[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14323]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 14, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, 1926 and 1928

[Docket No. H-122]
RIN 1218-AB37

 

Indoor Air Quality; Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period and Rescheduling of Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: By this document, the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) is extending the comment period and dates for 
submitting notices of intention to appear, as well as hearing testimony 
and evidence, and is postponing the public hearing on the proposed rule 
on indoor air quality which was published on April 5, 1994 (59 FR 
15968). The comment period was to end on June 29, 1994; public hearings 
were scheduled to begin on July 12, 1994. Following publication of the 
proposal, thirteen written requests to extend the comment period or 
postpone the public hearing were received. As a result of these 
requests, OSHA is extending the comment period to August 13, 1994. 
Public hearings will be scheduled to begin on September 20, 1994.

DATES: Comments must be postmarked on or before August 13, 1994. 
Notices of Intention to Appear at the public hearing must be postmarked 
on or before August 5, 1994. Testimony and evidence to be submitted at 
the hearing must be postmarked by August 13, 1994. The hearing will 
begin at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 20, 1994 in Washington, DC.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be submitted in quadruplicate or 1 original 
(hard copy) and 1 disk (5-1/4 or 3-1/2) in WP 5.0, 5.1, 6.0 or Ascii 
to: Docket Office, Docket No. H-122, room N-2625, U. S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 
(202) 219-7894. Any information not contained on disk, e.g., studies, 
articles, etc., must be submitted in quadruplicate.
    Notices of intention to appear and testimony and evidence are to be 
submitted in quadruplicate to: Mr. Thomas Hall, Division of Consumer 
Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., room N-3649, Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: 
(202) 219-8615.
    The hearing will be held in the auditorium, of the U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James F. Foster, Office of Public 
Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, room N-3649, U. 
S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210; Telephone: (202) 219-8151.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 5, 1994, OSHA published a notice of proposed rulemaking on 
indoor air quality (59 FR 15968 et seq.). The proposal covered a broad 
range of issues falling into two major categories: (1) General indoor 
air quality as manifested in sick building syndrome and building 
related illnesses; and (2) environmental tobacco smoke.

Extension of the Comment Period and Re-scheduling of the Public 
Hearings

    Thus far OSHA has receive thirteen written requests to extend the 
comment period or re-schedule the public hearing to a later date. These 
requests have been received from: Business Council on Indoor Air (Exh. 
9-121), Law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, and Walker (Exh. 9-2265), 
National Energy Management Institute (Exh. 9-229), Barrera Associates, 
Inc. (Exh. 9-539), R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Exh. 9-540), Clean 
Air Device Manufacturers Coalition (Exh. 9-1610), ICF Kaiser 
Environment and Energy Group (Exh. 9-1612), Philip Morris (Exh. 9-
2202), Total Indoor Environmental Quality Coalition (Exh. 9-541), 
American Nurses Association (Exh. 9-2263), National Licensed Beverage 
Association (Exh. 9-2264), United Technologies Carrier (Exh. 9-1613) 
and United Air Specialists, Inc (Exh. 9-2288). The requesters believe 
that a number of factors including the amount and complexity of 
information relied on in the proposal, the desire of interested persons 
to submit extensive comments and for various trade associations to 
coordinate among their members justify a modest extension of time. 
Based on these requests, the Agency has agreed to an extension of the 
comment period and has re-scheduled the public hearings to allow more 
time for interested persons to adequately prepare their response to the 
OSHA proposal. OSHA's rules for participating in its rulemaking were 
printed in the proposal (59 FR 16034). All persons interested in 
participating in this proceeding are requested to review these rules in 
their entirety. For public convenience these procedures are summarized 
below.

Notice of Intention to Appear at the Informal Hearing

    Pursuant to section 6(b)(3) of the OSH Act, an informal public 
hearing will be held on the IAQ proposal in Washington, DC from 
September 20 through October 14, 1994. The hearing may be extended if 
this period is not adequate to accommodate all those filing valid 
notices of intention to appear at the public hearing or the hearing may 
be shortened if the schedule is completed earlier.
    The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20, 1994 
in the auditorium of the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    Persons desiring to participate at the informal public hearing must 
file a notice of intention to appear by August 5, 1994. The notice of 
intention to appear must contain the following information:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of each person to 
appear;
    2. The capacity in which the person will appear;
    3. The approximate amount of time required for the presentation;
    4. The issues that will be addressed;
    5. A brief statement of the position that will be taken with 
respect to each issue; and
    6. Whether the party intends to submit documentary evidence and, if 
so, a brief summary of it.
    The notice of intention to appear shall be mailed to Mr. Thomas 
Hall, OSHA Division of Consumer Affairs, Docket No. H-122, U. S. 
Department of Labor, room N-3647, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; Telephone: (202) 219-8615.
    A notice of intention to appear may also be transmitted by 
facsimile to (202) 219-5986, by the same date, provided that the 
original and 3 copies are sent to the same address and postmarked by 
the due date.
    Individuals with disabilities wishing to attend the hearing should 
contact the hearing management officer, Mr. Thomas Hall, to obtain 
appropriate accommodations at the hearing.

Filing of Testimony and Evidence Before the Hearing

    Any party requesting to appear at the hearing or anyone who intends 
to submit documentary evidence, must provide in quadruplicate the 
testimony and evidence to be presented at the informal public hearing. 
One copy shall not be stapled or bound and must be suitable for 
copying. These materials must be provided to Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA 
Division of Consumer Affairs at the address above and must be 
postmarked no later than August 13, 1994.
    Each submission will be reviewed carefully in light of the amount 
of time requested in the notice of intention to appear. In instances 
where the information contained in the submission does not justify the 
amount of time requested, a more appropriate amount of time will be 
allocated and the participant will be notified of that fact prior to 
the informal public hearing.
    Any party who has not complied with the above requirement may be 
denied an opportunity to participate or may be requested to return for 
questioning at a later time.
    Any party who has not filed a notice of intention to appear may be 
allowed to testify for no more than 10 minutes as time permits, at the 
discretion of the Administrative Law Judge, but will not be allowed to 
question other witnesses. Because of the great amount of interest that 
the proposal has generated thus far, there may not be enough time to 
accommodate those individuals wishing to make short presentations who 
have not filed valid notices of intention to appear; however, efforts 
will be made to allow such short presentations.
    Notices of intention to appear, testimony and evidence will be 
available for inspection and copying at the Docket Office at the 
address noted above.

Conduct and Nature of Hearing

    The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on September 20, 1994. At that 
time, any procedural matters relating to the proceeding will be 
resolved.
    The nature of an informal rulemaking hearing is established in the 
legislative history of section 6 of the OSH Act and is reflected by 
OSHA's rules of procedure for hearings (29 CFR 1911.15(a)). Although 
the presiding officer is an Administrative Law Judge and questioning by 
interested persons is allowed on crucial issues, the proceeding is 
informal and legislative in nature. The Agency's intent, in essence, is 
to provide interested persons with an opportunity to make effective 
oral presentation which can proceed expeditiously in the absence of 
procedural restraints which impede or protract the rulemaking process.
    Additionally, since the hearing is primarily for information 
gathering and clarification, it is an informal administrative 
proceeding rather than an adjudicative one. The technical rules of 
evidence, for example, do not apply. The regulations that govern 
hearings (29 CFR part 1911) and the pre-hearing guidelines to be issued 
for this hearing will ensure fairness and due process and also 
facilitate the development of a clear, accurate and complete record. 
These rules and guidelines will be interpreted in a manner that 
furthers the development of a clear record. Thus, questions of 
relevance, procedure and participation generally will be decided so as 
to favor the development of the record.
    The hearings will be conducted in accordance with 29 CFR part 1911. 
It should be noted that Sec. 1911.4 specifies that the Assistant 
Secretary may, upon reasonable notice, issue alternative procedures to 
expedite proceedings or for other good cause. The hearing will be 
presided over by an Administrative Law Judge who makes no decision or 
recommendation on the merits of OSHA's proposal. The responsibility of 
the Administrative Law Judge is to ensure that the hearing proceeds at 
a reasonable pace and in an orderly manner. The Administrative Law 
Judge, therefore, will have all powers necessary and appropriate to 
conduct a full and fair informal hearing as provided in 29 CFR Part 
1911, including the powers:
    1. To regulate the course of the proceedings;
    2. To dispose of procedural requests, objections and comparable 
matters;
    3. To confine the presentations to the matters pertinent to the 
issues raised;
    4. To regulate the conduct of those present at the hearing by 
appropriate means;
    5. In the judge's discretion, to question and permit the 
questioning of any witness and to limit the time for questioning; and
    6. In the Judge's discretion, to keep the record open for a 
reasonable, stated time to receive written information and additional 
data, views and arguments from any person who has participated in the 
oral proceedings.
    OSHA recognizes that there may be interested persons or 
organizations who, through their knowledge of the subject matter or 
their experience in the field, would wish to endorse or support the 
whole proposal or certain provisions of the proposal. OSHA welcomes 
such supportive comments, including any pertinent data and cost 
information which may be available, in order that the record of this 
rulemaking will present a balanced picture of the public response on 
the issues involved.

Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of Joseph A. Dear, 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U. S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210. It is issued pursuant to section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1593, 29 U.S.C. 655).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of June 1994.
Joseph A. Dear,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 94-14323 Filed 6-13-94; 8:45 am]
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