[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]


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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.

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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