A Risk-Informed Approach to Performance Assurance - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 68

FIGURE 4-1 Timeline of GOM development, industry standards, and
practices. (S OURCE : Puskar et al. 2006.)
development of revised load calculations represented in the 20th edition
of RP 2A as well as the development of guidance on reassessment of exist-
ing structures (Berek 2010; Puskar et al. 2006). The magnitude of destruc-
tion brought about by Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, and Ike in the
mid- and late 2000s has led to a reassessment of the definition of the design
waves for GOM structures. The GOM has been divided into four regions,
each with its own design criteria, and the use of older storm data (i.e., pre-
1950 data) has been revised in formulating the statistics for calculating
design waves (Berek 2010; Puskar et al. 2006).
Just as industry cooperation and standardization were limited in the
early years of GOM development, the regulatory environment was limited
and uncoordinated. As discussed in Chapter 1, leasing was handled by
both state and federal authorities (via USDOI through the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act of 1953); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had
some authority, especially as related to installations in navigable waters;
and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) was responsible for safety (MMS 2004).
Setting forth and enforcing design standards were not a focus of any of
these groups. The Bureau of Land Management and the Conservation