[Federal Register: October 27, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 206)][Notices]               [Page 55261-55263]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27oc09-93]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0037]

 
Electrical Protective Equipment Standard and the Electric Power 
Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Standard; 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 public comments concerning its request for an 
extension of the information collection requirements specified in its 
standards on Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and 
Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 
1910.269).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
December 28, 2009.

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-2009-0037, 
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 Information Collection Requirements (ICR) (OSHA-
2009-0037). 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 contact Theda Kenney at the 
address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

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 consultation program 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 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 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).
    The Electrical Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR 1910.137) and 
the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Standard 
(29 CFR 1910.269) specify several paperwork requirements. The following 
describes the information collection requirements contained in the 
Standards and addresses who will use the information.

Electrical Protective Equipment Standard (Sec.  1910.137)

Testing Certification (Sec.  1910.137(b)(2)(xii))
    Employers must certify that the electrical protective equipment 
used by their workers have passed the tests specified in paragraphs 
(b)(2)(viii), (b)(2)(ix), and (b)(2)(xi) of the Standard. The 
certification must identify the equipment that passed the tests and the 
dates of the tests. This provision ensures that electrical protective 
equipment is reliable and safe for worker use and will provide adequate 
protection against electrical hazards. In addition, certification 
enables OSHA to determine if employers are in compliance with the 
equipment testing requirements of the Standard.

Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Standard 
(Sec.  1910.269)

Training Certification (Sec.  1910.269(a)(2)(vii))
    This provision requires employers to certify that each worker has 
received the training specified in paragraph (a)(2) of the Standard. 
Employers must provide certification after a worker demonstrates 
proficiency in the work practices involved.
    The training conducted under paragraph (a)(2) of the Standard must 
ensure that: workers are familiar with the safety-related work 
practices, safety procedures, and other procedures, as well as any 
additional safety requirements in the Standard that pertain to their 
respective job assignments; workers are familiar with any other safety 
practices, including applicable emergency procedures (such as pole top 
and manhole rescue), addressed specifically by this Standard that 
relate to their work and are necessary for their safety; and qualified 
workers have the skills and techniques necessary to distinguish exposed 
live parts from other parts of electric equipment, can determine the 
nominal voltage of the exposed live parts, know the minimum approach 
distances specified by the standard for voltages when exposed to them, 
and understand the proper use of special precautionary techniques, 
personal protective equipment, insulating and shielding materials, and 
insulated tools for working on or near exposed and energized parts of 
electric equipment.
    Workers must receive additional training or retraining if: The 
supervision and annual inspections required by the Standard indicate 
that they are not complying with the required safety-related work 
practices; new technology or equipment, or revised procedures, require 
the use of safety-related work practices that differ from their usual 
safety practices; and they use safety-related work practices that are 
different than their usual safety practices while performing job 
duties.
    The training requirements of the Standard inform workers of the 
safety hazards of electrical exposure and provide them with the 
understanding required to minimize these safety hazards. In addition, 
workers must receive proper training in safety-related work practices, 
safety procedures, and other safety requirements specified in the 
Standard. The required training, therefore, provides information to 
workers that enable them to recognize how and where electrical 
exposures occur, and what steps to take, including work practices, to 
limit such exposure. The certification requirement specified by 
paragraph (a)(2)(vii) of the Standard helps employers monitor the 
training their workers received and helps OSHA determine if employers 
provided the required training to their workers.

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 collection 
of information requirements contained in the Standards on Electrical 
Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137), and Electric Power Generation, 
Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269). The Agency is 
proposing to increase the burden hours in the currently approved 
information collection request from 30,533 hours to 34,208 hours (a 
total increase of 3,675 hours). The increase is a result of an increase 
in the number of affected workers from 227,683 to 275,000.
    The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to 
this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Title: Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and 
Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 
1910.269).
    OMB Number: 1218-0190.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 20,765.
    Frequency: On occasion; semi-annually; annually.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) for a 
clerical employee to maintain training certification records to 15 
minutes (.25 hour) to test a batch of gloves or sleeves.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 34,208.
    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-2009-0037). 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 website to submit 
comments and access the docket is available at the website'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

    Jordan Barab, Acting 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 
31160).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 22nd day of October 2009.
Jordan Barab,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E9-25779 Filed 10-26-09; 8:45 am]

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