Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf; Availability, Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

In the Federal Register of October 14, 2010, BOEM published an interim final rule implementing certain safety measures recommended in the report entitled, "Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf" (Safety Measures Report). The President directed the Department of the Interior to develop the Safety Measures Report to identify measures necessary to improve the safety of oil and gas exploration and development on the Outer Continental Shelf in light of the Deepwater Horizon event on April 20, 2010, and resulting oil spill. To implement the practices recommended in the Safety Measures Report, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is amending drilling regulations related to well control, including: subsea and surface blowout preventers, well casing and cementing, secondary intervention, unplanned disconnects, recordkeeping, well completion, and well plugging. This document provides the official BOEMRE notice of availability for the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) for that interim rule and provides opportunity for comment.