[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27555-27557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13618]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
National Protection and Programs Directorate Office of
Infrastructure Protection
[Docket No. DHS-2009-0026]
Submission for Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards
Personnel Surety Program Information Collection 1670-NEW
AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, Office of
Infrastructure Protection, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division,
DHS.
ACTION: 60-Day Notice and request for comments: New information
collection request 1670-NEW.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, National Protection and
Programs Directorate, Office of Infrastructure Protection,
Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) will be submitting
the following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection is a
new information collection. The purpose of this notice is to solicit
comments during a 60-day public comment period prior to the submission
of this collection to OMB. The submission describes the nature of the
information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated
burden, and cost.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until August 10,
2009. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the
proposed information collection through the Federal Rulemaking Portal
at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments. Comments must be identified by docket number DHS-2009-0026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this ICR, with applicable
supporting documentation, may be obtained through the Federal
Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Program Description
The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), 6 CFR Part
27, require high-risk chemical facilities to submit personally
identifiable information (PII) from facility personnel and, as
appropriate, unescorted visitors with access to restricted areas or
critical assets at those facilities. This PII will be screened against
the consolidated and integrated terrorist watch list maintained by the
Federal Government in the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) to
identify known or suspected terrorists (i.e., individuals with
terrorist ties).
High-risk chemical facilities must also perform other relevant
background checks in compliance with CFATS Personnel Surety risk-based
performance standard (RBPS) 12. See 6 CFR 27.230(a)(12)(i-iii)
(covered facilities must ``perform appropriate background checks
[hellip] including (i) Measures designed to verify and validate
identity; (ii) Measures designed to check criminal history; [and] (iii)
Measures designed to verify and validate legal authorization to
work''). The CFATS Personnel Surety Program is not intended to halt,
hinder, or replace high-risk chemical facilities' performance of
background checks currently required for employment or access to secure
areas of those facilities.
Background
On October 4, 2006, the President signed the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (the Act), Public Law 109-295.
Section 550 of the Act provides the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) with the authority to regulate the security of high-risk chemical
facilities.
Section 550 requires that DHS's regulations establish risk-based
performance standards. RBPS 12 (6 CFR 27.230(a)(12)) requires
that regulated chemical facilities implement ``measures designed to
identify people with terrorist ties.'' The ability to identify
individuals with terrorist ties requires use of information held in
Government-maintained databases. Therefore, DHS is implementing the
CFATS Personnel Surety Program which will allow chemical facilities to
comply with RBPS 12 to implement ``measures designed to
identify people with terrorist ties.''
Overview of CFATS Personnel Surety Process
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program identifies individuals with
terrorist ties by comparing PII submitted by each high-risk chemical
facility to the PII of known or suspected terrorists on the
consolidated and integrated terrorist watch list maintained by the
Federal Government in the TSDB.
The representative(s) of each high-risk chemical facility with
access to the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT), the online data
collection portal for CFATS, will submit PII of affected individuals to
the CFATS Personnel Surety Program via CSAT. The PII to be submitted is
the data needed by DHS to conduct screening against the consolidated
and integrated terrorist watch list in the TSDB. Upon receipt of each
affected individual's PII, the CFATS Personnel Surety Program will send
a copy of the PII to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
TSA will compare the PII provided by the CFATS Personnel Surety Program
and the PII of known and suspected terrorists on the consolidated and
integrated terrorist watch list in the TSDB. TSA will forward the
results from all matches to the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which
will make a final determination of whether an individual is, or is not,
a match to an individual in the TSDB.
In the event that there is a positive match, the TSC will notify
the appropriate Federal law enforcement agency for coordination,
investigative action, and/or response.
For positive matches, the TSC may contact the Federal agency that
nominated the individual to be listed on the consolidated and
integrated terrorist watch list in the TSDB for further details
regarding the reasons for nominating the individual.
DHS will not provide screening results to high-risk chemical
facilities nor to the individuals whose PII is submitted by high-risk
chemical facilities. As warranted, high-risk chemical facilities may be
contacted by Federal law enforcement as a part of appropriate law
enforcement investigation activity. (See the FBI System of Records
published in the
[[Page 27556]]
Federal Register on August 22, 2007, 72 FR 47073.)
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program will send a ``verification of
submission'' to the representative(s) of high-risk chemical facilities
when: (1) A new individual's PII has been submitted, (2) an
individual's information has been updated, and (3) when an individual's
information has been removed because he/she no longer has access to the
high-risk chemical facility's restricted areas or critical assets.
``Verifications of submission'' will allow for high-risk chemical
facilities to demonstrate compliance with their facility Site Security
Plans and with RBPS 12.
Affected Population
6 CFR 27.230(a)(12) requires facility personnel and, as
appropriate, unescorted visitors with access to restricted areas or
critical assets to undergo background checks. This affected population
will include (1) facility personnel (e.g., employees and contractors)
with access (unescorted or otherwise) to restricted areas or critical
assets, and (2) unescorted visitors with access to restricted areas or
critical assets.
These background checks do not affect facility personnel that do
not have access to facilities' restricted areas or critical assets, nor
do they affect escorted visitors.
Request for Exception to the Requirement Under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program intends to request from OMB an
exception to the Paperwork Reduction Act requirement, contained in 5
CFR 1320.8(b)(3), that affected individuals whose PII is submitted by
high-risk chemical facilities be notified of the reasons for the
collection, be notified how the information will be used, be given an
estimate of the average burden associated with the collection, and be
notified whether responses to the collection are voluntary or
mandatory. The CFATS Personnel Surety Program intends to request this
exception in the event that these notices are required.
Neither Section 550 of the Act nor CFATS creates a requirement for
high-risk chemical facilities to provide notice to affected individuals
whose PII is submitted to the CFATS Personnel Surety Program. DHS,
however, expects each high-risk facility to adhere to applicable
Federal, State, local, and tribal laws, regulations, and policies
pertaining to notification to individuals that their PII is being
submitted to the Federal Government. The CFATS Personnel Surety Program
will require each high-risk chemical facility to certify that it is
collecting and submitting this information in compliance with all
applicable Federal, State, local, and tribal laws, regulations, and
policies.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program's request for an exception to
the requirement under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3) would not exempt high-risk
chemical facilities from having to adhere to applicable Federal, State,
local, or tribal laws, regulations or policies pertaining to the
privacy of facility personnel and the privacy of unescorted visitors.
In fact, this exception would allow the CFATS Personnel Surety Program
to avoid any conflict with such laws, regulations, and policies.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program intends to take several steps to
provide (1) adequate notice to high-risk chemical facilities of their
responsibilities, and (2) general notice to affected individuals whose
information will be submitted by high-risk chemical facilities to the
CFATS Personnel Surety Program through this collection.
As part of Site Security Plans, required by CFATS, the Department
will ask each high-risk chemical facility ``Will the facility provide
notification to facility personnel and, as appropriate, unescorted
visitors with access to the restricted areas or critical assets that
personal information about them has been or will be submitted to DHS to
determine if they have terrorist ties?'' High-risk chemical facilities
that respond positively shall then explain their notification
procedures.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program will publish a specific
Privacy Impact Assessment.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program will publish in the
Federal Register a specific System of Records Notice.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program will publish in the
Federal Register the proposed exemptions for disclosure as required by
the Privacy Act.
The CFATS Personnel Surety Program will publish in the
Federal Register the final exemptions for disclosure as required by the
Privacy Act.
Solicitation of Comments
The Office of Management and Budget Is Particularly Interested in
Comments Which
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
The Department Is Particularly Interested in Comments Which
1. Respond to the Department's interpretation of the population
affected by RBPS 12 background checks outlined in 6 CFR
27.230(a)(12);
2. Respond to fact that a Federal law enforcement agency may, if
appropriate, contact the high-risk chemical facility as a part of a law
enforcement investigation into terrorist ties of facility personnel;
and
3. Respond to the Department on its intention to seek an exception
to the notice requirement under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
Analysis
Agency
Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Under Secretary for
National Protection and Programs Directorate, Office of Infrastructure
Protection, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division.
Title: CFATS Personnel Surety Program
OMB Number: 1670-NEW
Background Check to Identify Terrorist Ties for an Individual at a
High-Risk Chemical Facility
Frequency
As required in the schedule and timing in the high-risk chemical
facilities Site Security Plan approved by DHS
Affected Public
High-risk chemical facilities as defined in 6 CFR Part 27, High-
risk chemical facility personnel, and as appropriate, unescorted
visitors with access to restricted areas or critical assets
Number of Respondents
354,400 individuals
[[Page 27557]]
Estimated Time Per Respondent
0.59 hours (35.4 minutes)
Total Burden Hours
210,351.7 annual burden hours
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup)
$0.00
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining)
$17,669,543
Signed: June 4, 2009.
Philip Reitinger,
Deputy Under Secretary, National Protection and Programs Directorate
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E9-13618 Filed 6-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P