[Federal Register: September 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 185)]
[Notices]
[Page 57254-57255]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24se04-28]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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[[Page 57254]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Appeals Division; Notice of Modification of Privacy Act
System of Records
AGENCY: National Appeals Division (NAD), USDA.
ACTION: Notice of modified privacy act system of records.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that USDA proposes to alter the routine
uses of two Privacy Act system of records, USDA/NAD-1, entitled
``Participant Appeals, USDA/NAD'' and USDA/NAD-2, entitled ``National
Appeals Division Tracking System (Automated), USDA/NAD'' to allow for
publication of NAD Hearing Officer and Director determinations on the
Internet. In addition, NAD is announcing its intention to withhold
certain limited information contained in these published decisions.
DATES: This notice will be adopted without further publication in the
Federal Register on October 25, 2004, unless modified by a subsequent
notice to incorporate comments received from the public. Although the
Privacy Act requires only that the portion of the system that describes
the ``routine uses'' of the system be published for comment, USDA
invites comment on all portions of this notice. The contact person
listed below must receive comments on or before October 25, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Griffin, Special Assistant to the
Director, National Appeals Division, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive,
Suite 1100, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, ann.m.griffin@usda.gov. (703)
305-1157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a,
USDA is modifying two systems of records that are maintained by the
National Appeals Division (NAD). The notice announcing the creation of
the two systems of records appeared in the Federal Register on October
30, 1996, at 61 FR 55952. The purpose of this notice is to amend the
routine uses of the systems to allow for publication of Hearing Officer
and Director review determinations on the Internet. We plan to delete
personal and location identifiers from determinations prior to
publication on the Internet. NAD specifically invites comments on
whether such redactions are sufficient to protect the privacy of
program participants and, if not, the types of information that the
public believes should be redacted from those determinations prior to
publication. For example, NAD records may contain financial or other
information the release of which could cause an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy. However, NAD believes removing personal and location
identifiers prior to publication adequately balances the privacy of
parties before NAD with the interest that determinations be made
publicly available on the Internet. Modified Privacy Act notices are
reproduced below.
USDA/NAD-1
System name:
Participant Appeals, USDA/National Appeals Division (NAD).
System Location:
National Appeals Division, Regional Offices: Eastern Regional
Office, 8909 Purdue Road, Suite 240, Indianapolis, Indiana 46268;
Southern Regional Office, 777 Walnut Grove Road, Suite LLB-1, Memphis,
Tennessee 38088; 755 Parfet Street, Suite 494, Lakewood, Colorado
80215.
Categories of Individuals covered by the system:
Program participants who file an appeal because of a covered
adverse decision by a covered Agency: Farm Service Agency, including a
State, County, or area committee established under section 8(b)(5) of
the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.
5901(b)(5)), the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Natural Resource
Conservation Service, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the Risk
Management Agency, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, the Rural
Housing Service, or the Rural Utilities Service.
Categories of records in the system:
The system consists of complete files on appeals, including
materials maintained and submitted by an Agency related to an adverse
decision; any information, correspondence, or documentation submitted
by an Appellant or the Agency during the appeals process; and any
statements of witnesses, tape recordings, or written transcripts of the
hearings. Unless specifically requested, written transcript is not
normally prepared.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
7 U.S.C. 6991, et seq.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purpose of such uses:
USDA will disclose records in this system: (1) To the appropriate
Agency, whether Federal, State, local, or foreign, charged with the
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a violation of law, or
of enforcing or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, or order
issued pursuant thereto, when information available indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or
regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute, or by
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto; (2) to a court,
magistrate, or administrative tribunal, or to opposing counsel, in a
proceeding before any of the above, for purposes of filing the official
administrative record on discovery, which are relevant to the subject
of the proceeding; (3) to a congressional office from the record of an
individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office at
the request of that individual; and (4) to the public, for educational
purposes, when determinations signed by NAD Hearing Officers or the NAD
Director are published either in paper format or electronically on the
NAD Web site, the current address of which is http://www.nad.usda.gov.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records are maintained in file folders.
Retrievability:
Records can be accessed by individual name, NAD log number, and
State.
[[Page 57255]]
Safeguards:
Records are kept in offices attended by authorized personnel.
Retention and disposal: Maintained six (6) years after the case is
closed.
System manager(s):
Director, NAD, USDA, 3102 Park Center Drive, Suite 1100,
Alexandria, Virginia 22302, telephone number (703) 305-2708.
Notification procedure: An individual may request information as to
whether the system contains records pertaining to him or her from Larry
Shrum, External Affairs Officer, NAD, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive,
Suite 1120, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, larry.shrum@usda.gov, telephone
number (703) 305-1164. A request for information pertaining to an
individual should contain the requester's full name, address, and zip
code.
Record access procedures:
Any individual may obtain information as to procedures for gaining
access to and contesting the record in the system which pertains to him
or her by submitting a written request to the appropriate official
referred to in the proceeding paragraph.
Contesting record procedures:
Same as notification procedure. (The regulations for contesting
contents of records and appealing initial determinations are set forth
at 7 CFR 1.110-1.123.)
Record source categories:
Records in this system come primarily from Appellants, witnesses,
and Agency personnel.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Act: No.
USDA/NAD-2
System name:
National Appeals Division Tracking System (Automated), USDA/
National Appeals Division (NAD).
System location:
Management Field Office, USDA, and 8930 Ward Parkway, Kansas City,
Missouri 64114.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Program participants who file an appeal because of a covered
adverse decision by a covered Agency: Farm Service Agency, including a
State, County, or area committee established under section 8(b)(5) of
the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 5901
(b)(5), the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Natural Resource
Conservation Service, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the Risk
Management Agency, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, the Rural
Housing Service, or the Rural Utilities Service.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
7 U.S.C. 6991 et seq. Routine uses of records maintained in the
system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
USDA will disclose records in this system: (1) To the appropriate
Agency, whether Federal, State, local or foreign, charged with the
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a violation of law, or
of enforcing or implementing the statute, rule, regulation or order
issued pursuant thereto, when information available indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or
regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute, or by
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto; (2) to a court,
magistrate, or administrative tribunal, or to opposing counsel, in a
proceeding before any of the above, which are sought in the course of
discovery and which are relevant to the subject matter of the
proceedings; (3) to a congressional office from the record of an
individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office at
the request of that individual; and (4) to the public, for educational
purposes, when determinations signed by NAD Hearing Officers or the NAD
Director are published either in paper format or electronically on the
NAD Web site, the current address of which is http://www.nad.usda.gov.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
National Computer Center, Kansas City Security Staff uses multiple
storage devices with full backup facilities; including both on-site and
off-site storage and distant hot-site facilities.
Retrievability:
Records are indexed by Appellant name, NAD log number, State, and
the name of the assigned Hearing Officer.
Safeguards:
Computer Associates Access Control Facility software controls that
may use computer resources and protects data from accidental or
deliberate destruction, modification, disclosure and misuse. Computer
Associates Access Control Facility is maintained and used solely by
members of the National Computer Center, Kansas City Security Staff.
Retention and disposal:
Records are kept indefinitely.
System manager(s) and address:
System Security Administration, Information Systems Security Staff,
2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103.
Notification procedure:
An individual may request information as to whether the system
contains records pertaining to him or her from Larry Shrum, External
Affairs Officer, NAD, USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Suite 1120,
Alexandria, Virginia 22302. larry.shrum@usda.gov, telephone number
(703) 305-1164. A request for information pertaining to an individual
should contain the requester's full name, address, and zip code.
Record access procedures:
Any individual may obtain information as to the procedures for
gaining access to and contesting a record in the system which pertains
to him or her by submitting a written request to the appropriate
official referred to in the proceeding paragraph.
Record source categories:
Records in this system come primarily from data entered by Regional
offices maintaining appeal records on the program participant.
Information in these records is obtained from Appellants and Agency
decision makers.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Act:
No.
Dated: September 21, 2004.
Roger Klurfeld,
Director, National Appeals Division.
[FR Doc. 04-21490 Filed 9-23-04; 8:45 am]