Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Notice of a New System of Records, 30158-30161 [2014-12149]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30158-30161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12149]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[L57000000.BX0000.LLES955000]


Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Notice of a New System of 
Records

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of creation 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 is issuing a public notice of 
its intent to create the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ``General Land 
Office Records Automation System--Interior, BLM-42'' system of records. 
The system of records contains information collected from publicly 
available historical Federal land conveyance documents (land patents, 
survey plats, field notes and land status records) maintained by the 
BLM General Land Office, and billing information of individuals 
requesting certified copies of land conveyance documents. The purpose 
of this system is to maintain, protect and preserve more than five 
million documents of historical relevance and to make these valuable 
resources for natural resource agencies, historians, surveyors, title 
companies, and genealogists available via the General Land Office 
Records Web site.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 7, 2014. This new system will 
be effective July 7, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Any person interested in commenting on this notice may do so 
by: submitting comments in writing to Suzanne Wachter, BLM Privacy Act 
Officer, 20 M Street SE., Mail Stop 590, Washington, DC 20003; hand-
delivering comments to Suzanne Wachter, BLM Privacy Act Officer, 20 M 
Street SE., Mail Stop 590, Washington, DC 20003; or by emailing 
comments to swachter@blm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Branch Chief, General Land Office 
Records Automation, BLM, Eastern States, Branch of General Land Office 
Records, 20 M Street SE., Washington, DC 20003; or by telephone at 703-
440-1786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

 I. Background

    The Department of the Interior (DOI), BLM is creating the ``General 
Land Office Records Automation System (GLORAS)--Interior, BLM-42'' 
system of records. The purpose of this system is to maintain more than 
five million documents of historical relevance, to include: Survey 
plats, field notes, homesteads certificates, cash patents, military 
warrants, and railroad grants. These records are valuable resources for 
natural resource agencies, historians, surveyors, title companies, and 
genealogists. Increased demand for the information in these records and 
the preservation of the historic documents provided the impetus for the 
BLM to create an automated records archive and make the records 
available to the public.
    The system will be effective as proposed at the end of the comment 
period on July 7, 2014, unless comments are received which would 
require a contrary determination. The DOI will publish a revised notice 
if changes are made based upon a review of the comments received.

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' personal information. 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 for which information is retrieved by the name of an individual 
or by some

[[Page 30159]]

identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to 
the individual. In the Privacy Act, an individual is defined as a U.S. 
citizen or lawful permanent resident. As a matter of policy, DOI 
extends administrative Privacy Act protections to all individuals. 
Individuals may request access to their own records that are maintained 
in a system of records in the possession or under the control of the 
DOI by complying with DOI Privacy Act regulations, 43 CFR part 2.
    The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records that the agency maintains and the routine uses that apply to 
each system in order to make agency record keeping practices 
transparent; to notify individuals regarding the uses of their records; 
and, to assist individuals to more easily find such records within the 
agency. Below is the description of the BLM ``General Land Office 
Records Automation System (GLORAS)--Interior, BLM-42'' system of 
records.
    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 Disclosure

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: May 20, 2014.
Suzanne Wachter,
 Privacy Act Officer, Bureau of Land Management.
SYSTEM NAME:
    General Land Office Records Automation System (GLORAS)--Interior, 
BLM-42

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    The system servers are located at the Department of the Interior, 
National Operation Center, Denver Federal Center, Building 50, Denver, 
CO 80225-0047. The records in the system are maintained at the Bureau 
of Land Management, General Land Office, 7450 Boston Blvd., 
Springfield, VA 22153.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals covered by the system include patentees, warrantees, 
assignees, surveyors, and any other individual who has been associated 
with or named in any of these historical Federal land conveyance 
records. The system also contains information on individuals who 
request a certified copy of a Federal land conveyance record.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    (1) Records in the system include but are not limited to 
information related to historical land documents, homesteads 
certificates, cash patents, military warrants, and railroad grants, 
including survey plats and field notes, land status records and 
controlled document indexes. Information within these records may 
include but are not limited to: Names of individuals, county, township, 
range, meridian, section number, Land Office, document number, Indian 
Allotment number, survey number, authority for the grant, issue date, 
militia grant, tribe, geographical name of the property, mining claim, 
survey type, surveyor name, contract/group number, survey approved 
date, and document type.
    (2) The system also maintains records on individuals who submit 
requests to purchase certified copies of Federal land conveyance 
records that are not available to the public. Categories of records 
maintained on individuals requesting certified copies of Federal land 
conveyance records include: The individual's name, address, phone 
number, email address, and credit card number.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    1 Stat. 464, The Public Land Act of 1796; 2 Stat. 716, The General 
Land Office Act, April 25, 1812; and 9 Stat. 395, Establishing Act of 
March 3, 1849.

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 provide researchers and 
interested members of the public with online access to millions of 
historical land documents that may be used for research purposes, or in 
lieu of the original document to confirm title, or for historical or 
genealogical evidence. The system also manages online orders and 
billing records for individual members of the public who purchase 
certified copies of the historical documents. This information is used 
solely to process the requests.
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, disclosures outside DOI may be made as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    (1) (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.
    (2) 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 office.
    (3) 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.
    (4) 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.
    (5) To Federal, state, territorial, local, tribal, or foreign 
agencies that have requested information relevant or

[[Page 30160]]

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.
    (6) To representatives of the National Archives and Records 
Administration to conduct records management inspections under the 
authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    (7) 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.
    (8) To an expert, consultant, or contractor (including employees of 
the contractor) of the DOI that performs services requiring access to 
these records on the DOI's behalf to carry out the purposes of the 
system. (9) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    (a) It is suspected or confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised; and
    (b) The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected 
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interest, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity 
of this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by the 
Department or another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised 
information; and
    (c) The disclosure is made to such agencies, entities and persons 
who are reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the 
Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    (10) To the Office of Management and Budget during the coordination 
and clearance process in connection with legislative affairs as 
mandated by OMB Circular A-19.
    (11) To the Department of the Treasury to recover debts owed to the 
United States.
    (12) 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.
    (13) To other Federal, State, tribal organization and local 
government officials to retrieve or analyze specific legal land 
descriptions for projects under their authority which provides 
information needed to resolve discrepancies in land titles.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12), disclosures may be made to a 
consumer reporting agency as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1996 (31 
U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Electronic records are contained in computers, magnetic disks, 
computer tapes, removable drives, email and electronic databases. Both 
production and backup tapes are stored in a secure location in a 
government controlled environment. The original historical land records 
maintained in paper format are stored in acid-free boxes in climate 
access controlled vaults. Order forms maintained in paper format are 
contained in locked filing cabinets in government controlled 
facilities.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records in the system are retrieved by an individual's name, 
county, township, range, meridian, section number, Land Office, 
document number, Indian Allotment number, survey number, authority for 
the grant, issue date, Militia grant, tribe, geographical name of the 
property, mining claim, survey type, surveyor name, contract/group 
number, survey approved date, document type, date of request, and order 
number.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Public access to the system is limited to the web interface that 
allows users to only retrieve public Federal land conveyance records 
and submit online orders. Safeguards for electronic records conform to 
Office of Management and Budget and Departmental guidelines reflecting 
the implementation of the Federal Information Security Management Act 
of 2002, National Institute of Standards and Technology Special 
Publication standards for Computer Security and the Department of the 
Interior regulations on safeguarding of Privacy Act information (43 CFR 
part 2). The computer servers in which electronic records are stored 
are located in secured DOI facilities.
    Paper copies of order forms are housed within secure, locked metal 
cabinets in the secured BLM Eastern States Accounting Department, 
access to which is limited to authorized personnel. The original 
historical land records maintained in paper format are stored in acid-
free boxes in climate access controlled vaults within secure BLM 
facilities.
    Access to all components of the system is limited to authorized BLM 
employees and is protected by user identification and unique passwords. 
Administrative privileges for monitoring are only granted to 
administrator-level users. The system incorporates a firewall and 
independent security monitor subsystems to further strengthen the Web 
site against unauthorized access or monitoring.
    All online orders and billing records are available only to 
authorized personnel having a need-to-know and who have successfully 
completed DOI's Federal Information System Security Awareness, Privacy 
and Records Management training, and have signed the Rules of Behavior. 
A Privacy Impact Assessment was conducted to ensure that Privacy Act 
requirements and safeguard requirements are met. The assessment 
verified that appropriate controls and safeguards are in place.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Historical land records are maintained permanently in accordance 
with BLM Manual 1220--Records and Information Management, Schedule 4, 
Item 7 of the GRS/BLM Combined Records Schedules. The paper records are 
retired to the Archive II, National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA) of the United States, College Park, Maryland, after they have 
been electronically incorporated into GLORAS. The land records indexed 
by GLORAS are retained indefinitely. The billing information is 
retained for 14 calendar days in the GLORAS system and then purged. The 
information collected in the Collection and Billings System is disposed 
of 6 years and 3 months after the order date. The disposal of these 
records is covered by the Accountable Officers Files, Schedule 6, 
Section 1A GRS/BLM Combined Records Schedule.
    Paper records are disposed of by shredding or pulping, and records 
contained on electronic media are degaussed or erased in accordance 
with NARA guidelines and 384 Departmental Manual 1.

SYSTEM MANAGER AND ADDRESS:
    Branch Chief, General Land Office Records Automation, Bureau of 
Land Management, Eastern States, Branch of

[[Page 30161]]

General Land Office Records, 20 M Street SE., Washington, DC 20003.

 NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    An individual requesting notification of the existence of records 
on himself or herself should send a signed, written inquiry to the 
System Manager identified above. 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.

RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    An individual requesting records on him or herself should send a 
signed, written inquiry to the System Manager identified above. The 
request should describe the records sought as specifically as possible. 
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 RECORDS PROCEDURES:
    An individual requesting corrections or the removal of material 
from his or her records should send a signed, written request to the 
System Manager identified above. A request for corrections or removal 
must meet the requirements of 43 CFR 2.246.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The historical land records contain information provided by 
individuals to whom the land was granted, the surveyors, and other 
individuals (both governmental and private) who were integral to this 
historical process. Information needed to complete online orders of 
certified land records is obtained directly from members of the public 
and other individuals who are requesting to purchase certified copies 
of Federal land conveyance records.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.
[FR Doc. 2014-12149 Filed 5-23-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-GJ-P