[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1294-1295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-191]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 10

[Docket No. OST-96-1437; Notice 2000-1]
RIN 2105-AC57


Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: DOT proposes to exempt from certain provisions of the Privacy 
Act the record system designed to assist in finding Suspected 
Unapproved Parts used in aviation, and a record system used to manage 
the flow of data about commercial motor carriers. An editorial 
correction is also proposed to some existing language. Public comment 
is invited.

DATES: Comments are due February 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Documentary Services 
Division, Attention: Docket Section, Room PL401, Docket No. OST-96-
1437, Department of Transportation, SVC-124, Washington, DC 20590-0001. 
Any person wishing acknowledgment that his/her comments have been 
received should include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Comments 
received will be available for public inspection and copying in the 
Documentary Services Division, Room PL401, Department of Transportation 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, from 9 AM to 5 PM ET 
Monday through Friday except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne Coates, S-80, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 
20590-0001; telephone: 202-366-6964; fax: 202-366-7024; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aviation. To assist in the ongoing campaign 
of the Department's Federal Aviation Administration against defective 
and dangerous parts being used in aircraft, DOT is establishing a 
Privacy Act record system in which evidence will be gathered as 
investigations are conducted (DOT/FAA 852 Suspected Unapproved Parts 
(SUP) Program). Motor Carriage. The recent establishment of DOT's 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has led to the development 
of a management information system (Motor Carrier Management 
Information System, DOT/FMCSA 001) that will encompass, among other 
things, safety investigations of commercial motor carriers and of their 
drivers. In both instances, investigations can result in criminal 
prosecutions. To facilitate the cooperation of persons who have 
information relevant to these investigations and who ask for 
confidentiality as a condition of their providing that information, DOT 
proposes to exempt these systems from subsections (c)(3) (Accounting 
for Certain Disclosures), (d) (Access to Records), (e)(4)(G), (H), and 
(I) (Agency Requirements), and (f) (Agency Rules) of the Privacy Act, 5 
USC 552a. If we do not exempt this system from these provisions, 
persons who are subjects of investigation will be able to learn that 
they are and who has provided information about them, both of which 
could well frustrate any investigation.
    Finally, in the Appendix, a reference to subsection (e)(4)(I) was 
inadvertently omitted from, and section (g) was inadvertently included 
in explanatory paragraph 2 at the end of, paragraph A.

List of subjects in 49 CFR Part 10

    Privacy.
    Accordingly, DOT proposes to amend the Appendix of Part 10 of 49 
CFR as follows:
    1. The authority citation for Part 10 continues to read as follows:


    Authority: 5 USC 552a; 49 USC 322.

    2. Part II A. of the Appendix is amended by adding new paragraphs 
17 and 18, and by revising the first sentence of explanatory paragraph 
2 to read as follows:
* * * * *
    Part II. Specific Exemptions.
    A. The following systems of records are exempt from subsections 
(c)(3) (Accounting of Certain Disclosures), (d) (Access to Records, 
(e)(4)(G), (H), (I) (Agency Requirements) and (f) (Agency rules) of 
5 USC 552a, to the extent that they contain investigatory material 
for law enforcement purposes in accordance with 5 USC 552a(k)(2):
    17. Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUP) Program, maintained by the 
Federal Aviation Administration (DOT/FAA 852).
    18. Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), 
maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (DOT/
FMCSA 001).
    These exemptions are justified for the following reasons:
* * * * *

[[Page 1295]]

    2. From subsections (d), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f), 
because granting an individual access to investigative records, and 
granting him/her access to investigative records with that 
information, could interfere with the overall law enforcement 
process by revealing a pending sensitive investigation, possibly 
identify a confidential source, disclose information that would 
constitute an unwarranted invasion of another individual's personal 
privacy, reveal a sensitive investigative technique, or constitute a 
potential danger to the health or safety of law enforcement 
personnel. * * *

    Dated: December 28, 2000.
Eugene K. Taylor, Jr.,
Deputy Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 01-191 Filed 1-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-M