DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1915

[Docket No. S-051]

RIN 1218-AB51

Safety Standards for Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is announcing a public meeting of the Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee. Membership for this committee has been drawn from shipyard operators, labor, professional associations, public interests and government agencies. Members of the Committee represent the interests of all groups interested in, or significantly affected by, the outcome of the rulemaking.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on April 8 through April 10, 1997. The meetings will run from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m. daily.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at Bollinger Shipyard, 20 miles east of Thibodaux on Hwy. 308, Lockport, Louisiana, Telephone: 505-532-2554.

Any written comments in response to this notice should be sent, in quadruplicate, to the following address: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Docket Office, Docket S-051. Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210; Telephone: 202-219-7894.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Bonnie Friedman, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Office of Information and Consumer Affairs, Room N-3647, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210; Telephone: 202-219-8151.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

OSHA has decided to use the negotiated rulemaking (Neg/Reg) process to develop a proposed standard for fire protection covering all shipyard employment. The shipyard stakeholders from all sectors strongly support consensual rulemaking efforts like negotiated rulemaking. OSHA believes this process will result in a proposed standard whose provisions will effectively protect employees working throughout the shipyard. (See OSHA's Notice of Intent to Form a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee to Develop a Proposed Rule on Fire Protection in Shipyard Employment, 61 FR 28824, June 6, 1996, for a detailed explanation of why OSHA is using negotiated rulemaking to develop its proposed standard and for general information on the negotiated rulemaking process). The goal of this negotiated rulemaking is a proposed rule and supporting documentation that all members will support.

The initial meeting of this Advisory Committee was held in Portland, Oregon on October 16 and 17, 1996. The members were introduced and the negotiated rulemaking process and the legal requirements for OSHA rulemaking were explained to them. Ground rules for this Committee were adopted. In addition, the Committee set forth substantive issues that needed to be resolved, established work groups and began discussing scope and application, fire prevention and fire fighting.

The last meeting of this Advisory Committee took place in Jacksonville, Florida, February 4 through February 6, 1997. The Committee continued with the issues as developed into work groups during the first meeting: fire watches, fire response, safe work practices, and fire protection.

II. The Key Issues in This Rulemaking

OSHA expects that key issues to be addressed as part of these negotiations will include: scope and application; controls and work practices; fire brigades; written fire plans; technological advances; costs of fire protection; and appendices.

III. Agenda for the April 8-10, 1997, Meeting

1. The meeting will be opened and the roll taken.

2. The minutes from the February 1997, Jacksonville, Florida, meeting will be presented for acceptance by the Committee.

3. The tentative agenda for this meeting will be reviewed and changes made, if necessary.

4. The "Fire Watches" work group draft will be presented to the Committee.

5. The "Scope and Application" section of the preamble will be presented to the Committee for acceptance.

6. The Work group chairpersons will report on the status of their assignments.

7. The Committee will break into work group sessions as needed throughout the meeting.

8. The Committee will establish the time and date for the next meeting.

The Advisory Committee's Facilitator, relying on the information presented to him by OSHA as well as the considerable input from the various interests during convening efforts, will identify and present other substantive issues to be resolved by this Committee, as time permits. OSHA requests that all interested parties bring their calendars to facilitate the development of a tentative schedule of committee meetings, site visits and work group meetings.

IV. Public Participation

All interested parties are invited to attend this public meeting at the time and place indicated above. No advance registration is required. Seating will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals with disabilities wishing to attend should contact Ms. Theda Kenney at (202) 219-8061 to obtain appropriate accommodations no later than March 21, 1997.

The Facilitator of the Committee will decide to what extent oral presentations by members of the public may be permitted at the meeting. Oral presentations may include statements of fact and opinions, but shall not include any questioning of the Committee Members or other participants unless these questions have been specifically approved by the Facilitator.

Part 1912 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations will apply generally. The reporting requirements of § 1912.33 have been changed pursuant to § 1912.42 to help meet the special needs of this Committee. Specifically, § 1912.33 requires that verbatim transcripts be kept of all advisory committee meetings. Producing a coherent transcript requires a certain degree of formality. The Assistant Secretary therefore has determined pursuant to § 1912.42 that such formality might interfere with the free exchange of information and ideas during the negotiations, and that the OSH Act would be better served by simply requiring detailed minutes of the proceedings without a formal transcript.

Minutes of the meetings and materials prepared for the Committee will be available for public inspection at the OSHA Docket Office, N- 2625, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 202-219-7894.

Any written comments should be directed to Docket No. S-051, and sent in quadruplicate to the following address: U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Docket Office, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210; Telephone 202-219-7894.

Authority: This document was prepared under the direction of Greg Watchman, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, pursuant to section 3 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990, 104 Stat. 4969, Title 5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.; and Section 7(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1597, Title 29 U.S.C. 656.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 10th day of March 1997.

Greg Watchman,
Acting Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-6515 Filed 3-13-97; 8:45 am)