[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15059-15060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8339]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of the Environment, Safety and Health

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration


Notice of Addendum to Memorandum of Understanding

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise the public of an addendum to the 
interagency memorandum of understanding which delineates regulatory 
coverage of occupational safety and health at government-owned, 
contractor-operated sites administered by the Department of Energy. The 
addendum provides for coverage by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration of certain facilities and operations at the Savannah 
River Site in South Carolina.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 28, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anne Cyr, Acting Director, Office of Public Information and Consumer 
Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-3647, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, 
DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-8615.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of 
Labor (OSHA), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on August 10, 
1992, delineating regulatory authority over the occupational safety and 
health of contractor employees at DOE government-owned or leased, 
contractor-operated (GOCO) facilities. In general, DOE exercises 
statutory authority relating to the occupational safety and health of 
private sector employees at these facilities.
    Section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 
29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1), exempts from OSHA coverage working conditions over 
which other federal agencies have exercised statutory authority to 
prescribe or enforce occupational safety or health. The 1992 
interagency Memorandum of Understanding acknowledges DOE's extensive 
regulation of contractor health and safety through safety orders which 
require contractor compliance with all OSHA standards as well as 
additional requirements prescribed by DOE, and concludes with an 
agreement by the agencies that the provisions of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act shall not apply to GOCO sites for which DOE has 
exercised its authority to regulate occupational safety and health.
    Among the listed GOCO sites covered by the Memorandum of 
Understanding is the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Recently, 
DOE concluded a new lease agreement with South Carolina Electric and 
Gas (SCE&G) under which that public utility would operate certain coal-
fired power and heat generation facilities located within the Savannah 
River Site, selling power to DOE as well as to some outside customers. 
As part of this privatization effort DOE intends to exempt from DOE 
safety orders the power generation and transmission facilities leased 
by SCE&G, in effect terminating DOE's exercise of health and safety 
authority over the leased facilities and reinstating that of OSHA. The 
following addendum to the DOE/OSHA Memorandum of Understanding 
implements the termination of DOE authority and makes all standards, 
rules, and requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
applicable to the SCE&G leased facilities on the Savannah River Site.
    Because the site is located in South Carolina, a state which 
enforces its own occupational safety and health standards under a 
federally-approved state OSHA plan, the addendum also must address the 
issue of state plan coverage. The exercise of state authority over 
federally-owned, contractor-operated facilities raises unique 
jurisdictional issues; some GOCO facilities may retain the status of 
federal instrumentalities, where state regulatory authority is limited. 
Other facilities may be located on so-called federal enclave land, 
subject to regulation only by the federal government. Because of 
possible restrictions on the state's legal authority, the South 
Carolina Department of Labor has decided that SCE&G operations on the 
Savannah River Site will not be covered under the South Carolina state 
OSHA plan. The addendum to the OSHA/DOE Memorandum of Understanding 
therefore specifies that SCE&G operations at the Savannah River site 
will be covered by federal OSHA rather than under the state plan. OSHA 
intends to amend Subpart C of 29 CFR Part 1952 to reflect this 
coverage.
    Federal OSHA coverage will extend to all working conditions of 
SCE&G employees and its subcontractor employees on the Savannah River 
site not covered by DOE job safety or health requirements. DOE and OSHA 
have discussed the issue of resources likely to be needed to carry out 
the additional responsibilities to be assumed by OSHA, and OSHA has 
concluded that sufficient inspection resources are

[[Page 15060]]
currently available to assure adequate worker protection upon this 
transfer of regulatory responsibility from DOE.
    Accordingly, the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. 
Department of Energy and the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration is amended by adding an addendum specifying federal OSHA 
worker safety and health coverage over the phase of operations at the 
Savannah River Site which DOE has deregulated. This transfer of 
regulatory responsibility is effective upon signature by the agencies.

Addendum A: Savannah River Site D (Power Generation and Transmission)

    Power and steam generation facilities at D-Area, steam 
transmission lines and power transmission lines throughout the 
general areas of the Savannah River Site as specifically described 
in the lease agreement and referenced maps, which have been leased 
to South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, are not subject to 
safety orders or other occupational safety or health requirements 
administered by DOE; Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
(OSHA) requirements are fully applicable to these facilities and to 
working conditions of employees engaged in operating or maintaining 
them. Because the South Carolina Department of Labor has determined 
that SCE&G operations on the Savannah River Site will not be covered 
under the South Carolina State OSHA Plan, federal OSHA standards and 
enforcement will apply.

    Dated: March 28, 1996.
Joseph A. Dear,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
    Dated: March 26, 1996.
Tara O'Toole,
Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 96-8339 Filed 4-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M