DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1917, 1917, and 1918

[Docket No. S-025]

Longshoring and Marine Terminals

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of informal public hearings.

SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed on June 2, 1994 (59 FR 28594) to revise its Safety and Health Regulations for Longshoring and, to a far lesser extent, to amend its Safety and Health Regulations for Marine Terminals. The proposed rule covers cargo handling and related activities conducted aboard vessels and at Marine Terminals. The proposed amendments to the Marine Terminals standard are intended primarily to provide regulatory consistency with the proposed Longshoring ship-board rules.

The June 2, 1994 notice and subsequent correction notice on June 13, 1994 (59 FR 30389) announced the cities and dates for three informal rulemaking hearings that will be held on all issues raised by the proposal. The dates of these hearings have been changed. This notice sets the new dates and specific locations of the informal public hearings to be held as part of the rulemaking process. In addition, it extends the original date for the submission of Notices of Intention to Appear by three weeks and reduces the time frame for the submission of documentary evidence and the text of lengthy testimony from 21 days to 14 days prior to the date of the hearing where the evidence will be presented.

DATES: Written comments on the standard must be postmarked on or before September 23, 1994.

Notices of intention to appear at the informal public hearings must be postmarked by September 14, 1994.

The hearings will begin at 9:30 a.m. and be held in the following cities, beginning on the following dates:

Charleston, South Carolina on October 4, 5 and 6, 1994. Seattle, Washington on October 19, 20 and 21, 1994. New Orleans, Louisiana on November 15, 16 and 17, 1994. Parties who request more than 10 minutes for their presentation at the informal public hearing and parties who will submit documentary evidence at the hearing must submit the full text of their testimony and all documentary evidence prior to the date of the hearing to be attended as follows:

Charleston, South Carolina: postmarked by September 20, 1994;

Seattle, Washington; postmarked by October 5, 1994; and

New Orleans, Louisiana; postmarked by November 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The Charleston hearings will be held at the SHERATON INN CHARLESTON, 170 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, South Carolina. the telephone number (803) 723-3000.

The Seattle hearings will be held at the HOLIDAY INN CROWNE PLAZA, 1113 6th Avenue, Seattle, Washington. The telephone number is (206) 524-7611.

The New Orleans hearings will be held at THE INN ON BOURBON, 541 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. The telephone number is (504) 524-7611.

Written comments should be submitted to the Docket Office, Docket S-025, room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 219-7894. Comments of 10 pages or less may be faxed tot he Docket Office, if followed by a hard copy. The OSHA Docket Office fax number is (202) 219-5046.

Notices of intention to appear, testimony and documentary evidence to be submitted at the hearing are to be sent to Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA Division of Consumer Affairs, Docket No. S-025, room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 219-8615.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James F. Foster, Director, Office of Information and Consumer Affairs, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, room N-3647, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Telephone (202) 219-8148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Notice of Intention to Appear at the Informal Hearing

Persons desiring to participate at the informal public hearing must file a notice of intention to appear by September 14, 1994. The notice of intention to appear must contain the following information:

A. The name, address, and telephone number of each person to appear;

B. The capacity in which the person appear;

C. The approximate amount of time required for the presentation;

D. The issues that will by addressed;

E. A brief statement of the position that will be taken with respect to each issue; and

F. Whether the party intends to submit documentary evidence and, if so, a brief summary of it.

The notice of intention to appear shall be mailed to Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA division of Consumer Affairs, Docket No. S-025, U.S. Department of Labor, room N-3647, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, Telephone (202) 219-8615.

A notice of intention to appear also may be transmitted by facsimile to (202) 219-5986, by the same date, provided the original and 3 copies are sent to the same address and postmarked not later than 3 days later.

Individuals with disabilities wishing to attend the hearings should contact the hearing management officer, Mr. Thomas Hall, to obtain appropriate accommodations at the hearing.

Filing of Testimony and Evidence Before the Hearing

Any party requesting more than ten (10) minutes for presentation at the informal public hearing, or who intends to submit documentary evidence, must provide in quadruplicate the testimony and evidence to be presented at the informal public hearing. One copy must be suitable for copying and shall not be stapled or bound. These materials must be provided to Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA Division of consumer Affairs at the address above and be postmarked no later than 14 days prior to the date of the hearing.

Each submission will be reviewed in light of the amount of time requested in the notice of intention to appear. In instances where the information contained in the submission does not justify the amount of time requested, a more appropriate amount of time will be allocated and the participant will be notifies of that fact prior to the informal hearing.

Any party who has not substantially complied with the above requirement may be limited to a ten-minute presentation and may be requested to return for questioning at a later time.

Any party who has not filed a notice of intention to appear may be allowed to testify for no more than 10 minutes as time permits, at the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), but will not be allowed to question witnesses.

Notices of intention to appear, testimony and evidence will be available for inspection and copying at the Docket Office at the address above.

Conduct and Nature of Hearing

The hearing will commence at 9:30 a.m. on the first day. At the time, any procedural matters relating to the proceeding will be resolved.

The nature of an informal rulemaking hearing is established in the legislative history of section 6 of the OSH Act and is reflected by OSHA's rules of procedure for hearings (29 CFR 1911.15(a)). Although the presiding officer is an Administrative Law Judge and questioning by interested persons is allowed on crucial issues, the proceeding is informal and legislative in type. The Agency's intent is to provide interested persons with an opportunity to make effective oral presentations which can proceed expeditiously in the absence of procedural restraints which might impede or protract the rulemaking process.

Additionally, since the hearing is primarily for information gathering and clarification, it is an informal administrative proceeding rather than an adjudicative one. The technical rules of evidence, for example, do not apply. The regulations that govern hearings, and the pre-hearing guidelines which the ALJ will issue for this hearing, will ensure fairness and due process and also facilitate the development of a clear, accurate and complete record. Those rules and guidelines will be interpreted in a manner that furthers that development. Thus questions of relevance, procedure and participation generally will be decided so as to favor development of the record.

The hearing will be conducted in accordance with 29 CFR part 1911. It should be noted that 1911.4 allows the Assistant Secretary, upon reasonable notice, to issue alternative procedures to expedite proceedings or for other good cause.

The hearing will be presided over by an Administrative Law Judge who makes no decision or recommendation on the merits of OSHA's proposal. The responsibility of the Administrative Law Judge is to ensure that the hearing proceeds at a reasonable pace and in an orderly manner. The Administrative Law Judge, therefor, will have all the powers necessary and appropriate to conduct a full and fair informal hearing as provided in 29 CFR part 1911, including the powers:

A. To regulate the course of the proceedings;

B. To dispose of procedural requests, objections and comparable matters;

C. To confine the presentations to the matters pertinent to the issues raised;

E. To regulate the conduct of those present at the hearing by appropriate means;

F. In the Judge's discretion, to question and permit the questioning of any witnesses and to limit the time for questioning; and

G. In the Judge's discretion, to keep the record open for a reasonable, stated time (known as the post-hearing comment period) to receive written information and additional data, views and arguments from any person who has participated in the oral proceedings.

OSHA recognizes that there may be interested persons or organizations who, through their knowledge of the subject matter or their experience in the field, would wish to endorse or support the whole proposal or certain provisions of the proposal. OSHA welcomes such supportive comments, including any pertinent data and cost information which may be available, in order that the record of this rulemaking will present a balanced picture of public response on the issues involved.

This document was prepared under the direction of Joseph A. Dear, Assistant Secretary of Labor of Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. It is issued under section 6(b) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. 655); Sec. 41, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941); and 29 CFR part 1911.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 11th day of August, 1994.

Joseph A. Dear
Assistant Secretary of Labor.

[FR Doc. 94-20379 Filed 8-18-94; 8:45 am]