[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67634-67662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30973]



[[Page 67633]]

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Part II





National Archives and Records Administration





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36 CFR Parts 1220, 1222, and 1228



Agency Records Centers; Final Rule Storage of Federal Records; Final 
Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 231 / Thursday, December 2, 1999 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 67634]]



NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

36 CFR Part 1228

RIN 3095-AA81


Agency Records Centers

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Final rule; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: NARA is issuing revised regulations updating the standards 
that records center storage facilities must meet to store Federal 
records. Since the regulations were last updated in 1982, there have 
been a number of advances in sprinkler systems and other general 
facility standards that significantly improve the environment and 
general safeguards for Federal records. This rule also reflects updated 
information on certain measures that may prevent fire and water damage 
to records. NARA also recognizes the authority of agencies to contract 
with private entities for the storage of Federal records. NARA provides 
agencies with standards, procedures and guidelines for the use of such 
commercial records storage facilities. The regulation will apply to all 
agencies, including NARA, that establish and operate records centers, 
and to agencies that contract for the services of commercial records 
storage facilities.
    As a result of the comments received on the proposed rule, we are 
adding new provisions that address handling conflicts with other 
regulatory requirements and requests for waivers. We are seeking public 
comments on these new provisions.

DATES: This rule is effective January 3, 2000, except Secs. 1228.234, 
1228.236, and 1228.238 which will be effective March 2, 2000.
    The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in 
the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of 
January 3, 2000.
    Comments on Secs. 1228.234, 1228.236, and 1228.238 must be received 
by January 31, 2000 at the address shown below. NARA intends to publish 
any changes to Secs. 1228.234, 1228.236, and 1228.238 resulting from 
this comment period before March 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Regulation Comment Desk (NPLN), 
National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, 
College Park, MD 20740-6001. Comments may be faxed to 301-713-7270.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Allard at (301) 713-7360, ext. 
226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking on April 30, 1999, at 64 FR 23504. On June 7, 1999, NARA 
announced a June 18, 1999, public meeting on the proposed rule and 
extended the comment period to July 7, 1999 (64 FR 30276). 
Approximately 30 people attended the public meeting. NARA received 
timely comments from 11 Federal agencies, 5 professional organizations, 
2 commercial records centers, and 5 other individuals or companies. In 
addition, NARA received a number of comments dated on or before July 7, 
1999, forwarded from Congressional offices.
    On September 15, 1999, at 64 FR 50028, NARA published an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis to aid the public in commenting upon 
the small business impact of the proposed rule. Comments on the initial 
analysis were received from an industry association, 6 firms that 
provide records storage services, 12 Federal agencies, and two other 
individuals.
    Following is a summary of the comments and a discussion of the 
changes that we made to the proposed rule.
    Four Federal agencies concurred in full with the proposed rule in 
their written comments, as did two individuals and two companies. The 
National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators, 
ARMA International, and the Society of American Archivists also 
expressed strong support for the proposed rule in their written 
comments. Two commercial records centers and PRISM International, a 
not-for-profit industry association that includes off-site storage 
company members, opposed the proposed rule in their written comments; 
these commenters and other commercial records centers also raised 
concerns in the June 18 public meeting. The other Federal agencies and 
the Federal Information and Records Managers Council, an organization 
of Federal information and records management professionals, raised 
questions or suggested changes to the proposed rule in their comments.

General Comments

    One of the broad concerns expressed by some Federal and private 
sector comments was whether the cost of compliance with the proposed 
NARA standards would preclude the private sector from competing for 
Federal agency business or make them less competitive than NARA Federal 
Records Centers (FRCs). Part of the concern expressed in these comments 
was based on a misinterpretation of the proposed Sec. 1228.234, which 
provided the specifications for NARA's tested fire-safety detection and 
suppression system as one alternative way to achieve a system that is 
designed to limit the maximum anticipated loss in any single fire event 
to a maximum of 300 cubic feet of records destroyed by fire. That 
section specified a maximum records storage height of 15 feet, which is 
not commonly used in commercial facilities, but is standard in NARA 
FRCs. To address this common misinterpretation, we have moved the NARA 
FRC specifications to a new Appendix B that clearly states the 
specifications are an optional alternative way of complying with the 
rule. Another basis for the concern with the cost of the proposed rule 
was the requirement in proposed Sec. 1228.230(b) that records storage 
areas not exceed 250,000 cubic feet of records. We have also modified 
that requirement. Further discussion of the comments on the cost of 
compliance is found later in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION in the 
section titled Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) Certification.
    Another concern expressed by some written comments and at the 
public meeting was whether all Federal records warrant the level of 
protection that would be provided by the proposed standard. As we noted 
in the preamble to the proposed rule and again at the public meeting 
and in the September 15, 1999, initial analysis, Federal records 
provide essential documentation of the Federal government's policies 
and transactions and protect the rights of individuals. The Government 
has an obligation to protect and preserve these records for their 
entire retention period, even if that retention period is only a few 
years, as is the case with IRS income tax returns. We believe that 
there is a minimum level of fire safety, security, and structural 
integrity that any facility storing Federal records must have, which 
are reflected in these standards. For environmental controls, where a 
difference in the level of protection is warranted for permanent 
records, we have taken a graded approach by retention and media. We 
also note that a higher level of physical security is appropriate for 
vital records and records of high intrinsic value, but this regulation 
focuses on the minimum requirements for protecting all Federal records.
    Several industry comments and the FIRM Council expressed skepticism 
that NARA's own records centers will meet the standards. As we stated 
at the public meeting, all NARA FRCs are in compliance with those 
portions of the rule that become effective on ``day one,''

[[Page 67635]]

i.e., the effective date of this final rule. Many NARA records center 
facilities are not compliant with environmental and water damage 
control provisions that do not become effective until 2009.

Relationship to Existing Industry Standards

    One commercial records storage vendor argued that existing industry 
storage standards should not be discarded in favor of NARA's proposed 
rule; conversely, an individual noted that the proposed rule ``fills a 
badly needed void in our Records Management literature. We do not have 
definitive or comprehensive standards for a Records Center.'' Currently 
there is no standard for records storage facilities larger than 49,999 
cubic feet of records (NFPA 232 (1995), Standard for the Protection of 
Records). NFPA 232A (1995), Guide for Fire Protection for Archives and 
Records Centers, is a guide or recommended practice, and is not 
mandatory. However, NFPA 232A does recommend the sprinkler systems and 
compartmentalization required by this and NARA's previous rule. Other 
standards such as NFPA 13, 231 and 231C treat Federal records the same 
as the storage of blank paper (or even used paper for recycling), and 
are intended to provide life safety, protection of adjacencies, etc., 
but not necessarily to limit the loss of records to an acceptable level 
of risk. Further discussion of the appropriateness of using NFPA 13, 
231, and 231C as the only fire protection requirements is found in the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification section of this Supplementary 
Information.

Conflicts With Other Codes

    Several comments questioned why local and regional building codes 
could not be followed in place of the proposed NARA standards. At the 
June 18 meeting, NARA staff explained that fire-safety components of 
building codes are designed to protect the life and safety of 
occupants, mitigate against the spread of a fire to adjacent 
structures, and to protect fire fighters, not to limit the loss of 
valuable contents. NARA's standards in this final rule supplement the 
building codes to provide a safety level for the items stored.
    We recognize, however, that there may be instances where a NARA 
standard differs from a local or regional building code provision. We 
have added a new Sec. 1228.234 that outlines how such conflicts should 
be handled. Following normal rules of precedence in applying differing 
standards or codes, we specify that if any NARA provisions conflict 
with local or regional codes, the more stringent fire protection and 
life-safety provision applies. If a mandatory NARA requirement cannot 
be reconciled with a mandatory local or regional requirement, the local 
or regional code applies. We invite public comment on this new 
Sec. 1228.234, which has a delayed effective date so that we can 
consider any comments on it.

Underground Storage Facilities

    Several industry comments pointed out that the proposed rule did 
not address the unique characteristics of underground storage 
facilities and ignored Mine Safety and Health Administration 
regulations for underground facilities. They stated that, in many 
cases, MSHA safety guidelines would exceed those outlined in the 
proposed rule. To address these concerns, we have added a provision in 
Sec. 1228.234(b) that if any of the provisions of this subpart conflict 
with mandatory life safety or ventilation requirements imposed on 
underground storage facilities by MSHA's regulations at 30 CFR Chapter 
I, the MSHA requirement applies. We have also addressed the need for 
variances from NARA requirements for roofs of underground facilities in 
the new Sec. 1228.236 and Sec. 1228.238. We invite public comment on 
the new provisions in Secs. 1228.234, 1228.236, and 1228.238, which 
have a delayed effective date so that we can consider any comments on 
them. As we noted at the June 18 public meeting, we are concerned with 
the potential for severe fire damage to records holdings in an 
underground facility because of the fuel load and characteristics of a 
mine. In this final rule, we do not require underground facilities to 
meet more stringent requirements for fire detection and suppression 
systems. We intend to work with the underground storage industry and 
MSHA to develop appropriate standards to protect Federal records stored 
in underground facilities against catastrophic fire. We will invite 
public comment on proposed standards that are developed.

Definitions (Sec. 1228.224)

    In response to various comments, we have added definitions of 
``auxiliary space,'' ``fire barrier wall,'' ``licensed fire protection 
engineer,'' and ``records storage area.'' With ``fire barrier wall'' we 
clarified that the type of wall required by this regulation is a wall 
other than a fire wall, having a fire resistance rating, constructed in 
accordance with NFPA 221 (1994), Standard for Fire Walls and Fire 
Barrier Walls, Chapter 4. A fire barrier wall is a less costly wall 
than a fire wall. We also changed the terminology throughout the 
regulation.
    Several comments pointed out that fire protection engineers (FPEs) 
are not separately licensed or registered in some States. Our 
definition of FPEs includes both licensed or registered professional 
engineers with a recognized specialization in fire protection 
engineering and, for those States that do not separately licenced or 
register FPEs, licensed or registered professional engineers with 
training and experience in fire protection engineering who are 
professional members of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

Multi-Story Facilities (Sec. 1228.228(b))

    We received several comments on the proposed Sec. 1228.228(b), 
which requires facilities with two or more stories to be designed or 
certified by a licensed FPE. One agency questioned whether FPEs 
``design'' facilities or perform design reviews for fire protection 
systems and features. The rule allows for either the active involvement 
of a licensed FPE in the facility design (a highly desirable, but not 
required effort) OR that a licensed FPE certify (i.e., conduct a design 
review or post construction inspection) to ensure that the facility 
actually meets the design criteria.
    Another agency pointed out that evaluation of structural aspects of 
a multi-story facility were out of the professional scope of an FPE. We 
adopted the agency's recommendation that a civil/structural engineer 
also be involved in the design or certification.
    PRISM International questioned whether this was a facility issue 
from which NARA could exempt itself rather than a fire safety issue and 
how much it would cost NARA to comply with the provision since NARA has 
several multi-story records centers. The provision is primarily a fire 
safety issue, but is placed in Sec. 1228.228 because it is also a 
structural issue. All multi-story NARA facilities have four-hour rated 
intermediate floors and are compliant.

Flood Walls (Sec. 1228.228(c))

    In response to a question from ARMA International, we have 
clarified that the required flood wall for buildings in a 100 year 
flood plain areas must conform to local or regional building codes.

Protection From Water Damage (Sec. 1228.228(g) and (h))

    One agency pointed out in its comments that properly designed roof-
mounted equipment could be installed in such a way to minimize 
potential damage to the roof membrane and that periodic roof inspection 
by appropriately certified professionals

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should allow potential problems to be identified and corrected before 
any actual damage occurs. We agree with the agency but note that care 
must be taken also to ensure that the foot traffic required by 
maintenance personnel to service roof-mounted equipment does not damage 
the roof. We have modified paragraph (g) to require only that measures 
are taken to ensure that the roof membrane does not permit water to 
penetrate the roof. We state that the preferred way of achieving this 
is that no equipment be mounted on the roof, but that the agency's 
suggested alternative may be used instead.
    The same agency also suggested that water damage from overhead 
piping could be prevented by stringent design, inspection, and 
supplemental techniques such as gutters or shields. We have adopted 
this suggestion in Sec. 1228.228(h).
    ARMA International suggested that the rule would be more complete 
if guidelines for preventing water damage also addressed water coming 
from below, e.g., backed up plumbing or broken toilet or kitchen pipes. 
We agree with this comment, but have not determined the appropriate way 
to address water entering at floor level. There are preservation 
concerns that floor drains may permit sewer gas to enter the records 
storage area and that the drains themselves may be an avenue for water 
to enter the storage area. We intend to address this issue in a future 
rulemaking. Until then, we believe that the requirement that the 
building be protected against floods (Sec. 1228.228(c)) and the fairly 
standard shelving assembly that raises the bottom shelf one to three 
inches off the floor mitigates this risk.

Shelving (Sec. 1228.228(i))

    Several comments addressed the shelving requirements in paragraph 
(i). One individual recommended that several Federal specifications for 
bracing shelving be added. We have not adopted this comment, as the 
performance standard to brace to prevent collapse under full load is 
sufficient. An agency questioned whether we intended that the shelving 
be rated at least 50 pounds per square foot. We confirm that we do mean 
pounds per cubic foot, as different facilities use different shelving 
schemes, sometimes stacking two, or even three boxes high per shelf. A 
cubic foot of wet records can easily weigh 50 pounds.

Security Requirements (Sec. 1228.228(k))

    In response to an agency comment, we have clarified paragraph (k) 
to permit agencies to require compliance with DOJ Level IV or Level V 
facility requirements if the facility is classified at the higher 
level. Appendix A contains only Level III requirements. We note that if 
an agency requires a commercial records storage facility to implement 
higher security requirements, the agency must furnish the facility with 
those requirements as part of its contract specifications.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program (Sec. 1228.228(m))

    One agency strongly endorsed the requirement to have an IPM program 
while another agency stated that it does not seem reasonable to require 
the same level of pest control in records storage areas as in food 
preparation areas. The IPM program is a systemic approach to pest 
management, and not a ``level of pest control'' exclusively for food 
preparation areas, and we have made no changes to this paragraph.

Mechanical and Electrical Equipment in Records Storage Areas 
(Sec. 1228.228(n))

    Several respondents misunderstood that Sec. 1228.228(n) applies 
only to new records storage facilities, i.e., facilities established or 
converted to use as records storage facilities on or after January 3, 
2000. We have rewritten the introductory text to emphasize this more 
strongly.
    In response to several comments questioning the prohibition on 
mechanical and electrical equipment in records storage areas, we have 
clarified that our intent was to avoid transformers, switchgear, and 
large motors, not lighting and code-required illuminated signs. We have 
split the proposed paragraph (n)(1) into separate paragraphs for 
mechanical and electrical equipment. Mechanical equipment containing 
motors rated in excess of 1 HP and high-voltage electrical distribution 
equipment (i.e., 13.2 kv or higher switchgear and transformers) are 
prohibited in this final rule. We did not adopt an agency's 
recommendation that high efficiency gas HVAC units with open flames be 
permitted in smaller records storage areas, given both the fire risk 
and the pollution risk, and the minimal impact of requiring the unit to 
be installed exterior to the records storage area.
    Two agencies questioned the requirement for new facilities to 
provide a redundant source of primary electric service. A redundant 
source of electrical service provides a higher level of protection than 
batteries for fire alarm and fire protection systems, and is required 
only in new facilities. We have clarified that we did not intend to 
require instantaneous switching between supplies. A third agency asked 
whether exit signs should be included in the requirement for secondary 
power. Exit sign power is regulated by NFPA 101 (1997), Life Safety 
Code. NARA does not intend to be more restrictive in this case.

Compartmentalization of Storage Areas (Sec. 1228.230(b))

    The requirement in paragraph (b) that each records storage area 
must not exceed a total capacity of 250,000 cubic feet of records drew 
both strong support and strong opposition in written comments and at 
the June 18 meeting. The purpose of this requirement was to limit the 
loss of Federal records in a catastrophic fire where the fire 
suppression system failed to contain a fire. One respondent from a firm 
that makes records storage vaults stated that

    ``* * * From a practical application, there is no doubt these 
improvements will drastically improve the risk profile of the 
records center and reduce losses should a fire occur. One only has 
to view the lessons learned from the fires at [four commercial 
storage facilities] to confirm what NARA has suggested. * * * [Two 
facilities] suffered total losses in warehouses where open space 
storage and high bay ceiling were in use. * * * [One facility] 
utilized demising walls and the fire was stopped at the first 
demising wall as this allowed the fire department to create a 
perimeter defense due to the fact that the fire could not breach the 
surrounding walls. Compartmentalization does work. * * * [In the 
fourth] fire, the demising walls and the low ceiling worked to limit 
the loss to 4,000 boxes when 100,000 were at risk. Clearly this 
design was most effective. An intelligent analysis of these fires 
points out that the NARA Standard is based on performance in actual 
fires and the resultant damage. Large open warehouses without in-
rack sprinklers are destined to a complete loss as the fire is not 
only unstoppable but unfightable.''

    A major commercial records storage vendor stated that the 
limitation of records storage areas ``will result in tremendous costs 
to retrofit existing buildings especially considering the additional 
ventilation problems which will have to be addressed.'' The vendor also 
stated that ``without substantial renovations, both existing commercial 
and NARA records centers will be virtually disqualified from further 
consideration.'' NARA records centers meet this requirement now, as do 
any agency records centers that were approved under the previous 
subpart K or that procured their records center space through the 
General Services Administration. The representative of the storage 
vault firm noted in his comments that many commercial

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records centers would be able to comply.
    From the lessons NARA learned from the 1973 fire that destroyed the 
top floor of the St. Louis National Personnel Records Center and that 
have been confirmed with the commercial sector fires in the past year, 
we believe that it is essential to provide safeguards against 
catastrophic loss of Federal records in a fire. We recognize, however, 
that commercial storage facilities have different space configurations 
and that they may not want to or be able to modify a facility to 
conform to this requirement. Therefore, we modified Sec. 1228.230(b) as 
recommended by a Federal agency with extensive experience with 
commercial storage facilities. Paragraph (b) in this final rule 
provides that if the facility does not have fire compartmentalization 
in its records storage areas or the storage compartments are larger 
than 250,000 cubic feet, no more than 250,000 cubic feet of Federal 
records may be stored in the records storage area.

Fire Barrier Walls (Sec. 1228.230(c)-(f))

    In response to an agency comment, we have modified paragraph 
(c)(2), which applies to new facilities only, to permit one or more 
knock-out panels in one exterior wall of each stack area instead of 
designing that wall with a maximum fire resistive rating of one hour. 
We also clarified in paragraph (f) that fire doors that maintain the 
same rating as the wall are permitted.

Roof Support Structures (Sec. 1228.230(g))

    Two agencies questioned the requirement that roof support 
structures that cross or penetrate fire barrier walls must be cut and 
supported independently. Both agencies were concerned that it may be 
extremely difficult to achieve; one of the agencies suggested that the 
requirement be imposed for new facilities only. We disagree. This 
requirement was also in the existing regulation, which has been in 
effect for the past 17 years for NARA and agency records centers. It is 
not unreasonable to design a facility to avoid a roof collapse from 
bringing down the fire wall.

Automatic Roof Vents (Sec. 1228.230(j))

    One agency and PRISM International questioned the prohibition on 
automatic roof vents. We agree that appropriately designed roof vents 
whose sole purpose is to ventilate a fully involved fire are effective. 
We have modified this section to continue to prohibit automatic roof 
vents in new facilities for routine ventilation purposes, because they 
are a source of later leakage, but to permit automatic vents designed 
solely for venting in case of a fire.

300 Cubic Feet Limit on Loss of Records (Sec. 1228.230(s))

    Several vendors expressed the view in their written comments and at 
the public meeting that limiting loss of records to 300 cubic feet per 
incident is unreasonable, even though we noted in the proposed rule 
that this maximum limit has been set to reflect what current sprinkler 
technology can guarantee. The 300 cubic feet loss per incident is a 
design objective, based on live fire testing. It means that if the 
system works as intended (i.e., has not been sabotaged, is properly 
maintained, etc.) that the anticipated or likely loss will not exceed 
300 cubic feet. This has been demonstrated in three separate live fire 
tests, each test including multiple burns, and in no case did the 
damage exceed 300 cubic feet.
    Several questions were asked at the public meeting concerning 
whether NARA's existing facilities meet the 300 cubic feet standard and 
any testing or certification process used. NARA staff stated that 
NARA's centers meet the fire-safety requirements, which have been in 
place since at least 1982. The live fire tests were conducted for NARA 
by Factory Mutual and Underwriters Laboratory (compact shelving) during 
the 1970's and 1980's. NARA's centers were designed to the standard by 
fire professionals, but there was no certification process in place 
under the previous regulation.
    In this final rule, we have moved Secs. 1228.232 (agency 
certification of fire-safety detection and suppression systems) and 
1228.234 (NARA's certified system) to Sec. 1228.242 and Appendix B, 
respectively.

Environmental Controls (Sec. 1228.232)

    The Society of American Archivists (SAA), two agencies, and an 
underground storage provider commented on this section (Sec. 1228.236 
in the proposed rule). SAA stated its view that ``while in an ideal 
world permanent records would be stored in an environment suitable for 
permanent records from the beginning of their life cycle, the proposed 
NARA regulations strike a reasonable compromise for the real world.'' 
One agency questioned why humidity control was not a requirement for 
permanent paper records, while the underground storage provider pointed 
out that its salt mine temperature and humidity levels would fall 
within the specifications for office space air conditioning. The cited 
ASHRAE standards in paragraph (c) address temperature, humidity, and 
air exchange aspects of air conditioning. If an underground facility 
can meet all three aspects of the standards, its natural air 
conditioning would be permitted.
    The other Federal agency questioned what standards should be 
applied to mixed-media records, e.g., combined microfiche and paper 
records. This is a problem not just for the Department of Defense (DOD) 
and NARA at our St. Louis facility, but for other agencies that may 
retire files that are primarily paper-based records but also contain 
microforms, x-rays, photographs, or other nontextual records. While the 
ideal solution is for agencies to segregate their nontextual records 
before sending them for storage, it is not an easily achievable 
solution. We will review this issue further and address it in a future 
rulemaking.

Waivers of Requirements (Secs. 1228.236 and 1228.238)

    In response to written comments and discussion at the public 
meeting, we have added two new sections to address when and how NARA 
would consider waiving a requirement in this subpart.
    We will consider waiving a requirement in three situations--(1) 
when a system, method or device is equivalent or superior to a 
requirement prescribed in the NARA regulation; (2) for an agency 
records center that met the previous NARA standards but does not meet a 
new standard (e.g., environmental controls for permanent nontextual 
records); and (3) for roof-related requirements for underground storage 
facilities. The information to be provided and NARA's procedure for 
processing and approving waiver requests are specified in new 
Secs. 1228.236 and 1228.238. We are delaying the effective date for 
these sections to permit public comment on them.

Time Limits for Removing Records From a Noncompliant Records 
Storage Facility (Sec. 1228.240)

    In response to agency comments, we are clarifying both 
Sec. 1228.240(a) in this final rule and Sec. 1228.156 in a related 
final rule published elsewhere in this separate part of the Federal 
Register to require agencies to complete removal of records from 
noncompliant storage facilities within 18 months after initial 
discovery of the deficiencies.

Content of Requests for Agency Records Centers (Sec. 1228.240(c))

    Proposed Sec. 1228.240(a)(1) contained a requirement that an agency 
that proposes to store its records in an agency records center operated 
by

[[Page 67638]]

another agency must obtain NARA's approval to do so. We have clarified 
Sec. 1228.240(c) to include requests for approval in this situation and 
to note that such requests do not have to provide documentation of 
compliance with the standards in this subpart (the agency-owner/
operator will have provided the documentation).
    We also recognize that some agencies may have had unofficial 
records storage facilities that did not meet the standards of the 
previous regulation. In response to one agency's suggestion, we have 
added a new paragraph (c)(2) to allow those agencies to submit requests 
for approval of an existing agency records center with a plan to bring 
the facility into compliance with current requirements within a three-
year period.

Certification of Fire-Safety Detection and Suppression System 
(Sec. 1228.242)

    The proposed rule contained a requirement in proposed Sec. 1228.232 
that any fire-safety detection and suppression system undergo 
independent live testing to be certified as meeting the requirements of 
Sec. 1228.230(s). We received a number of written comments and comments 
at the public meeting opposing this requirement because it is too 
costly. We have reconsidered our position that full testing is the only 
way to demonstrate compliance. We have moved the revised section to 
Sec. 1228.242, and offer three alternatives for documenting compliance:
     A statement that the facility is using a NARA-certified 
system described in Appendix B.
     A report of the results of independent live fire testing.
     A report of the results of computer modeling and a 
certification by a licensed FPE that the system has been designed to 
meet the requirement of Sec. 1228.230(s).
    NARA will approve systems within 10 work days if the facility has 
used a previously approved system design or the system is documented 
through live fire testing. For systems documented through the third 
alternative, NARA will give its approval within 30 calendar days if, in 
NARA's judgement, the system clearly demonstrates compliance with 
Sec. 1228.230(s). If NARA questions whether the documentation 
demonstrates compliance, NARA will consult the appropriate industry 
standards body or other qualified expert before making the 
determination.

NARA Inspection of Records Storage Facility (Sec. 1228.244)

    In response to an agency comment, we have added a paragraph that 
NARA will contact the agency operating a records center or holding a 
contract with a commercial facility in advance to set a date for the 
inspection.

OMB Review Under Executive Order 12866

    This rule is a significant regulatory action for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866, and has been reviewed by OMB at both the 
proposed and final rule stages. It is deemed significant because it is 
a NARA regulatory plan regulation. It is also deemed significant in 
accordance with section 3(f)(4) because it is related to the new 
reimbursable records center program.

Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking

    This rule is not a major rule as defined in 5 U.S.C. Chapter 8, 
Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) Certification

Background

    Several respondents questioned NARA's certification statement in 
the proposed rule, which stated ``As required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, we certify that this proposed rule will not have a 
significant impact on small entities.'' 1 The question was 
first raised at the June 18, 1999, public meeting. At that time, NARA 
staff stated that NARA had not done any formal cost analysis to support 
this certification and invited attendees to provide comments on the 
adequacy of that statement.
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    \1\ As discussed in the document published September 15, 1999, 
at 64 FR 50028, the certification statement in the proposed rule 
inadvertently omitted the phrase ``a substantial number of '', 
although NARA intended that phrase to be part of the statement.
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    Two respondents, Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc. and Iron 
Mountain, specifically commented that the regulation would have a 
significant impact on small business. Underground did not state a 
specific cost. Iron Mountain, one of the largest records center vendors 
in the United States, asserted that the limitation of storage areas to 
40,000 sq. ft. (Sec. 1228.222) would require that company to spend 
approximately $500,000 to retrofit each of its existing buildings. 
Extrapolating that figure to 2,400 small businesses providing records 
management services, Iron Mountain stated that the cost would be $1.2 
billion to small businesses if each business only operated one similar 
sized center. A third respondent, Hugh Smith (Firelock) stated that 
smaller vendors are better able to meet the proposed standards because 
they have smaller warehouses than the larger vendors. PRISM 
International questioned which of the RFA requirements NARA had used to 
review the proposed rule. Additionally, some records storage facilities 
wrote to their members of Congress stating that the proposed rule would 
have a significant impact on them but did not specify any cost.
    After evaluating these comments, NARA decided to publish an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis (analysis) to provide further 
information and opportunity for public comment on the small business 
impact, if any, of the proposed rule. When the document was published 
in the Federal Register, NARA encouraged wide review of the analysis by 
posting it on NARA's web site with the proposed rule, and sending 
notifications to PRISM International, ARMA, SAA, NAGARA, and the 
Records Management and Archives List Serves. Additionally, NARA 
notified agency records officers of the availability of the analysis 
for comment and sought information on current and planned agency use of 
commercial records centers to assist in the assessment of the potential 
impact on small businesses.

Succinct Statement of the Need for, and Objectives of, the Rule

    Current records center standards were last issued in 1982. They 
cite outdated industry standards and do not reflect other government-
wide requirements that have been imposed since 1982. The 1982 
regulation addresses only officially established agency records 
centers, although NARA Federal records centers voluntarily conform to 
that regulation. It is necessary to update the standards applicable to 
agency records centers and NARA centers to reflect these changes. 
Moreover, as more agencies are turning to the private sector for off-
site storage, NARA finds that it is necessary to explicitly require 
agencies to ensure that records in their legal custody are stored in 
appropriate space wherever the records are stored.
    Federal records provide essential documentation of the Federal 
Government's policies and transactions and protect rights of 
individuals. These records must be stored in appropriate space to 
ensure that they remain available for their scheduled life.
    NARA is authorized, under 44 U.S.C. 2907, to establish, maintain 
and operate records centers for Federal agencies. NARA is authorized, 
under 44 U.S.C. 3103, to approve a records center that is maintained 
and operated by an agency. NARA is also authorized to promulgate

[[Page 67639]]

standards, procedures, and guidelines to Federal agencies with respect 
to the storage of their records in commercial records storage 
facilities. See 44 U.S.C. 2104(a), 2904 and 3102.

Comments Received in Response to Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis

    NARA received comments on the analysis from PRISM International, 4 
small businesses that provide records services, 2 other records storage 
businesses that did not specifically identify whether they were small 
businesses, and 2 consultants. Additionally 12 Federal agencies, or 
components of agencies, responded to the letter to records officers. We 
have carefully reviewed the comments and considered them before issuing 
this final rule.

Summary of the Significant Issues Raised by the Public Comments in 
Response to the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The public comments on small business impact generally concerned 
three significant issues:
    (1) Availability of alternative standards. PRISM and four records 
storage businesses argued that adherence to NFPA standards 13, 231, and 
231C and local building codes provide sufficient protection for records 
in commercial records centers. One small business added that the 
proposed rule would ``effectively quadruple the fire protection 
requirements of Federal Records Centers and for commercial records 
centers storing government records.'' (We note, however, that NARA's 
Federal records centers meet the fire protection requirements now.) 
Another small business recommended waiving the 250,000 cubic foot 
limitation for facilities that can gain certification of compliance 
with NFPA 232A.
    (2) The cost of structural changes to comply with the proposed 
rule. One small business identified the requirement to have records 
storage areas no larger than 250,000 cubic feet to be of particular 
concern. This business estimated that its cost to construct fire walls 
would be over $250,000, and that the walls would significantly reduce 
the efficiency of the workflow within the building. The commenter also 
projected losing $600,000 of potential gross revenues from potential 
Federal agency customers within their service area during the first 
year if the fire walls had to be constructed prior to moving in Federal 
customers.
    Another records storage firm, which did not identify whether it was 
a small business, stated that adopting the proposed NARA rules would 
increase capital costs by 216 percent. The commenter identified the 
following specific areas where costs would be affected by NARA 
requirements: height/module restriction; seismic requirements*; 
interior 4-hour fire-walls 20 feet high; fire suppression; fire 
protection; added mechanical room for equipment; added mechanical 
equipment/HVAC; exterior 1-hour wall; 2 sides to access all modules; 
electrical/security system; and Level III security measures.* (Starred 
items are government-wide, not NARA, requirements. We note that in this 
final rule, there are no height restrictions and the module (records 
storage compartment) size restriction relates to the number of Federal 
records that can be stored in a module, not to the size of the module 
itself.)
    PRISM International stated that building costs would more than 
triple under NARA's proposed requirements, and provided the results of 
a study done for PRISM by Hanscomb, Inc., an international construction 
consultant firm, in support of that statement. PRISM also commented 
that live fire tests required to obtain certification for alternate 
storage and fire protection designs were very expensive, costing 
$250,000 or more.
    In its comments on the proposed rule prior to the publication of 
the September 15 analysis, Iron Mountain (which is not a small 
business) asserted that the limitation of storage areas to 40,000 sq. 
ft. (Sec. 1228.222) would require that company to spend approximately 
$500,000 to retrofit each of its existing buildings. Iron Mountain 
further asserted that there are 2,400 small businesses providing 
records management services; extrapolating its costs to this universe, 
Iron Mountain stated that the cost would be $1.2 billion to small 
businesses if each business only operated one similar sized center.
    Several other public comments expressed concern that the cost of 
alterations needed to comply with the NARA requirements would 
discourage or prevent small businesses from doing business with the 
Federal Government.
    (3) Adoption of NARA standards for non-Federal records. PRISM and 
two records storage firms raised concerns that private sector 
businesses might incorporate the NARA standards as technical 
specifications for storage of general business records. These 
commenters stated that such an action would stifle competition and 
raise prices.
    Other issues. In addition to these three issues, several commenters 
reiterated their general concerns over the appropriateness of stringent 
standards for most Federal records and the applicability of the 
regulation to underground storage facilities, which are addressed 
elsewhere in this Supplementary Information.

Summary of NARA's Assessment of Such Issues

    (1) Availability of alternative standards. As noted earlier in this 
Supplementary Information, we believe that Federal records require a 
greater level of protection against fire damage and loss than stocks of 
paper being stored as a commodity. Commodities can easily be replaced 
if damaged or lost; records containing evidence of Federal agency 
actions, individual rights, and fulfillment of individual and 
organizational obligations to the Federal government cannot be 
replaced. We also note that the professional organization responsible 
for developing and issuing fire protection standards, the National Fire 
Protection Association (NFPA), also recognizes that protection of 
records is distinct from protection of commodities. Since the adoption 
of the original edition of NFPA 232A, Guide for Fire Protection of 
Archives and Records Centers in 1970, the NFPA has recognized that 
large collections of inactive records is not the same as protecting 
bulk storage of recycled paper or new bond paper in bulk, and that 
separate guidance was needed.
    In August 1999, NFPA and ANSI adopted a new NFPA 230, Standard for 
the Fire Protection of Storage (1999) and revised NFPA 13, Standard for 
the Installation of Sprinkler Systems (1999). Because these standards 
were adopted after the proposed NARA rule was published, we have not 
incorporated them in this final rule. We intend to do so at the next 
revision of this rule, which will be subject to public comment. 
Nevertheless, we considered the action of NFPA indicative of the fire 
protection industry's assessment of the adequacy of the editions of 
NFPA 13, 231, and 231C in effect prior to August 13, 1999. NFPA 230 
(1999) cancelled NFPA 231, Standard for General Storage (1998) and NFPA 
231C, Standard for Rack Storage (1998). The sprinkler-specific 
information from these canceled Standards was transferred to NFPA 13 
(1999), which now includes a special hazard classification of ``high 
piled storage'' that can be used for the bulk storage of paper products 
over 12 feet high.
    NFPA has clearly stated that the Technical Committee on General

[[Page 67640]]

Storage (formerly responsible for NFPA 231, General Storage and now 
responsible for NFPA 230, Standard for the Fire Protection of Storage) 
does not have responsibility for the protection of records: ``This 
Committee shall have primary responsibility for documents on 
safeguarding general warehousing and commodities against fire where 
stored indoors or outdoors. This Committee does not cover storage that 
is specifically covered by other NFPA standards.'' 2 The 
Technical Committee for Rack Storage (formerly responsible for NFPA 
231C, Rack Storage) has clearly excluded the storage of records from 
the scope of NFPA 231C (see section 1-1 Application and Scope).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ NFPA Committee List 1999, page 59. See also NFPA 230 section 
1-1.2 ``This standard shall not apply to the following: . . . (d) 
Inside or outside storage of commodities covered by other NFPA 
standards, except where specifically mentioned herein (e.g., 
pyroxylin plastics).''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For these reasons, we reiterate our view that use of NFPA 13, 231, 
and 231C as the sole fire protection standard for records centers is 
not an appropriate alternative, even for small businesses.''
    We also considered the alternative offered by one small business to 
waive the 250,000 cubic foot limitation for facilities that can gain 
certification of compliance with NFPA 232A. Because NFPA 232A is a 
guide, its provisions are cast in advisory language, e.g., ``Complete 
automatic sprinkler protection should be provided, including waterflow 
alarms * * *'' [NFPA 232 (1995) section 6-2.3(b)]. We note that NFPA 
232A limits fire chambers to 40,000 square feet, which could allow 
storage of more than 250,000 cubic feet if higher shelving is used. 
NARA would be willing to grant a waiver to a small business if the 
business documents that it has adopted all of the provisions of NFPA 
232A, i.e., it has adopted the recommendations as if they were 
mandatory. The waiver would be processed under Sec. 1228.236.
    (3) The cost of structural changes to comply with the proposed 
rule. The small business did not provide a detailed breakdown of its 
estimate of $250,000 to construct fire walls to create storage 
compartments with a capacity of 250,000 cubic feet of records. With the 
changes we have made in this final rule, however, the business would 
incur costs for constructing fire walls only if it intended to store 
more than 250,000 cubic feet of Federal records. The number of fire 
walls needed would vary depending on the number of compartments into 
which Federal records might be placed. Consolidating Federal holdings 
in the fewest possible compartments would reduce the need for and cost 
of building fire walls. Two large compartments could hold 250,000 cubic 
feet each, or a total of 500,000 cubic feet of Federal records.
    We carefully reviewed the cost data provided by PRISM's consultant, 
Hanscomb. Hanscomb based its cost data on a hypothetical new center 
built to comply with the NARA proposed standards against a new 
commercial records center with a capacity of 907,000 storage locations 
(we assume that storage location refers to typical 1.1 cubic foot 
records storage boxes, and that 907,000 storage locations is similar to 
NARA's 1,000,000 cubic foot volume calculation).
    The Hanscomb cost estimate contains several significant 
misinterpretations of the proposed NARA standards, which result in a 
grossly overstatement of the cost of a new records center built to the 
proposed NARA standards. Hanscomb estimated the total cost of 
structural changes to conform the new center to the proposed NARA 
standards to be $7,637,361. When we adjusted for the errors due to 
misinterpretation, the revised estimate (using Hanscomb's figures and 
15 foot high shelving scenario) would be $2,508,294 for NARA-imposed 
requirements, and another $180,000 for government-wide security and 
pest management requirements. If the new center used higher shelving 
configurations, which the final rule clearly allows, the cost for NARA-
imposed requirements would be significantly lower. A detailed 
discussion of Hanscomb's cost estimate and our adjustments is provided 
in Appendix A to this preamble, which appears at the end of this rule 
document.
    Because both Hanscomb and another records center commenter 
misunderstood the requirement to design and install shelving in 
accordance with Executive Order 12941 or Executive Order 12699, we have 
restated the requirement as designing and installing shelving in 
accordance with the applicable regional building code. This should 
clarify that there is no additional cost for the NARA requirement.
    In evaluating the comments on the analysis we also carefully 
considered Iron Mountain's comments on the cost of compliance. We 
assume that Iron Mountain meant constructing fire barrier (demising) 
walls to limit the capacity of records storage areas to 250,000 cubic 
feet, since the proposed rule did not set a square foot limit. In this 
final rule, we allow this requirement to be met through limiting the 
number of Federal records stored in a records storage area that does 
not meet the 250,000 cubic feet limit. We believe that this change 
would accommodate small records storage vendors in particular. We also 
believe that it is likely that Iron Mountain, which is not a small 
business, already meets that requirement. Iron Mountain holds a General 
Services Administration FSS multiple award schedule contract to provide 
records center storage to Federal agencies. The GSA contract requires 
Iron Mountain to meet NARA specifications in effect prior to this final 
rule which include the requirement for storing records no higher than 
15 feet in storage areas no larger than 40,000 sq. ft.
    No other comments were offered on the cost for existing records 
centers to comply with the regulation. The Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA), whose 54 contractors store Medicare records in 
both small and large commercial records centers, reported that the 
agency required the records center vendors used by its contractors to 
adhere to the existing NARA facility standards in 36 CFR 1228.220, or 
obtain a temporary waiver. All commercial storage facilities currently 
used by HCFA's contractors either fully or closely meet the standard. 
The Department of the Army also reported that its previous commercial 
storage facility in Seattle, a small business that was bought out by 
Iron Mountain, complied with standard except for using a dry-sectional 
sprinkler system instead of a wet sprinkler.
    We acknowledge PRISM's statement that live fire testing is very 
expensive, and as noted earlier in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, we 
have modified the requirement in this final rule to allow less 
expensive methods of certifying fire detection and suppression systems.
    Adoption of NARA standards for non-Federal records. We acknowledge 
the concern that NARA's requirements for storage of Federal records may 
be adopted by some private sector companies. The NFPA Technical 
Committee on Records Protection has proposed a new standard that will 
address the storage of general business records, which will provide 
businesses an alternative standard that they can cite in their 
solicitations for records storage services. Nevertheless, NARA has the 
obligation to determine what level of protection is required for 
Federal records, wherever they are stored--in NARA records centers, 
agency records centers or private sector centers.
    We do not agree that the NARA requirements will necessarily stifle 
competition. Indeed, small business

[[Page 67641]]

records centers that meet the NARA requirements should be able to 
compete successfully against the dominant Iron Mountain/Pierce Leahy 
centers for Federal business.

Statement of Any Changes Made in the Proposed Rule as a Result of Such 
Comments

    As discussed previously in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, we have 
made a number of changes in the proposed rule as the results of the 
comments we received. The following changes, in particular, are 
intended to reduce the burden of this regulation on small businesses:
     The 250,000 cubic feet limitation on the size of the 
storage compartment has been modified to allow storage of no more than 
250,000 cubic feet of Federal records in an uncompartmentalized 
facility or in each larger capacity compartment. We note that all but 
one of the Federal agencies that responded to our request for 
information on their use of commercial facilities reported that they 
store no more than 250,000 cubic feet of records in any one facility, 
and that most store considerably less than this amount. The one agency 
that did not report a maximum volume or range of holdings in commercial 
centers is unlikely to store more than 250,000 cubic feet in a single 
center (1.5 million cubic feet are stored in at least 54 locations).
     We are providing a procedure to grant waivers of certain 
requirements for alternative methods that provide equal or better 
protection.
     We are providing alternative ways to certify a facility's 
fire detection and suppression system.
     We have modified provisions relating to roof-mounted 
equipment and piping in storage areas to provide more flexibility in 
meeting those requirements.
     We have made changes that will clearly allow underground 
storage facilities to be considered for storage of Federal records.
    Description of and an estimate of the number of small entities to 
which the rule will apply or an explanation of why no such estimate is 
available:
    As we stated in the Analysis published on September 15, 1999, we 
identified commercial records storage facilities as small entities if 
they met the Small Business Administration (SBA) definition of a small 
business under Standard Industrial Code (SIC) 4226, Special Warehousing 
and Storage, Not Elsewhere Classified. For SIC 4226, an SBA small 
business must have annual gross receipts of $18.5 million or less. 
According to census figures furnished to NARA by SBA, there are 1,230 
firms in SIC 4226. Most of these firms do not have multiple 
establishments (the number of SIC 4226 establishments is 1,547). We 
received no comments on our selection of this SIC as the appropriate 
classification for small business records storage vendors.
    We stated in the Analysis that we did not have an estimate of the 
number of small businesses to which the rule would apply because 
agencies are not required, under existing regulations, to report to 
NARA when they contract with the private sector for records storage 
services. Even if we assume that all 1,230 firms in SIC 4226 would be 
interested in an opportunity to provide records storage services for 
the Federal government, we estimate that the number of firms that would 
be offered such an opportunity is much more limited.
    We specifically invited comments from agencies on any contracts 
that they currently hold with small businesses and any plans that they 
have to contract with small businesses for records center services in 
the next 2 years. Twelve agencies responded. Eleven of the agencies 
store some records in commercial records centers; all but two of these 
store their records only in centers operated by one of the two largest 
businesses. One regional office in Seattle currently uses a small 
business to store 8,500 cubic feet of records but plans to move ``a 
fair amount'' of the records to a NARA center within the next year. 
HCFA reported that its Medicare contractors use a combination of large 
and small business commercial facilities that are local to the 
contractor. The HCFA contractors store a total of 1,469,115 cubic feet 
of Medicare records (which are Federal records). FDIC stores a total of 
3 million cubic feet in 47 large business commercial facilities. The 
three agencies with the next highest volume of records stored in 
commercial facilities also reported that they used only large 
businesses.
    We believe that the continued trend toward consolidation of the 
records storage industry, will also have an impact on small business 
records centers' ability to compete for Federal business. In recent 
years, the two largest commercial records storage companies have 
acquired a large number of small and medium sized records storage 
companies, and these two large companies have now announced their 
intention to merge.
    At present, the General Services Administration's Multiple Award 
Schedule (MAS) for Records Center Services (FSS-36-IV sin 51 504) has 
listed only two qualified companies, the large businesses discussed in 
the previous paragraph. The procurement process that an agency must 
follow when using an MAS or when entering into an interagency agreement 
with NARA or another Federal agency to provide records center services 
is much simpler than the process it must use when seeking open market 
services.
    The agency responses to NARA's request for agency comment and the 
ease with which agencies can contract with large centers through the 
MAS lead us to believe that it is highly unlikely that more than ten 
percent of the small businesses in SIC 4226 would be offered an 
opportunity to provide commercial storage services for Federal 
agencies. We do not regard this number as a substantial number of small 
entities.
    Description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping and other 
compliance requirements of the rule, including an estimate of the 
classes of small entities which will be subject to the requirement and 
the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of the report 
or record:
    Reporting/recordkeeping requirements: The rule does not directly 
mandate reporting or recordkeeping within the meaning of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. All reporting requirements are placed on Federal 
agencies, which must secure NARA approval before moving Federal records 
to a commercial records center. NARA anticipates that the Federal 
agencies would include 36 CFR part 1228, subpart K (the facility 
standards) in their contracts with commercial records centers. Section 
1228.240(e) states that the agency may submit to NARA ``a copy of the 
agency's contract that incorporates this subpart in its provisions or a 
statement from the agency records officer that certifies that the 
facility meets the standards in this subpart.''
    Other compliance requirements: All records centers that store 
Federal records, including commercial records centers operated by small 
businesses, must comply with the facility requirements in the rule. 
Certain specific requirements differ for newly constructed facilities 
and existing facilities. Also, existing facilities are allowed a 10-
year period to become compliant with some of these requirements. The 
facility compliance requirements are found in Secs. 1228.228, 1228.230, 
and 1228.232 of this final rule.
    Professional skills necessary for preparation of report or record: 
If the records center owner has maintained the facility design records, 
no special professional skills would be necessary

[[Page 67642]]

to provide documentation to the contracting agency that the facility 
meets the NARA standards. If the design records are not available, the 
center would have need for the services of a licensed Fire Protection 
Engineer to inspect the facility and prepare a report on a one-time 
basis. We estimate that the inspection and preparation of a report 
would take no more than 8 hours total. We received no public comment on 
this estimate, which was published in the September 15 Analysis.
    Description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize the 
significant economic impact on small entities consistent with the 
stated objectives of applicable statutes, including a statement of the 
factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative 
adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other significant 
alternatives to the rule considered by the agency which affect the 
impact on small entities was rejected. 
    To the extent possible, the rule specifies performance standards 
and incorporates by reference industry consensus standards. NARA chose 
this alternative over the other possible regulatory approach--extending 
the coverage of the existing regulation that governed agency records 
centers to all providers of records storage services to the Federal 
government--to provide as much flexibility as possible to all 
commercial and agency records centers, including small businesses. To 
further minimize significant economic impact on small entities as much 
as possible, we are also adopting a procedure for granting a waiver 
from specific standards when a facility has an alternative that is 
equal or superior to the NARA requirement. We also believe that the 10-
year period we provide for complying with certain requirements will 
moderate the impact on small businesses since they will be able to plan 
for the necessary modifications and implement them during normal 
maintenance, e.g., removing roof-mounted equipment when roof repairs or 
replacement is done. We have further clarified the accompanying rule, 
Storage of Federal Records, published elsewhere in this separate part 
of the Federal Register, to emphasize that a facility is in compliance 
with these standards if the facility does not yet meet the requirements 
that will go into effect in 2009.
    NARA could not adopt an alternative that exempted small entities 
from the standards, given the objective of ensuring appropriate 
protection for Federal records when they leave agency office space. For 
the reasons discussed previously in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section, we also could not adopt an alternative that required small 
entities to comply only with local building codes or NFPA codes 
governing sprinkler systems.

Statement of Factual Basis for Certification

    Under the RFA, at the time it publishes a proposed rule in the 
Federal Register, an agency must either prepare and publish a 
regulatory flexibility analysis, or must publish a certification that 
the regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The certification must be 
accompanied, at either the proposed rule or final rule stage, with a 
statement providing the factual basis for such certification. The 
statement providing the factual basis for our certification is provided 
here.
    Although the final rule may have a significant economic impact on a 
small number of small businesses that wish to store records for the 
Federal Governement and that are entering the records storage business 
for the first time, we believe that the rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
for several reasons:
    (1) The number of small businesses that currently provide or are 
likely to provide records storage services to the Federal government is 
low, as reflected in the agency responses that NARA received.
    (2) Those small businesses that do provide records storage services 
can store up to 250,000 cubic feet of Federal records without having to 
construct interior fire walls. From the agency responses that NARA 
received, most agency contracts for commercial storage are well below 
250,000 cubic feet per facility. Only one agency reported 250,000 cubic 
feet of records in a single facility, and that was a large business. 
Although construction of interior fire walls would be a significant 
expense for small businesses, the revised limit on the number of 
records that can be stored in a storage compartment and the removal of 
the implicit limit of 15 feet on shelving records have eliminated this 
as a source of significant economic impact.
    (3) The agencies that use small businesses to provide their records 
storage report that those facilities fully or almost completely comply 
with the more restrictive existing NARA standards. Consequently, there 
should be no significant economic impact to bring these small 
businesses into compliance with the general facility standards in this 
final rule. Where NARA itself is imposing other new requirements, e.g., 
environmental controls for permanent paper and nontextual records, the 
requirements have either been in force elsewhere in NARA regulations 
for three or more years or are required to be phased in over a 10-year 
period. Additionally, the environmental controls requirements will 
apply to only a small percentage of Federal records that would be 
stored in records centers. Only that area of a records center that will 
contain these records must be adapted for environmental controls. 
Alternatively, a records center could choose to store only temporary 
paper records, and not incur these costs.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1228

    Archives and records, Incorporation by reference.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, NARA amends part 1228 of 
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 1228--DISPOSITION OF FEDERAL RECORDS

    1. The authority citation for part 1228 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, and 33.

    2. Revise subpart K to read as follows:

Subpart K--Facility Standards for Records Storage Facilities

Sec.

General

1228.220  What authority applies to this subpart?
1228.222  What does this subpart cover?
1228.224  Publications incorporated by reference.
1228.226  Definitions.

Facility Standards

1228.228  What are the facility requirements for all records storage 
facilities?
1228.230  What are the fire safety requirements that apply to 
records storage facilities?
1228.232  What are the requirements for environmental controls for 
records storage facilities?

Handling Deviations From NARA's Facility Standards

1228.234  What rules apply if there is a conflict between NARA 
standards and other regulatory standards that a facility must 
follow?
1228.236  How does an agency request a waiver from a requirement in 
this subpart?
1228.238  How does NARA process a waiver request?

Facility Approval and Inspection Requirements

1228.240  How does an agency request authority to establish or 
relocate records storage facilities?

[[Page 67643]]

1228.242  What does an agency have to do to certify a fire-safety 
detection and suppression system?
1228.244  When may NARA conduct an inspection of a records storage 
facility?

Subpart K--Facility Standards for Records Storage Facilities

General


1228.220  What authority applies to this subpart?

    NARA is authorized to establish, maintain and operate records 
centers for Federal agencies under 44 U.S.C. 2907. NARA is authorized, 
under 44 U.S.C. 3103, to approve a records center that is maintained 
and operated by an agency. NARA is also authorized to promulgate 
standards, procedures, and guidelines to Federal agencies with respect 
to the storage of their records in commercial records storage 
facilities. See 44 U.S.C. 2104(a), 2904 and 3102. The regulations in 
this subpart apply to all records storage facilities Federal agencies 
use to store, service, and dispose of their records.


1228.222  What does this subpart cover?

    (a) This subpart covers the establishment, maintenance, and 
operation of records centers, whether Federally-owned and operated by 
NARA or another Federal agency, or Federally-owned and contractor 
operated. This subpart also covers an agency's use of commercial 
records storage facilities. Records centers and commercial records 
storage facilities are referred to collectively as records storage 
facilities. This subpart specifies the minimum structural, 
environmental, property, and life-safety standards that a records 
storage facility must meet when the facility is used for the storage of 
Federal records.
    (b) Except where specifically noted, this subpart applies to all 
records storage facilities. Certain noted provisions apply only to new 
records storage facilities.


1228.224  Publications incorporated by reference.

    (a) General. The following publications cited in this section are 
hereby incorporated by reference into this part 1228. They are 
available from the issuing organizations at the addresses listed in 
this section. They are also available for inspection at the Office of 
the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street NW., suite 700, 
Washington, DC. This incorporation by reference was approved by the 
Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 
1 CFR Part 51. These materials are incorporated as they exist on the 
date of approval, and a document indicating any change in these 
materials will be published in the Federal Register.
    (b) American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The 
following ASTM standard is available from the American Society of 
Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA, 
19428-2959, or on-line at www.astm.org:

    E 119-98, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building 
Construction and Materials.

    (c) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. The 
following NFPA standards are available from the National Fire 
Protection Association, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9109, Quincy, MA 
02269-9101, or on-line at http://catalog.nfpa.org:

    NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers (1994 
Edition).
    NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems 
(1996 Edition).
    NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Centrifugal Fire Pumps 
(1996 Edition).
    NFPA 40, Standard for the Storage and Handling of Cellulose 
Nitrate Motion Picture Film (1997 Edition).
    NFPA 42, Code for the Storage of Pyroxylin Plastic (1997 
Edition).
    NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code (1996 Edition).
    NFPA 101, Life Safety Code (1997 Edition).
    NFPA 221, Standard for Fire Walls and Fire Barrier Walls (1994 
Edition).
    NFPA 231, Standard for General Storage (1998 Edition).
    NFPA 231C, Standard for Rack Storage of Materials (1998 
Edition).
    NFPA 232, Standard for the Protection of Records (1995 Edition).
    NFPA 232A, Guide for Fire Protection of Archives and Records 
Centers (1995 Edition).

    (d) Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standards. The following UL 
standards are available from the Underwriters Laboratory at www.ul.com 
or from Global Engineering Documents, 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, 
CO 80112:

    UL 611, Central-Station Burglar-Alarm Systems (February 22, 
1996).
    UL 827, Central-Station Alarm Services (April 23, 1999).
    UL 1076, Proprietary Burglar Alarm Units and Systems (February 
1, 1999).

    (e) American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning 
Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) standards. The following ASHRAE standards are 
available from ASHRAE at ASHRAE Customer Service, 1791 Tullie Circle 
NE, Atlanta, GA 30329 or online at www.ASHRAE.org:

    ANSI/ASHRAE 55-1992, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human 
Occupancy.
    ANSI/ASHRAE 62-1989, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air 
Quality.

    (f) American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. The 
following ANSI standards are available from the American National 
Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd St., New York, NY 10036:

    ANSI/NAPM IT9.18-1996, Imaging Materials--Processed Photographic 
Plates--Storage Practices.
    ANSI/NAPM IT9.20-1996, Imaging Materials--Reflection Prints--
Storage Practices.
    ANSI/NAPM IT9.23-1996, Imaging Materials--Polyester Base 
Magnetic Tape--Storage.
    ANSI/PIMA IT9.11-1998, Imaging Materials--Processed Safety 
Photographic Films--Storage.
    ANSI/PIMA IT9.25-1998, Imaging Materials--Optical Disc Media--
Storage.


Sec. 1228.226  Definitions.

    The following definitions apply to this subpart:
    Auxiliary spaces mean non-records storage areas such as offices, 
research rooms, other work and general storage areas but excluding 
boiler rooms or rooms containing equipment operating with a fuel supply 
such as generator rooms.
    Commercial records storage facility has the meaning specified in 
Sec. 1220.14 of this chapter.
    Existing records storage facility means any records center or 
commercial records storage facility used to store records on September 
30, 1999, and that has stored records continuously since that date.
    Fire barrier wall means a wall, other than a fire wall, having a 
fire resistance rating, constructed in accordance with NFPA 221 (1994), 
Standard for Fire Walls and Fire Barrier Walls, Chapter 4.
    Licensed fire protection engineer means a licensed or registered 
professional engineer with a recognized specialization in fire 
protection engineering. For those States that do not separately license 
or register fire protection engineers, a licensed or registered 
professional engineer with training and experience in fire protection 
engineering, operating within the scope of that licensing or 
registration, who is also a professional member of the Society of Fire 
Protection Engineers.
    Must and provide mean that a provision is mandatory.
    New records storage facility means any records center or commercial 
records storage facility established or converted for use as a records 
center or commercial records storage facility on or after January 3, 
2000.
    Permanent record has the meaning specified in Sec. 1220.14 of this 
chapter.

[[Page 67644]]

    Records center has the meaning specified in Sec. 1220.14 of this 
chapter.
    Records storage area means the area containing records that is 
enclosed by four fire walls, the floor, and the ceiling.
    Records storage facility has the meaning specified in Sec. 1220.14 
of this chapter.
    Sample/select records means records whose final disposition 
requires an analytical or statistical sampling prior to final 
disposition authorization, in which some percentage of the original 
accession will be retained as permanent records.
    Should or may means that a provision is recommended or advised but 
not required.
    Temporary record has the meaning specified in Sec. 1220.14 of this 
chapter.
    Unscheduled records has the meaning specified in Sec. 1220.14 of 
this chapter.

Facility Standards


Sec. 1228.228  What are the facility requirements for all records 
storage facilities?

    (a) The facility must be constructed with non-combustible materials 
and building elements, including walls, columns and floors. An agency 
may request a waiver of this requirement from NARA for an existing 
records storage facility with combustible building elements to continue 
to operate until October 1, 2009. In its request for a waiver, the 
agency must provide documentation that the facility has a fire 
suppression system specifically designed to mitigate this hazard and 
that the system meets the requirements of Sec. 1228.230(s). Requests 
must be submitted to the Director, Space and Security Management 
Division (NAS), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 
Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.
    (b) A facility with two or more stories must be designed or 
certified by a licensed fire protection engineer and civil/structural 
engineer to avoid catastrophic failure of the structure due to an 
uncontrolled fire on one of the intermediate floor levels.
    (c) The building must be sited a minimum of five feet above and 100 
feet from any 100 year flood plain areas, or be protected by an 
appropriate flood wall that conforms to local or regional building 
codes.
    (d) The facility must be designed in accordance with regional 
building codes to provide protection from building collapse or failure 
of essential equipment from earthquake hazards, tornados, hurricanes 
and other potential natural disasters.
    (e) Roads, fire lanes and parking areas must permit unrestricted 
access for emergency vehicles.
    (f) A floor load limit must be established for the records storage 
area by a licensed structural engineer. The limit must take into 
consideration the height and type of the shelving or storage equipment, 
the width of the aisles, the configuration of the space, etc. The 
allowable load limit must be posted in a conspicuous place and must not 
be exceeded.
    (g) The facility must ensure that the roof membrane does not permit 
water to penetrate the roof. NARA strongly recommends that this 
requirement be met by not mounting equipment on the roof and placing 
nothing else on the roof that may cause damage to the roof membrane. 
Alternatively, a facility may meet this requirement with stringent 
design specifications for roof-mounted equipment in conjunction with a 
periodic roof inspection program performed by appropriately certified 
professionals.
    (1) New records storage facilities must meet the requirements in 
this paragraph (g) January 3, 2000.
    (2) Existing facilities must meet the requirements in this 
paragraph (g) no later than October 1, 2009.
    (h) Piping (with the exception of fire protection sprinkler piping 
and storm water roof drainage piping) must not be run through records 
storage areas unless supplemental measures such as gutters or shields 
are used to prevent water leaks and the piping assembly is inspected 
for potential leaks regularly. If drainage piping from roof drains must 
be run though records storage areas, the piping must be run to the 
nearest vertical riser and must include a continuous gutter sized and 
installed beneath the lateral runs to prevent leakage into the storage 
area. Vertical pipe risers required to be installed in records storage 
areas must be fully enclosed by shaft construction with appropriate 
maintenance access panels.
    (1) New records storage facilities must meet the requirements in 
this paragraph (h) January 3, 2000.
    (2) Existing facilities must meet the requirements in this 
paragraph (h) no later than October 1, 2009.
    (i) The following standards apply to records storage shelving:
    (1) All storage shelving must be designed and installed to provide 
seismic bracing that meets the requirements of the applicable regional 
building code;
    (2) Steel shelving or other open-shelf records storage equipment 
must be braced to prevent collapse under full load. Each shelving unit 
must be industrial style shelving rated at least 50 pounds per cubic 
foot supported by the shelf;
    (3) Compact mobile shelving systems (if used) must be designed to 
permit proper air circulation and fire protection (detailed 
specifications that meet this requirement can be provided by NARA by 
writing to Director, Space and Security Management Division (NAS), 
National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, 
College Park, MD 20740-6001.).
    (j) The area occupied by the records storage facility must be 
equipped with an anti-intrusion alarm system, or equivalent, meeting 
the requirements of Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Standard 1076, 
Proprietary Burglar Alarm Units and Systems (February 1, 1999), level 
AA, to protect against unlawful entry after hours and to monitor 
designated interior storage spaces. This intrusion alarm system must be 
monitored in accordance with UL Standard 611, Central-Station Burglar-
Alarm Systems (February 22, 1996).
    (k) The facility must comply with the requirements for a Level III 
facility as defined in the Department of Justice, U. S. Marshals 
Service report Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities dated 
June 28, 1995. These requirements are provided in Appendix A to this 
Part 1228. Agencies may require compliance with Level IV or Level V 
facility security requirements if the facility is classified at the 
higher level.
    (l) Records contaminated by hazardous materials, such as 
radioactive isotopes or toxins, infiltrated by insects, or exhibiting 
active mold growth must be stored in separate areas having separate air 
handling systems from other records.
    (m) To eliminate damage to records and/or loss of information due 
to insects, rodents, mold and other pests that are attracted to organic 
materials under specific environmental conditions, the facility must 
have an Integrated Pest Management program as defined in the Food 
Protection Act of 1996 (Section 303, Public Law 104-170, 110 Stat. 
1512). This states in part that Integrated Pest Management is a 
sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, 
cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes 
economic, health, and environmental risks. The IPM program emphasizes 
three fundamental elements:
    (1) Prevention. IPM is a preventive maintenance process that seeks 
to identify and eliminate potential pest access, shelter, and 
nourishment. It also continually monitors for pests

[[Page 67645]]

themselves, so that small infestations do not become large ones;
    (2) Least-toxic methods. IPM aims to minimize both pesticide use 
and risk through alternate control techniques and by favoring 
compounds, formulations, and application methods that present the 
lowest potential hazard to humans and the environment; and
    (3) Systems approach. The IPM pest control contract must be 
effectively coordinated with all other relevant programs that operate 
in and around a building, including plans and procedures involving 
design and construction, repairs and alterations, cleaning, waste 
management, food service, and other activities.
    (n) For new records storage facilities only, the additional 
requirements in this paragraph (n) must be met:
    (1) Do not install mechanical equipment containing motors rated in 
excess of 1 HP within records storage areas (either floor mounted or 
suspended from roof support structures).
    (2) Do not install high-voltage electrical distribution equipment 
(i.e., 13.2kv or higher switchgear and transformers) within records 
storage areas (either floor mounted or suspended from roof support 
structures).
    (3) A redundant source of primary electric service such as a second 
primary service feeder should be provided to ensure continuous, 
dependable service to the facility especially to the HVAC systems, fire 
alarm and fire protection systems. Manual switching between sources of 
service is acceptable.
    (4) The facility must be kept under positive air pressure 
especially in the area of the loading dock.
    In addition, to prevent fumes from vehicle exhausts from entering 
the facility, air intake louvers must not be located in the area of the 
loading dock, adjacent to parking areas or in any location where a 
vehicle engine may be running for any period of time. Loading docks 
must have an air supply and exhaust system that is separate from the 
remainder of the facility.


Sec. 1228.230  What are the fire safety requirements that apply to 
records storage facilities?

    (a) The fire detection and protection systems must be designed or 
certified by a licensed fire protection engineer.
    (b) All walls separating records storage areas from each other and 
from other storage areas in the building must be 4-hour fire resistant. 
The records storage areas must not exceed a total capacity of 250,000 
cubic feet of records each and must be constructed to prevent migration 
of fire and smoke to other spaces of the building. If the facility does 
not have fire compartmentalization of its records storage area or has 
compartmentalized records storage areas larger than 250,000 cubic feet, 
the facility may not store more than 250,000 cubic feet total of 
Federal records in the records storage area.
    (c) Fire barrier walls that meet the following specifications must 
be provided:
    (1) For existing records storage facilities, at least one-hour-
rated fire barrier walls must be provided between the records storage 
areas and other auxiliary spaces.
    (2) For new records storage facilities, two-hour-rated fire barrier 
walls must be provided between the records storage areas and other 
auxiliary spaces. One exterior wall of each stack area must be designed 
with a maximum fire resistive rating of one hour, or, if rated more 
than one hour, there must be at least one knock-out panel in one 
exterior wall of each stack area.
    (d) Penetrations in the walls must not reduce the specified fire 
resistance ratings. The fire resistance ratings of structural elements 
and construction assemblies must be in accordance with American Society 
of Testing and Materials E 119-98, Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests 
of Building Construction and Materials.
    (e) The fire resistive rating of the roof must be a minimum of \1/
2\ hour for all records storage facilities. For new records storage 
facilities, the fire resistive rating of the roof must also be a 
maximum of 1 hour.
    (f) Openings in fire barrier walls separating records storage areas 
must be avoided to the greatest extent possible. If openings are 
necessary, they must be protected by self-closing or automatic Class A 
fire doors, or equivalent doors that maintain the same rating as the 
wall.
    (g) Roof support structures that cross or penetrate fire barrier 
walls must be cut and supported independently on each side of the fire 
barrier wall.
    (h) If fire barrier walls are erected with expansion joints, the 
joints must be protected to their full height.
    (i) For new records storage facilities, building columns in the 
records storage areas must be 4-hour fire resistant from the floor to 
slab above or to the location where they connect to the roof framing 
system. For existing records storage facilities, the building columns 
must be at least 2-hour fire resistant.
    (j) Automatic roof vents for routine ventilation purposes must not 
be designed into new records storage facilities. Automatic roof vents, 
designed solely to vent in the case of a fire, with a temperature 
rating at least twice that of the sprinkler heads are acceptable.
    (k) Where lightweight steel roof or floor supporting members (e.g., 
bar joists having top chords with angles 2 by 1\1/2\ inches or smaller, 
\1/4\-inch thick or smaller, and \13/16\-inch or smaller web diameters) 
are present, they must be protected either by applying a 10-minute fire 
resistive coating to the top chords of the joists, or by retrofitting 
the sprinkler system with large drop sprinkler heads. If a fire 
resistive coating is applied, it must be a product that will not 
release (off gas) harmful fumes into the facility. If fire resistive 
coating is subject to air erosion or flaking, it must be fully enclosed 
in a drywall containment constructed of metal studs with fire retardant 
drywall. Retrofitting may require modifications to the piping system to 
ensure that adequate water capacity and pressure are provided in the 
areas to be protected with these large drop sprinkler heads.
    (l) No open flame (oil or gas) unit heaters or equipment may be 
installed or used in any records storage area.
    (m) For existing records storage facilities, boiler rooms or rooms 
containing equipment operating with a fuel supply (such as generator 
rooms) must be separated from records storage areas by 2-hour-rated 
fire barrier walls with no openings directly from these rooms to the 
records storage areas. Such areas must be vented directly to the 
outside to a location where fumes will not be drawn back into the 
facility.
    (n) For new records storage facilities, boiler rooms or rooms 
containing equipment operating with a fuel supply (such as generator 
rooms) must be separated from records storage areas by 4-hour-rated 
fire barrier walls with no openings directly from these rooms to the 
records storage areas. Such areas must be vented directly to the 
outside to a location where fumes will not be drawn back into the 
facility.
    (o) For new records storage facilities, fuel supply lines must not 
be installed in areas containing records and must be separated from 
such areas with 4-hour rated construction assemblies.
    (p) Equipment rows running perpendicular to the wall must comply 
with NFPA 101 (1997), Life Safety Code, with respect to egress 
requirements.
    (q) No oil-type electrical transformers, regardless of size, except 
thermally protected devices included in fluorescent light ballasts, may 
be installed in the records storage areas. All electrical wiring must 
be in metal conduit, except that armored cable may

[[Page 67646]]

be used where flexible wiring connections to light fixtures are 
required. Battery charging areas for electric forklifts must be 
separated from records storage areas with at least a 2-hour rated fire 
barrier wall.
    (r) Hazardous materials, including records on cellulose nitrate 
film, must not be stored in records storage areas. Nitrate motion 
picture film and nitrate sheet film may be stored in separate areas 
that meet the requirements of the appropriate NFPA standard, NFPA 40 
(1997), Standard for the Storage and Handling of Cellulose Nitrate 
Motion Picture Film, or NFPA 42 (1997), Code for the Storage of 
Pyroxylin Plastic.
    (s) All records storage and adjoining areas must be protected by a 
professionally-designed fire-safety detection and suppression system 
that is designed to limit the maximum anticipated loss in any single 
fire event to a maximum of 300 cubic feet of records destroyed by fire. 
Section 1228.242 specifies how to document compliance with this 
requirement.


Sec. 1228.232  What are the requirements for environmental controls for 
records storage facilities?

    (a) Paper-based temporary records. Paper-based temporary records 
must be stored under environmental conditions that prevent the active 
growth of mold. Exposure to moisture through leaks or condensation, 
relative humidities in excess of 70%, extremes of heat combined with 
relative humidity in excess of 55%, and poor air circulation during 
periods of elevated heat and relative humidity are all factors that 
contribute to mold growth.
    (b) Nontextual temporary records. Nontextual temporary records, 
including microforms and audiovisual and electronic records, must be 
stored in records storage space that will ensure their preservation for 
their full retention period. New records storage facilities that store 
nontextual temporary records must meet the requirements in this 
paragraph (b) January 3, 2000. Existing records storage facilities that 
store nontextual temporary records must meet the requirements in this 
paragraph (b) no later than October 1, 2009. At a minimum, nontextual 
temporary records must be stored in records storage space that meets 
the requirements for medium term storage set by the appropriate 
standard in this paragraph (b). In general, medium term conditions as 
defined by these standards are those that will ensure the preservation 
of the materials for at least 10 years with little information 
degradation or loss. Records may continue to be usable for longer than 
10 years when stored under these conditions, but with an increasing 
risk of information loss or degradation with longer times. If temporary 
records require retention longer than 10 years, better storage 
conditions (cooler and drier) than those specified for medium term 
storage will be needed to maintain the usability of these records. The 
applicable standards are:
    (1) ANSI/PIMA IT9.11-1998, Imaging Materials--Processed Safety 
Photographic Films--Storage;
    (2) ANSI/NAPM IT9.23-1996, Imaging Materials--Polyester Base 
Magnetic Tape--Storage;
    (3) ANSI/PIMA IT9.25-1998, Imaging Materials--Optical Disc Media--
Storage;
    (4) ANSI /NAPM IT9.20-1996, Imaging Materials--Reflection Prints--
Storage Practices; and/or
    (5) ANSI/NAPM IT9.18-1996, Imaging Materials--Processed 
Photographic Plates--Storage Practices.
    (c) Paper-based permanent, unscheduled and sample/select records. 
Paper-based permanent, unscheduled, and sample/select records must be 
stored in records storage space that provides 24 hour/365 days per year 
air conditioning (temperature, humidity, and air exchange) equivalent 
to that required for office space. See ASHRAE Standard 55-1992, Thermal 
Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, and ASHRAE Standard 62-
1989, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, for specific 
requirements. New records storage facilities that store paper-based 
permanent, unscheduled, and/or sample/select records must meet the 
requirement in this paragraph (c) January 3, 2000. Existing storage 
facilities that store paper-based permanent, unscheduled, and/or 
sample/select records must meet the requirement in this paragraph (c) 
no later than October 1, 2009.
    (d) Nontextual permanent, unscheduled, and/or sample/select 
records. All records storage facilities that store microfilm, 
audiovisual, and/or electronic permanent, unscheduled, and/or sample/
select records must comply with the storage standards for permanent and 
unscheduled records in parts 1230, 1232, and/or 1234 of this chapter, 
respectively.

Handling Deviations From NARA's Facility Standards


Sec. 1228.234  What rules apply if there is a conflict between NARA 
standards and other regulatory standards that a facility must follow?

    (a) If any provisions of this subpart conflict with local or 
regional building codes, the following rules of precedence apply:
    (1) Between differing levels of fire protection and life safety, 
the more stringent provision applies; and
    (2) Between mandatory provisions that cannot be reconciled with a 
requirement of this subpart, the local or regional code applies.
    (b) If any of the provisions of this subpart conflict with 
mandatory life safety or ventilation requirements imposed on 
underground storage facilities by 30 CFR chapter I, 30 CFR chapter I 
applies.
    (c) NARA reserves the right to require documentation of the 
mandatory nature of the conflicting code and the inability to reconcile 
that provision with NARA requirements.


Sec. 1228.236  How does an agency request a waiver from a requirement 
in this subpart?

    (a) Types of waivers that may be approved. NARA may approve 
exceptions to one or more of the standards in this subpart for:
    (1) Systems, methods, or devices that are demonstrated to have 
equivalent or superior quality, strength, fire resistance, 
effectiveness, durability, and safety to those prescribed by this 
subpart;
    (2) Existing agency records centers that met the previous NARA 
standards in effect on January 2, 2000, but that do not meet a new 
standard required to be in place on January 3, 2000; and
    (3) The application of roof requirements in Secs. 1228.228 and 
1228.230 to underground storage facilities.
    (b) Where to submit a waiver request. The agency submits a waiver 
request, containing the information specified in paragraphs (c), (d), 
and/or (e) of this section to the Director, Security and Space 
Management Division (NAS), National Archives and Records 
Administration, 8601 Adelphi Rd., College Park, MD 20740-6001.
    (c) Content of request for waivers for equivalent or superior 
alternatives. The agency's waiver request must contain:
    (1) A statement of the specific provision(s) of this subpart for 
which a waiver is requested, a description of the proposed alternative, 
and an explanation how it is equivalent to or superior to the NARA 
requirement; and
    (2) Supporting documentation that the alternative does not provide 
less protection for Federal records than that which would be provided 
by compliance with the corresponding provisions contained in this 
subpart. Documentation may take the form of certifications from a 
licensed fire protection engineer or a structural or

[[Page 67647]]

civil engineer, as appropriate; reports of independent testing; reports 
of computer modeling; and/or other supporting information.
    (d) Content of request for waiver for previously compliant agency 
records center. The agency's waiver request must identify which 
requirement(s) the agency records center cannot meet and provide a plan 
with milestones for bringing the center into compliance.
    (e) Content of request for waiver of roof requirements for 
underground facility. The agency's waiver request must identify the 
location of the facility and whether the facility is a drift entrance 
facility or a vertical access facility.


Sec. 1228.238  How does NARA process a waiver request?

    (a) Waiver for equivalent or superior alternative. NARA will review 
the waiver request and supporting documentation.
    (1) If in NARA's judgement the supporting documentation clearly 
supports the claim that the alternative is equivalent or superior to 
the NARA requirement, NARA will grant the waiver and notify the 
requesting agency within 30 calendar days.
    (2) If NARA questions whether supporting documentation demonstrates 
that the proposed alternative offers at least equal protection to 
Federal records, NARA will consult the appropriate industry standards 
body or other qualified expert before making a determination. NARA will 
notify the requesting agency within 30 calendar days of receipt of the 
request that consultation is necessary and will provide a final 
determination within 60 calendar days. If NARA does not grant the 
waiver, NARA will furnish a full explanation of the reasons for its 
decision.
    (b) Waiver of new requirement for existing agency records center. 
NARA will review the agency's waiver request and plan to bring the 
facility into compliance.
    (1) NARA will approve the request and plan within 30 calendar days 
if NARA judges the planned actions and time frames for bringing the 
facility into compliance are reasonable.
    (2) If NARA questions the feasibility or reasonableness of the 
plan, NARA will work with the agency to develop a revised plan that 
NARA can approve and the agency can implement. NARA may grant a short-
term temporary waiver, not to exceed 180 calendar days, while the 
revised plan is under development.
    (c) Waiver of roof requirements for underground storage facilities. 
NARA will normally grant the waiver and notify the requesting agency 
within 10 work days if the agency has not also requested a waiver of a 
different requirement under Sec. 1228.236. If the agency has another 
waiver request pending for the same facility, NARA will respond to all 
of the waiver requests at the same time and within the longest time 
limits.

Facility Approval and Inspection Requirements


Sec. 1228.240  How does an agency request authority to establish or 
relocate records storage facilities?

    (a) General policy. Agencies are responsible for ensuring that 
records in their legal custody are stored in appropriate space as 
outlined in this subpart. Under Sec. 1228.156(a), agencies are 
responsible for initiating action to remove records from space that 
does not meet these standards if deficiencies are not corrected within 
6 months after initial discovery of the deficiencies by NARA or the 
agency and to complete removal of the records within 18 months after 
initial discovery of the deficiencies.
    (1) Agency records centers. Agencies must obtain prior written 
approval from NARA before establishing or relocating an agency records 
center. Each separate agency records center must be specifically 
approved by NARA prior to the transfer of any records to that 
individual facility. If an agency records center has been approved for 
the storage of Federal records of one agency, any other agency that 
proposes to store its records in that facility must still obtain NARA 
approval to do so.
    (2) Commercial records storage facilities. An agency may contract 
for commercial records storage services. However, before any agency 
records are transferred to a commercial records storage facility, the 
transferring agency must ensure that the facility meets all of the 
requirements for an agency records storage facility set forth in this 
subpart and must submit the documentation required in paragraph (e) of 
this section.
    (b) Exclusions. For purposes of this section, the term ``agency 
records center'' excludes NARA-owned and operated records centers. For 
purposes of this section and Sec. 1228.244, the term ``agency records 
center'' also excludes agency records staging and/or holding areas with 
a capacity for containing less than 25,000 cubic feet of records. 
However, such records centers and areas, including records centers 
operated and maintained by NARA, must comply with the facility 
standards in Secs. 1228.228 through 1228.232.
    (c) Content of requests for agency records centers. Requests for 
authority to establish or relocate an agency records center, or to use 
an agency records center operated by another agency, must be submitted 
in writing to the Director, Space and Security Management Division 
(NAS), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, 
College Park, MD 20740-6001.
    (1) The request must identify the specific facility and, for 
requests to establish or relocate the agency's own records center, 
document compliance with the standards in this subpart. Documentation 
requirements for Sec. 1228.230(s) are specified in Sec. 1228.242.
    (2) If the request is for approval of an existing agency records 
center that did not comply with the requirements of this subpart in 
effect on January 2, 2000, the request must also contain the agency's 
plan to modify the facility to bring it into compliance with current 
requirements within a three year period. Such requests must be 
submitted to NARA no later than July 1, 2000.
    (d) Approval of requests for agency records centers. NARA will 
review the submitted documentation to ensure the facility demonstrates 
full compliance with the standards in this subpart. For requests 
submitted under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, NARA also will review 
the submitted plan to ensure that the plan is realistic. NARA reserves 
the right to visit the facility, if necessary, to make the 
determination of compliance. NARA will inform the agency of its 
decision within 45 calendar days after the request is received, and 
will provide the agency information on the areas of noncompliance if 
the request is denied. Requests will be denied only if NARA determines 
that the facility does not demonstrate full compliance with the 
standards in this subpart. Approvals will be valid for a period of 10 
years, unless the facility is materially changed before then or an 
agency or NARA inspection finds that the facility does not meet the 
standards in this subpart. Material changes require submission of a new 
request for NARA approval.
    (e) Documentation requirements for storing Federal records in 
commercial records storage facilities. At least 45 calendar days before 
an agency first transfers records to a commercial records storage 
facility, the agency must submit documentation to NARA that the 
facility complies with the standards in this subpart. The documentation 
may take the form of a copy of the agency's contract that incorporates 
this subpart in its provisions or a statement from the agency records 
officer that certifies that

[[Page 67648]]

the facility meets the standards in this subpart. An agency must 
provide the documentation for each separate commercial records storage 
facility where its records will be stored. Documentation must be sent 
to the Director, Space and Security Management Division (NAS), National 
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, 
MD 20740-6001. The agency must submit updated documentation to NARA 
every 10 years if it continues to store records in that commercial 
records storage facility.


Sec. 1228.242  What does an agency have to do to certify a fire-safety 
detection and suppression system?

    (a) Content of documentation. The agency must submit documentation 
to the Director, Space and Security Management Division (NAS), National 
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, 
MD 20740-6001, that describes the space being protected (e.g., the type 
and stacking height of the storage equipment used, or how the space is 
designed, controlled, and operated) and the characteristics of the 
fire-safety detection and suppression system used. The documentation 
must demonstrate how that system meets the requirement in 
Sec. 1228.230(s) through:
    (1) A statement that the facility is using a NARA certified system 
as described in Appendix B to this part;
    (2) A report of the results of independent live fire testing 
(Factory Mutual, Underwriters Laboratories or equivalent); or
    (3) A report of the results of computer modeling, and a 
certification by a licensed fire protection engineer that the system 
has been designed to limit the maximum anticipated loss in any single 
fire event to a maximum of 300 cubic feet of records destroyed by fire. 
If this method of demonstrating compliance is chosen, the description 
of the system must include specific references to any industry 
standards used in the design, such as those issued by the National Fire 
Protection Association (see NFPA 13, NFPA 231, NFPA 231C, NFPA 232 and 
NFPA 232A).
    (b) NARA action. (1) NARA will approve the fire-safety detection 
and suppression system within 10 work days if NARA has previously 
approved the system design for similarly configured space or if a 
report of independent testing of a new system design is furnished as 
documentation.
    (2) If, in NARA's judgment, the supporting documentation provided 
in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section clearly 
demonstrates compliance with Sec. 1228.230(s), NARA will approve the 
fire-safety detection and suppression system within 30 calendar days.
    (3) If NARA questions whether supporting documentation demonstrates 
compliance with Sec. 1228.230(s), NARA will consult the appropriate 
industry standards body or other qualified expert before making a 
determination. Before any consultation, NARA may ask the agency for 
additional clarifying information. NARA will notify the requesting 
agency within 30 calendar days of receipt of the request that 
consultation is necessary and will provide a final determination within 
60 calendar days. If NARA does not approve the system, NARA will 
furnish a full explanation of the reasons for its decision.
    (4) NARA will maintain a list of approved alternative systems.


Sec. 1228.244  When may NARA conduct an inspection of a records storage 
facility?

    (a) At the time an agency submits a request to establish an agency 
records center, pursuant to Sec. 1228.240, NARA may conduct an 
inspection of the proposed facility to ensure that the facility 
complies fully with the standards in this subpart. NARA may also 
conduct periodic inspections of agency records centers so long as such 
facility is used as an agency records center. NARA will inspect its own 
records center facilities on a periodic basis to ensure that they are 
in compliance with the requirements of this subpart.
    (b) Agencies must ensure, by contract or otherwise, that agency and 
NARA officials, or their delegates, have the right to inspect 
commercial records storage facilities to ensure that such facilities 
fully comply with the standards in this subpart. NARA may conduct 
periodic inspections of commercial records storage facilities so long 
as agencies use such facilities to store agency records. The using 
agency, not NARA, will be responsible for paying any fee or charge 
assessed by the commercial records storage facility for NARA's 
conducting an inspection.
    (c) NARA will contact the agency operating the records center or 
the agency holding a contract with a commercial records storage 
facility in advance to set a date for the inspection.
    3. Appendixes A and B are added to part 1228 to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 1228--Minimum Security Standards for Level III 
Federal Facilities

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Appendix B to Part 1228--Alternative Certified Fire-safety 
Detection and Suppression System(s)

    1. General. This Appendix B contains information on the Fire-
safety Detection and Suppression System(s) tested by NARA through 
independent live fire testing that are certified to meet the 
requirement in Sec. 1228.230(s) for storage of Federal Records. Use 
of a system specified in this appendix is optional. A facility may 
choose to have an alternate fire-safety detection and suppression 
system approved under Sec. 1228.242.
    2. Specifications for NARA facilities using 15 foot high records 
storage. NARA fire-safety systems that incorporate all components 
specified in paragraphs 2.a. through o. of this appendix have been 
tested and certified to meet the requirements in Sec. 1228.230(s) 
for an acceptable fire-safety detection and suppression system for 
storage of Federal records.
    a. The records storage height must not exceed the nominal 15 
feet (+/-3 inches) records storage height.
    b. All records storage and adjoining areas must be protected by 
automatic wet-pipe sprinklers. Automatic sprinklers are specified 
herein because they provide the most effective fire protection for 
high piled storage of paper records on open type shelving.
    c. The sprinkler system must be rated at no higher than 285 
degrees Fahrenheit utilizing quick response (QR) fire sprinkler 
heads and designed by a licensed fire protection engineer to provide 
the specified density for the most remote 1,500 square feet of floor 
area at the most remote sprinkler head in accordance with NFPA 13 
(1996), Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems. For 
facilities with roofs rated at 15 minutes or greater, provide \1/
2\'' QR sprinklers rated at no higher than 285 degrees Fahrenheit 
designed to deliver a density of 0.30 gpm per square foot. For 
unrated roofs, provide 0.64'' QR ``large drop'' sprinklers rated at 
no higher than 285 degrees Fahrenheit. For facilities using 7 or 8 
shelf track files, use QR sprinklers rated at no higher than 285 
degrees Fahrenheit. For new construction and replacement sprinklers, 
NARA recommends that the sprinklers be rated at 165 degrees 
Fahrenheit. Installation of the sprinkler system must be in 
accordance with NFPA 13 (1996), Standard for the Installation of 
Sprinkler Systems.
    d. Maximum spacing of the sprinkler heads must be on a 10-foot 
grid and the positioning of the heads must provide complete, 
unobstructed coverage, with a clearance of not less than 18 inches 
from the top of the highest stored materials.
    e. The sprinkler system must be equipped with a water-flow alarm 
connected to an audible alarm within the facility and to a 
continuously staffed fire department or an Underwriters Laboratory 
approved central monitoring station (see UL 827, Central-Station 
Alarm Services (April 23, 1999)) with responsibility for immediate 
response.
    f. A manual fire alarm system must be provided with a 
Underwriters Laboratory approved (grade A) central monitoring 
station service or other automatic means of notifying the municipal 
fire department. A manual alarm pull station must be located 
adjacent to each exit. Supplemental manual alarm stations are 
permitted within the records storage areas.
    g. All water cutoff valves in the sprinkler system must be 
equipped with automatic closure alarm (tamper alarm) connected to a 
continuously staffed station, with responsibility for immediate 
response. If the sprinkler water cutoff valve is located in an area 
used by the public, in addition to the tamper alarm, the valves must 
be provided with frangible (easily broken) padlocks.
    h. A dependable water supply free of interruption must be 
provided including a continuous site fire loop connected to the 
water main and sized to support the facility with only one portion 
of the fire loop operational. This normally requires a backup supply 
system having sufficient pressure and capacity to meet both fire 
hose and sprinkler requirements for 2-hours. A fire pump connected 
to an emergency power source must be provided in accordance with 
NFPA 20 (1996), Standard for the Installation of Centrifugal Fire 
Pumps, when adequate water pressure is not assured. In the event 
that public water mains are not able to supply adequate volumes of 
water to the site, on-site water storage must be provided.
    i. Interior fire hose stations equipped with a 1\1/2\ inch 
diameter hose may be provided in the records storage areas if 
required by the local fire department, enabling any point in the 
records storage area to be reached by a 50-foot hose stream from a 
100-foot hose lay. If provided, these cabinets must be marked ``For 
Fire Department Use Only.''
    j. Where fire hose cabinets are not required, fire department 
hose outlets must be provided at each floor landing in the building 
core or stair shaft. Hose outlets must have an easily removable 
adapter and cap. Threads and valves must be compatible with the 
local fire department's equipment. Spacing must be so that any point 
in the record storage area can be reached with a 50-foot hose stream 
from a 100-foot hose lay.
    k. In addition to the designed sprinkler flow demand, 500 gpm 
must be provided for hose stream demand. The hose stream demand must 
be calculated into the system at the base of the main sprinkler 
riser.
    l. Fire hydrants must be located within 250 feet of each 
exterior entrance or other access to the records storage facility 
that could be used by firefighters. Each required hydrant must 
provide a minimum flow capacity of 500 gpm at 20 psi. All hydrants 
must be at least 50 feet away from the building walls and adjacent 
to a roadway usable by fire apparatus. Fire hydrants must have at 
least two, 2\1/2\ inch hose outlets and a pumper connection. All 
threads must be compatible with local standards.
    m. Portable water-type fire extinguishers (2\1/2\ gallon stored 
pressure type) must be provided at each fire alarm striking station. 
The minimum number and locations of fire extinguishers must be as 
required by NFPA 10 (1994), Standard for Portable Fire 
Extinguishers.
    n. Single level catwalks without automatic sprinklers installed 
underneath may be provided in the service aisles if the edges of all 
files in the front boxes above the catwalks are stored perpendicular 
to the aisle (to minimize files exfoliation in a fire). Where 
provided, the walking surface of the catwalks must be of expanded 
metal at least .09-inch thickness with a 2-inch mesh length. The 
surface opening ratio must be equal or greater than 0.75. The 
sprinkler water demand for protection over bays with catwalks where 
records above the catwalks are not perpendicular to the aisles must 
be calculated hydraulically to give .30 gpm per square foot for the 
most remote 2,000 square feet.

    Dated: November 23, 1999.
John W. Carlin,
Archivist of the United States.
    Note: The following appendix will not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations

Appendix A to the Preamble--Analysis of Cost Estimate

    This appendix provides a detailed discussion of the cost 
estimate submitted by PRISM International as part of its comments on 
the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, published September 15, 
1999. The cost estimate was prepared by Hanscomb, an international 
construction consulting firm, for a hypothetical new commercial 
records center located in Dulles, VA built to comply with the NARA 
proposed standards. Hanscomb stated that the ``base'' commercial 
records facility is an ``industry standard commercial records 
facility.'' In this appendix we refer to this facility as the ``base 
facility'' and to the facility that would be built to Hanscomb's 
interpretation of NARA specifications as the ``proposed facility.'' 
We refer to NARA recalculations based on correction of errors as 
``NARA'' estimates.
    Description of base facility. Hanscomb describes the base 
facility as a 73,442 square foot building that has no 
compartmentalization or interior fire walls. The capacity of the 
building is 1,000,000 cubic feet of records (total building volume 
2,864,238 cubic feet) with a storage height of 39 feet.
    Description of proposed facility. Hanscomb describes the 
proposed facility as having storage compartments of 250,000 cubic 
feet, in storage areas not exceeding 12,500 square feet with a 15 
foot storage height. To provide a comparable records storage 
capacity to the base facility, the square footage of the proposed 
building would be increased to 188,700 square feet. (We note that 
the final rule clearly does not limit shelving to 15 feet. We are 
currently sponsoring live fire testing to demonstrate that the 300 
cubic foot loss per incident level of protection can be achieved in 
28-foot high shelving with in-shelf sprinklers. However, for the 
purpose of evaluating Hanscomb's estimate, we are only addressing 
clear errors in their estimate. We are also assuming that the 
proposed facility would store only Federal records, which is the 
most conservative assumption that can be made.)
    Errors in cost estimate. The Hanscomb cost estimate contains 
several significant misinterpretations of the NARA standards 
contained in the proposed rule.
     The NARA standard limits the volume of records stored 
in a single fire chamber to

[[Page 67661]]

250,000 cubic feet of Federal records, not a total room volume of 
250,000 cubic feet as Hanscomb assumes. Using the NARA standard, the 
total room size would be ca. 800,000 cubic feet or 40,000 square 
feet, which represents a storage capacity of 250,000 cubic feet of 
records, the required service aisles, and the space between the top 
of the records and the roof. Hanscomb's proposed facility is over-
sized by at least 28,700 square feet. A typical NARA records center 
layout, with 15 foot high shelving and compartmentalization, is 
160,000 square feet. The error also grossly overstates the amount of 
interior fire barrier walls required (proposed 2,158 linear feet 
versus NARA's 800 linear feet), and overstates the number of 
connecting fire-rated doors (proposed facility's 10 versus NARA's 
4). The error also overstates the electrical feed cost, which is 
based on square footage. Adjusting for the error in sizing the 
proposed building would lower the cost of the proposed facility by 
at least $1,381,387 as shown below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Hanscomb proposed
                                  facility cost      NARA adjusted cost
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General construction \1\....            $2,415,036            $1,700,254
Interior fire walls @ $450/                971,100               360,000
 sq.ft......................
Interior fire doors @ $5,000                50,000                20,000
 each.......................
Electrical--double primary                  47,175               21,640
 feed.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ NARA adjusted cost multiplied Hanscomb unit costs in category 1 by
  86,558 square feet instead of 115,258 square feet (Corrected increased
  proposed building size of 160,000 square feet minus base facility
  square footage of 73,442 square feet).

     Hanscomb assumes that Federal seismic requirements 
would add two pounds of steel tonnage per square foot to brace the 
building, at a cost of $180,000. The actual requirement, in both the 
proposed and final rule, is that ``the facility must be designed in 
accordance with regional building codes to provide protection from 
building collapse or failure of essential equipment from earthquake 
hazards, tornadoes, hurricanes and other potential natural 
disasters.'' (Sec. 1228.228(d)). We believe that the base facility, 
if built to regional building code requirements, would have the 
necessary bracing. We also have clarified Sec. 1228.228(i)(1) to 
reflect this requirement to adhere to the applicable regional 
building code.
     Hanscomb also has added $150,000 for a mechanical room 
for equipment and boilers. The proposed and final NARA rule does not 
require an additional mechanical room. We do require that the 
mechanical room with the boiler(s) be separated from the storage 
area by a 4-hour rated fire barrier wall. NFPA 101, Life Safety 
Code, requires a 1-hour rated fire barrier wall, so we have adjusted 
the Hanscomb cost to reflect the additional cost of the NARA 4-hour 
fire barrier wall requirement, at $14,000.
     Hanscomb further assumes that the entire facility would 
be required to have HVAC systems designed for the storage of 
permanent records, even if the vast majority of the records were 
temporary, ``as mix of records types would be unknown.'' The NARA 
standard has no requirement for HVAC for the storage of temporary 
records. Because Federal agencies are required to separate their 
records by retention authority prior to transferring the records to 
a records center, segregating boxes of permanent records from boxes 
of temporary records is not a problem. The permanent records would 
always be retired to the records center in separate accessions. 
Based on NARA holdings of agency records in our records centers, 
less than 5 percent of the Federal records that might be retired to 
a records center are permanent. If the proposed facility wished to 
store both permanent and temporary records, it could provide office-
level HVAC for a much smaller area than Hanscomb estimates. If 5 
percent of the 1.0 million cubic feet storage capacity of the base 
facility is devoted to permanent records, the proposed facility 
would need to provide HVAC to a 10,000 square foot compartment 
holding 50,000 cubic feet of permanent records. This scenario would 
cost $150,000 rather than the $2,830,000 in the Hanscomb estimate.
     The Hanscomb estimate misinterprets several of the NARA 
fire protection requirements. The estimate for the proposed facility 
assumes that additional upright sprinklers would be required to 
protect the roof. This would be necessary if the roof was 
constructed of wood trusses and decking, but Hanscomb specifies 
metal decking and sheet metal roofing. This represents an additional 
$94,350 that is not actually required by the proposed NARA 
regulation. Hanscomb also assumes incorrectly that the trusses, as 
well as the columns, must be four-hour rated. The actual requirement 
where lightweight steel roof support members are used is to either 
provide a 10-minute fire resistive coating to the top chords of the 
joists, or to use large-drop sprinklers. We estimate that this 
misunderstanding added at least $250,000 to Hanscomb's estimate. We 
also find Hanscomb's estimate of $98,100 for providing two exterior 
walls with a maximum one-hour fire rating to be unsupported. We 
assume that any exterior wall would require column footings and 
columns, so those additional costs are inappropriate. We fail to 
recognize that applicability of ``Fire Protection 4 hr, 12040 sq.ft 
at $5.00 per sq.ft.'' to the NARA requirement that at least one 
exterior wall have a maximum (not minimum) fire rating of one hour. 
Adjusting the costs of the proposed facility to correct these errors 
would lower the cost of the proposed facility by at least $442,450.
     Hanscomb estimates that the fire suppression costs due 
to NARA requirements are $180,000 for a 10-foot by 10-foot grid. 
Hanscomb's estimate includes both an overstatement of the size of 
the facility and an arithmetical error (188700 square feet @ $0.50 
does not equal $180,000.) We are unable to evaluate Hanscomb's fire 
detection and suppression system costs to determine what, if any, of 
the costs are attributable to NARA requirements and not NFPA or 
local code requirements. NFPA 231C (1998) and NFPA 13 (1999) provide 
multiple different ways to protect ``rack'' or ``high piled'' 
storage, and it is simply impossible to compare without knowing what 
was installed in the Hanscomb facility. Storage height, aisle width, 
levels of in-rack sprinklers, type of sprinkler (ordinary spray, 
quick response, etc) all impact on the design, and thus the costs. 
However, both standards require a sprinkler system that exceeds the 
minimum for ``Ordinary Hazard, Class III'' commodities when the 
storage height exceeds 15 feet. Adjusting only for the sizing and 
arithmetical errors would reduce the cost of the proposed facility 
by $100,000.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ NARA adjusted cost multiplied Hanscomb unit cost ($0.50) by 
160,000 square feet instead of 188,700 square feet.
    \2\ This estimate appears over-stated, as the typical records 
center has very few exterior doors to monitor, and the open aisle 
allow for the use of beam detectors. We have also adjusted the cost 
to reflect a 160,000 sq. ft. building.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Hanscomb further attributes costs to the proposed 
facility that are in fact required by other Federal requirements 
(security system--$160,000 \2\ and pest control prevention--
$20,000).
    Other issues. The NARA requirement for a secondary water supply 
exists only in those cases where the public main is dead-ended 
rather than looped or where there is no public fire main and the 
water is taken from a reservoir or natural lake. The majority of 
municipal water mains are ``looped.'' Dead-ends on fire mains are 
most likely to occur in more rural areas. For purposes of this cost 
estimate, we accepted Hanscomb's estimate of $25,000 as appropriate.
    We also note that if the owner of a new records storage facility 
chose to use a shelving configuration other than 15 feet high, as 
permitted in the NARA rule, there would be significant cost savings 
from the Hanscomb estimate for general construction costs. While 
there would be some additional costs for the fire suppression system 
and for obtaining Fire Protection Engineer Certification of the 
system, these would be significantly less than the adjusted general 
construction costs of $1,700,254 for a proposed facility with 15-
foot-high shelving.
    A summary of the Hanscomb total added costs due to the proposed 
NARA requirements and NARA's adjustments follow:

[[Page 67662]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                             NARA adjusted cost
                                                    Hanscomb estimated cost \1\                (15' shelving)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current cost of base building...........  $3,543,540.....................................             $3,543,540
Added ``NARA'' Requirements.............  $7,637,361 *...................................              2,508,293
Added Govt.-Wide Requirements...........  *The $388,700 government-wide requirement costs                180,000
                                           are incorporated in Added ``NARA''
                                           Requirements.
Cost of building With NARA Req..........  $11,180,901....................................              6,051,834
% Increase..............................  216%...........................................                   71%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \1\ These numbers reflect the costs presented in the original submission from PRISM International. We have not
  adjusted Hanscomb's arithmetical errors here.

[FR Doc. 99-30973 Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
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