AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
REGION VIII AND THE BISMARCK AREA OFFICE OF THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION, US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH,
STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA,
AND
BAKKEN BASIN SAFETY CONSORTIUM

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Bismarck Area Office, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the State of North Dakota recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster a safer and more healthful environment within the oil and gas industries throughout the Bakken Basin in North Dakota. The Consortium hereby forms this Alliance with OSHA, NIOSH, and State of North Dakota (collectively "Alliance Members"), to provide North Dakota's employers and workers with information, guidance, and training resources on hazard recognition and prevention to upstream and midstream operations within the oil and gas industry. The Consortium agrees to work collectively with OSHA, NIOSH, and North Dakota state agencies to advance the health and safety of employees within the oil and gas industry. The overarching goal of this Alliance is to reduce the number of occupational exposures to physical and chemical hazards, which can result in injuries and fatalities.

Outreach and Communication

The Alliance Members will work together to achieve the following outreach and communication goals:

• Neutral Grounds Quarterly Meetings: These meetings are roundtable discussions between upstream and midstream companies in conjunction with OSHA, NIOSH, and other government entities. The Alliance Members agree to discuss the methods to abate/mitigate hazards and the most effective means of communicating these methods to the sub-contractors that support these upstream and midstream operators.
• Hazard Alerts: Participating Alliance Members will publish hazard alerts. The Alliance Members will vote to establish the priority of hazard alert development and supports their distribution to the oil and gas industry.
• NIOSH Support: Alliance Members agree to support NIOSH studies in order to use recommendations from those studies as a basis for developing effective engineering and administrative controls within the oil and gas industry. The Alliance Members agrees that once a method is identified which increases employee safety they will share this development with the rest of the Alliance Members. This agreement does not create an obligation for Alliance Members to review or approve any NIOSH results, recommendations, or products that are based on research related to this Alliance.
• Midstream Pipeline Committee: Alliance Members agree to develop a committee for identifying hazards specific to oil and gas pipelines affecting interstate commerce. This committee will focus on identification and elimination of hazards associated with long distance pipeline transportation. Covered areas will include installation, maintenance, spills, and emergency planning.
• Emergency Response Committee: Alliance Members agree to develop a committee for identifying hazards associated with crude oil and gas spill clean ups. This committee will focus on spill prevention, effective spill abatement, and specific training requirements for oil and gas spills.

Training and Education

OSHA will support the Alliance efforts by providing the following as requested:

• Providing specific training and incident trend updates at quarterly Neutral Grounds meetings.
• Providing outreach activities and presentations to Alliance Members relating to oil and gas upstream and midstream operations at their quarterly/annual subcontractor meetings.
• Provide the Region VIII Oil and Gas Specialist as the lead for the development of hazard alerts.
• Coordinate with NIOSH the release of information on safety and health hazards to the industry through the Neutral Grounds meetings.

This Alliance provides the participants an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA Bismarck Area Office and Region VIII for the purposes of training and education, outreach and communication, and promoting a dialogue on workplace safety and health.

Alliances have proven to be a valuable tool for both OSHA and its participants. By entering into an Alliance, the Consortium does not endorse any of the participant's products or services, nor does the Consortium enter into an Alliance with the purpose of promoting a particular participant's products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times each year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Any signatory may terminate their participation for any reason at any time, provided they give a 30 day written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the concurrence of all signatories.

Signed on February 19, 2019 in Bismarck, North Dakota.