{408.45 Notice of Privacy Act System of Records - Owner, Operator, Producer, or Participant Files - USDA/NRCS - 1.

(a) System Name:
Program Owners, Operators, Producers, or Participants – Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA/NRCS.

(b) System Location:
Program owner, operator, producer, or participant files are maintained in all NRCS county field delivery locations, mostly USDA Field Service Centers in the county seat. Addresses of each field office are listed in the telephone directories of the field office locations under the heading, “United States Government, Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.” Addresses may also be obtained at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/. Program owner, operator, producer, or participant files are also maintained in USDA data centers at Fort Collins, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri.

(c) Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
Owners, operators, producers, or participants with NRCS programs.

(d) Categories of Records in the System:
The system consists of electronic databases and file folders containing information on an individual’s conservation plans, cost-share agreements, conservation practice designs, resource maps, resource inventories, assistance notes, personal and economic data, and other material necessary to provide assistance to the owner, operator, producer, or participant in conserving natural resources on his/her lands.

(e) Authority for Maintenance of the System:
16 U.S.C. 590 a-f, q, q-1 and other applicable authorities.

(f) Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses

   (1) Records may be disclosed to cooperating federal, state, and local agencies, as necessary for implementation of conservation programs.

   (2) Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that individual.

   (3) Disclosure to federal, state, and local agencies, when necessary to certify that a conservation plan is in effect for land users to qualify for other USDA program benefits.

   (4) Referral to the Department of Justice with

      (i) The agency, or any component thereof; or

      (ii) Any employee of the agency in his/her official capacity; or

      (iii) Any employee of the agency in his/her individual capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent the employee; or

      (iv) The United States, where the agency determines that litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its components, is a part to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the Department of Justice is deemed by the agency to be relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the agency determines that disclosure of the records to the Department of Justice is a use of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

   (5) Disclosure in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body before which the agency is authorized to appear, when

      (i) The agency, or any component thereof; or

      (ii) Any employee of the agency in his/her official capacity; or

      (iii) Any employee of the agency in his/her individual capacity where the agency has agreed to represent the employee; or

      (iv) The United States, where the agency determines that litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its components, is a part to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the agency determines that use of such records if relevant and necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the agency determines that disclosure of the records to the court is a use of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

   (6) Referral to the appropriate agency, whether federal, state, local, or foreign, charged with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a violation of law, or of enforcing or implementing the statute, rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, of any record within this system when information available 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 rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.

   (7) Disclosure may be made to contractors or to technical service providers when a written authorization has been received by the agency from the owner, operator, producer, or participant. Such disclosure shall be made subject to the purposes for which the contractor or technical service provider is hired.

(g) Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, and Disposing of Records in the System

   (1) Storage: Records are maintained in an electronic retrieval system and in file folders in county field delivery offices.

   (2) Retrievability: Records can be retrieved by name of owner, operator, producer, or participant, or location on a map, unit identification number, location code, farm type, soil resources survey area, soil resources conservation district code, resource management systems and practices, and program contract information.

   (3) Safeguards:

      (i) System access is restricted to authorized Natural Resource Conservation Service employees and conservation district employees working to assist with the implementation of natural resources programs. NRCS field employees are authorized to access system records of owners, operators, producers, or participants in their service area or outside of their service area if the owner, operator, producer, or participant has authorized access. Conservation district employees are authorized to access system records of their district owners, operators, producers, or participants only in their official capacity as district employees.

      (ii) The electronic data retrieval system is secured by the USDA Common Computing Environment user authentication process and USDA eAuthentication login and password protection. Manual files are maintained in file cabinets. Offices are locked during non-business hours.

   (4) Retention and Disposal:
Records are maintained as long as the owner, operator, producer, or participant qualifies for conservation programs.

   (5) System Manager(s) and Address:
District conservationists or other designees are in charge of delivering services in county offices. Addresses of each field office are listed in the telephone directories of the field office locations under “United States Government, Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.” Addresses may also be obtained at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.

   (6) Notification Procedure:
Any individual may request information regarding this system of records, or information as to whether the system contains records pertaining to him/her by contacting the respective district conservationist or other designee. If the specific location of the record is not known, the individual should address his/her request to the Director, Management Services Division, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, P. O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013, who will refer it to the appropriate field office. A request for pertaining to an individual should contain: name, address, and other relevant information (e.g., name or nature of program, name of cooperating body, etc.).

   (7) Record Access Procedures:
Any individual may obtain information as to the procedures for gaining access to a record in the system which pertains to him/her by submitting a written request to the district conservationist or his/her designated representative or to the Director, Management Services Division, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, P. O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013.

   (8) Contesting Record Procedures:
Any individual may obtain information as to the procedures for gaining access to a record in the system which pertains to him/her by submitting a written request to the district conservationist or his/her designated representative or to the Director, Management Services Division, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, P. O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013.

   (9) Record Source Categories:
Information in this system comes from owners, operators, producers, or participants and NRCS field conservationists who provide technical and program assistance to them.