Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency-001 National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System (NEFRLS) System of Records, 69858-69861 [2013-27897]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69858-69861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27897]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2013-0077]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/Federal 
Emergency Management Agency--001 National Emergency Family Registry and 
Locator System (NEFRLS) System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security, Privacy Office.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act System of Records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security proposes to update and reissue a current Department 
of Homeland Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland 
Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency--001 National Emergency 
Family Registry and Locator System of Records.'' This system of records 
allows the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management 
Agency to collect and maintain records on adults displaced from their 
homes or pre-disaster locations after a Presidentially-declared 
emergency or disaster. As a result of a biennial review of this system, 
this system of records notice has been updated as follows: (1) The 
security classification has changed to reflect that the system is 
sensitive but unclassified; and (2) the language in routine uses ``A,'' 
``C,'' and ``E'' has been revised for clarity. Additionally, this 
notice includes non-substantive changes to simplify the formatting and 
text of the previously published notice. This updated system will be 
included in the Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record 
systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 23, 2013. This updated

[[Page 69859]]

system will be effective December 23, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2013 0077 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 343-4010.
     Mail: Karen L. Neuman, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact: 
Eric M. Leckey, (202) 212-5100, Privacy Officer, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, 500 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20475. For privacy 
issues please contact: Karen L. Neuman, (202) 343-1717, Acting Chief 
Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, 
Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) proposes to update and reissue a current DHS/FEMA system 
of records titled, ``DHS/FEMA--001 National Emergency Family Registry 
and Locator System (NEFRLS) System of Records.''
    During Hurricane Katrina, displaced individuals experienced 
numerous difficulties in reuniting with family members after the 
disaster. As a result, Congress mandated in Section 689c of the Post-
Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) of 2006, Pub. Law 109-
295, that FEMA establish NEFRLS. FEMA has the discretionary authority 
to activate NEFRLS to help reunify families separated after an 
emergency or disaster declared by the President as defined in the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 
U.S.C. 5121-5207. Though the primary function of the NFERLS is to 
reunify families, anyone who may have trouble locating a family member 
during a disaster is welcome to register. NEFRLS is a nationally 
accessible and web-based system that allows adults, including medical 
patients, who have been displaced by a disaster or emergency to 
voluntarily enter personal information into a database to assist with 
the reunification process. Registrants can select who can view their 
personal information.
    The DHS/FEMA NEFRLS System of Records also collects information 
from law enforcement officials (LEO) who use the system when responding 
to a missing persons report. The information FEMA collects from LEOs 
facilitates identity verification and their status as a member of law 
enforcement.
    As a result of the biennial review, DHS/FEMA is updating records 
within the classification category to be sensitive but unclassified, 
rather than unclassified. While the system of records still remains 
unclassified, the update accurately reflects the sensitivity of the 
records as it involves the location data of displaced individuals.
    This updated notice clarifies three routine uses. This notice 
updates routine use ``A'' to apply when DHS employees or former 
employees are involved in litigation; routine use ``C'' to include 
disclosure to the General Services Administration; and routine use 
``E'' to clarify the language.
    The DHS/FEMA--001 NEFRLS System of Records allows limited access to 
three groups of individuals. The groups are: (1) Registrants: Displaced 
adults or children registered in the system; (2) searchers: Individuals 
who are searching for family or household members who registered in the 
system; and (3) FEMA NEFRLS Administrators: FEMA personnel who have 
limited access to records for the purpose of sharing registrants' 
information with LEOs pursuant to an official missing persons report.
    This updated system will be included in DHS's inventory of record 
systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing the means by which federal government 
agencies collect, maintain, use, and disseminate individuals' records. 
The Privacy Act applies to information that is 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 particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act, 
an individual is defined to encompass U.S. citizens and lawful 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals when systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.
System of Records
    Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA)--001.

System name:
    DHS/FEMA--001 National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System 
(NEFRLS) System of Records.

Security classification:
    Sensitive but unclassified.

System location:
    Records are maintained at FEMA Headquarters in Washington, DC and 
field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Categories of individuals covered by the system include: 
registrants (adult individual(s)) who have been displaced by a 
Presidentially-declared disaster or emergency and who voluntarily 
register in NEFRLS; family or household members who are traveling with 
the registrant or who lived in the pre-disaster residence immediately 
preceding the disaster; searchers who are searching for missing family 
or household members; and federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, 
international, or foreign law enforcement officials (LEO) that are 
searching for missing persons that may have been displaced by a 
Presidentially-declared disaster or emergency pursuant to an official 
missing persons report.

Categories of records in the system:
    Information about registrant consists of:
     Authenticated Individual's Full Name;
     Date of Birth;
     Gender;
     Current Phone;
     Alternate Phone;
     Current Address;
     Pre-Disaster Address;
     Name and Type of Current Location; (i.e. shelter, hotel, 
or family/friend's home);
     Traveling with Pets (Yes or No);
     Identity Authentication Approval or Nonapproval (DHS/FEMA 
maintains the fact of the authentication, but the answers to the 
questions provided to the

[[Page 69860]]

third party organization are not maintained by DHS/FEMA);
     System-Specific Username and Password; and
     Personal Message (may consist of up to 300 characters 
intended for designated family or household members to read).
    Information about the family/household members traveling with the 
registrant in NEFRLS consists of:
     Family/Household Members' Full Name;
     Gender;
     Current Phone;
     Alternate Phone;
     Current Address;
     Pre-Disaster address;
     Name and type of current location; (i.e., shelter, hotel, 
or family/friend's home);
     Traveling with Pets (Yes or No);
     Personal Message: (may consist of up to 300 characters for 
listed, designated family, or household members to read.)
    Information about the individual searching NEFRLS for a registrant 
or family/household member (searcher) consists of:
     Searching Individual's Full Name;
     Permanent Address;
     Phone;
     Alternate Phone;
     Email;
     Date of Birth;
     Identity Authentication Approval or Nonapproval (DHS/FEMA 
maintains the fact of the authentication, but the answers to the 
questions provided to the third party organization are not maintained 
by DHS/FEMA); and
     System-Specific Username and Password.
    Information about a LEO collected by a FEMA NEFRLS Administrator 
for verification and status:
     Law Enforcement Official's Title;
     First Name;
     Last Name;
     Gender;
     Badge number/Law Enforcement License ID Number;
     Agency Name;
     City;
     County/Parish;
     State;
     Zip Code;
     Contact Phone;
     Contact Email;
     Supervisor Name;
     Supervisor Contact Number;
     Supervisor Contact Email;
     Agency City;
     Agency County/Parish;
     Agency State; and
     Verification Data.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Section 689c of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 
2006 (6 U.S.C. 775); and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to reunify families and household 
members following a Presidentially-declared disaster or emergency. 
Families using NEFRLS, registrants, and searchers must acknowledge that 
information in NEFRLS may be disclosed to searchers upon request. 
Information may also be disclosed to federal, state, local, tribal, 
territorial, international, or foreign agencies, LEO, and voluntary 
agencies.

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 DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney 
Offices, 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. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee or former employee of DHS in his/her official 
capacity;
    3. Any employee or former employee of DHS in his/her individual 
capacity when DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The United States or any agency thereof.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or 
General Services Administration pursuant to records management 
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 
2906.
    D. To an agency or organization for the purpose of performing audit 
or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only such information 
as is necessary and relevant to such audit or oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed compromise, there is a risk of identity theft or fraud, harm 
to economic or property interests, harm to an individual, or harm to 
the security or integrity of this system or other systems or programs 
(whether maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) that rely upon 
the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To an appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, 
international, or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate 
authority charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or 
enforcing or implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, when a 
record, either on its face or in conjunction with other information, 
indicates a violation or potential violation of law, which includes 
criminal, civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper 
and consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. To appropriate authorized federal, state, local, tribal, 
territorial, international, or foreign law enforcement officers charged 
with investigating the whereabouts or locating missing persons.
    I. To the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and 
voluntary organizations as defined in 44 CFR 206.2(a)(27) that have an 
established disaster assistance program to address the disaster-related 
unmet needs of disaster victims, are actively involved in the recovery 
efforts of the disaster, and either have a national membership, in good 
standing, with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, 
or are participating in the disaster's Long-Term Recovery Committee for 
the express purpose of reunifying families.

[[Page 69861]]

    J. To federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, international, or 
foreign agencies that coordinate with FEMA under the National Response 
Framework (an integrated plan explaining how the federal government 
will interact with and support state, local, tribal, territorial, and 
non-governmental entities during a Presidentially-declared disaster or 
emergency) for the purpose of assisting with the investigation on the 
whereabouts of or locating missing persons.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, and digital media.

Retrievability:
    Records may be retrieved by name, address, and phone number of the 
individual registering or searching in the National Emergency Family 
Registry and Locator System.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the 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.

Retention and disposal:
    In accordance with the FEMA Records Schedule (FRS) and NARA 
Disposition Authority number N1-311-09-1, records and reports related 
to and regarding registrations and searchers in NEFRLS performed by a 
displaced person, Call Center Operator on behalf of a displaced person, 
or family and friends will be cut off 60 days after the last edit to 
the record and destroyed/deleted three years after the cutoff. 
Additionally, in compliance with FRS and NARA Disposition Authority 
number N1-311-04-5, Item 3, records in this system associated with a 
domestic catastrophic event will have permanent value. A catastrophic 
event may be any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, 
which results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or 
disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, 
environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions. A 
catastrophic event could result in sustained national impacts over a 
prolonged period of time; almost immediately exceeds resources normally 
available to state, local, tribal, territorial and private-sector 
authorities in the impacted area; and significantly interrupts 
governmental operations and emergency services to such an extent that 
national security could be threatened.

System Manager and address:
    Deputy Director, Individual Assistance, Disaster Assistance 
Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20472.

Notification procedure:
    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 in writing to FEMA's FOIA Officer whose contact 
information can be found at https://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``Contacts.'' 
If an individual believes more than one component maintains Privacy Act 
records concerning him or her, the individual may submit the request to 
the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, 
Department of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive SW., Building 410, 
STOP-0655, Washington, DC 20528.
    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 6 CFR Part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. 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 may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy 
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, https://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should:
     Explain 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; and
     Specify when you believe the records were created.
    Provide any other information that will help the FOIA staff 
determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records. 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.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Records are obtained from registrants of NEFRLS and individuals 
searching the NEFRLS, LEOs, and the third party authentication service 
indicating an individual has been approved or not approved.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

    Dated: November 6, 2013.
Karen L. Neuman,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2013-27897 Filed 11-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-17-P