[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 125 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37039-37040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5786]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
[Docket No. 060606154-6154-01]
Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records
AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of New Privacy System of Records: COMMERCE/CENSUS-10,
American Community Survey.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5
U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11), the Department of Commerce is issuing
notice of intent to establish a new system of records under COMMERCE/
CENSUS-10, American Community Survey.
DATES: To be considered, written comments must be submitted on or
before July 31, 2006. Unless comments are received, the amendments to
the system of records will become effective as proposed on the date of
publication of a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Gerald W. Gates, Chief
Privacy Officer, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233. Comments may
be submitted electronically to the following electronic mail address:
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald W. Gates, Chief Privacy
Officer, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC 20233, 301-763-2515.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces the Department's
proposal for a new system of records under the Privacy Act. The system
is entitled ``American Community Survey.'' The American Community
Survey (ACS) testing (demonstration period) occurred between 1996-2004.
During that time period, the survey was conducted under the authority
of Title 13, Section 182 (Periodic Censuses and Surveys), and therefore
is considered to
[[Page 37040]]
be covered under the Privacy Act system of records, CENSUS-3,
Individual and Household Statistical Surveys and Special Studies
Records. In 2004, the ACS was fully implemented as a Decennial Census
production activity and as such, was conducted under the authority of
Title 13, Section 141 (Decennial Census Activities). An amendment was
issued to include the ACS in the existing Privacy Act system of
records, CENSUS-5, Population and Housing Census Records of the 2000
Census. Although the production version is being conducted under
Decennial Census authority Title 13, Section 141, the Census Bureau has
determined that the ACS should have a separate systems notice, CENSUS-
10, American Community Survey. The American Community Survey is an
ongoing monthly survey of about 250,000 households and an annual sample
of approximately 3 million residential addresses in the 50 states and
District of Columbia; and another 36,000 residential addresses in
Puerto Rico each year.
COMMERCE/CENSUS-10
System Name:
COMMERCE/CENSUS-10, American Community Survey.
Security Classification:
None.
System Location:
U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233;
Bureau of the Census, Bowie Computer Center, 17101 Melford Boulevard,
Bowie, Maryland 20715.
Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
All persons counted during the American Community Survey.
Participation in the American Community Survey is mandatory.
Categories of Records in the System:
Name, address, telephone number, age, sex, relationships, race,
Hispanic origin, housing tenure, marital status, income and employment
(income; labor force status; industry; occupation, and class of worker;
work status last year; and veteran status); education (school
enrollment and educational attainment); origins and language (including
ancestry; place of birth; citizenship, and year entry; and language
spoken at home); residence five years ago; disability; grandparents as
care-givers; place of work and journey to work. In addition, physical
characteristics of housing may include the year built, units in
structure, number of rooms, number of bedrooms, kitchen facilities,
plumbing facilities, telephone service availability, heating fuel, year
moved to unit, and farm residence; and vehicles available. Financial
characteristics of housing may include home value, selected monthly
owner costs, and rent.
Authority for Maintenance of the System:
13 U.S.C. 141 and 193.
Purpose(s):
The American Community Survey records are maintained to perform
methodological evaluations and enhancements for data collection and
quality control studies; and to undertake linkages with survey and
administrative data for statistical projects as authorized by law and
the U.S. Census Bureau.
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
None. These records are maintained and used solely for statistical
purposes and are confidential under Title 13 of the U.S.C. Sections 9
and 214. Publications do not contain data that could identify any
particular household or individual.
Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining,
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
Magnetic tape, on-line disk storage, CD-ROMs/DVD, server, and hard
disk.
Retrievability:
Information may be retrieved by name and address. Name and address
information are maintained separately from corresponding survey data
for privacy and confidentiality purposes.
Safeguards:
The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to respecting respondent
privacy and protecting confidentiality. Though the Data Stewardship
Program, we have implemented management, operational and technical
controls and practices to ensure high-level data protection to
respondents of our census and surveys: (1) All U.S. Census Bureau sworn
individuals are subject to the restrictions, penalties, and
prohibitions of Title 13 of the U.S.C., and all employees are annually
certified through training concerning the confidentiality of data; (2)
data sets released by the U.S. Census Bureau have been subjected to and
have successfully met criteria established by an internal Disclosure
Review Board to ensure no personally identifiable data is released; (3)
an unauthorized browsing policy protects respondent information from
casual or inappropriate use by any person with access to Title 13
protected data; and (4) all computer systems that maintain sensitive
information are in compliance with Common Criteria auditing, which
monitors all read, write, create, and delete access to restricted data.
Retention and Disposal:
American Community Survey respondent data, including personally
identifying data, are captured as images suitable for computer
processing. Original data sources are destroyed, according to the
disposal procedures for Title 13 (``census confidential'') records,
after confirmation of successful data capture and data transmission to
U.S. Census Bureau headquarters. Personally identified data are
scheduled for permanent retention.
System Manager(s) and Address:
Associate Director for Decennial Census, U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20233.
Notification Procedure:
None.
Records Access Procedures:
None.
Contesting Records Procedures:
None.
Records Source Categories:
U.S. Census Bureau surveys.
Exemptions Claimed for the System:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(4), this system of records is
exempted from the notification, access and contest requirements of the
agency procedures (under 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G),
(H) and (I), and (f)). This exemption is applicable as data are
maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau solely as statistical records as
required under Title 13 U.S.C. and are not used in whole or in part in
making any determination about an identifiable individual. This
exemption is made in accordance with the Department's rules, which
appear in 15 CFR part 4b.
Dated: June 16, 2006.
Brenda Dolan,
Departmental Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-5786 Filed 6-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P