[Federal Register: June 30, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 126)][Notices] [Page 36905-36906]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30jn08-121]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0019]
On-site Consultation Programs; Extension of the Office of
Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection
(Paperwork) Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB
approval of the information collection requirements contained in the
Standard on Consultation Agreements (hereinafter, the On-site
Consultation Program regulations) (29 CFR part 1908). The Consultation
Program regulations specify services to be provided, and practices and
procedures to be followed by the State On-site Consultation Programs.
Information collection requirements set forth in the On-site
Consultation Program regulations are in two categories: State
Responsibilities and Employer Responsibilities. Eight regulatory
provisions require information collection activities by the State. The
Federal government provides 90 percent of funds for on-site
consultation services delivered by the States, which result in the
collection of information. Four requirements apply to employers and
specify conditions for receiving the free on-site consultation
services.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
August 29, 2008.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2008-0019,
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2008-0019). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket
without change, and may be made available online at http://
www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see
the "Public Participation" heading in the section of this notice
titled "SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION ."
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Larry
Liberatore at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Liberatore, Acting Director,
Office of Small Business Assistance, Directorate of Cooperative and
State Programs, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3660, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a
preclearance process to provide the public with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and continuing information collection requirements
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection
instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the
information collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for
enforcement of the Act or for developing information regarding the
causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and
accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain
such information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information
(29 U.S.C. 657).
Section 7(c)(1) of the OSH Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor
to, "with the consent of any State or political subdivision thereof,
accept and use the services, facilities, and personnel of any agency of
such State or subdivision with reimbursement." Section 21(C) of the
Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to, "consult with
and advise employers and employees * * * as to effective means of
preventing occupational illnesses and injuries."
Additionally, Section 21(d) of the OSH Act instructs the Secretary
to "establish and support cooperative agreements with the States under
which employers subject to the Act may consult with State personnel
with respect to the application of occupational safety and health
requirements under the Act or under State plans approved under section
18 of the Act." This gives the Secretary authority to enter into
agreements with the States to provide on-site consultation services,
and establish rules under which employers may qualify for an inspection
exemption. To satisfy the intent of these and other sections of the OSH
Act, OSHA codified the terms that govern cooperative agreements between
OSHA and State governments whereby State agencies provide on-site
consultation services to private employers to assist them in complying
with the requirements of the OSH Act. The terms were codified as the
Consultation Program regulations (29 CFR Part 1908).
The Consultation Program regulations specify services to be
provided, and practices and procedures to be followed by the State On-
site Consultation Programs. Information collection requirements set
forth in the On-site Consultation Program regulations are in two
categories: State Responsibilities and Employer Responsibilities. Eight
regulatory provisions require information collection activities by the
State. The Federal government provides 90 percent of funds for on-site
consultation services delivered by the States, which result in the
information collection. Four requirements apply to employers and
specify conditions for receiving the free consultation services.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions,
including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Standard on On-site
Consultation Agreements (29 CFR part 1908). The Agency is requesting to
increase its current burden hour estimate associated with this Program
from 21,771 hours to 231,207 hours, a total increase of 209,436 hours.
The increase is a result of the following:
Previously, a large percentage (over 90%) of all On-site
Consultation Programs visits were deemed to be limited in scope. Over
half of all such visits are now comprehensive in nature due to the
States continued emphasis on providing comprehensive advice on safety
and health management systems.
We had previously estimated that only visits that were
comprehensive in nature would provide a written report. Now all visits,
whether comprehensive or limited in scope provide a written report to
the employer, in accordance with our Consultation Policies and
Procedures Manual.
We had previously estimated that it took only 0.5 hours to
complete a written report. As we have received input from our
stakeholders in updating the Consultation Program policies and
procedures, our small employers requested specific guidelines and
information in order to implement the recommended safety and health
improvements noted during our On-site Consultation visits. A recent
survey of our Consultation Projects indicated that approximately 7.5
hours are spent on these technical assistance reports (a range of 6-9
hours).
The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to
this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Consultation Agreements (29 CFR part 1908).
OMB Number: 1218-0110.
Affected Public: State Government, Local or Tribal Government,
Federal Government, Not-for-profit institutions, Business or other for-
profits.
Number of Respondents: 27,854.
Frequency: Ranges from each visit to every other year.
Average Time per Response: Ranges from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to 7.5
hours.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 231,207.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2008-0019). You
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES).
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them
to your comments.
Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's "User
Tips" link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR
31159).
Signed at Washington, DC, on June 23, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.
Assistant Secretary of Labor, for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E8-14671 Filed 6-27-08; 8:45 am]
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