DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1915

[Docket No. S-051]

RIN 1218-AB51

Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee; Meeting

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

ACTION: Public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announces a public meeting of the Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee. The members represent groups interested in, or significantly affected by, the outcome of the rulemaking: they come from shipyards, labor unions, professional associations, and government agencies. The committee will continue its discussions on scope and application, controls and work practices, fire brigades, written fire plans, technological advances, costs of fire protection, and the content of appendices for a proposed standard to protect workers from fires in "shipyard employment." The committee's goal is to draft a proposed rule and explanatory preamble that the members support.

DATES: The meeting will be held July 15-17, 1997, starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending about 4:00 p.m. daily. By June 30, 1997, make all requests for oral presentations to the committee or requests for appropriate accommodations for persons with disabilities.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Room G-90-C, of the Fallon Federal Building, 31 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, Maryland. Send written comments in response to this notice to: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Docket Office, Docket S-051, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N-2625, Washington, D.C. 20210. The telephone number is (202) 219-7894.

Send requests to make an oral presentation to: Ms. Odet Shaw, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Office of Maritime Standards, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-3647, Washington, D.C. 20210. For appropriate accommodations for persons with disabilities, call Ms. Theda Kenney at (202) 219-8061.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Odet Shaw, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Office of Maritime Standards, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-3647, Washington, D.C. 20210. Also, you can reach Ms. Shaw at: (202) 219-7234, ext. 121.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA invites all interested persons to attend the public meetings of this committee. Seating will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Ms. Kenney for appropriate accommodations for persons with disabilities.

OSHA encourages the public to participate in the discussions throughout the meeting, subject to time available. A public participant may request to make an oral presentation, which must be limited to statements of fact and opinion, to the Committee. The request should state the time desired, the interest the party represents, and a brief outline of the presentation so that the Committee facilitator can determine the time needed and the point in the meeting for the presentation.

Detailed minutes rather than verbatim transcripts are kept to encourage the free exchange of information and ideas during the negotiations. The minutes of past meetings and other relevant materials are available for public inspection at the docket office.

For an explanation of negotiated rulemaking and why OSHA is using this process to develop a proposed standard to protect employees from fires in "shipyard employment" see OSHA's Notice of Intent to Form a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee to Develop a Proposed Rule on Fire Protection in Shipyard Employment (61 FR 28824 (June 6, 1996)).

Agenda: The agenda for the meeting includes: review of the revised "Scope and Application," reports on working group progress, and working group meetings as needed.

Authority: OSHA prepared this document pursuant to Section 3 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 4969; Title 5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.) and Section 7(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1597; Title 29 U.S.C. 656).

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 20th day of June 1997.

Greg Watchman,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.

[FR Doc. 97-16671 Filed 6-25-97; 8:45 am)