[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57254-57255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21490]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[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, [email protected]. (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, [email protected], 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. [email protected], 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]
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