WAIS Document RetrievalFrom the Privacy Act Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:agri_000-20]                         

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

 USDA/APHIS-6

System name: Veterinary Services--Brucellosis Information System 
      and Brucellosis Recording and Reporting System, USDA/APHIS.

     System location: 
       The Brucellosis Information System--U.S. Department of 
   Agriculture, Fort Collins Computer Center, Colorado, and each of the 
   various States. The Brucellosis Recording and Reporting System--
   Federal and State area offices; Federal Regional Offices; and 
   Hyattsville, Maryland.
     Categories of individuals covered by the system: 
       Herd owners whose animals or herds are tested, studied, or 
   restricted because of brucellosis; livestock markets; slaughter 
   establishments; and livestock dealers (including agents and brokers) 
   handling livestock covered by the program; milk processing plants 
   receiving milk or cream from dairy farms; laboratories conducting 
   brucellosis program tests or procedures; State, Federal, and 
   contractual personnel engaged in program activities.
     Categories of records in the system: 
       Information on herds and individual animals tested, studied, or 
   restricted under the brucellosis program; epidemiologic studies; 
   animals, specimens, or premises sampled, identified, inspected, 
   tested, handled, or restricted under the brucellosis program by 
   State, Federal or contractual personnel; animal identification, 
   health and movement data of animals covered under program activities 
   for traceback of disease from livestock markets, slaughter plants, 
   and livestock dealers or livestock brokers or commission firms; milk 
   and cream samples and related identification data for brucellosis 
   testing from milk processing plants receiving fresh farm milk; and 
   brucellosis test data from laboratories approved to do brucellosis 
   program testing.
     Authority for maintenance of the system: 
       21 U.S.C. 111, 112, 114, 114a-1, 115, 120, 121, 125, 134a-134f 
   and title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, part 51 and part 78.
     Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including 
   categories of users and the purposes of such uses: 
       Records maintained in the computer system will be routinely used 
   by the Federal and State government personnel for: (1) Detecting the 
   foci of infection to reduce the rate of spread of infection to new 
   herds; (2) evaluating brucellosis program activities of State, 
   Federal, and contractual personnel; (3) preparing mailing labels and 
   preaddressed forms to enhance field activities; (4) evaluating 
   program effectiveness; (5) detecting factors of epidemiologic 
   importance in containing or eliminating foci of infected herds; (6) 
   assuring that brucellosis indemnities are promptly and properly paid; 
   (7) notification of livestock owners with the animals at high risk of 
   exposure to brucellosis because of livestock movements or an outbreak 
   of disease or presence of quarantined premises in a community; (8) 
   referral to the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local, or 
   foreign, charged with responsibility of investigating or prosecuting 
   a violation of law concerning animal disease control and eradication, 
   or of enforcing or implementing a 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 concerning animal disease control and eradication, whether civil, 
   criminal, or regulatory in nature, and either arising by general 
   statute or particular program statute, or by rule, regulation, or 
   court order issued pursuant thereto; (9) litigation by the Department 
   of Justice when the agency, or any component thereof, or any employee 
   of the agency in his or her official capacity, or any employee of the 
   agency in his or her individual capacity where the Department of 
   Justice has agreed to represent the employee, or the United States, 
   where the agency determines that litigation is likely to affect the 
   agency or any of its components, is a party 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; (10) use in a proceeding before a court or 
   adjudicative body before which the agency is authorized to appear, 
   when the agency, or any component thereof, or any employee of the 
   agency in his or her official capacity, or any employee of the agency 
   in his or her individual capacity where the agency has agreed to 
   represent the employee, or the United States, where the agency 
   determines that litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of 
   its components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such 
   litigation, and the agency determines that use of such records is 
   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; 
   (11) response to a request from a congressional office from the 
   record of an individual made at the request of that individual.
     Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, 
   retaining, and disposing of records in the system: 
     Storage: 
       The Brucellosis Information System's records will be maintained 
   on on-line disk storage and magnetic tapes. The Brucellosis Recording 
   and Reporting System's records will be maintained on floppy disk 
   storage and/or magnetic tapes.
     Retrievability: 
       Under this system, data may be retrieved and organized by any of 
   the categories which have been recorded. This will greatly improve 
   the ability to retrieve existing records and to serve the livestock 
   industry in the eradication of brucellosis.
     Safeguards: 
       The only individuals with access to this system are Federal and 
   State government employees with a need to know. The data base is 
   secured on a State-by-State basis. The brucellosis program planning 
   staff has access to all information in the computerized system 
   without restrictions. The computer files, tapes, and disks are kept 
   in a safeguarded environment with access only by authorized 
   personnel.
     Retention and disposal: 
       (1) Herd records are maintained in the data base as follows: (a) 
   Infected herds not depopulated or sold out are always on-line. (b) 
   Depopulated or sold out herds are archieved. (c) Herd tested but not 
   infected are kept on-line for 6 months after testing and then 
   archived on a fiscal year basis. Archived data are kept for 15 years. 
   (2) Records pertaining to animals, specimens, or premises sampled, 
   identified, inspected, tested, handled, or restricted by State, 
   Federal, or contractual personnel are kept on-line as long as the 
   individual is working in brucellosis programs. Once employment or 
   accreditation is terminated, the information is archived by fiscal 
   year for 15 years. (3) Livestock market, slaughter, establishment, 
   livestock dealer, milk processing plant, and laboratory records 
   pertaining to animal or herd information are retained as described 
   under (1) above.
     System manager(s) and address: 
       Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, USDA/APHIS, Federal 
   Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
     Notification procedure: 
       All inquiries should be addressed to: APHIS Privacy Act 
   Coordinator, Office of the Administrator, USDA/APHIS, Room 732 
   Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
     Record access procedures: 
       All inquiries should be addressed to the APHIS Privacy Act 
   Coordinator.
     Contesting record procedures: 
       All inquiries should be addressed to the APHIS Privacy Act 
   Coordinator.
     Record source categories: 
       (1) Epidemiologic information for herds and animals is obtained 
   from documents and reports completed by Federal and State employees 
   or contractual personnel as a part of testing a herd or animal(s) or 
   as a part of investigating the source and spread of brucellosis 
   within the livestock population. (2) Information for work related 
   activities is made available by the appropriate State or Federal 
   office for personnel and contractual employees paid from its funds. 
   (3) Livestock market, slaughter establishment, livestock dealer, milk 
   processing plant, and laboratory information is acquired in the 
   course of obtaining other program activity information such as where 
   samples were collected, where animals identification was applied, 
   where samples were tested, and how the samples or animals were 
   handled or processed prior to or following collection of testing.