[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]


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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.

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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