11928 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Notices

and inform him that fan tests are about

to begin at each fan location. The

petitioner asserts that the proposed

alternative method would provide at

least the same measure of protection as

would the mandatory standard.

24. The Rosebud Mining Company LLC

[Docket No. M–97–01–M]

The Rosebud Mining Company LLC,

P.O. Box, Winnemucca, Nevada 89446

has filed a petition to modify the

application of 30 CFR 57.9300(a) (berms

or guardrails) to its Rosebud Unit Mine

(I.D. No. 26–02241) located in Humboldt

County, Nevada. The petitioner

proposes to place posts along the edges

of the roadway in order to better

delineate the edge of the road. The

petitioner states that installation of

berms would reduce the amount of

roadway and diminish safety by

increasing the possibility of accidental

collisions. The petitioner states that the

proposed alternative method would

provide at least the same measure of

protection as would the mandatory

standard.

Request for Comments

Persons interested in these petitions

may furnish written comments. These

comments must be filed with the Office

of Standards, Regulations, and

Variances, Mine Safety and Health

Administration, Room 627, 4015 Wilson

Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203.

All comments must be postmarked or

received in that office on or before April

14, 1997. Copies of these petitions are

available for inspection at that address.

Dated: March 6, 1997.

Patricia W. Silvey,

Director, Office of Standards, Regulations,

and Variances.

[FR Doc. 97–6372 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–43–P

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration

Proposed Information Collection

Request Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations;

Reporting of Fatality or Multiple

Hospitalization Incidents (1218–0007)

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as

part of its continuing effort to reduce

paperwork and respondent burden

conducts a preclearance consultation

program to provide the general public

and Federal agencies with an

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing collections of

information in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA

95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This

program helps to ensure that requested

data can be provided in the desired

format, reporting burden (time and

financial resources) is minimized,

collection instruments are clearly

understood, and impact of collection

requirements on respondents can be

properly assessed. Currently, the

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed

extension of approval for the paperwork

requirements of 29 CFR 1904.8,

Reporting of Fatality or Multiple

Hospitalization Incidents.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before May 12, 1997.

Written comments should:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the Agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

• evaluate the accuracy of the

Agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used;

• enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology,

e.g., permitting electronic submissions

of responses.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be

submitted to the Docket Office, Docket

No. ICR–97–6, U.S. Department of

Labor, Room N–2625, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210,

telephone: (202) 219–7894. Written

comments limited to 10 pages or less in

length may also be transmitted by

facsimile to (202) 219–5046.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie Friedman, Office of Information

and Consumer Affairs, Occupational

Safety and Health Administration, U.S.

Department of Labor, Room N3647, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20210, telephone: (202) 219–8148.

Copies of the reference information

collection request are available for

inspection and copying in the Docket

Office and will be mailed immediately

to persons who request copies by

telephoning Vivian Allen at (202) 219–

8076. For electronic copies, contact

OSHA’s WebPage on Internet at http://

www.osha.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

OSHA promulgated regulation 29 CFR

1904.8 which currently requires

employers to report work related

fatalities and/or incidents involving the

in-patient hospitalization of three or

more employees to OSHA within 8

hours of learning of the incident. OSHA

investigates such incidents in order to

provide the Agency with information on

the causes of employment fatalities,

injuries and illnesses to identify and

require correction of serious hazards

and to prevent the occurrence of such

incidents in the future. Such

information can also be a source of

support for new and revised safety and

health standards. Investigators will

determine whether there was a violation

of OSHA standards, and, if so, whether

the violation may have contributed to

the incident. In addition, the Agency

determines whether OSHA standards

adequately cover the hazards which led

to the incident. Therefore, such

investigations must be prompt and

thorough if they are to provide valid,

useful information and achieve their

intended purposes.

OSHA currently has approval from

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for information collection

requirements contained in 29 CFR

1904.8. That approval will expire on

May 31, 1997, unless OSHA applies for

an extension of the OMB approval. This

notices initiates the process for OSHA to

request an extension of the current OMB

approval. This notice also solicits public

comment on OSHA’s existing

paperwork burden estimates from those

interested parties and to seek public

response to several questions related to

the development of OSHA’s estimation.

Interested parties are requested to

review OSHA’s estimates, which are

based upon the most current data

available, and to comment on their

accuracy or appropriateness in today’s

workplace situation.

II. Current Actions

This notice requests an extension of

the current OMB approval of the

paperwork requirements in 29 CFR

1904.8, Reporting of Fatality or Multiple

Hospitalization Incidents.

Type of Review: Extension of

currently approved collection.

Agency: U.S. Department of Labor,

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration.

Title: Reporting of Fatality or Multiple

Hospitalization Incidents.

OMB Number: 1218–0007.

Agency Number: Docket No. ICR–97–

6.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Notices 11929

1See ERISA §§ 101(b)(4) and 103, and 29 CFR

2520.103–1.

2See ERISA §§ 104(a)(5) and 502(c)(2), and 29

CFR 2560.502c-2.

3ERISA § 3(37)(A) defines ‘‘multiemployer plan’’

to mean a ‘‘plan—(i) to which more than one

employer is required to contribute, (ii) which is

maintained pursuant to one or more collective

bargaining agreements between one or more

employee organizations and more than one

employer, and (iii) which satisfies such other

requirements as the Secretary [of Labor] may

prescribe by regulation.’’

4SOP 92–6, ‘‘Accounting and Reporting by Health

and Welfare Benefit Plans’’, was issued by the

AICPA on August 3, 1992. SOP 92–6 is effective for

audits of financial statements of single employer

plans with more than 500 participants for plan

years beginning after December 15, 1992 and for

single employer plans with no more than 500

participants for plan years beginning after

December 15, 1994. SOP 92–6 is effective for audits

of financial statements of multiemployer plans for

plan years beginning after December 15, 1995.

5See paragraphs 36–49 of SOP 92–6.

Frequency: On occasion.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit; Farms; Non-profit institutions;

Small businesses or organizations.

Number or respondents: 6,349.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 0.25

hours.

Total Estimated Cost: $47,610.

Total Burden Hours: 1,587.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for Office of

Management and Budget approval of the

information collection request. They

will also become a matter of public

record.

Dated: March 6, 1997.

Joseph DuBois,

Director, Division of Data Analysis, OSHA

Office of Statistics.

[FR Doc. 97–6150 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–26–M

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration

RIN 1210 AA57

Notice and Request for Comments on

Annual Reporting Enforcement Policy

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to invite public comment on the

Department of Labor’s adoption of an

annual reporting enforcement policy

pursuant to which the Department

would not reject the annual report of a

multiemployer welfare benefit plan

solely because the accountant’s opinion

accompanying the report is ‘‘qualified’’

or ‘‘adverse’’ due to a failure to account

and report for post-retirement benefit

obligations in accordance with the

financial statement disclosure

requirements of the American Institute

of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

Statement of Position 92–6 (SOP 92–6).

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before May 12, 1997 to

be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be directed to: Office of Regulations and

Interpretations, Pension and Welfare

Benefits Administration, Room N–5669,

U.S. Department of Labor, 200

Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington,

DC 20210. Attention: Reporting

Enforcement Policy. All submissions

will be open to public inspection at the

Public Documents Room, Pension and

Welfare Benefits Administration, Room

N–5638, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W.,

Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

A. Raps, Office of Regulations and

Interpretations, Pension and Welfare

Benefits Administration, U.S.

Department of Labor, Washington D.C.

20210, (202) 219–8515 (not a toll free

number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

In general, the administrator of an

employee benefit plan with 100 or more

participants at the beginning of a plan

year is required under Title I of the

Employee Retirement Income Security

Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and

the Department’s regulations issued

thereunder, to file a Form 5500 and to

include as part of that report the

opinion of an independent qualified

public accountant.1 The requirements

governing the content of the opinion

and report of the independent qualified

public accountant are set forth in ERISA

section 103(a)(3)(A) and 29 CFR

2520.103–1(b)(5).

ERISA section 104(a)(4) permits the

Department to reject an annual report if

it determines that there is a material

qualification by an accountant

contained in the opinion required to be

submitted pursuant to section

103(a)(3)(A). If the Department rejects a

filing under section 104(a)(4), and the

administrator fails to submit a

satisfactory filing within 45 days, the

Department may, among other things,

assess a civil penalty of up to a $1,000

a day against the administrator for

failing or refusing to file an annual

report.2

The Department has received a

number of inquiries from multiemployer

plan administrators, trustees, benefit

consultants, and accountants

concerning whether a Form 5500 filed

by an administrator of a multiemployer

plan 3 that provides for post-retirement

welfare benefits would be rejected by

the Department solely because the

independent qualified public

accountant’s opinion accompanying

such report is ‘‘qualified’’ or ‘‘adverse’’

due to a failure to account and report for

post-retirement welfare benefit

obligations in accordance with the

financial statement disclosure

requirements of SOP 92–6.4 Postretirement welfare benefits would

include, for example, health and

medical benefits for eligible retirees

provided under a welfare benefit plan.

In general, compliance with SOP 92–6

is required for financial statements of

employee welfare benefit plans to be

prepared in accordance with generally

accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Among other things, SOP 92–6 amends

the welfare plan financial statement

disclosure requirements in the AICPA’s

Audit and Accounting Guide, ‘‘Audits

of Employee Benefit Plans,’’ to require

welfare plans to account for and report

post-retirement benefit obligations.5

The inquiries from multiemployer

plan representatives generally

questioned the usefulness of the postretirement benefit obligation disclosure

required under SOP 92–6 to

multiemployer plan trustees or

participants and beneficiaries. The

inquiries also indicated that accounting

and reporting for post-retirement

obligations in accordance with the

financial statement disclosure

requirements of SOP 92–6 would result

in substantial increases in both

administrative burdens and costs to

affected multiemployer plans.

The Department is considering

whether the proposed annual reporting

enforcement policy, as described below,

should be adopted. In view of the fact

that the AICPA made the SOP 92–6

guidelines applicable to multiemployer

plans for plan years beginning after

December 15, 1995, and the fact that the

Department heretofore had not provided

guidance on the issue, the Department

decided that while this proposal is

pending it would not reject annual

reports of multiemployer plans filed for

the 1996 and 1997 plan years solely

because the accountant’s opinion

accompanying such report is

‘‘qualified’’ or ‘‘adverse’’ due to a failure

to account and report for postretirement welfare benefit obligations in

accordance with SOP 92–6.

B. Proposed Annual Reporting

Enforcement Policy

Pursuant to section 103(a)(3)(A), the

independent qualified public

accountant engaged on behalf of