[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19472-19474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9697]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926

[Docket No. S-778-A]
RIN 1218-AB 81


Standards Improvement Project--Phase II

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of hearing.

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SUMMARY: On October 31, 2002, OSHA published a proposed rule entitled 
``Standards Improvement Project--Phase II''. OSHA will convene an 
informal public hearing to receive testimony and documentary evidence 
relevant to the issues raised in the proposal. This action is in 
response to the interested parties who have requested the convening of 
a hearing.

DATES: Informal public hearing. The Agency will hold an informal public 
hearing beginning in Washington, DC, on July 8 to July 9, 2003. The 
hearing will commence at 10 a.m. on the first day, and at 9 a.m. on the 
second day and subsequent days if they prove necessary; however, the 
exact daily schedule is at the discretion of the presiding 
administrative law judge.
    Notice of intention to appear to provide testimony at the informal 
public hearing. Interested parties who intend to present testimony at 
the informal public hearing must notify OSHA of their intention to do 
so no later than June 5, 2003.
    Hearing testimony and documentary evidence. Interested parties who 
will be requesting more than 10 minutes to present their testimony, or 
who will be submitting documentary evidence at the hearing, must 
provide the Agency with copies of their full testimony and all

[[Page 19473]]

documentary evidence they plan to present by June 5, 2003. Parties who 
provided this material in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking 
do not have to resubmit their comments and documentary evidence 
submitted with their comments, but should refer to them in their notice 
of intention to appear.

ADDRESSES: Informal public hearing. The informal public hearing to be 
held in Washington, DC will be located in the Auditorium on the plaza 
level of the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.
    Notice of intention to appear at the hearing. Notices of intention 
to appear at the informal public hearing should be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Office, Docket No. S-778-A, Room N-2625, OSHA, 
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210. Notices may also be faxed to the Docket Office at 202-693-1648 
or submitted electronically at http://ecomments.osha.gov. OSHA Docket 
Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 
p.m.
    Hearing testimony and documentary evidence. Interested parties who 
will be requesting more than 10 minutes to present their testimony, or 
who will be submitting documentary evidence at the informal public 
hearing must mail three copies of the testimony and the documentary 
evidence to the Docket Office at the above address. Testimony may also 
be faxed to the Docket Office at 202-693-1647. Additional information 
for submitting testimony and evidence is found under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For general information and press inquiries, 
contact Ms. Bonnie Friedman, Director, OSHA Office of Public Affairs, 
Room N-3647, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210 (telephone: (202) 693-1999). For technical 
inquiries, contact Mr. Robert Manware, Office of Physical Hazards, Room 
N-3718, (telephone (202) 693-2299; fax: (202) 693-1678) and for hearing 
information contact Ms. Veneta Chatmon, Office of Information 
(telephone 202-693-1999) at the above address. For additional copies of 
this Federal Register notice, contact the Office of Publications, Room 
N-3103, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210 (telephone (202) 693-1888). Electronic copies of 
this Federal Register notice, as well as news releases and other 
relevant documents, are available at OSHA's Home page at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1995, the Agency identified a number of 
provisions in its regulations and standards that were inconsistent, 
duplicative, outdated, or in need of being rewritten in plain language. 
In 1998, as part of the process of correcting such provisions, OSHA 
made several substantive revisions to its health and safety standards 
that reduced the regulatory obligations of employers while maintaining 
the safety and health protection afforded to employees (63 FR 33450, 
June 18, 1998). During and after this rulemaking, the Agency identified 
several other regulatory provisions in its safety and health standards 
involving notification of use, frequency of exposure monitoring and 
medical surveillance, and similar provisions that it believed could be 
modified to improve the efficiency of compliance and consistency among 
standards while maintaining health protection for employees. OSHA 
proposed to make substantive revisions to a number of the health 
standard provisions identified in this process on October 31, 2002 (67 
FR 66494). The period for filing public comment on the proposal was to 
end on December 30, 2002. Interested parties requested an extension of 
the deadline for submitting comments based on the need for additional 
time to provide a thorough review and response to the substantive 
provisions proposed for revision in the notice. In response to these 
requests, OSHA extended the period for submitting comments until 
January 30, 2003 (see 68 FR 1023, January 8, 2003). In addition, a 
number of commenters (Exs. 3-2, 3-16) requested that an informal public 
hearing be convened on the issues raised in the proposal. OSHA has 
granted that request and has scheduled an informal public hearing 
commencing July 8, 2003.

Public Participation--Comments and Hearings

    OSHA encourages members of the public to participate in this 
rulemaking by providing oral testimony and documentary evidence at the 
informal public hearing that the Agency will convene. In this regard, 
the Agency invites interested parties having knowledge or experience 
with respect to the issues raised in the proposal to participate in 
this process, and welcomes any pertinent data that will provide it with 
the best available evidence on which to develop the final regulatory 
requirements.
    This section describes the procedures the public must use to 
schedule an opportunity to deliver oral testimony and provide 
documentary evidence at the informal public hearing. Notices of 
intention to appear, hearing testimony and documentary evidence will be 
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
    Pursuant to section 6(b)(3) of the Act, members of the public will 
have an opportunity at an informal public hearing to provide oral 
testimony concerning the issues raised in this proposal. The hearings 
will commence at 10 a.m. on the first day. At that time, the presiding 
administrative law judge (ALJ) will resolve any procedural matters 
relating to the proceeding. The hearings will reconvene on subsequent 
days at 9 a.m., if necessary.
    The legislative history of section 6 of the OSHA Act, as well as 
OSHA's regulation governing public hearings (29 CFR 1911.15), establish 
the purpose and procedures of informal public hearings. Although the 
presiding officer of such hearing is an ALJ, and questions by 
interested parties is allowed on crucial issues, the proceeding is 
informal and legislative in purpose. Therefore, the hearing provides 
interested parties with an opportunity to make effective and 
expeditious oral presentations in the absence of procedural restraints 
or rigid procedures that could impede or protract the rulemaking 
process. In addition, the hearing is an informal administrative 
proceeding, rather than adjudicative one in which the technical rules 
of evidence would apply, because its primary purpose is to gather and 
clarify information. The regulations that govern public hearings, and 
the pre-hearing guidelines issued for this hearing, will ensure 
participants fairness and due process, and also will facilitate the 
development of a clear, accurate and complete record. Accordingly, 
application of these rules and guidelines will be such that questions 
of relevance, procedures, and participation generally will favor 
development of the record.
    Conduct of the hearing will conform to the provisions of 29 CFR 
part 1911, ``Rules of Procedure for Promulgating, Modifying, or 
Revoking Occupational Safety and Health Standards.'' The regulation at 
29 CFR 1911.4 ``Additional or Alternative Procedural Requirements,'' 
specifies that the Assistant Secretary may, on reasonable notice, issue 
alternative procedures to expedite proceedings or for other good 
causes. Although the ALJs who preside over these hearings make no 
decision or recommendation on the merits of OSHA's proposal, they do 
have the

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responsibility and authority to ensure that the hearing progresses at a 
reasonable pace and in an orderly manner.
    To ensure that interested parties receive a full and fair informal 
hearing as specified by 29 CFR part 1911, the ALJ has the authority and 
power to: Regulate the course of the proceedings; dispose of procedural 
requests, objections, and comparable matters; confine the presentations 
to matters pertinent to the issues raised; use appropriate means to 
regulate the conduct of the parties who are present at the hearing; 
question witnesses, and permit others to question witnesses; and limit 
the time for such questions. At the close of the hearing, the ALJ will 
establish a post-hearing comment period for parties who participated in 
the hearing. During the first part of this period, the participants may 
submit additional data and information to OSHA, while during the second 
part of this period, they may submit briefs, arguments, and summations.
    Notice of Intention to Appear to Provide Testimony at the Informal 
Public Hearings. Interested parties who intend to provide oral 
testimony at the informal public hearings must file a notice of 
intention to appear by using the procedures specified above in the 
sections titled Dates and Addresses. This notice must provide the: 
Name, address, and telephone number of each individual who will provide 
testimony; capacity (e.g., name of the establishment/organization the 
individual is representing; the individual's occupational title and 
position) in which each individual will testify; approximate amount of 
time required for each individual's testimony; specific issues each 
individual will address, including a brief statement of the position 
that the individual will take with respect to each of these issues; and 
any documentary evidence the individual will present, including a brief 
summary of the evidence.
    OSHA emphasizes that the hearings are open to the public, and that 
interested parties are welcome to attend. However, only a party who 
files a proper notice of intention to appear may ask questions and 
participate fully in the proceedings. While a party who did not file a 
notice of intention to appear may be allowed to testify at the hearing 
if time permits, this determination is at the discretion of the 
presiding ALJ.
    Hearing Testimony and Documentary Evidence. Any party requesting 
more than 10 minutes to testify at the informal public hearing, or who 
intends to submit documentary evidence at the hearing, must, unless 
already having done so, provide the complete text of the testimony and 
the documentary evidence as specified above in the sections titled Date 
and Addresses. The Agency will review each submission and determine if 
the information it contains warrants the amount of time requested. If 
OSHA believes the requested time is excessive, it will allocate an 
appropriate amount of time to the presentation, and will notify the 
participant of this action, and the reasons for the action, prior to 
the hearing. The Agency may limit to 10 minutes the presentation of any 
participant who fails to comply substantially with these procedural 
requirements; in such instances, OSHA may request the participant to 
return for questions at a later time.
    Please note that you may not attach materials such as studies or 
journal articles to testimony or documentary evidence faxes if they are 
more than 10 pages long. If you wish to include such materials, you 
must submit three copies to the OSHA Docket Office at the address 
listed above. When submitting such materials to the OSHA Docket Office, 
you must clearly identify your comments by name, date, Docket Number, 
and subject so that we can attach the materials to your faxed or mailed 
comments.
    Certification of the Record and Final Determination After the 
Informal Public Hearing. Following the close of the hearing and post-
hearing comment period, the presiding ALJ will certify the record to 
the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health; 
the record will consist of all of the written comments, oral testimony, 
and documentary evidence received during the proceeding. However, the 
ALJ does not make or recommend any decisions as to the content of the 
final standard. Following certification of the record, OSHA will review 
the proposed provisions in light of all the evidence received as part 
of the record, and then will issue the final determinations based on 
the entire record.

Authority

    John L Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210, directed the preparation of this document. 
It is issued under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 
FR 65008) and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed in Washington, DC on April 16, 2003.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 03-9697 Filed 4-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P