[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61312-61317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27519]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2017-0037]


Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Personnel Surety 
Program

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments; revision of information 
collection request: 1670-0029.

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SUMMARY: The DHS NPPD Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP), 
Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) will submit the 
following Information Collection Request to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to 
solicit comments during a 60-day public comment period prior to the 
submission of this ICR to OMB. The submission describes the nature of 
the information collection, the categories of respondents, the 
estimated burden (in hours), and the estimated burden cost necessary to 
implement the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) 
Personnel Surety Program. In this notice, DHS is updating the burden 
estimate and expanding the collection to include Tier 3 and Tier 4 
high-risk chemical facilities.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until February 26, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2017-0037, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Please follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Please include docket number DHS-
2017-0037 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Written comments and questions about this 
Information Collection Request should be forwarded to DHS/NPPD/IP/ISCD, 
ATTN: 1670-0029, 245 Murray Lane SW, Mail Stop 0610, Arlington, VA 
20528-0610.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the words 
``Department of Homeland Security'' and docket number DHS-2017-0059. 
Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Comments that include trade secrets, confidential commercial or 
financial information, Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability Information 
(CVI),\1\ Sensitive Security Information (SSI),\2\ or Protected 
Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) \3\ should not be submitted 
to the public regulatory docket. Please submit such comments separately 
from other comments in response to this notice. Comments containing 
trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial information, CVI, 
SSI, or PCII should be appropriately marked and packaged in accordance 
with applicable requirements and submitted by mail to the DHS/NPPD/IP/
ISCD CFATS Program Manager at the Department of Homeland Security, 245 
Murray Lane SW, Mail Stop 0610, Arlington, VA 20528-0610. Comments must 
be identified by docket number DHS-2017-0037.
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    \1\ For more information about CVI see 6 CFR 27.400 and the CVI 
Procedural Manual at www.dhs.gov/publication/safeguarding-cvi-manual.
    \2\ For more information about SSI see 49 CFR part 1520 and the 
SSI Program web page at www.tsa.gov/for-industry/sensitive-security-information.
    \3\ For more information about PCII see 6 CFR part 29 and the 
PCII Program web page at www.dhs.gov/pcii-program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Amy Graydon at (866)323-2957 or 
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at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 18, 2014, the President signed 
into law the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist 
Attacks Act of 2014 (``CFATS Act of 2014'') providing long-term 
authorization for the CFATS program. The CFATS Act of 2014 codified the 
DHS authority to implement the CFATS program into the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002. See 6 U.S.C. 621 et seq.
    Section 550 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 
Act of 2007, Public Law 109-295 (2006) (``Section 550''), provided (and 
the CFATS Act of 2014 continues to provide) the Department with the 
authority to identify and regulate the security of high-risk chemical 
facilities using a risk-based approach. On April 9, 2007, the 
Department issued the CFATS Interim Final Rule (IFR), implementing this 
statutory mandate. See 72 FR 17688.
    Section 550 required (and the CFATS Act of 2014 continues to 
require) that the Department establish risk-based

[[Page 61313]]

performance standards (RBPS) for high-risk chemical facilities. Through 
the CFATS regulations, the Department promulgated 18 RBPS. Each 
chemical facility that has been finally determined by the Department to 
be high-risk must submit, for Department approval, a Site Security Plan 
(SSP) or an Alternative Security Program (ASP), whichever the high-risk 
chemical facility so chooses, that satisfies each applicable RBPS. RBPS 
12 requires high-risk chemical facilities to perform appropriate 
background checks on and ensure appropriate credentials for facility 
personnel, and, as appropriate, unescorted visitors with access to 
restricted areas or critical assets. RBPS 12(iv) specifically requires 
high-risk chemical facility to implement measures designed to identify 
people with terrorist ties. For the purposes of the CFATS Personnel 
Surety Program, `people' in RBPS 12(iv) is in reference to affected 
individuals (i.e., facility personnel or unescorted visitors with or 
seeking access to restricted areas or critical assets at high-risk 
chemical facilities).
    Identifying affected individuals who have terrorist ties is an 
inherently governmental function and requires the use of information 
held in government-maintained databases that are unavailable to high-
risk chemical facilities. See 72 FR 17688, 17709 (April 9, 2007). Thus, 
under RBPS 12(iv), the Department and high-risk chemical facilities 
must work together to satisfy the ``terrorist ties'' aspect of the 
Personnel Surety performance standard.
    In accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 as amended by 
the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks 
Act of 2014, Public Law 113-254, the following options are available to 
enable high-risk chemical facilities to facilitate the vetting of 
affected individuals for terrorist ties:
    Option 1. High-risk chemical facilities may submit certain 
information about affected individuals, which the Department will use 
to vet those individuals for terrorist ties. Specifically, the 
identifying information about affected individuals will be compared 
against identifying information of known or suspected terrorists 
contained in the Federal Government's consolidated and integrated 
terrorist watch list, the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), which is 
maintained by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (FBI) in the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC).\4\
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    \4\ For more information about the TSDB, see DOJ/FBI-019 
Terrorist Screening Records System, last published in full as 77 FR 
26580 (May 25, 2017).
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    Option 2. High-risk chemical facilities may submit information 
about affected individuals who already possess certain credentials or 
documentation that rely on security threat assessments conducted by the 
Department. This will enable the Department to verify the continuing 
validity of these credentials or documentation.
    Option 3. High-risk chemical facilities may comply with RBPS 12(iv) 
without submitting to the Department information about affected 
individuals who possess Transportation Worker Identification 
Credentials (TWICs), if a high-risk chemical facility electronically 
verifies and validates the affected individual's TWICs through the use 
of TWIC readers (or other technology that is periodically updated using 
the Canceled Card List).
    Option 4. High-risk chemical facilities may visually verify certain 
credentials or documents that are issued by a Federal screening program 
that periodically vets enrolled individuals against the TSDB. The 
Department continues to believe that visual verification has 
significant security limitations and, accordingly, encourages high-risk 
chemical facilities choosing this option to identify in their SSPs the 
means by which they plan to address these limitations.
    In addition to the options described above for satisfying RBPS 
12(iv), a high-risk chemical facility is welcome to propose alternative 
or supplemental options in its SSP that are not described in this 
document. The Department will assess the adequacy of such alternative 
or supplemental options on a facility-by-facility basis in the course 
of evaluating each facility's SSP.
    Under Option 3 and Option 4, a high-risk chemical facility would 
not need to submit information about an affected individual to the 
Department. These Options are only mentioned in this notice for 
informational purposes, and there will be no analysis of Option 3 and 
Option 4 in this information collection request.
    This information collection request does not propose changes to who 
qualifies as an affected individual. There are certain groups of 
persons that the Department does not consider to be affected 
individuals, such as (1) Federal officials that gain unescorted access 
to restricted areas or critical assets as part of their official 
duties; (2) State and local law enforcement officials that gain 
unescorted access to restricted areas or critical assets as part of 
their official duties; and (3) emergency responders at the State or 
local level that gain unescorted access to restricted areas or critical 
assets during emergency situations.
    The current information collection for CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program (IC 1670-0029) will expire on August 31, 2018.\5\
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    \5\ The current information collection for CFATS Personnel 
Surety Program may be found at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201312-1670-001.
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Summary of Proposed Revisions to the Information Collection

    The Department is seeking a revision to the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program Information Collection to: (1) Obtain approval to collect 
information about affected individuals from all high-risk chemical 
facilities rather than only Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical 
facilities; (2) update the estimated number of annual respondents from 
195,000 to 72,607 based on historical information collected since the 
Department implemented the CFATS Personnel Surety Program; and (3) 
update the estimated time per respondent from 0.58 hours to 0.1667 
hours based upon historical data collected by the Department since the 
implantation of the CFATS Personnel Surety Program.

Collection at all High-Risk Chemical Facilities

    In response to multiple comments on the current ICR, the Department 
agreed to a ``phased implementation'' of the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program to Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities. Based on 
lessons learned and the near completion of the implementation at Tier 1 
and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities, the Department now seeks to 
close the last security gap by implementing CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program at all high-risk chemical facilities. As implemented at Tier 1 
and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities, the Department will roll out 
the CFATS Personnel Surety Program in a ``phased implementation'' to 
Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities.

Updates to Burden Estimate Based on Historical Information

    The Department implemented the CFATS Personnel Surety Program in 
December 2015. Since implementation, the Department has evaluated many 
of the assumptions it used when estimating the burden estimate of this 
Information Collection. As a result, several of the assumptions can be

[[Page 61314]]

revised using actual data rather than assumptions. The burden 
methodology and revised estimates are described in, ``The Department's 
Methodology in Estimating the Burden for CFATS Personnel Surety Program 
Information Collection.''

Information Collected About Affected Individuals

    This information collection request does not propose changes to the 
information collected on affected individuals.

Option 1: Collecting Information To Conduct Direct vetting

    If high-risk chemical facilities select Option 1 to satisfy RBPS 
12(iv) for an affected individual, the following information about the 
affected individual would be submitted to the Department:
     For U.S. Persons (U.S. citizens and nationals, as well as 
U.S. lawful permanent residents):
    [cir] Full Name;
    [cir] Date of Birth; and
    [cir] Citizenship or Gender.
     For Non-U.S. Persons:
    [cir] Full Name;
    [cir] Date of Birth;
    [cir] Citizenship; and
    [cir] Passport information and/or alien registration number.
    To reduce the likelihood of false positives in matching against 
records in the Federal Government's consolidated and integrated 
terrorist watch list, high-risk chemical facilities would also be able 
to submit the following optional information about an affected 
individual to the Department:
     Aliases;
     Gender (for Non-U.S. Persons);
     Place of Birth; and/or
     Redress Number.\6\
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    \6\ For more information about Redress Numbers, please go to 
http://www.dhs.gov/one-stop-travelers-redress-process#1.
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    High-risk chemical facilities have the option to create and use the 
following field(s) to collect and store additional information to 
assist with the management of an affected individual's records. Any 
information collected in this field will not be used to support vetting 
activities.

 User Defined Field(s)

    Table 1 summarizes the biographic data that would be submitted to 
the Department under Option 1.

  Table 1--Required and Optional Data for an Affected Individual Under
                                Option 1
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 Data elements submitted to the                         For a non-U.S.
           department              For a U.S. person        person
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Full Name.......................  Required.
Date of Birth...................  Required.
                                 ---------------------------------------
Gender..........................  Must provide        Optional.
                                   Citizenship or
                                   Gender.
Citizenship.....................  ..................  Required.
Passport Information and/or       N/A...............  Required.
 Alien Registration Number.
                                 ---------------------------------------
Aliases.........................  Optional.
Place of Birth..................  Optional.
Redress number..................  Optional.
User Defined Field(s)...........  Optional (Not used for vetting
                                   purposes).
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Option 2: Collecting Information To Use Vetting Conducted Under Other 
DHS Programs

    In lieu of submitting information to the Department under Option 1 
for vetting of terrorist ties, high-risk chemical facilities also have 
the option, where appropriate, to submit information to the Department 
to electronically verify that an affected individual is currently 
enrolled in another DHS program that vets for terrorist ties.
    To verify an affected individual's enrollment in one of these 
programs under Option 2, the Department would collect the following 
information about the affected individual:
     Full Name;
     Date of Birth; and
     Program-specific information or credential information, 
such as expiration date, unique number or issuing entity (e.g., State 
for Commercial Driver's License [CDL] associated with a Hazardous 
Materials Endorsement [HME]).
    To reduce the likelihood of false positives, high-risk chemical 
facilities may also submit the following optional information about an 
affected individual to the Department:
     Aliases;
     Gender;
     Place of Birth; and/or
     Citizenship.
    High-risk chemical facilities have the option to create and use the 
following field(s) to collect and store additional information to 
assist with the management of an affected individual's records. Any 
information collected in this field will not be used to support vetting 
activities.

 User Defined Field(s)

    Table 2 summarizes the biographic data that would be submitted to 
the Department under Option 2.

  Table 2--Required and Optional Data for an Affected Individual Under
                                Option 2
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Data Elements Submitted to the Department
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Name.................................  Required.
Date of Birth.............................  Required.
Program-specific information or credential  Required.
 information, such as expiration date,
 unique number, or issuing entity.
Aliases...................................  Optional.
Gender....................................  Optional.
Place of Birth............................  Optional.
Citizenship...............................  Optional.
User Defined Field(s).....................  Optional (Not used for
                                             vetting purposes).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Information Collected

    The Department may also contact a high-risk chemical facility or 
its designees to request additional

[[Page 61315]]

information (e.g., visa information) pertaining to an affected 
individual in order to clarify suspected data errors or resolve 
potential matches (e.g., an affected individual has a common name). 
Such requests will not imply, and should not be construed to indicate, 
that an affected individual's information has been confirmed as a match 
to a record of an individual with terrorist ties.
    The Department may also collect information provided by individuals 
or high-risk chemical facilities in support of any adjudication 
requests under Subpart C of the CFATS regulation,\7\ or in support of 
any other redress requests.\8\
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    \7\ See 6 CFR 27.300 et seq.
    \8\ More information about access, correction, and redress 
requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act 
can be found in Section 7.0 of the Privacy Impact Assessment for the 
CFATS Personnel Surety Program, dated May 4, 2011, available at 
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-nppd-cfats-2011.pdf.
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Request For Exception To The Requirement Under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)

    The Department is requesting from OMB an exception for the CFATS 
Personnel Surety Program to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice 
requirement contained in 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3), which requires Federal 
agencies to ensure that their information collections provide certain 
reasonable notices under the PRA to affected individuals. If this 
exception is granted, the Department will be relieved of the potential 
obligation to require high-risk chemical facilities to collect 
signatures or other positive affirmations of these notices from 
affected individuals, which would increase burdens.
    Whether or not this exception is granted, high-risk chemical 
facilities must affirm the required privacy notice regarding the 
collection of personal information has been provided to affected 
individuals before personal information is submitted to the Department.

The Department's Methodology in Estimating the Burden for CFATS 
Personnel Surety Program Information Collection Number of Respondents

    For the purpose of this collection, the number of respondents is 
broken down into two groups: ``initial respondents'' and ``annual 
respondents.''
    The ``initial respondents'' are those affected individuals with 
existing access at a high-risk chemical facility and will be submitted 
by the facility after receiving authorization or approval of an SSP 
requiring the facility to implement measures to comply with RBPS 
12(iv). All new burdens associated with initial respondents under this 
collection will be for Tier 3 and Tier 4 facilities as discussed later 
in this notice under ``(A) Initial Respondents,'' Tier 1 and Tier 2 
facilities have already submitted initial respondents to the CFATS 
Personnel Surety Program under the current collection. The burden for 
``initial respondents'' is estimated in this notice under ``Total 
Burden Cost (Capital/Startup)'' because the burden imposed by initial 
respondent submission on high-risk chemical facilities is a one-time 
cost.
    ``Annual respondents'' are the number of respondents the Department 
estimates will be submitted each year by high-risk chemical facilities 
that have completed the initial respondent's submission and are now in 
the maintenance phase (e.g., adding new affected individuals due to 
employee hires).

(A) Initial Respondents

    The estimated number of high-risk chemical facilities and the 
average number of respondents is based on historical data collected by 
the Department since the implementation of the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program. The Department estimates that under this collection there are 
(a) 200 Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities that will have 
to submit information about affected individuals under the current ICR, 
and (b) 3,700 Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities that will 
submit for the first time under this new collection. Historically, each 
Authorizer submitted, on average, 180 initial respondents, with each 
Authorizer responsible for 1.7 high-risk chemical facilities. Dividing 
180 affected individuals per Authorizer by 1.7 high-risk chemical 
facilities results in an average of 106 initial respondents submitted 
per high-risk chemical facility.
    Additionally, the Department recognizes that high-risk chemical 
facilities that are high risk for a release security issue may take a 
facility-wide approach rather than an asset-based approach in defining 
their restricted areas, which may result in a higher number of affected 
individuals. Therefore, the Department reviewed the number of release 
sites to ensure the estimated number of respondents for the Tier 3 and 
Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities were comparable to the historical 
data received by the Department since the implementation of the CFATS 
Personnel Surety Program. The Department found that the release 
security issues for Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities 
made up 38% of the total Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facility 
population. For the Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities, 
the release security issue made up 25% of the total Tier 3 and Tier 4 
high-risk chemical facility population. Based on these findings, the 
Department was satisfied that the Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical 
facility historical data provided a valid representation of what the 
Department can expect from the Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical 
facilities.
    Under the current collection, approximately 21,200 initial 
respondents for Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities (200 
high-risk Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities with an 
average of 106 initial respondents per high-risk chemical facility) 
will or have been submitted to the CFATS Personnel Surety Program. The 
Department assumes that there are no additional burdens associated with 
initial respondents for Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities 
under this collection because they have already submitted the initial 
respondents under the current collection.
    As described above, the Department intends to implement the CFATS 
Personnel Surety Program at all high-risk chemical facilities, which 
will require Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities to submit 
information about affected individuals under the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program or to select Option 3 or 4 for CFATS Personnel Surety Program 
participation that do not involve submission of information to the 
Department. However, for burden estimates, the Department assumes all 
Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities will select option 1 
and/or option 2, which both require information submission. As these 
high-risk chemical facilities have not previously submitted, all 3,700 
Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities would be required to 
submit initial respondents to the CFATS Personnel Surety Program.
    The Department intends to implement the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program at Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities in a phased 
implementation so that the estimated 3,700 Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk 
chemical facilities are evenly distributed over three years (i.e., 
1,233 high-risk chemical facilities each year for three years). This 
results in an estimated 130,698 initial respondents each year (1,233 
high-risk chemical facilities multiplied by 106 submissions per high-
risk chemical facility) from Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical 
facilities.

[[Page 61316]]

(B) Annual Respondents

    The Department estimates the annual respondents based on the annual 
hires rates of 47.8% for total private industry, as estimated from the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).\9\ Annual hires are used to account 
for the replacement of employee separations as well as new hires. In 
the first year of this collection, the Department applies the hires 
rate to the initial submission of affected individuals submitted from 
Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities under the current 
collection for the CFATS Personnel Surety Program. In the second and 
third year of this collection, the Department applies the hires rate to 
the subsequent total population of affected individuals submitted under 
the CFATS Personnel Surety Program (i.e., the Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-
risk chemical facilities' initial submissions plus the initial 
submissions received from Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical 
facilities).
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    \9\ https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/jolts_03162017.pdf 
Table 14
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    The breakdown of the annual hires for each year of the information 
collection request is as follows:
     In year one, the number of hires is 10,134 respondents 
(i.e., 21,200 Tier 1 and Tier 2 initial respondents multiplied by the 
hires rate of 47.8%).\10\
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    \10\ Numbers may not total due to rounding of estimates in the 
text.
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     In year two, the number of hires is 72,607 respondents 
(i.e., 72,607 Tier 1 and Tier 2 initial respondents plus the number of 
initial respondents submitted by Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical 
facilities in year one [130,698 affected individuals] multiplied by the 
hires rate of 47.8%).
     In year three, the number of hires is 135,081 respondents 
(i.e., 21,200 Tier 1 and Tier 2 initial respondents plus the number of 
initial respondents submitted by Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical 
facilities in years one and two [261,396 affected individuals] 
multiplied by the hires rate of 47.8%).
    Table 3 presents the annual submissions for the three years.

                                   Table 3--Annual Submissions for Three Years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Hires
                                                                                                     (existing
                                                    Initial                                        population of
                                                  respondents    Existing population of affected     affected
                                                  (Tier 3 and              individuals              individuals
                                                    Tier 4)                                        multiplied by
                                                                                                      47.8%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year 1........................................         130,698  21,200..........................          10,134
                                                                (Initial Respondents Tier 1 and
                                                                 Tier 2 from current collection).
Year 2........................................         130,698  151,898.........................          72,607
                                                                (Tier 1 and Tier 2 initial
                                                                 respondents plus year 1 Tier 3
                                                                 and Tier 4 initial respondents).
Year 3........................................         130,698  282,596.........................         135,081
                                                                (Tier 1 and Tier 2 initial
                                                                 respondents plus year 1 and
                                                                 year 2 Tier 3 and Tier 4
                                                                 initial respondents.
Average.......................................         130,698  ................................          72,607
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    The number of respondents for the three years was then averaged to 
come up with the revised annual respondent rate of 72,607 respondents 
per year (i.e., the sum of 10,134 annual respondents in year one, plus 
72,607 annual respondents in year two, plus 135,081 annual respondents 
in year three, divided by the three years this information collection 
request covers).

Estimated Time per Respondent

    Based on industry feedback and historical data collected on their 
use of the CFATS Personnel Surety Program application, the Department 
has estimated the time per respondent to be 5 minutes per submission of 
a record about an affected individual rather than 30 minutes previously 
estimated in the current collection. The proposed estimated time per 
respondent includes the time to edit or remove a record if a high-risk 
chemical facility opts to subsequently notify the Department that an 
affected individual no longer has access. Since this estimate is based 
on current submissions from Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical 
facilities, the Department has chosen an estimate of 10 minutes (0.1667 
hours) per record to provide a more conservative estimate.

Annual Burden Hours

    To estimate the annual burden hours for this collection, the 
Department multiplies the number of annual respondents by the estimated 
time burden of 0.1667 hours (10 minutes), for an estimated annual 
burden of 12,101 hours (i.e., 0.1667 hours multiplied by 72,607 annual 
respondents). The one-time burden associated with the submission of 
initial respondents is considered below under startup costs.

Total Burden Cost (Capital/Startup)

    The Department provides access to the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program application free of charge and assumes that each high-risk 
chemical facility already has access to the internet for basic business 
needs. In addition to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical 
facilities at which the CFATS Personnel Surety Program has already been 
implemented, the Department expects to implement the CFATS Personnel 
Surety Program at Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities upon 
approval of this collection request. Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk 
chemical facilities will have a one-time requirement to submit 
information about initial respondents with existing access to the 
restricted areas or critical assets at the high-risk chemical facility. 
This one-time cost is estimated here as a startup cost. The Department 
estimates that under this collection there will be 3,700 Tier 3 and 
Tier 4 high-risk chemical facilities that will submit initial 
respondents. To estimate initial startup cost, the Department multiples 
the number of high-risk chemical facilities by the estimated number of 
affected individuals per high-risk chemical facility to obtain the 
total number of initial respondents submitted. The estimated number of 
initial respondents is 392,094 (i.e., 3,700 Tier 3 and Tier 4 high-risk 
chemical facilities multiplied by 106 affected individuals per high-
risk chemical facility).\11\ The startup burden of 65,349 hours is 
subsequently

[[Page 61317]]

estimated by multiplying the number of initial respondents by the 
estimated time per respondent (i.e., 392,094 affected individuals 
multiplied by 0.1667 hours).
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    \11\ Values may not total due to rounding.
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    The one-time startup cost is estimated by multiplying the startup 
burden by the wage rate of the employee type expected to submit the 
information about affected individuals to the CFATS Personnel Surety 
Program. The site security officer's average hourly wage rate of $78.93 
was based on an average hourly wage rate of $53.92 \12\ with a benefits 
multiplier of 1.4639.\13\ Therefore the Department estimates the one-
time startup cost of this information request to be $5,158,226 (i.e., 
65,349 hours multiplied by $78.93 per hour).\14\
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    \12\ The wage used for an SSO equals that of Managers, All (11-
9199), with a load factor of 1.4639 to account for benefits in 
addition to wages https://www.bls.gov/oes/2016/may/oes119199.htm.
    \13\ Load factor based on BLS Employer Cost for Employee 
Compensation, as of June 9, 2017. Load factor = Employer cost for 
employee compensation ($35.28)/wages and salaries ($24.10) = 1.4639 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm.
    \14\ Numbers may not total due to rounding.
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Consideration of Other Capital Costs

    This information collection request maintains the existing 
assumptions found in the current information collection request with 
regard to activities listed in 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(1). Specifically, that 5 
CFR 1320.3(b)(1) and 5 CFR 1320.8 require the Department to estimate 
the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to 
generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide information to or for 
a Federal agency. Therefore, many costs (e.g., physical modification of 
the facility layout) a high-risk chemical facility may choose to incur 
to develop or implement its SSP or ASP should not be accounted for when 
estimating the capital costs associated with this information 
collection.
    Furthermore, the Department maintains the same assumptions found in 
the current information collection request with regards to estimating 
certain high-risk chemical facility capital costs, such as: (1) Capital 
costs for computer, telecommunications equipment, software, and storage 
to manage the data collection, submissions, and tracking; (2) capital 
and ongoing costs for designing, deploying, and operating information 
technology (IT) systems necessary to maintain the data collection, 
submissions, and tracking; (3) cost of training high-risk chemical 
facility personnel to maintain the data collection, submissions, and 
tracking; and (4) site security officer time to manage the data 
collection, submissions, and tracking. The Department continues to 
exclude these costs in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2), which 
directs Federal agencies to not count the costs associated with the 
time, effort, and financial resources incurred in the normal course of 
their activities (e.g., in compiling and maintaining business records) 
if the reporting, recordkeeping, or disclosure activities are usual and 
customary.
    The Department continues to exclude these usual and customary costs 
because the time, effort, and financial resources are costs that high-
risk chemical facilities incur to conduct background checks for 
identity, criminal history, and legal authorization to work under 6 CFR 
27.230(a)(12)(i)-(iii), and also under various other Federal, State, or 
local laws or regulations.

Recordkeeping Burden

    The recordkeeping costs, if any, to create, keep, or retain records 
pertaining to background checks as part of a high-risk chemical 
facility's SSP or ASP, are properly estimated in the recordkeeping 
estimates associated with the SSP Instrument under Information 
Collection 1670-0007.

Total Annual Burden Cost

    The 2007 CFATS Regulatory Evaluation assumed that Site Security 
Officers are responsible for submitting information to the Department. 
For the purpose of this notice, the Department maintains this 
assumption.
    Therefore, to estimate the total annual burden, the Department 
multiplied the annual burden of 12,101 hours by the average hourly wage 
rate of Site Security Officers of $78.93 and then added the one-time 
startup cost associated with the initial respondents. Therefore, the 
total annual burden cost for the CFATS Personnel Surety Program is 
$955,191 (12,101 total annual burden hours multiplied by $78.93 per 
hour). For the three year period for which this collection will be 
approved, the total cost burden would be $8,023,798 ($955,191 annual 
cost multiplied by 3 + $5,158,226 startup cost). The annual burden for 
this collection over the three year period is estimated at $2,674,599 
($8,023,798 total cost/3 years).\15\
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    \15\ All calculations may not total due to rounding.
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Solicitation of Comments

    OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
    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).
    Title of Collection: Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards 
(CFATS) Personnel Surety Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1670-0029.
    Instrument: CFATS Personnel Surety Program.
    Frequency: ``Other''.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Number of Annual Respondents: 72,607 respondents (estimate).
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 0.1667 hours (10 minutes).
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,101 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Cost (Capital/Startup): $1,719,409.
    Total Annual Burden Cost: $955,191.
    Total Recordkeeping Burden: $0.

David Epperson,
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-27519 Filed 12-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 910-9P-P