[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2060-2062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-614]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9618-3; EPA-HQ-OEI-2011-0551]


Amendment of the System of Records for Records of Pesticide 
Applicators Certified Under EPA-Administered Certification Plans (EPA-
59)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of 
Pesticide Programs, Field and External Affairs Division, is giving 
notice that it proposes to amend an existing system of records that 
contains personally identifiable information (PII) which is collected 
in the process of certifying individuals to apply restricted use 
pesticides (RUPs) as private or commercial applicators. This amendment 
gives notice that the Agency plans to make the name of the applicator 
and information pertaining to the certification granted by EPA publicly 
available on an EPA Web site.

DATES: Effective Dates: Persons wishing to comment on this system of 
records notice must do so by February 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OEI-2011-0551, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]
     Fax: (202) 566-1752.
     Mail: OEI Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West Building, Room 
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2011-0551. EPA's policy is that all comments

[[Page 2061]]

received will be included in the public docket without change and may 
be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed 
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information for 
which disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through 
www.regulations.gov. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov your email 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. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the 
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
for which disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, 
such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard 
copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI 
Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West Building, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Zinn, Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Field & External Affairs Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mail Code 7506P, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (703) 308-7076.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has created a Privacy Act 
system of records to document the Agency's decisions on applications 
filed requesting certification to apply restricted use pesticides (RUP) 
under certification plans administered by EPA regional offices or the 
Office of Pesticide Programs, as described in 75 FR 49489 (August 13, 
2010). This system of records, entitled ``Records of Pesticide 
Applicators Certified Under EPA-Administered Certification Plans,'' 
covers the following types of information: (1) Contact information 
(e.g., name, address, telephone number, email address); (2) 
identification information (e.g., birth date, proof of identification 
(e.g., driver's license no.)), physical description (e.g., height, 
weight, gender, race)); (3) certification information (e.g., EPA 
certified applicator number, certification type (private or 
commercial), certification categories (e.g., aerial, aquatic, 
fumigation), certification issuance and expiration dates, and (4) 
information regarding qualifications (e.g., scores from EPA 
certification examinations; records of training and continuing 
education; state, tribal or other federal agency certification 
number(s), types, categories, issuance and expiration dates; records of 
compliance with federal, state and tribal pesticide laws). This 
information is provided by the pesticide applicators applying for EPA 
certification or it is generated during the certification process.
    Records covered by this system of record notice are subject to 
Agency-wide security requirements governing all Privacy Act database 
systems at EPA. As described in the August 13, 2010 FR notice, system 
administrators may disclose certain personal information (e.g., names, 
addresses, EPA certification numbers, categories of certification) upon 
request as described in the section describing routine uses of records 
maintained in the system. The Tribal Pesticide Program Council and 
other tribes requested EPA to make certain information available online 
to facilitate their ability to confirm private and commercial 
certifications. The Agency plans to publish only the name, zip code and 
certification information for private applicators.

    Dated: January 3, 2012.
Malcom D. Jackson,
Assistant Administrator and Chief Information Officer.
EPA-59

System Name:
    Records of Pesticide Applicators Certified Under EPA-Administered 
Certification Plans

System Location:
    USEPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Field & External Affairs 
Division, Mail Code 7506P, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460, and other EPA offices authorized by the Field & External Affairs 
Division to maintain portions of the system.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Persons certified or seeking certification to apply restricted use 
pesticides (RUPs) under Certification Plans administered by EPA.

Categories of Records in the System:
    (a) Contact information (e.g., name, address, telephone number, 
email address).
    (b) Identification information (e.g., birth date, proof of 
identification (e.g., driver's license no.), physical description 
(e.g., height, weight, gender, race)).
    (c) Data generated by EPA in the processing of the EPA 
certification (e.g., EPA certified applicator number, certification 
type (private or commercial), certification categories (e.g., aerial, 
aquatic, fumigation), certification issuance and expiration dates).
    (d) Information regarding qualifications (e.g., scores from EPA 
certification examinations; records of training and continuing 
education; state, tribal or other federal agency certification 
number(s), types, categories, issuance and expiration dates; records of 
compliance with federal, state and tribal pesticide laws).

Authority for Maintenance of the System (Includes Any Revisions or 
Amendments):
    Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 
11(a)(1) provides for the certification of RUP applicators. 40 CFR 
171.11 further describes certification procedures including the 
completion and submission of certification applications to EPA, 
issuance/revocation of certificates, monitoring of certifications, and 
applicator recordkeeping requirements. Title 7 United States Code, 
section 136i(a)(1) authorizes the collection of this information.

[[Page 2062]]

Purpose(s):
    The primary purpose of the system is to track RUP applicator 
certifications issued by EPA under pesticide applicator certification 
plans, including the initial applications/issuance and any renewals, 
denials, or revocations of certifications. Certified applicators are 
subject to RUP recordkeeping requirements under FIFRA, section 11 and 
40 CFR part 171. The system may also be used to contribute to the 
development of inspection targeting schemes to verify compliance with 
recordkeeping requirements for RUPs.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users, and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    RUPs may not be distributed, sold, or made available to persons 
other than certified applicators. The system will be used to record the 
identity and certification status of pesticide applicators certified by 
EPA. Certain personal information contained in the system (e.g., date 
of birth, drivers' license numbers) will be protected from general 
disclosure under the Privacy Act. However, many of the records will be 
subject to general routine uses, particularly routine uses A, B, C, F, 
G, H, K, and L. (See http://www.epa.gov/privacy/notice/general.htm). 
Routine uses include disclosures to RUP retailers and dealers in order 
to verify the status of persons claiming to be certified by EPA, and to 
state or tribal officials intending to grant certifications based upon 
EPA's prior certification. Information from this system also may be 
disclosed for law enforcement purposes to federal, state, and tribal 
officials responsible for pesticide enforcement. Disclosure will assist 
in determining compliance and non-compliance with Federal, State, and 
tribal requirements of certified applicators. EPA may also post certain 
information about certified applicators (name, contact information, and 
certification information) to an EPA Web site in order to enable 
interested persons to identify applicators certified by EPA in various 
categories. The Agency will only publish name, zip code and 
certification information for private applicators.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
     Storage: Records will be stored using the Agency's 
standard database system (e.g., Lotus Notes) and managed by system 
administrators and Pesticide Office personnel.
     Retrievability: Data will be retrieved by the applicator's 
name and certification action (e.g., new, recertification, duplicate).
     Safeguards:
    --Standard Agency-wide protections for internal databases.
    --The access control list is limited to Agency system 
administrators, individuals responsible for evaluating applications and 
issuing the EPA certifications and program personnel responsible for 
data entry. No other EPA personnel have access to the database(s). 
Program personnel are trained to protect sensitive and confidential 
information submitted under FIFRA. No external access to the system is 
provided.
     Retention and Disposal: Records stored in this system are 
subject to Schedule 090.
     System Manager(s) and Address: Nicole Zinn, Office of 
Pesticide Programs, Field and External Affairs Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 7506P, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (703) 308-7076.

Notification Procedures:
    Requests to determine whether this system of records contains a 
record pertaining to you must be sent to the Agency's Freedom of 
Information Office. The address is: U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Room 6416 West; Washington, DC 
20460; (202) 566-1667; Email: ([email protected]); Attn: Privacy Act 
Officer.

Record Access Procedures:
    Persons seeking access to their own personal information in this 
system of records will be required to provide adequate identification 
(e.g., driver's license, military identification card, employee badge 
or identification card) and, if necessary, proof of authority. 
Additional identity verification procedures may be required as 
warranted. Requests must meet the requirements of EPA regulations at 40 
CFR part 16.

Contesting Records Procedures:
    Requests for correction or amendment must identify the record to be 
changed and the corrective action sought. Complete EPA Privacy Act 
procedures are set out at 40 CFR part 16.

Record Source Categories:
    There are three sources of data for records stored in the system:
    (1) State, tribal or other Federal certification data upon which 
the EPA certification is based.
    (2) Data provided by the requesting applicator at the time of its 
request for EPA certification.
    (3) Data generated by EPA in the processing of the EPA 
certification.

System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2012-614 Filed 1-12-12; 8:45 a.m.]
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