[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5194-5197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02758]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0202]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Transportation, Office of the 
Secretary of Transportation; DOT/OST-008, Departmental Advisory 
Committee Files

AGENCY: Office of the Departmental Chief Information Officer, Office of 
the Secretary of Transportation, DOT.

[[Page 5195]]


ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records and rescission of one 
system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the U.S. 
Department of Transportation proposes to reissue, with updates, a 
system of records, ``Department of Transportation/OST-008 Departmental 
Advisory Committee Files.'' This system of records allows the 
Department to collect and maintain records submitted to the Department 
by or in connection with applicants for members on a Department of 
Transportation advisory committees to enable the Department to make 
decisions about committee membership and manage committees. The 
Department also consolidating an existing system of records notice, 
``DOT/RSPA 08, Technical Pipeline Safety Committees for Natural Gas and 
Hazardous Liquids'' with this system and rescinding the notice for DOT/
RSPA 08.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before March 22, 
2019. The Department may publish an amended Systems of Records Notice 
in light of any comments received. This system will be effective March 
22, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DOT-
OST-2018-0202 by any of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday 
through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number 
DOT-OST-2018-0202. All comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received in any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you 
may visit http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or to the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
docket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions, please contact: Claire 
W. Barrett, Departmental Chief Privacy Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 
20590; [email protected]; or 202.527.3284.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Transportation (DOT)/Office of the Secretary (OST) 
proposes to reissue and update a system of records titled, ``Department 
of Transportation/OST-008, Departmental Advisory Committee Files.'' The 
Department also intends to rescind the following legacy notice, ``DOT/
RSPA 08, Technical Pipeline Safety Committees for Natural Gas and 
Hazardous Liquids'' and consolidate records managed under that Notice 
with this updated System.
    The DOT sponsors advisory committees in accordance with the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act when DOT or Congress deems it would be 
beneficial to obtain advice or recommendations on issues or policies 
under consideration by DOT. The composition of an advisory committee is 
determined by DOT, or statute, and may include special government 
employees, Federal employees, or representatives of outside 
organizations, such as trade groups or industry. Individuals interested 
in serving on an advisory committee may apply directly to DOT for 
consideration, or be recommended by others. The DOT collects 
information about applicants to assess their qualifications to serve as 
a committee member, such as employment and educational experiences, 
references, and other information relevant to the applicant's 
qualifications, which may include a criminal background check and 
credit check. This system was originally established in the mid-1970s; 
however, the Department later determined that files about advisory 
committee applicants and members were not retrievable by individual 
name or personal identifier. As a result, the Department retired this 
notice in 2000. The Department is updating its processes for evaluating 
applications for membership on advisory committees and for managing 
records about committee applicants and members. As these records will 
be retrievable by applicant/member name, the Department is reinstating 
the notice, with updates to reflect changes in the location of the 
Department's headquarters and incorporation of all applicable DOT 
general routine uses.
    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, DOT 
proposes two routine uses for this system, in addition to the general 
routine uses applicable this system and described below. The DOT may 
disclose information to OMB, the Executive Office of the President, or 
the General Services Administration, when necessary and relevant to 
DOT's management of the advisory committee, including as needed in 
DOT's consideration of applicants for membership on an advisory 
committee, or to comply with any obligations to report information 
about advisory committees to those entities. This use is compatible 
with the purpose of the collection, which is to administer advisory 
committees in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. In 
addition, DOT may disclose information from this system to the public 
to inform the public about the identity and qualifications of 
individuals selected to serve as members of advisory committees. As one 
of the purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act is to ensure 
transparency to the public about advisory committee advice and 
activities, a routine use permitting disclosure of information about 
advisory committee members is compatible with the purpose of the 
collection.
    We also are consolidating an existing system of records notices, 
``DOT/RSPA 08, Technical Pipeline Safety Committees for Natural Gas and 
Hazardous Liquids'' into this system of records and retiring the notice 
for DOT/RSPA 08. This system was established for the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to maintain information about 
applicants and members of the Pipeline Safety Committees for Natural 
Gas and Hazardous Liquids. As this type of information also be covered 
by this System, the Department determined that separate notices are not 
needed and, therefore, is retiring the notice for DOT/RSPA-08.
    Finally, we have updated the format and included the relevant and 
compatible Departmental General Routine Uses to conform to Office of 
Management and Budget Circular A-108, Federal Agency Responsibilities 
for Review, Reporting, and Publication under the Privacy Act.'' This 
updated system will be included in DOT's inventory of record systems. 
This Notice

[[Page 5196]]

does not apply to records covered by other System of Records Notices.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) governs the means by which the 
Federal Government collects, maintains, and uses personally 
identifiable information (PII) in a System of Records. A ``System of 
Records'' is a group of any records under the control of a Federal 
agency from which information about individuals is retrieved by name or 
other personal identifier. The Privacy Act requires each agency to 
publish in the Federal Register a System of Records notice (SORN) 
identifying and describing each System of Records the agency maintains, 
including the purposes for which the agency uses PII in the system, the 
routine uses for which the agency discloses such information outside 
the agency, and how individuals to whom a Privacy Act record pertains 
can exercise their rights under the Privacy Act (e.g., to determine if 
the system contains information about them and to contest inaccurate 
information).
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DOT has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

Department of Transportation (DOT)/OST-008, Federal Advisory Committee 
Files

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are maintained at the Department of Transportation 
headquarters in Washington, DC.

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Committee Management Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Office of the Secretary, Office of the Executive Secretariat, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20950, (202) 366-4277.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended.

PURPOSE(S):
    The information in this system is used to evaluate and select 
individuals for membership on advisory committees within the 
jurisdiction of the Department, and for the management of advisory 
committees in the Department, including the preparation of reports, 
documenting membership, and the nomination and appointment of members, 
member terms, vacancies, acceptance, and separation.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals who are or were members of advisory committees, who 
have applied or were nominated to serve on advisory committees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records in this system include: Advisory committee applicant, 
nominee, and member name, title, home address, business address, 
employer, organizational affiliation, phone number, email address, 
educational institutions attended, degrees held, employment history, 
references/letters of recommendation, and other information relevant to 
an individual's qualifications to serve on an advisory committee. This 
system also may include the applicant's date of birth, social security 
number, gender, race, drivers license number and state of issuance, and 
prior residences for purposes of obtaining a credit check and criminal 
background check. The system will also include the results of those 
checks. The system also includes information about the member's 
position on the committee, including documentation of their 
appointment, date of appointment, term, date of separation, and reason 
for separation.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Records are obtained from individuals who apply to serve on 
advisory committees, individuals identified by applicants as their 
references, Members of Congress, applicants' former employers. 
Information may also be obtained from publicly available sources with 
the applicant's consent.

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, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DOT as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

    System Specific Routine Uses

    1. To the Executive Office of the President, the Office of 
Management and Budget, or the General Services Administration when 
necessary in the administration of the Department's advisory committee, 
including complying with reporting obligations;
    2. To the public, information about an advisory committee's 
membership and qualifications when the Department deems it necessary to 
inform the public of advisory committee membership or activities. This 
routine use does not permit disclosure of information obtained in a 
criminal background or credit check, social security number, driver 
license number, and date of birth.

    Department General Routine Uses

    3. To the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local, or 
foreign, charged with the responsibility of implementing, 
investigating, prosecuting, or enforcing a statute, regulation, rule or 
order, when a record in this system indicates a violation or potential 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, 
including any records from this system relevant to the implementation, 
investigation, prosecution, or enforcement of the statute, regulation, 
rule, or order that was or may have been violated;
    4. To a Federal, State, or local agency maintaining civil, 
criminal, or other information, such as current licenses, if necessary 
for DOT to obtain information relevant to a DOT decision;
    5. To the Department of Justice, or any other Federal agency 
conducting litigation, when (a) DOT, (b) any DOT employee, in his/her 
official capacity, or in his/her individual capacity if the Department 
of Justice has agreed to represent the employee, or (c) the United 
States or any agency thereof, is a party to litigation or has an 
interest in litigation, and DOT determines that the use of the records 
by the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting the 
litigation is relevant and necessary to the litigation;
    6. To parties in proceedings before any court or adjudicative or 
administrative body before which DOT appears when (a) DOT, (b) any DOT 
employee in his or her official capacity, or in his or her individual 
capacity where DOT has agreed to represent the employee, or (c) the 
United States or any agency thereof is a party to litigation or has an 
interest in the proceeding, and DOT determined that is relevant and 
necessary to the proceeding;
    7. To the National Archives and Records Administration for an 
inspection under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    8. To another agency or instrumentality of any government 
jurisdiction for use in law enforcement activities, either civil or 
criminal, or to expose fraudulent claims; however, this routine use 
only permits the disclosure of names pursuant to a computer matching 
program that otherwise complies with the requirements of the Privacy 
Act.
    9. To the Attorney General of the United States, of his/her 
designee, information indicating that a person

[[Page 5197]]

meets any of the qualifications for receipt, possession, shipment, or 
transport of a firearm under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. 
Should the validity of the information DOT provides to the Attorney 
General or his/her designee be disputed, DOT may disclose to that 
National Background Information Check System, established by the Brady 
Handgun Violence Prevention Act, any information from this system 
necessary to resolve the dispute.
    10. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons, when (1) DOT 
suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of 
information in the system of records has been compromised; (2) DOT has 
determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise 
there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity 
theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or 
other systems or programs (whether maintained by DOT or not) that rely 
on the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, or persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with DOT's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    11. To DOT's contractors and their agents, DOT's experts, 
consultants, and others performing or working on a contract, service, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DOT, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
    12. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing an audit or oversight related to this system or records, 
provided that DOT determines the records are necessary and relevant to 
the audit or oversight activity. This routine use does not apply to 
intra-agency sharing authorized under Section (b)(1) of the Privacy 
Act.
    13. To a Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign government, or 
multinational agency, either in response to a request or upon DOT's 
initiative, terrorism information (6 U.S.C. 485(a)(5)), homeland 
security information (6 U.S.C. 482(f)(1)), or law enforcement 
information (Guideline 2, report attached to White House Memorandum, 
``Information Sharing Environment,'' Nov. 22, 2006), when DOT finds 
that disclosure of the record is necessary and relevant to detect, 
prevent, disrupt, preempt, or mitigate the effects of terrorist 
activities against the territory, people, and interests of the United 
States, as contemplated by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2004, Public Law 108-456, and Executive Order 13388 
(Oct. 25, 2005).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records in this system are stored electronically and/or on paper in 
secure facilities.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records may be retrieved by name of individual or committee name.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Resumes and references of members and applicants are retained and 
disposed of when they are superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed, in 
accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2, Item 050. Records related 
to the selection and membership of committee members are permanent, and 
transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration when 
they are 15 years old or the committee is termination, whichever is 
sooner, in accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2, Item 010.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DOT automated 
systems security and access policies. Appropriate controls have been 
imposed to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is 
being stored. Access to records in this system is limited to those 
individuals who have a need to know the information for the performance 
of their official duties and who have appropriate clearances or 
permissions.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, 
may submit a request to the System Manager in writing in writing to the 
address provided under ``System Manager and Address.'' Individuals may 
also search the public docket at www.regulations.gov by their name.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 49 CFR part 10. You must sign 
your request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted 
under 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under 
penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific 
form is required, you should provide the following:
     An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you;
     Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created;
     Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DOT component agency may have responsive records; 
and
    If your request is seeking records pertaining to another living 
individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information, the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking to contest the content of any record pertaining 
to him or her in the system may contact the System Manager following 
the procedures described in ``Record Access Procedures'' above.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking notification of whether this system contains 
records about him or her may contact the System Manager following the 
procedures described in the ``Record Access Procedures'' above.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    DOT/OST-008; 65 FR 19570 (April 11, 2000); DOT/RSPA-08 65 FR 19561, 
(April 11, 2000).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 14, 2019.
Claire W. Barrett,
Departmental Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-02758 Filed 2-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P