[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
[[Page 67636]]
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.
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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
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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
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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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