E8-28799. Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

AGENCY:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

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 January 5, 2009. Once the appraisal of the records is completed, NARA will 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:

You may request a copy of any records schedule identified in this notice by contacting the Life Cycle Management Division (NWML) using one of the following means:

Mail: NARA (NWML), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

E-mail: [e-mail].

FAX: [phone].

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:

Laurence Brewer, Director, Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Telephone: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail].

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's 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 them 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.

The schedules listed in this notice are media neutral unless specified otherwise. An item in a schedule is media neutral when the disposition instructions may be applied to records regardless of the medium in which the records are created and maintained. Items included in schedules submitted to NARA on or after December 17, 2007, are media neutral unless the item is limited to a specific medium. (See 36 CFR 1228.24(b)(3).)

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 administrative 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 includes information about the records. Further information about the disposition process is available on request.

Schedules Pending

1. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (N1-442-08-1, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Records of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, including passenger manifests and customs declarations containing flight information on travelers.

2. Department of Homeland Security, Headquarters Offices (N1-563-08-6, 4 items, 2 temporary items). Working papers of mission-related agency committees and inter-agency committees for which the Department serves as lead. Proposed for permanent retention are records documenting the committee's establishment, organization, membership, meetings, and actions.

3. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (N1-311-09-1, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Master files associated with an electronic information system used to record, track, and search for the location of displaced or separated individuals after a major disaster. Records associated with a catastrophic disaster are scheduled separately as permanent.

4. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (N1-60-09-3, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Master files for an electronic information system that contains demographic information on individuals who call employment discrimination hotlines.

5. Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center (N1-523-08-3, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Records relating to the agency's emergency management and security programs, including agency compliance with regulations issued at the departmental level.

6. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (N1-129-09-6, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Web content and administrative records for the Federal Prison Industries intranet.

7. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (N1-129-09-7, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Inmate case files for individuals convicted and held at Federal penal and correctional institutions. This schedule covers inmate case files previously scheduled as temporary and does not cover inmate case files previously scheduled as permanent such as notorious offenders and Alcatraz inmate case files.

8. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (N1-129-09-8, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Web content and administrative records for the National Institute of Corrections public Web site.

9. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (N1-129-09-9, 2 items, 2 temporary items). Inputs and data from an electronic information system used to track program and institution reviews and inspections.

10. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (N1-129-09-10, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Web content and administrative records for the National Institute of Corrections intranet.

11. Department of the Navy, United States Marine Corps (N1-127-08-3, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Master files of an electronic information system used in the management of military family housing. Records relate to such matters as assignments, referrals, fund control, and maintenance planning.

12. Department of the Navy, United States Marine Corps (N1-127-08-4, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Records relating to the management of training ranges and other training facilities, including master files of an electronic information system.

13. Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (N1-47-09-1, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Records relating to the investigation of misconduct and bias complaints made against administrative law judges.

Dated: November 26, 2008.

Michael J. Kurtz,

Assistant Archivist for Records Services—Washington, DC.