Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 157 / Thursday, August 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules 43489

§ 352.2 [Amended]

10. In § 352.2, in paragraph (a), the

first sentence, and in paragraph (b), the

reference to ‘‘320,’’ would be removed.

§ 352.5 [Amended]

11. In § 352.5, paragraph (d), the

reference to ‘‘320,’’ would be removed

both times it appears.

§ 352.10 [Amended]

12. In § 352.10, the reference to ‘‘320,’’

would be removed in the following

places.

a. Paragraph (a), third sentence.

b. Paragraph (b)(1), sixth sentence.

c. Paragraph (b)(2), second sentence.

§ 352.13 [Amended]

13. In § 352.13, the reference to ‘‘320,’’

would be removed.

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of

August 1997.

Terry L. Medley,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–21521 Filed 8–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 402

RIN 0960–AE68

Electronic Freedom of Information Act

Amendments of 1996

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rules.

SUMMARY: These rules are proposed to

reflect the changes made by the

Electronic Freedom of Information Act

Amendments (EFOIA) of 1996, that give

the public access to government

information and records maintained in

an electronic format, provide for

expedited processing of certain requests,

establish ‘‘electronic reading rooms,’’

eliminate an agency backlog of work as

a justification for delay in processing

requests, require redacted material to be

estimated or indicated in an agency’s

response, and require an agency

reference guide on FOIA to be made

available.

DATES: To be sure that your comments

are considered, we must receive them

no later than September 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

submitted in writing to the Acting

Commissioner of Social Security, P.O.

Box 1585, Baltimore, MD 21235, sent by

telefax to (410) 966–2830, sent by E-mail

to ‘‘regulations@ssa.gov’’ or delivered to

3–B–1 Operations Building, 6401

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD

21235, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

on regular business days.

The electronic file of this document is

available on the Federal Bulletin Board

(FBB) at 9 a.m. on the date of

publication in the Federal Register. To

download the file, modem dial (202)

512–1387. The FBB instructions will

explain how to download the file and

the fee. This file is in WordPerfect

format and will remain on the FBB

during the comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Henry D. Lerner, Legal Assistant, 3–B–

1 Operations Building, 6401 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, (410)

965–1762 for information about these

rules.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These

proposed rules will revise our existing

regulations to reflect the provisions of

Public Law 104–231, the Electronic

Freedom of Information Act

Amendments of 1996. Pub. L. No. 104–

231 amended 5 U.S.C. 552, popularly

known as the Freedom of Information

Act (FOIA), to provide public access to

information in an electronic format,

provide for expedited processing of

certain requests, establish ‘‘electronic

reading rooms,’’ eliminate an agency

backlog of work as a justification for

delay in processing requests, require

redacted material to be estimated or

indicated in an agency’s response, and

require an agency reference guide on

FOIA to be made available. The

proposed rules will also make technical

changes to related rules.

According to the new law, the term

‘‘record’’ encompasses information,

subject to the requirements of the FOIA,

when maintained in any format,

including an electronic format. The

category of ‘‘reading room’’ records, at 5

U.S.C. 552(a)(2), is expanded to include

records that the agency discloses in

response to a FOIA request that have

become, or are likely to become, the

subject of future requests. An index of

those records that are subject to

multiple requests must be prepared and

made available by computer

telecommunications by December 31,

1999. Furthermore, agencies must create

an ‘‘electronic reading room’’ to contain

records created after November 1, 1996

that are required to be made available

under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). Additionally,

agencies must make reasonable efforts to

search for records, even when

information is maintained in an

electronic database, unless such efforts

would significantly interfere with the

operation of the agency’s automated

information system. If a requester

requests a record in a particular format,

agencies must attempt to provide the

record in that format if the record is

readily reproducible in such format.

The general period for responding to

requests has been changed from 10 days

to 20 days. Moreover, multi-track

processing may be offered as a way to

provide more timely responses.

Agencies and requesters may discuss

alternative time frames to process

requests, or modifications to the

requests, when the general 20-day time

for responding cannot be met. Expedited

processing of requests must be done

when there is a compelling need for the

records. ‘‘Compelling need’’ means that

the failure to obtain the records on an

expedited basis could reasonably be

expected to pose an imminent threat to

the life or physical safety of an

individual, or when a request is made

by a person primarily engaged in

disseminating information (e.g., the

news media), and there is an urgency to

inform the public concerning actual or

alleged Federal Government activity.

The amount of information deleted on

a record must be indicated, unless doing

so would harm an interest protected by

an exemption; and, if technically

feasible, the indication shall be at the

place in the record where the deletion

is made. If whole pages or documents

are withheld, an estimate of the volume

of material withheld must be provided

to the requester, unless doing so would

harm an interest protected by an

exemption. Furthermore, a guide for

requesting records, to include an index

and description of major record systems,

must be made available to the public.

The definition of ‘‘record’’ in § 402.30

will be revised to reflect the provisions

of section 3 of Public Law 104–231 to

include information stored in an

electronic format, and the meaning of

‘‘record’’ in the Records Disposal Act,

44 U.S.C. 3301, as well as the Supreme

Court’s decision in U.S. Dept. of Justice

versus Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136

(1989).

Section 402.35 will be revised to

reflect the provisions of section 4 of

Public Law 104–231 concerning

availability of records, extent of

deletions, and a general index of

records.

Section 402.40 will be revised to

indicate that SSA Publications on CD–

ROM are available for purchase.

Section 402.45 will be revised to add

a new category to reading room records.

These are records which ‘‘the agency

determines have become or are likely to

become the subject of subsequent

requests for substantially the same

records.’’ Also, we will provide an

electronic index for this category of

records as reflected in section 4 of the

EFOIA amendments.
43490 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 157 / Thursday, August 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Section 402.100(b) will be revised to

reflect the decision in Dept. of Justice v.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the

Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989) concerning

whether personal information may be

released. In that case, the Court stated

that the only public interest to be

considered is whether disclosure would

shed light on how an agency performs

its statutory duties, and that the identity

of the requester or purpose for which

the information is requested is not

relevant.

Section 402.115, which explains the

deletion of personally identifying

details in requested records, and

§ 402.120, which explains the creation

of records, will be moved for ease of

reference to § 402.145, which explains

what we are required to do when

responding to a request for information.

Section 402.130 will be revised by

adding language about the electronic

availability of a guide/handbook on how

to request information from the Social

Security Administration (SSA). We also

will describe how the public can request

FOIA records.

Section 402.140 will be revised to

include multi-track processing, requests

for expedited processing and the

changes in time limits as provided in

sections 7 and 8 of the EFOIA

amendments. The EFOIA amendments

extended the general period of 10 days

for determining whether to comply with

a request to 20 days.

The EFOIA amendments encourage

agencies which experience difficulties

in meeting FOIA’s time limits to

experiment with multi-track processing.

Before the enactment of the EFOIA

amendments, due to increased volumes

of FOIA requests and staff losses, we

experimented with various processes to

reduce backlogs, among them multitracking. The results are encouraging

and we plan to institute multi-tracking

procedures. We plan on establishing

four tracks depending on the ease of

providing an answer:

• Track 1—Requests that can be

answered with readily available records

or information. These are the fastest to

process.

• Track 2—Requests where we need

records or information from other

offices throughout the Agency, but we

do not expect that the decision on

disclosure will be as time consuming as

for requests in Track 3.

• Track 3—Requests which require a

substantive decision or input from

another office or agency and a

considerable amount of time will be

needed for that, or the request is

complicated or involves a large number

of records. Usually, these cases will take

the longest to process.

• Track 4—Requests that will be

expedited.

The EFOIA requires agencies to

promulgate regulations providing

expedited access for requesters who

show a ‘‘compelling need’’ for a speedy

response. The EFOIA describes

compelling need as when there is ‘‘an

imminent threat to the life or physical

safety of an individual,’’ or when it is

a request from a member of the media,

and there is an ‘‘urgency to inform the

public concerning actual or alleged

Federal Government activity.’’

Section 402.145 will be revised to

include new provisions on searching

for, retrieving, and furnishing records in

electronic formats, and will describe

how deletions on records will be

indicated.

Section 402.150 will be revised to

cross-refer to § 402.45 to describe the

indexing of records for the new category

of reading room records. This describes

our procedures for releasing records for

which we receive multiple requests or

expect to receive multiple requests.

Section 402.160 will be revised to

correct the reference to § 402.145 (b) and

(c) and to clarify these paragraphs.

These references should read § 402.155

(b) and (c).

Justification for 30-Day Public

Comment Period

When required, we follow the notice

of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and

public comment procedures specified in

the Administrative Procedure Act

(APA), 5 U.S.C. 553 and guidelines in

Executive Order 12866, 58 FR 51735

(September 30, 1993). We have

determined that good cause exists for a

30-day comment period because this

NPRM is primarily implementing the

EFOIA legislation, and the 30-day time

frame will provide the public with a

meaningful opportunity to comment,

and issuing the new rules as soon as

possible would help our agency comply

with the legislative provisions of the

EFOIA sooner than would a 60-day

comment period, which is to the benefit

of the public.

Executive Order No. 12866

We have consulted with the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) and

determined that these rules do not meet

the criteria for a significant regulatory

action under Executive Order 12866.

Thus, they were not subject to OMB

review.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that these rules will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

since these rules affect only individuals.

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility

analysis as provided in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, as amended, is not

required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

These regulations will impose no

additional reporting and recordkeeping

requirements subject to OMB clearance.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 96.001 Social SecurityDisability Insurance; 96.002 Social SecurityRetirement Insurance; 96.004 Social SecuritySurvivors Insurance; 96.006 Supplemental

Security Income.)

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 402

Administrative practice and

procedure, Archives and records,

Freedom of information.

Dated: July 28, 1997.

John J. Callahan,

Acting Commissioner of Social Security.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, we are proposing to amend

part 402 of 20 CFR chapter III as

follows:

PART 402—AVAILABILITY OF

INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO

THE PUBLIC

1. The authority citation for 20 CFR

part 402 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 205, 702(a)(5), and 1106 of

the Social Security Act; (42 U.S.C. 405,

902(a)(5), and 1306); Section 413(b) of the

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977

(30 U.S.C. 923b), 5 U.S.C. 552 and 552a; 8

U.S.C. 1360; 18 U.S.C. 1905; 26 U.S.C. 6103;

31 U.S.C. 9701; E.O. 12600, 52 FR 23781, 3

CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 235.

2. Section 402.30 is amended by

revising the definition of ‘‘records’’ to

read as follows:

§ 402.30 Definitions.

* * * * *

Records means any information

maintained by an agency, regardless of

forms or characteristics, that is made or

received in connection with official

business. This includes handwritten,

typed, or printed documents (such as

memoranda, books, brochures, studies,

writings, drafts, letters, transcripts, and

minutes) and material in other forms,

such as punchcards; magnetic tapes;

cards; computer discs or other

electronic formats; paper tapes; audio or

video recordings; maps; photographs;

slides; microfilm; and motion pictures.

It does not include objects or articles

such as exhibits, models, equipment,

and duplication machines, audiovisual

processing materials, or computer

software. It does not include personal

records of an employee, or books,

magazines, pamphlets, or other
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 157 / Thursday, August 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules 43491

reference material in formally organized

and officially designated SSA libraries,

where such materials are available

under the rules of the particular library.

* * * * *

3. Section 402.35 is amended by

adding new paragraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 402.35 Publication.

* * * * *

(d) Availability by

telecommunications. To the extent

practicable, we will make available by

means of computer telecommunications

the indices and other records that are

available for inspection.

4. Section 402.40 is amended by

adding new paragraph (h) to read as

follows:

§ 402.40 Publications for sale.

* * * * *

(h) SSA Publications on CD–ROM.

5. Section 402.45 is amended by

adding new paragraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 402.45 Availability of records.

* * * * *

(d) Electronic reading room. We will

prepare an index of records which have

become or are likely to become the

subject of subsequent requests. The

index, and, to the extent practicable, the

records will be made available on the

Internet or by other computer

telecommunications means.

6. Section 402.100 is amended by

revising the heading and paragraph (b)

to read as follows:

§ 402.100 Exemption six: Clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

* * * * *

(b) Balancing test. In deciding

whether to release records to you that

contain personal or private information

about someone else, we weigh the

foreseeable harm of invading a person’s

privacy against the public interest in

disclosure. In determining whether

disclosure would be in the public

interest, we will consider whether

disclosure of the requested information

would shed light on how a Government

agency performs its statutory duties.

However, in our evaluation of requests

for records we attempt to guard against

the release of information that might

involve a violation of personal privacy

because of a requester being able to

‘‘read between the lines’’ or piece

together items that would constitute

information that normally would be

exempt from mandatory disclosure

under Exemption Six.

* * * * *

§ 402.115 [Removed]

7. Section 402.115 is removed.

§ 402.120 [Removed]

8. Section 402.120 is removed.

§ 402.130 [Removed]

9. Section 402.130 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 402.130 How to request a record.

You may request a record in person or

by mail or by electronic

telecommunications. To the extent

practicable, and in the future, we will

attempt to provide access for requests by

telephone, fax, Internet, and e-mail. Any

request should reasonably describe the

record you want. If you have detailed

information which would assist us in

identifying that record, please submit it

with your request. We may charge fees

for some requests (§§ 402.145–402.175

explain our fees). You should identify

the request as a Freedom of Information

Act request and mark the outside of any

envelope used to submit your request as

a ‘‘Freedom of Information Request.’’

The staff at any Social Security office

can help you prepare this request.

10. Section 402.140 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 402.140 How a request for a record is

processed.

(a) In general, we will make a

determination as to whether a requested

record will be provided within 20 days

(excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and

legal public holidays) after receipt of a

request by the appropriate official (see

§ 402.135). This 20-day period may be

extended in unusual circumstances by

written notice to you, explaining why

we need additional time, and the

extension may be for up to 10 additional

working days when one or more of the

following situations exist:

(b) If we cannot process your request

within 10 additional days, we will

notify you and provide you an

opportunity to limit the scope of the

request so that it may be processed

within the additional 10 days, or we

will provide you with an opportunity to

arrange with us an alternative time

frame for processing the request, or for

processing a modified request.

(c) Multi-tracking procedures. We will

establish four tracks for handling

requests and the track to which a

request is assigned will depend on the

nature of the request and the estimated

processing time:

(1) Track 1. Requests that can be

answered with readily available records

or information. These are the fastest to

process.

(2) Track 2. Requests where we need

records or information from other

offices throughout the Agency but we do

not expect that the decision on

disclosure will be as time consuming as

for requests in Track 3.

(3) Track 3. Requests which require a

decision or input from another office or

agency and a considerable amount of

time will be needed for that, or the

request is complicated or involves a

large number of records. Usually, these

cases will take the longest to process.

(4) Track 4. Requests that will be

expedited.

(d) We will provide for expedited

access for requesters who show a

‘‘compelling need’’ for a speedy

response. The EFOIA describes

compelling need as when the failure to

obtain the records on an expedited basis

could reasonably be expected to pose

‘‘an imminent threat to the life or

physical safety of an individual,’’ or

when the request is from a person

primarily engaged in disseminating

information (such as a member of the

news media), and there is an ‘‘urgency

to inform the public concerning actual

or alleged Federal Government

activity.’’ We also will expedite

processing of a request if the requester

explains in detail to our satisfaction that

a prompt response is needed because

the requester may be denied a legal

right, benefit, or remedy without the

requested information, and that it

cannot be obtained elsewhere in a

reasonable amount of time. We will

respond within 10 days to a request for

expedited processing and, if we decide

to grant expedited processing, we will

then notify you of our decision whether

to disclose the records requested or not

as soon as practicable.

11. Section 402.145 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 402.145 Responding to your request.

(a) Retrieving records. We are required

to furnish copies of records only when

they are in our possession or we can

retrieve them from storage. We will

make reasonable efforts to search for

records manually or by automated

means, including any information

stored in an electronic form or format,

except when such efforts would

significantly interfere with the operation

of our automated information system. If

we have stored the records you want in

the National Archives or another storage

center, we will retrieve and review them

for possible disclosure. However, the

Federal Government destroys many old

records, so sometimes it is impossible to

fill requests. Various laws, regulations,

and manuals give the time periods for

keeping records before they may be

destroyed. For example, there is

information about retention of records
43492 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 157 / Thursday, August 14, 1997 / Proposed Rules

in the Records Disposal Act of 1944, 44

U.S.C. 3301 through 3314; the Federal

Property Management Regulations, 41

CFR 101–11.4; and the General Records

Schedules of the National Archives and

Records Administration.

(b) Furnishing records. We will

furnish copies only of records that we

have or can retrieve. We are not

required to create new records or to

perform research for you. We may

decide to conserve Government

resources and at the same time supply

the records you need by consolidating

information from various records rather

than copying them all. For instance, we

could extract sections from various

similar records instead of providing

repetitious information. We generally

will furnish only one copy of a record.

We will make reasonable efforts to

provide the records in the form or

format you request if the record is

readily reproducible in that form or

format.

(c) Deletions. When we publish or

otherwise make available any record, we

may delete information that is exempt

from disclosure. For example, in an

opinion or order, statement of policy, or

other record which relates to a private

party or parties, the name or names and

other identifying details may be deleted.

When technically feasible, we will

indicate the extent of deletions on the

portion of the record that is released or

published at the place of the deletion

unless including that indication would

harm an interest protected by an

exemption. If we deny a request, in

whole or in part, we will make a

reasonable effort to estimate the volume

of any requested matter that is not

disclosed, unless such an estimate

would harm an interest protected by an

exemption.

(d) Creation of records. We are not

required to create new records merely to

satisfy a request. However, we will

search manually or by automated means

to locate information that is responsive

to the request. If extensive computer

programming is needed to respond to a

request, we may decline to commit such

resources, or if we agree to do so, we

may charge you for the reasonable cost

of doing so. We do not mean that we

will never help you get information that

does not already exist in our records.

However, diverting staff and equipment

from our other responsibilities may not

always be possible.

12. Section 402.150 is amended by

revising paragraph (a), removing

paragraph (b), and redesignating

paragraph (c) as new paragraph (b) to

read as follows:

§ 402.150 Release of records.

(a) Records previously released. If we

have released a record, or a part of a

record, to others in the past, we will

ordinarily release it to you also.

However, we will not release it to you

if a statute forbids this disclosure, and

we will not necessarily release it to you

if an exemption applies in your

situation and it did not apply, or

applied differently, in the previous

situation(s) or if the previous release

was unauthorized. See § 402.45(d)

regarding records in electronic reading

rooms.

* * * * *

13. Section 402.160 is amended by

revising paragraphs (b) and (c) to read

as follows:

§ 402.160 Fees to be charged—general

provisions.

* * * * *

(b) If we are not charging you for the

first two hours of search time, under

paragraph (c) of § 402.155, and those

two hours are spent on a computer

search, then the two free hours are the

first two hours of the time needed to

access the information in the computer.

(c) If we are not charging you for the

first 100 pages of duplication, under

paragraph (b) or (c) of § 402.155, then

those 100 pages are the first 100 pages

of photocopies of standard size pages, or

the first 100 pages of computer printout.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–21546 Filed 8–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4190–29–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 141

[FRL–5874–7]

Stakeholders Meeting on Drinking

Water Regulation Action

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Announcement of Stakeholders

meeting on EPA’s revision to the public

notification rule under the 1996 Safe

Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

amendments.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a

public meeting on August 27, 1997. The

purpose of the meeting will be to gather

information and collect opinions from

parties who will be affected by

provisions of the Public Notification

Rule of the new Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA), amended in 1996. Comments

and views expressed will be used to

help develop the new Federal and state

program requirements. EPA is seeking

input from State drinking water

programs, the regulated community

(public water systems), public health

and safety organizations, environmental

and public interest groups, and other

stakeholders on a number of issues

related to developing the drinking water

regulation. EPA encourages the full

participation of all stakeholders

throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the

drinking water regulation for public

notification will be held on August 27,

1997, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central

Daylight Savings Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Rice Auditorium, Indiana State

Department of Health, 1330 West

Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.

For information on meeting logistics or

if you want to register for the meeting,

please contact the EPA Safe Drinking

Water Hotline at 1–800–426–4791, or

Stacy Jones of the Indiana Department

of Environmental Management at (317)

308–3292. Participants registering in

advance will be mailed a packet of

materials before the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl

Reeverts, U.S. EPA, at (202) 260–7273;

or Linda Selmer, U.S. EPA, Region 5

Office, at (312) 886–6197.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Environmental Protection Agency is

developing revised Public Notification

regulations (under existing 40 CFR

141.32) to incorporate the new

provisions enacted under the 1996 Safe

Drinking Water Amendments (SDWA),

specifically the amended sections 1414

(c)(1) and (c)(2) of the SDWA. The 1996

SDWA amendments completely

replaced the language in the statute

under 1414(c). There is no statutory

deadline for implementing the amended

sections 1414(c)(1) and (c)(2).

The Administrator is required by

statute to prescribe by regulation the

manner, frequency, form, and content

that public water systems must follow

for giving public notice. The 1996

SDWA amendments amended this EPA

obligation to require consultation with

the States prior to rulemaking. Public

Water Systems are currently required to

notify their customers whenever: (1) A

violation of any drinking water

regulation occurs (including MCL,

treatment technique, and monitoring/

reporting requirements); (2) a variance

or exemption (V&E) to those regulations

is in place or the conditions of the V&E

are violated; or (3) results from

unregulated contaminant monitoring

required under section 1445 of the

SDWA are received. This coverage was