EMS TRANSMISSION 01/10/2006

Instruction Memorandum No. 2006-061

Expires: 09/30/2007

To:              All Field Officials

 

From:          Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection

 

Subject:       Reporting of Undesirable Events                                              

 

Program Area:  Fluid Minerals

 

Purpose: To reinforce the immediate reporting requirements of all Major Undesirable Events (MUE) by Field Offices to the Washington Office (WO) and State Offices (SO) and to reiterate the reporting requirements of NTL-3A for operators on Federal and Indian lands.

 

Policy/Action Reporting Requirements:  Field offices with Oil and Gas Inspection and Enforcement program responsibilities must report all MUEs immediately (within 24 hours) to the appropriate WO and SO personnel upon discovery or notification.  Daily status update reports of a MUE will continue to be reported to WO and SO personnel until the MUE situation is completely resolved. A copy of the final MUE reporting form is to be sent to WO and SO personnel once a MUE is resolved. To ensure consistent reporting of MUEs with the NTL-3A requirements, field offices will be required to use the same criteria for the reporting of a MUE as defined in Section I of NTL-3A.  The definitions and types of MUEs that must be reported immediately are outlined in Attachment 1, Section I of NTL-3A (updated to reflect BLM terminology).  The format for reporting a MUE is contained in Attachment 2 which will be used for the initial report as well as the final resolution report. All positions that need to be notified in the event of a MUE are noted in Attachment 3. Undesirable events criteria outlined in Section III of the attached NTL-3A document do not require immediate notification. Please note that reporting requirements for operators as outlined in NTL-3A have different timeframes and written requirements.

TimeFrame: Immediate.

 

Budget Impact: None.

Background/Issue: The increased demand for oil and gas over the past several years has sparked development in many different regions.  Several field offices have experienced MUEs involving fatal injuries, blowouts, loss of resources and/or fires. Because these MUEs may affect public health and safety, production accountability and the environment, the must be reported to the WO and the appropriate SO upon notification or discovery.

 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.

 

Contact: Any questions regarding the reporting of Major Undesirable Events to the WO should be directed to Fred A. Oneyear at (307) 261-7569.

 

 

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