[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 58 (Monday, March 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20703-20705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06153]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2017-0005]


Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution 
Standards for Construction and General Industry and Electrical 
Protective Equipment Standards for Construction and General Industry; 
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of 
Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Electric Power 
Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Standards for Construction 
and General Industry and Electrical Protective Equipment Standards for 
Construction and General Industry.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 24, 2024.

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.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket 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 websites. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2017-0005) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as social security numbers and birthdates.
    For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of the 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 (PRA) (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, the collection instruments are clearly understood, and 
OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et 
seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH 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 effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).

[[Page 20704]]

    The Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution 
Standards (29 CFR 1926 and 29 CFR 1910.269) and the Electrical 
Protective Equipment Standards (29 CFR 1926.97 and 29 CFR 1910.137) 
specify a number of collection of information requirements. The 
following describes the collection of information requirements 
contained in the standards.

Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Standard 
(Sec. Sec.  1926 and 1910.269).

    For host employer responsibilities paragraphs 1910.269(a)(3)(i) and 
1926.950(c)(1) for construction and general industry, before work 
begins, the host employer must inform the contract employers of: the 
characteristics of the host employer's installation listed; conditions 
listed in paragraphs of this section that are known to the host 
employer; information about the design and operation of the host 
employer's installation that the contract employer needs to make the 
assessments required by this section; and any other information about 
the design and operation of the host employer's installation that is 
known by the host employer, that the contract employer requests, that 
is related to the protection of the contract employer's employees.
    For contract employer responsibilities paragraph 1910.269(a)(3)(ii) 
and 1926.950(c)(2) for construction and general industry, contract 
employers must ensure that each of the employees is instructed in the 
hazardous conditions relevant to the employee's work that the contract 
employer is aware of as a result of information communicated to the 
contract employer by the host employer; before work begins, the 
contract employer must advise the host employer of any unique hazardous 
conditions presented by the contract employer's work; and the contract 
employer must advise the host employer of any unanticipated hazardous 
conditions found during the contract employer's work that the host 
employer did not mention. The contract employer shall provide this 
information to the host employer within 2 working days after 
discovering the hazardous condition.
    In job briefing the information provided by the employer in 
paragraphs 1910.269(1)(i) and 1926.952(a)(1) for construction and 
general industry, in assigning an employee or a group of employees to 
perform a job, the employer must provide the employee in charge of the 
job with all available information that relates to the determination of 
existing characteristics and conditions required.
    For the engineering analyses to determine maximum anticipated per 
unit transient overvoltage in paragraphs 1910.269(l)(3)(ii) and 
1926.960(c)(1)(ii) for construction and general industry, the employer 
must determine the maximum anticipated per-unit transient overvoltage, 
phase-to-ground, through an engineering analysis or assume a maximum 
anticipated per-unit transient overvoltage, phase-to-ground, in 
accordance with the tables listed. When the employer uses portable 
protective gaps to control the maximum transient overvoltage, the value 
of the maximum anticipated per-unit transient overvoltage, phase-to-
ground, must provide for five standard deviations between the 
statistical sparkover voltage of the gap and the statistical withstand 
voltage corresponding to the electrical component of the minimum 
approach distance. The employer must make any engineering analysis 
conducted to determine maximum anticipated per-unit transient 
overvoltage available upon request to employees and to the Assistant 
Secretary or designee for examination and copying.

Electrical Protective Equipment Standard (Sec. Sec.  1926.97 and 
1910.137).

    Testing Certification (Sec. Sec.  1926.97(c)(2)(xii) and 
1910.137(c)(2)(xii)).
    Employers must certify that the electrical protective equipment 
used by their workers have passed the tests specified in paragraphs 
(c)(2)(vii)(D), (c)(2)(viii), (c)(2)(ix), and (c)(2)(xi) of the 
Standards. The certification must identify the equipment that passed 
the tests and the dates of the tests. The two standards require 
testing: periodically (generally, every 6 months for rubber insulating 
gloves and every 12 months for most other types of rubber insulating 
equipment); after any repairs; and before the equipment is returned to 
service after any inspection finds certain defects. In addition, the 
employer must test rubber insulating gloves before reuse after 
employees use them without protector gloves and must certify that 
testing. These performance-based standards ensure that employers 
maintain the most recent test records for equipment that passes the 
required test without specifying precisely how the employer must 
maintain those records.

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 to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA'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, and 
transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extends the approval of the information 
collection requirements specified in the Electric Power Generation, 
Transmission, and Distribution Standards for Construction and General 
Industry and the Electrical Protective Equipment Standards for 
Construction and General Industry. The agency is requesting an 
adjustment increase in burden from 380,735 to 394,614 hours, a 
difference of 13,879 hours. This increase in burden is due to an 
increase in the number of projects and an increase in the number of 
establishments.
    OSHA 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.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution 
Standards for Construction and General Industry and Electrical 
Protective Equipment for Construction and General Industry.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0253.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 21,396.
    Number of Responses: 2,067,172.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 394,614.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

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 https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments, 
including attachments, are not longer

[[Page 20705]]

than 10 pages you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-
1648. All comments, attachments, and other material must identify the 
agency name and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2017-0005). 
You may supplement electronic submission by uploading document files 
electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submission, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) 
for information about materials not available from the website, and for 
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, Deputy 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. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 18, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-06153 Filed 3-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P