by equipment manufactures in response to such failures. CBO expects that the reporting requirements in H.R. 570 would not significantly increase administrative costs because the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, an agency within DOI, collects similar information under current law. CBO estimates that the administrative expenses associated with implementing H.R. 570 would be less than $500,000; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
