Titles of Regulations: 16VAC25-90. Federal Identical General Industry Standards (amending 16VAC25-90-1910.269, Appendices A-2, B, C, D, and E to 16VAC25-90-1910.269).

16VAC25-175. Federal Identical Construction Industry Standards (amending 16VAC25-175-1926.960, 16VAC25-175-968, Appendix B to Subpart V of Part 126).

Statutory Authority: § 40.1-22 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: February 15, 2015.

Agency Contact: John J. Crisanti, Planning and Evaluation Manager, Department of Labor and Industry, Main Street Centre, 600 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-4300, FAX (804) 786-8418, or email crisanti.john@dol.gov.

Summary:

In a final rule, federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration corrected numerous errors in its Final Rule for Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution; Electrical Protective Equipment.

Changes to § 1910.269 of Subpart R include (i) revising paragraph (h)(2)(i) to include the strength requirement for portable ladders; (ii) in Table R-3, AC Live-Line Work Minimum Approach Distance, revising the equation under the entry "For phase-to-phase system voltages of more than 72.5 kV, nominal" and changing "Table 6 through Table 13" to read "Table 14 through Table 21" in footnote 2; (iii) in Tables R-6 and R-7, removing the bracketed expression "[In meters or feet and inches]"; (iv) revising Appendix A-2, Application of § 1910.269 and Subpart S of this Part to Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices, to correct the first question in the flow chart so that it refers to the definition of "qualified" in § 1910.399; (v) In Appendix B, Working on Exposed Energized Parts, § IV.D, changing "Table 7 through Table 14" wherever it appears to "Table 14 through Table 21" and the title "Table 6-Minimum Approach Distances until March 31, 2015" to "Table 6-Minimum Approach Distances until December 31, 2014"; (vi) in Appendix C, Protection From Hazardous Differences in Electric Potential, redesignating footnotes 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 as footnotes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively; (vii) in Appendix D, Methods of Inspecting and Testing Wood Poles, redesignating footnotes 19 and 20 as footnotes 1 and 2, respectively; and (viii) in Appendix E, Protection From Flames and Electric Arcs, redesignating footnotes 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29 as footnotes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively.

Changes to Subpart V of Part 1926, Electric Power Transmission and Distribution include (i) in Tables V-5 and V-6 of §1926.960 of Subpart V, removing the parenthetical expression "(In Meters or Feet and Inches)" in the table headings; (ii) in § 1926.968, changing "§ 1926.1200" to "§ 1926.59" in the note to the definition of "Hazardous atmosphere" (5) and changing "section" to "subpart" in paragraph 2 of the definition of "Lines" and (iii) in Table 2 of Appendix B to Subpart V of Part 1926, changing "2. Multiply by √3" to "2. Multiply by √2."

This regulatory action adopts the corrections in OSHA's final rule to Subpart R (Special Industries) of 29 CFR Part 1910 and Subpart V (Electric Power Transmission and Distribution) of 29 CFR Part 1926.

Note on Incorporation by Reference: Pursuant to § 2.2-4103 of the Code of Virginia, 29 CFR Part 1910 (Occupational and Safety Health Standards) and 29 CFR Part 1926 (Safety and Health Regulations for Construction) are declared documents generally available to the public and appropriate for incorporation by reference. For this reason, these documents will not be printed in the Virginia Register of Regulations. A copy of these documents are available for inspection at the Department of Labor and Industry, Main Street Centre, 600 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, and in the office of the Registrar of Regulations, General Assembly Building, 201 North 9th Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Statement of Final Agency Action: On December 11, 2014, the Safety and Health Codes Board adopted federal OSHA's final rule for Corrections to the Final Rule for Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution; Electrical Protective Equipment, as published in 79 FR 56955-56962 on September 24, 2014, with an effective date of February 15, 2015.

Federal Terms and State Equivalents: When the regulations as set forth in the revised final rule for Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Safety and Health Regulations for Construction is applied to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry or to Virginia employers, the following federal terms shall be considered to read as follows: