[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 152 (Monday, August 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39977-39978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19070]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0019]


Addenda to the Memorandum of Understanding: To Formalize the 
Working Relationship Between the Department of Energy and the 
Department of Labor (August 28, 1992)

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

ACTION: Addenda to Memorandum of Understanding between the Department 
of Labor and the Department of Energy: the transfer of two existing 
buildings and two other parcels of land located at the East Tennessee 
Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; transfer of employee safety 
and health authority from the Department of Energy (DOE) to the 
Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA).

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SUMMARY: This document is a notice of addenda to the 1992 interagency 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of Labor 
and the U.S. Department of Energy. That MOU states that DOE has 
exclusive authority over the occupational safety and health of 
contractor employees at DOE Government-Owned and Contractor-Operated 
facilities (GOCOs). In addition, the MOU between the departments dated 
July 25, 2000, on safety and health enforcement at privatized 
facilities and operations, provides that OSHA has regulatory authority 
over occupational safety and health at certain privatized facilities 
and operations on land formerly under the control of DOE. This action 
is taken in accordance with the July 25, 2000 MOU, which establishes 
specific interagency procedures for the transfer of occupational safety 
and health coverage for such privatized facilities and operations from 
DOE to OSHA and state agencies acting under state plans approved by 
OSHA pursuant to section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (OSH Act), 29 U.S.C. 667. The MOUs may be found on the internet 
via the OSHA Web page http://www.osha.gov under the ``D'' for 
Department of Energy Transition Activities.

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of the Addenda to the 
Memorandum of Understanding is August 10, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of 
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, Directorate of 
Technical Support and Emergency Management, U.S. Department of Labor, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N-3655, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2110. Access electronic copies of this notice at OSHA's Web site: 
http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. 
Department of Labor entered into a MOU 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, the MOU recognizes that DOE 
exercises statutory authority under section 161(f) of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954, as amended, [42 U.S.C. 2201(f)], relating to the 
occupational safety and health of private-sector employees at these 
facilities.
    Section 4(b)(1) of the OSH Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1), 
exempts from OSHA authority working conditions with respect to which 
other federal agencies have exercised statutory authority to prescribe 
or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or 
health. The 1992 MOU acknowledges DOE's extensive program for the 
regulation of contractor health and safety, which requires 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 OSH Act will not apply to GOCO sites for which 
DOE has exercised its authority to regulate occupational safety and 
health under the Atomic Energy Act.
    In light of DOE's policy emphasis on privatization activities, OSHA 
and DOE entered into a second MOU on July 25, 2000 that establishes 
interagency procedures to address regulatory authority for occupational 
safety and health at specified privatized facilities and operations on 
sites formerly controlled by DOE. The 2000 MOU covers facilities and 
operations on lands no longer controlled by DOE, which are not 
conducting activities for or on behalf of DOE and where there is no

[[Page 39978]]

likelihood that any employee exposure to radiation from DOE sources 
would be 25 millirems per year (mrem/yr) or more.
    In a letter dated April 9, 2009, DOE requested that OSHA or, as 
appropriate, TOSHA accept occupational safety and health regulatory 
authority over employees at the East Tennessee Technology Park at two 
existing buildings known as K-1652, a fire station owned and operated 
by the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and K-1515, the water treatment 
plant owned and operated by the city, as well as two other parcels of 
land known as ED-5 East and ED-7, transferred to the Community Reuse 
Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), pursuant to the MOU on Safety 
and Health Enforcement at Privatized Facilities and Operations dated 
July 25, 2000.
    OSHA's Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia, working with the OSHA 
Nashville Area Office, and the TOSHA, determined that TOSHA is willing 
to accept authority over the occupational safety and health of 
employees at the two existing buildings and the two other parcels of 
land at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that 
were transferred by deed to the City of Oak Ridge and CROET, 
respectively. In a letter from OSHA to DOE dated May 13, 2009, OSHA 
stated that TOSHA is satisfied with DOE assurances that (1) there is no 
likelihood that any employee at these facilities will be exposed to 
radiation levels that will be 25 millirems per year (mrem/yr) or more, 
and (2) transfer of authority to TOSHA is free from regulatory gaps, 
and does not diminish the safety and health protection of the 
employees. According to this letter, TOSHA therefore accepted and 
maintains health and safety regulatory authority over employees at 
buildings K-165 (fire station) and K-1515 (water treatment plant), as 
well as parcels ED-5 East and ED-7.

Authority and Signature

    Jordan Barab, Acting 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 notice. 
This Federal Register notice provides public notice and serves as an 
addendum to the 1992 OSHA/DOE MOU. This action is taken pursuant to 
section 8(g) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 657(g)) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 4, 2009.
Jordan Barab,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E9-19070 Filed 8-7-09; 8:45 am]
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