[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3031-3032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00973]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0066]


Vertical Tandem Lifts (VTLs) for Marine Terminals; 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.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Vertical Tandem 
Lifts (VTLs) for Marine Terminals.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
March 23, 2018.

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.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0066, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are 
accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal 
business hours, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., E.T.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0066) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). All comments, including any personal information you provide, 
are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made 
available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information 
on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the 
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) 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 website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Charles McCormick or Theda Kenney, 
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 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 accord 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 cost) 
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 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).
    The VTL Standard for Marine Terminals (29 CFR part 1917) specifies 
the following collection of information requirements. The purpose of 
each of these requirements is to provide workers with safe work 
practices when conducting VTLs.
    Paragraph (i)(8)(iv) of Sec.  1917.71 requires employers to ensure 
that the interbox connectors used in VTLs have been certified by a 
competent authority authorized under Sec.  1918.11 (for interbox 
connectors that are part of a vessel's

[[Page 3032]]

gear) or Sec.  1917.50 (for other interbox connectors). Paragraph 
(i)(8)(v) requires employers to have a certificate available for 
inspection that attests that the interbox connector meets the strength 
criteria specified in paragraph (i)(8)(iv) of the standard. Also, 
paragraph (i)(8)(vi) requires that each interbox connector be clearly 
and durably marked with its safe working load for lifting, including an 
identifying number or mark that will enable it to be associated with 
its test certificate.
    The certification is necessary to ensure that interbox connector-
corner casting assemblies have adequate strength to safely perform the 
lift. Marking of interbox connectors informs employers, workers, and 
OSHA that the interbox connectors have been certified.
    Paragraph (j)(2) of Sec.  1917.71 requires the employer to develop, 
implement, and maintain a written plan for transporting vertically 
connected containers in the terminal. The transport plan helps ensure 
the safety of terminal workers and thereby enhances productivity. 
Paragraph (k)(2) of Sec.  1917.71 requires the written transport plan 
to identify a safe work zone within which workers are not permitted to 
be present when a VTL is in motion.
    Written plans give employers, workers, and OSHA compliance officers 
assurance that VTLs are safe to use and provide the compliance officers 
with an efficient means to assess employer compliance with the 
Standard.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> 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;
    <bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    <bullet> Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is proposing an adjustment decrease of the existing burden 
hour estimate for the collection of information requirement specified 
by the Standard from 560 hours to 512 hours--a total decrease of 48 
hours. Based on staff expertise with marine terminals, the Agency 
reduced the estimated number of marine terminals that use VTLs with 
updated establishment data from the North American Classification 
Information System (NACIS) retrieved from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics http://www.regulations.gov.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Vertical tandem Lifts (VTLs) for Marine Terminals (29 CFR 
part 1917).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0260.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
organizations; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 128.
    Number of Responses: 128.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: The average time is 4 hours for 
employers to generate, develop, and maintain a written plan for 
transporting vertically coupled containers in a terminal.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 512.
    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: http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile; or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0066). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or a facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so that the Agency can attach 
them to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at: http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://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 for information about materials not 
available from the website, and for assistance in using the internet to 
locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, 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. 1-2012 (77 FR 
3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on January 12, 2018.
Loren Sweatt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2018-00973 Filed 1-19-18; 8:45 am]
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