[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13180]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 31, 1994]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

36 CFR Part 1236

RIN 3095-AA51

 

Vital Records; Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This regulation proposes to revise completely NARA regulations 
on Federal agencies' management of vital records and to require 
agencies to establish a program for protecting records from possible 
loss due to a disaster or an emergency. Recent natural disasters, 
including earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, indicate a need for 
Federal agencies to implement vital records and records disaster 
mitigation and recovery programs. Such programs ensure continuity of 
agency operations and protect rights and interests of citizens and the 
Government documented in the records. The regulation affects all 
Federal agencies.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Director, Policy and Program 
Analysis Division (NAA), National Archives at College Park, 8601 
Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Ann Hadyka or Nancy Allard at 
301-713-6730 (FTS 301-713-6730) or TDD 301-713-6760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule incorporates three 
significant policy changes in the vital records program contained in 
the current regulation, 36 CFR part 1236. First, the emphasis of the 
vital records program has been changed to provide for protection 
against natural disasters as well as civil defense emergencies. Second, 
agencies will be required to duplicate vital records to ensure that 
such records can be given the special protection needed to prevent 
unauthorized loss or removal. Third, the regulation is broadened to 
require agencies to plan for the protection and recovery of all records 
affected by a disaster or an emergency. This rule is not a significant 
regulatory action as defined by Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 
1993, and has not been reviewed by OMB. As required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, it is hereby certified that this proposed rule will 
not have a significant impact on small business entities.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1236

    Archives and records.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, NARA proposes to revise 
part 1236 of chapter XII of the Code of Federal Regulations to read as 
follows:

PART 1236--VITAL RECORDS; RECORDS DISASTER MITIGATION AND RECOVERY

Subpart A--General

Sec.
1236.10  Purpose.
1236.12  Authority.
1236.14  Definitions.
1236.16  Obtaining program assistance.

Subpart B--Contingency Planning

1236.20  Description.
1236.22  Planning requirements.
1236.24  Personnel requirements.

Subpart C--Vital Records

1236.30  Vital records program.
1236.32  Identifying, using and protecting vital records.

Subpart D--Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Program

1236.40  Records protection.
1236.42  Elements of a records disaster mitigation and recovery 
program.
    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2104(a), 2904(a), 3101, 3102, 3105; and E. 
O. 12656, 53 FR 47491, 3 CFR, 1988 Comp., p. 585.

Subpart A--General


Sec. 1236.10  Purpose.

    This part prescribes policies and procedures for establishing and 
implementing an agency program for the identification, protection, use, 
and recovery of agency records, particularly vital records, before, 
during, and after emergencies. The records may be maintained on a 
variety of media including paper, electronic, audiovisual and 
microform.


Sec. 1236.12  Authority.

    The authority for vital records and records disaster mitigation and 
recovery programs is found in the following responsibilities of the 
head of each agency:
    (a) To make and preserve records containing adequate and proper 
documentation of the agency's organization, functions, policies, 
procedures, decisions, and essential transactions, and to furnish 
information to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government 
and of persons directly affected by the agency's activities (44 U.S.C. 
3101).
    (b) To establish and maintain an active, continuing program for the 
efficient and economical management of the agency's records (44 U.S.C. 
3102).
    (c) To establish safeguards against the removal or loss of records 
determined to be necessary and required by the regulations of the 
Archivist of the United States (44 U.S.C. 3105).
    (d) To perform national security emergency preparedness functions 
and activities (Executive Order 12656, 3 CFR, 1988 Comp., p. 585).


Sec. 1236.14  Definitions.

    Basic records management terms are defined in 36 CFR 1220.14. As 
used in Part 1236:
    Contingency planning means an assessment by each Federal department 
and agency of the actual and potential hazards, emergencies or 
disasters to its operations and records in order to develop and 
implement policies and procedures, including assigning resources, to 
mitigate the effects of such events on its operations and records. 
Contingency planning is part of the continuity of operations planning 
required for an agency's emergency preparedness plan. Federal 
Preparedness Circulars and other guidance issued by the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide further information on 
emergency preparedness planning. Executive Order 12656 specifies the 
responsibilities of Federal departments and agencies during national 
security emergencies.
    Cycle means the periodic removal of obsolete vital records and 
their replacement with current vital records needed by a Federal 
department or agency. This may occur daily, weekly, quarterly, annually 
or less frequently, depending upon the need for the information 
contained in the records.
    Disaster means an unexpected occurrence inflicting widespread 
destruction and distress.
    Emergency means a situation or an occurrence of a serious nature, 
developing suddenly and unexpectedly, and demanding immediate action.
    Emergency coordinator means a senior policy official in each 
Federal department and agency appointed by the head of the agency to be 
responsible for developing and maintaining a multi-year, national 
security emergency preparedness plan for the department or agency to 
include objectives, programs, and budgetary requirements. Executive 
Order 12656 defines this position and its responsibilities.
    Emergency operating records are vital records, regardless of media, 
essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an 
organization during and after an emergency. Included are emergency 
plans and directive(s), orders of succession, delegations of authority, 
staffing assignments, and related records of a policy or procedural 
nature that provide agency staff with guidance for conducting 
operations under emergency conditions and for resuming normal 
operations after an emergency.
    Hazard means a danger, a peril, or a risk.
    National security emergency means any occurrence, including natural 
disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, 
that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of 
the United States. This term is defined in Executive Order 12656.
    Records disaster mitigation and recovery program means the 
policies, plans and procedures developed and implemented and the 
resources assigned by each Federal department and agency to protect its 
records from unauthorized disclosure, loss, or removal or to mitigate 
any such actual disclosures, losses, or removals that may occur.
    Rights-and-interests records are vital records, regardless of 
media, essential to protect the legal and financial rights and 
interests of an organization and of the individuals directly affected 
by its activities. Included are records having such important value 
that their loss would significantly impair the completion of essential 
agency activities to the detriment of the legal or financial rights of 
the organization or individuals directly affected by its activities. 
Examples of this category of vital records are accounts receivable 
records, social security records, payroll records, retirement records, 
and insurance records.
    Vital records mean essential agency records that are needed to meet 
the agency's operational responsibilities under national security 
emergencies or other emergency conditions (emergency operating records) 
or needed to preserve the Government's rights and interests or those of 
its citizens (rights-and-interests records).
    Vital records manager means an official in each Federal department 
and agency designated to coordinate, with other appropriate agency 
officials, the identification, use, protection, and cycling of the 
agency's vital records.
    Vital records program means the policies, plans, and procedures 
developed and implemented and the resources assigned by each Federal 
department and agency to identify, use, and protect the essential 
records needed to meet its operational responsibilities under national 
security emergencies or other emergency conditions or needed to 
preserve the Government's rights and interests or those of its 
citizens.


Sec. 1236.16  Obtaining program assistance.

    (a) Except for inquiries concerning vital records storage in 
Federal records centers, agencies should direct questions about vital 
records and records disaster mitigation and recovery to the Agency 
Services Division, Office of Records Administration, National Archives 
at College Park (NIA), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.
    (b) Agencies should direct questions about vital records storage at 
Federal records centers, including transfer procedures, to the 
appropriate center director (see Sec. 1228.150 of this chapter for 
addresses) or to the Office of Federal Records Centers, National 
Archives at College Park (NC), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 
20740-6001.
    (c) Agencies should consult with appropriate units of the General 
Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) about the disaster recovery and emergency coordination 
programs which they administer.

Subpart B--Contingency Planning


Sec. 1236.20  Description.

    Contingency planning prepares an agency to meet its 
responsibilities under other than normal operating conditions. Such 
planning is critical to assessing an agency's vital records needs and 
program requirements and to determining the means required to protect 
and recover records that may be damaged or destroyed. The planning 
process should be flexible and lead to the development of procedures 
addressing various actual or potential hazards ranging from limited or 
minor emergencies to major disasters. For example, a limited emergency 
may arise when a waterpipe bursts in a building and water damages 
records at that specific site. On the other hand, the 1993 flooding in 
the Midwest is an example of a major disaster, affecting a number of 
Federal agencies and requiring the movement of records to safe areas to 
prevent their possible damage or loss. Contingency planning includes an 
analysis of actual or potential hazards to agency operations and 
records and the probability of occurrence. Hazards may include fire, 
flood, theft, explosion, sabotage, war or sudden attack, structural 
building failures, and environmental emergencies, particularly exposure 
of individuals to hazardous substances.


Sec. 1236.22  Planning requirements.

    The planning must address: (a) What basic agency operations must 
continue during an emergency;
    (b) The responsibilities of agency staff under such conditions;
    (c) What records are required to support those responsibilities, to 
resume basic functions following the emergency or disaster, and to 
protect the rights and interests of the Government and its citizens; 
and
    (d) What procedures and resources must be available to protect 
records from unauthorized loss or removal and recover or replace those 
damaged or destroyed in an emergency or disaster.


Sec. 1236.24  Personnel requirements.

    Senior agency officials concerned with such functions as 
information resources management, records management, emergency 
coordination, facilities management, public affairs, security, and 
safety should participate in the planning.

Subpart C--Vital Records


Sec. 1236.30  Vital records program.

    There are several elements required to establish and implement a 
vital records program.
    (a) Directive. Each Federal agency must issue a directive(s) or 
other published authorization establishing program objectives, 
responsibilities, and authorities for the agency's vital records 
program, including the formal designation of a vital records manager. 
The directive should deal in some detail with the process of 
identifying, protecting, using, and keeping vital records current and 
with the responsibilities of appropriate agency officials in 
implementing the program. Copies of the directive(s) or other 
authorization, including subsequent amendments or supplements, must be 
disseminated throughout the agency as appropriate.
    (b) Training. Adequate training must be provided to appropriate 
agency personnel at all levels on policies, responsibilities, and 
techniques for the implementation of the vital records program.
    (c) Annual review. An agency's vital records program must be 
reviewed annually and modified, as necessary, to reflect changes in the 
agency's mission, programs, or operations. Ideally, such a review will 
include testing of the program by appropriate agency staff in mock 
disaster situations. The review must also determine whether the vital 
records selected for duplication (see Sec. 1236.32) are current, 
complete, adequately protected, accessible, and usable when needed.


Sec. 1236.32  Identifying, using and protecting vital records.

    (a) Vital records plan. Each Federal agency must develop and 
implement a plan for identifying and protecting its vital records in 
accordance with Subpart B and Sec. 1236.40 of this part. Critical to 
this effort is the development and maintenance of a current inventory 
of the agency's record series and information systems deemed to be 
vital. The vital records plan is a crucial element of an agency's 
emergency preparedness continuity of operations plan.
    (b) Volume and use. In identifying vital records, an agency must 
keep the volume of records at a manageable level. Also, retrieval 
procedures should require only routine effort to locate needed 
information, keeping in mind that during an emergency those who will 
use the records may not be the same individuals as those who use them 
under normal conditions.
    (c) Vital records copies. The copy of the vital record stored off-
site is normally a duplicate of the original record. Generally, 
designating and using duplicate copies of original records as vital 
records is preferable to using the original records themselves because 
the duplicates are easier to manage and to keep current. Obsolete 
duplicates may be disposed of upon their replacement by duplicates 
containing updated information, whereas original records used as vital 
records must be retained for the period specified in the agency records 
schedule. In rare cases, the agency may designate the original as the 
emergency off-site copy and retain the duplicate in current files. The 
agency may decide to store the original record off-site if original 
signatures are necessary, or if it does not need to keep the original 
record at its normal place of business. The agency should ensure that 
proper storage conditions exist for originals stored off-site and that 
their disposition is authorized and carried out under the terms of an 
approved agency records schedule.
    (d) Storage considerations. The storage site for off-site copies 
depends on the category of vital record. Records that fall into both 
categories are handled as emergency operating records.
    (1) The off-site copies of emergency operating vital records should 
be stored reasonably near the agency for immediate use in the event of 
disaster, generally in a designated off-site emergency operations 
center. They may not be located at a Federal records center.
    (2) The off-site copy of rights-and-interests vital records may be 
stored at an off-site agency location or, in accordance with 
Sec. 1228.156 of this chapter, at any Federal records center. When 
duplicate copies of these records maintained to protect legal and 
financial rights are transferred to a Federal records center, the 
agency must identify them as vital records, specify that they are 
duplicates and the medium on which they are maintained, and 
periodically cycle (update) them by removing obsolete items and 
replacing them with the most recent version.
    (e) Management controls. An agency must apply management controls 
to off-site copies to ensure that they are accurate, current, and 
complete. The disposition controls that apply to the vital record must 
also be applied to the off-site copy. Periodic cycling should occur.
    (f) Disposition of permanent vital records. The original copies of 
vital records that have been appraised and scheduled as permanent must 
be transferred to the National Archives as provided in the agency 
records schedule. After transfer, the agency may dispose of any 
duplicate copy in its custody when it is no longer needed for current 
business.

Subpart D--Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Program


Sec. 1236.40  Records protection.

    Federal records have value. Their value determines the level of 
protection that they require. Appropriate agency officials must 
identify and implement suitable protective measures for agency records, 
including vital records, to address actual or potential hazards, 
emergencies or disasters identified in contingency planning and to 
which the agency may be subject. Protective measures include, but are 
not limited to, using fire-rated filing equipment; providing an on-site 
vault to store records required for continuing agency operations, for 
protecting legal or financial rights and interests, or for those 
deserving more than routine protection; transferring records to off-
site storage not subject to the same hazard, emergency or disaster; 
conducting regular facility and security inspections of records storage 
areas, such as off-site inactive storage and vital records holding 
areas, to identify potential hazards; duplicating records at the time 
of creation, such as computer ``backup tapes;'' using existing 
duplicates routinely created in the normal course of business; or 
microfilming required records. Standards for the creation, preservation 
and use of microforms are found in 36 CFR part 1230--Micrographic 
Records Management, and for audiovisual records in 36 CFR part 1232--
Audiovisual Records Management. For electronic information systems, 
agencies should be aware of the protective measures and standards 
prescribed by the Computer Security Act of 1987 (40 U.S.C. 759, Pub. L. 
100-235), OMB Circular A-130, and 36 CFR Part 1234--Electronic Records 
Management and 41 CFR part 201, Subchapter B-Management and Use of 
Information and Records.


Sec. 1236.42  Elements of a records disaster mitigation and recovery 
program.

    There are several elements required to establish and implement a 
records disaster mitigation and recovery program.
    (a) Directive. Each Federal agency must issue a directive(s) or 
other published authorization establishing program objectives, 
responsibilities, and authorities for the agency's records disaster 
mitigation and recovery program, including the formal designation of an 
official assigned program responsibility. This directive need not 
necessarily be a separate directive devoted exclusively to records 
disaster recovery, but may be issued as part of the agency's vital 
records or other emergency planning directive(s). Copies of the 
directive(s) or other authorization, including subsequent amendments or 
supplements, must be disseminated throughout the agency as appropriate.
    (b) Records recovery plan. Each Federal agency must develop and 
implement a records recovery plan. Such a plan outlines how records, 
regardless of media, damaged by fire, water, or other agents may be 
preserved and/or recovered and the information in them made available 
for continued use. The plan must assign specific tasks to a designated 
agency recovery team, including damage assessment; define the priority 
in which specific records or record media receive attention when 
damaged and the time frame in which required recovery actions should 
occur; and contain other recovery information, such as lists of records 
recovery consultants and lists of supplies and equipment to be 
maintained on-site in the event of an emergency.
    (c) Training. Adequate training must be provided to appropriate 
agency personnel at all levels on policies, responsibilities, and 
techniques for the implementation of the records disaster mitigation 
and recovery program.
    (d) Annual review. An agency's records disaster mitigation and 
recovery program must be reviewed annually and modified, as necessary, 
to reflect changes in the agency's mission, programs, or operations. 
Ideally, such a review will include testing of the recovery plan by 
members of a designated recovery team in mock disaster or emergency 
situations. The review must also determine whether the resources and 
information needed to implement a records recovery plan are adequate, 
complete and current.

    Dated: May 23, 1994.
Trudy Huskamp Peterson,
Acting Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 94-13180 Filed 5-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P