2017-20212. Information Collection: Public Records

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, “Public Records.” NRC updated two forms integral to the agency's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process, NRC Form 509, “Statement of Estimated Fees for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request” and NRC Form 507, “Freedom of Information—Privacy Act Record Request Form.”

DATES:

Submit comments by November 21, 2017. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0116. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• Mail comments to: David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Mail Stop: T-2F43, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0116 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0116.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Documents” and then select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [e-mail]. NRC Form 509 and NRC Form 507 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML17172A497 and ML17178A261, respectively. The supporting statement can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML17172A698.
• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting NRC's Clearance Officer, David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are posted at http://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized below.

1. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR part 9, “Public Records.”

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0043.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: NRC Form 509; NRC Form 507.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: On occasion.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: FOIA requesters who have requests that require pre-payment or agree to pay for the processing of their FOIA requests.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 2,490.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 2,490.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 1,111.

10. Abstract: The proposed information collection activity provides communication with FOIA requesters to have the opportunity to be notified about any fees to process their FOIA requests. Providing NRC Form 509 to a requester serves as notification of the processing fees as it relates to search, review, and duplication. Pursuant to NRC's regulations, 10 CFR part 9.40, when fees exceed $25.00 the requester has the opportunity to re-scope their request. Additionally, in response to the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, in accordance with 10 CFR part 9.39, the revised form notifies the requester that if the agency fails to comply with statutory time limits, the agency cannot charge the requester any fees (except in unusual circumstances). In the event that fees are required, the requester can verify their willingness to pay on this form, and must submit payment within ten working days of the receipt of the form. In addition, the NRC created Form 507 which allows the public to electronically submit FOIA requests from the FOIA Web site. Unlike the previous online FOIA request submission form, requesters can provide identification verification at the time the request is made, which shortens the processing time.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:

1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility?

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate?

3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of September, 2017.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.