1. INFORMATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT ORIENTATION
ON THE RECORD!
INFORMATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT ORIENTATION
Tom Varljen
Legal Department
4/30/2009

2. PROGRAM CONTEXT
Expanding Regulatory Agency Record Retention Compliance Requirements
Transition From Paper to Electronic Media
E-Discovery – A New Dimension in Litigation
Fines and Penalties for Under-Retention and Over-Retention
Enterprise Business Continuity
Data Security and Portability Issues

3. FERC RECORDS RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR UTILITIES
Mandatory Minimum Retention Periods for Covered Records
Must Protect Records: Fire, Flood, Etc.
Must Designate Supervisory Official for Records
Must Index to Facilitate Retrieval and Audit
Option for Utility to Select Preferred Storage Media
Must Suspend Record Destruction Subject to Legal Holds

4. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
UNDER-RETENTION Fines & Penalties
Court Sanctions
Poor Defense Position
OVER-RETENTION Conflicting Documents
Memory Fades With Time
“Smoking Gun” Opportunity
Increases Burden of Production
Cost of Storage/Floor Space

5. RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Regulatory and Legal Compliance
Preservation and Backup of Vital Records
Enhanced Business Operations
Confidential Information Protection
Support Litigation Response or Governmental Agency Audits
Communicate Responsible Record Creation Practices

6. INFORMATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

7. RECORDS AND NON-RECORDS
Off-Site Backup for Business Continuity
Retention Mandated by Regulation or legal/commercial/
Operational Value
Everything Else

8. “OFFICIAL BUSINESS” RECORD
The single original or copy of a paper or electronic record for which:
Retention is Mandated by Statute or Government Regulations (FERC, IRS, DOT, OSHA, WUTC, etc.)
The Record has Legal or Evidentiary Value
The Record is Required for Commercial or Operational Purposes (policies, procedures, business continuity, training, creation of official reports and filings, etc.)
The Record has Institutional or Historical value

9. OFFICIAL BUSINESS RECORDS MUST BE:
Identified
Assigned to a Coordinator/Custodian
Given a Retention Duration
Kept in a Secure Repository
Indexed: What/Who/Where/When

10. LIFE CYCLE OF BUSINESS RECORDS
Creation/Receipt/Identification
Final Disposition
Destroy by Shredding
(or Keep “Forever”)
Active Files
-High Value and Use
-Office Repositories
-Limited Access
Semi-Active/Inactive Archive
-Remainder of Retention Period
-Secure Off-site Facility
-Business Continuity Retrieval

11. RECORDS RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR UTILITY PLANT
RETAIN FOR THE LIFE OF THE PLANT PLUS SIX YEARS:
Engineering Records of Proposed or As-Constructed Utility Facilities
Contracts Related to Services Performed in Connection With Construction of Utility Plant
Associated Financial Records

12. VITAL RECORD
A Record Required to Resume or Continue Operations During or After an Emergency or Disaster
Must be Backed up at a Secure Off-Site Location
Exception to the Rule that Records Not Exist in Duplicate Versions

13. NON-RECORD MATERIALS
Duplicate or Convenience Copies of Records – Dispose of after its business need ends
Working Papers and Preliminary Drafts or Red-Lines – Dispose of after the final version is submitted.
Copies of Materials Published or Issued by Others and Publically Available (Codes, Standards, Regulations, etc.) – Dispose of if On-line or Store Electronically for Reference
Paper Copies of Records Stored on Electronic Media – Destroy ASAP or Don’t Make a Paper Copy in the First Place

14. DISCOVERABLE RECORDS Official Business Records Non-Record Materials
Anything You Generate Related to Your Job at Avista (paper, electronic and photo media):
Diaries, Calendars, Sticky Notes, s, Voic s, Recorded Calls, Instant Messages, Text Messages, Word Documents, etc.

15. RECORDS AND INFORMATION PRESERVATION (“RIP”) NOTICE
Issued by the Legal Department
Related to Current or Anticipated Litigation, Audit or Governmental Investigation
Suspends Destruction or Purging of Affected Records and Non-Records
Destruction Cannot Commence until Records are Released by Legal Department

16. SPOLIATION IS AGAINST THE LAW AND COMPANY POLICY
Spoliation is the Intentional and Unlawful Destruction, Alteration or Concealment of Evidence or Materials (Includes Records and Non-Records):
Subject to an RIP Notice or Subpoena
In Anticipation of and Related to an Audit, Investigation or Litigation

17. INFORMATION AND RECORDS ACCESS CONTROL
Attorney-Client Privilege
Attorney Work Product
Critical Energy Infrastructure Information
Legal Hold (Subject to RIP Notice)
Avista Proprietary or Confidential
Customer Private Information
Employee Private Information
Other Party Proprietary Information

18. GOOD RECORDS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Retain Records/Non-Records According to the Corporate Retention Policy
Don’t Keep Record Copies in Personal Files
Use the On-Site Group Record Repositories or Off-Site Archives or Go Electronic
Don’t Retain Docs after their Useful Life or Mandated Retention Period has Expired
Shred Docs that Contain Sensitive Information
Have an Annual Clean-up Day for Your Personal Files

19. GOOD RECORDS CREATION PRACTICES
Conform with Avista’s Code of Conduct and Ethics
Stick to the Facts
Do Not Speculate or Make Admissions
Do Not Provide Personal Opinions Unless Qualified
Do Not Present Rumor or Hearsay
Do not Falsify Records
Be Accurate and Professional

20. PROGRAM ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Executive Sponsor – Marian Durkin
Supply Chain Dept – Kathy Nitteberg – Implement RM Procedures and the Record Center
IS/IT – Apply Retention Guidelines to Electronic Records
Legal – Maintain the Policy, Provide Guidance
Directors/Department Managers – Assign Functional Records Management Responsibilities For Their Org’s Records

21. RECORDS MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION AT AVISTA WILL CONTINUE TO BE DECENTRALIZED
Directors/Department Managers Have Been Asked to Assign Functional Records Management Responsibilities Within their Organization

22. WORKING LEVEL RECORDS MANAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS
Record/Non-Record Decision Process
Retention Period Decision Process
“Official Repository” Specified for Records
Custodial Responsibility Assigned
Record Index Maintained to Support Retrieval and Audit
Timely Disposition of Non-Record Baggage

23. APPROVED REPOSITORIES FOR OFFICIAL BUSINESS RECORDS
Department/Function Central Files –Locked if Necessary
Off-site Secure Archive for Paper Records
Off-site Electronic Records Backup/Archive
Password-Protected Servers
Government/Regulatory/Public Electronic Records Center (We don’t have to keep copies if these are available for access)

24. DEPARTMENT/FUNCTION RECORDS COORDINATOR
“Go-To” Person in the Group for Records Management Questions
Establish Group Procedures for Managing Official Records Generated by the Group
See That a FERC-Compliant Index of the Group’s Official Records is maintained
Represent the Group on the Company’s IRM Council

25. GOOD RECORD KEEPING IS GOOD BUSINESS!!!

26. ACCESSING INFORMATION AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DOCUMENTS VIA AVANET
Go to the AVANET home page. On the right side panel click in the box labeled Code of Conduct, Ethics and Compliance. This link takes you to the Compliance Issues page. Click on the last item listed, namely the Information and Records Management Program link. This takes you to a page containing the links for the Policy, Guidelines Manual and the Records Retention and Destruction Schedules.