[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39049-39050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15392]



[[Page 39049]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0017]


Electrical Standards for Construction and General Industry; 
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of 
the Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its request for an extension 
of the information collection requirements contained in the Electrical 
Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, subpart K) and for 
General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S). The Standards address 
safety procedures for installation and maintenance of electric 
utilization equipment that prevent death and serious injuries among 
construction and general industry employees in the workplace caused by 
electrical hazards.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
September 8, 2008.

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-2008-0017, 
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 ICR (OSHA-2008-0017). 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 also 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 OSH 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 OSH 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 information collection requirements specified by the Electrical 
Standards for Construction and General Industry alert employees to the 
presence and types of electrical hazards in the workplace, thereby 
preventing serious injury and death by electrocution. The information 
collection requirements in the standards involve the following: The 
employer using electrical equipment that is marked with the 
manufacturer's name, trademark, or other descriptive markings that 
identify the producer of the equipment, and marking the equipment with 
the voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings necessary; requiring 
each disconnecting means for motors and appliances to be marked legibly 
to indicate its purpose, unless located and arranged so the purpose is 
evident; requiring the entrances to rooms and other guarded locations 
containing exposed live parts to be marked with conspicuous warning 
signs forbidding unqualified persons from entering; and, for 
construction employers only, establishing and implementing the assured 
equipment grounding conductor program instead of using ground-fault 
circuit interrupters.

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 
cost) 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 proposing to combine the information collection 
requirements contained in the Design Safety Systems for Electrical 
Systems (29 CFR 1910.302-.308 and 1910.399 (OMB Control No. 1218-0256) 
with the information collection requirements contained in the 
Electrical Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, subpart K) and 
for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S) (OMB Control No. 
1218-0130). In doing so, the Agency is proposing to adjust the total 
burden hours of these subparts from 92,644 hours to 151,172 hours; a 
total increase of 58,528 hours. The burden hours have increased 
primarily due to an increase in the total number of jobsites for 
construction from 42,750 to 45,000. The

[[Page 39050]]

Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements contained in 
the standards.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Electrical Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 1926, 
subpart K) and General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S).
    OMB Number: 1218-0130.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 500,000.
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
    Total Responses: 2,331,135.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from three minutes (.08 hour) to 
post and construct each sign to four hours to document a hazardous 
classified location by a certified electrical engineer.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 151,172.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $7,500.

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-2008-0017). 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 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available through the website, and for assistance in using the Internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., 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 
31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on July 1, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
 [FR Doc. E8-15392 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
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