[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3781-3783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02131]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 9000-0107; Docket No. 2018-0003; Sequence No. 22]
Submission for OMB Review; Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23
Requirements
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the
Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an
extension of a previously approved information collection requirement
regarding FAR part 23 requirements.
[[Page 3782]]
DATES: Submit comments on or before March 15, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments regarding this burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for
reducing this burden to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for GSA, Room 10236, NEOB, Washington,
DC 20503. Additionally submit a copy to GSA by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides the
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field or
attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and follow the instructions on the site.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405.
ATTN: Ms. Mandell/IC 9000-0107, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23
Requirements.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information
Collection 9000-0107, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23
Requirements, in all correspondence related to this collection.
Comments received generally will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your
comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov, approximately two to
three days after submission to verify posting (except allow 30 days for
posting of comments submitted by mail).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mahruba Uddowla, Procurement
Analyst, at telephone 703-605-2868, or email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
This information collection requirement, OMB Control No. 9000-0107,
currently titled ``Notice of Radioactive Materials,'' is proposed to be
retitled ``Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 Requirements'' due to
consolidation with currently approved information collection
requirements OMB Control No. 9000-0101, Drug-Free Workplace; 9000-0191,
High Global Warming Potential Hydrofluorocarbons; 9000-0194, Public
Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction Goals--
Representation; 9000-0147, Pollution Prevention and Right-to-Know
Information; 9000-0134, Environmentally Sound Products; and 9000-0180,
Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and
Construction Contracts.
This information collection requirement pertains to information
that a contractor must submit in response to a number of requirements
from FAR Part 23, which are as follows:
1. Notice of Radioactive Materials. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
(42 U.S.C. 2011), as amended, establishes requirements for protecting
radioactive materials. The requirements of this Act are implemented in
the FAR at clause 52.223-7, Notice of Radioactive Materials. This
clause requires contractors to notify the Government prior to delivery
of items containing radioactive materials.
2. Drug-Free Workplace. As mandated in Public Law 100-690, the
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, and as enacted in Public Law 111-350,
which recodifies Title 41--Public Contracts of the United States Code:
(1) Government contractor employees are required to notify their
employer of any criminal drug statute conviction for a violation
occurring in the workplace; and (2) Government contractors, after
receiving notice of such conviction, must notify the Government
contracting officer. FAR clause 52.223-6, Drug-Free Workplace,
implements the Act.
3. High Global Warming Potential Hydrofluorocarbons. FAR clauses
52.223-11, Ozone-Depleting Substances, and 52.223-12, Refrigeration
Equipment and Air Conditioners, address high global warming potential
(GWP) hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). For equipment and appliances that
normally contain 50 or more pounds of HFCs or HFC blends, the clauses
include requirements to track by type, equipment/application, contract,
agency, and location, the amount in pounds of HFCs or HFC blends--
i. Contained in such equipment and appliances delivered to the
Government; or
ii. Added or taken out of such equipment and appliances that will
be maintained, repaired, or disposed under the contract.
The contractor is required to report the HFC information annually
to a centralized Government website.
4. Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction
Goals--Representation. FAR provision 52.223-22 contains an annual
representation for vendors to indicate if and where they publicly
disclose greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas reduction goals or
targets. Public disclosure of greenhouse gas emission management is
increasingly becoming standard practice in many industries, because an
inventory of this information provides insight into operations, spurs
innovation, and helps identify opportunities for efficiency and
savings, outcomes which can translate into both environmental and
financial benefits. Executive Order (E.O.) 13693, Planning for Federal
Sustainability in the Next Decade, March 25, 2015, serves as the legal
underpinning for this collection of information, as it prescribes the
continuation of the Federal policy that agencies shall increase their
efficiency and improve their environmental performance, including the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across Federal operations and the
Federal supply chain (e.g., Federal contractors).
5. Pollution Prevention and Right-to-Know Information. The
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) (42
U.S.C. 11001-11050) and the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA) (42
U.S.C. 13101-13109), require that Federal facilities maintain reports
on hazardous materials and toxic chemicals and pollution prevention
efforts. In keeping with these mandates, FAR clause 52.223-5, Pollution
Prevention and Right-to-Know Information, requires Federal contractors
performing at a Federal facility to provide sufficient information to
the Government to ensure that the facility is compliant with the PPA
and EPCRA. This information pertains to the Toxic Release Inventory and
PPA reports; other reports required by the EPCRA; implementation of
Environmental Management Systems; and completion of Facility Compliance
Audits.
6. Environmentally Sound Products. Section 6002 of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Public Law 94-580, (42 U.S.C.
6962), requires Federal agencies to develop affirmative procurement
programs to ensure that items composed of recovered materials will be
purchased to the maximum extent practicable. Each agency's affirmative
procurement program must provide estimates of the total percentage of
recovered materials used in the performance of a contract,
certification of minimum recovered material content actually used,
where appropriate, and reasonable verification procedures for estimates
and certifications. The minimum recovered material content standards
are designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These
standards are grouped into eight categories--
(i) Construction products;
(ii) Landscaping products;
(iii) Non-paper paper office supplies;
(iv) Paper and paper products;
(v) Park and recreation products;
[[Page 3783]]
(vi) Transportation products;
(vii) Vehicular products; and
(viii) Miscellaneous products.
FAR clause 52.223-9, Estimate of Percentage of Recovered Material
Content for EPA-Designated Items, was created to assist agencies with
compliance with section 6002. Clause 52.223-9 requires a contractor, on
completion of the contract that is for or specifies the use of EPA-
designated items containing recovered materials, to (a) estimate the
percentage of the total recovered material content delivered or used in
performance of the contract, including, if applicable, the percentage
of post-consumer material content and (b) submit an estimate to the
contracting agency.
Although section 6002 requires that agencies develop these
estimates whenever an acquisition sets forth minimum percentages of
recovered materials, when the price of the item exceeds $10,000, or
when the aggregate amount paid for the item or functionally equivalent
items in the preceding fiscal year was $10,000 or more, the clause at
52.223-9 is only used in solicitations and contracts exceeding
$150,000. Acquisitions of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS)
items are excluded from this requirement.
7. Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and
Construction Contracts. FAR clause 52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of
Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts, requires
prime contractors to report annually the product types and dollar
values of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-designated biobased
products purchased. The information reported by prime contractors
enables Federal agencies to report annually to the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy (OFPP) concerning actions taken to implement and
measure progress in carrying out the preference for biobased products
required under section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment
Act of 2002, codified at 7 U.S.C. 8102.
B. Public Comment
A 60-day notice published in the Federal Register at 83 FR 51462 on
October 11, 2018. Two comments were received; however, they did not
change the estimate of the burden.
Comment 1: The commenter is concerned with potential changes to
regulations concerning HFCs.
Comment 2: The commenter asked the General Services Administration
to implement a rule requiring all federal facilities under their
management to procure 100% of their electricity needs from carbon-
neutral sources by 2035. The commenter stated this request is a public
right to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule
under the Administrative Procedures Act, codified in 5 U.S.C. 553(e).
Response: These comments are out of scope because they did not
express an opinion on whether the stated number of burden hours is
accurate for what they believe to be the actual number of hours an
offeror/contractor expend to comply with the FAR part 23 requirements.
C. Annual Reporting Burden
1. Notice of Radioactive Materials.
Respondents: 500.
Responses per Respondent: 5.
Total Annual Responses: 2,500.
Hours per Response: 1.
Total Burden Hours: 2,500.
2. Drug-Free Workplace.
Respondents: 205.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Annual Responses: 205.
Hours per Response: 0.5.
Total Burden Hours: 102.5.
3. High Global Warming Potential Hydrofluorocarbons.
Respondents: 2,337.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Annual Responses: 2,337.
Hours per Response: 8.
Total Burden Hours: 18,696.
4. Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction
Goals--Representation.
Respondents: 7,740.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Annual Responses: 7,740.
Hours per Response: 0.25.
Total Burden Hours: 1,935.
5. Pollution Prevention and Right-to-Know Information.
Respondents: 3,148.
Total Annual Responses: 4,713.
Hours per Response: 3.9622.
Total Burden Hours: 18,674.
6. Environmentally Sound Products.
Respondents: 585.
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Total Annual Responses: 585.
Hours per Response: 0.5.
Total Burden Hours: 292.5.
7. Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under Service and
Construction Contracts.
Respondents: 29,612.
Responses per Respondent: 5.
Total Annual Responses: 148,060.
Hours per Response: 5.
Total Burden Hours: 740,300.
8. Summary.
Respondents: 44,127.
Total Annual Responses: 166,140.
Total Burden Hours: 782,520.
Obtaining Copies: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information
collection documents from the General Services Administration,
Regulatory Secretariat Division (MVCB), 1800 F Street NW, Washington,
DC 20405, telephone 202-501-4755. Please cite OMB Control No. 9000-
0107, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 Requirements, in all
correspondence.
Dated: February 7, 2019.
Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-02131 Filed 2-12-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P