Incidents on the OCS involve everyday operations and duties. An unsafe act or condition may cause a worker to lose his or her life or be seriously injured. Unsafe acts or conditions may also result in spills or other incidents that have the potential to affect the environment. MMS uses the results of incident investigations and data analysis to identify incident causes and trends. Appropriate actions are then identified to prevent the recurrence of these incidents and to enhance safety and environmental protection on the OCS. These actions may include publishing Safety Alerts, initiating technical research, developing new/revised regulations or standards, changing inspection strategies, holding safety workshops, etc. Incident data is also used to calculate performance indicators.

On April 17, 2006, MMS published a Final Rule (FR 19640) that revised the agency’s incident reporting requirements. The new Incident Reporting Rule more clearly defines which incidents must be reported, broadens the scope to include incidents that have the potential to be serious, and requires the reporting of standard information for both oral and written reports. This will result in more consistent incident reporting and the collection of more reliable incident information. Prevention of future undesirable incidents on the OCS is a paramount goal of both industry and the MMS. Timely and accurate information will help us attain that goal.

This webpage is designed to answer questions that the industry or others may have about the new incident reporting requirements. We hope the information below is useful. If you have any questions, please contact one of the following people:

Alaska Region: Randy Howell
Gulf of Mexico Region: David Dykes
Pacific Region: Phil Schroeder
Headquarters: Melinda Mayes

For More Information:

   Federal Register Notice – MMS Final Rule for Incident Reporting
   Summary of MMS Incident Reporting Requirements
   Comparison of the Current MMS Incident Reporting Regulation with the Previous Regulation
   Questions Submitted by Industry Prior to the Incident Reporting Workshops and the Answers Provided
       by MMS at the Workshops

District and Regional Contact Numbers and Procedures for Reporting Incidents:

   Alaska Region NTL
   Gulf of Mexico Region NTL 2008-G17
   Gulf of Mexico Region NTL 2007-G12
   Pacific Region NTL 2005-P02