[Federal Register: April 20, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 75)]
[Notices]               
[Page 20604-20605]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap05-127]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0130 (2005)]

 
Electrical Standards for Construction and General Industry; 
Extension of the Office of Managaement 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).

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by June 20, 2005.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by June 20, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0130 (2005), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number 
is (877) 889-5627). The OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor 
hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 
pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 
693-1648.
    Electronic: You may submit comments through the internet at http://dockets.osha.gov.
 Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for 

submitting comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or 
background materials, such as the complete Information-Collections 
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and 
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. Comments, 

submissions, and the ICR are available for inspection and copying at 
the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. You also may contact Todd 
Owen at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR. (For additional 
information on submitting comments, please see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to 
Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to 
this document by (1) hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or 
(3) electronically through the OSHA Web page. Because of security-
related problems, a significant delay may occur in the receipt of 
comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at 
(202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about security 
procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, 
hand delivery, and messenger service.
    All comments, submissions, and background documents are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above address. 
Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are available at 
http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA 

Docket Office for information about material not available through the 
OSHA Web page, and for assistance using the Web page to locate docket 
submissions.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as other 
relevant documents, are available on OSHA's Web page. All submissions 
become public; therefore, private information, such as a social 
security number, should not be submitted.

II. 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 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
    This program ensures that information is in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and cost) is minimal, collection instruments are 
understandable, and OSHA's estimate of the information-collection 
burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 
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 
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 by 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.

III. 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; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information-
collection and -transmission techniques.

IV. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is proposing to extend the information-collection requirements 
contained in the Electrical Standards for Construction (29 CFR part 
1926, subpart K) and General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart S). In 
doing so, the Agency is proposing to adjust the total burden hours of 
these subparts from 84,803 hours to 13,291 hours. The 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 currently approved information-
collection requirements.
    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: 45,000.
    Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
    Total Responses: 105,750.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from three minutes (.05 hour) to 
post and construct each sign to one hour to develop and implement the 
assured equipment-grounding program.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 13,291.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

V. Authority and Signature

    Jonathan L. Snare, Acting 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), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (6765008).

    Signed at Washington, DC on April 12th, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 05-7941 Filed 4-19-05; 8:45 am]

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