S 589
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 589
To provide for an expedited response to emergencies related
to oil or gas production or storage.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 15, 2011
Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To provide for an expedited response to emergencies related
to oil or gas production or storage.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Faster Action Safety Team Emergency Response
Act of 2011'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(1) COMPLETION- The term `completion' means the date on which the
well involved is properly equipped for the production of oil or gas,
goes into production or, if the well is dry, the date on which the
well is abandoned.
(2) DRILLING- The term `drilling' includes the drilling or redrilling
of any well or the deepening or expansion of any existing well.
(3) EXPLORATION- The term `exploration' means a drilling effort to
obtain information relating to oil or gas extraction without the intent
of immediate production.
(4) OPERATOR- The term `operator' means any individual or entity that
locates, drills, operates, alters, directs, controls, supervises,
maintains, plugs, or abandons any well or reconditions any well with
the purpose of production.
(5) PRODUCTION- The term `production' means the retrieval of oil or
gas from a well.
(6) RESPONSE TEAM- The term `response team' means a team of individuals
established by an operator in accordance with this Act, the members
of which, at a minimum--
(A) are familiar with the operations and equipment of a well;
(B) participate at least annually in response training at a minimum
of 1 well that is operated by the operator and covered by the response
team;
(C) are trained in basic first aid and CPR training on an annual
basis; and
(D) will be available with respect to the well involved not later
than 3 hours by ground travel time after requested.
(7) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Labor.
(8) WELL- The term `well' means a bore hole drilled or being drilled
onshore for the purpose of, or to be used for, producing, extracting
or injecting any gas, petroleum or other liquid related to oil or
gas production or storage, including holes drilled or being drilled
for exploration and excluding holes that have been plugged and abandoned.
SEC. 3. RESPONSE TEAM REGULATIONS.
(a) In General- Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations, in accordance
with this section, relating to response teams.
(b) Requirements- Regulations promulgated under subsection (a) shall
provide for the following:
(1) Such regulations shall not be construed to waive operator training
requirements applicable to existing response teams.
(2) Such regulations shall require that the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration establish, and update every 5 years thereafter,
criteria to certify the qualifications of response teams.
(3)(A) Such regulations shall require that the operator of a well--
(i) during the exploration or drilling phase, or before the completion
phase--
(I) have an employee knowledgeable in responding to emergency
situations that may arise at the well (as defined in regulations
promulgated by the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator
of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) who is employed
and present at the well at all times; and
(II) make available a certified response team; and
(ii) make available a certified response team during the production
phase (as defined in section 2(5)).
(B) Such regulations shall ensure that the following options may be
used by an operator to achieve compliance with the requirements of
subparagraph (A) relating to the availability of a response team:
(i) Making available a well response team.
(ii) Making available a multi-employer composite response team that
is made up of team members who are knowledgeable about the operations
of the well and who train on an annual basis at the well--
(I) which provides coverage for multiple operators that have team
members which include at least 2 active employees from each of
such operators;
(II) which provides coverage for multiple wells owned by the same
operator; and
(III) which is a State-sponsored response team that is composed
of at least 2 active employees from each of the operators.
(iii) Making available a commercial response team that is provided
for through contract with a third-party vendor or a response team
provided by another operator, if such team--
(I) trains on a quarterly basis at a minimum of 1 well operated
by the operator who contracted for the services of the commercial
response team;
(II) is knowledgeable about the operations of the wells that are
covered under the contract for services; and
(III) is composed of individuals with a minimum of 1 year well
experience that has occurred within the 5-year period preceding
their employment on the contract response team.
(iv) Making available a State-sponsored response team made up of
State employees.
(4) Such regulations shall require that an operator of a well--
(A) within 30 minutes of the commencement of an emergency situation,
contact local first responders to inform them of the emergency situation;
(B) within 1 hour of the commencement of an emergency situation,
contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to inform
such Administration of the emergency situation;
(C) within 1 hour of the commencement of an emergency situation,
contact the appropriate State environmental agency to inform such
agency of the emergency situation;
(D) within 1 hour of the commencement of an emergency situation,
contact the National Response Center; and
(E) provide communication technology, within a reasonable distance
of the well (as defined in regulations promulgated by the Secretary,
in consultation with the Administrator of the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration), that enables the operator to comply
with the regulations under this paragraph.
(5) Such regulations shall require that an operator provide annual
training to local first responders responsible for serving the area
of each well operated by the operator, who may be required to respond
to an emergency situation, on the hazards of a well and proper emergency
response techniques.
(6) Such regulations shall require that an operator file a report,
on an annual basis, with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
that provides detailed information on the response team assigned to
each well of the operator and affirmatively states that the operator
is in compliance with the Act and all regulations promulgated under
this Act.
END
