[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 84 (Wednesday, April 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23412-23414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9419]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. APHIS-2007-0015]


Privacy Act Systems of Records; APHIS National Animal 
Identification System (NAIS)

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of a proposed new system of records; request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposes to add a system of 
records to its inventory of records systems. The system of records 
being proposed is the APHIS National Animal Identification System 
(NAIS). This notice is necessary to meet the requirements of the 
Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence 
and character of record systems maintained by the agency.
    Although the Privacy Act requires only that the portion of the 
system that describes ``routine uses'' of the system be published for 
comment, we invite comment on all portions of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: This system will be adopted without further 
notice on June 9, 2008 unless modified to respond to comments received 
from the public and published in a subsequent notice.
    Comment date: Comments must be received, in writing, on or before 
May 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main= 
DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0015, and follow the instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Docket No. APHIS-2007-
0015, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 
4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
    Docket: You may view comments we receive at the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal (Web address above) or in our reading room. The reading room is 
located in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure 
someone is there to help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Vince Chapman, Program Analyst, 
National Animal Identification System, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
200, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-0739.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), requires 
agencies to publish in the Federal Register notice of new or revised 
systems of records maintained by the agency. A system of records is a 
group of any records under the control of any agency, from which 
information is retrieved by the name of an individual or by some 
identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to 
an individual.
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to add a new system of 
records, entitled the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), 
that will be used to maintain a record of activities conducted by the 
agency pursuant to its mission and responsibilities authorized by the 
Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.). The NAIS is a 
cooperative State-Federal-industry program administered by APHIS. The 
NAIS is a streamlined information system that helps producers and 
animal health officials respond quickly and effectively to animal 
disease events in the United States. The goal of NAIS, for which 
participation at the Federal level is voluntary, is to have the 
information necessary to trace all animals associated with an incident 
of an animal disease within 48 hours in order to limit disease spread 
and thereby reduce the impact of disease on America's agricultural 
producers.
    The first component of the program, premises registration, is well 
underway and the second component, animal identification, is being 
implemented for several species. The third component, animal tracing, 
is currently under development with USDA's State and industry partners. 
Industry, through private systems, and States will manage the animal 
tracking databases that maintain the movement records of animals. These 
information systems will provide the location of a subject animal and 
the records of other animals that the subject animal came into contact 
with at each premises, should such information be requested in response 
to a disease event or other activity as defined in the agreement with 
the organization that maintains the animal tracking database.
    USDA's portion of this information system consists of the 
Standardized Premises Registration System (SPRS), the National Premises 
Information Repository (NPIR), the Animal Identification Number 
Management System (AINMS), and the Animal Trace Processing System 
(ATPS). These components of the NAIS facilitate the registration of 
premises where livestock and poultry are housed or kept and the 
identification of animals or groups of animals. They also allow Federal 
and State efforts to obtain access to animal movement information held 
in State and private animal tracking databases when such information is 
needed to investigate an animal disease event.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses

    APHIS may routinely share information contained in USDA's portion 
of the NAIS with Federal and State animal health officials during an 
incident of an animal disease, bioterrorism, or other animal health 
event. APHIS may disseminate information to Federal and State animal 
health officials within the system for educational purposes and to 
obtain feedback regarding the NAIS program and emergency preparedness 
guidelines. Other routine uses of this information include releases 
related to investigations pertaining to violations of law or related to 
litigation. A complete listing of the routine uses for this system is 
included in this notice.
    The information collection requests associated with this system 
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Title and Business Address of the Agency Official Responsible for the 
System of Record

    Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250.

[[Page 23413]]

Report on a New System of Records

    A report on the new system of records, required by 5 U.S.C. 
552a(r), as implemented by OMB Circular A-130, was sent to the 
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
United States Senate; the Chairman, Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives; and the 
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget.

    Dated: April 17, 2008.
Edward T. Schafer,
Secretary.


System name:
    National Animal Identification System (NAIS), USDA-APHIS-16.
    This system consists of the Standardized Premises Registration 
System (SPRS), the National Premises Information Repository (NPIR), the 
Animal Identification Number Management System (AINMS), and the Animal 
Trace Processing System (ATPS).

Security classification:
    None.

System location:
    The master data for the NAIS reside on servers in the computer room 
at the USDA National Information Technology Center in Kansas City, MO. 
A backup site for the data is located at the APHIS Centers for 
Epidemiology and Animal Health in Ft. Collins, CO.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Livestock producers and individuals who are responsible for the 
care of livestock and poultry; individuals who are the contact person 
for locations where animals are marketed, assembled, exhibited, 
treated, processed, etc.; manufacturers of animal identification 
devices; and companies that maintain animal tracking databases.

Categories of records in the system:
    Records may include name of entity; contact person for premises; 
street address of premises, including city, State and postal code; 
latitude/longitude coordinates or global positioning system (GPS) 
coordinates of the premises; telephone number(s) and e-mail address of 
contact person for premises; type of operation (e.g., production, 
market, exhibition, or slaughter plant); the date the premises 
registration was activated; the date the premises registration was 
retired; and the reason the registration was retired; animal 
identification numbers, premises identification numbers, and 
nonproducer participant numbers. Animal identification number tag 
manufacturers and companies providing animal tracking data may be 
required to provide business internet address (URL).

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The authority for maintenance of this system is the Animal Health 
Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.).

Purpose(s):
    The NAIS is a cooperative State-Federal-industry program 
administered by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The NAIS is an information 
system that will help producers and animal health officials respond 
quickly and effectively to animal disease events in the United States. 
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, records maintained in the system may be 
disclosed outside USDA as follows:
    (1) To Federal and State animal health officials in order to 
contain and respond to a foreign animal disease event, bioterrorism, or 
other animal health event. Use of the information contained in the NAIS 
aids in the determination of the origin of an incident of an animal 
disease and in the location of exposed and potentially exposed animals;
    (2) To Federal and State animal health officials within the system 
to obtain feedback regarding the NAIS program and emergency 
preparedness guidelines; to educate and involve them in program 
development, program requirements, and standards of conduct; and to 
validate such information;
    (3) To the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local, or 
foreign, charged with responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a 
violation of law or of enforcing, implementing, or complying with a 
statute, rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, of any 
record within this system when information available indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or 
regulatory in nature, and either arising by general statute or 
particular program statute, or by rule, regulation, or court order 
issued pursuant thereto;
    (4) To the Department of Justice when the agency, or any component 
thereof, or any employee of the agency in his or her official capacity, 
or any employee of the agency in his or her individual capacity where 
the Department of Justice has agreed to represent the employee or the 
United States, in litigation, where the agency determines that 
litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its components, is 
a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the 
use of such records by the Department of Justice is deemed by the 
agency to be relevant and necessary to the litigation; provided, 
however, that in each case, the agency determines that disclosure of 
the records to the Department of Justice is a use of the information 
contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which 
the records were collected;
    (5) For use in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body 
before which the agency is authorized to appear, when the agency, or 
any component thereof, or any employee of the agency in his or her 
official capacity, or any employee of the agency in his or her 
individual capacity where the agency has agreed to represent the 
employee, or the United States, where the agency determines that 
litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its components, is 
a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the 
agency determines that use of such records is relevant and necessary to 
the litigation; provided, however, that in each case, the agency 
determines that disclosure of the records to the court is a use of the 
information contained in the records that is compatible with the 
purpose for which the records were collected;
    (6) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when the agency 
suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of 
information in the system of records has been compromised; the agency 
has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed 
compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, a 
risk of identity theft or fraud, or a risk of harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by the agency or another agency or entity) that rely upon 
the compromised information; and the disclosure made to such agencies, 
entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection 
with the agency's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm;
    (7) To contractors and other parties engaged to assist in 
administering the program. Such contractors and other parties will be 
bound by the

[[Page 23414]]

nondisclosure provisions of the Privacy Act. This routine use assists 
the agency in carrying out the program, and thus is compatible with the 
purpose for which the records are created and maintained;
    (8) To USDA contractors, partner agency employees or contractors, 
or private industry employed to identify patterns, trends or anomalies 
indicative of fraud, waste, or abuse. Such contractors and other 
parties will be bound by the nondisclosure provisions of the Privacy 
Act; and
    (9) To the National Archives and Records Administration or to the 
General Services Administration for records management inspections 
conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    The electronic master data for the NAIS is stored on servers. All 
servers for the NAIS are backed up nightly. Backup media is taken 
weekly to an offsite storage facility and stored on tape.

Retrievability:
    Data can be retrieved by animal identification number, premises 
identification number, premises address, and name of contact person for 
the premises.

Safeguards:
    The data is kept in a secure environment accessible only by 
authorized users provided a user ID and password by USDA personnel. The 
computer room has safeguards that limit physical access. Electronic 
users are required to obtain USDA Level 2 eAuthentication credentials, 
and user roles limit access to the data. Access is monitored by USDA 
officials to ensure authorized and appropriate use of the data.

Retention and disposal:
    Electronic NAIS data is currently retained on the servers for an 
indefinite time.

System manager(s) and address:
    Senior Staff Officer--NAIS Coordinator, Veterinary Services, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737.

Notification procedure:
    Any individual may request general information regarding this 
system of records or information as to whether the system contains 
records pertaining to him/her from the system manager at the address 
above. All inquiries pertaining to this system should be in writing, 
must name the system of records as set forth in the system notice, and 
must contain the individual's name, telephone number, address, and e-
mail address.

Record access procedures:
    Any individual may obtain information from a record in the system 
that pertains to him or her. Requests for hard copies of records should 
be in writing, and the request must contain the requesting individual's 
name, address, name of the system of records, timeframe for the records 
in question, any other pertinent information to help identify the file, 
and a copy of his/her photo identification containing a current address 
for verification of identification. All inquiries should be addressed 
to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Staff, Legislative and 
Public Affairs, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 50, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1232.

Contesting record procedures:
    Any individual may contest information contained within a record in 
the system that pertains to him/her by submitting a written request to 
the system manager at the address above. Include the reason for 
contesting the record and the proposed amendment to the information 
with supporting documentation to show how the record is inaccurate.

Record source categories:
    Information in the NAIS comes from members of the public, either 
individuals or businesses, involved in or supporting the production, 
management, or holding of livestock or poultry.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

 [FR Doc. E8-9419 Filed 4-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P