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NPGA requests compliance extension for crane operator rule

May 8, 2017 By    

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) called on newly confirmed U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to immediately delay the compliance deadline for certain provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Cranes and Derricks in Construction regulation.

OSHA’s final rule on Cranes and Derricks in Construction went into effect in November 2010, and the initial deadline to comply with the regulation was November 2014. OSHA extended the compliance deadline to November 2017 to adjust the standard’s wording and allow for provisions pertaining to crane operator certification, but OSHA has not made any modifications to the regulation, NPGA notes.

NPGA requested that Acosta postpone the compliance deadline by an additional three years and instruct the agency to re-engage stakeholders in changing the regulation, NPGA says.

“OSHA has failed to hold up their end of the bargain during the last three years and provide modifications to the existing rule,” says Rick Roldan, NPGA’s president and CEO. “The industry is depending on Secretary Acosta to take action and hold OSHA accountable.”

The Cranes and Derricks in Construction regulation impacts the propane industry by requiring that employees working at a construction site and operating a crane with a lifting capacity of more than 2,000 pounds receive third-party certification. At the onset of this regulation, NPGA challenged its relevance to propane tank delivery and argued for exclusion from the regulation. OSHA has maintained that the regulation is activity-specific rather than industry-specific, as its requirements may cover some propane tank deliveries by articulating or mobile cranes, NPGA adds.

NPGA will likely make delaying this regulation a main discussion topic during June’s Propane Days event in Washington, D.C. NPGA also plans to release a white paper detailing the requirements of the Cranes and Derricks in Construction regulation once the regulation is finalized.

About the Author:

Megan Smalley was an associate editor at LP Gas magazine.

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