Document ID: EPA-HQ-OARM-2002-0001-0005
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-02-24T05:00Z

1
1.
IDENTIFICATION
OF
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTION
(
a)
Title
of
the
Information
Collection
This
information
collection
request
is
for
the
new
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
clause
entitled
"
Background
Checks
for
Contractors
Performing
Services
On­
site
for
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency."
This
new
clause
requires
background
checks
for
all
EPA
contractors
performing
services
on
or
within
federally­
owned
or
leased
facilities,
commercial
space
primarily
occupied
by
Federal
employees
and
Superfund,
Oil
Pollution
Act,
and
Stafford
Act
sites.

(
b)
Short
Characterization
The
EPA
uses
contractors
to
perform
services
on
or
within
federally­
owned
or
leased
facilities,
commercial
space
primarily
occupied
by
Federal
employees
and
Superfund,
Oil
Pollution
Act,
and
Stafford
Act
sites.
All
contractor
employees
who
perform
work
on­
site
shall
be
subject
to
a
background
check
and
suitability
determination
prior
to
on­
site
entry.
The
contractor
is
responsible
for
conducting
background
checks
and
for
screening
unacceptable
candidates
from
the
proposed
pool
of
on­
site
workers.
The
Background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
must
be
performed
within
the
30
calendar
days
prior
to
the
on­
site
entry
date.
The
contractor
shall
maintain
records
associated
with
all
background
checks.

2.
NEED
FOR
AND
USE
OF
THE
COLLECTION
(
a)
Need/
authority
for
the
Collection
The
legal
authority
for
this
collection
is
Title
5,
Code
of
Federal
Regulations,
Parts
731,
732,
and
736.
The
EPA
has
a
responsibility
to
protect
its
employees
and
contractors
working
onsite
through
a
background
check
and
suitability
determination
to
ensure
reliability,
trustworthiness,
and
good
conduct
and
character.
This
process
is
necessary
to
allow
the
EPA
to
meet
its
responsibilities
and
mitigate
the
threat
to
the
public
health,
welfare
and
the
environment.

(
b)
Uses/
users
of
the
Data
Information
collected
by
on­
site
contractors
for
performing
background
checks
is
necessary
for
making
suitability
determinations
on
contract
employees
before
the
individual
employees
perform
on­
site
contractual
services
for
the
EPA.

3.
NONDUPLICATION,
CONSULTATION,
AND
OTHER
COLLECTION
CRITERIA
(
a)
Nonduplication
2
Information
requested
from
a
contractor's
employee
to
determine
suitability
to
work
onsite
is
unique
to
a
specific
individual;
this
information
cannot
be
obtained
from
any
other
source.

(
b)
Public
Notice
Required
Prior
to
ICR
submission
to
OMB
The
information
collection
request
has
been
published
with
the
proposed
rule
in
the
Federal
Register
on
January
22,
2003.

(
c)
Consultations
To
determine
contractor
burden
associated
with
the
information
collection
identified
in
this
request,
the
following
vendors
were
contacted:

Representative
Firm
Phone
Ms
Rena
Kieval
Eastern
Research
Group,
Inc.
(
703)
841­
0500
Mr.
Edward
Fadullon
ICF.
Consulting
Group,
Inc.
(
703)
934­
3667
Mr.
Kevin
Cooley
Resource
Management
Concepts
(
301)
862­
7501
Mr.
Charles
Singley
Earth
Tech,
Inc.
(
804)
515­
8515
Each
individual
consulted
indicated
that
he/
she
understood
the
need
for
the
information
collection
and
did
not
find
the
collection
excessively
burdensome.
Estimated
time
to
complete
the
information
collection
is
described
in
section
6.
"
Estimating
the
Burden
and
Cost
of
the
Collection."

(
d)
Effects
of
Less
Frequent
Collection
The
information
provided
by
the
contractors'
employees
is
collected
once
prior
to
the
employee
performing
work
on­
site
for
the
EPA.
The
requirement
for
a
background
check
and
suitability
determination
cannot
be
met
with
a
less
frequent
collection.

(
e)
General
Guidelines
The
information
contained
in
this
ICR
is
in
accordance
with
the
Office
of
Management
and
Budget's
general
guidelines
for
federal
data
collection,
except
that
small
entities
have
to
follow
the
same
collection
procedures
as
other
respondents.

(
f)
Confidentiality
The
EPA
contractor
is
responsible
for
collecting
and
maintaining
information
under
this
proposed
rule;
therefore,
each
contractor
will
have
their
own
procedures
for
ensuring
confidentiality.
3
(
g)
Sensitive
Questions
Information
requested
is
commonly
collected
as
a
normal
business
practice
and
is
not
unduly
sensitive.
The
contractor
will
collect
and
maintain
employee
information.
The
EPA
will
not
collect
contractor
employee
information
nor
maintain
it.
The
Agency
is
responsible
for
receiving
the
suitability
notification
from
contractors.

4.
THE
RESPONDENTS
AND
THE
INFORMATION
RECEIVED
(
a)
Respondents/
North
American
Industry
Classification
System
Codes
Information
is
collected
for
employees
of
the
contractor
and
subcontractor
who
perform
services
on
or
within
federally­
owned
or
leased
facilities,
commercial
space
primarily
occupied
by
federal
employees
and
Superfund,
Oil
Pollution
Act,
and
Stafford
Act
sites.
All
contractor
employees
who
will
perform
work
on­
site
are
subject
to
a
background
check
and
suitability
determination
prior
to
their
entry
on­
site.
Typically,
these
contractor
respondents
fall
into
one
of
the
following
North
American
Industry
Classification
System
codes:
23493­
Industrial
Nonbuilding
Structure
Construction,
23499­
All
Other
Heavy
Construction
,
339111­
Laboratory
Apparatus
and
Furniture
Manufacturing,
541513,
811212,
541512­
Computer
Related
Services,
54169­
Other
Scientific
and
Technical
Consulting
Services,
54133­
Engineering
Services,
41618­
Other
Management
Consulting
Services,
and
23332­
Commercial
and
Institutional
Building
Construction.

(
b)
Information
Requested
The
contractor's
employees
will
be
required
to
provide
information
such
as
name,
social
security
number,
proof
of
US
citizenship
or
legal
resident
status,
employment
history,
education,
military
service,
and
address
of
residence.

After
performing
a
background
check
and
determining
suitability
of
an
employee,
the
contractor
must
notify
the
contracting
officer
that
the
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
have
been
completed.

5.
THE
INFORMATION
COLLECTED:
AGENCY
ACTIVITIES,
COLLECTION
METHODOLOGY,
AND
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
(
a)
Agency
Activities
The
EPA
contracting
officers
are
responsible
for
ensuring
that
they
have
received
notification
from
the
contractor
that
all
of
its
employees
working
on
an
EPA
site
have
undergone
a
background
check
and
a
suitability
determination.
4
(
b)
Collection
Methodology
and
Management
The
information
is
collected
by
each
contractor
from
each
employee
who
will
be
working
on­
site.
Submissions
are
accepted
in
any
format
so
long
as
they
include
the
requested
data.
Submissions
are
mandatory;
no
employee
may
work
on­
site
without
a
background
check
and
a
suitability
determination
unless
the
requirement
has
been
waived
by
the
contracting
officer.
Contracting
officers,
on
a
case­
by­
case
basis,
may,
either
temporarily
or
permanently,
waive
the
requirements,
if
they
determine,
in
writing,
that
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
are
not
necessary
at
a
specific
location,
or
for
a
specific
individual,
in
order
to
protect
the
Government's
interests
and
national
security.
The
suitability
determination
is
a
determination
that
there
are
reasonable
grounds
to
believe
that
an
individual
will
likely
be
able
to
perform
the
contract
requirements
on­
site
without
undue
risk
to
the
interests
of
the
Government
and
the
national
security.
Once
this
determination
is
made,
contractors
must
notify
the
EPA
contracting
officer.
Contractors
must
maintain
the
records
of
their
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
for
4
years
from
the
date
completed.

(
c)
Small
Entity
Flexibility
Separate
or
further
simplified
requirements
for
small
entities
are
not
practical
because
the
stated
objectives
cannot
be
met
under
such
alternatives.
Reasonable
expense
associated
with
the
EPA
background
checks
is
reimbursable;
therefore,
small
businesses
are
not
expected
to
experience
financial
difficulties
in
fulfilling
these
requirements.
There
are
numerous
commercial
sources
that
perform
background
checks.

(
d)
Collection
Schedule
Information
will
be
collected
periodically
as
individuals
are
requested
to
work
on­
site
locations
under
new
or
existing
contracts.

6.
ESTIMATING
THE
BURDEN
AND
COST
OF
THE
COLLECTION
(
a)
Estimation
of
Respondent
Burden
Respondent
burden
estimates
for
this
collection
are
based
upon
interviews
with
the
contractors
identified
in
3(
b)
above
and
discussions
with
Agency
personnel.
The
Agency
anticipates
that
the
contractor
burden
for
complying
with
this
requirement
includes
the
time
it
takes
for
employees
to
provide
the
required
information,
the
administrative
time
to
make
the
suitability
determination,
the
time
to
notify
the
Agency,
and
the
effort
to
maintain
the
records
for
4
years.
5
(
b)
Estimation
of
Respondent
Costs
(
i)
Estimating
Labor
Costs
Respondent
Cost
Estimate
Burden
Loaded
Collection
Activity
Labor
Cat.
Hours
Rate
Cost
1.
Time
to
fill
out
information
Employees
.5
hour
$
51.27
$
25.64
2.
Review/
make
determination
Manager
.5
hour
$
96.25
$
48.13
3.
Submit
notification
Manager
.25
hour
$
96.25
$
24.06
4.
Maintain
files
Amin.
Support
.25
hour
$
42.24
$
10.56
1.5
hours
$
108.39
Step
1
of
the
information
collection
is
completed
by
an
employee
at
any
level
working
onsite
Steps
2
and
3
of
the
collection
activity
is
performed
by
an
administrative
manager
responsible
for
personnel
management.
Administrative
support
personnel
are
responsible
for
completing
step
4.
The
cost
associated
with
this
effort
was
estimated
using
a
loaded
hourly
rate
based
upon
the
National
Compensation
Survey:
Occupational
Wages
in
the
United
States,
2001
published
by
the
U.
S.
Department
of
Labor,
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics.
This
data
was
published
in
August
of
2002,
based
on
year­
end
2001
reporting,
and
represents
the
most
current
survey
data
available.

Since
the
labor
rates
used
in
this
estimate
are
from
2001,
an
escalation
factor
of
4%
(
based
upon
Defense
Contract
Audit
Agency)
was
applied
for
each
year
to
determine
an
average
wage
for
the
respective
year.
The
cost
for
each
labor
category
was
determined
by
multiplying
the
escalated
hourly
labor
rate
by
an
estimated
loading
factor
of
2.95
(*
see
below)
to
reflect
industries'
over
head,
fringe
benefits,
and
general
and
administrative
costs
for
each
year
(
2003
thru
2005)
that
the
ICR
will
be
in
effect.
These
loaded
labor
cost
for
2003
thru
2005
are
then
divided
by
three
(
number
of
years
for
the
ICR)
to
arrive
at
an
annualized
labor
cost
for
each
labor
category.

The
following
are
the
loaded
labor
rates
used
in
the
calculations
in
the
table
above:

Employees:
2001
=
$
15.46
2002
=
($
15.46
x
1.04)
$
16.08
2003
=
($
16.08
x
1.04)
$
16.72
x
2.95
=
$
49.32
2004
=
($
16.72
x
1.04)
$
17.39
x
2.95
=
$
51.13
6
2005
=
($
17.39
x
1.04)
$
18.09
x
2.95
=
$
53.37
$
153.82/
3
=
$
51.27
Administrative
Manager:
2001
=
$
28.99
2002
=
($
28.99
x
1.04)
$
30.15
2003
=
($
30.15
x
1.04)
$
31.36
x
2.95
=
$
92.51
2004
=
($
31.36
x
1.04)
$
32.61
x
2.95
=
$
96.20
2005
=
($
32.61
x
1.04)
$
33.91
x
2.95
=
$
100.04
$
288.75
=
$
96.25
Administrative
Support:
2001
=
$
12.72
2002
=
($
12.72
x
1.04)
$
13.23
2003
=
($
13.23
x
1.04)
$
13.76
x
2.95
=
$
40.59
2004
=
($
13.76
x
1.04)
$
14.31
x
2.95
=
$
42.22
2005
=
($
14.31
x
1.04)
$
14.88
x
2.95
=
$
43.90
$
126.71/
3
=
$
42.24
*
2.95
is
a
factor
recommended
by
EPA
cost
analyst
as
representative
of
labor
related
burdens
experienced
by
EPA
contractors.

(
ii)
Capital/
Start­
up
Costs
Respondents
will
not
be
required
to
acquire
capital
goods
to
provide
the
requested
information;
therefore,
capital
start­
up
costs
have
not
been
included
in
this
estimate.

(
iii)
Operating
and
Maintenance
Costs
Operating
and
maintenance
costs,
which
include
such
items
as
file
storage,
photocopying,
and
postage,
will
be
nominal.

(
c)
Estimating
Agency
Burden
and
Cost
Agency
burden
for
responses
to
background
check
and
suitability
determinations.

Agency
Burden,
Cost
Estimate
Labor
Loaded
Collection
Activity
Category
Burden
Hours
Rate
Cost
1.
Ensure
Compliance
GS­
13­
5
.25
hour
$
39.79
$
9.95
7
2.
Document
contractors'
GS­
13­
5
.25
hour
$
39.79
$
9.95
notifications
.5
hour
$
19.90
Background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
are
the
responsibility
of
the
EPA
on­
site
contractor.
The
Agency
is
primarily
responsible
for
ensuring
that
contractors
notify
the
Agency
that
a
background
check
and
suitability
determination
has
been
completed
for
all
employees
working
on­
site.
The
Agency's
effort
is
estimated
to
be
at
the
GS­
13
level.
The
estimate
includes
GS­
13
salary
at
$
39.79
per
hour.
This
wage
is
the
FY2003
base
wage
for
a
GS­
13
step
5
of
$
33.26.
The
base
wage
was
escalated
by
an
estimated
factor
of
3.1%
(
compounded),
based
upon
historical
cost
of
living
increases
for
federal
worker,
to
arrive
at
the
estimated
wage
for
the
two
outlying
years
that
the
ICR
is
in
effect.
These
wage
rates
were
then
multiplied
by
a
factor
of
*
1.16
to
reflect
Federal
employee
benefits
and
then
divided
by
three
for
an
annualized
loaded
rate
of
$
39.79.

FY
03'
=
$
33.26
x
1.16
=
$
38.58
FY
04'
=
($
33.26x1.03)
$
34.29
x
1.16
=
$
39.78
FY
05'
=
($
34.29x1.03)
$
35.35
x
1.16
=
$
41.01
$
119.37
/
3
=
$
39.79
*
1.16
is
a
factor
recommended
by
EPA
cost
analyst
as
representative
of
employee
related
benefits.

(
d)
Estimating
the
Respondent
Universe
and
Total
Burden
All
EPA
contractor
personnel
performing
on­
site
must
provide
the
required
background
information
unless
this
requirement
is
waived
by
the
contracting
officer.
The
number
of
nonfederal
employees
expected
to
submit
the
requested
information
for
background
checks
for
the
life
of
this
ICR
is
14,000.
This
number
was
derived
by
estimating
that
12,000
individuals
will
be
required
to
respond
when
this
requirement
is
initially
implemented
because
all
employees
currently
working
on­
site
will
be
required
to
have
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
for
the
first
year.
Additionally,
an
estimated
1,000
employees
will
respond
for
the
second
year
and
1,000
for
the
third
year
that
the
ICR
is
effective
for
a
total
of
14,000
employees
for
the
three
years
of
the
ICR.

The
above
assessment
is
based
on
an
FY2002
review
performed
by
the
EPA
Federal
Facilities
Office.
The
review
states
that
there
are
5,000
contract
employees
estimated
to
be
currently
working
under
EPA
contract
within
a
federally­
owned
or
leased
facility,
including
laboratories.
Added
to
this
number
is
an
estimated
1,000
non­
Federal
employees
working
on­
site
through
other
non
EPA
contractual
arrangements
such
as
GSA
Federal
Supply
Schedules
and
Government
Wide
Agency
Contracts.
The
EPA
also
has
contractors
working
out
in
the
field
on
Superfund,
Oil
Pollution
Act,
and
Stafford
Act
sites.
We
estimate
another
6,000
contract
employees
working
on
these
types
of
sites
for
a
total
of
12,000
employees
presently
working
on­
8
site
for
the
EPA.

There
are
both
small
and
large
businesses
working
in
the
field
with
diverse
on­
site
situations
that
require
large
variations
in
the
number
of
on­
site
employees.
Contractors
may
be
on­
site
for
a
few
days
or
many
years
depending
on
the
situation.
There
are
currently
73
Superfund
contracts
that
do
on­
site
work
under
the
authority
of
The
Comprehensive
Environmental
Response,
Compensation
and
Liability
Act
(
CERCLA).
The
number
of
these
contracts
changes
depending
on
program
needs
and
environmental
circumstances.
Many
Superfund
contracts
require
employees
to
be
prepared
to
report
to
work
locations.
Therefore,
these
employees
must
have
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations
even
if
not
continuously
located
on­
site.

Finally,
there
are
situations
in
which
contracting
officers
may
waive
this
background
check
requirement,
making
it
difficult
to
precisely
determine
the
number
of
respondents.
For
these
reasons,
this
initial
request
represents
our
best
estimate
given
current
information.
Future
estimates
will
be
more
accurate
and
based
on
historical
data
monitored
through
the
Agency's
contractual
systems
on
the
use
of
the
subject
clause.

(
e)
Bottom
Line
Burden
Hours
and
Costs
(
i)
Respondent
Tally
Total
annual
respondent
hours
for
this
collection
request
is
7,000.5
hours.
This
is
derived
by
taking
the
total
number
of
background
checks
and
suitability
determinations,
14,000,
divided
by
3
(
the
number
of
years
the
ICR
is
effective)
for
a
total
of
4,667
occurrences
per
year.
Then
the
number
of
annual
occurrences,
4,667,
is
multiplied
by
the
respondent
burden
effort
of
1.5
hours
to
collect
information
to
arrive
at
the
total
of
7,000.5
hours
per
year.

Total
annual
respondent
cost
for
this
collection
request
is
$
505,856.13.
This
is
calculated
by
multiplying
the
number
of
annual
occurrences,
4,667,
by
the
respondent
cost
of
one
collection,
$
108.39.

(
ii)
The
Agency
Tally
The
average
Agency
annual
burden
cost
is
estimated
at
$
92,873.30.
This
is
calculated
by
multiplying
the
estimated
burden
hours,
.5,
by
the
estimated
hourly
rate
of
$
39.79
for
a
total
of
$
19.90
for
one
collection
request.
Then
the
$
19.90
is
multiplied
by
the
estimated
number
of
annual
occurrences,
4,667,
for
a
total
of
$
92,873.30.

(
f)
Burden
Statement
9
The
annual
public
reporting
and
record
keeping
burden
for
this
collection
of
information
is
estimated
to
average
1.5
hours
per
response.
Burden
means
the
total
time,
effort,
or
financial
resources
expended
by
persons
to
generate,
maintain,
retain,
or
disclose
or
provide
information
to
or
for
a
Federal
agency.
This
includes
the
time
needed
to
review
instructions;
develop,
acquire,
install,
and
utilize
technology
and
systems
for
the
purposes
of
collecting,
validating,
and
verifying
information,
processing
and
maintaining
information,
and
disclosing
and
providing
information;
adjust
the
existing
ways
to
comply
with
any
previously
applicable
instructions
and
requirements;
train
personnel
to
be
able
to
respond
to
a
collection
of
information;
search
data
sources;
complete
and
review
the
collection
of
information;
and
transmit
or
otherwise
disclose
the
information.

To
comment
on
the
Agency's
need
for
this
information,
the
accuracy
of
the
provided
burden
estimates,
and
any
suggested
methods
for
minimizing
respondent
burden,
including
the
use
of
automated
collection
techniques,
EPA
has
established
a
public
docket
for
this
ICR
under
Docket
ID
No.
OARM­
2002­
0001,
which
is
available
for
public
viewing
at
the
Office
of
Environmental
Information
Docket
in
the
EPA
Docket
Center
(
EPA/
DC),
EPA
West,
Room
B102,
1301
Constitution
Ave.,
NW,
Washington,
DC.
The
EPA
Docket
Center
Public
Reading
Room
is
open
from
8:
30
a.
m.
to
4:
30
p.
m.,
Monday
through
Friday,
excluding
legal
holidays.
The
telephone
number
for
the
Reading
Room
is
(
202)
566­
1744,
and
the
telephone
number
for
the
Office
of
Environmental
Information
Docket
is
(
202)
566­
1752..
An
electronic
version
of
the
public
docket
is
available
through
EPA
Dockets
(
EDOCKET)
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
edocket.
Use
EDOCKET
to
submit
or
view
public
comments,
access
the
index
listing
of
the
contents
of
the
public
docket,
and
to
access
those
documents
in
the
public
docket
that
are
available
electronically.
Once
in
the
system,
select
"
search,"
then
key
in
the
docket
ID
number
identified
above.
Also,
you
can
send
comments
to
the
Office
of
Information
and
Regulatory
Affairs,
Office
of
Management
and
Budget,
725
17th
Street,
NW,
Washington,
DC
20503,
Attention:
Desk
Office
for
EPA.
Please
include
the
EPA
Docket
ID
No.
OARM­
2002­
0001
in
any
correspondence.