[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 60410-60411] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-29915] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 December 24, 1998. Once the appraisal of the records is completed, NARA will [[Page 60411]] 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: Michael L. Miller, Director, Modern Records Programs (NWM), 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 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 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 the records 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 adminis-trative 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 in- cludes information about the records. Further information about the disposition process is available on request. Schedules Pending 1. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (N1-29-98-1, 3 items, 2 temporary items). Edited and unedited master files of the American Community Survey, a monthly household survey designed to provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America's communities and replace certain data collected on the long form in the Decennial Census. Public-use microdata files are proposed for permanent retention. 2. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Agency-wide (N1-85-98-2, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Bond Management Information System, a database used to track the status of immigration bonds posted by aliens. The data does not materially enhance permanent electronic data relating to aliens. 3. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency-wide (N1-412-96-1, 33 items, 31 temporary items). Electronic systems and related paper records pertaining to such matters as Superfund finances, EPA web sites, water quality monitoring in the New York City area and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the status of litigation filed against EPA, electronic bulletin boards, system backups, payrolling, and the determination of the ecological risks posed by synthetic organic chemicals. Master files and documentation associated with an electronic system relating to environmental monitoring and assessment are proposed for permanent retention. 4. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Appeals Board (N1-412-97-6, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Records that document review of appeals for environmental permits, enforcement appeals stemming from permit violations, and Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act reimbursement petitions requesting compensation for an unjust penalty. 5. Federal Communications Commission, Common Carrier Bureau, (N1- 173-98-5, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Cost allocation manuals, filed yearly, that specify how local carriers will allocate costs between regulated and nonregulated operations. 6. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Pipeline Regulation (N1-138-98-8, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Electronic copies of records in gas pipeline rates and tariffs case files created using electronic mail or word processing applications. Recordkeeping copies were previously approved for disposal. 7. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Pipeline Regulation (N1-138-98-10, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Electronic copies of correspondence from oil producers and oil pipeline companies created using electronic mail or word processing applications. Recordkeeping copies were previously approved for disposal. 8. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Pipeline Regulation (N1-138-98-11, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Electronic copies of gas pipeline service agreements setting forth pipeline tariffs and rates created using electronic mail or word processing applications. Recordkeeping copies were previously approved for disposal. This schedule also covers paper copies other than the long- term recordkeeping copy. 9. United States Information Agency (N1-59-99-1, 11 items, 5 temporary items). Records from Department of State predecessor elements dealing with international broadcasting matters transferred to the custody of the United States Information Agency upon creation of USIA in 1953. The records consist of requests for copies of Voice of America recordings, status ledgers, extra copies of processed documents, budget and personnel files, and graphs relating to signal strength. Files dealing with overall programs, policies, and operations are proposed for permanent retention. Dated: October 30, 1998. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Record Services--Washington, DC. [FR Doc. 98-29915 Filed 11-6-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515-01-P