30 C.F.R. § 252.2

Current through October 31, 2024

Section 252.2 - Definitions

When used in the regulations in this part, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Act refers to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).

Affected local government means the principal governing body of a locality which is in an affected State and is identified by the Governor of that State as a locality which will be significantly affected by oil and gas activities on the OCS.

Affected State means, with respect to any program, plan, lease sale, or other activity, proposed, conducted, or approved pursuant to the provisions of the Act, any State:

(1) The laws of which are declared, pursuant to section 4(a)(2)(A) of the Act, to be the law of the United States for the portion of the OCS on which such activity is, or is proposed to be, conducted;

(2) Which is, or is proposed to be, directly connected by transportation facilities to any artificial island or installations and other devices permanently, or temporarily attached to the seabed;

(3) Which is receiving, or in accordance with the proposed activity will receive, oil for processing, refining, or transshipment which was extracted from the OCS and transported directly to such State by means of vessels or by a combination of means including vessels;

(4) Which is designated by the Director as a State in which there is a substantial probability of significant impact on or damage to the coastal, marine, or human environment, or a State in which there will be significant changes in the social, governmental, or economic infrastructure, resulting from the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas anywhere on the OCS; or

(5) In which the Director finds that because of such activity there is, or will be, a significant risk of serious damage, due to factors such as prevailing winds and currents, to the marine or coastal environment in the event of any oil spill, blowout, or release of oil or gas from vessels, pipelines, or other transshipment facilities.

Analyzed geological information means data collected under a permit or a lease which have been analyzed. Analysis may include, but is not limited to, identification of lithologic and fossil content, core analyses, laboratory analyses of physical and chemical properties, logs or charts of electrical, radioactive, sonic, and other well logs, and descriptions of hydrocarbon shows or hazardous conditions.

Area adjacent to a State means all of that portion of the OCS included within a planning area if such planning area is bordered by that State. The portion of the OCS in the Navarin Basin Planning Area is deemed to be adjacent to the State of Alaska. The States of New York and Rhode Island are deemed to be adjacent to both the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area and the North Atlantic Planning Area.

Data means facts and statistics or samples which have not been analyzed or processed.

Development means those activities which take place following discovery of oil or natural gas in paying quantities, including geophysical activity, drilling, platform construction, and operation of all onshore support facilities, and which are for the purpose of ultimately producing the oil and gas discovered.

Director means the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) of the U.S. Department of the Interior or a designee of the Director.

Exploration means the process of searching for oil and natural gas, including:

(1) Geophysical surveys where magnetic, gravity, seismic, or other systems are used to detect or imply the presence of such oil or natural gas, and

(2) Any drilling, whether on or off known geological structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil or natural gas in paying quantities is made and the drilling of any additional delineation well after such discovery which is needed to delineate any reservoir and to enable the lessee to determine whether to proceed with development and production.

Governor means the Governor of a State, or the person or entity designated by, or pursuant to, State law to exercise the powers granted to a Governor pursuant to the Act.

Information, when used without a qualifying adjective, includes analyzed geological information, processed geophysical information, interpreted geological information, and interpreted geophysical information.

Interpreted geological information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic cross sections and maps, developed by determining the geological significance of data and analyzed geological information.

Interpreted geophysical information means knowledge, often in the form of schematic cross sections and maps, developed by determining the geological significance of geophysical data and processed geophysical information.

Lease means any form of authorization which is issued under section 8 or maintained under section 6 of the Act and which authorizes exploration for, and development and production of, oil or natural gas, or the land covered by such authorization, whichever is required by the context.

Lessee means the party authorized by a lease, or an approved assignment thereof, to explore for and develop and produce the leased deposits in accordance with the regulations in 30 CFR part 550, including all parties holding such authority by or through the lessee.

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) means all submerged lands which lie seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters as defined in the Submerged Lands Act (67 Stat. 29) and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and control.

Permittee means the party authorized by a permit issued pursuant to 30 CFR parts 251 and 551 to conduct activities on the OCS.

Processed geophysical information means data collected under a permit or a lease which have been processed. Processing involves changing the form of data so as to facilitate interpretation. Processing operations may include, but are not limited to, applying corrections for known perturbing causes, rearranging or filtering data, and combining or transforming data elements.

Production means those activities which take place after the successful completion of any means for the removal of oil or natural gas, including such removal, field operations, transfer of oil or natural gas to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance, and workover drilling.

Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or a designee of the Secretary.

30 C.F.R. §252.2

76 FR 64462 , Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 81 FR 36151 , June 6, 2016

81 FR 36425 , 7/28/2016