[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33203-33206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11394]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[DOI-2022-0005; PPWONRADD7/PPMRSNR1Y.NM0000]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing a public
notice of its intent to create the National Park Service (NPS) Privacy
Act system of records, INTERIOR/NPS-25, Research Permit and Reporting
System (RPRS). This system is a service-wide, internet-based system
which supports the application, permitting, and reporting processes
associated with the NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit. The
newly established system will be included in DOI's inventory of record
systems.
DATES: This new system will be effective upon publication. New routine
uses will be effective July 1, 2022. Submit comments on or before July
1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number [DOI-2022-
0005] by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include docket number
[DOI-2022-0005] in the subject line of the message.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Teri Barnett, Departmental
Privacy Officer, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW,
Room 7112, Washington, DC 20240.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number [DOI-2022-0005]. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Felix Uribe, Associate Privacy
Officer, National Park Service, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA
20192, [email protected] or 202-354-6925.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The NPS Office of Natural Resource Information Systems is
establishing the INTERIOR/NPS-25, Research Permit and Reporting System
(RPRS), system of records. The purpose of the system is to provide a
service-wide, internet-based system that supports the application,
permitting, and reporting processes associated with the NPS Scientific
Research and Collecting Permit. RPRS is a single data system that is
served through a central internet website and is hosted within the NPS
Integrated Resource Management Application, which provides resource
information to parks, partners, and the public. The website enables (1)
members of the public to review synopses of the objectives and findings
of scientific studies conducted in parks and the types of scientific
activities park managers are most interested in attracting; (2)
potential investigators to apply and review applications requirements
and field work restrictions before applying for permission to conduct a
study within a specific unit or units of the NPS; and (3) investigators
to provide the required annual Investigator's Annual Report.
Information in this system may be shared with individuals who conduct
scientific research and collecting activities within the National Park
System units and members of the public that are interested in learning
about scientific research within the park units. To the extent
permitted by law, information may be shared with Federal, state, local,
and tribal agencies, and organizations as authorized and compatible
with the purpose of this system, or when proper and necessary,
consistent with the routine uses set forth in this system of records
notice.
II. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, embodies fair information
practice principles in a statutory framework governing the means by
which Federal agencies collect, maintain, use, and disseminate
individuals' records. The Privacy Act applies to records about
individuals that are maintained in a ``system of records.'' A ``system
of records'' is a group of any records under the control of an agency
from which information is retrieved by the name of an individual or by
some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying
[[Page 33204]]
particular assigned to the individual. The Privacy Act defines an
individual as a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Individuals may request access to their own records that are maintained
in a system of records in the possession or under the control of DOI by
complying with DOI Privacy Act regulations at 43 CFR part 2, subpart K,
and following the procedures outlined in the Records Access, Contesting
Record, and Notification Procedures sections of this notice.
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the existence and character of each
system of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses of
each system. The INTERIOR/NPS-25, Research Permit and Reporting System
(RPRS), system of records notice is published in its entirety below. In
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DOI has provided a report of this
system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to
Congress.
III. Public Participation
You should be aware your entire comment including your personally
identifiable information, such as your address, phone number, email
address, or any other personal information in your comment, may be made
publicly available at any time. While you may request to withhold your
personally identifiable information from public review, we cannot
guarantee we will be able to do so.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
INTERIOR/NPS-25, Research Permit and Reporting System (RPRS).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, Office of Natural
Resource Information Systems, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge
Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
System Manager, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science, Office of
Natural Resources Information Systems, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street NW, Room 2649, Washington, DC 20240.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
54 U.S.C. 100101, National Park Service Organic Act; 54 U.S.C.,
Rules and Regulations of National Parks, Reservations, and Monuments;
Section 100705--54 U.S.C. 100701-100707, National Parks Omnibus
Management Act.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The purpose of the RPRS system is to support the application,
permitting, and reporting processes associated with the NPS Scientific
Research and Collecting Permit. The system enables members of the
public to review synopses of the objectives and findings of permitted
scientific studies conducted previously in parks, and search and review
the types of scientific activities park managers are most interested in
attracting; potential investigators to apply for permission to conduct
natural or social science studies within a specific unit of the NPS
System and to review permit application requirements and field work
restrictions before applying for permission to conduct a study; and
investigators granted permission to conduct studies within parks to
more easily provide the Investigator's Annual Report.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals covered by the system include:
(1) Persons who have submitted information in conjunction with
applying for a
permit to conduct scientific research and collecting permits within
units of the National Park System.
(2) Principal Investigators. The applicant who is a recipient of an
NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit is considered the
Principal Investigator for the permitted study.
(3) Persons identified as Co-investigators by the applicant within
the RPRS application, by the permittee in the RPRS Investigator's
Annual Report, or in the NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit
by the park which issues the permit.
(4) NPS staff and contractors conducting scientific research within
units of the National Park System.
(5) NPS staff, including Park Research Coordinators who administer
park accounts within the RPRS; Superintendents and Curators of parks
with RPRS accounts; and park staff responsible for recommending the
approval of permit requests.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The categories of the records in the system include:
(1) Park Profile Records. The purpose of these records is to
provide information to facilitate interactions between persons applying
for or holding an NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit and
park staff. Park research contact information consists of names of NPS
staff or contractors who administer scientific research within park
units, and the titles and names of the associated Park Superintendent,
Park Personnel Recommending Permit Approvals, Park Personnel Approving
Permits, Park Curator name and email address, and Park Research
Coordinator contact information including name, business address,
business fax number, business phone number, and business email address.
(2) Investigator Profile Records. Information in the records
include Investigator name, business phone, alternate phone, business
fax, business address, business email address, professional
affiliation, and username, password and other information to create an
investigator account and authenticate users' access to their records
within RPRS.
(3) Application Records. This information is provided by the
applicant and is required for a park to review and process the
application for a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit.
Information includes proposed collections, proposed disposition of
collections, including name and business contact information of non-NPS
repositories when an applicant proposes to have collections loaned to a
non-NPS repository; name, business phone and business email of co-
investigators; and other information about the proposed activity for
the park to review the application. Additionally, Investigator Profile
contact information is entered into the applicant's first application
and automatically ported from the profile contact information into the
on-line application form when the same applicant subsequently submits
new applications. This data consists of business phone number,
alternate business or personal phone number, business fax number,
business address, and business email address.
(4) Scientific Research and Collecting Permit Records. These
records contain profile and contact information on investigators and
co-investigators that include name, business phone, business email
address, and business institution; Investigator's Annual Report Records
that include investigators' and co-investigators' name, business email
address, business phone, and business address; and information, such as
educational background, qualifications or other information provided by
investigators during the application process or in correspondence with
park staff.
(5) Field Visit Records. These records contain name of persons
conducting a field visit on the permitted scientific research
activities within the park, business phone number, vehicle description
including license plate
[[Page 33205]]
number if a vehicle is used to access the park, location of field
visit, length of field visit, and temporary place of residence during a
field visit to the park.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in the RPRS comes primarily from members of the public
applying for a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit, permittees
submitting required Investigator's Annual Reports, investigator profile
records, and park profile records created by the park staff.
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, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DOI as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including Offices of the
U.S. Attorneys, or other Federal agency conducting litigation or in
proceedings before any court, adjudicative, or administrative body,
when it is relevant or necessary to the litigation and one of the
following is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such
litigation:
(1) DOI or any component of DOI;
(2) Any other Federal agency appearing before the Office of
Hearings and Appeals;
(3) Any DOI employee or former employee acting in his or her
official capacity;
(4) Any DOI employee or former employee acting in his or her
individual capacity when DOI or DOJ has agreed to represent that
employee or pay for private representation of the employee; or
(5) The United States Government or any agency thereof, when DOJ
determines that DOI is likely to be affected by the proceeding.
B. To a congressional office when requesting information on behalf
of, and at the request of, the individual who is the subject of the
record.
C. To the Executive Office of the President in response to an
inquiry from that office made at the request of the subject of a record
or a third party on that person's behalf, or for a purpose compatible
with the reason for which the records are collected or maintained.
D. To any criminal, civil, or regulatory law enforcement authority
(whether Federal, state, territorial, local, tribal or foreign) when a
record, either alone or in conjunction with other information,
indicates a violation or potential violation of law--criminal, civil,
or regulatory in nature, and the disclosure is compatible with the
purpose for which the records were compiled.
E. To an official of another Federal agency to provide information
needed in the performance of official duties related to reconciling or
reconstructing data files or to enable that agency to respond to an
inquiry by the individual to whom the record pertains.
F. To Federal, state, territorial, local, tribal, or foreign
agencies that have requested information relevant or necessary to the
hiring, firing or retention of an employee or contractor, or the
issuance of a security clearance, license, contract, grant or other
benefit, when the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which
the records were compiled.
G. To representatives of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) to conduct records management inspections under
the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
H. To state, territorial and local governments and tribal
organizations to provide information needed in response to court order
and/or discovery purposes related to litigation, when the disclosure is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were compiled.
I. To an expert, consultant, grantee, or contractor (including
employees of the contractor) of DOI that performs services requiring
access to these records on DOI's behalf to carry out the purposes of
the system.
J. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
(1) DOI suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of
the system of records;
(2) DOI has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, DOI (including
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal
Government, or national security; and
(3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DOI's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
K. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when DOI determines
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to
assist the recipient agency or entity in:
(1) Responding to a suspected or confirmed breach; or
(2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to
individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information
systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national
security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
L. To the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during the
coordination and clearance process in connection with legislative
affairs as mandated by OMB Circular A-19.
M. To the Department of the Treasury to recover debts owed to the
United States.
N. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the
Public Affairs Officer in consultation with counsel and the Senior
Agency Official for Privacy, where there exists a legitimate public
interest in the disclosure of the information, except to the extent it
is determined that release of the specific information in the context
of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy.
O. To members of the public to provide park contact information to
facilitate communication with persons interested in conducting
scientific research activities and to provide access to published
Investigator's Annual Reports for the purpose of learning about
scientific research in NPS units.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
RPRS records reside on servers located in secure server rooms and
are accessed only by authorized personnel pursuant to Departmental
privacy policies and procedures. A quarterly copy of the RPRS data
backup is stored in a permanent repository. Paper copies of RPRS
records may be contained in the NPS Washington, regional, field and
park offices and stored in file cabinets. NPS park offices may access,
retrieve, and store a copy of the RPRS data within the individual park.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Information from the RPRS is retrievable by names of Investigators
who are Applicant/Permit holders, co-investigators; business contact
information of the individual (i.e., email address, phone number);
application number or title; permit number, study title, subject or
type of study, study number; and Investigator's Annual Report permit
number or study title and investigator's name.
NPS staff and contractors who are on the NPS network may query RPRS
application, permit and Investigator's Annual Report data, and park
profile data. The public access is limited to park profile data and
Investigator's Annual Report data. In addition, members of the public
who have
[[Page 33206]]
entered a park profile into the system may review their own profile
data.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records in this system are retained in accordance with the NPS
Records Schedule for Resource Management and Lands (Item 1), which has
been approved by NARA (Job No. N1-79-08-1) for records documenting the
acquisition, planning, management, and protection of lands and natural
and cultural resources under the stewardship of NPS. The disposition of
the RPRS data set has a permanent retention.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Access to records in the RPRS system is limited to authorized
personnel who have a need to access the records in the performance of
their official duties, and each user's access is restricted to only the
functions and data necessary to perform that person's job
responsibilities. System administrators and authorized users are
trained and required to follow established internal security protocols
and must complete all security, privacy, and records management
training and sign the DOI Rules of Behavior.
The records contained in this system are safeguarded in accordance
with 43 CFR 2.226 and other applicable security and privacy rules and
policies. During normal hours of operation, paper records are
maintained in locked file cabinets under the control of authorized
personnel. Computer servers on which RPRS electronic records are stored
are in a secured DOI controlled facility with physical, technical, and
administrative levels of security to prevent unauthorized access to the
DOI network and information assets. The electronic data are protected
through techniques of user identification, passwords, database
permissions and software controls. These security measures include
establishing different access levels for different types of users.
Backup tapes are encrypted and stored in a locked and controlled room
in a secure, off-site location.
Computerized records systems follow the National Institute of
Standards and Technology privacy and security standards as developed to
comply with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a;
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.; Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, 44 U.S.C. 3551 et seq.;
and the Federal Information Processing Standards 199: Standards for
Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems.
Security controls include user identification, passwords, database
permissions, encryption, firewalls, audit logs, and network system
security monitoring, and software controls.
Investigator's Annual Report submissions are checked in and
reviewed to prevent disclosure of content that may impact park
resources and operations. Access to NPS specific permissions in the
RPRS are limited to authorized NPS users. NPS security features
restricted access to that data which is identified as not suitable for
public access to NPS employees and authorized NPS contractors.
NPS staff are provided permission to view all RPRS data except for
unpublished Investigator's Annual Reports. Park account data is limited
to that data which relates to a single unit of the National Park System
(i.e., park profile information, applications submitted to the unit,
permits issued by the unit, Investigator's Annual Reports related to
permits issued by the unit, unit specific administrative data). Access
to park accounts is limited to persons designated by the Park
Superintendent. Administrative accounts provide permissions to
administrate park account data as appropriate for the administrator's
role of providing permissions to authorized individuals, and access to
query or process the service-wide data. RPRS provides a help desk to
disseminate information on security and privacy policies applicable to
RPRS. NPS staffs are required to take an annual training session on
privacy and records management and an annual training session on
security. A Privacy Impact Assessment was conducted to ensure that
Privacy Act requirements are met and appropriate privacy controls were
implemented to safeguard the personally identifiable information
contained in the system.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
An individual requesting records on himself or herself should send
a signed, written inquiry to the applicable System Manager identified
above. The request must include the specific bureau or office that
maintains the record to facilitate location of the applicable records.
The request envelope and letter should both be clearly marked ``PRIVACY
ACT REQUEST FOR ACCESS.'' A request for access must meet the
requirements of 43 CFR 2.238.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
An individual requesting corrections or the removal of material
from his or her records should send a signed, written request to the
applicable System Manager as identified above. The request must include
the specific bureau or office that maintains the record to facilitate
location of the applicable records. A request for corrections or
removal must meet the requirements of 43 CFR 2.246.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
An individual requesting notification of the existence of records
on himself or herself should send a signed, written inquiry to the
applicable System Manager as identified above. The request must include
the specific bureau or office that maintains the record to facilitate
location of the applicable records. The request envelope and letter
should both be clearly marked ``PRIVACY ACT INQUIRY.'' A request for
notification must meet the requirements of 43 CFR 2.235.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
None.
Teri Barnett,
Departmental Privacy Officer, Department of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2022-11394 Filed 5-31-22; 8:45 am]
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