42666 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 153 / Friday, August 8, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

PART 22—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 22 is

revised to read as follows:

Authority: Sec. 3, 63 Stat. 111, as

amended; 22 U.S.C. 211a; 214, 2651, 2651a,

3921, 4219; 31 U.S.C. 9701; E.O. 10718, 22

FR 4632; E.O. 11295, 31 FR 10603; 3 CFR,

1966–1970 Comp. p. 570; Sec. 636, P.L. 104–

208, 110 Stat. 3009–703–704; 8 U.S.C. 1351;

Sec. 140(a), P.L. 103–236, 108 Stat. 399, as

amended.

2. Section 22.1 is amended by revising

the phrase ‘‘(Item Nos. 15 through 19

vacant)’’ immediately following item 14

to read ‘‘(Items Nos. 15 through 18

vacant)’’ and by inserting a new item 19

under the header ‘‘Visa Services for

Aliens’’ to read as follows:

22.1 Schedule of fees.

Item No. Fee

* * * * *

Visa Services for Aliens

19. Immigrant visa application surcharge for Diversity Visa Lottery $75.00

* * * * *

Dated: July 21, 1997.

Patrick F. Kennedy,

Under Secretary for Management, Acting.

[FR Doc. 97–20603 Filed 8–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–06–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

RIN 1218–AA95

Methylene Chloride; Approval of

Information Collection Requirements;

Extension of Start-up Dates

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA), Department of

Labor.

ACTION: Final Rule; Amendment;

Announcement of the OMB Approval of

Information Collection Requirements;

Extension of Start-up Dates for

Compliance.

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA) is

announcing that the collections of

information regarding § 1910.1052(d),

exposure monitoring; § 1910.1052(e),

regulated areas; § 1910.1052(j), medical

surveillance; § 1910.1052(l), employee

information and training; and

§ 1910.1052(m), recordkeeping of

OSHA’s final rule for Occupational

Exposure to Methylene Chloride (MC)

have been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The OMB approval number is 1218–

0179. In addition, this document

announces that OSHA is providing an

additional 30 days for certain employers

to comply with the start-up dates

contained in § 1910.1052(n).

DATES: Effective August 8, 1997. The

start-up date for initial monitoring as

stated in § 1910.1052(n)(2)(i)(C) is

September 7, 1997 (150 days from the

standard’s effective date of April 10,

1997).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Todd Owen, OSHA, Directorate of

Health Standards Programs, Room

N3718, U.S. Department of Labor, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20210; Telephone (202) 219–7075

extension 109.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA

published a final rule for Methylene

Chloride, § 1910.1052, on January 10,

1997, at 62 FR 1494 to provide greater

protection to employees exposed to

methylene chloride’s harmful effects.

The final rule became effective on April

10, 1997, although various provisions

did not take effect until the startup dates

specified in paragraph (n)(2), the earliest

of which was August 7, 1997. In

addition, as required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal

Register notice stated that compliance

with the collection of information

requirements in § 1910.1052(d),

exposure monitoring; § 1910.1052(e),

regulated areas; § 1910.1052(j), medical

surveillance; § 1910.1052(l), employee

information and training; and

§ 1910.1052(m), recordkeeping was not

required until those collections of

information had been approved by the

Office of Management and Budget and

until the Department of Labor published

a notice in the Federal Register

announcing the OMB control numbers

assigned by OMB. Under 5 CFR

1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or

sponsor a collection of information

unless: (1) the collection of information

displays a currently valid OMB control

number; and (2) the agency informs the

potential persons who are to respond to

the collection of information that such

persons are not required to respond to

the collection of information unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number.

On May 29, 1997, the Agency

submitted the Methylene Chloride

information collection request to OMB

for approval in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501–3520). On July 29, 1997,

OMB approved the collections of

information and assigned OMB Control

Number 1218–0179. The approval for

the collection expires on February 28,

1999.

With one exception, the earliest startup date for any provision of the

standard, including those with

paperwork requirements, is October 7,

1997. The announcement today of OMB

approval of paperwork requirements is

sufficient notice to permit compliance

without extending those start-up dates.

However, the start-up date for the initial

monitoring provisions (which includes

paperwork requirements) for larger

employers is August 8, 1997. Because

that date is soon after publication of this

notice, OSHA is amending paragraph

§ 1910.1052(n)(2)(i)(C) to allow those

employers an additional 30 days to

come into compliance with the initial

monitoring requirements. OSHA finds

that there is good cause to issue this

extension without notice and public

comment because following such

procedures would be impractical,

unnecessary or contrary to the public

interest in this case. OSHA believes that

it is in the public interest to give

employers additional time between the

notice of OMB approval and the date

that compliance is required.

Authority And Signature

This document was prepared under

the direction of Gregory R. Watchman,

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for

Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.

Signed at Washington, DC this 4th day of

August 1997.

Gregory R. Watchman,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Occupational

Safety and Health.

PART 1910—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Subpart

A of part 1910 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: Secs. 4, 6, 8 of the Occupational

Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653,

655, 657); Secretary of Labor’s Order No. 12–

71 (36 FR 8754), 8–76 (41 FR 25059), 9–83

(48 FR 35736), 1–90 (55 FR 9033), or 6–96

(62 FR 111), as applicable.

§ 1910.8 [Amended]

2. § 1910.8 is amended by adding the

entry ‘‘1910.52 * * * 1218–0179’’ (in

numerical order) to the table in the

section.

3. The general authority citation for

subpart Z of 29 part 1910 is revised to

read as follows:

Authority: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

(29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657); Secretary of

Labor’s Order No. 12–71 (36 FR 8754), 8–76

(41 FR 25059), 9–83 (48 FR 35736), 1–90 (55
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 153 / Friday, August 8, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 42667

FR 9033), or 6–96 (62 FR 111), as applicable;

and 29 CFR Part 1911.

* * * * *

4. Paragraph (n)(2)(i)(C) of

§ 1910.1052 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 1910.1052 Methylene chloride.

* * * * *

(n) * * *

(2) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) For all other employers, within

150 days after the effective date of this

section.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–20890 Filed 8–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–26–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

30 CFR Part 250

RIN 1010–AC11

Outer Continental Shelf Civil Penalties

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule revises MMS

regulations governing the Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS) Civil Penalty

Program. MMS is revising these

regulations to clarify and simplify

assessing and collecting OCS civil

penalties. In addition, MMS is adjusting

the maximum civil penalty per day per

violation from $20,000 to $25,000 due to

inflation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 7, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Greg Gould, Program Coordinator, at

(703) 787–1591 or fax (703) 787–1575.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

MMS proposed revising the

regulations for civil penalties in a notice

of proposed rulemaking published in

the Federal Register (61 FR 66967) on

December 19, 1996. We received one

comment during the 90-day comment

period, which closed on March 19,

1997. This final rule revises the

regulations at 30 CFR 250.200.

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA

90), (Pub. L. 101–380) expanded and

strengthened MMS’s authority to

impose penalties for violating

regulations promulgated under the OCS

Lands Act.

Section 8201 of OPA 90 authorizes

the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary)

to assess a civil penalty without

providing notice and time for corrective

action where a failure to comply with

applicable regulations results in a threat

of serious, irreparable, or immediate

harm or damage to human life or the

environment.

The goal of the MMS OCS Civil

Penalty Program is to ensure safe and

clean operations on the OCS. By

pursuing, assessing, and collecting civil

penalties, the program is designed to

encourage compliance with OCS

statutes and regulations.

Not all regulatory violations warrant a

review to initiate civil penalty

proceedings. However, violations that

cause injury, death, or environmental

damage, or pose a threat to human life

or the environment, will trigger such

review.

Intent of Proposed Rule

The goal of the proposed rule was to

rewrite the regulations at 30 CFR part

250, subpart N to simplify the language

into ‘‘plain English.’’ The new questionand-answer format provides a better

understanding of the OCS civil penalty

process.

Besides simplifying the regulations,

MMS proposed to increase the

maximum civil penalty to $25,000 per

day per violation. The provisions of

OPA 90 require the Secretary to adjust

at least every 3 years the maximum civil

penalty to reflect any increases in the

Consumer Price Index for all-urban

consumers (CPI–U) as prepared by the

Department of Labor.

Comments on the Rule

One major oil company commented

on the rule. The company strongly

opposed the amount of the increase to

the maximum civil penalty. In

particular, the company believed that

rounding to the nearest $5,000 was

inappropriate, and recommended

rounding to the nearest $500.

Response to the Comments

In computing the new civil penalty

maximum amount, MMS divided the

August 1995 CPI–U by the August 1990

CPI–U and multiplied the resulting

value by the current maximum civil

penalty (152.5/131.6=1.159;

1.159×20,000=23,180)

Section 5(a) of Pub. L. 101–410

provides that ‘‘Any increase determined

under this subsection shall be rounded

to the nearest multiple of $5,000 in the

case of penalties greater than $10,000

but less than or equal to $100,000.’’

Therefore, MMS rounded the maximum

civil penalty from $23,180 to $25,000

based on the formula provided in the

law. The final rule also includes a few

other changes from the proposed rule

that are not substantive.

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866

This final rule is significant under

E.O. 12866 and has been reviewed by

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of the Interior (DOI)

has determined that this final rule will

not have a significant effect on a

substantial number of small entities. In

general, the entities that engage in

offshore activities are not considered

small because of the technical and

financial resources and experience

necessary to safely conduct such

activities. DOI also determined that the

indirect effects of this final rule on

small entities that provide support for

offshore activities are small.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The final rule does not contain

collections of information that require

approval by OMB under 44 U.S.C. 3501,

et seq. The requirements in subpart N

are exempted as defined in 5 CFR

1320.4(a)(2) and 1320.4(c).

Taking Implication Assessment

DOI certifies that this final rule does

not represent a governmental action

capable of interference with

constitutionally protected property

rights. Thus, DOI does not need to

prepare a Takings Implication

Assessment pursuant to E.O. 12630,

Governmental Actions and Interference

with Constitutionally Protected Property

Rights.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995

DOI has determined and certifies

according to the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act, 2 U.S.C. 1502 et seq., that

this final rule will not impose a cost of

$100 million or more in any given year

on State, local, and tribal governments,

or the private sector.

E.O. 12988

DOI has certified to OMB that the

final rule meets the applicable reform

standards provided in sections 3(a) and

3(b)(2) of E.O. 12988.

National Environmental Policy Act

DOI determined that this action does

not constitute a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment; therefore, an

Environmental Impact Statement is not

required.