Recent Staff Additions

Annie Lu, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Vessel Services. Graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science. Past experience in HR, market research, and customer service. Fluent in Mandarin.

Malissa K. M. Arnold,Business Manager, Vessel Services (formerly Production Specialist), BA in History, Political Science and Women’s Studies, Salem College, Winston Salem, NC; Master of Public Policy and Administration, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, NJ Housing Scholar, Camden County Public Affairs Scholar, Presidential Management Fellow with service at Social Security Administration: Disability Center, NY Regional Office, Recipient of the Regional Commissioner’s Citation for Exemplary Service in Advocate Outreach, Management, Trenton, NJ and UN Grand Central, NY Field offices; Executive Office of the President: Office of National Drug Control Policy, Strategic Planning; Membership Manager: League of Women Voters, Trenton, NJ. Married for 15 years, mother of 2, enjoys participation and service in many civic, religious and educational groups, is an Ironman, and has more hobbies and interests than can be summarized.

O’Brien’s Supports NJ Municipalities in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy through Statewide Contract

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation, O’Brien’s Response Management Inc. (O’Brien’s) is on the ground and actively engaged in response and recovery services for New Jersey municipalities. Through O’Brien’s State of New Jersey contract, O’Brien’s provides FEMA Public Assistance (PA)/Grant Program technical assistance and consulting services as well as disaster debris monitoring services to counties and municipalities statewide. O’Brien’s goal is to assist our municipal clients with maximizing their reimbursement from FEMA.

O’Brien’s statewide contract is open to any government entity by way of a cooperative purchasing agreement, which allows for wide range of services including:

• Small and large project worksheet development and preparation.
• Technical expertise support in insurance, hazard mitigation, historical preservation, debris management and floodplain issues.
• Grant management services, including programs from FEMA, FHWA and NRCS.
• FEMA PA Grant Program closeout services.
• Audit and appeal development assistance/ defense.

In addition to these services, the contract provides for direct administrative cost assistance, whereby the majority of O’Brien’s service costs are eligible for reimbursement through FEMA (Disaster Assistance Policy 9525.9). Government agencies can download the state contract information and documents by visiting http://bit.ly/SV9qu9. Once contract documents are downloaded, entities can contact Rose Ann Points (941.914.1949) to implement a cooperative purchasing agreement with O’Brien’s.

As with any major storm, debris monitoring is a concern for communities in the path of Sandy. Failure on the part of a municipality to properly monitor and document debris removal in accordance with FEMA’s strict guidelines may result in non-reimbursement of these substantial costs. Through the statewide contract, O’Brien’s is monitoring debris removal in several New Jersey communities. In addition to directly supporting governments in these hard-hit communities, O’Brien’s implements a strong local hiring process for all projects.

“With an O’Brien’s office and staff in the state, New Jersey is our home as well,” said Steve Branham, O’Brien’s Executive Vice President of Government Services. “Helping governments recover from natural disasters is more than a job for O’Brien’s. We are eager to help our neighbors recover quickly and fully. We want to get New Jersey governments and their communities back to business as usual as soon as possible.

Response Services

O’Brien’s Response Services continues to be active in response to our client’s need for timely and professional emergency management for oils spills and other incidents. We recently added personnel to our staff: Todd O’Brien, who is staffing our New Jersey office, as an Emergency Response Coordinator. He has years of hands on, policy, and technical expertise in incident response as well as port safety and inspection experience. He is from the Northeast and knows the area well.

Tom Haug recently retired from the Coast Guard as a Marine Inspector and Response Supervisor. He is staffing our Los Angeles office as an Emergency Response Coordinator. Tom was a former Supervisor at USCG Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara and has a lot of West Coast experience.

Jason Bergeron has filled our Emergency Response Coordinator position in Houston, Texas. He is a former USCG Boatswain’s Mate, Pollution Investigator and FOSCR from the Houston area and knows the area well.

We are confident that our new staff as well as our old hands will continue to bring the highest quality effort and results to our clients when an incident occurs. Our command center in Slidell has been upgraded with new, more powerful computers, touch screen monitors. We have acquired a highly sophisticated oil spill trajectory model that will model subsea dispersed oil, in addition to the surface modeling. Our team of full-time and network personnel continue to grow in numbers and experience. We are ready when a crisis occurs.

Compliance Services

As we watch another year wind down, we are reminded of the ever changing regulatory climate in which the energy industry operates. From state issued rules on hydraulic fracturing to implementation of the EPA’s Green House Gas (GHG) standards, companies and regulators continue to adjust to the fast pace environment of the industry. This article details some note-worthy activity related to some of our core planning and preparedness services in 2012, and how it may impact 2013.

PHMSA

On July 10, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a report concerning the July 25, 2010, accident, in which a segment of a 30-inch-diameter pipeline owned by a large pipeline company ruptured in a wetland in Marshall, Michigan. As a result of this investigation, the NTSB published a report which recommended to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Safety Recommendation eight new actionable events in addition to reiterating Recommendation P-11-8, the recommendation to require pipeline operators to provide system-specific information about their pipeline system to the emergency response communities in their communities. Albeit, most of the recommendations will impact operations and maintenance under 49 CFR 195, there are two that are associated with response planning and preparedness under 49 CFR 194. The most impactful recommendation is P-12-9 which reads as follows: “Amend Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 194 to harmonize onshore oil pipeline response planning requirements with those of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for facilities that handle and transport oil and petroleum products to ensure that pipeline operators have adequate resources available to respond to worst-case discharges.”

The rule, as written, requires that each operator identify the resources necessary to remove a worst case discharge and to mitigate or prevent a substantial threat of a worst case discharge. However, the NTSB noted that the guidance on how to achieve this is considered just that; guidance only and not mandated by the rule. An example of this would be in determining the amount of response resources that should be on site within the Tier 1, 2, and 3 timeframes. The crux of this effort will lie on the availability of response equipment and its specific location in relation to the response tiers.

Additional information about the NTSB report, and the resulting recommendations, can be found on the NTSB website at http://www. ntsb.gov and PHMSA’s website at http://www. phmsa.dot.gov/.

DHS

Aside from the compliance deadline that came and went un-noticed requiring the USCG to issue regulations on the hazardous substance planning requirements, or commonly referred to as the “haz sub rule”, there were very few regulatory changes during 2012. The biggest impact is the way the Coast Guard interprets Secure and Restricted Areas in 33 CFR 105. Some sectors are requiring the areas be classified as secure / restricted areas which is a combination of the two. Going into 2013, some sectors will require facilities to start making changes to the plans within a reasonable amount of time or when typical plan updates are made. Unfortunately, there is no consistency between different Coast Guard Inspectors, thus making it difficult for the regulated community to remain consistent. Also of note, is the initial issues of TWIC cards began expiring in 2012, but there will be a substantial number of cards expiring in 2013. TSA has developed an “Extended” TWIC card program, that allows the card holder to renew their TWIC for three years, rather than five, for a cost of $60.00. The major issue with those is that the renewal is done entirely by phone, and the TSA has been overwhelmed with requests to the point that it takes a significant amount of time just to reach a live person. Persons renewing for 3 years may do so on the phone. Those choosing to renew for five years Compliance Services must follow the same procedures they did when they first registered and pay the full $130.00 fee.

2013 holds the possibility of the implementation of MTSA II, which includes a few changes. The most notable of those changes is the requirement for FSO courses to be certified by MARAD. Currently, the model course from MARAD is 32 hours long. Most courses, including the course taught by O’Brien’s, lasts from eight (8) to 12 hours and covers the same material as the proposed certified course. It should come as no surprise that the pushback from industry has been fairly high. The Coast Guard has also indicated that 2013 should also produce the final TWIC Reader specifications and requirements from TSA, although at present, it does not look too promising. There are several available but none have been “chosen” by TSA as meeting their requirements. Most of us think it unlikely that the readers will actually be placed in service until 2014, if then.

The Coast Guard has also indicated that 2013 should also produce the final TWIC Reader specifications and requirements from TSA, although at present, it does not look too promising. As required by the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, TSA issued its final report on the TWIC Credential Reader Pilot Program on February 27, 2012. While brief, this report did provide some valuable information for facilities that will eventually be required to implement electronic TWIC readers to maintain compliance with their Facility Security Plans (FSP). As of October 24, 2012 there are 23 portable TWIC readers and 17 fixed readers listed on TSA’s Initial Capabilities Evaluation (ICE) list. Presence on the ICE list does not mean the readers have been “approved” by TSA. Instead, the ICE list is meant to identify TWIC reader manufacturers that have demonstrated to the TSA and USCG their ability to meet the TWIC reader hardware specifications and complete the ICE test process. TSA is currently in the process of developing the Qualified Technology List (QTL). TWIC Readers determined to be conformant to TSA TWIC Reader requirements will be placed on a Qualified Technology List (QTL) maintained and made available to the public by TSA. Most of us think it unlikely that electronic TWIC readers will be required for facility access control and identity verification until 2014, if then.

BSEE

2012 has been an interesting year for the offshore drilling community. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) released a new Notice to Lessees and Operators of Federal Oil and Gas Leases and Pipeline Right-of-Way Holders (NTL) that both clarified and raised the bar in regards to the development of regional oil spill response plans (OSRPs). The NTL, 2012-N06, which became effective on 10 August 2012, provides guidance and insight on what BSEE is seeking when it comes to the development and submission of OSRP’s. A majority of the information contained within the new NTL was crafted due to deficiencies found during 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.

The new NTL not only provides clarity but contains several new additions deemed necessary by BSEE. Consideration of equipment that does not have an associated Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC) calculation not only is allowed, but is welcomed by BSEE. This allows for owners and operators to be more creative in response actions during oil spills. Going forward, BSEE will no longer just ensure that the EDRC matches the Worst Case Discharge volume but will look at the possibly of more effective ways of recovery. Previously, BSEE wanted a supply of materials for an uncontrolled blowout lasting 30 days be listed in the OSRP. Since the BP Oil Spill showed that a blowout could vastly exceed 30 days, BSEE would strongly recommend OSRPs looking at extending the time period. The entirety of the NTL can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/t93zGJ.

EPA

2012 has proven to be a very active year for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with no indications of changing this pattern going into 2013. In addition to new regulations primarily pertaining to GHGs and stormwater management, 2012 showed new found interest in some of the older regulations that have an impact to our core services. Two regulations in particular that impact many who receive our newsletter that have a new spot light put on them are the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Regulation and the Facility Response Plan (FRP) Regulation found under 40 CFR Part §112.

In 2009 the EPA finalized the long awaited amendments to the SPCC Regulation. These amendments helped clarify some previously vague portions of the regulation while altogether changing other portions of the rule. Fast forwarding to 2012, we have seen a trend throughout the EPA regions of a more standardized approach to reviewing/inspecting SPCCs that is based off the EPA’s SPCC Inspection Checklist found on their website. What does this mean? For one, expectations are easier to understand, but the initial drawback is that most plans written to-date do not address all the planning elements on the updated EPA checklist. In the past, simply putting N/A on a cross-reference for an item not applicable was an acceptable practice, but it is now expected to be written in narrative form in the SPCC Plan.

Though no new changes to the FRP Regulation have occurred, 2012 has shown similar trends of a standardized review approach on plans by the different EPA Regions. On a positive note, we have seen that the different EPA regions are now using a, what appears to be, more standardized checklist during their reviews. As noted with the SPCC program above, having standardization across the regions helps industry understand expectations but plan holders must also understand that certain items that were formerly recommended will now be required, thus requiring plan changes. The EPA Oil Program at headquarters, is said to be working on drafting a standardized all region checklist that we hope to see in 2013.