Inspection Programs
The OCS Lands Act authorizes and requires the Bureau to provide for both an annual scheduled inspection and a periodic unscheduled (unannounced) inspection of all oil and gas operations on the outer continental shelf. The annual inspection examines all safety equipment designed to prevent blowouts, fires, spills, or other major accidents.
Potential Incident of Noncompliance (PINC) – Checklist items which BSEE inspects to pursue safe operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. This list of inspection items is derived from all regulations for safety and environmental standards. Categorized Lists may be viewed here.
Incident of Noncompliance (INC) – If an inspector finds a violation of BSEE regulations as they are outlined in the PINC checklists,, the Bureau Inspector issues an Incident of Noncompliance (INC) citation to the operator. Depending on the severity of the violation, the inspector can declare either a Warning or Shut-In INC.
- If the violation is not severe or threatening, a warning INC is issued. The warning INC must be corrected within a reasonable amount of time specified on the INC.
- The shut-in INC may be for a single component (a portion of the facility) or the entire facility. The violation must be corrected before the operator is allowed to continue the activity in question.
In addition to the enforcement actions specified above, the Bureau can assess a civil penalty of up to $35,000 per violation per day if: 1) the operator fails to correct the violation in the reasonable amount of time specified on the INC; or 2) the violation resulted in a threat of serious harm or damage to human life or the environment.