[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 71507-71509] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-33006] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 February 4, 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 [[Page 71508]] 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 Defense, Office of the Inspector General (N1-509- 00-1, 2 items, 1 temporary item). Electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing that relate to investigations of the loss of U.S. Central Command nuclear, biological, and chemical desk logs accumulated during the Persian Gulf War. Recordkeeping copies of these files are proposed for permanent retention. 2. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (N1-509- 00-2, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Records of investigations of deaths of members of the Armed Forces from self-inflicted causes, 1994-1999, including electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. This schedule also increases the retention period for recordkeeping copies of these files, which were previously approved for disposal. 3. Department of Energy, Agency-wide (N1-434-98-24, 5 items, 4 temporary items). Investigative records that lack historical significance, including files stemming from allegations that do not result in an investigation. Files include reports, correspondence, and supporting working papers. Files that pertain to cases that attract media or congressional attention, result in substantive changes in agency policy, or document major violations of criminal law are proposed for permanent retention. A 75 year retention period is proposed for temporary files that pertain to environmental matters or health and safety issues. 4. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (N1-514-99-1, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Older records accumulated primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. Included are such records as contract files related to health care statistics, correspondence relating to the administrative activities of the Division of Health Examination Statistics, expired project files of the Division of Data Policy documenting the process by which administrative clearances were obtained for studies, and contract files relating to the establishment of health service management operations in several localities. 5. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Administration (N1-31-99-1, 18 items, 10 temporary items). Closed case files for servicing and tracking loan accounts, working copies of statistical summaries and reports, and fiscal accounting records. Temporary records were accumulated between 1934 and 1971. Records proposed for permanent retention include policy correspondence, studies, procedural memos, subject files, and market analysis reports. 6. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service (N1-36-99-1, 15 items, 3 temporary items). Central File segments relating to specific actions involving rate setting, classification of merchandise, entry duties, exemptions, and similar matters, 1902-1964. Also proposed for disposal are card indexes to temporary investigation files, 1938-1958, and files on management improvement projects accumulated during the 1960s that pertain to such matters as forms management, space utilization, and personnel management. A wide variety of older records pre-dating 1970 are proposed for permanent retention including letter books and ledgers of the Vermont District, records of the Port of New York Collector's Office, records relating to clearances and entrances at the Port of Baltimore, and selected Central File segments, 1902- 1964. 7. Department of the Treasury, United States Mint (N1-104-99-3, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Correspondence, contracts, monitoring reports, statements of work, periodic inspection plans and schedules, and surveys relating to asbestos abatement in agency facilities. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 8. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides Programs (N1-412-99-13, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Company transfer files, including paper and microfilm records and electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. The records consist of correspondence, transfer agreements, and other supporting documentation that pertain to the transfer or ownership of companies, products, and data. 9. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-14, 5 items, 5 temporary items). Appointee clearance files and laboratory performance evaluation records, including electronic copies of records created using electronic mail and word processing. Clearance files document the selection of political appointees and include applications for employment, background information about individuals, financial disclosure forms, security clearances, and White House clearance checklists. Laboratory performance files document the accreditation program for labs and include statistical reports, performance summaries, and other documents, used to measure the quality of work performed at laboratories. 10. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-15, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Case files and working papers for mission- related projects that explore new technologies or methods for improving the environment, including electronic copies of records created using electronic mail and word processing. The records include proposals, [[Page 71509]] monitoring and measurement plans, correspondence, progress reports, and other supporting documentation. The records do not include final reports on the planning and establishment of agency programs following pilot projects, which were previously approved for permanent retention. 11. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-21, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Records relating to Federal Register notices, including drafts and final notices, tear sheets from the Federal Register, newspaper clippings, press releases, citations and abstracts of articles, correspondence, logs, and tracking systems. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 12. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-22, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Quality Assurance Project Plans and Quality Management Plans, including electronic copies of records created using electronic mail and word processing. Records document administrative procedures for ensuring that environmental data used to support agency decisions are of adequate quality and usability for their intended purpose. Included are records that establish criteria for planning, implementing, documenting, and assessing data collection activities. 13. Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Programs (N1-184-99-1, 6 items, 6 temporary items). Paper and optical disk copies of Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act records compiled in determining the validity of sickness insurance applications and unemployment claim forms for compensation administered by the agency. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 14. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Chief Information Officer (N1-138-99-2, 7 items, 7 temporary items). Records relating to the Commission Issuance Posting System Manager, an electronic database for internal agency use that contains copies of issuances and related documents. Included are input documents, the master database, outputs (including text files used for input into a publicly available data base), system documentation, and electronic copies of records created using electronic mail and word processing. Recordkeeping copies of the agency's issuances were previously approved for permanent retention. 15. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Chief Information Officer (N1-138-98-7, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Records relating to the Commission Issuance Posting System, an electronic database of agency issuances created for public reference use. Included are input documents, the master database, outputs, and system documentation. 16. National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Agency-wide (N1-220- 99-3, 40 items, 11 temporary items). Background information and unsolicited public opinion and reference files not used for decision- making purposes by the Commission. Also included are electronic copies of records created using electronic mail, word processing, and web- based systems. Records proposed for permanent retention include correspondence files, meeting files, subject files, subcommittee files, case studies, reports, and publications. Electronic information systems pertaining to the Commission's comprehensive study of the legal, social, and economic impact of gambling on American society are also proposed for permanent retention. Dated: December 10, 1999. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Record Services--Washington, DC. [FR Doc. 99-33006 Filed 12-20-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515-01-P