[Federal Register: November 27, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 68633-68635]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27no06-119]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
Privacy Act of 1974, As Amended; Amendment of an Existing System
of Records
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed amendment of an existing system of records.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Secretary, Department of the Interior (DOI),
is issuing public notice of its intent to amend an existing Privacy Act
system of records entitled, OHA-01, ``Hearings and Appeals Files.''
Changes include updating information under the following headings:
System location; Categories of records in the system; Routine uses of
records maintained in the system; and Policies and practices for
storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining and disposing of records in
the system. Changes also include the renumbering of the system as OS-
09, ``Hearings and Appeals Files.''
EFFECTIVE DATE: Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11), the public is provided a
30-day period in which to comment on the agency's intended use of the
information in the system of records. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), in its Circular A-130, requires an additional 10-day
period in which to make comments. Any persons interested in commenting
on this proposed amendment may do so by submitting comments in writing
to the Privacy Act Officer, Office of the Secretary, 1849 C St., NW.,
MS 1413 MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Comments received within 40 days of
publication in the Federal Register will be considered. The system will
be effective as proposed at the end of the comment period unless
comments are received which would require a contrary determination. The
Office of the Secretary will publish a revised notice if changes are
made based upon a review of comments received.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Hearings and
Appeals, 801 N. Quincy Street, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22203,
703-235-3810.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OHA-01 is being amended to reflect
administrative changes occurring since it was last published, including
updated addresses for the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)
headquarters office, for its three Hearings Divisions, and for the
System Manager. It is also being amended to provide additional
information on the types of records assembled in hearings and appeals
case files and the categories of hearings and appeals currently handled
by OHA, to include several additional categories of disclosures outside
the Department, and to reflect OHA's development of tracking systems to
facilitate access to and to better manage the processing of hearings
and appeals. Lastly, its numbering is being changed from OHA-01 to OS-9
to bring it into conformity with the current pattern of numbering
Privacy Act System of Record Notices in the Office of the Secretary.
Sue Ellen Sloca,
Privacy Act Officer, Office of the Secretary.
INTERIOR/OS-09
System name:
Hearings and Appeals Files--Interior, OS-09.
System location:
(1) Director's Office and Appeals Boards: Office of Hearings and
Appeals, 801 N. Quincy Street, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22203.
(2) Probate Hearings Division, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 801
N. Quincy Street, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22203.
(3) Departmental Cases Hearings Division, Office of Hearings and
Appeals, 405 S. Main Street, Suite 400, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111.
(4) White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act (WELSA) Hearings
Division, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal
Building, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 3600A, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 55111-
4040.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Individuals involved or otherwise identified in hearings and
appeals proceedings before the Office of the Director, Appeals Boards,
and Hearings Divisions of the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).
Categories of records in the system:
Information assembled in case files and docket systems pertaining
to the following categories of hearings and appeals proceedings. Types
of records vary from category to category and case to case, but may
include correspondence; pleadings and briefs submitted by the parties;
administrative record materials, other documentary evidence, and
transcripts of testimony; notices, orders, and decisions issued by
administrative law judges, administrative judges, and other deciding
officials; names and addresses of parties; and associated docket cards
and docket system data entries. During the active consideration of a
case, records may also include deliberative process materials such as a
judge's notes, draft orders or decisions, and comments on such drafts
from other judges or staff.
Primary categories of hearings and appeals proceedings covered by
OS-09:
(1) Contract disputes arising out of decisions (and failures to
decide) by contracting officers considered and decided by the Interior
Board of Contract Appeals.
(2) Indian probate matters, including determination of heirs,
approval of wills, and proceedings relating to tribal acquisition of
certain interests of decedents in trust and restricted lands,
considered and decided by the Probate Hearings Division; and appeals in
such matters considered and decided by the Interior Board of Indian
Appeals.
(3) Heirship determinations under the White Earth Reservation Land
Settlement Act of 1985 considered and decided by the WELSA Hearings
Division; and appeals in such matters considered and decided by the
Interior Board of Indian Appeals.
(4) Appeals pertaining to administrative actions of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs considered and decided by the Interior Board of Indian
Appeals.
(5) Contest proceedings and other hearings relating to the use and
disposition of public lands and their resources, including land
selections arising under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act,
considered and decided by the Departmental Cases Hearings Division;
appeals in such matters considered and decided by the Interior Board of
Land Appeals; and appeals
[[Page 68634]]
from decisions of the Bureau of Land Management relating to the use and
disposition of public lands and their resources, considered and decided
by the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
(6) Appeals from decisions of Departmental officials relating to
the use and disposition of mineral resources in certain acquired lands
of the United States and in the submerged lands of the Outer
Continental Shelf, considered and decided by the Interior Board of Land
Appeals.
(7) Hearings in appeals relating to surface coal mining and
reclamation operations, considered and decided by the Departmental
Cases Hearings Division; appeals in such matters considered and decided
by the Interior Board of Land Appeals; and appeals from decisions of
the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement relating to
surface coal mining and reclamation operations, considered and decided
by the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
(8) Hearings and appeals in various matters considered and decided
by the Director or his or her designees, including employee grievance
proceedings, employee debt collection matters, requests for waiver of
claims for erroneous payments, determinations of employee liability for
loss or damage to government property, adjustment of rental rates for
government quarters, acreage limitations under the Reclamation Reform
Act, relocation assistance claims, enforcement actions under the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, and Director's review matters under 43 CFR
4.5(b).
(9) Any other hearings or appeals proceedings conducted by the
Office of Hearings and Appeals under statutes or Departmental
regulations providing for a hearing and/or a right to appeal within the
Department.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. 301, 551 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 791 et seq.; 25 U.S.C. 2, 9,
372, 373, 373a, 373b, 374, 2201 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. chap. 2, 3, 3A, 5,
7, 15, 16, 23, 25 and 29; 41 U.S.C. 601 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 315a, 1201,
1331 et seq., 1601 et seq., 1701 et seq.; 43 CFR Parts 4, 45.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
The primary purpose of the system is to support the adjudication or
other resolution of administrative disputes assigned to the Office of
Hearings and Appeals.
Disclosure outside DOI of final opinions rendered in the
adjudication of cases is required by law and regulation (5 U.S.C.
552(a)(2), 43 CFR 2.4(c)(1)(i)). Other disclosures outside DOI may be
made:
(1) To the parties to any hearing or appeal proceeding and their
authorized representatives upon request or in the course of case
adjudication, when the disclosure involves documents of record in the
proceeding, other than documents protected from disclosure under 43 CFR
4.31;
(2)(a) To any of the following entities or individuals, when the
circumstances set forth in paragraph (b) are met:
(i) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):
(ii) A court or an adjudicative or other administrative body;
(iii) A party in litigation before a court or an adjudicative or
other administrative body; or
(iv) Any DOI employee acting in his or her individual capacity if
DOI or DOJ has agreed to represent that employee or pay for private
representation of the employee;
(b) When:
(i) One of the following is a party to the proceeding or has an
interest in the proceeding:
(A) DOI or any component of DOI;
(B) Any other Federal agency appearing before the Office of
Hearings and Appeals;
(C) Any DOI employee acting in his or her official capacity;
(D) Any DOI employee acting in his or her individual capacity if
DOI or DOJ has agreed to represent that employee or pay for private
representation of the employee;
(E) The United States, when DOJ determines that DOI is likely to be
affected by the proceeding; and
(ii) DOI deems the disclosure to be:
(A) Relevant and necessary to the proceeding; and
(B) Compatible with the purpose for which the records were
compiled.
(3) To a congressional office in response to a written inquiry that
an individual covered by the system, or the heir of such individual if
the covered individual is deceased, has made to the congressional
office about the individual;
(4) To the appropriate Federal agency that is responsible for
investigating or prosecuting a violation of, or for enforcing or
implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, or order, when we become
aware of an indication of a violation or potential violation of the
statute, rule, regulation, or order;
(5) To an official of another Federal agency to provide information
needed in the performance of official duties related to reconciling or
reconstructing data files, in support of the functions for which the
records were collected and maintained;
(6) To representatives of the National Archives and Records
Administration to conduct records management inspections under the
authority of 44 U.S.C. 2903 and 2904;
(7) To state and local governments and tribal organizations to
provide information needed in response to court order and/or discovery
purposes related to litigation; and
(8) To contractors, grantees, or volunteers performing or working
on a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or job for the Federal
Government related to the purposes for which the records were collected
and maintained.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12), records can be disclosed to
consumer reporting agencies as they are defined in the Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Case file records are maintained in manual form in file folders.
Electronic records, including those created for the purpose of tracking
case files, are maintained on the OHA computer network.
Retrievability:
Both manual and electronic records are retrieved by the name of the
appellant, claimant, or other party, or by designated OHA docket
number.
Safeguards:
Records are maintained in accordance with 43 CFR 2.51. Most of the
records covered by this notice are in manual form. Access is provided
on a need-to-know basis. Manual records are maintained in locked file
cabinets under the control of authorized personnel during working
hours, and according to the maintenance standards detailed in 43 CFR
2.51. Electronic records are maintained in conformity with OMB and DOI
guidelines implementing the Federal Information Security Management
Act. Electronic data are protected through user identification,
passwords, database permissions, and software controls. These security
measures establish different degrees of access to different types of
users. A separate Privacy Impact Assessment for the applications was
not required.
Retention and disposal:
Records are retained in accordance with approved records retention
and disposal schedules. Board of Contract
[[Page 68635]]
Appeals records are currently scheduled as Item 1, Record Category H,
of the Office of the Secretary's Comprehensive Records Disposal
Schedule. A new records schedule, covering these and other records
covered by this notice, is under development as series 7100 of OSCODE,
the Office of the Secretary comprehensive records disposal schedule.
System manager and address:
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of the
Interior, 801 N. Quincy Street, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22203.
Notification procedure:
If you wish to determine if this system of records contains
information about you, you must write to the System Manager at the
address listed above. Your request must be in writing and signed by
you. To ensure proper handling of your request, you should include the
words ``PRIVACY ACT INQUIRY'' at the top of the first page of your
letter and on the envelope in which you mail the letter, per 43 CFR
2.60.
Record access procedures:
If you wish to obtain a copy of any records that the system may
contain that are about you, you must write to the System Manager at the
address listed above. Your request must be in writing and signed by
you. You should let us know whether you are seeking all of the records
about you that may be maintained in the system, or only a specific
portion of them. If you are only seeking a portion of them, you should
describe those records you are seeking with sufficient detail to enable
an individual familiar with the system to locate them with a reasonable
amount of effort. To ensure proper handling of your request, you should
include the notation ``PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR ACCESS'' at the top of
the first page of your letter and on the envelope in which you mail the
letter, per 43 CFR 2.63.
Contesting record procedures:
If you wish to request that any specific records that the system
may contain that are about you be corrected, you must write to the
System Manager at the address listed above. Your request must be in
writing and signed by you. Before you make such a request, you must
first have requested access to your records, and have either inspected
them or obtained copies of them, as described above. You must also
identify which record or portion thereof you are contesting, indicating
why you believe that it is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete,
and provide a copy of any documents in your possession that support
your claim with your letter. You may also propose specific language to
implement the changes sought. To ensure proper handling of your
request, you should include the notation ``PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR
AMENDMENT'' at the top of the first page of your letter and on the
envelope in which you mail the letter.
Record source categories:
Records in the system contain information submitted by all parties
to the adjudication, including but not limited to appellants,
claimants, grievants, and other persons involved in the hearings and
appeals proceedings, and government officials.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
[FR Doc. E6-20034 Filed 11-24-06; 8:45 am]
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