Honorable J. Davitt McAteer
Assistant Secretary for
Mine Safety and Health
Department of Labor
4015 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22203-1984
Re: Proposed Rule for Occupational Noise Exposure 30 CFR Part 62, RIN 1219-AA53
Dear Mr. McAteer:
We have worked with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on the issues raised in our letter of September 17, 1996, regarding the proposed rule for occupational noise exposure in mines and the accompanying economic analysis.1 This letter is to recognize the agency's improvements to the certification and small business analysis for this rulemaking.
The Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) was established by Congress under Public Law No. 94-305 to advocate the views of small business before Federal agencies and Congress. Advocacy is also required by §612 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)2 to monitor agencies' compliance with the RFA. This letter is for the public docket regarding compliance with RFA in this rulemaking.
MSHA has completed an analysis of the economic impact of this regulation on all small mines (e.g., those firms with fewer than 500 employees). This analysis is a significant step towards compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The Small Business Administration established this size definition under the authority of the Small Business Act and the definition appears in 13 Code of Federal Regulations § 121. To our understanding, the agency has complied with RFA by certifying the rule based on this proper definition, and the certification includes constructive language inviting public comment on the agency's economic findings.
At this point, the rulemaking and the analysis provided by the agency will be subject to public comment. The agency's plans to disseminate this proposal to the entire mining industry demonstrates a commitment to receiving input on the small business impact of this rulemaking. The next step of compliance with the RFA is the agency's response to any issues raised by the small business community on the certification or the underlying assumptions in the regulatory analysis. In conclusion, based on the record available to the Office of Advocacy at this time, we have no objections to release of the regulatory proposal for public comment.
If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please contact Anita Drummond at (202) 205-6532.
Sincerely,
Jere W. Glover
Chief Counsel for Advocacy
cc: Honorable Sally Katzen
BACKGROUND
1) clearly define small mine as less than 500 employees in the first paragraph for the purposes of certification;
2) insert a statement in the first paragraph explaining that there is no impact on small governmental jurisdictions or nonprofit organizations;
3) include the newly developed chart with the full analysis, demonstrating the agency's findings for small mines with less than 500 employees;
4) delete the language discussing the possible use of an alternative definition because it is not a fundamental part of this certification.
Further, we recommend that if the agency wants to introduce the alternative definition discussion into the public record that it is placed at the end of the certification to avoid confusion. The agency can continue to show its findings for firms with less than 20 employees but it should be accompanied by findings about other sized firms falling within the definition of small mine. We also want to remind you that Advocacy will comment on the "alternative size standards" issue if it is on the record. We hope these clarifications can be made on the certification. - Anita
ENDNOTES
1 "Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis and Preliminary Regulatory Flexibility Analysis," Proposed Rule: 20 CFR Part 62, RIN 1219-AA53, Health Standards for Occupational Noise Exposure at Metal, Nonmetal and Coal Mines, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor (August 8, 1996).
2 5 U.S.C. §§601-612.