[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12815-12816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4902]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR 1218-0020(2001)]


Training Grant Application; Extension of the Office of Management 
and Budget's Approval of Information-Collection (Paperwork 
Requirements)

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

ACTION: Notice of an opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of the 
information-collection requirements specified in its training grant 
application.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before April 30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. ICR 
1218-0020(2001), OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
2350. Commenters may transmit written comments of 10 pages or less by 
facsimile to: (202) 693-1648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Bencheck, Division of Training 
and Educational Programs, OSHA Office of Training and Education, 1555 
Times Drive, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018; telephone: (847) 297-4810; e-
mail: [email protected]; or facsimile: (847) 297-4874. A copy 
of the Agency's Information-Collection Request (ICR) supporting the 
need for the information collections specified in the training grant 
application is available for inspection and copying in the Docket 
Office, or by requesting a copy from Todd Owen at (202) 693-2444. For 
electronic copies of the ICR, contact OSHA on the Internet at http://www.osha.gov/.

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 information burden is correct.
    Section 21 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 
``OSH Act'') (29 U.S.C. 670) authorizes the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration (``OSHA'' or the ``Agency'') to conduct directly, 
or through grants and contracts, education and training courses. These 
courses must ensure an adequate number of qualified personnel to 
fulfill the purposes of the Act, provide them with short-term training, 
inform them of the importance and proper use of safety and health 
equipment, and train employers and employees to recognize, avoid, and 
prevent unsafe and unhealthful working conditions.
    Under Section 21, the Agency awards grants to nonprofit 
organizations to provide part of the required training. To obtain such 
a grant, an organization must complete the training grant application. 
OSHA uses the information in this application to evaluate: The 
organization's competence to provide the proposed training (including 
the qualifications of the personnel who manage and implement the 
training); the goals and objectives of the proposed training program; a 
workplan that describes in detail the tasks that the organization will 
implement to meet these goals and objectives; the appropriateness of 
the proposed costs; and compliance with Federal regulations governing 
nonprocurement debarment and suspension, maintaining a drug-free 
workplace, and lobbying activities. Also required is a program summary 
that Agency officials use to review and evaluate the highlights of the 
overall proposal.
    After awarding a training grant, OSHA uses the workplan and budget 
information provided in the application to monitor the organization's 
progress in meeting training goals and objectives, as well as planned 
expenditures. The initial grant award is for one year, with possible 
renewals at one-year intervals. An organization must submit separate 
applications for the initial award and for each renewal award.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    The Agency 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 the Agency'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 proposes to extend OMB's approval of the collection-of-
information (paperwork) requirements specified in the training grant 
application. The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in 
response to this notice, and will include this summary, along with the 
comments, in its request to OMB to

[[Page 12816]]

extend the approval of these information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information-
collection requirements.
    Title: Training grant application.
    OMB Number: 1218-0020.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 200.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Total Responses: 200.
    Average Time per Response: 59 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,800.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $377,000.

IV. Authority and Signature

    R. Davis Layne, 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) and the Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 
FR 50017).

    Signed at Washington, DC on February 23, 2001.
R. Davis Layne,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 01-4902 Filed 2-27-01; 8:45 am]
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