Federal Agencies in Montana and Dakotas Align on Safety Practices

MISSOULA, MT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)-Northern Division, and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE)-Northern Region have signed a two-year alliance to promote safe practices in Montana and North and South Dakota’s forestry, logging, firefighting, and natural resource industries.

The alliance will serve as a platform to share information, resources, and industry best working practices among Forest Service and OSHA officials.

“This alliance will enhance the safety of natural resource field operations, as well as wildfire firefighting operations,” said OSHA’s Area Director Eric Brooks, in Bismarck, North Dakota.

The USFS and the Northern Region’s Local Lodges of the NFFE formalized a Memorandum of Understanding in August in which all parties agreed to cooperate and work collaboratively to support the alliance.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report on imminent dangers to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Bismarck Area Office at 701-250-4521.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.