
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10553-10554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05349]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0008]


Standard on Commercial Diving Operations; 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 the proposal to 
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
contained in the standard on Commercial Diving Operations.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 20, 2019.

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-2011-0008, 
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 OSHA Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00 
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2011-0008) 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 
(202) 693-2222 to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Seleda Perryman, 
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 a 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, the reporting burden (time and 
costs) is minimal, the collection instruments are clearly understood, 
and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. 
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH 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 incidents (see 29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires 
OSHA to obtain such information with a minimum burden upon employers, 
especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce to the 
maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining 
said information (see 29 U.S.C. 657).
    The following provisions of the Commercial Diving Operations 
Standards (the ``standards'') contain paperwork requirements: 
Sec. Sec.  1910.401(b); 1910.420(a) and (b); 1910.421(b) and (h); 
1910.422(e); 1910.423(d) and (e); 1910.430(a), (b)(4), (c)(1)(i) 
through (c)(1)(iii), (c)(3)(i), (f)(3)(ii), and (g)(2); and 
1910.440(a)(2) and (b). These provisions require that employers: Notify 
OSHA if they deviate from the operational requirements of the 
standards; develop and make available

[[Page 10554]]

to employees a safe practices manual; maintain a list of emergency 
telephone or call numbers at the diving location; display a code flag 
``A'' if diving from a surface other than a vessel in navigable waters; 
and develop and maintain a depth-time profile for each dive. The 
standards also mandate that employers: Record and maintain diving logs 
that contain required information; investigate and provide a written 
evaluation of any incident involving decompression sickness; mark 
diving umbilicals as required; inspect, test, and calibrate specified 
diving equipment; record modifications, repairs, tests, calibrations, 
and maintenance performed on any diving equipment; make a record of 
diving-related injuries and illnesses that result in a diver remaining 
in a hospital for over 24 hours; and create, and disclose to specified 
parties on request, the written records required by the standard, and 
maintain these records for specified periods.
    The standards paperwork requirements allow employers to deviate 
from established diving practices and tailor diving operations to 
unusually hazardous diving conditions, and to analyze diving records 
(including hospitalization and treatment records) for information they 
can use to improve diving operations. These requirements are also a 
direct and efficient means for employers to inform dive-team members 
about diving-related hazards, procedures to use in avoiding and 
controlling these hazards, and recognizing and treating diving-related 
illnesses and injuries. Additionally, employers can review equipment 
records to ensure that employees performed the required actions, and 
that the equipment is in safe working order.
    Disclosing these records to employees and their designated 
representatives permits them to identify operational and equipment 
conditions that may contribute to diving accidents or diving-related 
medical conditions.

II. 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 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     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

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational 
Employment Statistics report on Occupational Employment and Wages, May 
2017, the number of professional divers has decreased from 10,000 
divers in 2008 to 3,280 in 2017. Therefore, OSHA is requesting an 
adjustment decrease of 137,847 burden hours from 205,015 to 67,168 
hours. The agency will summarize any comments submitted in response to 
this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Commercial Diving Operations Standard (29 CFR part 1910, 
subpart T).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0069.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 1,093.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 1,325,509.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 67,168.
    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 (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other materials must identify the agency 
name and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0008) for the 
ICR. You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document 
files electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in 
reference to an electronic or 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 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 from 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, 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 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 
3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 15, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019-05349 Filed 3-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


