
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15130-15131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06307]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2012-0039]


The Standard on Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous 
Chemicals; 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 and revise the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval 
of the information collection requirements contained in the Standard on 
Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 20, 2016.

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 your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2012-0039, U.S. Department 
of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N-2625, 
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, 8:15 
a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2012-0039) 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 address above. 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 from the Web site. 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: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; 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 collection of 
information requirements in accord 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, reporting burden (time and costs) 
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 efforts in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    The collections of information in the Standard are necessary for 
implementation of the requirements of the Standard. The information is 
used by employers to ensure that processes using highly hazardous 
chemicals with the potential for a catastrophic release are operated as 
safely as possible. The employer must thoroughly consider all facets of 
a process, as well as the involvement of employees in that process. 
Employers analyze processes so that they can identify, evaluate and 
control problems that could lead to a major release, fire, or 
explosion.
    The major information collection requirements in this Standard 
include: Consulting with workers and their representatives on and 
providing them access to process hazard analyses and the development of 
other elements of the standard; developing a written action plan for 
implementing employee participation in process hazard analyses and 
other elements of the standard; completing a compilation of written 
process safety information; performing a process hazard analysis; 
documenting actions taken to resolve process hazard analysis team 
findings and recommendations; updating, revalidating and retaining the 
process hazard analysis; developing and implementing written operating 
procedures that are accessible to workers; reviewing operating 
procedures as often as necessary and certifying the procedures 
annually; developing and implementing safe work practices; preparing 
training records; informing contract employers of known hazards and 
pertinent provisions of the emergency action plan; maintaining a 
contract worker injury and illness log; establishing written procedures 
to maintain the integrity of and document inspections and tests of 
process equipment; providing information on permits issued for hot work 
operations; establishing and implementing written procedures to manage 
process changes; preparing reports at the conclusion of incident 
investigations, documenting resolutions and corrective measures, and 
reviewing the reports with affected personnel; establishing and 
implementing an emergency action plan; developing a compliance audit 
report and certifying compliance; and disclosing information necessary 
to

[[Page 15131]]

comply with the Standard to persons responsible for compiling process 
safety information.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed collection of information 
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 collection of information 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

    OSHA is requesting that OMB approve the proposed extension and 
revision of the collections of information contained in OSHA's PSM 
Standard. The Agency is requesting a decrease in burden hours of 
547,491 hours, from 4,630,107 to 4,082,616 burden hours in the initial 
year. There is an ``adjustment'' reduction of 726,317 hours as a result 
of reducing the number of establishments and processes covered in the 
existing ICR. This reduction is offset by a ``program change'' increase 
of 178,826 burden hours. The burden hour increase mainly results from 
this ICR including additional establishments as a result of OSHA (1) 
revising its interpretation of the Standard's retail exemption, and (2) 
revising its enforcement policy on the minimum concentration of a 
chemical in a process needed in order to count that chemical toward the 
threshold quantity levels that trigger coverage under the PSM Standard.
    In subsequent years, OSHA seeks a 2,195,202 burden hours increase 
from the initial proposed burden hours from 4,082,616 to 6,277,818 as a 
result of including retail exemption and concentration change 
establishments in recurring collections of information such as updating 
and revalidating process hazard analyses.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals 
(PSM) (29 CFR 1910.119).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0200.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: Initial 11,114; Recurring: 11,114.
    Frequency of Response: On Occasion: Annually.
    Total Responses: Initial 833,007; Recurring 832,608.
    Average Time per Response: Time varies per response from three 
minutes (.05 hour) to generate and maintain an employee training record 
to 55 hours per process for large establishments to develop written 
management of change procedures and update process safety operating 
procedures.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: Initial 4,082,616; Recurring 
6,277,818.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance (capital)): $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 (OSHA-2012-0039) for this 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 your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so 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 their social security number 
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 Web 
site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available from the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, 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 16, 2016.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2016-06307 Filed 3-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


