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National
United States Regulations
50 CFR PART 501—IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974

Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries


PART 501—IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974




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Authority: Sec. 3, Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a(f)).

Source: 40 FR 49276, Oct. 21, 1975, unless otherwise noted.

§ 501.1 Purpose and scope.
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(a) Purpose. The purpose of these rules is to fulfill the responsibilities of the Marine Mammal Commission (the “Commission”) under section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(f) (the “Act”) by establishing procedures whereby an individual will be notified if any system of records maintained by the Commission contains a record pertaining to him or her; by defining the times and places at which records will be made available and the identification requirements which must be met by any individual requesting access to them; by establishing procedures for disclosure to an individual, on request, of any record pertaining to him or her; and by establishing procedures for processing, reviewing, and making a final determination on requests of individuals to correct or amend a record pertaining to him or her, including a provision for administrative appeal of initial adverse determinations on such requests. These rules are promulgated with particular attention to the purposes and goals of the Act, and in accordance therewith provide for relative ease of access to records pertaining to an individual, and for maintenance by the Commission of only those records which are current, accurate, necessary, relevant and complete with respect to the purposes for which they were collected.

(b) Scope. These rules apply only to “record” contained in “systems of records,” defined by the Act as follows:


The term “record” means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph;

The term “system of records” means of group of any record under the control of any 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.


Notices with respect to the systems maintained by the Commission have been published in the Federal Register, as required by the Act. These rules pertain only to the systems of records disclosed in such notices, and to any systems that may become the subject of a notice at any time in the future.

(c) Nothing in these rules shall be construed as pertaining to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

§ 501.2 Definitions.
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(a) As used in this part:

(1) The term Act means the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a.

(2) The term Commission means the Marine Mammal Commission.

(3) The term Director means the Executive Director of the Marine Mammal Commission.

(4) The term Privacy Officer means an individual designated by the Director to receive all requests regarding the existence of records, requests for access and requests for correction or amendment; to review and make initial determinations regarding all such requests; and to provide assistance to any individual wishing to exercise his or her rights under the Act.

(b) Other terms shall be used in this part in accordance with the definitions contained in section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(a).

§ 501.3 Procedure for responding to requests regarding the existence of records pertaining to an individual.
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Any individual may submit a request to be notified whether a system of records, with respect to which the Commission has published a notice in the Federal Register, contains a record pertaining to him or her. Requests may be made in writing to the Privacy Officer or by appearing in person at the Commission offices located at 1625 I Street, NW., Room 307, Washington, DC 20006 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on any working day. Systems of records that are the subject of a request should be identified by reference to the system name designated in the Notice of Systems of Records published in the Federal Register. In the event a system name is not known to the individual, a general request will suffice if it indicates reasons for the belief that a record pertaining to the named individual is maintained by the Commission. Receipt of inquiries submitted by mail will be acknowledged within 10 days of receipt (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) unless a response can also be prepared and forwarded to the individual within that time.

§ 501.4 Requests for access—times, places and requirements for identification of individuals.
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Requests for access to a system of records pertaining to any individual may be made by that individual by mail addressed to the Privacy Officer, or by submitting a written request in person at the Commission offices located at 1625 I Street, NW., Room 307, Washington, DC 20006, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on any working day. Assistance in gaining access under this section, securing an amendment or correction under §501.6, or preparing an appeal under §§501.5(d) and 501.8 shall be provided by the Privacy Officer on request directed to the Commission office. An individual appearing in person at the Commission offices will be granted immediate access to any records to which that individual is entitled under the Act upon satisfactory proof of identity by means of a document bearing the individual's photograph or signature. For requests made by mail, identification of the individual shall be adequate if established by means of submitting a certificate of a notary public, or equivalent officer empowered to administer oaths, substantially in accord with the following:


City of ______ County of _______: ss (Name of individual) who affixed (his) (her) signature below in my presence, came before me, a (Title) ____________________________________ , in the aforesaid County and State, this ______ day of ______, 19__, and established (his)(her) identity to my satisfaction.

My Commission expires ____________.


The certificate shall not be required, however, for written requests pertaining to non-sensitive information or to information which would be required to be made available under the Freedom of Information Act. The Privacy Officer shall determine the adequacy of any proof of identity offered by an individual.

[41 FR 5, Jan. 2, 1976]

§ 501.5 Disclosure of requested information.
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(a) Upon request and satisfactory proof of identity, an individual appearing at the Commission offices shall be given immediate access to and permission to review any record, contained in a system of records, pertaining to him or her, shall be allowed to have a person of his/her choosing accompany him/her, and shall be given a copy of all or any portion of the record. The individual to which access is granted shall be required to sign a written statement authorizing the presence of the person who accompanies him or her, and authorizing discussion of his or her record in the presence of the accompanying person.

(b) Requests made by mail to the Privacy Officer at the Commission offices will be acknowledged within 10 days from date of receipt (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). This acknowledgement shall advise the individual whether access to the record will be granted and, if access is granted, copies of such records shall be enclosed.

(c) If the Privacy Officer initially determines to deny access to all or any portion of a record, notice of denial shall be given to the individual in writing, within 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) after acknowledgement is given, and shall include the following:

(1) The precise record to which access is being denied;

(2) The reason for denial, including a citation to the appropriate provisions of the Act and of these Rules;

(3) A statement that the denial may be appealed to the Director;

(4) A statement of what steps must be taken to perfect an appeal to the Director; and,

(5) A statement that the individual has a right to judicial review under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1) of any final denial issued by the Director.

(d) Administrative appeal of an initial denial, in whole or in part, of any request for access to a record, shall be available. An individual may appeal by submitting to the Director a written request for reconsideration stating therein specific reasons for reversal which address directly the reasons for denial stated in the initial notice of denial. If access is denied on appeal, a final notice of denial shall be sent to the individual within 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), and shall state with particularity the grounds for rejecting all reasons for reversal submitted by the individual. The denial shall then be deemed final for purposes of obtaining judicial review.

[40 FR 49276, Oct. 21, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 5, Jan. 2, 1976]

§ 501.6 Requests for correction or amendment of a record.
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(a) Any individual may request the correction or amendment of a record pertaining to him or her in writing addressed to the Privacy Officer at the Commission offices. Verification of identity required for such requests shall be the same as that specified in §501.4 of this part with respect to requests for access. Records sought to be amended must be identified with as much specificity as is practicable under the circumstances of the request, and at a minimum, should refer to the system name designated in the Notice of System Records published in the Federal Register, the type of record in which the information thought to be improperly maintained or incorrect is contained, and the precise information that is the subject of the request (for example, system name, description of record, paragraph, sentence, line, words). Assistance in identifying a record, and in otherwise preparing a request, may be obtained by contacting the Privacy Officer at the Commission offices.

(b) A request should, in addition to identifying the individual and the record sought to be amended or corrected, include:

(1) The specific wording or other information to be deleted, if any;

(2) The specific wording or other information to be inserted, if any, and the exact place in the record at which it is to be inserted, and,

(3) A statement of the basis for the requested amendment or correction (e.g. that the record is inaccurate, unnecessary, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete), together with supporting documents, if any, which substantiate the statement.

§ 501.7 Agency review of requests for amendment or correction of a record.
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(a) Where possible, each request for amendment or correction shall be reviewed, and a determination on the request made, by the Privacy Officer within 10 days of receipt (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays). Requests shall be acknowledged within that period where insufficient information has been provided to enable action to be taken. An acknowledgement shall inform the individual making the request of the estimated time within which a disposition of the request is expected to be made, and shall prescribe such further information as may be necessary to process the request. The request shall be granted, or an initial decision to deny shall be made, within ten days of receipt of all information specified in the acknowledgement (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays).

(b) Within 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) after arriving at a decision on a request, the Privacy Officer shall either:

(1) Make the requested amendment or correction, in whole or in part, and advise the individual in writing of such action; or,

(2) Advise the individual in writing that the request has been initially denied, in whole or in part, stating, with respect to those portions denied;

(i) The date of the denial;

(ii) The reasons for the denial, including a citation to an appropriate section of the Act and these Rules; and,

(iii) The right of the individual to prosecute an appeal and to obtain judicial review should a final denial result from the appeal.

(c) In reviewing a request for amendment or correction of a record, the Privacy Officer shall consider the following criteria:

(1) The sufficiency of the evidence submitted by the individual;

(2) The factual accuracy of the information sought to be amended or corrected;

(3) The relevance and necessity of the information sought to be amended or corrected in terms of the purposes for which it was collected;

(4) The timeliness and currency of the information sought to be amended or corrected in terms of the purposes for which it was collected;

(5) The completeness of the information sought to be amended or corrected in terms of the purposes for which it was collected;

(6) The degree of possibility that denial of the request could unfairly result in determinations adverse to the individual;

(7) The character of the record sought to be corrected or amended; and,

(8) The propriety and feasibility of complying with the specific means of correction or amendment requested by the individual. If an amendment or correction is otherwise permissible under the Act and other relevant statutes, a request shall be denied only if the individual has failed to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the propriety of the amendment or correction in light of these criteria.

[40 FR 49276, Oct. 21, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 5, Jan. 2, 1976]

§ 501.8 Appeal of initial denial of a request for amendment or correction.
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(a) The initial denial of a request for amendment or correction may be appealed by submitting to the Director the following appeal papers:

(1) A copy of the original request for amendment or correction;

(2) A copy of the initial denial; and

(3) A precise statement of the reasons for the individual's belief that the denial is in error, referring specifically to the criteria contained in §501.7(c)(1) through (8).

The appeal must be signed by the individual. While these papers normally will constitute the entire Record on Appeal, the Director may add additional information, from sources other than the individual, where necessary to facilitate a final determination. Any such additional information added to the record shall promptly be disclosed to the individual to the greatest extent possible, and an opportunity for comment thereon shall be afforded prior to the final determination. Appeals should be submitted to the Director within 90 days after the date of the initial denial.

(b) The Director shall issue a final determination on appeal within thirty days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) from the date on which a completed Record on Appeal (including any additional information deemed necessary) is received. Review, and final determination by the Director, shall be based upon the criteria specified in §501.7(c)(1) through (8).

(c) If the appeal is resolved favorably to the individual, the final determination shall specify the amendments or corrections to be made. Copies of the final determination shall be transmitted promptly to the individual and to the Privacy Officer. The Privacy Officer shall make the requested amendment or correction and advise the individual in writing of such action.

(d) If the appeal is denied, the final determination shall state, with particularity, the reasons for denial, including a citation to an appropriate section of the Act and of these Rules. The final determination shall be forwarded promptly to the individual, together with a notice which shall inform the individual of his or her right to submit to the Privacy Officer, for inclusion in the record, a concise statement of grounds for disagreement with the final determination. Receipt of any such statement shall be acknowledged by the Privacy Officer, and all subsequent and prior users of the record shall be provided copies of the statement. The notice shall also inform the individual of his or her right, under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1), to obtain judicial review of the final determination.

[40 FR 49276, Oct. 21, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 5, Jan. 2, 1976]

§ 501.9 Fees.
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A fee of $0.10 shall be charged for each copy of each page of a record made, by photocopy or similar process, at the request of an individual. No fee shall be charged for copies made at the initiative of the Commission incident to granting access to a record. A total copying fee of $2.00 or less may be waived by the Privacy Officer, but fees for all requests made contemporaneously by an individual shall be aggregated to determine the total fee.

[41 FR 5, Jan. 2, 1976]