02-28384. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

October 30, 2002.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public information collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13. 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). A copy of each individual ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by calling the Department of Labor, Departmental Clearance Officer, Ira Mills [phone]) or by e-Mail to [e-mail].

Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for BLS, DM, ESA, ETA, MSHA, OSHA, PWBA, or VETS, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 ([phone]), within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:

• 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 submission of responses.

Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Title: Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) (29 CFR 1910.120).

OMB Number: 1218-0202.

Frequency: Varies (on occasion; annually).

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 37,762.

Estimated Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) to 64 hours.

Total Burden Hours: 1,404,369.

Total Annual Cost: $4,668,300.

Description: Section 126(e) of the “Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986” (SARA) (Pub. L. 99-499) which became law on October 17, 1986, required the Secretary of Labor, pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970 (the Act), to promulgate standards for the safety and health protection of employees engaged in hazardous waste operations and emergency response. Section 126(a) of SARA also specified that those standards were to become effective a year after publication. Section 126(b) lists 11 worker protection provisions that the Secretary of Labor had to include in OSHA's final standard. Those provisions require OSHA to address the preparation of various written programs, plans and records; the training of employees; the monitoring of airborne hazards; the conduct of medical surveillance; and the distribution of information to employees. The provisions also require the collection of information from employers engaged in hazardous waste operations and their emergency response to such operations. The final standard covers the provisions mandated in SARA.

Ira L. Mills,

Departmental Clearance Officer.