[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 56 (Thursday, March 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15086-15088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5823]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Docket No. OEI-2005-0001; FRL-7889-4]


Establishment of a New System of Records Notice for the Federal 
Docket Management System

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a) the EPA, as managing partner of the Federal-wide 
eRulemaking, eGovernment Initiative, is giving notice that it proposes 
to establish a government-wide system of records, the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS). The FDMS allows the public to search, view, 
download, and comment on all Federal agency rulemaking documents in one 
central online system.

DATES: The proposed notice will be effective without further notice on 
May 3, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Questions regarding this notice should be referred to 
Valerie Brecher-Kovacevic at U.S. EPA, Office of Environmental 
Information, M/C 2282V, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460, 202-632-0339, or via e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Micielli, 
[email protected], 202-632-0350, U.S. EPA, Office of 
Environmental Information, M/C 2282V, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

    The FDMS serves as a central, electronic repository for all Federal 
rulemaking dockets, which include Federal Register notices, supporting 
materials such as scientific or economic analyses, and public comments, 
as well as non-rulemaking dockets. The FDMS is a system used by all 
Federal agencies that conduct rulemakings. Each agency is responsible 
for managing its own docket and rulemaking documents. An agency may 
share documents with other agencies or persons in addition to making 
them available to the public on the FDMS Web site. Each agency has sole 
responsibility for the documents submitted in support of their 
rulemakings and these documents will be processed by the individual 
agencies.
    On behalf of the Federal partner agencies, EPA is publishing this 
new system of record notice as the Program Manager (PMO) for the E-
Government, eRulemaking Initiative's FDMS, in order to satisfy the 
applicable requirements of the Privacy Act. There will be instances 
when a person using FDMS to submit a comment or supporting materials on 
a Federal rulemaking must provide name and contact information (e-mail 
or mailing address) as required by an agency, or, a person may have the 
option to do so, if they would like an agency to contact them regarding 
a comment (e.g. if the agency experiences a problem receiving the 
comment or needs additional information). A comment that meets all 
requirements, as determined by the Federal agency publishing the 
rulemaking, will be posted on the Internet (FDMS Web site) for public 
viewing and all the contents of the posted comment will be searchable. 
The FDMS is a system with full text search capability, which would 
include any name and contact information submitted in or as part of a 
comment. Each agency has the opportunity to review the data it receives 
as part of its rulemakings. An agency may choose to keep certain types 
of information contained in a comment submission from being posted 
publicly, while preserving the entire document to be reviewed and 
considered as part of the rulemaking docket. For example, comments 
containing material whose disclosure is restricted by Federal statute, 
such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), 
may not be publicly posted, but will be retained and evaluated/
considered by the receiving agency. Each agency manages, accesses, and 
controls the information in the FDMS that is submitted to that 
particular agency and also maintains the sole ability to disclose the 
data submitted to that particular agency.
    The FDMS contains information that is submitted in support of 
Federal rulemakings, only a limited portion of which is covered under 
the Privacy Act. The portion of this system that comes under the Act 
includes the information received by agencies that require or accept 
personal identifying information (name and contact address/e-mail 
address). It will be apparent whether or not an agency requires this 
information. There will be set fields to be filled out on the comment 
page and clear notification as to whether the information is required 
or optional. There will be agencies that do not place these fields on 
the comment page as they do not require or offer to collect this 
information. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OEI-
2005-0001, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET is 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system. Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: OEI Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: OEI Docket, EPA/ DC, EPA West, Room B102, 
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,

[[Page 15087]]

DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours 
of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays), and special arrangements should be made for deliveries 
of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OEI-2005-0001. 
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-
mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the federal regulations.gov websites are 
``anonymous access'' systems, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD--ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index 
at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard 
copy at the Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Comments

    On request, the docket center will supply an appropriate aid, such 
as a reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, you may call 202-566-1744. If you use 
a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-
8339.

    Dated: March 18, 2005.
Kimberly T. Nelson,
Assistant Administrator and Chief Information Officer.
EPA-GOVT-2

System Name:
    Federal Docket Management System (FDMS).

Security Classification:
    None.

System Location:
    U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Any person--including public citizens and representatives of 
Federal, state or local governments, businesses, and industries, that 
provide personal information while submitting a comment or supporting 
materials on a Federal agency rulemaking.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Agency rulemaking material. This includes but is not limited to: 
pending Federal Register publications; supporting rulemaking 
documentation; scientific and financial studies; and public comments 
received.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    Section 206(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, 44 
U.S.C. Ch 36).

Purpose(s):
    To assist the Federal government in allowing the public to search, 
view, download, and comment on Federal agency's rulemaking documents in 
one central location on-line.

Routine uses of Records Maintained in the System Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    This notice covers the following general uses contained within 
FDMS: Disclosure for Law Enforcement Purposes; Disclosure Incident to 
Requesting Information; Disclosure to Requesting Agency; Disclosure to 
Office of Management and Budget; Disclosure to Congressional Offices; 
Disclosure to Department of Justice; Disclosure to the National 
Archives; Disclosure to Contractors, Grantees, and Others; Disclosures 
for Administrative Claims; Complaints and Appeals, and Disclosure in 
Connection with Litigation. Agencies must file a separate notice if 
they release Privacy Act information in a manner that does not fall 
under one of the above routine uses.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records will be maintained in computer databases compliant with DOD 
5015.2 electronic records standards.

Retrievability:
    The FDMS will have the ability to retrieve records by various data 
elements and key word searches, among which are by: Name, Agency, 
Docket Type, Docket Sub-Type, Agency Docket ID, Docket Title, Docket 
Category, Document Type, CFR Part, Date Comment Received, and Federal 
Register Published Date.

Safeguards:
    FDMS security protocols will meet multiple NIST Security Standards 
from Authentication to Certification and Accreditation. Records in the 
FDMS will be maintained in a secure, password protected electronic 
system that will utilize security hardware and software to include: 
Multiple firewalls, active intruder detection, and role-based access 
controls. Additional safeguards will vary by agency.

Retention and Disposal:
    Each Federal agency will handle its records in accordance with its 
records schedule as approved by the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA). Electronic data will be retained and disposed of 
in accordance with the agency's records schedule pending approval by 
the NARA. The majority of documents residing on this system will be 
public comments and other documentation in support of federal 
rulemakings. All Federal Register publications are part of the FDMS and 
are identified as permanent records and retained by NARA.

System Manager(s) Address and Contact Information:
    Oscar Morales, Collection Strategies Division, Office of 
Information

[[Page 15088]]

Collection, Office of Environmental Information, U.S. EPA, M/C 2282V, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460

Notification Procedure:
    Any individual who wants to know whether this system of records 
contains a record about him or her, who wants access to his or her 
record, or who wants to contest the contents of a record, should 
contact the appropriate agency contact as indicated on the Federal 
Register notice or other document to which the information in question 
is linked.

Record Access Procedures:
    Requesters will be required to provide adequate identification, 
such as a driver's license, employee identification card, or other 
identifying document. Additional identification procedures may be 
required in some instances in accordance with each agency's Privacy Act 
regulations; and may be specified in an agency's Federal Register 
notices.

Contesting Records Procedures:
    Requests for correction or amendment must identify the record to be 
changed and the corrective action sought. Requests must be submitted to 
the agency contact indicated on the initial document for which the 
related contested record was submitted.

Record Source Categories:
    Any person, including public citizens and representatives of 
Federal, state or local governments; businesses; and industries.

System Exempted From Certain Provisions of the Act:
    None.
[FR Doc. 05-5823 Filed 3-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P