Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding With the Department of Energy (August 28, 1992); Oak Ridge, Tennessee Properties, 29456 [2014-11837]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 29456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11837]



[[Page 29456]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2013-0027]


Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding With the Department 
of Energy (August 28, 1992); Oak Ridge, Tennessee Properties

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is a notice of an addendum to the interagency Memorandum 
of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of Labor and the 
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The MOU establishes specific 
interagency procedures for the transfer of occupational safety and 
health coverage for privatized facilities, properties, and operations 
from DOE to OSHA and state agencies acting under state plans approved 
by OSHA.

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of the Addendum to the 
Memorandum of Understanding is May 22, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is 
available from the following sources:
    Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office 
of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room N-3647, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999; 
email: Meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
    General and technical information: Contact Mr. David W. Johnson, 
Director, Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, 
Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
Room N-3655, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; phone: 
(202) 693-2110; email: johnson.david.w@dol.gov.
    Copies of this Federal Register notice. Electronic copies of this 
Federal Register notice are available at https://www.regulations.gov. 
This Federal Register notice, as well as news releases and other 
relevant information, also are available at OSHA's Web page at https://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    DOE and OSHA of the U.S. Department of Labor entered into a MOU on 
August 10, 1992, delineating regulatory authority over the occupational 
safety and health of contractor employees at DOE government-owned or 
leased, contractor-operated (GOCO) facilities. In general, the MOU 
recognizes that DOE exercises statutory authority under section 161(f) 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 2201(f)), 
relating to the occupational safety and health of private-sector 
employees at these facilities.
    Section 4(b)(1) of the OSH Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1), 
exempts from OSHA authority working conditions with respect to which 
other federal agencies have exercised statutory authority to prescribe 
or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or 
health. The 1992 MOU acknowledges DOE's extensive program for the 
regulation of contractor health and safety, which requires contractor 
compliance with all OSHA standards as well as additional requirements 
prescribed by DOE, and concludes with an agreement by the agencies that 
the provisions of the OSH Act will not apply to GOCO sites for which 
DOE has exercised its authority to regulate occupational safety and 
health under the Atomic Energy Act.
    In light of DOE's policy emphasis on privatization activities, OSHA 
and DOE entered into a second MOU on July 25, 2000, that establishes 
interagency procedures to address regulatory authority for occupational 
safety and health at specified privatized facilities and operations on 
sites formerly controlled by DOE. The 2000 MOU covers facilities and 
operations on lands no longer controlled by DOE, which are not 
conducting activities for or on behalf of DOE and where there is no 
likelihood that any employee exposure to radiation from DOE sources 
would be 25 millirems per year (mrem/yr) or more.

II. Notice of Transfer

    In a letter dated October 18, 2013, DOE requested that OSHA or, as 
appropriate, the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (TOSHA) accept occupational safety and health regulatory 
authority over employees at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak 
Ridge, Tennessee at two parcels of land pursuant to the MOU on Safety 
and Health Enforcement at Privatized Facilities and Operations dated 
July 25, 2000. Other facilities and properties at the East Tennessee 
Technology Park were transferred to TOSHA jurisdiction under this MOU 
by Federal Register notices (74 FR 120 (January 2, 2009), 74 FR 39977 
(August 10, 2009), and 76 FR 80408 (December 23, 2011)).
    The parcels of land located at the East Tennessee Technology Park 
within the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee transferred to the Community 
Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) are described as follows:
     Land Parcel ED-9 (approximately 13 acres) consisting of 
two tracts of land, ED-9A (7.06 acres) and ED-9B (5.02 acres), 
separated by a roadway, and a third tract, ED-9C (0.98 acre), 
consisting of approximately 900 linear feet of paved road and adjacent 
right of way; and
     Land Parcel ED-10 (also approximately 13 acres) consists 
of grassy fields and infrastructure. No buildings are included in this 
transfer.
    OSHA's Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia, working with the OSHA 
Nashville Area Office and TOSHA, determined that TOSHA is willing to 
accept authority over the occupational safety and health of public-
sector and private-sector employees at the two parcels of land at the 
East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that were 
transferred by deed to CROET. In a letter from OSHA to DOE dated March 
24, 2014, OSHA stated that TOSHA is satisfied with DOE assurances that 
(1) there is no likelihood that any employee at facilities in the 
vicinity of these land parcels will be exposed to radiation levels that 
will be 25 millirems per year (mrem/yr) or more, and; (2) transfer of 
authority to TOSHA is free from regulatory gaps and does not diminish 
the safety and health protection of the employees.
    Accordingly, TOSHA accepts and maintains health and safety 
regulatory authority over employees in the vicinity of Land Parcels ED-
9 and ED-10.

III. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this notice. This 
Federal Register notice provides public notice and serves as an 
addendum to the 1992 OSHA/DOE MOU. Accordingly, the Agency is issuing 
this notice pursuant to Section 8(g)(2) of the Occupational Health and 
Safety Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(g)(2)), Secretary of Labor's Order 
No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, Jan. 25, 2012).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on May 16, 2014.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-11837 FILED 5-21-14; 8:45 am]
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