NTL 1999-N01 - Guidelines for Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Covered Facilities - January 6, 1999

This notice supersedes NTL 93-1N, dated April 16, 1993. On August 11, 1998, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) published its final rule (see Federal Register, Vol. 63, No. 154, pages 42699-42719) governing Oil Spill Financial Responsibility for Offshore Facilities (OSFR) and related requirements for certain crude oil wells, production platforms, and pipelines located in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and certain State waters. The regulations implement the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) requirement for responsible parties to demonstrate they can pay for cleanup and damages caused by facility oil spills. These new regulations became effective on October 13, 1998. This notice provides clarification, guidance, and information to operators/owners of facilities and leases on our policies and procedures for submitting OSFR documents to the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR). The GOMR will serve as the national program manager for all OSFR applications.