[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35469-35472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14276]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA or Department) proposes to modify and 
reissue the current system of records entitled ``Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service, Mineral Lessees and Permittees.'' This 
system allows the Forest Service Minerals and Geology program to 
support Forests and Grasslands to manage locatable minerals and mineral 
materials. This information helps the Agency meet its objectives to 
explore, develop, and produce mineral resources.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 5, 2021. This new system 
will be effective August 5, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number FS-
2021-0003 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments;
     Email: Chad Hood for smaller notices, [email protected]; 
or
     Mail: Chad Hood, Geologist, Minerals and Geology 
Management, 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200, Boise, ID 83709.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions and privacy 
issues please contact: U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, 
Minerals and Geology Management, Geologist, Chad Hood (208) 373-4190, 
1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200, Boise, ID 83709; for privacy 
questions, please contact: Sullie Coleman, Chief Privacy Officer, by 
email at [email protected] or by telephone at (202) 604-0467.

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 Forest Service proposes to modify a system of records, entitled 
``USDA/Forest Service-16 Mineral Lessees and Permittees System of 
Records,'' that will be used to maintain records of activities 
conducted by the Agency pursuant to its mission and responsibilities.
    The Forest Service is modifying the system name to Mineral 
Operators and Activities and adding categories of individuals covered 
by the system; categories of records in the system; updating the way 
records are maintained; adding (#) routine uses and modifying (#) 
routine uses; and adding system managers for an existing Privacy Act 
system of records.
    Title and Business Address of the Agency Official Responsible for 
the System of Record: Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Forest Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 
DC 20250.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    USDA/Forest Service-16 Mineral Lessees and Permittees System of 
Records.
    Mineral Operators and Activities System, CSAM ID: 1075, External 
ID: 643, UII Code: 005-96-01-11-01-2137-00.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    All data is maintained in the National Resource Manager (NRM) 
General Support System (GSS) located at the National Information 
Technology Center (NITC) in Kansas City, Missouri. Paper records are 
located at the Regional Forester, Forest Supervisor, and District 
Ranger offices. The addresses for these locations are available on the 
Forest Service website, at https://www.fs.usda.gov/organization. The 
addresses for the Regional Foresters and Forest Supervisors are also 
listed in 36 CFR part 200, subpart A; and addresses for District 
Rangers are in the telephone directory of the applicable locality under 
the heading, United States Government, Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service.

SYSTEM MANAGER:
    The Director, Minerals and Geology Management, Forest Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 1126, 
Washington, DC 20250; Regional Minerals Directors are located in the 
Regional Forester, Forest Supervisor; and District Ranger offices.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    42 U.S.C. 4321 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA);
    Public Law 113-79 Agriculture Act 2014;
    Public Law 94-588 National Forest Management Act of 1976;
    36 CFR 228 subpart A, Locatable Minerals;
    36 CFR 228 subpart C, Salable Minerals.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system of records is to maintain records 
related to individuals or companies who have applied for or hold 
mineral material contract's or permit's issued by the Forest Service 
covering National Forest System lands; locatable mineral operators on 
National Forest System lands; and lessees and assignees of any mineral 
materials contract, permit, or locatable mineral operations. The Forest 
Service uses these records to ensure mining projects are administered 
and reclaimed in compliance with mining and environmental regulations.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals covered by the system include members of the public who 
have applied for or hold mineral material contracts or permits issued 
by the Forest Service covering National Forest System lands; locatable 
mineral operators on National Forest System lands; and lessees and 
assignees of any mineral materials contract, permit, or locatable 
mineral operations.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The system includes documents that may contain the name, address, 
or email address of members of the public who have applied for or hold 
mineral permits, contracts, a plan of operations, or a notice of 
intent. The information consists of inter- and intra-agency, 
Secretarial, Presidential, and Congressional correspondence; 
correspondence to/from individuals covered by the system of records; 
notices of intent to operate; operating plans; evaluation of surface 
disturbance and related mitigation; reclamation plans and bonds; 
mineral evaluations; environmental reports; reports of mineral 
examinations and pleadings; permits; sale contracts; and authorized 
field contact for any minerals related activity.

RECORDS SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information maintained in this system is provided by the members of 
the public and Agency staff personnel. Forest Service forms FS-2800-5 
(OMB No. 0596-0022) and FS-2800-9 (OMB No. 0596-0081) are used to 
collect information.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, records contained in a system may be 
disclosed outside the Department as follows:
    A. To the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, foreign, or other public authority responsible for enforcing, 
investigating, or prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing 
or implementing the statute, or rule, regulation, or order issued 
pursuant thereto when a record on its face, or in conjunction with 
other records, indicates a violation or potential violation of law, 
whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and whether arising 
by general statute or particular program, statute, or by regulation, 
rule, or order issued pursuant thereto, disclosure may be made if the 
information disclosed is relevant to any enforcement, regulatory, 
investigative, or prospective responsibility of the receiving entity.
    B. 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

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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.
    C. To a Member of Congress or to a congressional staff member in 
response to an inquiry of the congressional office made at the written 
request of the constituent about whom the record is maintained.
    D. To agency contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, or 
volunteers who have been engaged by the agency to assist in the 
performance of a service related to this system of records and who need 
to have access to the records in order to perform the activity. 
Recipients shall be required to comply with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(m).
    E. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record 
of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional 
office made at the request of that individual.
    F. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or to 
the General Services Administration for records management inspection 
conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    G. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information, when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of 
USDA, or when disclosure is necessary to demonstrate the accountability 
of USDA's officers, employees, or individuals covered by the system, 
except to the extent the Chief Privacy Officer determines that release 
of the specific information in the context of a particular case would 
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    All records are stored electronically or on paper in secure 
facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records may be 
stored on digital media. Each USDA mission area, agency, and staff 
office creates and maintains proper and adequate documentation of the 
organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential 
transactions of the Department. This documentation protects the legal 
and financial rights of the Government and of persons directly affected 
by the Department's activities (44 U.S.C. 3101). U.S.C. Title 7, 
Chapters 55--2204 state that the Secretary of Agriculture may conduct 
any survey or other information collection and employ any sampling or 
other statistical method that the Secretary determines is appropriate.
    The Department is also authorized to obtain certain information 
under Sec. 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations 
Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516, Pub. L. 106-554) as well as 
Title 5 Part I Chapter 3-301, and 5 U.S.C. 552 552a.
    See also: 5 U.S.C. Chapter 552; 44 U.S.C. Chapters 21, 29, 31, and 
33 (Records Management); 18 U.S.C. 2071; 44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.; 44 
U.S.C. 3506; Title 7 CFR 2.37; 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subpart B; 36 CFR 
part 1234, eGovernment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 36); 
OMB Circular A-130; NARA General Records Schedules, and Forest Service 
Mission-specific records retention schedules approved by NARA for NARA 
Records Group 95.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVABILITY OF RECORDS:
    Records are maintained in accordance with Forest Service records 
management policy and NARA's General Records Schedule and/or NARA-
approved records schedules for NARA Records Group 95. Records are 
maintained in categories organized by subject matter under the 
following file codes:
     2800--MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
     2810--``MINING CLAIMS''
     2840--``RECLAMATION''
     2850--``MINERAL MATERIALS''
     2860--``FOREST SERVICE AUTHORIZED PROSPECTING AND MINERAL 
COLLECTING''

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records covered by this Privacy Act System of Records Notices 
(SORN) are managed according to records retention schedules approved by 
NARA. Records schedules used to retain and manage records are found in 
Chapter 40 of Forest Service Handbook 6209.11--Records Management 
Handbook. This Handbook is available on the Forest Service website at 
https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/regulations-policies. All 
unscheduled records--meaning records without a NARA-approved records 
retention schedule--are retained until a records retention schedule is 
approved by NARA. Once a schedule is approved, all existing records 
will be processed according to the requirements set forth in that 
schedule.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    When applicable, paper records are kept in a locked or secured 
office or office building, and/or retained in a Forest Service secured 
computer system and can only be accessed by authorized Forest Service 
employees. Department/Forest Service safeguards electronic records in 
this system according to applicable rules and policies, including all 
applicable automated systems' security and access policies. The Forest 
Service has imposed strict controls to minimize the risk of 
compromising stored information. System access, including access to 
records stored in an Agency approved repository (such as Pinyon or its 
successor), is limited to individuals with appropriate clearances or 
permissions who need to know the information for performance of 
official duties.
    The NRM applications, which houses the information in this system, 
have Oracle roles defined in the database. These roles define what 
level of access a user assigned that Oracle role may have. The User 
Management Application (UMA) is used to assign these roles, as well as 
to determining what subsets of the data--referred to as organizational 
units--a user may have access. UMA has an automated process to request 
and approve access to applications on the NRM General Support System. A 
user requests specific roles and organizational codes that allow access 
to specific subsets of data. The request is automatically forwarded to 
the requester's UMA Manager who approves or denies the request. The UMA 
manager is responsible for determining what level of access a given 
user requires to fulfill job responsibilities.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking access to records contained in this system of 
records, or seeking to contest content, may submit a request in writing 
to the Forest Service FOIA/Privacy Act Officer (contact information at 
https://www.dm.usda.gov/foia/poc.htm). If an individual believes more 
than one Department component maintains Privacy Act records concerning 
him or her, the individual may submit the request to the Departmental 
Freedom of Information Act Officer, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, South 
Building Room 4104, Washington, DC 20250-0706, email: 
[email protected].

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    The request should include a daytime phone number and email. 
Provide as much information as possible about the subject matter of the 
records you are requesting. This will help facilitate the search 
process.
    If you are making a request for records about yourself, you may 
receive greater access by providing either a notarized statement or a 
statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that you are the 
person who you say you are.
    Provide your full name, date, and either: (1) Have your signature 
witnessed by a notary; or (2) include the following statement 
immediately above the signature on your request letter: ``I declare 
under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 
Executed on [date].'' Requests that do not contain the required 
declaration will be processed under FOIA, and, if records are found, 
you may not receive as much information, including information about 
you. If additional information is required to fulfill a Privacy Act 
request, you will be notified.
    If you want records about yourself to be released to a third party 
(such as a law firm or other organization requesting records on your 
behalf), the third party may receive greater access if they have 
permission from you.
    You will need a signed and dated statement that the Forest Service 
may release records pertaining to you. Include your name; date of 
birth; name of the person or organization to whom you want your records 
disclosed (where applicable); their contact information; list of 
records that may be released (all, emails, medical records, etc.). The 
person about whom the records will be released should include a 
statement indicating that they understand that knowingly or willingly 
seeking or obtaining access to records about another person under false 
pretenses and or without their consent is punishable by a fine of up to 
$5,000.
    Requests must be for access to existing records. The Forest Service 
FOIA Office will not create records for the purpose of responding to a 
FOIA or Privacy Act request.
    FOIA excludes Federal agencies from its definition of persons 
permitted to make FOIA requests [see 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3)(A) and 5 U.S.C. 
551(2)]. To avoid confusion as to whether Federal employees are 
requesting information in their personal or official capacities, 
requests from Federal employees should be submitted using personal 
resources.

CONTESTING RECORDS 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.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Information to individuals is provided via:
     NRM Privacy Impact Analysis on the Department Privacy 
Impact Analysis website, https://www.usda.gov/home/privacy-policy/privacy-impact-assessments.
     The Federal Register for System of Records Notices and 
legal authorities.
     Forest Service-specific System of Records Notices are also 
published on the Forest Service website, https://www.fs.fed.us/im/foia/pasystems.htm.
     Forms associated with Privacy Act systems are approved 
through the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (also cited in the Federal Register); the forms cite the 
Privacy Act.
    Any individual may request general information regarding this 
system of records or information as to whether the system contains 
records pertaining to him/her. 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 (see specific instructions above).

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    The Forest Service proposes to modify a system of records entitled 
``USDA/Forest Service-16 Mineral Lessees and Permittees System of 
Records'' that will be used to maintain records of activities conducted 
by the Agency pursuant to its mission and responsibilities.

    Dated: June 29, 2021.
Victoria Christiansen,
Chief, USDA Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-14276 Filed 7-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P