Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf-Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment
| Published date | 14 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-05451 |
| Citation | 89 FR 18540 |
| Court | Safety And Environmental Enforcement Bureau |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18540-18543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05451]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
30 CFR Part 250
[Docket ID: BSEE-2024-0001; EEEE500000 245E1700D2 ET1SF0000.EAQ000]
RIN 1014-AA61
Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental
Shelf--Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment
AGENCY: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior.
[[Page 18541]]
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule adjusts the level of the maximum daily civil
monetary penalty contained in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement (BSEE) regulations for violations of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The civil penalty inflation
adjustment, using a 1.03241 multiplier, accounts for one year of
inflation based on the Consumer Price Index spanning from October 2022
to October 2023.
DATES: This rule is effective on March 14, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janine Marie Tobias, Safety and
Enforcement Division, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement,
(202) 208-4657 or by email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Legal Authority
The OCSLA, at 43 U.S.C. 1350(b)(1), directs the Secretary of the
Interior (Secretary) to adjust the OCSLA maximum daily civil penalty
amount at least once every three years to reflect any increase in the
Consumer Price Index to account for inflation. On November 2, 2015, the
President signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114-74)
(FCPIA). The FCPIA required Federal agencies to adjust the level of
civil monetary penalties found in their regulations with an initial
``catch-up'' adjustment through rulemaking, if warranted, and then to
make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation. The purpose of these
adjustments is to maintain the deterrent effect of civil penalties and
to further the policy goals of the underlying statutes. Agencies were
required to publish the first annual inflation adjustments in the
Federal Register by no later than January 15, 2017, and must publish
recurring annual inflation adjustments by no later than January 15 of
each subsequent year.
BSEE last updated the maximum daily civil penalty amounts in BSEE's
regulations for OCSLA violations by a final rule published and
effective on March 24, 2023 (See 88 FR 17725). Consistent with OMB
guidance, BSEE's final rule implemented the inflation adjustments
required by the FCPIA through October 2022.
The OMB Memorandum M-24-07 (Implementation of Penalty Inflation
Adjustments for 2024, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015; available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/M-24-07-Implementation-of-Penalty-Inflation-Adjustments-for-2024.pdf) explains agency
responsibilities for: identifying applicable penalties and performing
the annual adjustment; publishing revisions to regulations to implement
the adjustment in the Federal Register; applying adjusted penalty
levels; and performing agency oversight of inflation adjustments.
BSEE is promulgating this 2024 inflation adjustment for the OCSLA
maximum daily civil penalties as a final rule pursuant to the
provisions of the FCPIA and OMB's guidance. A proposed rule is not
required because the FCPIA expressly exempted the annual inflation
adjustments implemented pursuant to the FCPIA from the pre-promulgation
notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA), 5 U.S.C. 553, allowing those adjustments to be published
directly as final rules. Specifically, the FCPIA states that agencies
shall adjust civil monetary penalties ``notwithstanding section 553 of
the Administrative Procedure Act.'' (FCPIA of 2015 at sec. 4(b)(2)).
This interpretation of the FCPIA is confirmed by OMB Memorandum M-24-07
at 3-4 (``This means that the public procedure the APA generally
requires--notice, an opportunity for comment, and a delay in effective
date--is not required for agencies to issue regulations implementing
the annual adjustment.'').
II. Calculation of Adjustments
In accordance with the FCPIA and the guidance provided in OMB
Memorandum M-24-07, BSEE has calculated the necessary inflation
adjustment for the maximum daily civil monetary penalty amount in 30
CFR 250.1403 for violations of OCSLA. The previous OCSLA civil penalty
inflation adjustment accounted for inflation through October 2022. The
required annual civil penalty inflation adjustment promulgated through
this rule accounts for inflation through October 2023.
Annual inflation adjustments are based on the percent change
between the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for
the October preceding the date of the adjustment, and the prior year's
October CPI-U. Consistent with the guidance in OMB Memorandum M-24-07,
BSEE divided the October 2023 CPI-U by the October 2022 CPI-U to
calculate the multiplying factor. In this case, the October 2023 CPI-U
(307.671) divided by the October 2022 CPI-U (298.012) is 1.03241. OMB
Memorandum M-24-07 confirms that this is the proper multiplier (OMB
Memorandum M-24-07 at 1 n.4).
The FCPIA requires that BSEE adjust the OCSLA maximum daily civil
penalty amount for inflation using the applicable 2024 multiplier
(1.03241). Accordingly, BSEE multiplied the existing OCSLA maximum
daily civil penalty amount ($52,646) by 1.03241 to arrive at the new
maximum daily civil penalty amount ($54,352.26). The FCPIA requires
that the resulting amount be rounded to the nearest $1.00 at the end of
the calculation process. Accordingly, the adjusted OCSLA maximum daily
civil penalty for 2024 is $54,352.
The adjusted penalty levels take effect immediately upon
publication of this rule. Pursuant to the FCPIA, the increase in the
OCSLA maximum daily civil penalty amount applies to civil penalties
assessed after the date the increase takes effect, even when the
associated violation(s) predates such increase. Consistent with the
provisions of OCSLA and the FCPIA, this rule adjusts the following
maximum civil monetary penalty per day per violation as follows:
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Current Adjusted
CFR citation Description of the penalty maximum Multiplier maximum
penalty penalty
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30 CFR 250.1403....................... Failure to comply per-day, per- $52,646 1.03241 $54,352
violation.
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This rulemaking does not address any updates to the civil penalties
related to Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (FOGRMA)
violations. Per 86 FR 34132, BSEE regulations at 30 CFR part 250,
subpart N, addressing maximum FOGRMA civil penalties (30 CFR 250.1453)
cross-reference regulations of the Office of Natural
[[Page 18542]]
Resources Revenue (ONRR) at 30 CFR 1251.52 that set maximum daily civil
penalty amounts for FOGRMA violations that are not timely corrected.
Please refer to the cross-referenced ONRR regulations for the most up
to date FOGRMA civil penalty amounts.
III. Procedural Requirements
A. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866, 14094 and 13563)
Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as amended by E.O. 14094, provides
that the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will
review all significant rules. OIRA has determined that this rule is not
significant. (See OMB Memorandum M-24-07 at 3)
E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of E.O. 12866 while calling for
improvements in the Nation's regulatory system to promote
predictability, to reduce uncertainty, and to use the best, most
innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends.
E.O. 13563 directs agencies to consider regulatory approaches that
reduce burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the
public where these approaches are relevant, feasible, and consistent
with regulatory objectives. E.O. 13563 further emphasizes that
regulations must be based on the best available science and that the
rulemaking process must allow for public participation and an open
exchange of ideas. We have developed this rule in a manner consistent
with these requirements, to the extent permitted by statute.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires an agency to prepare
a regulatory flexibility analysis for rules unless the agency certifies
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The RFA applies only to rules for
which an agency is required to first publish a proposed rule. (See 5
U.S.C. 603(a) and 604(a)) The FCPIA expressly exempts these annual
inflation adjustments from the requirement to publish a proposed rule
for notice and comment. (See FCPIA of 2015 at Sec. 4(b)(2); OMB
Memorandum M-24-07 at 4). Thus, the RFA does not apply to this
rulemaking.
C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
(1) Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million
or more;
(2) Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for
consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government
agencies, or geographic regions; and
(3) Does not have significant adverse effects on competition,
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or
tribal governments, or the private sector of more than $100 million per
year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on State,
local, or Tribal governments or the private sector. Therefore, a
statement containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is not required.
E. Takings (E.O. 12630)
This rule does not affect a taking of private property or otherwise
have takings implications under E.O. 12630. Therefore, a takings
implication assessment is not required.
F. Federalism (E.O. 13132)
Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O. 13132, this rule does not
have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a
federalism summary impact statement. To the extent that State and local
governments have a role in Outer Continental Shelf activities, this
rule will not affect that role. Therefore, a federalism summary impact
statement is not required.
G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)
This rule complies with the requirements of E.O. 12988.
Specifically, this rule:
(1) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) requiring that all
regulations be reviewed to eliminate errors and ambiguity and be
written to minimize litigation; and
(2) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) requiring that all
regulations be written in clear language and contain clear legal
standards.
H. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 13175 and Departmental Policy)
The Department of the Interior strives to strengthen its
government-to-government relationship with Indian Tribes through a
commitment to consultation with Indian Tribes and recognition of their
right to self-governance and Tribal sovereignty. We have evaluated this
rule under the Department of the Interior's consultation policy, under
Departmental Manual Part 512 Chapters 4 and 5, and under the criteria
in E.O. 13175. We have determined that it has no substantial direct
effects on Federally-recognized Indian Tribes or Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporations, and that consultation under the
Department of the Interior's Tribal and ANCSA consultation policies is
not required.
I. Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain information collection requirements, and
a submission to the OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) is not required.
J. National Environmental Policy Act
This rule does not constitute a major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment. A detailed statement
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is not required
because, as a regulation of an administrative nature, this rule is
covered by a categorical exclusion (see 43 CFR 46.210(i)). BSEE also
determined that the rule does not implicate any of the extraordinary
circumstances listed in 43 CFR 46.215 that would require further
analysis under NEPA. Therefore, a detailed statement under NEPA is not
required.
K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 13211)
This rule is not a significant energy action under the definition
in E.O. 13211. Therefore, a Statement of Energy Effects is not
required.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 250
Administrative practice and procedure, Continental Shelf--mineral
resources, Continental Shelf--rights-of-way, Environmental impact
statements, Environmental protection, Government contracts,
Investigations, Oil and gas exploration, Penalties, Pipelines,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur.
This action by the Deputy Assistant Secretary is taken herein
pursuant to an existing delegation of authority.
Steven H. Feldgus,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
For the reasons given in the preamble, the BSEE amends title 30,
chapter II, subchapter B, part 250 of the Code of Federal Regulations
as follows.
PART 250--OIL AND GAS AND SULFUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER
CONTINENTAL SHELF
0
1. The authority citation for 30 CFR part 250 continues to read as
follows:
[[Page 18543]]
Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1751, 31 U.S.C. 9701, 33 U.S.C.
1321(j)(1)(C), 43 U.S.C. 1334.
0
2. Revise Sec. 250.1403 to read as follows:
Sec. 250.1403 What is the maximum civil penalty?
The maximum civil penalty is $54,352 per day per violation.
[FR Doc. 2024-05451 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P
