Federal Register System of Records Notice

2693

Notices

Federal Register
Vol. 85, No. 11
Thursday, January 16, 2020

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. AMS–SC–19–0071; SC19–990–5]

Privacy Act of 1974: New System of
Records
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of
records.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
proposes to add a system of records to
its inventory of records systems. The
system of records will cover information
collected under the U.S. Domestic
Hemp Production Program in AMS.
This notice is necessary to meet the
Privacy Act requirement that a Federal
Register notice describing the existence
and character of record systems to be
maintained by the agency be published.
DATES: This system of records notice is
applicable upon its publication in this
issue of the Federal Register, with the
exception of the new routine uses,
which are effective February 18, 2020.
AMS will accept comments until
February 18, 2020 on the routine uses
described below.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments.
Comments should be submitted via the
Federal eRulemaking portal at
www.regulations.gov. Comments may
also be filed with the Docket Clerk,
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program,
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, STOP 0237, Washington,
DC 20250–0237; or Fax: (202) 720–8938.
All comments received must include the
agency name and docket number for this
notice. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For

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SUMMARY:

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access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to
http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general questions, please contact
William Richmond, Specialty Crops
Program, AMS, USDA; 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0237,
Washington, DC 20250–0237;
Telephone: (202) 720–9921; Email:
william.richmond@usda.gov. For
Privacy Act questions concerning this
system of records notice, please contact
the FOIA and Privacy Act Officer, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20250; Telephone: (202) 205–0288;
Email: ams.foia@usda.gov. For USDA
Privacy Act questions, please contact
the USDA Chief Privacy Officer,
Information Security Center, Office of
Chief Information Officer, USDA, Jamie
L. Whitten Building, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20250; Email: USDAPrivacy@
ocio.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
(the Farm Bill) mandates USDA to
establish a U.S. Domestic Hemp
Production Program (DHPP). The new
program will be administered by the
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS),
Specialty Crops Program (SCP),
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division (MOAD). The new program
will review plans submitted by States
and Tribal Nations to regulate the
production of hemp within their
jurisdictions and approve those plans
that meet requirements. These plans
must include protocols for how
producers will submit information on
the land where hemp is produced,
testing procedures for the plants, and
the disposition of plants that do not
meet requirements. In States and Tribal
Nations where the State or Tribal Nation
does not have an approved plan (and
that does not prohibit the production of
hemp), the program will issue licenses
to individuals and businesses who wish
to produce and will also oversee
program participant compliance.
In support of these requirements,
AMS is establishing a new system of
records for the DHPP under the Privacy
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a). As part of this
program, the Farm Bill requires USDA
to collect data from States and Tribal
Nations regarding hemp growers under
their jurisdiction as well as licensing
information on growers operating under

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the USDA hemp production plan.
Additionally, the Farm Bill requires
USDA to share the collected information
with the Attorney General and share
real-time information with Federal,
State, local or Tribal law enforcement.
This system will provide a secure
public facing interface where applicants
(both individuals and businesses) can
submit their licensing information. This
system will also provide a secure
interface where States and Tribes may
submit their plans for USDA approval,
their licensee information, land
identification information, monthly
reports on the disposal of nonconforming plants and materials, and
annual reports.
This system will interface with the
USDA Farm Service Agency to enter
and receive information from licensees
which will include: Field acreage,
greenhouse or indoor square footage of
hemp planted; street address; geospatial
location or other comparable
identification method which specifies
where the hemp will be produced; and
legal description of the land.
Additionally, this system will provide
real time reporting of relevant data to
other internal and external agencies
(Farm Service Agency, Department of
Justice (Drug Enforcement
Administration) and State and Tribal
law enforcement).
AMS will use the information
obtained only for the purposes of
administering the laws and regulations
of the DHPP, including using this data
for regulatory enforcement actions
brought in USDA administrative
proceedings and/or Federal courts and
preparing and releasing summary and
statistical reports on agricultural
commodities and related products. Any
further dissemination not expressly
identified here will not occur without
the express written permission from the
DHPP. The information will be
reviewed only by authorized USDA
personnel or others as identified in this
document on a rolling and a need-toknow basis and will be kept secure.
USDA will maintain such confidential
information as required under the
specific statutes and government
policies relating to confidential
information, as laid out below.
Establishing a new DHPP system of
records under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.
552a) is required by law. The privacy
rules for collecting and handling

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 11 / Thursday, January 16, 2020 / Notices

individuals’ information, and for
securely managing records, are
followed.
A report on the new system of
records, required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), as
implemented by Office of Management
and Budget Circular A–108, was sent to
the Chairman, Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs,
United States Senate; the Chairman,
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, House of
Representatives; and the Administrator,
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget.
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of
January 2020.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.

production licenses under a USDAapproved State or Tribal plan, or under
the USDA hemp production plan; (2)
licensed producers or business entities
under a USDA-approved State or Tribal
plan, or under the USDA hemp
production plan; (3) individuals tasked
with oversight and administration of the
USDA Domestic Hemp Production
Program, including: USDA employees,
contractors, or other entities working on
behalf of the USDA; (4) individuals who
are regulated by the USDA Domestic
Hemp Production Program who may be
investigated for possible violations,
including licensees, samplers,
inspectors, and laboratory technicians,
including their agents and appointees,
and other non-Federal employees; and
(5) any other individuals involved in a
review or investigation as an alleged
violator.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER

Domestic Hemp Production Program,
USDA/AMS–07
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:

Records will be maintained at the
offices of the USDA, Agricultural
Marketing Service, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–
0244.
SYSTEM MANAGER:

A System Manager will manage the
Domestic Hemp Production Program
system. For general information, you
may contact the Marketing Order and
Agreement Division, Specialty Crops
Program, AMS, USDA; 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0237,
Washington, DC 20250–0237;
Telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax:
(202)720–8938,
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

The Agriculture Improvement Act of
2018 (Farm Bill) and 7 CFR part 990.

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PURPOSE:

The purpose of this system is to
collect data from States and Tribal
Nations regarding hemp producers
licensed under their USDA-approved
plan within their jurisdiction, as well as
information on producers operating
under the USDA plan. Additionally, the
Farm Bill requires USDA to share the
collected information and data with
Federal, State, Tribal, and local law
enforcement.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:

Categories of individuals covered by
this system include: (1) Producers and
business entity applicants for hemp

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CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

This system will provide a secure
public facing interface where
applicants, States and Tribes may
submit information to USDA. This
system will interface with the USDA
FSA to enter and receive information
from. Additionally, this system will
provide real time reporting of relevant
data to other internal and external
agencies pertaining to an alleged
violation of the Domestic Hemp
Production Program, including: Name,
address information (street or email
address), personal identification
numbers (employer identification
number [EIN], system-generated license
number), criminal history, and case file
information for producers under a State,
Tribal plan, or the USDA production
plan. The case file contains evidence
gathered in the course of the review or
investigations. The system will contain
the following records:
• Records relating to hemp
production license applications or
renewals:
Æ State and Tribal Nation production
plans;
Æ Applicant, business entity or
licensee name;
Æ Names and titles of a business
entity’s key participants (if applicable);
Æ Mailing or principal business
address;
Æ Email address (if applicable);
Æ Phone number;
Æ Employer Identification Number (if
applicable);
Æ Criminal history report;
Æ Name of USDA-approved plan
under which licensed or applying for
license;
Æ License or authorization number (if
applicable);
Æ License or authorization status;

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Æ Date license was issued and will
expire;
Æ Name of legal owner of land for
hemp production; and
Æ Signature or affidavit of applicant
or licensee (USDA plan only).
• Records relating to compliance
including, but not limited to:
Æ Laboratory hemp lot test reports,
including:
Æ Name of licensee or authorized
person;
Æ Licensee or authorized person
address;
Æ Name of USDA-approved plan
under which licensed;
Æ License number or authorization
identifier;
Æ License or authorization type
(producer or business entity);
Æ Lot number;
Æ Date and time of test;
Æ Percentage delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol concentration;
and
Æ Test result (retest, pass, fail).
Æ Hemp lot disposal reports,
including:
Æ Licensee or authorized person
name;
Æ License or authorization number;
Æ Licensee or authorized person
address;
Æ Name of USDA-approved plan
under which licensed;
Æ Lot number;
Æ Lot location (Greenhouse, indoor or
field production);
Æ Geospatial location or other valid
land descriptor;
Æ Date of completion of disposal;
Æ Total acreage disposed;
Æ Name of Disposition Agent;
Æ Name of Disposition Organization;
Æ Signature of Licensee or authorized
person; and
Æ Signature of Disposition Agent.
Æ Licensee annual reports, including;
Æ Licensee or authorized person
name;
Æ License or authorization number;
Æ Licensee or authorized person
address;
Æ Name of USDA-approved plan
under which licensed;
Æ Lot number (if applicable);
Æ Lot location (if applicable);
Æ Geospatial location or other valid
land descriptor (if applicable);
Æ Total acreage planted;
Æ Total acreage disposed; and
Æ Total acreage harvested.
• Records related to Enforcement:
Æ Name of Complainant;
Æ Mailing address;
Æ Email address (if applicable);
Æ Phone number; and
Æ Summary of Complaint.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

These records contain information
obtained from: The individual or entity

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 11 / Thursday, January 16, 2020 / Notices
who is the subject of these records
including a complainant or subject of an
audit; USDA Farm Service Agency; U.S.
Domestic Hemp Production Program;
States and Tribal governments; and
laboratories authorized to test hemp.

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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, records
maintained in the system may be
disclosed outside USDA, as follows, to
the extent that such disclosures are
compatible with the purposes for which
the information was collected:
(1) To the Department of Justice
when: (a) The agency or any component
thereof; or (b) any employee of the
agency in his or her official capacity
where the Department of Justice has
agreed to represent the employee; (c)
any employee of the agency in his or her
individual capacity where the agency or
the Department of Justice has agreed to
represent the employee; or (d) the
United States Government, is a party to
litigation or has an interest in such
litigation, and by careful review, the
agency determines that the records are
both relevant and necessary to the
litigation and the use of such records by
the Department of Justice is therefore
deemed by the agency to be for a
purpose that is compatible with the
purpose for which the agency collected
the records.
(2) To a court or adjudicative body in
a proceeding when: (a) The agency or
any component thereof; or (b) any
employee of the agency in his or her
official capacity; or (c) any employee of
the agency in his or her individual
capacity where the agency has agreed to
represent the employee; or (d) the
United States Government, is a party to
litigation or has an interest in such
litigation, and by careful review, the
agency determines that the records are
both relevant and necessary to the
litigation.
(3) To law enforcement in real time as
required by Section 297C(d) of the Farm
Bill. Information to be shared via this
routine use will include contact
information for each hemp producer, a
legal description of the land on which
hemp is grown, and the license status of
each producer.
(4) To law enforcement: 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

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pursuant thereto, disclosure may be
made to the appropriate agency,
whether Federal, foreign, State, local, or
Tribal, 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, if the
information disclosed is relevant to any
enforcement, regulatory, investigative or
prosecutive responsibility of the
receiving entity.
(5) To a Congressional office from the
record of an individual in response to
any inquiry from that Congressional
office made at the written request of the
individual to whom the record pertains.
(6) To the National Archives and
Records Administration or to the
General Services Administration for
records management activities
conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and
2906.
(7) To agency contractors, grantees,
experts, or consultants 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.
(8) To a Federal, State, local or Tribal
agency maintaining civil, criminal, or
other relevant enforcement records, or
other pertinent records, or to another
public authority or professional
organization, if necessary, to obtain
information relevant to an investigation
concerning the issuance, retention or
revocation of a license.
(9) To a Federal, State, local, or Tribal
or other public authority the fact that
this system of records contains
information relevant to the issuance,
retention or revocation of a license. The
other agency or licensing organization
may then make a request supported by
the written consent of the individual for
the entire record if it so chooses. No
disclosure will be made unless the
information has been determined to be
sufficiently reliable to support a referral
to another office within the agency or to
another Federal agency for criminal,
civil, administrative, personnel, or
regulatory action.
(10) To appropriate agencies, entities,
and persons when: (a) USDA suspects or
has confirmed that there has been a
breach of the system of records; (b)
USDA has determined that as a result of
the suspected or confirmed breach there
is a risk of harm to individuals, USDA
(including its information systems,
programs, and operations), the Federal
Government, or national security; and
(c) the disclosure made to such
agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in

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2695

connection with USDA’s efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed
compromise and prevent, minimize, or
remedy such harm.
(11) To another Federal agency or
Federal entity, when the USDA
determines that information from this
system of records is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency
or entity in (a) responding to a
suspected or confirmed breach or (b)
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.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS:

Records are stored in paper and
electronic format. In the beginning, the
information will be stored in hard copy
until the electronic system can securely
store all the records.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS:

Records are retrieved by individual or
business name, individual or business
address, or other unique identifiers.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:

Records will be retained indefinitely
until appropriate disposition authority
is obtained, and records will then be
disposed of in accordance with the
authority granted.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS:

All records containing personal
information are maintained in secured
file cabinets or in restricted areas, in
which access is limited to authorized
personnel. Access to computerized data
is password-protected and under the
responsibility of the system manager
and subordinates. The database
administrator has the ability to review
audit trails, thereby permitting regular
ad hoc monitoring of computer usage.
RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Any individual may request
information concerning himself/herself
from the System Manager. Individuals
seeking access to any record contained
in this system of records, or seeking to
contest its contents, may submit a
request in writing to the Chief
Information Officer, Department of
Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing
Service, Mail Stop 0244, Room 1752–S,
1400 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20250–0244.
When seeking records about yourself
from this system of records or any other

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Departmental system of records, your
request must conform to the Privacy Act
regulations set forth in 7 CFR part 1,
subpart G. 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 more information for this
purpose from the AMS FOIA and
Privacy Act Officer, Telephone: (202)
205–0288; Email: ams.foia@usda.gov. In
addition, you should provide the
following:
• An explanation 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;
• Specify when you believe the
record would have been created; and
• Provide any other information that
will help the FOIA staff determine
which AMS 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 or her
agreement for you to access his or her
records.
Without complete 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.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

Individuals seeking to contest or
amend information maintained in the
system should direct their requests to
the address indicated in the ‘‘Record
Access’’ section, above. An individual
who is the subject of a record in this
system may seek to amendment their
records. A determination whether a
record may be amended will be made at
the time a request is received.

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NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

Any individual may request general
information regarding this system of
records or information as to whether the
system contains records pertaining to
him/her from the System Manager. All
inquiries pertaining to this system
should be in writing and submitted to
the address listed below in the Records
Access Procedures section, must name
the system of records as set forth in the
system notice, and must contain the

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individual’s name, telephone number,
address, and email address.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:

N/A
HISTORY:

N/A.
[FR Doc. 2020–00658 Filed 1–15–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. Codex Office
Codex Committee Meeting of the
Codex Committee on General
Principles
U.S. Codex Office, USDA.
Notice of public meeting and
request for comments.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

The U.S Codex Office is
sponsoring a public meeting on
February 21, 2020. The objective of the
public meeting is to provide information
and receive public comments on agenda
items and draft United States (U.S.)
positions to be discussed at the 32nd
Session of the Codex Committee on
General Principles (CCGP) of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission, in Bordeaux,
France, March 23–27, 2020. The U.S.
Manager for Codex Alimentarius and
the Under Secretary for Trade and
Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize
the importance of providing interested
parties the opportunity to obtain
background information on the 32nd
Session of the CCGP and to address
items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled
for February 21, 2020, from 1:00–4:00
EST.
SUMMARY:

The public meeting will
take place in Meeting Room 107–A of
the Whitten Building, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20250. Documents related to the
32nd Session of the CCGP will be
accessible via the internet at the
following address: http://www.fao.org/
fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings/
en/.
Ms. Mary Frances Lowe, U.S. Delegate
to the 32nd Session of the CCGP, invites
U.S. interested parties to submit their
comments electronically to the
following email address:
maryfrances.lowe@usda.gov.
Call-In-Number: If you wish to
participate in the public meeting for the
32nd Session of the CCGP by conference
call, please use the call-in-number: 888–
844–9904 and participant code 5126092.
Registration: Attendees may register
to attend the public meeting by emailing

ADDRESSES:

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uscodex@usda.gov by February 19,
2020. Early registration is encouraged
because it will expedite entry into the
building. The meeting will take place in
a Federal building. Attendees should
bring photo identification and plan for
adequate time to pass through the
security screening systems. Attendees
who are not able to attend the meeting
in person, but who wish to participate,
may do so by phone, as discussed
above.
For Further Information about the
32nd Session of the CCGP, contact U.S.
Delegate, Ms. Mary Frances Lowe, U.S.
Manager for Codex Alimentarius, U.S.
Codex Office, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW, Room 4861, South Agriculture
Building, Washington, DC 20250;
phone: +1 (202) 205–7760; email:
maryfrances.lowe@usda.gov.
For Further Information about the
public meeting Contact: U.S. Codex
Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW,
Room 4861, South Agriculture Building,
Washington, DC 20250. Phone (202)
205–7760, Fax: (202) 720–3157, Email:
uscodex@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Codex was established in 1963 by two
United Nations organizations, the Food
and Agriculture Organization and the
World Health Organization. Through
adoption of food standards, codes of
practice, and other guidelines
developed by its committees, and by
promoting their adoption and
implementation by governments, Codex
seeks to protect the health of consumers
and ensure fair practices in the food
trade.
The Terms of Reference of the Codex
Committee on General Principles
(CCGP) are to deal with such procedural
and general matters as are referred to it
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
including:
(a) The review or endorsement of
procedural provisions/texts forwarded
by other subsidiary bodies for inclusion
in the Procedural Manual of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission; and
(b) The consideration and
recommendation of other amendments
to the Procedural Manual.
The CCGP is hosted by France. The
United States attends the CCGP as a
member country of Codex.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public
Meeting
The following items on the Agenda
for the 32nd Session of the CCGP will
be discussed during the public meeting:
• Matters referred to the committee

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