[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47916-47918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23080]


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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY


Privacy Act Systems of Records; Amendment of Systems Notice

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice of amendment to Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Claim 
Files.

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SUMMARY: We (FEMA) are amending our existing system of records entitled 
FEMA/CGC-1, Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Claim Files by adding to the 
categories of records maintained in the system. We are specifically 
enumerating those types of documents (i.e., arbitration decisions, 
settlement/mediation agreements, and other documents related to the 
arbitration or settlement process) generated under the alternative 
remedial schemes, in order to reflect the claimant's option following 
appeal to invoke binding arbitration or judicial review.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The modifications to this system are effective 
September 14, 2001.

ADDRESSES: We invite comments on these modifications to the systems 
notice. Please send any comments to the Rules Docket Clerk, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, Office of the General Counsel, room 840, 
500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472, or (e-mail) [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen Leshan, FOIA/Privacy 
Specialist, at (202) 646-4115, or (e-mail) [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We previously published notice of FEMA/CGC-
1, Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Claim Files system of records on August 
28, 2000 at 65 FR 52116-52118.
    As required by 5 U.S.C. 552(r) and Appendix 1 to OMB Circular A-
130, we are simultaneously submitting this notice of altered system of 
records to the Committee on Government Operations of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
and to the Office of Management and Budget.
    Accordingly, we revise FEMA/CGC-1 of the FEMA Privacy Act system of 
records to read as follows:
FEMA CGC-1

System Name:
    FEMA/CGC-1, Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act Claim Files.

Security Classification:
    Unclassified.

[[Page 47917]]

System Location:
    Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Claims Office, New Mexico.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Injured parties claiming compensation for injury to person, 
property, and economic losses resulting from the Cerro Grande fire of 
May 2000, and subrogees of such injured parties.

Categories of Records in the System:
    (a) Records of claims include names, addresses, telephone numbers, 
nature and amount of claim, insurance coverage information, and 
evidence to support claim for the purpose of receiving compensation.
    (b) Inspection and appraisal reports containing identification 
information relating to the claim and results of survey of damaged 
property and goods.
    (c) Supporting medical documentation.
    (d) Notice of Loss forms, Proof of Loss forms, documents from other 
agencies relating to the claim, general administrative and fiscal 
information, payment schedules, and disposition of claims, general 
correspondence, including requests for disbursement of payments, 
contracts, leases, estimates for repair or replacement of fire damaged/ 
destroyed residence or business.
    (e) Claim decisions and appeals.
    (f) Arbitration decisions, settlement/mediation agreements, and 
other documents related to the arbitration or settlement process.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act, Pub. L. 106-246, 106th Congress, 
2d Session (2000), 114 Stat. 511, 584.

Purpose(s):
    To register claims, evaluate and verify information provided by 
claimants, inspect damaged property, make determinations for 
compensation, and make determinations on claims relating to reasonable 
mitigation efforts that reduce the risk of wildfire, flood, or other 
natural disasters in the affected counties.

Routine Uses Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of 
Users and the Purposes of Such Act:
    The Privacy Act permits us to disclose information about 
individuals without their consent for a routine use, i.e., when the 
information will be used for a purpose that is compatible with the 
purpose for which we collected the information. The routine uses of 
this system are:
    (a) Disclosure may be made to agency contractors who have been 
engaged to assist the agency in the performance of a contract service 
related to this system of records and who need to have access to the 
records in order to perform the activity. Recipients must comply with 
the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 USC 552a.
    (b) Disclosure may be made to a member of Congress or to a 
Congressional staff member in response to an inquiry of the 
Congressional office made at the written request of the constituent 
about whom the record is maintained.
    (c) Disclosure may be made to other Federal agencies that FEMA has 
determined provided Cerro Grande fire-related assistance to claimant in 
order to ensure that benefits are not duplicated.
    (d) Disclosure of information submitted by an individual Claimant 
may be made to an insurance company or other third party that has 
submitted a subrogation claim relating to such Claimant when it is 
necessary in FEMA's opinion to ensure that benefits are not duplicated 
and to efficiently coordinate the processing of claims brought by 
individuals and subrogees.
    (e) Disclosure of property loss information may be made to local 
governments in Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe counties 
and the Pueblos of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara for the purpose of 
preparing community-wide mitigation plans.
    (f) When a record on its face, or in conjunction with other 
records, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether 
civil, criminal or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general 
statute or particular program statute, or by regulation, rule, or order 
issued pursuant thereto, disclosure may be made to the appropriate 
agency, whether Federal, foreign, State, local, or tribal or other 
public authority responsible for enforcing, investigating or 
prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, or rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, if 
the information disclosed is relevant to any enforcement, regulatory, 
investigative or prosecutive responsibility of the receiving entity.
    (g) Disclosure may be made to the National Archives and Records 
Administration for the purpose of conducting records management studies 
under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies:
    Disclosures under 5 U.S.C. 552a (b)(12): Disclosures may be made 
from this system to ``consumer reporting agencies'' as defined in the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f).

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored in magnetic media (e.g., computer 
hard drives and computer disks) and on paper. Paper printouts of these 
data are made when required for study. The system may also contain 
photocopies of numerous documents and records, which are filed in 
appropriate file folders.

Retrievability:
    By name, address, and claim number.

Safeguards:
    We will employ a number of security measures to minimize the risk 
of unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal data in the 
proposed system. These measures include the use of passwords and access 
codes to enter the computer system which will maintain the data, and 
storage of the computerized records and paper records in secured areas 
that are accessible only to employees who require the information in 
performing their official duties. Paper documents are stored either in 
lockable file cabinets within locked rooms or in otherwise secured 
areas. In addition, we will require contract employees to comply with 
the safeguards that must be followed to protect the data.

Retention and Disposal:
    The files are maintained at the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Claims 
Office until completion of a claim. After such time, the files will be 
transferred to FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC for three years, 
and then they will be transferred to the appropriate Federal Records 
Center for seven years until they are destroyed. Means of disposal are 
appropriate to the storage medium (e.g., erasure of disks, shredding of 
paper records, etc.)

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Director, Cerro Grande Fire Administration Office, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, 1549 6th Street, Suite H, Santa Fe, NM 
87505; and Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of the General 
Counsel, room 840, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472.

Notification Procedures:
    An individual can find out whether this system of records contains 
information about him/her by writing to the system manager at the 
address

[[Page 47918]]

shown above and providing his/her name and address. Inquiries should be 
addressed to the System Manager. Written requests should be clearly 
marked, ``Privacy Act Request'' on the envelope and letter. Include 
full name, some type of appropriate personal identification, and 
current address.
    When requesting notification of records in person, the individual 
should be able to provide some acceptable identification, such as a 
driver's license, passport, employing office's identification card, 
military identification card, student identification card or other 
identification data.

Records Access Procedures:
    Same as notification procedures described above. Individuals 
requesting access to their records should also reasonably describe the 
record(s) they are seeking.

Contesting Records Procedure:
    Same as notification procedures described above. Individuals 
contesting the contents of a record in the system should also 
reasonably describe the record(s), specify the information being 
contested, and state the corrective action sought with supporting 
justification showing how the record is untimely, incomplete, 
inaccurate, or irrelevant. FEMA Privacy Act regulations are located at 
44 CFR part 6.

Record Source Categories:
    We obtain information in this system from claimants seeking 
compensation under the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act, Pub. L. 106-
246, attorneys, claims adjusters, inspectors and appraisers, insurance 
companies, medical officials, and Federal, State, and local agencies.

System Exemptions From Certain Provisions of the Act:
    None.

Jordan Fried,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 01-23080 Filed 9-13-01; 8:45 am]
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