[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90862-90863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30187]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2016-0077]


Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) for the 
Proposed Establishment and Operations of the Office of Biometric 
Identity Management and the Homeland Advanced Biometric Technology 
(HART)

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: 30-day notice of availability of public review of a 
Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection 
and Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office of Biometric Identity 
Management (OBIM) has completed a Draft Supplemental Programmatic 
Environmental Assessment (SPEA) to assess the impacts resulting from 
the replacement of the existing Automated Biometric Identification 
System (IDENT) in order to meet obligations pertaining to expanded 
biometric service obligations.
    IDENT was developed in the 1990s by the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service as a pilot project. As DHS demands for biometric 
identity services grew and evolved, IDENT expanded both its customer 
base and services provided to those customers by retrofitting 
functionalities to its original pilot project foundation to meet urgent 
mission needs. The system has progressed from supporting one usage 
scenario and one stakeholder in 1994 to a multiplicity of business 
processes, services, and interfaces required to meet the needs of a 
variety of stakeholders. In 2003 the former United States Visitor and 
Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program was designated 
as the DHS provider for biometric and associated biographic identity 
screening and analysis services.
    The primary mission of the former US-VISIT program was to serve as 
a repository of collected information on the unique identity of 
travelers and to collect, maintain, and share information related to 
entry, exit, and status events of foreign nationals in order to enhance 
national security, facilitate legitimate trade and travel, and ensure 
the integrity of our immigration system, while deploying the program in 
accordance with existing privacy laws and policies. This mission was 
accomplished through the deployment of discrete capabilities through 
two systems: IDENT and the Arrival and Departure Information System 
(ADIS).
    In 2013 OBIM assumed cross-cutting responsibility for DHS biometric 
identity services from the former US-VISIT Program. OBIM operates and 
maintains IDENT, and matches, stores, analyzes, and shares biometric 
data to provide more accurate and high assurance biometric identity 
information and analysis. IDENT, with its repository of biometrics and 
associated biographic data, is used by its customers for biometric 
identity verification and determination. Current IDENT customers 
include DHS components such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security 
Administration, and various elements of DHS Headquarters; the 
Intelligence Community; other Federal agencies including the 
Departments of Justice, State, and Defense; State and local law 
enforcement; and international partners. OBIM needs HART to replace the 
22-year-old legacy IDENT system to ensure continued fulfillment of 
evolving customer and mission needs. The redesign and development of 
the system will address the baseline and current gaps including 
capacity, increased security and privacy protections, interoperability, 
unsustainable costs, and performance and availability. Support of the 
system for additional biometric identity modalities beyond fingerprints 
will address customer needs for alternative modalities, provide options 
for non-contact biometric data collection, improve performance, and 
increase interoperability with customers and partners that support 
multiple biometric modalities.
    For the Proposed Action, OBIM would develop and implement a 
solution to address increasing customer demand for biometric services 
in addition to providing technological advances, more efficient 
processing, and a flexible and a scalable platform to meet DHS's mid- 
and long-term identity needs. Several project alternatives explored in 
the SPEA were: (1) No Action; (2) Enhanced Baseline with Transaction 
Manager Replacement Alternative; (3) Data Driven Modular Alternative; 
and (4) Cloud Based and Managed Service. In reviewing the alternatives, 
OBIM's objective was to determine whether to prepare a ``Finding of No 
Significant Impact'' (FONSI) or an ``Environmental Impact Statement'' 
(EIS). With the No Action Alternative, minor indirect effects may occur 
with respect to noise and air quality from the slowing of services at 
customer locations. With Alternatives 2, 3, or 4, minor impacts are 
anticipated with respect to energy use. With any of these alternatives, 
OBIM will have an increase in capacity and scope of services which may 
increase energy use. However, it is also anticipated that the proposed 
improvements will increase efficiencies in the administration and use 
of OBIM services with all of the action alternatives. Therefore, energy 
impacts are expected to be minimal. For implementation of Alternative 4 
specifically, managed service may be hosted in the existing DHS data 
centers or other federally approved sites. For the No Action 
Alternative and Alternative 4, potential changes to facilities or 
personnel may have some minimal effects, particularly with the 
potential for temporary construction. However, more specific analysis 
is not possible at this programmatic level of assessment, and would 
have to be performed with site-specific environmental analysis.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until thirty (30) 
days after the date of this notice.

[[Page 90863]]

    This process is conducted in accordance with sec. 102 of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the 
regulations promulgated by the President's Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ; 40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) NEPA implementing procedures, DHS Directive 
023-01, Environmental Planning Program.

ADDRESSES: Public comments are encouraged and can be made through 
written communication sent through electronic mail at: 
[email protected], or the postal system to the NPPD 
Environmental and Energy Program, 245 Murray Lane, Mail Stop 0380, Room 
608-D, Washington, DC 20528.
    Use the following subject when writing in: Draft SPEA Proposed 
Establishment and Operations of OBIM and the HART. Public input 
submitted will be discussed and considered with respect to conclusions 
of this SPEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NPPD Environmental and Energy Program: 
[email protected]. When inquiring about this notice, please 
use the following in the Subject Line: Draft SPEA Proposed 
Establishment and Operations of OBIM and the HART.
    Comments on this Draft SPEA are also being solicited through a 
notice on the DHS NEPA Web site at: https://www.dhs.gov/national-environmental-policy-act.

    Dated: December 6, 2016.
David Grauel,
HART Program Manager, Office of Biometric Identity Management, National 
Protection and Programs Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2016-30187 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P