[Federal Register: August 18, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 158)]
[Notices]
[Page 41742-41749]
[DOCID:fr18au09-74]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[OSHA-2007-0004 (Formerly V-06-01)]

Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit
Power Constructors Co.: Grant of a Permanent Variance

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

ACTION: Notice of a grant of a permanent variance.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the grant of a permanent variance to
Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit Power
Constructors Co. (``the employers''). The permanent variance addresses
the provision that regulates the tackle used for boatswain's chairs (29
CFR 1926.452 (o)(3)), as well as the provisions specified for personnel
hoists by paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13),
(c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552. Instead of complying with
these provisions, the employers must comply with a number of
alternative conditions listed in this grant; these alternative
conditions regulate hoist systems used during inside or outside chimney
construction to raise or lower workers in personnel cages, personnel
platforms, and boatswain's chairs between the bottom landing of a
chimney and an elevated work location. Accordingly, OSHA finds that
these alternative conditions protect workers at least as well as the
requirements specified by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 1926.552(c)(1)
through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16). This
permanent variance applies in Federal OSHA enforcement jurisdictions,
and in those States with OSHA-approved State-Plans covering private-
sector employers that have identical standards and have agreed to the
terms of the variance.

DATES: The effective date of the permanent variance is August 18, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this notice
contact Ms. MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of Technical Programs
and Coordination Activities, Room N-3655, OSHA, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone
(202) 693-2110; fax<PHONE_NUMBER>. For electronic copies of this
notice, contact the Agency on its Webpage at http://www.osha.gov, and
select ``Federal Register,'' ``Date of Publication,'' and then
``2009.''
    Additional information also is available from the following OSHA
Regional Offices:

U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, JFK Federal Building, Room E340,
Boston, MA 02203; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 201 Varick Street, Room 670, New York,
NY 10014; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, the Curtis Center, Suite 740 West, 170
South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3309; telephone:
(215) 861-4900; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth
Street, SW., Room 6T50, Atlanta, GA 30303; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>;
fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 230 South Dearborn Street, Room 3244,
Chicago, IL 60604; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Two Pershing Square Building, 2300 Main
Street, Suite 1010, Kansas City, MO, 64108-2416; telephone: (816) 283-
8745; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 525 Griffin Street, Suite 602, Dallas,
TX 75202; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 1999 Broadway, Suite 1690, Denver, CO
80202; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 90 7th Street, Suite 18100, San
Francisco, CA 94103; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, 1111 Third Avenue, Suite 715, Seattle,
WA 98101-3212; telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In the past 35 years, a number of chimney construction companies
have demonstrated to OSHA that several personnel-hoist requirements
(i.e., paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13),
(c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552), as well as the tackle
requirements for boatswain's chairs (i.e., paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR
1926.452), result in access problems that pose a serious danger to
their workers. These companies requested permanent variances from these
requirements, and proposed alternative equipment and procedures to
protect workers while being transported to and from their elevated
worksites during chimney construction and repair. The Agency

subsequently granted these companies permanent variances based on the
proposed alternatives (see 38 FR 8545 (April 3, 1973), 44 FR 51352
(August 31, 1979), 50 FR 20145 (May 14, 1985), 50 FR 40627 (October 4,
1985), 52 FR 22552 (June 12, 1987), 68 FR 52961 (September 8, 2003), 70
FR 72659 (December 6, 2005), and 71 FR 10557 (March 1, 2006)).\1\
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    \1\ Zurn Industries, Inc. received two permanent variances from
OSHA. The first variance, granted on May 14, 1985 (50 FR 20145),
addressed the boatswain's-chair provision (then in paragraph (l)(5)
of 29 CFR 1926.451), as well as the hoist-platform requirements of
paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3), and (c)(14)(i) of 29 CFR
1926.552. The second variance, granted on June 12, 1987 (52 FR
22552), includes these same paragraphs, as well as paragraphs
(c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552.
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    Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit
Power Constructors Co. (formerly, Kiewit Industrial Co.) applied for a
permanent variance from the same personnel-hoist and boatswain's-chair
requirements as the previous companies, and proposed as an alternative
to these requirements the same equipment and procedures approved by
OSHA in the earlier variances. The Agency published their variance
applications in the Federal Register on February 8, 2007 (72 FR 6002).
    Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit
Power Constructors Co. (``the employers'') construct, remodel, repair,
maintain, inspect, and demolish tall chimneys made of reinforced
concrete, brick, and steel. This work, which occurs throughout the
United States, requires the employers to transport workers and
construction material to and from elevated work platforms and scaffolds
located, respectively, inside and outside tapered chimneys. While
tapering contributes to the stability of a chimney, it necessitates
frequent relocation of, and adjustments to, the work platforms and
scaffolds so that they will fit the decreasing circumference of the
chimney as construction progresses upwards.
    To transport workers to various heights inside and outside a
chimney, the employers proposed in their variance applications to use a
hoist system that lifts and lowers personnel-transport devices that
include personnel cages, personnel platforms, or boatswain's chairs. In
this regard, the employers proposed to use personnel cages, personnel
platforms, or boatswain's chairs solely to transport workers with the
tools and materials necessary to do their work, and not to transport
only materials or tools on these devices in the absence of workers. In
addition, the employers proposed to attach a hopper or concrete bucket
to the hoist system to raise or lower material inside or outside a
chimney.
    The employers also proposed to use a hoist engine, located and
controlled outside the chimney, to power the hoist system. The proposed
system consisted of a wire rope that: spools off a winding drum (also
known as the hoist drum or rope drum) into the interior of the chimney;
passes to a footblock that redirects the rope from the horizontal to
the vertical planes; goes from the footblock through the overhead
sheaves above the elevated platform; and finally drops to the bottom
landing of the chimney where it connects to a personnel- or material-
transport device. The cathead, which is a superstructure at the top of
the system, supports the overhead sheaves. The overhead sheaves (and
the vertical span of the hoist system) move upward with the system as
chimney construction progresses. Two guide cables, suspended from the
cathead, eliminate swaying and rotation of the load. If the hoist rope
breaks, safety clamps activate and grip the guide cables to prevent the
load from falling. The employers proposed to use a headache ball,
located on the hoist rope directly above the load, to counterbalance
the rope's weight between the cathead sheaves and the footblock.
    Additional conditions that the employers proposed to follow to
improve worker safety included:
     Attaching the wire rope to the personnel cage using a
keyed-screwpin shackle or positive-locking link;
     Adding limit switches to the hoist system to prevent
overtravel by the personnel- or material-transport devices;
     Providing the safety factors and other precautions
required for personnel hoists specified by the pertinent provisions of
29 CFR 1926.552(c), including canopies and shields to protect workers
located in a personnel cage from material that may fall during hoisting
and other overhead activities;
     Providing falling object protection for scaffold platforms
as specified by 29 CFR 1926.451(h)(1);
     Conducting tests and inspections of the hoist system as
required by 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2) and 1926.552(c)(15);
     Establishing an accident prevention program that conforms
to 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(3);
     Ensuring that workers who use a personnel platform or
boatswain's chair wear full-body harnesses and lanyards, and that the
lanyards are attached to the lifelines during the entire period of
vertical transit; and
     Securing the lifelines (used with a personnel platform or
boatswain's chair) to the rigging at the top of the chimney and to a
weight at the bottom of the chimney to provide maximum stability to the
lifelines.

II. Proposed Variance From 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3)

    The employers noted in their variance request that it is necessary,
on occasion, to use a boatswain's chair to transport workers to and
from a bracket scaffold on the outside of an existing chimney during
flue installation or repair work, or to transport them to and from an
elevated scaffold located inside a chimney that has a small or tapering
diameter. Paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452, which regulates the
tackle used to rig a boatswain's chair, states that this tackle must
``consist of correct size ball bearings or bushed blocks containing
safety hooks and properly `eye-spliced' minimum five-eighth (\5/8\)
inch diameter first-grade manila rope [or equivalent rope].''
    The primary purpose of this paragraph is to allow a worker to
safely control the ascent, descent, and stopping locations of the
boatswain's chair. However, the employers stated in their variance
request that, because of space limitations, the required tackle is
difficult or impossible to operate on some chimneys that are over 200
feet tall. Therefore, as an alternative to complying with the tackle
requirements specified by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3), the employers proposed
to use the hoisting system described above in section I
(``Background'') of this notice to raise or lower workers in a
personnel cage to work locations both inside and outside a chimney. In
addition, the employers proposed to use a personnel cage for this
purpose to the extent that adequate space is available, and to use a
personnel platform when using a personnel cage was infeasible because
of limited space. When available space makes using a personnel platform
infeasible, the employers proposed to use a boatswain's chair to lift
workers to work locations. The proposed variance limited use of the
boatswain's chair to elevations above the last work location that the
personnel platform can reach; under these conditions, the employers
proposed to attach the boatswain's chair directly to the hoisting cable
only when the structural arrangement precludes the safe use of the
block and tackle required by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3).

III. Proposed Variance From 29 CFR 1926.552(c)

    Paragraph (c) of 29 CFR 1926.552 specifies the requirements for
enclosed hoisting systems used to transport workers from one elevation
to another.

This paragraph ensures that employers transport workers safely to and
from elevated work platforms by mechanical means during the
construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, or demolition of
structures such as chimneys. However, this standard does not provide
specific safety requirements for hoisting workers to and from elevated
work platforms and scaffolds in tapered chimneys; the tapered design
requires frequent relocation of, and adjustment to, the work platforms
and scaffolds. The space in a small-diameter or tapered chimney is not
large enough or configured so that it can accommodate an enclosed hoist
tower. Moreover, using an enclosed hoist tower for outside operations
exposes workers to additional fall hazards because they need to install
extra bridging and bracing to support a walkway between the hoist tower
and the tapered chimney.
    Paragraph (c)(1) of 29 CFR 1926.552 requires the employers to
enclose hoist towers located outside a chimney on the side or sides
used for entrance to, and exit from, the chimney; these enclosures must
extend the full height of the hoist tower. The employers asserted in
their proposed variance that it is impractical and hazardous to locate
a hoist tower outside tapered chimneys because it becomes increasingly
difficult, as a chimney rises, to erect, guy, and brace a hoist tower;
under these conditions, access from the hoist tower to the chimney or
to the movable scaffolds used in constructing the chimney exposes
workers to a serious fall hazard. Additionally, they noted that the
requirement to extend the enclosures 10 feet above the outside
scaffolds often exposes the workers involved in building these
extensions to dangerous wind conditions.
    Paragraph (c)(2) of 29 CFR 1926.552 requires that employers enclose
all four sides of a hoist tower even when the tower is located inside a
chimney; the enclosure must extend the full height of the tower. In the
proposed variance, the employers contended that it is hazardous for
workers to erect and brace a hoist tower inside a chimney, especially
small-diameter or tapered chimneys or chimneys with sublevels, because
these structures have limited space and cannot accommodate hoist
towers; space limitations result from chimney design (e.g., tapering),
as well as reinforced steel projecting into the chimney from formwork
that is near the work location.
    As an alternative to complying with the hoist-tower requirements of
29 CFR 1926.552(c)(1) and (c)(2), the employers proposed to use the
hoist system discussed in section I (``Background'') of this notice to
transport workers to and from work locations inside and outside
chimneys. They claimed that this hoist system would make it unnecessary
for them to comply with other provisions of 29 CFR 1926.552(c) that
specify requirements for hoist towers, including:
     (c)(3)--Anchoring the hoist tower to a structure;
     (c)(4)--Hoistway doors or gates;
     (c)(8)--Electrically interlocking entrance doors or gates
that prevent hoist movement when the doors or gates are open;
     (c)(13)--Emergency stop switch located in the car;
     (c)(14)(i)--Using a minimum of two wire ropes for drum-
type hoisting; and
     (c)(16)--Construction specifications for personnel hoists,
including materials, assembly, structural integrity, and safety
devices.
    The employers asserted that the proposed hoisting system protected
workers at least as effectively as the personnel-hoist requirements of
29 CFR 1926.552(c). The following section of this preamble reviews the
comments received on the employers' proposed variance.

IV. Comments on the Proposed Variance

    OSHA received no comments on the proposed variance, including no
comments from State-Plan States and Territories.

V. Multi-State Variance

    The variance applications stated that the employers perform chimney
work in a number of geographic locations in the United States, some of
which could include locations in one or more of the States and
Territories that operate OSHA-approved safety and health programs under
Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (``State-
Plan States and Territories''; see 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). State-Plan
States and Territories have primary enforcement responsibility over the
work performed in those States and Territories. Under the provisions of
29 CFR 1952.9 (``Variances affecting multi-state employers'') and 29
CFR 1905.14(b)(3) (``Actions on applications''), a permanent variance
granted by the Agency becomes effective in State-Plan States and
Territories as an authoritative interpretation of the applicants'
compliance obligation when: (1) The relevant standards are the same as
the Federal OSHA standards from which the applicants are seeking the
permanent variance; and (2) the State-Plan State or Territory does not
object to the terms of the variance application.
    As noted in the previous section of this notice (Section IV
(``Comments on the Proposed Variance'')), OSHA received no comments on
the variance application published in the Federal Register from any
State-Plan State or Territory. However, several State-Plan States and
Territories commented on earlier variance applications published in the
Federal Register involving the same standards and submitted by other
employers engaged in chimney construction and repair; OSHA is relying
on these previous comments to determine the position of these State-
Plan States and Territories on the variance applications submitted by
the present employers.\2\ The remaining paragraphs in this section
provide a summary of the positions taken by the State-Plan States and
Territories on the proposed alternative conditions.
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    \2\ See 68 FR 52961 (Oak Park Chimney Corp. and American Boiler
& Chimney Co.), 70 FR 72659 (International Chimney Corporation,
Karrena International, LLC, and Matrix Service Industrial
Contractors, Inc.), and 71 FR 10557 (Commonwealth Dynamics, Inc.,
Mid-Atlantic Boiler & Chimney, Inc., and R and P Industrial Chimney
Co., Inc.).
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    The following thirteen State-Plan States and one Territory have
standards identical to the Federal OSHA standards and agreed to accept
the alternative conditions: Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Maryland,
Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico,
Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming. Of the remaining 12 States
and Territories with OSHA-approved State plans, three of the States and
one Territory (Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin
Islands) cover only public sector workers and have no authority over
the private sector workers addressed in this variance application
(i.e., that authority continues to reside with Federal OSHA).
    Four States (Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, and Utah) accepted
the proposed alternative when specific additional requirements are
fulfilled. Kentucky noted that, while it agreed with the terms of the
variance, Kentucky statutory law requires affected employers to apply
to the State for a State variance. Michigan agreed to the alternative
conditions, but noted that its standards are not identical to the OSHA
standards covered by the variance application. Therefore, Michigan
cautioned that employers electing to use the variance in that State
must comply with several provisions in the Michigan standards that are
not addressed in the OSHA standard. South Carolina indicated that it
would accept the

alternative conditions, but noted that, for the grant of such a
variance to be accepted by the South Carolina Commissioner of Labor,
the employers must file the grant at the Commissioner's office in
Columbia, South Carolina. Utah agreed to accept the Federal variance,
but requires the employers to contact the Occupational Safety and
Health Division, Labor Commission of Utah, regarding a procedural
formality that must be completed before implementing the variance in
that State.
    California, Hawaii, Iowa, and Washington either had different
requirements in their standards or declined to accept the terms of the
variance. Therefore, the employers must apply separately for a
permanent variance from these four States.
    Based on the responses previously received from State-Plan States
and Territories, the permanent Federal OSHA variance will be effective
in the following thirteen State-Plan States and one Territory: Alaska,
Arizona, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, and
Wyoming; and in four additional states, Kentucky, Michigan, South
Carolina, and Utah, when the employers meet specific additional
requirements. However, this permanent variance does not apply in
California, Hawaii, Iowa, and Washington State. As stated earlier, in
the three States and one Territory (Connecticut, New Jersey, New York,
and the Virgin Islands) that have State-Plan programs that cover only
public sector workers, authority over the employers under the permanent
variance continues to reside with Federal OSHA.

VI. Nonmandatory Conditions Added to the Permanent Variance

    After publishing the variance application of Gibraltar Chimney
International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
in the Federal Register, OSHA received additional variance applications
from chimney construction companies. The Agency subsequently combined
these applications and published them in the Federal Register (see 74
FR 4237) after adding several conditions that it believes will increase
worker protection at little additional cost or burden to the employers.
These added conditions include a requirement for employers to install
attachment points inside personnel cages for securing fall arrest
systems, and to ensure that workers secure their fall arrest systems to
these attachment points when using a personnel cage. The Agency
believes this additional condition will protect workers from falling
out of a cage in the event the door of the cage opens inadvertently
during lifting operations.
    OSHA also added other conditions that it believes are necessary to
protect workers from shearing or struck-by hazards associated with
using hoist systems in chimney construction. Workers encounter these
hazards when using personnel platforms or boatswain's chairs to
transport them to or from an elevated jobsite. During transport, these
personnel transport devices pass near structures, including work
platforms and scaffolds, that could crush or inflict other serious
injury on a hand, arm, foot, leg, or other body part that extends
beyond the confines of the personnel transport device. To prevent these
injuries, OSHA added a condition to the variance applications that
would require employers to instruct workers who use personnel platforms
or boatswain's chairs to recognize the shearing and struck-by hazards
associated with personnel-transport operations, and how to avoid these
hazards. Additionally, the condition would require employers to attach
to the personnel platforms and boatswain's chairs, a readily visible
warning of the hazards; this warning will supplement and reinforce the
hazard training by reminding workers of the hazards and how to avoid
them.
    To address another struck-by hazard, OSHA added a condition that
would require employers to establish a safety zone around the bottom
landing where workers access personnel- and material-transport devices.
The employers would have to ensure that workers enter the safety zone
only to access a transport device that is in the area circumscribed by
the safety zone, and only when the hoist system is not in operation.
OSHA believes that this condition will prevent a transport device that
is descending from an elevated jobsite from striking a worker who is in
or near the bottom-landing area and is not aware of the descending
device. During descent, it also is difficult for workers in or on these
devices to detect a worker beneath them. Therefore, it would be
necessary for the employers to establish a safety zone and ensure that
workers only enter the safety zone when a transport device is at the
bottom landing and not in operation (i.e., the drive components of the
hoist system are disengaged and the braking mechanism is properly
applied).
    OSHA also added another condition that would require employers to
notify (1) the nearest OSHA Area Office, or appropriate State-Plan
Office, at least 15 days before commencing chimney construction
operations covered by the variance, and (2) OSHA national headquarters
as soon as an employer knows that it will cease doing business or
transfers the activities covered by the variance to another company.
These administrative requirements would enable OSHA to more easily
enforce, and determine the status of, the variance than is presently
the case. Currently, OSHA has little or no information about chimney
construction activities conducted under a variance, making it difficult
for it to assess compliance with the conditions specified under the
variance. Additionally, OSHA finds that construction companies cease
operations or transfer chimney construction assets to successor
companies without informing the Agency that the variance is no longer
needed, or requesting that OSHA reassign the variance to the successor
company. The Agency believes that these notification requirements will
improve administrative oversight of the variance program, thereby
enhancing worker safety and reducing its administrative burden.
    OSHA specifies these additional conditions in Appendix A of the
order (see Section VIII (``Order''), below). As the employers, workers,
and other members of the regulated community did not have an
opportunity to comment on these conditions, OSHA considers these
conditions to be nonmandatory, and not enforceable under the order.
However, as noted in the previous paragraphs of this section, OSHA
believes that these conditions will increase the protection afforded to
workers under the permanent variance, and will do so at little
additional cost or burden to employers. Therefore, OSHA strongly
encourages the employers to implement these additional conditions. In
this regard, OSHA will propose in the near future to revise permanent
variances issued earlier (i.e., prior to 2009) for chimney construction
to include these additional conditions.

VII. Decision

    Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit
Power Constructors Co. seek a permanent variance from the provision
that regulates the tackle used for boatswain's chairs (29 CFR
1926.452(o)(3)), as well as the provisions specified for personnel
hoists by paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13),
(c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552. Paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR
1926.452 states that the tackle used for boatswain's chairs must
``consist of correct size ball bearings or bushed blocks containing
safety hooks and properly `eye-spliced' minimum

five-eighth (\5/8\) inch diameter first-grade manila rope [or
equivalent rope].'' The primary purpose of this provision is to allow a
worker to safely control the ascent, descent, and stopping locations of
the boatswain's chair. The proposed alternative to these requirements
allows the employer to use a boatswain's chair to lift workers to work
locations inside and outside a chimney when both a personnel cage and a
personnel platform are infeasible. The employers proposed to attach the
boatswain's chair to the hoisting system described as an alternative
for paragraph (c) of 29 CFR 1926.552.
    Paragraph (c) of 29 CFR 1926.552 specifies the requirements for
enclosed hoisting systems used to transport personnel from one
elevation to another. This paragraph ensures that employers transport
workers safely to and from elevated work platforms by mechanical means
during construction work involving structures such as chimneys. In this
regard, paragraph (c)(1) of 29 CFR 1926.552 requires employers to
enclose hoist towers located outside a chimney on the side or sides
used for entrance to, and exit from, the structure; these enclosures
must extend the full height of the hoist tower. Under the requirements
of paragraph (c)(2) of 29 CFR 1926.552, employers must enclose all four
sides of a hoist tower located inside a chimney; these enclosures also
must extend the full height of the tower.
    As an alternative to complying with the hoist tower requirements of
29 CFR 1926.552(c)(1) and (c)(2), the employers proposed to use a hoist
system to transport workers to and from elevated work locations inside
and outside chimneys. The proposed hoist system includes a hoist
machine, cage, safety cables, and safety measures such as limit
switches to prevent overrun of the cage at the top and bottom landings,
and safety clamps that grip the safety cables if the main hoist line
fails. To transport workers to and from elevated work locations, the
employers proposed to attach a personnel cage to the hoist system.
However, when they can demonstrate that adequate space is not available
for the cage, they may use a personnel platform above the last worksite
that the cage can reach. Further, when the employers show that space
limitations make it infeasible to use a work platform for transporting
workers, they have proposed to use a boatswain's chair above the last
worksite serviced by the personnel platform. Using the proposed hoist
system as an alternative to the hoist tower requirements of 29 CFR
1926.552(c)(1) and (c)(2) eliminates the need to comply with the other
provisions of 29 CFR 1926.552(c) that specify requirements for hoist
towers.
    Accordingly, the employers have requested a permanent variance from
these and related provisions (i.e., paragraphs (c)(3), (c)(4), (c)(8),
(c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16)).
    Under Section 6(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (29 U.S.C. 655), and based on the record discussed above, the
Agency finds that when the employers comply with the conditions of the
following order, the working conditions of their workers will be at
least as safe and healthful as if the employers complied with the
working conditions specified by paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452,
and paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and
(c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552. This decision is applicable in all States
under Federal OSHA enforcement jurisdiction, and in the 14 State-Plan
States with standards identical to the Federal standards (Alaska,
Arizona, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, and
Wyoming). In Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina and Utah, the employers
must meet additional conditions before this variance will apply in
those States. This decision does not apply in California, Hawaii, Iowa,
and Washington.

VIII. Order

    OSHA issues this order authorizing Gibraltar Chimney International,
LLC, Hoffmann, Inc., and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. (``the
employers'') to comply with the following conditions instead of
complying with paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs
(c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29
CFR 1926.552. This order applies in Federal OSHA enforcement
jurisdictions, and in those States with OSHA-approved State plans that
have identical standards and have agreed to the terms of the variance.

1. Scope of the Permanent Variance

    (a) This permanent variance applies only to tapered chimneys when
the employers use a hoist system during inside or outside chimney
construction to raise or lower their workers between the bottom landing
of a chimney and an elevated work location on the inside or outside
surface of the chimney.
    (b) When using a hoist system as specified in this permanent
variance, the employers must:
    (i) Use the personnel cages, personnel platforms, or boatswain's
chairs raised and lowered by the hoist system solely to transport
workers with the tools and materials necessary to do their work; and
    (ii) Attach a hopper or concrete bucket to the hoist system to
raise and lower all other materials and tools inside or outside a
chimney.
    (c) Except for the requirements specified by 29 CFR 1926.452 (o)(3)
and 1926.552(c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and
(c)(16), the employers must comply fully with all other applicable
provisions of 29 CFR parts 1910 and 1926.

2. Replacing a Personnel Cage With a Personnel Platform or a
Boatswain's Chair

    (a) Personnel platform. When the employers demonstrate that
available space makes a personnel cage for transporting workers
infeasible, they may replace the personnel cage with a personnel
platform when they limit use of the personnel platform to elevations
above the last work location that the personnel cage can reach.
    (b) Boatswain's chair. Employers must:
    (i) Before using a boatswain's chair, demonstrate that available
space makes it infeasible to use a personnel platform for transporting
workers;
    (ii) Limit use of a boatswain's chair to elevations above the last
work location that the personnel platform can reach; and
    (iii) Use a boatswain's chair in accordance with tackle
requirements specified by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3), unless they can
demonstrate that the structural arrangement of the chimney precludes
such use.

3. Qualified Competent Person

    (a) The employers must:
    (i) Provide a qualified competent person, as specified in
paragraphs (f) and (m) of 29 CFR 1926.32, who is responsible for
ensuring that the design, maintenance, and inspection of the hoist
system comply with the conditions of this grant and with the
appropriate requirements of 29 CFR part 1926 (``Safety and Health
Regulations for Construction''); and
    (ii) Ensure that the qualified competent person is present at
ground level to assist in an emergency whenever the hoist system is
raising or lowering workers.
    (b) The employers must use a qualified competent person to design
and maintain the cathead described under Condition 8 (``Cathead and
Sheave''), below.

4. Hoist Machine

    (a) Type of hoist. The employers must designate the hoist machine
as a portable personnel hoist.

    (b) Raising or lowering a transport. The employers must ensure
that:
    (i) The hoist machine includes a base-mounted drum hoist designed
to control line speed; and
    (ii) Whenever they raise or lower a personnel or material hoist
(e.g., a personnel cage, personnel platform, boatswain's chair, hopper,
concrete bucket) using the hoist system:
    (A) The drive components are engaged continuously when an empty or
occupied transport is being lowered (i.e., no ``freewheeling'');
    (B) The drive system is interconnected, on a continuous basis,
through a torque converter, mechanical coupling, or an equivalent
coupling (e.g., electronic controller, fluid clutches, hydraulic
drives).
    (C) The braking mechanism is applied automatically when the
transmission is in the neutral position and a forward-reverse coupling
or shifting transmission is being used; and
    (D) No belts are used between the power source and the winding
drum.
    (c) Power source. The employers must power the hoist machine by an
air, electric, hydraulic, or internal combustion drive mechanism.
    (d) Constant-pressure control switch. The employers must:
    (i) Equip the hoist machine with a hand- or foot-operated constant-
pressure control switch (i.e., a ``deadman control switch'') that stops
the hoist immediately upon release; and
    (ii) Protect the control switch to prevent it from activating if
the hoist machine is struck by a falling or moving object.
    (e) Line-speed indicator. The employers must:
    (i) Equip the hoist machine with an operating line-speed indicator
maintained in good working order; and
    (ii) Ensure that the line-speed indicator is in clear view of the
hoist operator during hoisting operations.
    (f) Braking systems. The employers must equip the hoist machine
with two (2) independent braking systems (i.e., one automatic and one
manual) located on the winding side of the clutch or couplings, with
each braking system being capable of stopping and holding 150 percent
of the maximum rated load.
    (g) Slack-rope switch. The employers must equip the hoist machine
with a slack-rope switch to prevent rotation of the winding drum under
slack-rope conditions.
    (h) Frame. The employers must ensure that the frame of the hoist
machine is a self-supporting, rigid, welded steel structure, and that
holding brackets for anchor lines and legs for anchor bolts are
integral components of the frame.
    (i) Stability. The employers must secure hoist machines in position
to prevent movement, shifting, or dislodgement.
    (j) Location. The employers must:
    (i) Locate the hoist machine far enough from the footblock to
obtain the correct fleet angle for proper spooling of the cable on the
drum; and
    (ii) Ensure that the fleet angle remains between one-half degree
(\1/2\[deg]) and one and one-half degrees (1\1/2\[deg]) for smooth
drums, and between one-half degree (\1/2\[deg]) and two degrees
(2[deg]) for grooved drums, with the lead sheave centered on the
drum.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ This variance adopts the definition of, and specifications
for, fleet angle from Cranes and Derricks, H. I. Shapiro, et al.
(eds.); New York: McGraw-Hill; 3rd ed., 1999, page 592. Accordingly,
the fleet angle is ``[t]he angle the rope leading onto a [winding]
drum makes with the line perpendicular to the drum rotating axis
when the lead rope is making a wrap against the flange.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (k) Drum and flange diameter. The employers must:
    (i) Provide a winding drum for the hoist that is at least 30 times
the diameter of the rope used for hoisting; and
    (ii) Ensure that the winding drum has a flange diameter that is at
least one and one-half (1\1/2\) times the diameter of the winding drum.
    (l) Spooling of the rope. The employers must never spool the rope
closer than two (2) inches (5.1 cm) from the outer edge of the winding
drum flange.
    (m) Electrical system. The employers must ensure that all
electrical equipment is weatherproof.
    (n) Limit switches. The employers must equip the hoist system with
limit switches and related equipment that automatically prevent
overtravel of a personnel cage, personnel platform, boatswain's chair,
or material-transport device at the top of the supporting structure and
at the bottom of the hoistway or lowest landing level.

5. Methods of Operation

    (a) Worker qualifications and training. The employers must:
    (i) Ensure that only trained and experienced workers, who are
knowledgeable of hoist-system operations, control the hoist machine;
and
    (ii) Provide instruction, periodically and as necessary, on how to
operate the hoist system, to each worker who uses a personnel cage for
transportation.
    (b) Speed limitations. The employers must not operate the hoist at
a speed in excess of:
    (i) Two hundred and fifty (250) feet (76.9 m) per minute when a
personnel cage is being used to transport workers;
    (ii) One hundred (100) feet (30.5 m) per minute when a personnel
platform or boatswain's chair is being used to transport workers; or
    (iii) A line speed that is consistent with the design limitations
of the system when only material is being hoisted.
    (c) Communication. The employers must:
    (i) Use a voice-mediated intercommunication system to maintain
communication between the hoist operator and the workers located in or
on a moving personnel cage, personnel platform, or boatswain's chair;
    (ii) Stop hoisting if, for any reason, the communication system
fails to operate effectively; and
    (iii) Resume hoisting only when the site superintendent determines
that it is safe to do so.

6. Hoist Rope

    (a) Grade. The employers must use a wire rope for the hoist system
(i.e., ``hoist rope'') that consists of extra-improved plow steel, an
equivalent grade of non-rotating rope, or a regular lay rope with a
suitable swivel mechanism.
    (b) Safety factor. The employers must maintain a safety factor of
at least eight (8) times the safe workload throughout the entire length
of hoist rope.
    (c) Size. The employers must use a hoist rope that is at least one-
half (\1/2\) inch (1.3 cm) in diameter.
    (d) Inspection, removal, and replacement. The employers must:
    (i) Thoroughly inspect the hoist rope before the start of each job
and on completing a new setup;
    (ii) Maintain the proper diameter-to-diameter ratios between the
hoist rope and the footblock and the sheave by inspecting the wire rope
regularly (see Conditions 7(c) and 8(d), below); and
    (iii) Remove and replace the wire rope with new wire rope when any
of the conditions specified by 29 CFR 1926.552(a)(3) occurs.
    (e) Attachments. The employers must attach the rope to a personnel
cage, personnel platform, or boatswain's chair with a keyed-screwpin
shackle or positive-locking link.
    (f) Wire-rope fastenings. When the employers use clip fastenings
(e.g., U-bolt wire-rope clips) with wire ropes, they must:
    (i) Use Table H-20 of 29 CFR 1926.251 to determine the number and
spacing of clips;
    (ii) Use at least three (3) drop-forged clips at each fastening;
    (iii) Install the clips with the ``U'' of the clips on the dead end
of the rope; and

    (iv) Space the clips so that the distance between them is six (6)
times the diameter of the rope.

7. Footblock

    (a) Type of block. The employers must use a footblock:
    (i) Consisting of construction-type blocks of solid single-piece
bail with a safety factor that is at least four (4) times the safe
workload, or an equivalent block with roller bearings;
    (ii) Designed for the applied loading, size, and type of wire rope
used for hoisting;
    (iii) Designed with a guard that contains the wire rope within the
sheave groove;
    (iv) Bolted rigidly to the base; and
    (v) Designed and installed so that it turns the moving wire rope to
and from the horizontal or vertical direction as required by the
direction of rope travel.
    (b) Directional change. The employers must ensure that the angle of
change in the hoist rope from the horizontal to the vertical direction
at the footblock is approximately 90[deg].
    (c) Diameter. The employers must ensure that the line diameter of
the footblock is at least 24 times the diameter of the hoist rope.

8. Cathead and Sheave

    (a) Support. The employers must use a cathead (i.e., ``overhead
support'') that consists of a wide-flange beam, or two (2) steel-
channel sections securely bolted back-to-back to prevent spreading.
    (b) Installation. The employers must ensure that:
    (i) All sheaves revolve on shafts that rotate on bearings; and
    (ii) The bearings are mounted securely to maintain the proper
bearing position at all times.
    (c) Rope guides. The employers must provide each sheave with
appropriate rope guides to prevent the hoist rope from leaving the
sheave grooves when the rope vibrates or swings abnormally.
    (d) Diameter. The employers must use a sheave with a diameter that
is at least 24 times the diameter of the hoist rope.

9. Guide Ropes

    (a) Number and construction. The employers must affix two (2) guide
ropes by swivels to the cathead. The guide ropes must:
    (i) Consist of steel safety cables not less than one-half (\1/2\)
inch (1.3 cm) in diameter; and
    (ii) Be free of damage or defect at all times.
    (b) Guide rope fastening and alignment tension. The employers must
fasten one end of each guide rope securely to the overhead support,
with appropriate tension applied at the foundation.
    (c) Height. The employers must rig the guide ropes along the entire
height of the hoist-machine structure.

10. Personnel Cage

    (a) Construction. A personnel cage must be of steel frame
construction and capable of supporting a load that is four (4) times
its maximum rated load capacity. The employers also must ensure that
the personnel cage has:
    (i) A top and sides that are permanently enclosed (except for the
entrance and exit);
    (ii) A floor securely fastened in place;
    (iii) Walls that consist of 14-gauge, one-half (\1/2\) inch (1.3
cm) expanded metal mesh, or an equivalent material;
    (iv) Walls that cover the full height of the personnel cage between
the floor and the overhead covering;
    (v) A sloped roof constructed of one-eighth (\1/8\) inch (0.3 cm)
aluminum, or an equivalent material; and
    (vi) Safe handholds (e.g., rope grips--but not rails or hard
protrusions \2\) that accommodate each occupant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ To reduce impact hazards should workers lose their balance
because of cage movement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Overhead weight. A personnel cage must have an overhead weight
(e.g., a headache ball of appropriate weight) to compensate for the
weight of the hoist rope between the cathead and the footblock. In
addition, the employers must:
    (i) Ensure that the overhead weight is capable of preventing line
run; and
    (ii) Use a means to restrain the movement of the overhead weight so
that the weight does not interfere with safe personnel hoisting.
    (c) Gate. The personnel cage must have a gate that:
    (i) Guards the full height of the entrance opening; and
    (ii) Has a functioning mechanical lock that prevents accidental
opening.
    (d) Operating procedures. The employers must post the procedures
for operating the personnel cage conspicuously at the hoist operator's
station.
    (e) Capacity. The employers must:
    (i) Hoist no more than four (4) occupants in the cage at any one
time; and
    (ii) Ensure that the rated load capacity of the cage is at least
250 pounds (113.4 kg) for each occupant so hoisted.
    (f) Worker notification. The employers must post a sign in each
personnel cage notifying workers of the following conditions:
    (i) The standard rated load, as determined by the initial static
drop test specified by Condition 10(g) (``Static drop tests''), below;
and
    (ii) The reduced rated load for the specific job.
    (g) Static drop tests. The employers must:
    (i) Conduct static drop tests of each personnel cage that comply
with the definition of ``static drop test'' specified by section 3
(``Definitions'') and the static drop-test procedures provided in
section 13 (``Inspections and Tests'') of American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) standard A10.22-1990 (R1998) (``American National
Standard for Rope-Guided and Nonguided Worker's Hoists--Safety
Requirements'');
    (ii) Perform the initial static drop test at 125 percent of the
maximum rated load of the personnel cage, and subsequent drop tests at
no less than 100 percent of its maximum rated load; and
    (iii) Use a personnel cage for raising or lowering workers only
when no damage occurred to the components of the cage as a result of
the static drop tests.

11. Safety Clamps

    (a) Fit to the guide ropes. The employers must:
    (i) Fit appropriately designed and constructed safety clamps to the
guide ropes; and
    (ii) Ensure that the safety clamps do not damage the guide ropes
when in use.
    (b) Attach to the personnel cage. The employers must attach safety
clamps to each personnel cage for gripping the guide ropes.
    (c) Operation. The safety clamps attached to the personnel cage
must:
    (i) Operate on the ``broken rope principle'' defined in section 3
(``Definitions'') of ANSI standard A10.22-1990 (R1998);
    (ii) Be capable of stopping and holding a personnel cage that is
carrying 100 percent of its maximum rated load and traveling at its
maximum allowable speed if the hoist rope breaks at the footblock; and
    (iii) Use a pre-determined and pre-set clamping force (i.e., the
``spring compression force'') for each hoist system.
    (d) Maintenance. The employers must keep the safety clamp
assemblies clean and functional at all times.

12. Overhead Protection

    (a) The employers must install a canopy or shield over the top of
the personnel cage that is made of steel plate at least three-
sixteenths (\3/16\) of an inch (4.763 mm) thick, or material of
equivalent strength and impact

resistance, to protect workers (i.e., both inside and outside the
chimney) from material and debris that may fall from above.
    (b) The employers must ensure that the canopy or shield slopes to
the outside of the personnel cage.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Paragraphs (a) and (b) were adapted from OSHA's Underground
Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926.800(t)(4)(iv)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

13. Emergency-Escape Device

    (a) Location. The employers must provide an emergency-escape device
in at least one of the following locations:
    (i) In the personnel cage, provided that the device is long enough
to reach the bottom landing from the highest possible escape point; or
    (ii) At the bottom landing, provided that a means is available in
the personnel cage for the occupants to raise the device to the highest
possible escape point.
    (b) Operating instructions. The employers must ensure that written
instructions for operating the emergency-escape device are attached to
the device.
    (c) Training. The employers must instruct each worker who uses a
personnel cage for transportation on how to operate the emergency-
escape device:
    (i) Before the worker uses a personnel cage for transportation; and
    (ii) Periodically, and as necessary, thereafter.

14. Personnel Platforms

    (a) Personnel platforms. When the employers elect to replace the
personnel cage with a personnel platform in accordance with Condition
2(a) of this variance, they must:
    (i) Ensure that an enclosure surrounds the platform, and that this
enclosure is at least 42 inches (106.7 cm) above the platform's floor;
    (ii) Provide overhead protection when an overhead hazard is, or
could be, present; and
    (iii) Comply with the applicable scaffolding strength requirements
specified by 29 CFR 1926.451(a)(1).
    (b) Fall-protection equipment. Before workers use work platforms or
boatswains' chairs, the employers must:
    (i) Equip the workers with, and ensure that they use, full body
harnesses, lanyards, and lifelines as specified by 29 CFR 1926.104 and
the applicable requirements of 29 CFR 1926.502(d); and
    (ii) Ensure that workers secure the lifelines to the top of the
chimney and to a weight at the bottom of the chimney, and that the
workers' lanyards are attached to the lifeline during the entire period
of vertical transit.

15. Inspections, Tests, and Accident Prevention

    (a) The employers must:
    (i) Conduct inspections of the hoist system as required by 29 CFR
1926.20(b)(2);
    (ii) Ensure that a competent person conducts daily visual
inspections of the hoist system; and
    (iii) Inspect and test the hoist system as specified by 29 CFR
1926.552(c)(15).
    (b) The employers must comply with the accident prevention
requirements of 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(3).

16. Welding

    (a) The employers must use only qualified welders to weld
components of the hoisting system.
    (b) The employers must ensure that the qualified welders:
    (i) Are familiar with the weld grades, types, and materials
specified in the design of the system; and
    (ii) Perform the welding tasks in accordance with 29 CFR 1926,
subpart J (``Welding and Cutting'').

APPENDIX A

Nonmandatory Conditions When Performing Chimney Construction Using
Hoist Systems

    OSHA strongly encourages the employers to implement the
following additional conditions under this order:
    1. Fall hazards. The employers should install attachment points
inside personnel cages for securing fall-arrest systems, and ensure
that workers using personnel cages secure their fall-arrest systems
to these attachment points.
    2. Shearing hazards. The employers should:
    (a) Provide workers who use personnel platforms or boatswain's
chairs with instruction on the shearing hazards posed by the hoist
system (e.g., work platforms, scaffolds), and the need to keep their
limbs or other body parts clear of these hazards during hoisting
operations;
    (b) Provide the instruction on shearing hazards:
    (i) Before a worker uses a personnel platform or boatswain's
chair at the worksite; and
    (ii) Periodically, and as necessary, thereafter, including
whenever a worker demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the hazard
or how to avoid the hazard, a modification occurs to an existing
shearing hazard, or a new shearing hazard develops at the worksite;
and
    (c) Attach a readily visible warning to each personnel platform
and boatswain's chair notifying workers, in a language the workers
understand, of potential shearing hazards they may encounter during
hoisting operations, and that uses the following (or equivalent)
wording:
    (i) For personnel platforms: ``Warning--To avoid serious injury,
keep your hands, arms, feet, legs, and other parts of your body
inside this platform while it is in motion''; and
    (ii) For boatswain's chairs: ``Warning--To avoid serious injury,
do not extend your hands, arms, feet, legs, or other parts of your
body from the side or to the front of this chair while it is in
motion.''
    3. Safety zone. The employers should:
    (a) Establish a clearly designated safety zone around the bottom
landing of the hoist system; and
    (b) Prohibit any worker from entering the safety zone except to
access a personnel- or material-transport device, and then only when
the device is at the bottom landing and not in operation (i.e., when
the drive components of the hoist machine are disengaged and the
braking mechanism is properly applied).
    4. OSHA notification. The employers should:
    (a) At least 15 calendar days prior to commencing any chimney
construction operation using the conditions specified herein, notify
the OSHA Area Office nearest to the worksite, or the appropriate
State-Plan Office, of the operation, including the location of the
operation and the date the operation will commence;
    (b) Inform OSHA national headquarters as soon as it has
knowledge that it will:
    (i) Cease to do business; or
    (ii) Transfer the activities covered by this permanent variance
to a successor company.

IX. Authority and Signature

    Jordan Barab, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC directed the preparation of this notice. OSHA is
issuing this notice under the authority specified by Section 6(d) of
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655),
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 31160), and 29 CFR part
1905.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 11th, 2009.
Jordan Barab,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E9-19741 Filed 8-17-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17075-17076]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06170]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2012-1031; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-31-AD;
Amendment 39-17391; AD 2013-05-19]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
Turbofan Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) Tay 611-8 turbofan engines.
This AD requires inspection and replacement, if necessary, of affected
bolts. This AD was prompted by a quality review determination that
bolts with reduced material properties may have been installed in some
engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent uncontained turbine disc
fracture and damage to the airplane.

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The Docket Operations office is located at Docket Management
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederick Zink, Aerospace Engineer,
Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12
New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; email:
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR
part 39 to include an AD that would apply to the specified products.
That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2012
(77 FR 67582). That NPRM proposed to correct an unsafe condition for
the specified products. The Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness
Information states:

    The results of a recent quality review of low pressure turbine
(LPT) stage 1 static air seal and high pressure turbine (HPT) stage
1 air seal support bolts identified that, before installation, those
bolts may have not been inspected. As a consequence, bolts with
reduced material properties may have been installed in some engines.
    This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to
failure of a bolt, potentially causing turbine disc fracture and
release of high-energy debris, possibly resulting in damage to the
aeroplane and/or injury to the occupants.

Comments

    We gave the public the opportunity to participate in developing
this AD. We received no comments on the NPRM (77 FR 67582, November 13,
2012). However, we changed paragraph (e) of this AD by removing the
reporting requirement because that requirement is not necessary to
correct the unsafe condition.

Conclusion

    We reviewed the available data and determined that air safety and
the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed (77 FR 67582,
November 13, 2012).

Costs of Compliance

    Based on the service information, we estimate that this AD affects
about 20 engines of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it will take
about 4 hours per product to comply with this AD. The average labor
rate is $85 per hour. Required parts will cost about $1,848 per engine.
Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the AD on U.S.
operators to be $43,760.

Authority for This Rulemaking

    Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to
issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, section 106, describes the
authority of the FAA Administrator. ``Subtitle VII: Aviation
Programs,'' describes in more detail the scope of the Agency's
authority.
    We are issuing this rulemaking under the authority described in
``Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701: General
requirements.'' Under that section, Congress charges the FAA with
promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing
regulations for practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator
finds necessary for safety in air commerce. This regulation is within
the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition
that is likely to exist or develop on

products identified in this rulemaking action.

Regulatory Findings

    We determined that this AD will not have federalism implications
under Executive Order 13132. This AD will not have a substantial direct
effect on the States, on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various levels of government.
    For the reasons discussed above, I certify this AD:
    1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order
12866;
    2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under the DOT Regulatory Policies
and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979);
    3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska to the extent that
it justifies making a regulatory distinction, and
    4. Will not have a significant economic impact, positive or
negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    We prepared a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to
comply with this AD and placed it in the AD docket.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Operations office
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. The AD docket contains this AD, the regulatory evaluation,
any comments received, and other information. The street address for
the Docket Operations office (phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>) is provided in the
ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly
after receipt.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

0
2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new AD:

2013-05-19 Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG: Amendment 39-17391;
Docket No. FAA-2012-1031; Directorate Identifier 2012-NE-31-AD.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes effective April 24,
2013.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) Tay
611-8 turbofan engines, serial numbers 16245, 16256, 16417, 16418,
16584, 16585, 16639, 16640, 16701, 16702, 16813, 16814, 16853,
16854, 16879, 16880, 16898, 16905, 16906, 16911, 16923, 16935, and
16936, with a date of the last shop visit before December 8, 2006.

(d) Reason

    This AD was prompted by a recent quality review determination
that bolts with reduced material properties may have been installed
in some engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent uncontained
turbine disc fracture and damage to the airplane.

(e) Actions and Compliance

    Unless already done, for engines with a date of the last shop
visit before December 8, 2006, do the following actions:
    (1) If engine cycles accumulated since the last engine shop
visit is 5,400 cycles or more on the effective date of this AD,
inspect the bolts installed in the low-pressure turbine (LPT) stage
1 static seal and high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 air seal
support within 100 engine cycles-in-service after the effective date
of this AD.
    (2) If engine cycles accumulated since the last engine shop
visit is fewer than 5,400 cycles on the effective date of this AD,
inspect the bolts installed in the LPT stage 1 static seal and HPT
stage 1 air seal support before accumulating 5,500 engine cycles
since the last engine shop visit.
    (3) If you find any broken bolt, brown bolt, or bolt with a
rough oxidized surface, then replace all bolts of the inspected
engine flange with new bolts before further flight.

(f) Installation Prohibition

    After the effective date of this AD, do not install any HPT
module and/or LPT module into any engine, or any engine onto an
airplane, unless the bolts have been inspected and replaced if
necessary, as specified in paragraph (e) of this AD.

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    The Manager, Engine Certification Office, FAA, may approve AMOCs
to this AD. Use the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19 to make your
request.

(h) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Frederick Zink,
Aerospace Engineer, Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine &
Propeller Directorate, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA
01803; phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>; email:
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    (2) Refer to European Aviation Safety Agency AD 2012-0163, dated
August 28, 2012, and RRD Alert Service Bulletin TAY-72-A1696,
Revision 1, dated June 11, 2012, for related information.
    (3) For service information identified in this AD, contact
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG, Eschenweg 11, Dahlewitz, 15827
Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Germany; phone: 49 0 33-7086-1200 (direct
1016); fax: 49 0 33-7086-1212. You may view this service information
at the FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New England Executive
Park, Burlington, MA. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call<PHONE_NUMBER>.

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference

    None.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on March 7, 2013.
Colleen M. D'Alessandro,
Assistant Manager, Engine & Propeller Directorate, Aircraft
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-06170 Filed 3-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 203 (Wednesday, October 21, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63691-63695]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26789]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 271

[EPA-R06-RCRA-2015-0109; FRL-9936-00-Region 6]

Texas: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management
Program Revision

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The State of Texas has applied to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final authorization of the
changes to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA has determined that these changes satisfy
all requirements needed to qualify for final authorization, and is
authorizing the State's changes through this direct final rule. In the
``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is also
publishing a separate document that serves as the proposal to authorize
these changes. EPA believes this action is not controversial and does
not expect comments that oppose it. Unless EPA receives written
comments which oppose this authorization during the comment period, the
decision to authorize Texas' changes to its hazardous waste program
will take effect. If EPA receives comments that oppose this action, EPA
will publish a document in the Federal Register withdrawing today's
direct final rule before it takes effect, and the separate document in
today's ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register will serve
as the proposal to authorize the changes.

DATES: This final authorization is effective on December 21, 2015
unless the EPA receives adverse written comment by November 20, 2015.
If the EPA receives such comment, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal
of this direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public
that this authorization will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [insert name and email address of appropriate
Regional contact].
     Fax: (prior to faxing, please notify the EPA contact
listed below).
     Mail: [insert name and address of appropriate Regional
contact].
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to [insert
name and address of appropriate Regional contact].
    Instructions: EPA must receive your comments by November 20, 2015.
Direct your comments to Docket ID Number 0109. EPA's policy is that all
comments received will be included in the public docket without change
and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit
information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
regulations.gov, or email. The Federal regulations.gov Web site is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without
going through regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the
public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an
electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other
contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or
CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses. (For additional information about EPA's public docket,
visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm).
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov, or in hard copy.
    You can view and copy Texas' application and associated publicly
available materials from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at
the following locations: Texas Commission

on Environmental Quality, (TCEQ) 12100 Park S. Circle, Austin, Texas
78753-3087,<PHONE_NUMBER> and EPA, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas,
Texas 75202-2733, phone number<PHONE_NUMBER>. Interested persons
wanting to examine these documents should make an appointment with the
office at least two weeks in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alima Patterson, Region 6 Regional
Authorization Coordinator, State/Tribal Oversight Section (6PD-O),
Multimedia Planning and Permitting Division,<PHONE_NUMBER>, EPA Region
6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, and email address
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Why are revisions to State programs necessary?

    States which have received final authorization from the EPA under
RCRA section 3006(b), 42 U.S.C. 6926(b), must maintain a hazardous
waste program that is equivalent to, consistent with, and no less
stringent than the Federal program. As the Federal program changes,
States must change their programs and ask the EPA to authorize the
changes. Changes to State programs may be necessary when Federal or
State statutory or regulatory authority is modified or when certain
other changes occur. Most commonly, States must change their programs
because of changes to the EPA's regulations in 40 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) parts 124, 260 through 268, 270, 273, and 279.
    New Federal requirements and prohibitions imposed by Federal
regulations that EPA promulgates pursuant to the Hazardous and Solid
Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA) take effect in authorized States at the
same time that they take effect in unauthorized States. Thus, EPA will
implement those requirements and prohibitions in the State of Texas,
including the issuance of new permits implementing those requirements,
until the State is granted authorization to do so.

B. What decisions have EPA made in this rule?

    On April 3, 2015, the State of Texas submitted a final complete
program revision application seeking authorization of changes to its
hazardous waste program that correspond to certain Federal rules
promulgated between promulgated between June 13, 2011, and January 3,
2014. The adoption for RCRA Clusters XXI through XXIII (Checklists 227,
229 and 230). EPA concludes that the State of Texas's application to
revise its authorized program meets all of the statutory and regulatory
requirements established by RCRA, as set forth in RCRA section 3006(b),
42 U.S.C. 6926(b), and 40 CFR part 271. Therefore, EPA grants the State
of Texas final authorization to operate its hazardous waste program
with the changes described in the authorization application, and as
outline below in Section G of this document. The State of Texas has
responsibility for permitting treatment, storage, and disposal
facilities (TSDFs) within its borders (except in Indian Country). In
today's action under Section 18 U.S.C. 1151 does not affect Indian
Country. Because the State of Texas Hazardous waste Program is not
being authorized to operate in Indian Country and for carrying out the
aspects of the RCRA program described in its revised program
application, subject to the limitations of HSWA, as discussed above).
New Federal requirements and prohibitions imposed by Federal
regulations that EPA promulgates under the authority of HSWA take
effect in authorized States before they are authorized for the
requirements. Thus, EPA will implement those requirements and
prohibitions in the State of Texas, including issuing permits, until
the State is granted authorization to do so.

C. What is the effect of today's authorization decision?

    The effect of this decision is that a facility in the State of
Texas subject to RCRA will now have to comply with the authorized State
requirements instead of the equivalent Federal requirements in order to
comply with RCRA. The State of Texas has enforcement responsibilities
under its State hazardous waste program for violations of such program,
but the EPA retains its authority under RCRA sections 3007, 3008, 3013,
and 7003, which include, among others, authority to:
     Do inspections, and require monitoring, tests, analyses,
or reports;
     enforce RCRA requirements and suspend or revoke permits
and
     take enforcement actions after notice to and consultation
with the State.
    This action does not impose additional requirements on the
regulated community because the regulations for which the State of
Texas is being authorized by today's action are already effective under
State law, and are not changed by today's action.

D. Why is EPA using a direct final rule?

    Along with this direct final rule, EPA is publishing a separate
document in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register
that serves as the proposal to authorize these State program changes.
EPA did not publish a proposal before today's rule because EPA views
this as a routine program changes and does not expect comments. EPA
also views the State of Texas program revisions as noncontroversial
action and anticipate no adverse comment.
    EPA is providing an opportunity for public comment now, as
described in Section E of this document.

E. What happens if the EPA receives comments that oppose this action?

    If the EPA receives comments that oppose this authorization, EPA
will withdraw today's direct final rule by publishing a document in the
Federal Register before the rule becomes effective. The EPA will base
any further decision on the authorization of the State program changes
on the proposal mentioned in the previous section, after considering
all comments received during the comment period. EPA will then address
all public comments in a later final rule. You may not have another
opportunity to comment. If you want to comment on this authorization,
you must do so at this time.
    If EPA receives comments that oppose only the authorization of a
particular change to the State hazardous waste program, EPA will
withdraw only that part of this rule, but the authorization of the
program changes that the comments do not oppose will become effective
on the date specified in this document. The Federal Register withdrawal
document will specify which part of the authorization will become
effective, and which part is being withdrawn.

F. For what has Texas previously been authorized?

    The State of Texas initially received final authorization on
December 26, 1984 (49 FR 48300), to implement its Base Hazardous Waste
Management Program. This authorization was clarified in a notice
published March 26, 1985 (50 FR 11858). Texas received authorization
for revisions to its program, effective October 4, 1985 (51 FR 3952),
February 17, 1987 (51 FR 45320), March 15, 1990 (55 FR 7318), July 23,
1990 (55 FR 21383), October 21, 1991 (56 FR 41626), December 4, 1992
(57 FR 45719), June 27, 1994 (59 FR 16987), June 27, 1994 (59 FR
17273), November 26, 1997 (62 FR 47947), December 3, 1997 (62 FR
49163), October 18, 1999 (64 FR 44836), November 15, 1999 (64 FR
49673), September 11, 2000 (65 FR 43246), June 14, 2005 (70 FR 34371),
December 29, 2008, (73 FR 64252), and July 13, 2009

(74 FR 22469). The EPA incorporated by reference Texas' then authorized
hazardous waste program effective December 3, 1997 (62 FR 49163),
November 15, 1999 (64 FR 49673), December 29, 2008 (73 FR 64252), March
7, 2011 (76 FR 12285) effective May 6, 2011 and March 6, 2012 (77 FR
13200) effective May 7, 2012 and September 3, 2014 (79 FR 52220-52224)
effective November 3, 2014.
    In 1991, Texas Senate Bill 2 created the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC) which combined the functions of the
former Texas Water Commission and the former Texas Air Control Board.
The transfer of functions to the TNRCC from the two agencies became
effective on September 1, 1993. House Bill 2912, Article 18 of the 77th
Texas Legislature, 2001, changed the name of the TNRCC to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and directed the TNRCC to
adopt a timetable for phasing in the change of the agency's name. The
TNRCC decided to make the change of the agency's name to the TCEQ
effective September 1, 2002. The change of name became effective
September 1, 2002, and the legislative history of the name change is
documented at (See, Act of June 15, 2001, 77th Leg. R. S., Ch 965,
Section 18.01, 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 1985). The TCEQ may perform any act
authorized by law either as the TNRCC or as the TCEQ. Id. Therefore,
references to the TCEQ are references to TNRCC and to its successor,
the TCEQ.
    The TCEQ has primary responsibility for administration of laws and
regulations concerning hazardous waste. The official State regulations
may be found in Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 305, 324
and 335, effective February 21, 2013. Some of the State rules
incorporate the Federal regulations by reference. Texas Water Code
Section 5.103 and Section 5.105 and Texas Health and Safety Code
Section 361.017 and Section 361.024 confer on the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality the powers to perform any acts necessary and
convenient to the exercise of its jurisdiction. The TCEQ is authorized
to administer the RCRA program. However, the Railroad Commission (RRC)
has jurisdiction over the discharge, storage, handling, transportation,
reclamation, or disposal of waste materials (both hazardous and non-
hazardous) that result from the activities associated with the
exploration, development, or production of oil or gas or geothermal
resources and other activities regulated by the RRC. A list of
activities that generate wastes that are subject to the jurisdiction of
the RRC is found at Texas Health and Safety Code Section 401.415. Such
wastes are termed ``oil and gas wastes.'' The TCEQ has responsibility
to administer the RCRA program, however, hazardous waste generated at
natural gas or natural gas liquids processing plants or reservoir
pressure maintenance or repressurizing plants are subject to the
jurisdiction of the TCEQ until the RRC is authorized by EPA to
administer that waste under RCRA. The TCEQ jurisdiction over Solid
waste can be found at Chapter 361, Sections 361.001 through 361.754 of
the Texas Health and Safety Code. The TCEQ's jurisdiction encompasses
hazardous and nonhazardous, industrial and municipal Solid waste. The
definition of Solid waste can be found at Texas Health and Safety Code
Section 361.003(34). When the RRC is authorized by EPA to administer
the RCRA program for these wastes, jurisdiction over such hazardous
waste will transfer from the TCEQ to the RRC. The EPA has designated
the TCEQ as the lead agency to coordinate RCRA activities between the
two agencies. The EPA is responsible for the regulation of any
hazardous waste for which TCEQ has not been previously authorized.
    Further clarification of the jurisdiction between the TCEQ and the
RRC can be found in a separate document. This document, a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU), became effective on May 31, 1998.
    The TCEQ has the rules necessary to implement EPA's RCRA Clusters
XXI through XXIII, excluding the Hazardous Waste Technical Corrections
and Clarification Rule in Cluster XXII (Checklist 228), because the
TCEQ needs to make a technical corrections to their adoption of the
rule. The State is seeking authorization for Revision of the Land
Disposal Treatment Standards for Carbamate Wastes (Checklist 227),
Conditional Exclusion for Solvent Contaminated Wipes (Checklist 229)
and Conditional Exclusion for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Streams
in Geologic Sequestration Activities (Checklist 230). The Commissioners
adopted revisions to the Federal hazardous waste standards promulgated
between June 13, 2011, and January 3, 2014. TCEQ regulations 30 Texas
Administrative Code Chapter 335 were revised to include these revisions
to the RCRA Clusters XXI through XXIII. The TCEQ adopted the Federal
regulations on December 10, 2014. The revisions were published in the
Texas Register on January 2, 2015 and became effective on January 8,
2015. The TCEQ authority to incorporate Federal rules by reference can
be found at Texas Administrative Code 335 Sections 335.28, 335.29 and
335.31.

G. What changes EPA authorizing with today's action?

    On April 3, 2015 the State of Texas submitted a final complete
program revision application, seeking authorization of their changes in
accordance with 40 CFR 271.21. We now make direct final decision,
subject to receipt of written comments that oppose this action that the
State of Texas' hazardous waste program revision are equivalent to,
consistent with, and no less stringent than the Federal program, and
therefore satisfy all of requirements necessary to qualify for final
authorization. Therefore, EPA grants the State of Texas final
authorization for RCRA Cluster XXII through XXIII (Checklists 227, 229
and 230). The State of Texas program revisions consist of regulations
which specifically govern Federal Hazardous Waste revisions promulgated
between June 13, 2011, and January 3, 2014 which are listed in the
chart below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Federal Register
    Description of federal        date and page
     requirement  (include         (and/or RCRA       Analogous state
   checklist #, if relevant)        statutory            authority
                                   authority )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Revisions of the Land        76 FR 34147-34157  Texas Water Code
 Disposal Treatment Standards    June 13, 2011.     Annotated Sections
 for Carbamate Wastes.                              5.103 and 5.105,
 (Checklist 227).                                   Texas Health &
                                                    Safety Code
                                                    Annotated Sections
                                                    361.017 and 361.024;
                                                    30 Texas
                                                    Administrative Code,
                                                    Chapter 335 Section
                                                    335.431(c)(1),
                                                    adopted December 10,
                                                    2014 and effective
                                                    January 8, 2015.

2. Conditional Exclusions for   78 FR 46448-46485  Texas Water Code
 Solvent Contaminated Wipes.     July 31, 2013.     Annotated Sections
 (Checklist 229).                                   5.103 and 5.105,
                                                    Texas Health &
                                                    Safety Code
                                                    Annotated Sections
                                                    361.017 and 361.024;
                                                    30 Texas
                                                    Administrative Code,
                                                    Chapter 335 Section
                                                    335.1(104),
                                                    335.1(141),
                                                    335.1(174),
                                                    335.1(140)(A)(iv),
                                                    335.504(1) adopted
                                                    December 10, 2014
                                                    and effective
                                                    January 8, 2015.
3. Conditional Exclusion for    79 FR 350-364      Texas Water Code
 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Streams    January 3, 2014.   Annotated Sections
 in Geologic Sequestration                          5.103 and 5.105,
 Activities. (Checklist 230).                       Texas Health &
                                                    Safety Code
                                                    Annotated Sections
                                                    361.017 and 361.024;
                                                    30 Texas
                                                    Administrative Code,
                                                    Chapter 335 Section
                                                    335.1(16), and
                                                    335.504(1), adopted
                                                    December 10, 2014
                                                    and effective
                                                    January 8, 2015.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

H. Where are the revised state rules different from the Federal rules?

    The State of Texas hazardous waste program is equivalent to the
Federal program in all areas except where the State program is broader
in scope. In the State of Texas, some rules are broader in scope
because they cover both hazardous waste and Class 1 nonhazardous waste,
whereas the Federal regulations cover only hazardous waste. Other
differences which are broader in scope or more stringent contained in
the past authorization packages include more frequent public notices
for traditional hazardous waste permits and for Standard Permit;
financial assurance requirements for persons seeking to acquire a
hazardous waste permit through transfer, and deferring of variances and
exemptions from the Land Disposal Restrictions to EPA.

I. Who handles permits after the authorization takes effect?

    The State of Texas will issue permits for all the provisions for
which it is authorized and will administer the permits it issues. The
EPA will continue to administer any RCRA hazardous waste permits or
portions of permits which we issued prior to the effective date of this
authorization. EPA will not issue any more new permits or new portions
of permits for the provisions listed in the chart in this document
after the effective date of this authorization. The EPA will continue
to implement and issue permits for HSWA requirements for which Texas is
not yet authorized.

J. What is codification and is the EPA codifying Texas' hazardous waste
program as authorized in this rule?

    Codification is the process of placing the State's statutes and
regulations that comprise the State's authorized hazardous waste
program into the CFR. We do this by referencing the authorized State
rules in 40 CFR parts 272. We reserve the amendment of 40 CFR parts
272, subpart SS for this authorization of Texas' program changes until
a later date. In this authorization application the EPA is not
codifying the rules documented in this Federal Register document.

K. Administrative Requirements

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this action
from the requirements of Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, October
4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011). Therefore this
action is not subject to review by OMB. This action authorizes State
requirements for the purpose of RCRA 3006 and imposes no additional
requirements beyond those imposed by State law. Accordingly, I certify
that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this action authorizes preexisting
requirements under State law and does not impose any additional
enforceable duty beyond that required by State law, it does not contain
any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely affect small
governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-4). For the same reason, this action also does not
significantly or uniquely affect the communities of Tribal governments,
as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
This action will not have substantial direct effects on the States, on
the relationship between the national government and the States, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels
of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,
August 10, 1999), because it merely authorizes State requirements as
part of the State RCRA hazardous waste program without altering the
relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities
established by RCRA. This action also is not subject to Executive Order
13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically
significant and it does not make decisions based on environmental
health or safety risks. This rule is not subject to Executive Order
13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001))
because it is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order
12866.
    Under RCRA 3006(b), the EPA grants a State's application for
authorization as long as the State meets the criteria required by RCRA.
It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law for the EPA, when it
reviews a State authorization application; to require the use of any
particular voluntary consensus standard in place of another standard
that otherwise satisfies the requirements of RCRA. Thus, the
requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required
by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996),
in issuing this rule, the EPA has taken the necessary steps to
eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation,
and provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct. The EPA has
complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by
examining the takings implications of the rule in accordance with the
``Attorney General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk
and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued under the Executive
Order. This rule does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.). Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, Feb. 16, 1994) establishes
federal

executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision directs
federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by
law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying
and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and
activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the
United States. Because this rule authorizes pre-existing State rules
which are at least equivalent to, and no less stringent than existing
federal requirements, and imposes no additional requirements beyond
those imposed by State law, and there are no anticipated significant
adverse human health or environmental effects, the rule is not subject
to Executive Order 12898.
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. The EPA will submit a report containing this document
and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot take effect
until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This
action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). This
action nevertheless will be effective December 21, 2015.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Confidential business information, Hazardous waste, Hazardous waste
transportation, Indian lands, Intergovernmental relations, Penalties,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority:  This action is issued under the authority of
sections 2002(a), 3006, and 7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act
as amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, 6974(b).

    Dated: October 1, 2015.
Ron Curry,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2015-26789 Filed 10-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 32320]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12064]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. OR16-18-000]

American Airlines, Inc. v. Plantation Pipe Line Company; Notice
of Complaint

    Take notice that on May 13, 2016, pursuant to Rule 206 of the Rules
of Practice and Procedure of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission), 18 CFR 385.206, section 343.2 of the Commission's Rules
Applicable to Oil Pipeline Proceedings, 18 CFR 343.2, American
Airlines, Inc. (American or Complainant) filed a formal complaint
against Plantation Pipe Line Company (Plantation or Respondent),
alleging that Plantation unlawfully proposed to suspend jet fuel
transportation service in violation of sections 1, 3, 6, 13, and 15 of
the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. app. 1, 3, 6, 13, and 15 (1988)
and that its transmix policy is unduly discriminatory and unduly
preferential, all as more fully explained in the complaint.
    American certifies that copies of the complaint were served on the
contacts for Plantation as listed on the Commission's list of Corporate
Officials.
    Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must
file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Protests will be
considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to
be taken, but will not serve to make protestants parties to the
proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of
intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. The Respondent's
answer and all interventions, or protests must be filed on or before
the comment date. The Respondent's answer, motions to intervene, and
protests must be served on the Complainants.
    The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and
interventions in lieu of paper using the ``eFiling'' link at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should submit an
original and 5 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC
20426. This filing is accessible on-line at http://www.ferc.gov, using
the ``eLibrary'' link and is available for review in the Commission's
Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an ``eSubscription''
link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive email
notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For
assistance with any FERC Online service, please email
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>or call<PHONE_NUMBER> (toll free). For
TTY, call<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 13, 2016.

    Dated: May 17, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-12064 Filed 5-20-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P