USB
\
1	UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
W*	WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
i303ogpnsSifyti§K6!g3i,5,v
OSWER DIRECTIVE 9200.04-13
(PB94-963321; 540F-94/005)
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
FROM:
TO:
Management of Records of Decision (RODS) To
Facilitate Public and Agency Access
Henry L. Longest II, Director
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Director, Waste Management Division
Regions I, IV, V, VII
Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division
Region II
Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division
Regions III, VI, VIII, IX
Director, Hazardous Waste Division
Region X
PURPOSE:
This directive creates a streamlined, centralized system for
collecting and providing agency and public access to Records of
Decision (RODS) by utilizing the central services provided to the
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response under the NTIS/
Superfund Partnership Interagency Agreement.
BACKGROUND:
The National Technical Information Services (NTIS) is a
Federal agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce, mandated under
the American Technology Pre-emminence Act of 1993 (APTA) to
collect and disseminate all scientific, policy and technical
information products produced by government agencies. Since
1991, Superfund has piloted an Inter-Agency Agreement with them
to publish, disseminate and manage the National Superfund
Information Products Collection. Under this partnership, OERR
and OWPE have experienced a 75% reduction in the number of
Headguarters-managed FOIA's requesting publicly available
documents, while materially improving public access. It is now
Printed on Recycled Paper

-------
possible to include Regional Superfund programs in this
innovative, resource conserving partnership.
NTIS is a unique Federal agency, designated by law as a
clearinghouse for scientific, technical and engineering
information. The law also directs NTIS to recover its cost from
the sale of its products and services. It is sustained only by
its customers, and over the past five years, public users of
Superfund documents have formed a significant portion of its
customer base.
Signed RODS represent a critical, tangible product in the
implementation of the national Superfund program. They are of
vital interest not only to the originating Region, but also to
sister Regions and to Headquarters, where timely entry in the
RODS data base can provide automated access to searchable data.
Many program offices, including those which maintain data bases
such as Envirotext, also maintain hard copy collections which
form the core of a Users' Library.
At NTIS, RODS are best-sellers, and, as partners in the
distribution of Superfund documents, they are anxious to be able
to offer a complete, high-quality collection. With such
availability, most of the Regional and Headquarters FOIAs for
RODS could be referred to NTIS, at a great savings of time and
resources for client and agency. It is therefore necessary that
a simple, fool-proof system be implemented to ensure that a high
quality copy of every signed ROD is available, upon signature,
nationally, from a single centralized location.
IMPLEMENTATION:
We asked the new Superfund Document Center, now operated by
Federal NTIS employees, working on-site in the OERR Office of
Program Management (OPM), to create a simple system. A team,
chaired by Mike Cullen, Director, Management Systems Development
Staff, has devised a two-phased approach. The first, and most
critical, deals with the collection and dissemination of hard
copy; the second, longer-term initiative deals with improvement
in quality, access and completeness of the RODS Data Base.
This directive addresses the collection of the hard copies
on which the data base ultimately depends. The system, described
on page 4 of this Directive, should be fully implemented in all
Regions by August l, 1994. It is based on the premise that a ROD
is a "Superfund Publication," and as such, is part of the
National Superfund Collection, maintained and disseminated
through the Superfund/NTIS Partnership. Classifying RODS this
way opens a variety of attractive, resource-saving services to
the Regions.
ACTION:
We are asking each Region to identify a Regional contact, or

-------
contacts (depending on the Regional organizational structure).
The designee(s) should understand the internal, Region-specific
RODS processing track, and be empowered to work directly with
Camille Fields, NTIS On-Site Manager, Superfund Documents Center,
to adapt and implement an individual RODS collection plan for
your Region. Since Camille will serve as the RODS Regional
Client Services Representative, she is empowered to do what is
needed to make it easy for you to get your quality-controlled ROD
into the Collection and distributed to internal and external
users quickly and efficiently. By COB June 30, 1994, please
submit the name, title and phone number of your Regional RODS
Representative(s) to Camille Fields. Camille may be contacted by
FAX (703-603-9133), Phone (703-603-8917) CC-Mail (Camille Fields)
or by memo. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments,
please contact Betti VanEpps, Superfund Documents Coordinator, at
703-603-8918, CC-Mail (Betti VanEpps) or FAX 703-603-9133.
cc: Tim Fields, OSWER
Ika Joiner, SRO
Bruce Diamond, OECA
David Bennett, HSCD
David Cooper, HSCD
Marlene Berg, HSCD
Carolyn Offutt, HSCD
Pp+p Redmond, HSCD
fund Regional Branch Chiefs
Superfund Regional RPMS
Regional Records Centers
Regional Libraries
Regional CRC's
Robert Stone, Region 8
Jeralene Greene, FOIA Office
Marlon Lipfert, FOIA Office
Michael Cullen, OPM
Betti VanEpps, OPM
Walter Finch, NTIS
Pat McNutt, NTIS
Dave Francis, NTIS
Camille Fields, NTIS
Rebecca West, NTIS
Joey Phillips, NTIS
Hammer, HSCD

-------
PROCEDURE FOR STREAMLINING
THE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO
RECORDS OF DECISION (RODS)
OSWER DIRECTIVE NUMBER 9200.04-13
June, 1994
INTRODUCTION:
Records of Decision (RODS) are considered "Superfund
Publications" and, as such, are of immediate interest to Agency
and public customers. The Superfund Documents Center, OERR, will
coordinate with a designated representative in each Regional
Office to ensure prompt national public access to a complete,
quality collection of all signed RODS.
Implementation includes:
(1)	A new procedure for handling all RODS signed
after August 1, 1994
(2)	A new procedure for ensuring that the National
collection is complete by assisting the Regions to
update their collections and the national collection.
(1) Procedure for RODS Signed After August 1, 1994:
-	Immediately upon signature, a single, first-generation
reproduced copy is to be submitted by pouch mail to Camille
Fields, Superfund Documents Center, 5201G, in her role as RODS
Client Service Representative, for processing and distribution
through the NTIS partnership system.
-	Immediately upon receipt, the RODS Client Service
Representative will fast-track the document into NTIS for "HOT
STATUS" - 24-hour turnaround - reproduction and distribution to a
formal list of regular users, including Regional personnel, if
desired. The document is then placed on the NTIS Sales Desk,
advertised through the Internet FEDWORLD bulletin board, and sent
to regular RODS subscribers. Other public users may immediately
purchase the document, and FOIA requestors may, under FOIA rules,
be referred there to purchase their copy. (Language is being
prepared by the Headquarters FOIA office to assist Regional FOIA
Officers in referring these requests to NTIS for fulfillment, and
will be provided to the Regions upon completion.)
This distribution will include the Hazardous Site Control
Division and the organizational entities which analyze and enter
the data into the RODS data base, as well as the Regional
Libraries and Hot Line, thus requiring the Region to make only a
single contact to accommodate all Headquarters users. At the
discretion of the Regions, the Document Center is available to
assist in handling the first-time distribution or mailing of the
ROD.

-------
(2) MEETING THE QUARTERLY DEADLINE AND COMPLETING THE COLLECTION
Concurrent with the above procedure, at the beginning of
each guarter, the Director, MSDS, will provide the RODS Client
Services Representative with a Region-specific listing of the
RODS expected by the end of the guarter. The RODS Client
Services Representative will be empowered to work with the
Regional Contact to ensure that all signed RODS are received by
the quarterly deadline, providing assistance where appropriate.
This service should assist the Regions in meeting the guarterly
reporting requirement such that deadlines are no longer missed
because of production or reproduction difficulties.
By September 30, 1994, the National Collection should be
complete and available through NTIS. Working with NTIS and the
RODS Data Base, the RODS Client Services Representative will
provide each Region with a list of RODS now in the collection,
identify those which are missing, and work with each Regional
Representative as appropriate to complete the collection.
(3)	OTHER TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Under the Partnership, the Regions may avail themselves of
access to the Superfund Collection to obtain, through the
Superfund Document Center, those RODS required to complete their
Regional collection, and should feel empowered to work with the
Center to explore creative procedures to satisfy customers'
needs, while reducing the Regional photocopy load and outlay of
staff resources.
(4)	FINE TUNING AND FEEDBACK
Each Region should have begun implementing the above system
by August 1, such that the RODS Client Services Representative
can identify and analyze problems which may occur in the
implementation process. Fine-tuning and feedback should occur
during the summer, and may include, if appropriate, Regional or
Headquarters visits to increase our mutual understanding of the
processes and procedures that facilitate the timely exchange of
information.

-------