[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37775-37777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14929]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0104]


Privacy Act Systems of Records; Phytosanitary Certificate 
Issuance and Tracking System

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of a proposed new system of records.

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SUMMARY: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposes to add 
a system of records to its inventory of records systems subject to the 
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The system of records is the 
Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking System, USDA-APHIS-13. 
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.

DATES: Effective Date: This system will be adopted without further 
notice on August 5, 2013 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 
July 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0104-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0104, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-
0104 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Christian B. Dellis, Export 
Services, Plant Health Programs, Plant Protection and Quarantine, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2154.

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 Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking 
(PCIT) System, that will be used to maintain records of activities 
conducted by the agency pursuant to its mission and responsibilities 
authorized by the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 
Phytosanitary certificates are issued by authorized Federal, State, and 
county officials. They certify that consignments of plants, plant 
products, and other regulated articles intended for export have been 
inspected and meet the phytosanitary import requirements of the foreign 
country to which they are destined. There is a user fee charge for the 
inspection and certification services. Phytosanitary certificates 
accompany shipments to their foreign destinations and are reviewed by 
officials of the foreign plant protection service before the commodity 
is allowed entry into their country. U.S. exporters who require 
phytosanitary certificates for commodities offered for export must 
apply for them through the PCIT system.
    The PCIT system provides a secure mechanism for applicants to 
provide information, including the name, address, and telephone number 
of the exporter or exporter's agent and the foreign consignee, which 
could be individuals but, in most cases, are companies or 
organizations. Applicants also must provide information about the 
articles to be exported. APHIS needs all of this information to 
evaluate the application, schedule and perform inspections and other 
phytosanitary activities, and issue phytosanitary

[[Page 37776]]

certificates. Authorized Federal, State, and county certification 
officials enter data into the PCIT system regarding inspections, any 
required treatments, and other phytosanitary activities. The PCIT 
system also maintains information on user fees paid and accrued, 
although the system does not contain any financial information about 
applicants.
    Applicants can use the PCIT system not only to apply for 
phytosanitary certificates, but also to check the status of their 
applications, view user fees accrued and paid, and track the status of 
phytosanitary certification. Foreign government officials can use the 
PCIT system to quickly verify the authenticity of a phytosanitary 
certificate.
    APHIS may routinely share data in the PCIT system with State and 
county government officials who provide phytosanitary inspection 
services on behalf of the Federal Government. They use the information 
to evaluate applications; schedule and perform inspections and related 
phytosanitary activities; generate phytosanitary certificates; 
investigate complaints by a foreign country that a commodity for which 
a phytosanitary certificate was issued does not meet the country's 
phytosanitary requirements; and evaluate program quality and 
effectiveness. APHIS may also share data with certain Federal agencies, 
pursuant to the International Trade Data System Memorandum of 
Understanding, consistent with the receiving agency's authority to 
collect information pertaining to transactions in international trade. 
APHIS may also share data about an application for phytosanitary 
certificate with the foreign government involved with the import.
    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 the description of the system presented below.

Report on New System of Records

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

Thomas J. Vilsack,
Secretary.
System name:
    Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking (PCIT) System, 
USDA-APHIS-13.

Security classification:
    None.

System location:
    The system resides at USDA's National Information Technology Center 
(NITC) in Kansas City, MO. Back-up files are maintained in Riverdale, 
MD.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Individuals covered by the system include Federal, State, and 
county officials who issue phytosanitary certificates and exporters, 
exporters' agents, and foreign consignees.

Categories of records in the system:
    Records may include applications for phytosanitary export 
certification and information about related inspections, treatments, 
other phytosanitary activities, and phytosanitary certificates issued. 
These records include names, addresses, and telephone numbers of 
exporters, exporters' agents, and foreign consignees, and names, office 
addresses, and telephone numbers of Federal, State, and county 
officials who issue phytosanitary certificates. Records may also 
include information on user fees paid and accrued, although the system 
does not contain any financial information about applicants.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.).

Purpose(s):
    The PCIT system is a secure system for applying for, evaluating, 
tracking the status of, and issuing phytosanitary certificates for 
plants, plant products, and other regulated articles intended for 
export.

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 certain State and county government regulatory officials to 
evaluate applications; schedule and perform inspections and related 
phytosanitary activities; generate phytosanitary certificates; 
investigate complaints about noncompliance with phytosanitary 
requirements; and evaluate program quality and effectiveness;
    (2) To certain Federal agencies, pursuant to the International 
Trade Data System Memorandum of Understanding, consistent with the 
receiving agency's authority to collect information pertaining to 
transactions in international trade;
    (3) To certain foreign governments concerning applications for 
phytosanitary certificates involving that country;
    (4) 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;
    (5) To the Department of Justice when: (a) the agency, or any 
component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in his or her 
official capacity; or (c) any employee of the agency in his or her 
individual capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to 
represent the employee; or (d) the United States, 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;
    (6) For use in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body 
before which the agency is authorized to appear, when: (a) the agency, 
or any component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in his or 
her official capacity; or (c) any employee of the agency in his or her 
individual capacity where the agency has agreed to represent the 
employee; or (d) the United States, 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

[[Page 37777]]

that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were 
collected;
    (7) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) the 
agency suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality 
of information in the system of records has been compromised; (b) 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 (c) 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;
    (8) To contractors engaged to assist in administering the program. 
Such contractors will be bound by the nondisclosure provisions of the 
Privacy Act;
    (9) To USDA contractors, partner agency employees or contractors, 
or private industry employed to identify patterns, trends, or anomalies 
indicative of fraud, waste, or abuse; and
    (10) To the National Archives and Records 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 system is an electronic database stored on servers in a secure 
government-owned facility. APHIS maintains back-up files on external 
hard drives kept in locked cabinets at APHIS headquarters.

Retrievability:
    APHIS may retrieve records by the name of the applicant (exporter 
or exporter's agent who applied for the phytosanitary certificate) and 
by the name of the Federal, State, or county official who issued the 
phytosanitary certificate.

Safeguards:
    The PCIT system has management, operational, and technical controls 
to prevent misuse of data by system users. These controls include the 
use of role-based security and access rights and network firewalls. All 
users must have e-Authentication credentials through USDA and employ 
their individual e-Authentication user identification and password to 
access the PCIT system. Users may only view information specific to 
their role in the export system. The exporter has access only to the 
information of his or her organization. Government officials involved 
in the export of commodities will have access only to data within their 
purview. Access to the system is monitored by USDA officials to ensure 
authorized and appropriate use of the data.

Retention and disposal:
    Records in the PCIT system are retained indefinitely.

System managers(s) and address:
    Director, Export Services, Plant Health Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 140, 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 
email 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 this system about individuals comes primarily from 
applicants for a phytosanitary certificate.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2013-14929 Filed 6-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P