[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4195-4197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1923]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 10

[Docket No. OST-96-1472]
RIN: 2105-AC68


Privacy Act; Implementation

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: DOT amends its rules implementing the Privacy Act of 1974 to 
exempt from certain provisions of the Act the Coast Guard's Marine 
Safety Information System.

DATES: This amendment is effective February 27, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert I. Ross, Office of the General 
Counsel, C-10, Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 20590, 
telephone (202) 366-9156, FAX (202) 366-9170.

[[Page 4196]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

    On November 28, 1997, the Department published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking entitled, Privacy Act; Implementation in the Federal 
Register (62 FR 63304). The Department did not receive any comments on 
the proposed rulemaking.

Background

    The Coast Guard's Marine Safety Information System (MSIS) collects 
selected information on commercial and/or documented vessels operating 
in US waters, and collects and manages the data needed to monitor the 
safety performance of maritime vessels and facilities with which the 
Coast Guard comes into contact while performing its marine safety 
functions. It also monitors the identities of individuals and 
corporations that own or operate these vessels, and, if appropriate, 
aids the Coast Guard to develop law enforcement actions against such 
vessels, facilities, individuals, and corporations.
    MSIS consolidates information from three other Coast Guard Privacy 
Act record systems: DOT/CG 561, Port Safety Reporting System 
(Individual Violation Histories); and DOT/CG 587, Investigations of 
Violations of Marine Safety Laws, and the automated, but not the 
manual, portions of DOT/CG 590, Merchant Vessel Casualty Reporting 
System. It also encompasses the automated, but not the manual, portions 
of DOT/CG 591, Merchant Vessel Documentation System.
    Because of the capability to retrieve information by the names or 
other unique identifiers of individuals, MSIS is subject to the Privacy 
Act, which imposes many restrictions on the use and dissemination of 
information in the system. However, because MSIS can be used for law 
enforcement purposes, it is exempted from some of these restrictions.
    This rule is being published as a final rule and is being made 
effective on February 15, 1998. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, good cause 
exists for promulgating this rule and for making this rule effective 
less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The Coast 
Guard is scheduled to commence Operational Testing and Evaluation for 
the Vessel Identification System (VIS), a congressionally mandated 
project, on February 15, 1998. VIS will incorporate specific vessel 
documentation information from the MSIS. The completion of this 
operational test is essential to the deployment of the VIS. Making the 
final rule effective at the time of the commencement of the operational 
test will significantly improve the transition to the VIS and negate 
any unintended consequences of not meeting the Congressional Mandate. 
Delaying the test may have adverse effects on the development and 
implementation of the VIS. Further, because the test will only involve 
a limited number of state administrators, and the information contained 
in VIS will be destroyed following the completion of the test, no 
adverse impacts are expected. For these reasons, the Coast Guard finds 
good cause, under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), that the effective date of this 
rule should be made effective in less than 30 days after publication.

Privacy Act exemption

    Under subsection (k) of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a(k)), qualifying 
records may be exempted from various provisions of the Act. Among these 
provisions are the requirement in subsection (c)(3) to maintain an 
accounting of disclosures of information from a system of records and 
make that accounting available on request to the record subject; in 
subsection (d) to grant to a record subject access to information 
maintained on him/her under the Act; in subsection (e)(1) to maintain 
only such information as is relevant and necessary to accomplish a 
purpose of the agency under statute or Executive Order; in subsection 
(e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), and (e)(4)(I) to advise record subjects of the 
agency procedures to request if a system of records contains records 
pertaining to them, how they can gain access to such records and 
contest their content, and the categories of sources of such records; 
and in subsection (f) to establish rules governing the procedures 
above.
    Under Subsection (k)(2) of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a(k)(2)), 
investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes, other 
than material encompassed within Subsection (j)(2), may be exempted 
from these provisions, and DOT proposes to exempt MSIS accordingly; 
however, if an individual would be denied any right, privilege, or 
benefit to which he/she would otherwise be entitled by Federal law, of 
for which he/she would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the 
maintenance of such material, such material shall be provided to such 
individual, except to the extent that the disclosure of such material 
would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the 
Government under an express promise that the identity of the source 
would be held in confidence.
    DOT proposed to exempt MSIS from these provisions and invited 
public comment; none was received. DOT therefore is making its proposal 
final as written.

Analysis of regulatory impacts

    This rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' within the 
meaning of Executive Order 12866. It is also not significant within the 
definition in DOT's Regulatory Policies and Procedures, 49 FR 11034 
(1979), in part because it does not involve any change in important 
Departmental policies. Because the economic impact should be minimal, 
further regulatory evaluation is not necessary. Moreover, I certify 
that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities, because the reporting 
requirements, themselves, are not changed and because it applies only 
to information on individuals.
    This rule does not significantly affect the environment, and 
therefore an environmental impact statement is not required under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It has also been reviewed 
under Executive Order 12612, Federalism, and it has been determined 
that it does not have sufficient implications for federalism to warrant 
preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Collection of Information

    This rule contains no collection of information requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Unfunded Mandates

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), (Pub. 
L. 104-4, 109 Stat. 48), requires Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of certain regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments, and the private sector. UMRA requires a written statement 
of economic and regulatory alternatives for proposed and final rules 
that contain Federal mandates. A ``Federal mandate,'' is a new or 
additional enforceable duty, imposed on any State, local, or tribal 
government, or the private sector. If any Federal mandate causes those 
entities, to spend, in aggregate, $100 million or more in any one year 
the UMRA analysis is required. This rule does not impose Federal 
mandates on any State, local or tribal governments or the private 
sector.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 10

    Penalties, Privacy.
    Accordingly, DOT amends 49 CFR part 10 as follows:

PART 10--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation to part 10 continues to read as follows:


[[Page 4197]]


    Authority: 5 USC 552a; 49 USC 322.

    2. Part II.A of the Appendix is amended by republishing the 
introductory text and by adding a new paragraph 16, to read as follows:
* * * * *

APPENDIX TO PART 10--EXEMPTIONS

* * * * *
Part II. Specific exemptions.

    A. The following systems of records are exempt from subsection 
(c)(3) (Accounting of Certain Disclosures), (d) (Access to Records), 
(e)(4)(G), (H), and (I) (Agency Requirements), and (f) (Agency 
Rules) of 5 USC 552a, to the extent that they contain investigatory 
material compiled for law enforcement purposes in accordance with 5 
USC 552a(k)(2):
* * * * *
    16. Marine Safety Information System, maintained by the 
Operations Systems Center, U.S. Coast Guard (DOT/CG 588). The 
purpose of this exemption is to prevent persons who are the subjects 
of criminal investigations from learning too early in the 
investigative process that they are subjects, what information there 
is in Coast Guard files that indicates that they may have committed 
unlawful conduct, and who provided such information.
* * * * *
    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1998.
Rodney Slater,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 98-1923 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P