DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1926

Office of Management and Budget Control Numbers Under the Paperwork Reduction Act for Miscellaneous Construction Industry Rules

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Final rule; Office of Management and Budget approval of information collection requirements.

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is announcing that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has extended the approval of a number of information collection requirements in OSHA construction rules. OSHA sought approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and is announcing the new expiration dates for these OMB control numbers. These approvals are for provisions that require posting; retention of records that verify certain tests or inspections have been performed; retention or availability of plans at construction sites; and other miscellaneous requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These amendments are effective April 16, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Bielaski, Office of Regulatory Analysis, Directorate of Policy, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3627, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-1954.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), collections of information must be periodically approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In 1998, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requested that OMB approve a number of information collection requirements contained in OSHA's construction industry standards (29 CFR part 1926). These provisions require employers to:

--Post floor-load limits and crane-rating chart limitations;

--Retain records that verify certain tests or inspections required in part 1926 have been performed.

--Retain or ensure the availability of plans at construction sites; and other miscellaneous requirements.

The previous approvals of these information collection requirements expired at various times during 1998. Last year, OSHA sought public comment on the burden-hour and cost estimates of these requirements through a series of Federal Register notices.

At the conclusion of the public comment period, the Agency submitted requests for an extension of OMB's approval of these records. In accordance with the PRA, OMB has renewed its approval for these information collection requirements. Each requirement was renewed for 3 years, but OMB staggered the new expiration dates in 2001 over a period of several months. The following table lists the subjects, Federal Register notices, and the OMB control numbers for each of these requirements:

Under 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an Agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless: (1) The collection displays a valid control number, and (2) the Agency informs persons who potentially may respond to the collections of information that they are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Accordingly, now that OMB has extended the approval on these collections, OSHA is publishing this document to announce the new expiration dates for these OMB control numbers.

In addition, OSHA is amending § 1926.5, the section in which OSHA displays its approved collections under the PRA, to codify several interrelated collections that were determined to be paperwork burdens as a result of a more careful review and analysis of the information collection requirements in the crane and derrick standard. The Agency grouped these additional collections with a related collection that had been previously identified.

List of Subjects

29 CFR Part 1926

Construction; Occupational safety and health; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority and Signature

This document was prepared under the direction of Charles N. Jeffress, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.

Signed at Washington, DC this 13th day of April, 1999.

Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.

Accordingly, 29 CFR part 1926 is amended as set forth below.

PART 1926 -- [AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for subpart A of part 1926 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: Section 107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (Construction Safety Act) (40 U.S.C. 333); secs. 4, 6, 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); Secretary of Labor's Order 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 1-90 (55 FR 9033),), or 6-96 (62 FR 111), as applicable; 29 CFR part 1911.

2. In § 1926.5, the table is amended by adding entries for 1926.550(a)(2), (4), and (16) in numerical order to read as follows:

§ 1926.5 OMB control numbers under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

* * * * *

§ 1926.550(a)(2)......................................1218-0115

§ 1926.550(a)(4)......................................1218-0115

* * * * *

§ 1926.550(a)(16).....................................1218-0115

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 99-9580 Filed 4-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-26-M