Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2002 / Notices 72413

63. BG David T. Zabecki, Commander, 

7th Army Reserve Command.

Luz D. Ortiz, 

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 02–30836 Filed 12–4–02; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M

DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES 

SAFETY BOARD 

[Pub. L. 106–554] 

Guidelines for Ensuring and 

Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, 

Utility, and Integrity of Disseminated 

Information

AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities 

Safety Board.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Defense Nuclear 

Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB or 

Board) implements these Guidelines 

pursuant to Section 515 of the Treasury 

and General Government 

Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001, 

Public Law 106–554, and governmentwide Guidelines issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), OMB 

Guidelines for Ensuring and 

Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, 

Utility, and Integrity of Information 

Disseminated by Federal Agencies, 67 

FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002) (OMB 

Guidelines). The purpose is to ensure 

and maximize the quality, objectivity, 

utility, and integrity of information, 

including statistical information, 

disseminated by Federal agencies that 

are subject to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, 44 U.S.C. 3502(1). 

As is the intent of OMB’s Guidelines, 

DNFSB’s Guidelines will focus 

primarily on the dissemination of 

substantive information rather than 

information pertaining to basic agency 

operations. The Guidelines also apply to 

information other parties provide to the 

Board, if the other parties seek to have 

the Board rely upon or disseminate this 

information or if the Board decides to 

rely upon or disseminate the 

information. 

These Guidelines are suggestions, 

recommendations, and policy views of 

the DNFSB. They are not intended to be, 

and should not be construed as, legally 

binding regulations or mandates. They 

do not create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at 

law or equity, by any party against the 

United States, its agencies (including 

the Board or DNFSB), officers, or 

employees, or any person. 

Changes to the final Guidelines in this 

notice have been made in response to 

OMB’s comments on the Board’s draft 

Guidelines issued September 17, 2002. 

No public comments were received by 

the Board.

DATES: The Guidelines are effective 

October 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The Board will publish its 

information quality standards on its 

Web site: http://www.dnfsb.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph Neubeiser, Chief Information 

Officer, Defense Nuclear Facilities 

Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, NW., 

Suite 700, Washington, DC 20004–2901, 

(202) 694–7000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents: 

I. Definitions 

II. Information Quality Principles 

III. The Board’s Role in Public Information 

Dissemination 

IV. The Board’s Commitment to Quality 

Information Dissemination 

V. Pre-Dissemination Information Quality 

Review 

VI. Development of Quality Information and 

Data 

VII. Transparency of Underlying Data and 

Methods

VIII. Integrity of Board Information and Data 

IX. Documentation 

X. Administrative Mechanism for Seeking 

Correction of Information 

XI. Compliance, Reporting, and Effective 

Date 

Appendix A. Section 515 Administrative 

Correction Mechanism

I. Definitions 

The definitions set forth below are 

consistent with the definitions provided 

in the OMB Guidelines. Unless 

otherwise stated, information 

dissemination outside the scope of these 

definitions is not subject to these 

Guidelines. 

A. ‘‘Information’’ means any 

communication or representation of 

knowledge such as facts or data, not 

opinion, in any medium or form. 

Information includes textual, numerical, 

graphic, cartographic, narrative, or 

audiovisual forms. This definition also 

includes information that the Board 

disseminates from its Web page, but 

does not include the provision of 

hyperlinks to information that others 

disseminate. This definition does not 

include Board opinions or conclusions. 

This definition also does not include 

information that the Board has indicated 

is someone’s individual opinion. 

B. ‘‘Dissemination’’ means agency 

initiated or sponsored distribution of 

information intended for the public; 

excluding: 

1. Information not intended for public 

dissemination; 

2. Distribution intended only for 

government employees or contractors; 

3. Procedural, operational, policy, and 

internal documents prepared for the 

management and operations of the 

Board that are not primarily intended 

for public dissemination; 

4. Information designated as 

‘‘Classified,’’ ‘‘Unclassified Controlled 

Nuclear Information,’’ or ‘‘Official Use 

Only’’; 

5. Outdated or superseded 

information; 

6. Government information intended 

for intra- or inter-agency use or sharing; 

7. Information items intended for 

inter-agency transmittals or 

congressional compliance and provided 

to members of the public as a courtesy 

(e.g., weekly site representative reports, 

technical reports, letters); 

8. Responses to requests for agency 

records under the Freedom of 

Information Act, the Privacy Act, the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act or 

other similar law; 

9. Other correspondence with 

individuals or persons not intended for 

public dissemination, including, but not 

limited to, written agreements with 

particular entities or parties, responses 

to specific requests for advisory 

opinions or other advice; 

10. Press releases, fact sheets, press 

conferences or similar communications 

in any medium that announce, support 

the announcement, or give public notice 

of information the Board has 

disseminated elsewhere; 

11. Archival records (e.g., library 

materials); 

12. Public filings, including, but not 

limited to, submissions in rulemakings 

or other Board proceedings or matters, 

requests, petitions, applications, 

supporting materials, etc. The 

Guidelines do not apply when the Board 

distributes this information simply to 

provide the public with quicker and 

easier access to materials submitted to 

the Board that are publicly available. 

This will generally be the case if the 

Board has not authored the filings, is 

not distributing the information in a 

manner that suggests that the Board 

endorses or adopts the information, and 

does not indicate in its distribution that 

it is using or proposing the use of the 

information to formulate or support a 

regulation, guidance, or other Board 

decision or position; 

13. Opinions presented to Congress in 

response to Congressional requests or 

statutes and not intended for 

dissemination to the public; 

14. Subpoenas or discovery orders 

issued in proceedings or court litigation, 

Orders, opinions, amicus, and other 

briefs. Adjudicative processes also 

include factual allegations by the staff 

during the investigative and litigative 

72414 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2002 / Notices 

phases of cases brought by or 

participated in by the Board. Because 

there are well-established procedural 

safeguards and rights to address the 

quality of factual allegations and 

adjudicatory decisions, and to provide 

persons with an opportunity to contest 

decisions, these Guidelines do not 

impose any additional requirements on 

the Board during adjudicative 

proceedings and do not provide parties 

to such proceedings any additional 

rights of challenge or appeal;

15. Legally required disclosures, 

notices, or other information 

disseminated by persons or entities 

other than the Board, where the text of 

such disclosures, notices, or information 

is not explicitly prescribed or specified 

by the Board itself; and 

16. Studies, statements, other 

issuances, or publications by Board 

employees, officials, contractors, 

consultants, or others who may be or 

have been paid, employed, or retained 

by the Board, where the issuance or 

publication is not represented as being 

an official position of the Board or used 

by the Board in support of its official 

position. Conversely, if the Board has 

directed a third party to disseminate 

information or retains the authority to 

review and approve the information 

upon release, then the Board has 

sponsored the dissemination of the 

information and the information may be 

considered a Board dissemination. 

C. ‘‘Information dissemination 

product’’ means any book, paper, map, 

machine-readable material, audiovisual 

production, or other documentary 

material, regardless of physical form or 

characteristic, the agency disseminates 

to the public. This definition includes 

any electronic document, storage media, 

or Web page. 

D. ‘‘Quality’’ is an encompassing term 

comprising utility, objectivity, and 

integrity. 

E. ‘‘Utility’’ refers to the usefulness of 

the information to its intended users, 

including the public. When 

transparency of information is relevant 

for assessing the information’s 

usefulness from the public’s 

perspective, transparency is addressed 

to the extent practicable and appropriate 

in the Board’s review of the information. 

There may be legal limitations, 

however, on the Board’s ability to make 

publicly available the data or methods 

underlying a particular information 

dissemination product, and persons 

seeking access to such data or methods 

must comply with certain Board 

requirements and procedures for 

requesting such access. 

F. ‘‘Objectivity’’ involves two distinct 

elements, presentation, and substance: 

1. ‘‘Objectivity’’ includes whether 

disseminated information is being 

presented in an accurate, clear, 

complete, and unbiased manner, 

including whether the information is 

presented within a proper context and 

identifying the source of the 

disseminated information to the extent 

possible in light of confidentiality 

protections, if any. In a scientific, 

financial, or statistical context, the 

Board may make supporting data and 

models publicly available so the public 

can assess whether there may be reasons 

to question the objectivity of the 

sources. Where appropriate, data should 

have full, accurate, transparent 

documentation, and error sources 

affecting data quality should be 

identified and disclosed to users, 

subject to any applicable restrictions on 

disclosure. 

2. ‘‘Objectivity’’ also involves a focus 

on ensuring accurate, reliable, and 

unbiased information. In a scientific, 

financial, or statistical context, original 

and supporting data are normally 

generated, and the analytic results are 

normally developed, using sound 

statistical and research methods. 

3. To ensure ‘‘objectivity’’ in instances 

where the Board is responsible for 

disseminating ‘‘influential scientific, 

financial, or statistical information,’’ the 

Board shall ensure transparency of data 

and methods to facilitate the 

reproducibility of such information by 

qualified third parties, consistent with 

any applicable limitations on 

disclosure.

4. When relying upon third party 

information, the Board will notify the 

public if the disseminated information 

has not been reviewed by the Board, but 

that the third party attests that the 

quality of the information is consistent 

with the Data Quality Act and the OMB 

Guidelines; 

G. ‘‘Integrity’’ refers to the security of 

information, i.e., protection of the 

information from unauthorized access 

or revision, to ensure that the 

information is not compromised 

through corruption or falsification. 

H. ‘‘Influential,’’ when used in the 

phrase ‘‘influential scientific, financial, 

or statistical information,’’ means that 

the Board can reasonably determine that 

dissemination of information, prepared 

for public distribution, will have or does 

have a clear and substantial impact on 

important public policies or important 

private sector decisions. Whether a 

particular Board information 

dissemination product is ‘‘influential’’

will depend on the nature of the issues 

for which the Board is responsible and 

the relationship of the information 

dissemination product to those issues. 

In non-rulemaking contexts, the Board 

will consider two factors-breadth and 

intensity-in determining whether 

information is influential. The Board 

will consider whether the information 

affects a broad range of parties. 

Information that affects a broad, rather 

than narrow, range of parties is more 

likely to be influential. The Board will 

also consider the intensity of the 

information’s impact. Information that 

has a modest impact on affected parties 

is less likely to be influential than 

information that can have a significant 

impact. 

The definition applies to 

‘‘information’’ itself, not to decisions 

that the information may support. Even 

if a decision or action by the Board is 

itself very important, a particular piece 

of information supporting it may or may 

not be ‘‘influential.’’

I. ‘‘Reproducibility’’ means that the 

information is capable of being 

substantially reproduced, subject to an 

acceptable degree of imprecision. As 

provided in the OMB Guidelines, this 

standard does not apply to all agency 

information or data, but only to 

‘‘influential scientific or statistical 

information,’’ if any, disseminated by 

DNFSB. 

1. Original or supporting data: The 

Board may identify and/or limit the 

specific types of such data that can 

practicably be ‘‘reproduced,’’ given 

ethical, feasibility, or confidentiality 

constraints and, in doing so, may 

consult, as needed, with relevant 

scientific and technical communities. 

The Board shall assure reproducibility 

for those kinds of original and 

supporting data according to commonly 

accepted scientific, financial, or 

statistical standards. 

2. Analytic results relating to original 

or supporting data: All analytic results 

shall undergo robustness checks 

through the Board’s rigorous internal 

quality review process. 

3. Analysis of risks to human health, 

safety, and the environment 

disseminated by the Board, if any: The 

Board will apply, as appropriate and 

feasible, the standards set forth in the 

Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 

Section 300g-1(b)(3)(A), and when 

promulgating regulations the Board will 

apply, as appropriate and feasible, the 

standards set forth in the Safe Drinking 

Water Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 300g1(b)(3)(B).

J. ‘‘Affected persons’’ are people who 

may use, benefit from, or be harmed by 

the disseminated information. 

Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2002 / Notices 72415

II. Information Quality Principles 

The following quality principles 

apply as a matter of policy to 

information disseminated by the Board: 

A. Information that the Board 

prepares for public dissemination, 

including factual or statistical data, 

shall meet basic standards of quality, 

including objectivity, utility, and 

integrity. 

B. The Board treats information 

quality as an integral part of achieving 

its performance goals and shall take 

appropriate steps to incorporate 

information quality criteria into 

information dissemination practices. 

C. The specific quality standards that 

the Board adopts in a particular case 

shall be appropriate for the type of 

information being disseminated. 

These Guidelines explain how the 

Board achieves information quality, 

objectivity, utility, and integrity. The 

Guidelines also describe the 

administrative mechanism by which 

affected persons may seek correction of 

Board disseminated information that 

they believe does not comply with 

Section 515, OMB Guidelines, or Board 

Guidelines. 

III. Board’s Role in Public Information 

Dissemination 

Section 315 of the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, 

42 U.S.C. Section 2286d requires the 

Board to:

(a) Public availability and comment. 

Subject to subsections (g) and (h) and after 

receipt by the Secretary of Energy of any 

recommendations from the Board under 

section 2286a of this title (section 312 of the 

Atomic Energy Act), the Board promptly 

shall make such recommendations available 

to the public in the Department of Energy’s 

regional public reading rooms and shall 

publish in the Federal Register such 

recommendations and a request for the 

submission to the Board of public comments 

on such recommendations. Interested 

persons shall have 30 days after the date of 

the publication of such notice in which to 

submit comments, data, views, or arguments 

to the Board concerning the 

recommendations. 

(b) Response by Secretary. 

(1) The Secretary of Energy shall transmit 

to the Board, in writing, a statement on 

whether the Secretary accepts or rejects, in 

whole or in part, the recommendations 

submitted to him by the Board under section 

2286a of this title (section 312 of the Atomic 

Energy Act), a description of the actions to 

be taken in response to the 

recommendations, and his views on such 

recommendations. The Secretary of Energy 

shall transmit his response to the Board 

within 45 days after the date of the 

publication, under subsection (a) of this 

section, of the notice with respect to such 

recommendations or within such additional 

period, not to exceed 45 days, as the Board 

may grant. 

(2) At the same time as the Secretary of 

Energy transmits his response to the Board 

under paragraph (1), the Secretary, subject to 

subsection (h) of this section, shall publish 

such response, together with a request for 

public comment on his response, in the 

Federal Register. 

(3) Interested persons shall have 30 days 

after the date of the publication of the 

Secretary of Energy’s response in which to 

submit comments, data, views, or arguments 

to the Board concerning the Secretary’s 

response. 

(4) The Board may hold hearings for the 

purpose of obtaining public comments on its 

recommendations and the Secretary of 

Energy’s response. 

(c) Provision of information to Secretary. 

The Board shall furnish the Secretary of 

Energy with copies of all comments, data, 

views, and arguments submitted to it under 

subsection (a) or (b) of this section.

IV. The Board’s Commitment to Quality 

Information Dissemination 

In carrying out its functions, the 

Board strives to ensure that the 

information it prepares for public 

dissemination reflects a level of quality 

appropriate to the anticipated use of the 

information. The Board disseminates 

information consistent with applicable 

disclosure restrictions (e.g., classified 

information). 

V. Pre-Dissemination Information 

Quality Review 

The Board will review the quality 

(including objectivity, utility, and 

integrity) of information before it is 

disseminated and treat information 

quality as integral to every step of the 

Board’s development of information, 

including creation, collection, 

maintenance, and dissemination. 

When appropriate, the Board will 

demonstrate in its Paperwork Reduction 

Act clearance packages that each 

information collection will result in 

information that will be collected, 

maintained, and used in a way 

consistent with the OMB and Board 

information quality standards. 

Internal agency review: The Board 

performs robust internal reviews to 

ensure information quality—including 

objectivity, utility, and integrity—before 

such information is disseminated. 

1. Information disseminated to the 

public by the Board is normally subject 

to one or more levels of internal staff, 

supervisory, or Board review for quality 

before such information may be 

disseminated. 

2. The number of levels of internal 

quality review applied in a particular 

case depends on the nature, scope, and 

purpose of the information to be 

disseminated. 

Public comment: In rulemakings and 

certain other agency matters (e.g., 

Recommendations), information or data 

may also be subject to public comment. 

This public comment process provides 

an opportunity for interested parties, 

including persons who may be most 

affected by the dissemination, to 

corroborate or dispute the objectivity, 

utility, or integrity of the information or 

data. In these cases, the Board may 

provide public access to the underlying 

data or methods used by the Board (e.g., 

statistical models, assumptions), to the 

extent the Board deems relevant to 

information quality and consistent with 

controlling law.

VI. Development of Quality Information 

and Data 

Information quality is integral to the 

development of information that will 

ultimately be disseminated, including 

its creation, collection, and 

maintenance. This process shall enable 

the Board to substantiate the quality of 

the information it has disseminated 

through documentation or other means 

appropriate to the information. The 

strategies that the Board employs to 

develop quality information and data 

include, for example: 

A. Using a variety of methods and 

sources to solicit relevant and reliable 

information, such as: 

1. Voluntary and compulsory 

methods; 

2. Invitations for public comment; 

3. Public hearings; and 

4. Meetings with public groups, labor 

representatives and organizations, and 

industry and professional groups. 

B. Soliciting public comment 

specifically on paperwork burden 

estimates of information collection 

activities sponsored by the Board and 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 

if applicable. 

C. Conducting independent legal, 

economic, or statistical research as the 

Board deems appropriate, using an array 

of government and private commercial 

and non-profit databases, agency 

surveys and questionnaires, etc. 

VII. Transparency of Underlying Data 

and Methods 

Consistent with applicable laws, 

regulations, orders, and policies, the 

Board shall make underlying data and 

methods (e.g., sources and assumptions) 

used for ‘‘influential scientific or 

statistical information’’ available to the 

public as is appropriate. OMB 

Guidelines, para. V.3.b.ii. 

Where public access to ‘‘influential 

scientific or statistical’’ data and 

methods will not occur due to other 

compelling interests, the Board shall 

72416 Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2002 / Notices 

apply rigorous checks to analytic results 

and document what checks were 

undertaken. The types of these checks, 

and the level of detail for 

documentation thereof, shall depend on 

the nature of the issues for which the 

Board is responsible. OMB Guidelines, 

para. V.3.b.ii.B.ii. 

To the extent that underlying data or 

methods are not part of the Board’s 

public record or otherwise published or 

publicly available, persons seeking 

access to such data or methods are 

required to follow applicable Board 

requirements and procedures for 

seeking such access. In all cases, the 

interest in the transparency of the 

Board’s data and methods shall not 

override other compelling interests such 

as national security, privacy, trade 

secrets, intellectual property, and other 

confidentiality protections. OMB 

Guidelines, para. V.b.3.ii.B.i. 

VIII. Integrity of Board Information and 

Data 

To preserve the integrity of 

information and data that the Board may 

ultimately disseminate, the Board takes 

appropriate measures to ensure that the 

security of information and data is not 

compromised while it is being collected, 

maintained, or used by the agency. OMB 

Guidelines, para. V.4. These measures 

are intended to be consistent with legal 

requirements such as the Computer 

Security Act, 40 U.S.C. 759; the 

Government Information Security 

Reform Act, 44 U.S.C. 3531, et seq.; the 

Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552a; and 

any other applicable laws, regulations, 

orders, agreements, or guidance.

These measures extend to Board 

contractors, consultants, experts or 

others to the extent such information or 

data are shared with them on a nonpublic basis. 

IX. Documentation 

When necessary or appropriate, the 

Board substantiates the quality of the 

information it has disseminated through 

documentation or other means 

appropriate to the information. OMB 

Guidelines, para. III.2. 

With respect to pre-dissemination 

review, this documentation may include 

intra-or inter-agency memoranda or 

communications, or other records or 

materials, including, where applicable, 

underlying data or methods, 

demonstrating that the information has 

been reviewed internally by appropriate 

agency staff or officials before it is 

disseminated to the public. 

As provided in the OMB Guidelines, 

the Board will submit a report to OMB 

describing the number, nature, and 

resolution of information correction 

requests by each January 1, beginning in 

2004. 

X. Administrative Mechanism for 

Seeking Correction of Information 

The Board shall provide and maintain 

a mechanism in compliance with the 

OMB Guidelines by which affected 

persons may seek timely correction of 

information maintained and 

disseminated by the Board. See 

Appendix A for details. 

XI. Compliance, Reporting, and 

Effective Date 

The Board’s Chief Information Officer, 

or other designated Board official, shall 

be responsible for agency compliance 

with these Guidelines. 

The Board shall respond to 

complaints in a manner appropriate to 

the nature and extent of the complaint. 

Examples of appropriate responses 

include personal contacts via letter or 

telephone, form letters, press releases, 

or mass mailings that correct a widely 

disseminated error or address a 

frequently raised complaint. 

The Board shall submit (and, when 

required, post on its Web site, publish 

in the Federal Register, or otherwise 

make available) all reports, or notice 

thereof, required by Section 515 and the 

OMB Guidelines. Such reports shall 

include an annual fiscal year report 

submitted to the Director of OMB on the 

number and nature of complaints, if 

any, received by the Board regarding 

agency compliance with the OMB 

Guidelines and how the agency resolved 

such complaints. This annual report is 

to be submitted no later than January 1 

following the end of the relevant fiscal 

year, with the first report due January 1, 

2004. 

Effective Date: Pursuant to Section 

515 and paragraph III.4. of the OMB 

Guidelines, these Board Guidelines 

shall become effective October 1, 2002. 

Previously released information that 

does not meet the information 

dissemination requirements of these 

Guidelines are considered archived 

information and are not subject to these 

Guidelines (e.g., DNFSB files, 

publications available on the Web site). 

If a particular distribution of 

information is not covered by these 

Guidelines, the Guidelines may still 

apply to a subsequent distribution of the 

information in which the Board adopts, 

endorses, or uses the information to 

formulate or support a regulation, 

guidance, or other Board decision or 

position. 

A. To the extent these Guidelines 

prescribe procedures for the predissemination quality review of Board 

information, such procedures shall 

apply only to information that the Board 

first disseminates on or after that date.

B. The Guidelines do not apply to 

outdated or superseded Board 

information that is provided as 

background information but no longer 

reflects Board policy or influences 

Board decisions. 

C. To the extent these Guidelines 

prescribe a Board administrative 

mechanism for affected persons to seek 

correction of information disseminated 

by the Board, that mechanism shall 

apply only to information that the Board 

disseminates on or after that date, 

regardless of when the Board first 

disseminated the information.

Appendix A 

Administrative Correction Mechanism 

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety 

Board (DNFSB, Board) strives to ensure that 

the information it disseminates to the public 

is of the highest quality, objectivity, utility, 

and integrity. To this end, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and the 

DNFSB have issued Guidelines for ensuring 

and maximizing the quality of information 

disseminated by the DNFSB, and in 

accordance with Section 515 of the Treasury 

and General Government Appropriations Act 

for Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law 106–554 

(Section 515). You may view these 

Guidelines through the following Web link: 

http://www.dnfsb.gov. Persons affected by 

non-exempted Board information 

disseminated on or after October 1, 2002, 

may request that the Board correct allegedly 

incorrect information. 

How To Seek Correction of Board 

Information Dissemination Products: 

If you are seeking to obtain correction of 

information disseminated (as defined by the 

Board’s Information Quality Guidelines) by 

the Board on or after October 1, 2002, 

because you believe the information does not 

comply with the Information Quality 

Guidelines issued by OMB or DNFSB, please 

submit your request, with the subject 

‘‘Section 515 Request,’’ by e-mail to: 

MAILBOX@DNFSB.gov

If you send the Board an e-mail, you 

should know that e-mail is not necessarily 

secure against interception before it reaches 

the Board’s e-mail system. Therefore, you 

may prefer instead to deliver or mail your 

Section 515 request to the following address: 

Chief Information Officer, C/O Defense 

Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana 

Avenue, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC 

20004. 

Whichever method you use, your request 

must specifically:

• Identify the information you believe does 

not comply with the OMB or Board 

Information Quality Guidelines; 

• Explain why you believe the information 

should be corrected. If possible, provide 

specific recommendations for how the 

information should be corrected; and 

• Describe how you are affected by the 

alleged information error. 

Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2002 / Notices 72417

Requests for correction that are specific 

and provide evidence to support the need for 

correction will enable a timely response. 

Requesters should be aware that they bear 

the ‘‘burden of proof’’ with respect to the 

necessity for correction as well as with 

respect to the type of correction sought. 

To learn how we may disclose any 

information that you provide, please read our 

Privacy Policy at http://www.dnfsb.gov/

privacy.htm. To submit a correction request 

through this process, you must be an 

‘‘affected person’’ (i.e., someone who may 

use, benefit from, or be harmed by the 

disseminated information) and your request 

must relate to ‘‘information’’ that is 

‘‘disseminated’’ by the Board within the 

meaning of the Board Guidelines.

You may not use these procedures to 

request correction of matters which are not 

‘‘dissemination’’ of information as outlined 

in Section I.B. of the Board’s Guidelines. 

How We Will Handle Your Section 515 

Request? 

Processing Your Initial Request 

Once the appropriate Board staff member 

has received your request, the Board will 

provide an initial response to your request 

within 60 calendar days. If the Board is 

unable to provide an initial response within 

the 60 day period, the Board will notify you 

of the estimated date for an initial response. 

The Board will also provide you with an 

explanation of why its determination is 

delayed. 

Delay in the Board’s response may be 

required if you modify your original request, 

if we need to clarify your request, or if we 

need to consult with other offices or agencies 

that may have an interest in the matter. The 

Board shall be solely responsible for 

determining how to respond to your request. 

Initial Board Response 

The Board’s initial response will either 

grant or deny your request, in whole or part, 

and make appropriate corrections, if any. If 

your request relates to information in which 

there is an opportunity for public comment 

(e.g., Recommendations), you may be 

required to seek correction of the information 

through public comment, and your request 

will be referred to the responsible Board staff 

for consideration and incorporation into the 

record of the relevant proceeding. When 

appropriate, in lieu of an individualized 

response to your request, the Board may 

issue or provide you a form letter, press 

release, or mass mailing that corrects a 

widely disseminated error or that addresses 

a frequently raised complaint. Responses 

may also be posted on the Board’s Web site. 

In all cases, the correction process shall 

serve to address the genuine and valid needs 

of the Board and its constituents without 

disrupting Board processes. The Board may 

reject claims that are made in bad faith, 

without justification, unlikely to have 

substantial future impact (e.g., harmless 

error), frivolous, or speculative. The Board 

shall undertake only the degree of correction 

that the Board concludes is appropriate for 

the nature of the information involved. In 

making this determination, the Board will 

consider such factors as the significance of 

the error on the use of the information and 

the magnitude of the error. The Board will 

also consider the error’s relationship to Board 

priorities. The Board is not required to 

change, or in any way alter, the content or 

status of information simply based on the 

receipt of a request for correction. The Board 

need not respond substantively to frivolous 

or repetitive requests for correction. 

Furthermore, the Board may not respond to 

requests that concern information not 

covered by the Guidelines or from a person 

whom the information does not affect. 

Seeking Reconsideration of the Initial 

Response 

If you disagree with the Board’s initial 

response, you will have 30 calendar days to 

appeal (i.e., file for reconsideration within 

the agency). The Board will provide a 

response to your request for reconsideration 

within 60 calendar days, unless it notifies 

you of a later date and explains the reason(s) 

for the delay. The official conducting the 

second level of review shall not be the same 

official that responded to the initial request 

for correction or that prepared the subject 

information. 

If the Board agrees with the appeal, it will 

also take steps to notify the public of its 

decision.

Certain disseminations of information 

include a comprehensive public comment 

process (e.g., Recommendations, notices of 

proposed rulemaking, regulatory analyses, 

and requests for comment on an information 

collection subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act). The administrative 

correction mechanism described in these 

Guidelines does not apply to dissemination 

of such a document. Persons questioning 

information disseminated in such a 

document must submit comments as directed 

in that document. However, if the public 

comment process for the document will take 

a long time, the Board may consider 

complaints regarding the quality of 

disseminated information (as defined by the 

Board’s Guidelines) for review under this 

administrative correction mechanism. 

When engaged in rulemaking, the Board 

will utilize the notice and comment process 

required by the Administrative Procedure 

Act. This process will satisfy the Section 515 

administrative correction mechanism 

requirement. Affected persons must address 

any correction requests through the 

rulemaking comment process. Correction 

requests made through the Section 515 

mechanism will not be considered. 

Information or studies relied upon and cited 

in rulemaking will be addressed through the 

rulemaking notice and comment process. 

If there is an existing process for 

reconsideration of a particular sort of 

information dissemination by the DNFSB, 

DNFSB will make use of that process. 

The Guidelines are not intended to and do 

not provide any right to judicial review. 

Availability of Section 515 Reports 

No later than each January 1, beginning in 

2004, the agency is required to submit an 

annual fiscal year report to the OMB Director 

on the number and nature of Section 515 

correction requests received by the Board and 

how the agency resolved those requests. 

Copies of these reports will be made publicly 

available through the Board’s Web page.

Dated: December 2, 2002. 

John T. Conway, 

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 02–30837 Filed 12–4–02; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3670–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[Report No. AUC–02–50–A (Auction No. 50); 

DA 02–3234] 

Auction No. 50 Narrowband PCS 

Spectrum Auction Scheduled for 

March 26, 2003; Comment Sought on 

Reserve Prices or Minimum Opening 

Bids and Other Auction Procedures

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

auction of 54 Personal Communications 

Service (PCS) licenses in the 900 MHz 

band (‘‘narrowband PCS’’) scheduled to 

commence on March 26, 2003. This 

document also seeks comment on 

reserve prices or minimum opening bids 

and other auction procedures.

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

December 9, 2002, and reply comments 

are due on or before December 16, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments and reply 

comments must be sent by electronic 

mail to the following address: 

auction50@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Auctions and Industry Analysis 

Division: For legal questions: Chris 

Shields, Legal Branch at (202) 418–

0600. For general auction questions: Jeff 

Crooks, Operations Branch at (202) 418–

0660 or Lisa Stover, Operations Branch 

at (717) 338–2888. Commercial Wireless 

Division: For service rule questions:

JoAnn Epps or Melvin Spann, Licensing 

and Technical Analysis Branch at (202) 

418–0620.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Auction No. 50 

Comment Public Notice released 

November 26, 2002. The complete text 

of the Auction No. 50 Comment Public 

Notice, including attachments, is 

available for public inspection and 

copying during regular business hours 

at the FCC Reference Information 

Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., 

Room CY–A257, Washington, DC, 

20554. The Auction No. 50 Comment 

Public Notice may also be purchased 

from the Commission’s duplicating 

contractor, Qualex International, Portals