[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65242-65244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25863]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926

[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034]
RIN 1218-AB70


Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica; Extension of Comment 
Period; Extension of Period To Submit Notices of Intention To Appear at 
Public Hearings; Scheduling of Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period; extension of 
deadline for submitting notices of intention to appear at public 
hearings; scheduling of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 
extending the deadline for submitting comments on the Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Occupational Exposure to Crystalline 
Silica for an additional 47 days and extending the deadline for 
submitting notices of intention to appear at its informal public 
hearings for an additional 30 days. OSHA also is delaying the start of 
the public hearings by two weeks.

DATES: Written comments. Written comments on the NPRM must be submitted 
(postmarked, sent, or received) by Monday, January 27, 2014.
    Informal public hearings. The Agency plans to hold informal public 
hearings beginning on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Washington, DC. OSHA 
expects the hearings to last from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., local time; a 
schedule will be released prior to the start of the hearings. The exact 
daily schedule may be amended at the discretion of the presiding 
administrative law judge (ALJ). If necessary, the hearings will 
continue at the same time on subsequent days. Peer reviewers of OSHA's 
Health Effects Literature Review and Preliminary Quantitative Risk 
Assessment will be present in Washington, DC to hear testimony on the 
second day of the hearing, March 19, 2014; see Section XV of the NPRM 
preamble for more information on the peer review process (78 FR 56274, 
56440-56442; September 12, 2013).
    Notice of intention to appear at the hearings. Interested persons 
who intend to present testimony or question witnesses at the hearings 
must submit (transmit, send, postmark, deliver) a notice of their 
intention to do so by December 12, 2013. The notice of intent must 
indicate if the submitter requests to present testimony on March 19, 
2014, in the presence of the peer reviewers.
    Hearing testimony and documentary evidence. Interested persons who 
request more than 10 minutes to present testimony, or who intend to 
submit documentary evidence, at the hearings must submit (transmit, 
send, postmark, deliver) the full text of their testimony and all 
documentary evidence by January 27, 2014. See Section XV of the NPRM 
preamble for details on the format and how to file a notice of 
intention to appear, submit documentary evidence at the hearing, and 
request an appropriate amount of time to present testimony (78 FR 
56274, 56440-56442; September 12, 2013).

ADDRESSES: Written comments. You may submit comments, identified by 
Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034, by any of the following methods:
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments

[[Page 65243]]

electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions on-line for making 
electronic submissions.
    Fax: If your submissions, 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: 
You may submit your comments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. 
OSHA-2010-0034, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY 
number is (877) 889-5627). Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, 
or 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 the 
docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034). 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. Therefore, OSHA cautions you about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
birthdates.
    If you submit scientific or technical studies or other results of 
scientific research, OSHA requests (but is not requiring) that you also 
provide the following information where it is available: (1) 
Identification of the funding source(s) and sponsoring organization(s) 
of the research; (2) the extent to which the research findings were 
reviewed by a potentially affected party prior to publication or 
submission to the docket, and identification of any such parties; and 
(3) the nature of any financial relationships (e.g., consulting 
agreements, expert witness support, or research funding) between 
investigators who conducted the research and any organization(s) or 
entities having an interest in the rulemaking. If you are submitting 
comments or testimony on the Agency's scientific and technical 
analyses, OSHA requests that you disclose: (1) The nature of any 
financial relationships you may have with any organization(s) or 
entities having an interest in the rulemaking; and (2) the extent to 
which your comments or testimony were reviewed by an interested party 
prior to its submission. Disclosure of such information is intended to 
promote transparency and scientific integrity of data and technical 
information submitted to the record. This request is consistent with 
Executive Order 13563, issued on January 18, 2011, which instructs 
agencies to ensure the objectivity of any scientific and technological 
information used to support their regulatory actions. OSHA emphasizes 
that all material submitted to the rulemaking record will be considered 
by the Agency to develop the final rule and supporting analyses.
    Informal public hearings. The Washington, DC hearing will be held 
in the auditorium of the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210.
    Notice of intention to appear, hearing testimony and documentary 
evidence. You may submit (transmit, send, postmark, deliver) your 
notice of intention to appear, hearing testimony, and documentary 
evidence, identified by docket number (OSHA-2010-0034), by any of the 
following methods:
    Electronically: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
online for electronic submission of materials, including attachments.
    Fax: If your written submission does not exceed 10 pages, including 
attachments, you may fax it to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger and 
courier service: Submit your materials to the OSHA Docket Office, 
Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 
(TTY number (877) 889-5627). Deliveries (express mail, hand delivery, 
and messenger and courier service) are accepted during the Department 
of Labor's and OSHA Docket Office's normal hours of operation, 8:15 
a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034). All 
submissions, including any personal information, are placed in the 
public docket without change and may be available online at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions you about submitting 
certain personal information, such as social security numbers and 
birthdates. Because of security-related procedures, the use of regular 
mail may cause a significant delay in the receipt of your submissions. 
For information about security-related procedures for submitting 
materials by express delivery, hand delivery, messenger, or courier 
service, please contact the OSHA Docket Office. For additional 
information on submitting notices of intention to appear, hearing 
testimony or documentary evidence, see Section XV of the NPRM preamble, 
Public Participation (78 FR 56274, 56440-56442; September 12, 2013).
    Docket: To read or download comments, notices of intention to 
appear, and materials submitted in response to this Federal Register 
notice, go to Docket No. OSHA-2010-0034 at http://www.regulations.gov 
or to the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. All comments and 
submissions 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 that Web site. All comments and 
submissions are available for inspection and, where permissible, 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register document are available 
at http://regulations.gov. Copies also are available from the OSHA 
Office of Publications, Room N-3101, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
1888. This document, as well as news releases and other relevant 
information, is also available at OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information and press 
inquiries, contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of Communications, 
Room N-3647, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-1999; email 
[email protected]. For technical inquiries, contact William 
Perry or David O'Connor, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-
3718, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-1950 or fax (202) 693-1678. 
For hearing inquiries, contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of 
Communications, Room N-3647, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
1999; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking on September 12, 2013, for occupational exposure to 
respirable crystalline silica (78 FR 56274). This notice requested 
written comments by December 11, 2013 and notices of intention to 
appear at the public hearings by November 12, 2013; as well as 
established the public hearing to commence on March 4, 2014. Several 
interested parties have requested an extension of the comment period, 
explaining that they needed additional time to provide a thorough 
review and

[[Page 65244]]

response to the NPRM. OSHA is extending the deadline for submitting 
notices of intention to appear at the hearings by 30 days to December 
12, 2013; the deadline for submitting written comments and testimony by 
47 days to January 27, 2014; and the commencement of the hearings by 
two weeks to now begin March 18, 2014 in order to allow additional time 
for interested parties to review the proposed measures; submit their 
notices of intention to appear, comments and testimony; and prepare for 
the public hearings.
    Authority and Signature: This document was prepared under the 
direction of David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor 
for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, pursuant to sections 4, 
6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
653, 655, 657); section 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety 
Standards Act (the Construction Safety Act) (40 U.S.C. 333); section 41 
of the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941); 
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, January 25, 2012); 
and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on October 25, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-25863 Filed 10-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P