Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 1997 / Notices 50053

Issue 14: One commenter noted that

the E Street traffic recommendation

could affect the Zero Milestone and the

Butt-Millet memorial, raising historic

preservation issues that were not

included in the EA.

Response: The recommendation for

providing for resumption of westbound

traffic on E Street assumed that the

existing street configuration would be

maintained and not require widening in

the area of the Zero Milestone and the

Butt-Millet memorial. The

recommendations provided in Chapter 3

are just that, recommendations for

consideration by the agencies with the

authority to implement them.

Issue 15: One commenter stated that

the EA was misleading because it did

not describe the process for reaching a

decision on whether to issue a FONSI or

a notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

Response: The CEQ’s NEPA

regulations have been in place since

1978. Treasury did not feel it was

necessary to explain the purpose of an

environmental assessment in its

document. The comment period was

announced in the Federal Register and

the EA itself.

Issue 16: One commenter stated that

traffic was worse and that Pennsylvania

Avenue and E Street should be

reopened to vehicular traffic.

Response: The security need for the

restriction has not been eliminated;

however, Treasury is working with

other agencies to examine potential new

designs for traffic on E Street. The EA

does show that some streets have had

increases in traffic. The exact amount

which is due to the action cannot be

determined due to the lack of pre-action

data.

Issue 17: One commenter criticized

the EA for not having a section on the

beneficial impacts of the action such as

the better access to Lafayette Park and

providing a more appropriate setting for

one of our preeminent national symbols.

Response: Treasury agrees that there

are many beneficial impacts resulting

from the vehicular traffic restriction and

attempted to describe them in

qualitative terms in the EA. Most of

these impacts are very difficult to assign

dollar figures to and such an effort is not

warranted at the EA level.

Issue 18: One commenter noted that

the action is not consistent with the

District’s transportation plan, as

outlined in the Transportation Vision,

Strategy and Action Plan for the

Nation’s Capital.

Response: The action was taken to

protect the White House Complex from

explosive devices carried by vehicles

near the perimeter. This action, while

inharmonious with the transportation

plan, is a necessary security precaution.

Issue 19: One commenter believes that

there is sufficient pre-existing traffic

data available from the District and the

FHWA to allow for estimation of the

action’s effects.

Response: The EA used the above

mentioned data and data from other

sources and still could not identify a

method for making the suggested

estimation. FHWA was a cooperating

agency for the EA.

Issue 20: One commenter citing

anecdotal evidence from her

constituents suggests that noise levels

now are noticeably higher. This

commenter also suggested that the

methodology used for noise in the EA

contains flaws and therefore failed to

fully quantify the actual increase.

Response: The EA noise data was

acquired using standard industry

practices and equipment. It presents the

actual dB readings taken at the time of

the measurement in a scientifically

accurate manner.

Issue 21: One commenter noted that

the boundaries for the extended study

area are appropriate for evaluating the

project’s effects.

Response: Treasury agrees.

Lawrence H. Summers,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–25354 Filed 9–23–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Expansion of National Customs

Automation Program Test Regarding

Electronic Protest Filing

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice; expansion of

program.

SUMMARY: This notice announces

Customs plan to expand its program

regarding the electronic filing of protests

to encourage new participants. Also,

public comments concerning any aspect

of the test are solicited.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The testing period,

which was scheduled to end on April

30, 1997, is now extended through

December of 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

regarding this notice or any aspect of

this test should be addressed to the

Chief, Commercial Compliance Branch,

U.S. Customs Service, 1301 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Room 1313, Washington,

DC 20229–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

operational or policy issues: Neil

Shannon, Chief, Commercial

Compliance Branch, (202) 927–0300.

For protest system or automation

issues: Steve Linnemann, Office of

Information and Technology, (202) 927-

0436.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On January 30, 1996, Customs

published in the Federal Register (61

FR 3086) a general notice announcing,

as part of the National Customs

Automation Program (NCAP), a test

regarding the electronic filing of

protests. The test began on May 1, 1996,

was to last six months, but was

extended through April of 1997, when

a second general notice was published

on December 31, 1996, in the Federal

Register (61 FR 69133). The test allows

the following actions to be filed and

tracked electronically:

(1) Protests against Customs decisions

under 19 U.S.C. 1514

(2) Claims for refunds of duties

deposited or for corrections of errors

requiring reliquidation pursuant to 19

U.S.C. 1520 (c) and (d); and

(3) Interventions in an importer’s

protest by an exporter or producer of

merchandise from a country that is a

party to the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA) under § 181.115 of

the Customs Regulations (19 CFR

181.115).

Participation in this NCAP

component is available to all interested

parties. If you already are an ABI

participant, you can take advantage of

electronic protest immediately by

contacting your local Customs Client

Representative. If you are not an ABI

participant, write a letter on your

company’s letterhead indicating your

interest in electronic protest filing. The

information provided should include

your company’s name, address,

telephone number, and the name of a

contact person. Send the letter to: U.S.

Customs Service, Office of Information

and Technology, User Support Services

Division, Trade Support, Room 2419,

1301 Constitution Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20229.

Expansion of Test

This notice informs the public that

Customs is expanding the program for

the electronic filing of protests to

encourage new participants. Also,

public comments concerning any aspect

of the test are solicited.

Customs anticipates that this NCAP

component will be available to all

interested parties by January of 1998.
50054 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 1997 / Notices

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Robert S. Trotter,

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field

Operations.

[FR Doc. 97–25341 Filed 9–23–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Privacy Act of 1974: Computer

Matching Program

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service,

Treasury Department.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a, the

Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) Guidelines on the Conduct of

Matching Programs, notice is hereby

given of the conduct of an Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) computer match.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice will be

effective October 24, 1997, unless

comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESS: Comments or inquiries may be

mailed to Chief Inspector, Internal

Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Jacqueline Greening, Internal

Auditor, Quality Assurance and

Oversight Section, Office of Planning

and Management, Office of Assistant

Chief Inspector (Internal Audit), Internal

Revenue Service, (202) 622–5911.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: IRS

management is responsible for

discouraging the perpetration of

irregular or illegal acts and limiting any

exposure if an integrity breach occurs.

To accomplish its mission, the

Inspection Service assists management

in achieving this objective by enhancing

its conventional audit and investigative

activities with a program designed to

deter and detect such acts and to search

for indicators of fraud sufficient to

warrant investigation.

The Inspection Service’s Integrity

Program includes Integrity Projects,

Integrity Tests, and national or other

projects, including joint Internal Audit/

Internal Security activities, designed to

detect indicators of fraud and which

focus specifically on the deterrence and

detection of integrity breaches.

Integrity Projects are reviews or

probes of specific high risk areas or

transactions by the Inspection Service to

detect material fraud and to assess the

extent of integrity breaches that may

have occurred.

Computer matching is the most

feasible method of performing

comprehensive analysis of employee,

taxpayer, and tax administration data

because of the large number of

employees (seasonally varying to over

102,000), the geographic dispersion

(nationwide) of IRS offices and

employees, and the tremendous volume

of computerized data that is available

for analysis.

This computer match may be

conducted in part or in its entirety by

any or all of the Inspection Service’s

offices. The results of this match may be

matched with County and/or State Lien

records to identify any discrepancies

and/or underlying fraudulent activity

aimed at unauthorized lien releases.

NAME OF SOURCE AGENCY:

Internal Revenue Service.

NAME OF RECIPIENT AGENCY:

Internal Revenue Service.

BEGINNING AND COMPLETION DATES:

This computer match is targeted to

commence in October, 1997 unless

comments dictate otherwise. The

program of computer matches will

conclude at the end of the eighteenth

month after the beginning date (April,

1999).

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this computer match

is to identify employee misconduct (e.g.,

internal corruption through the

exploitation of existing internal

controls) that has resulted in improper

lien releases and failure to adequately

protect the government’s interests.

AUTHORITY:

The Office of Chief Inspector was

established and provided the authority

to perform character and conduct

investigations of IRS employees

pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 321(b); sections

7801(a), 7802, and 7803 of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986; 26 U.S.C. 7804

and Reorganization Plan Number 1 of

1952.

Commissioner’s reorganization Order

#Hdq–1 (July 29, 1952), IR-Mimeograph

Number 236 (December 7, 1953), and

the current provisions of the Internal

Revenue Manual (IRE) give authority to

conduct personnel investigations to the

Chief Inspector.

Internal Revenue Manual 1161

charges the Chief Inspector with

carrying out a program for assisting

management to maintain the highest

standards of honesty and integrity

among its employees.

The United States General Accounting

Office field work standards for both

performance and financial audits

require auditors to design an audit to

provide reasonable assurance of

detecting abuse of illegal acts that could

significantly affect the financial

statements, audit objectives, or audit

results.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED:

Current and former employees of the

IRS.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS COVERED:

1. Information regarding Lien Files

(Open and Closed) [Treasury/IRS

26.009].

2. Information regarding taxpayers, tax

returns, and tax return information.

a. Individual Master File (IMF)

(Treasury/IRS 24.030).

b. Business Master File (BMF)

(Treasury/IRS 24.046).

3. Information regarding IRS employees

(General Personnel and PayrollTreasury/IRS 36.003)

4. Information regarding County and/or

State Lien Filing and Lien Release

Records.

Dated: September 17, 1997.

Alex Rodriguez,

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Administration).

[FR Doc.97–25279 Filed 9–23–97; 8:45am]

Billing Code: 4830–01–F