This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

12609 

Vol. 76, No. 45 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Office of the Secretary 

6 CFR Part 5 

[Docket No. DHS–2010–0051] 

Privacy Act of 1974: Implementation of 

Exemptions; Department of Homeland 

Security Office of Operations 

Coordination and Planning—002 

National Operations Center Tracker 

and Senior Watch Officer Logs System 

of Records 

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security is giving concurrent notice of a 

newly established system of records 

pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 for 

the Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Operations Coordination and 

Planning—002 National Operations 

Center Tracker and Senior Watch 

Officer Logs System of Records and this 

proposed rulemaking. The National 

Operations Center and Senior Watch 

Officer tracking functions were 

previously covered by Department of 

Homeland Security/Information 

Analysis and Infrastructure Protection— 

001 Homeland Security Operations 

Center Database, April 18, 2005. In this 

proposed rulemaking, the Department 

proposes to exempt portions of the 

system of records from one or more 

provisions of the Privacy Act because of 

criminal, civil, and administrative 

enforcement requirements. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 7, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number DHS– 

2010–0051, by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 703–483–2999. 

• Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, 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 notice. 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: For 

general questions please contact: 

Michael Page (202–357–7626), Privacy 

Point of Contact, Office of Operations 

Coordination and Planning, Department 

of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 

20528. For privacy issues please 

contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703–235– 

0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 

Office, Department of Homeland 

Security, Washington, DC 20528. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) Office of Operations Coordination 

and Planning (OPS) proposes to 

establish a new DHS system of records 

titled, ‘‘DHS/OPS—002 National 

Operations Center Tracker and Senior 

Watch Officer Logs System of Records.’’ 

The primary role of the Senior Watch 

Officer (SWO) and the Watch Officer 

Desks, is to provide technical assistance 

directly in support of the DHS core 

missions to provide situational 

awareness and establish a common 

operating picture for Federal, State, 

local, Tribal, and territorial agencies and 

organizations; foreign governments and 

international organizations; domestic 

security and emergency management 

officials; and private sector entities or 

individuals as it relates to all-threats 

and all-hazards, man-made disasters 

and acts of terrorism, and natural 

disasters, and ensure that information 

reaches government decision-makers. 

The SWO Log is a synopsis, in the 

form of a word document, that records 

all significant information received and 

actions taken during a shift. The NOC 

Tracker Log is the underlying 

cumulative repository of all NOC 

responses to threats, incidents, 

significant activities and Requests for 

Information (RFI) that require a NOC 

tracking number. The NOC Tracker Log 

contains a copy of all documents and 

information that is requested, shared, 

and/or researched between all NOC 

watch stander desks. 

The purpose of this system is to tie 

together the high volume of information, 

requests and responses for information, 

and data collection relevant to discreet 

events and issues as they arise, and 

making that information easily 

accessible in an organized form should 

a future event benefit from previously 

gathered information. The tracker 

numbers are used in a wide variety of 

products originated by the DHS/OPS 

NOC. They are shared inside and 

outside of DHS and serve as shorthand 

for tying data, use in internal and 

external reports, and agency actions to 

the event that caused them. DHS is 

authorized to implement this program 

primarily through 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 

552a; 44 U.S.C. 3101; 6 U.S.C. 121; 

Sections 201 and 514 of the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002, as amended; 

Section 520 of the Post Katrina 

Emergency Management Reform Act; 44 

U.S.C. 3101; Executive Order (E.O.) 

12958; E.O. 9397; E.O. 12333; E.O. 

13356; E.O. 13388; and Homeland 

Security Presidential Directive 5. This 

system has an effect on individual 

privacy that is balanced by the need to 

fuse information together and tracking 

homeland security information coming 

into and going out of OPS, including the 

NOC. Routine uses contained in this 

notice include sharing with the 

Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal 

advice and representation; to a 

congressional office at the request of an 

individual; to the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA) for 

records management; to contractors in 

support of their contract assignment to 

DHS; to appropriate Federal, State, 

Tribal, local, international, foreign 

agency, or other appropriate entity 

including the privacy sector in their role 

aiding OPS in their mission; to agencies, 

organizations or individuals for the 

purpose of audit; to agencies, entities, or 

persons during a security or information 

compromise or risk; to an agency, 

organization, or individual when there 

could potentially be a risk to an 

individual; and to the news media in 

the interest of the public. None of the 

information collected by this system is 

done so under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA). 

Consistent with DHS’s information 

sharing mission, information stored in 

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12610 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

the DHS/OPS—002 National Operations 

Center Tracker and Senior Watch 

Officer Logs System of Records may be 

shared with other DHS components, as 

well as appropriate Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, and territorial agencies and 

organizations; foreign governments and 

international organizations; domestic 

security and emergency management 

officials; and private sector entities or 

individuals. This sharing will only take 

place after DHS determines that the 

receiving component or agency has a 

need to know the information to carry 

out national security, law enforcement, 

immigration, intelligence, or other 

functions consistent with the routine 

uses set forth in this system of records 

notice. DHS has issued a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking consistent with 

this system of records elsewhere in the 

Federal Register. This newly 

established system will be included in 

DHS’s inventory of record systems. 

The NOC and SWO tracking functions 

were previously covered by DHS/ 

Information Analysis and Infrastructure 

Protection (IAIP)—001 Homeland 

Security Operations Center Database 

(April 18, 2005, 70 FR 20061). 

The Privacy Act embodies fair 

information principles in a statutory 

framework governing the means by 

which the United States Government 

collects, maintains, uses, and 

disseminates personally identifiable 

information. 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 

the individual or by some identifying 

number, symbol, or other identifying 

particular assigned to the individual. 

Individuals may request their own 

records that are maintained in a system 

of records in the possession or under the 

control of DHS by complying with DHS 

Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR part 5. 

The Privacy Act requires each agency 

to publish in the Federal Register a 

description of the type and character of 

each system of records that the agency 

maintains, and the routine uses that are 

contained in each system in order to 

make agency recordkeeping practices 

transparent, to notify individuals 

regarding the uses to which personally 

identifiable information is put, and to 

assist individuals in finding such files 

within the agency. 

The Privacy Act allows Government 

agencies to exempt certain records from 

the access and amendment provisions. If 

an agency claims an exemption, 

however, it must issue a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking to make clear to 

the public the reasons why a particular 

exemption is claimed. 

DHS is claiming exemptions from 

certain requirements of the Privacy Act 

for DHS/OPS—002 National Operations 

Center Tracker and Senior Watch 

Officer Logs System of Records. Some 

information in DHS/OPS—002 National 

Operations Center Tracker and Senior 

Watch Officer Logs System of Records 

relates to official DHS national security, 

law enforcement, immigration, and 

intelligence activities. These 

exemptions are needed to protect 

information relating to DHS activities 

from disclosure to subjects or others 

related to these activities. Specifically, 

the exemptions are required to preclude 

subjects of these activities from 

frustrating these processes; to avoid 

disclosure of activity techniques; to 

protect the identities and physical safety 

of confidential informants and law 

enforcement personnel; to ensure DHS’ 

ability to obtain information from third 

parties and other sources; to protect the 

privacy of third parties; and to safeguard 

classified information. Disclosure of 

information to the subject of the inquiry 

could also permit the subject to avoid 

detection or apprehension. 

The exemptions proposed here are 

standard law enforcement and national 

security exemptions exercised by a large 

number of Federal law enforcement and 

intelligence agencies. In appropriate 

circumstances, where compliance 

would not appear to interfere with or 

adversely affect the law enforcement 

purposes of this system and the overall 

law enforcement process, the applicable 

exemptions may be waived on a case by 

case basis. 

A notice of system of records for DHS/ 

OPS—002 National Operations Center 

Tracker and Senior Watch Officer Logs 

System of Records is also published in 

this issue of the Federal Register. 

List of Subjects in 6 CFR Part 5 

Freedom of information; Privacy. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, DHS proposes to amend 

Chapter I of Title 6, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as follows: 

PART 5—DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS 

AND INFORMATION 

1. The authority citation for part 5 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.; Pub. L. 

107–296, 116 Stat. 2135; 5 U.S.C. 301. 

Subpart A also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552. 

Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552a. 

2. Add at the end of Appendix C to 

Part 5, the following new paragraph 54: 

Appendix C to Part 5—DHS Systems of 

Records Exempt From the Privacy Act 

* * * * * 

54. The DHS/OPS—002 National 

Operations Center Tracker and Senior Watch 

Officer Logs System of Records consists of 

electronic and paper records and will be used 

by DHS/OPS. The DHS/OPS—002 National 

Operations Center Tracker and Senior Watch 

Officer Logs System of Records is a 

repository of information held by DHS in 

connection with its several and varied 

missions and functions, including, but not 

limited to: the enforcement of civil and 

criminal laws; investigations, inquiries, and 

proceedings there under; national security 

and intelligence activities. The DHS/OPS— 

002 National Operations Center Tracker and 

Senior Watch Officer Logs System of Records 

contains information that is collected by, on 

behalf of, in support of, or in cooperation 

with DHS and its components and may 

contain personally identifiable information 

collected by other Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, foreign, or international government 

agencies. The Secretary of Homeland 

Security is exempting this system from the 

following provisions of the Privacy Act, 

subject to limitations set forth in 5 U.S.C. 

552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), 

(e)(4)(I); and (f) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

552a(k)(1), (k)(2), and (k)(3). Exemptions 

from these particular subsections are 

justified, on a case-by-case basis to be 

determined at the time a request is made, for 

the following reasons: 

(a) From subsection (c)(3) (Accounting for 

Disclosures) because release of the 

accounting of disclosures could alert the 

subject of an investigation of an actual or 

potential criminal, civil, or regulatory 

violation to the existence of that investigation 

and reveal investigative interest on the part 

of DHS as well as the recipient agency. 

Disclosure of the accounting would therefore 

present a serious impediment to law 

enforcement efforts and/or efforts to preserve 

national security. Disclosure of the 

accounting would also permit the individual 

who is the subject of a record to impede the 

investigation, to tamper with witnesses or 

evidence, and to avoid detection or 

apprehension, which would undermine the 

entire investigative process. 

(b) From subsection (d) (Access to Records) 

because access to the records contained in 

this system of records could inform the 

subject of an investigation of an actual or 

potential criminal, civil, or regulatory 

violation to the existence of that investigation 

and reveal investigative interest on the part 

of DHS or another agency. Access to the 

records could permit the individual who is 

the subject of a record to impede the 

investigation, to tamper with witnesses or 

evidence, and to avoid detection or 

apprehension. Amendment of the records 

could interfere with ongoing investigations 

and law enforcement activities and would 

impose an unreasonable administrative 

burden by requiring investigations to be 

continually reinvestigated. In addition, 

permitting access and amendment to such 

information could disclose security-sensitive 

information that could be detrimental to 

homeland security. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules 12611 

1 12 CFR part 567, Appendix C. 

2Public Law 111–203, § 171, 124 Stat. 1376, 

1435–38 (2010). 

3 12 CFR part 567. 

4Public Law 111–203, § 171, 124 Stat. 1376, 

1435–38 (2010). 

5The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the 

Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

(Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC) are considered Federal banking 

agencies. Section 312 of the Act provides for the 

transfer of OTS functions to the FDIC, OCC, and 

Board, on the transfer date, which is July 21, 2011 

(unless the Secretary of the Treasury designates a 

later date, but not later than January 21, 2012). More 

specifically, the Act transfers authority over Federal 

savings associations to the OCC, authority over 

State savings associations to the FDIC, and 

authority over savings and loan holding companies 

to the Board. OTS rulemaking authority relating to 

savings associations and savings and loan holding 

companies will be transferred to the OCC and 

Board, respectively. 12 U.S.C. 5412. 

6OTS’s capital regulations applicable to savings 

associations are set forth at 12 CFR part 567. 

Section 303 of the Riegle Community Development 

and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 

4803) directs the agencies to work jointly to make 

uniform all regulations and guidelines 

implementing common statutory or supervisory 

policies. Accordingly, the banking agencies 

generally issue capital standards whose substance 

is as similar as possible, thereby minimizing 

interagency differences. Due to timing 

considerations, the OCC, Board, and FDIC 

published a notice of proposed rulemaking (Joint 

NPR) in the Federal Register which addressed 

section 171 of the Dodd-Frank Act (75 FR 82317, 

December 30, 2010). OTS is issuing today’s NPR 

which essentially parallels the substance of the 

joint proposal. 

(c) From subsection (e)(1) (Relevancy and 

Necessity of Information) because in the 

course of investigations into potential 

violations of Federal law, the accuracy of 

information obtained or introduced 

occasionally may be unclear, or the 

information may not be strictly relevant or 

necessary to a specific investigation. In the 

interests of effective law enforcement, it is 

appropriate to retain all information that may 

aid in establishing patterns of unlawful 

activity. 

(d) From subsections (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), 

and (e)(4)(I) (Agency Requirements) and (f) 

(Agency Rules), because portions of this 

system are exempt from the individual access 

provisions of subsection (d) for the reasons 

noted above, and therefore DHS is not 

required to establish requirements, rules, or 

procedures with respect to such access. 

Providing notice to individuals with respect 

to existence of records pertaining to them in 

the system of records or otherwise setting up 

procedures pursuant to which individuals 

may access and view records pertaining to 

themselves in the system would undermine 

investigative efforts and reveal the identities 

of witnesses, and potential witnesses, and 

confidential informants. 

Dated: February 25, 2011. 

Mary Ellen Callahan, 

Chief Privacy Officer, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5094 Filed 3–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9A–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

12 CFR Part 567 

[Docket No. OTS–2011–0002] 

RIN 1550–AC41 

Risk-Based Capital Standards: 

Advanced Capital Adequacy 

Framework—Basel II; Establishment of 

a Risk-Based Capital Floor 

AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision, 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Thrift 

Supervision (OTS) proposes to: Amend 

its advanced risk-based capital 

adequacy standards (advanced 

approaches rules) 1 to be consistent with 

certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank 

Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (the Act) 2 and amend the 

general risk-based capital rules 3 to 

provide limited flexibility consistent 

with section 171(b) of the Act for 

recognizing the relative risk of certain 

assets generally not held by depository 

institutions. 

DATES: Comments on this notice of 

proposed rulemaking must be received 

by May 9, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

directed to: 

OTS: You may submit comments, 

identified by OTS–2011–0002 by any of 

the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

‘‘Regulations.gov’’: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Regulation Comments, Chief 

Counsel’s Office, Office of Thrift 

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552, Attention: OTS– 

2011–0002. 

• Fax: (202) 906–6518. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Guard’s 

Desk, East Lobby Entrance, 1700 G 

Street, NW., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 

business days, Attention: Regulation 

Comments, Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Attention: OTS–2011–0002. 

• Instructions: All submissions 

received must include the agency name 

and docket number for this rulemaking. 

All comments received will be posted 

without change, including any personal 

information provided. Comments 

received, including attachments and 

other supporting materials, are part of 

the public record and subject to public 

disclosure. Do not enclose any 

information in your comment or 

supporting materials that you consider 

confidential or inappropriate for public 

disclosure. 

• Viewing Comments Electronically: 

Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 

follow the instructions for reading 

comments. 

• Viewing Comments On-Site: You 

may inspect comments at the Public 

Reading Room, 1700 G Street, NW., by 

appointment. To make an appointment 

for access, call (202) 906–5922, send an 

e-mail to public.info@ots.treas.gov, or 

send a facsimile transmission to (202) 

906–6518. (Prior notice identifying the 

materials you will be requesting will 

assist us in serving you.) We schedule 

appointments on business days between 

10 a.m. and 4 p.m. In most cases, 

appointments will be available the next 

business day following the date we 

receive a request. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sonja White, Director, Capital Policy, 

(202) 906–7857, Teresa A. Scott, Senior 

Policy Analyst, Capital Policy, (202) 

906–6478, or Marvin Shaw, Senior 

Attorney, Regulations and Legislation 

Division, (202) 906–6639, Office of 

Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

and Consumer Protection Act 

Section 171(b)(2) of the Dodd-Frank 

Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (the Act) 4 states that the 

Federal banking agencies 5 shall 

establish minimum risk-based capital 

requirements 6 applicable to insured 

depository institutions, depository 

institution holding companies, and 

nonbank financial companies 

supervised by the Federal Reserve 

(covered institutions). In particular, and 

as described in more detail below, 

sections 171(b)(1) and (2) specify that 

the minimum leverage and risk-based 

capital requirements established under 

section 171 shall not be less than 

‘‘generally applicable’’ capital 

requirements, which shall serve as a 

floor for any capital requirements the 

agencies may require. Moreover, 

sections 171(b)(1) and (2) specify that 

the Federal banking agencies may not 

establish leverage or risk-based capital 

requirements for covered institutions 

that are quantitatively lower than the 

generally applicable leverage or riskbased capital requirements in effect for 

insured depository institutions as of the 

date of enactment of the Act. 

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