[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 227 (Friday, November 26, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 66504-66506] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-30777] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Records Services--Washington, DC. ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed records schedules; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice at least once monthly of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). Once approved by NARA, records schedules provide mandatory instructions on what happens to records when no longer needed for current Government business. They authorize the preservation of records of continuing value in the National Archives of the United States and the destruction, after a specified period, of records lacking administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is published for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy records not previously authorized for disposal or reduce the retention period [[Page 66505]] of records already authorized for disposal. NARA invites public comments on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a). DATES: Requests for copies must be received in writing on or before January 10, 2000. Once the appraisal of the records is completed, NARA will send a copy of the schedule. NARA staff usually prepare appraisal memorandums that contain additional information concerning the records covered by a proposed schedule. These, too, may be requested and will be provided once the appraisal is completed. Requesters will be given 30 days to submit comments. ADDRESSES: To request a copy of any records schedule identified in this notice, write to the Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Requests also may be transmitted by FAX to 301- 713-6852 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Requesters must cite the control number, which appears in parentheses after the name of the agency which submitted the schedule, and must provide a mailing address. Those who desire appraisal reports should so indicate in their request. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie Allen, Director, Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Telephone: (301) 713-7110. E-mail: [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year Federal agencies create billions of records on paper, film, magnetic tape, and other media. To control this accumulation, agency records managers prepare schedules proposing retention periods for records and submit these schedules for NARA's approval, using the Standard Form (SF) 115, Request for Records Disposition Authority. These schedules provide for the timely transfer into the National Archives of historically valuable records and authorize the disposal of all other records after the agency no longer needs to conduct its business. Some schedules are comprehensive and cover all the records of an agency or one of its major subdivisions. Most schedules, however, cover records of only one office or program or a few series of records. Many of these update previously approved schedules, and some include records proposed as permanent. No Federal records are authorized for destruction without the approval of the Archivist of the United States. This approval is granted only after a thorough consideration of their administrative use by the agency of origin, the rights of the Government and of private persons directly affected by the Government's activities, and whether or not they have historical or other value. Besides identifying the Federal agencies and any subdivisions requesting disposition authority, this public notice lists the organizational unit(s) accumulating the records or indicates agency- wide applicability in the case of schedules that cover records that may be accumulated throughout an agency. This notice provides the control number assigned to each schedule, the total number of schedule items, and the number of temporary items (the records proposed for destruction). It also includes a brief description of the temporary records. The records schedule itself contains a full description of the records at the file unit level as well as their disposition. If NARA staff has prepared an appraisal memorandum for the schedule, it too, includes information about the records. Further information about the disposition process is available on request. Schedules Pending 1. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration (N1-440-99-3, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Responses to Congressional referrals of public correspondence to the agency concerning the ``condition of participation'' rules for Medicare and Medicaid published in the Federal Register in the summer of 1980. Included are letters from the public, referral letters from Congressional offices, and HCFA's responses. 2. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (N1-49-98-2, 10 items, 4 temporary items). Data used in geographic information systems and contained in resources inventory and survey files that are unaltered or minimally altered upon receipt from other Federal agencies, state and local agencies, or commercial sources or that do not support significant projects or decisions. Data that have been modified substantially or that are uniquely created by the agency are proposed for permanent retention. 3. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (N1-49- 99-2, 10 items, 10 temporary items). Records relating to information technology security. Included are statements of responsibility, computer security incident reports, documents on access to systems, security and contingency plans, risk assessments, and electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 4. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (N1-49-99-3, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Fire dispatch audio tapes that cover routine fire season dispatch activities and year-round required aircraft check-in with dispatch control. Also included are electronic copies of fire management files created using electronic mail and word processing. 5. Department of State, Bureau of South Asian Affairs (N1-59-99- 12, 9 items, 6 temporary items). Records of the Assistant Secretary and Staff Assistants, including electronic calendars, staff assistant files, and trip files. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. The Assistant Secretary's program files, briefing books, and the Assistant Secretary's calendar books are proposed for permanent retention. 6. Department of State, Bureau of South Asian Affairs (N1-59-99- 13, 10 items, 8 temporary items). Records relating to the administration of Department activities concerning Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, including subject files, chronological files, and biographic files. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. An historical document file and briefing books are proposed for permanent retention. 7. Department of State, Bureau of South Asian Affairs (N1-59-99- 14, 12 items, 10 temporary items). Records relating to the administration of Department activities concerning India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, including subject files, chronological files, and biographic files. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. An historical document file and briefing books are proposed for permanent retention. 8. Department of State, Bureau of South Asian Affairs (N1-59-99- 15, 14 items, 11 temporary items). Administrative files, subject files, and press/media reports accumulated by the Bureau's Office of Regional Affairs. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. Mission and Bureau performance plans are proposed for permanent retention. 9. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (N1-58-00- 1, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Reports and workpapers relating to procedures used [[Page 66506]] by Federal, state, and local agencies to protect Federal tax information. 10. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy (N1-412-96-2, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Electronic copies of documents pertaining to information collection created using electronic mail and word processing. This schedule also proposes an increase in the retention period for recordkeeping copies of these files, which were previously approved for disposal. 11. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-4, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Motor vehicle recall and in-use testing records, including listings of vehicle owners, forms, and correspondence. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 12. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Agency-wide (N1- 255-99-2, 5 items, 5 temporary items). Inspections and proof reports, including paper records, photographs, electronic media, and electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. The records include certifications of acceptance and results of tests done at NASA testing centers to verify that new components meet manufacturer specifications. 13. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Agency-wide (N1- 255-99-3, 5 items, 5 temporary items). Records relating to NASA's quality management program and to quality assurance testing of ground- based pressure systems, including electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. Quality management program records include audits, evaluations, and corrective action documents. Records relating to the testing of ground-based pressure systems include correspondence, inspection reports, and all other documentation associated with these tests. 14. National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Presidential Libraries (N1-64-00-2, 4 items, 3 temporary items). Researcher case files containing researcher applications, access requests, correspondence, and reproduction orders. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. Case files for researchers who have produced significant and/or controversial research are proposed for permanent retention. 15. Panama Canal Commission, Agency-wide (N1-185-98-1, 15 items, 15 temporary items). Electronic versions of previously-scheduled paper records created by the agency's climatological, hydrological, and meteorological data systems. The records consist of scientific and weather observational data, such as wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, dew point, barometric pressure, solar radiation, rainfall, and river, lake, and tide elevations. 16. Securities and Exchange Commission (N1-266-99-2, 19 items, 13 temporary items). Older files accumulated by various agency offices, 1933-1969. Included are such records as duplicate copies of orders, draft minutes, regional office investigative files relating to cases in which action was not taken by agency headquarters, subject files relating to administrative matters, court stenographers' tapes, registers listing documents submitted by companies applying for registration of securities, and questionnaires and other background materials for studies. Records proposed for permanent retention include studies and supporting documentation held by the Division of Records Management, 1934-1946, Central Files of the Commission for the period 1934-1964, records relating to Senate Banking and Currency Committee hearings held during the 1930s, and documents submitted by utility companies that date from ca. 1921-1962. 17. Tennessee Valley Authority, Agency-wide (N1-142-99-7, 9 items, 9 temporary items). Electronic database files, input/source documents, and hardcopy files and printouts created in the process of collecting, measuring, assessing, and reporting routine procurement data. Records pertain to such subjects as commodity purchases from specific companies, credit card transactions, contracts with small business, purchase orders and requests for quotes, and other related matters. 18. Tennessee Valley Authority, Agency-wide (N1-142-99-15, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Records used to validate and track all application and/or system hardware/software for TVA Year 2000 Compliance. Included are standard forms and inventory-related documents used to verify compliance or noncompliance for hardware, servers, and their peripherals. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. Dated: November 19, 1999. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Record Services--Washington, DC. [FR Doc. 99-30777 Filed 11-24-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515-01-P