83 FR 51462 - Information Collection; Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 197 (October 11, 2018)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the FAR Council invites the public to comment upon a renewal concerning FAR part 23 requirements.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51462-51464]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22030]


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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]


Information Collection; Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 
Requirements

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the FAR Council 
invites the public to comment upon a renewal concerning FAR part 23 
requirements.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 10, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The FAR Council invites interested persons to submit 
comments on this collection by either 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: All items submitted must cite Information Collection 
9000-0107, Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 Requirements. 
Comments received in response to this docket will be made available for 
public inspection and posted without change, including any personal 
information, at http://www.regulations.gov. 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). This 
information collection is pending at the FAR Council. The Council will 
submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mahruba Uddowla, Procurement 
Analyst, at telephone 703-605-2868, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Overview of Information Collection

Description of the Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection: Revision/Renewal of a currently 
approved collection.
    2. Title of the Collection--Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 23 
Requirements.
    3. Agency form number, if any: -- None.

Solicitation of Public Comment

    Written comments and suggestions from the public should address one 
or more of the following four points:
    (1) Evaluate whether the 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 
submission of responses.

B. 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

[[Page 51463]]

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;
    (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.

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.

[[Page 51464]]

    Total Annual Responses: 166,140.
    Total Burden Hours: 782,520.

    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit and not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: Variable, depending on the collection.
    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: October 3, 2018.
Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-22030 Filed 10-10-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P