The threatened federal takeover of the V.I. Occupational Safety and Health Program was averted Tuesday as Gov. Charles Turnbull signed a bill appropriating almost $750,000 for the program.
Turnbull had to call a special session of the Senate last week so it could appropriate $748,428 for the local OSHA program from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund. Regional administrators of the federal OSHA program had, according to Turnbull and Labor Commissioner Sonia Jacobs Dow, threatened to take over the V.I operation because of a lack of staff, training and equipment.
The local program is funded by a 50-50 grant, meaning the V.I. government must match what the federal government provides. Turnbull said that for the last eight fiscal quarters the territory hasn’t been able to meet the match.
At last week’s special session, Dow asserted that Patricia Clark, OSHA’s Region II administrator, had an agenda to "colonize" the local program. Turnbull has said a takeover could have opened "the door to other takeovers by the federal government."
"With funding in place, the Department of Labor will now be able to hire staff, provide mandatory training and purchase protective field equipment for compliance personnel," Turnbull said, adding that the law "mutes any effort" to remove the OSHA program from the local government.
Following last week’s Senate session, Clark and a Region II spokeswoman declined to comment.