[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71507-71509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33006]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION


Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Records 
Services--Washington, DC.

ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed records schedules; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 
publishes notice at least once monthly of certain Federal agency 
requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). Once 
approved by NARA, records schedules provide mandatory instructions on 
what happens to records when no longer needed for current Government 
business. They authorize the preservation of records of continuing 
value in the National Archives of the United States and the 
destruction, after a specified period, of records lacking 
administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is published 
for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy records not 
previously authorized for disposal or reduce the retention period of 
records already authorized for disposal. NARA invites public comments 
on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a).

DATES: Requests for copies must be received in writing on or before 
February 4, 2000. Once the appraisal of the records is completed, NARA 
will send a copy of the schedule. NARA staff usually prepare appraisal 
memorandums that contain additional information concerning the records 
covered by a proposed schedule. These, too, may be requested and will 
be provided once the appraisal is completed. Requesters will be given 
30 days to submit comments.

ADDRESSES: To request a copy of any records schedule identified in this 
notice, write to the Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA), 8601 Adelphi Road, College 
Park, MD 20740-6001. Requests also may be transmitted by FAX to 301-
713-6852 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Requesters must 
cite the control number, which appears in parentheses after the name of 
the agency which submitted the schedule, and must provide a mailing 
address. Those who desire appraisal reports should so indicate in their 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie Allen, Director, Life Cycle 
Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records 
Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. 
Telephone: (301)713-7110. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year Federal agencies create billions 
of

[[Page 71508]]

records on paper, film, magnetic tape, and other media. To control this 
accumulation, agency records managers prepare schedules proposing 
retention periods for records and submit these schedules for NARA's 
approval, using the Standard Form (SF) 115, Request for Records 
Disposition Authority. These schedules provide for the timely transfer 
into the National Archives of historically valuable records and 
authorize the disposal of all other records after the agency no longer 
needs to conduct its business. Some schedules are comprehensive and 
cover all the records of an agency or one of its major subdivisions. 
Most schedules, however, cover records of only one office or program or 
a few series of records. Many of these update previously approved 
schedules, and some include records proposed as permanent.
    No Federal records are authorized for destruction without the 
approval of the Archivist of the United States. This approval is 
granted only after a thorough consideration of their administrative use 
by the agency of origin, the rights of the Government and of private 
persons directly affected by the Government's activities, and whether 
or not they have historical or other value.
    Besides identifying the Federal agencies and any subdivisions 
requesting disposition authority, this public notice lists the 
organizational unit(s) accumulating the records or indicates agency-
wide applicability in the case of schedules that cover records that may 
be accumulated throughout an agency. This notice provides the control 
number assigned to each schedule, the total number of schedule items, 
and the number of temporary items (the records proposed for 
destruction). It also includes a brief description of the temporary 
records. The records schedule itself contains a full description of the 
records at the file unit level as well as their disposition. If NARA 
staff has prepared an appraisal memorandum for the schedule, it too, 
includes information about the records. Further information about the 
disposition process is available on request.

Schedules Pending

    1. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (N1-509-
00-1, 2 items, 1 temporary item). Electronic copies of documents 
created using electronic mail and word processing that relate to 
investigations of the loss of U.S. Central Command nuclear, biological, 
and chemical desk logs accumulated during the Persian Gulf War. 
Recordkeeping copies of these files are proposed for permanent 
retention.
    2. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (N1-509-
00-2, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Records of investigations of deaths 
of members of the Armed Forces from self-inflicted causes, 1994-1999, 
including electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail 
and word processing. This schedule also increases the retention period 
for recordkeeping copies of these files, which were previously approved 
for disposal.
    3. Department of Energy, Agency-wide (N1-434-98-24, 5 items, 4 
temporary items). Investigative records that lack historical 
significance, including files stemming from allegations that do not 
result in an investigation. Files include reports, correspondence, and 
supporting working papers. Files that pertain to cases that attract 
media or congressional attention, result in substantive changes in 
agency policy, or document major violations of criminal law are 
proposed for permanent retention. A 75 year retention period is 
proposed for temporary files that pertain to environmental matters or 
health and safety issues.
    4. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Health (N1-514-99-1, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Older 
records accumulated primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. Included are 
such records as contract files related to health care statistics, 
correspondence relating to the administrative activities of the 
Division of Health Examination Statistics, expired project files of the 
Division of Data Policy documenting the process by which administrative 
clearances were obtained for studies, and contract files relating to 
the establishment of health service management operations in several 
localities.
    5. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing 
Administration (N1-31-99-1, 18 items, 10 temporary items). Closed case 
files for servicing and tracking loan accounts, working copies of 
statistical summaries and reports, and fiscal accounting records. 
Temporary records were accumulated between 1934 and 1971. Records 
proposed for permanent retention include policy correspondence, 
studies, procedural memos, subject files, and market analysis reports.
    6. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service (N1-36-99-1, 15 
items, 3 temporary items). Central File segments relating to specific 
actions involving rate setting, classification of merchandise, entry 
duties, exemptions, and similar matters, 1902-1964. Also proposed for 
disposal are card indexes to temporary investigation files, 1938-1958, 
and files on management improvement projects accumulated during the 
1960s that pertain to such matters as forms management, space 
utilization, and personnel management. A wide variety of older records 
pre-dating 1970 are proposed for permanent retention including letter 
books and ledgers of the Vermont District, records of the Port of New 
York Collector's Office, records relating to clearances and entrances 
at the Port of Baltimore, and selected Central File segments, 1902-
1964.
    7. Department of the Treasury, United States Mint (N1-104-99-3, 3 
items, 3 temporary items). Correspondence, contracts, monitoring 
reports, statements of work, periodic inspection plans and schedules, 
and surveys relating to asbestos abatement in agency facilities. Also 
included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic 
mail and word processing.
    8. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides Programs 
(N1-412-99-13, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Company transfer files, 
including paper and microfilm records and electronic copies of 
documents created using electronic mail and word processing. The 
records consist of correspondence, transfer agreements, and other 
supporting documentation that pertain to the transfer or ownership of 
companies, products, and data.
    9. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-14, 5 
items, 5 temporary items). Appointee clearance files and laboratory 
performance evaluation records, including electronic copies of records 
created using electronic mail and word processing. Clearance files 
document the selection of political appointees and include applications 
for employment, background information about individuals, financial 
disclosure forms, security clearances, and White House clearance 
checklists. Laboratory performance files document the accreditation 
program for labs and include statistical reports, performance 
summaries, and other documents, used to measure the quality of work 
performed at laboratories.
    10. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-15, 2 
items, 2 temporary items). Case files and working papers for mission-
related projects that explore new technologies or methods for improving 
the environment, including electronic copies of records created using 
electronic mail and word processing. The records include proposals,

[[Page 71509]]

monitoring and measurement plans, correspondence, progress reports, and 
other supporting documentation. The records do not include final 
reports on the planning and establishment of agency programs following 
pilot projects, which were previously approved for permanent retention.
    11. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-21, 2 
items, 2 temporary items). Records relating to Federal Register 
notices, including drafts and final notices, tear sheets from the 
Federal Register, newspaper clippings, press releases, citations and 
abstracts of articles, correspondence, logs, and tracking systems. Also 
included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic 
mail and word processing.
    12. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-99-22, 4 
items, 4 temporary items). Quality Assurance Project Plans and Quality 
Management Plans, including electronic copies of records created using 
electronic mail and word processing. Records document administrative 
procedures for ensuring that environmental data used to support agency 
decisions are of adequate quality and usability for their intended 
purpose. Included are records that establish criteria for planning, 
implementing, documenting, and assessing data collection activities.
    13. Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Programs (N1-184-99-1, 6 
items, 6 temporary items). Paper and optical disk copies of Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Act records compiled in determining the validity 
of sickness insurance applications and unemployment claim forms for 
compensation administered by the agency. Also included are electronic 
copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing.
    14. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer (N1-138-99-2, 7 items, 7 temporary items). Records 
relating to the Commission Issuance Posting System Manager, an 
electronic database for internal agency use that contains copies of 
issuances and related documents. Included are input documents, the 
master database, outputs (including text files used for input into a 
publicly available data base), system documentation, and electronic 
copies of records created using electronic mail and word processing. 
Recordkeeping copies of the agency's issuances were previously approved 
for permanent retention.
    15. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer (N1-138-98-7, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Records 
relating to the Commission Issuance Posting System, an electronic 
database of agency issuances created for public reference use. Included 
are input documents, the master database, outputs, and system 
documentation.
    16. National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Agency-wide (N1-220-
99-3, 40 items, 11 temporary items). Background information and 
unsolicited public opinion and reference files not used for decision-
making purposes by the Commission. Also included are electronic copies 
of records created using electronic mail, word processing, and web-
based systems. Records proposed for permanent retention include 
correspondence files, meeting files, subject files, subcommittee files, 
case studies, reports, and publications. Electronic information systems 
pertaining to the Commission's comprehensive study of the legal, 
social, and economic impact of gambling on American society are also 
proposed for permanent retention.

    Dated: December 10, 1999.
Michael J. Kurtz,
Assistant Archivist for Record Services--Washington, DC.
[FR Doc. 99-33006 Filed 12-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P