18 C.F.R. §§ 1301.21–1301.34

The regulations in §§ 1301.21 to 1301.34 implement section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, with respect to systems of records maintained by TVA. They provide procedures by which an individual may exercise the rights granted by the Act to determine whether a TVA system contains a record pertaining to him; to gain access to such records; to have a copy made of all or any portion thereof; and to request administrative correction or amendment of such records. They prescribe fees to be charged for copying records; establish identification requirements; list penalties provided by statute for certain violations of the Act; and establish exemptions from certain requirements of the Act for certain TVA systems or components thereof.

Nothing in §§ 1301.21 to 1301.34 entitles an individual to any access to any information or record compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or proceeding.

Certain records of which TVA may have physical possession are the official records of another government agency which exercises dominion and control over the records, their content, and access thereto. In such cases, TVA's maintenance of the records is subject to the direction of the other government agency. Except for a request for a determination of the existence of the record, when TVA receives requests related to these records, TVA will immediately refer the request to the controlling agency for all decisions regarding the request, and will notify the individual making the request of the referral.

The Act means section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a;

The terms individual, maintain, record, system of records, statistical record, and routine use have the meaning provided for by the Act;

The term TVA system means a system of records maintained by TVA;

The term TVA system notice means a notice of a TVA system published in the Federal Register pursuant to the Act. TVA has published TVA system notices about the following TVA systems:

The term appellant means an individual who has filed an appeal pursuant to § 1301.29(a) from an initial determination refusing to amend a record on request of the individual;

The term reviewing official means TVA's Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer (or incumbent of a successor position), or another TVA official designated by the Senior Vice President in writing to decide an appeal pursuant to § 1301.29;

The term day, when used in computing a time period, excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.

An individual may, in accordance with this section (1) request a TVA determination whether a record retrieved by the individual's name or other personal identifier is maintained in a TVA system, and (2) request access to such a record. A request for determination may be combined with a request for access.

Requests for determination only shall be presented to the official designated in the paragraph headed “Notification procedure” in the TVA system notice for the TVA system concerned. Requests for both determination and access shall be presented to the official designated in the paragraph headed “Access procedure” in the TVA system notice for the TVA system concerned. Certain TVA system notices designate officials at field locations of TVA systems. With respect to such TVA systems, an individual who believes his record is located at the field location may present a request to the designated official at the field location. If the record is not available at that field location, the request will be forwarded to the appropriate TVA office.

If a request is for determination only, the determination will normally be made within 10 days after receipt of the request. If the determination cannot be made within 10 days after receipt of a request, the designated official will acknowledge the request in writing and state when the determination will be made. Upon making a determination, the designated official will notify the individual making the request whether the record exists. The notice will include any additional information necessary to enable the individual to request access to the record.

A request which includes a request for access will be acknowledged within 10 days after receipt. If access can be granted as requested, the acknowledgment will provide a time and place for disclosure of the requested record. Disclosure will normally be made within 30 days of the date of the acknowledgement, but the designated official may extend the 30-day period for reasons found by him to be good cause. In case of an extension, TVA will notify the individual, in writing, that disclosure will be delayed, the reasons for delay, and the anticipated date on which the individual may expect the record to be disclosed. TVA will attempt to accommodate reasonable requests for disclosure at specified times and dates, as set forth in a request for access, so far as compatible with the conduct of TVA business.

TVA will require proof of identity, in accordance with this section, before it will disclose a record under § 1301.25 of this part to an individual requesting access to the record, and before it will disclose the existence of a record to a requester under § 1301.23 of this part, if TVA determines that disclosure of the existence of such record would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Identification normally required would be an identification card such as a valid state driver's license or TVA or other employee identification card. A comparison of the signature of the requester with either the signature on the card or a signature in the record may be used to confirm identity.

Because of the sensitivity of the subject matter in a TVA system, a TVA system notice may prescribe special identification requirements for the disclosure of the existence of or access to records in that TVA system. In such case, the special identification requirements prescribed in the TVA system notice shall apply in lieu of those prescribed by paragraph (b) of this section.

If TVA deems it warranted by the nature of identification presented, the subject matter of the material to be disclosed, or other reasons found by TVA to be sufficient, TVA may require the individual requesting access to sign a statement asserting identity and stating that the individual understands that knowingly or willfully seeking or obtaining access to records about another person under false pretenses is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.

Where TVA is requested to provide access to records by mailing copies of records to the requester, the request shall contain or be accompanied by adequate identifying information to make it likely the requester is the person he purports to be and a notarized statement asserting identity and stating that the individual understands that knowingly or willfully seeking or obtaining access to records about another person under false pretenses is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.

Where sensitivity of record information may warrant (i.e., unauthorized access could cause harm or embarrassment to the individual) or disclosure by mail to third persons is requested, TVA may require in-person confirmation of identity. If in-person confirmation of identity is required, the individual may arrange with the designated TVA official to provide such identification at any of these TVA locations convenient to the individual: Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga, Tennessee; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Washington, DC, or another location agreed upon by the individual and the designated TVA official. Upon request the TVA official will provide an address and an appropriate time for such identification to be presented.

In general, TVA offices located in the Eastern Time zone are open 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and those in the Central Time zone 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Offices are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and the following holidays: New Year's Day, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

All disclosure and examination of records shall normally be made in the presence of a TVA representative. If an individual wishes to be accompanied by a third person of the individual's choosing when the record is disclosed, TVA may require the individual to furnish TVA, in advance of disclosure of the record, a statement signed by the individual authorizing discussion and disclosure of the record in the presence of the accompanying person. If desired by the individual, TVA shall provide copies of any documents reviewed in the record which are requested at the time of review. Fees shall be charged for such copies in accordance with the fee schedule in § 1301.31, and shall be payable prior to delivery of the copies to the individual.

Where permitted by § 1301.24, copies of an individual's record will be made available by mail. A charge for copies will be made in accordance with § 1301.31 of this part. All fees due shall be paid prior to mailing of the materials. However, if TVA is unable to allow in-person review of the record, the first copy will be made available without charge.

An individual may request amendment of records pertaining to him in a TVA system to the extent permitted by the Act in accordance with this section. A request for amendment shall:

Requests shall be made to the official designated in the paragraph headed “Contesting record procedures” in the TVA system notice for the TVA system concerned. Before considering a request, TVA may require proof of identity of the requester similar to that required under § 1301.24 to gain access to the record.

The individual requesting amendment has the responsibility of providing TVA with evidence of why his record should be amended, and must provide adequate evidence to TVA to justify his request.

The provisions of §§ 1301.21 to 1301.34 of this part do not permit the alteration of evidence presented or to be presented in the course of judicial or administrative proceedings; neither do they permit collateral attack on a prior judicial or administrative action, or provide a collateral remedy for a matter otherwise judicially or administratively cognizable.

TVA will acknowledge a request for amendment within 10 days of receipt. The acknowledgement will be in writing, will request any additional information TVA requires to determine whether to make the requested correction or amendment, and will indicate the date by which TVA expects to make its initial determination.

TVA will, except in unusual circumstances, complete its consideration of requests to amend records within 30 days. If more time is deemed necessary, TVA will notify the individual of the delay and of the expected date of completion of the review.

If TVA determines that a record should be corrected or amended, in whole or in part, in accordance with a request, it will advise the requesting individual in writing of its determination, and correct or amend the record accordingly. If an accounting of disclosures has been made, TVA will, to the extent of the accounting, inform prior recipients of the record of the fact that the correction was made and the substance of the correction.

If TVA, after initial consideration of a request, determines that a record should not be corrected or amended, in whole or in part, in accordance with a request, it will notify the individual in writing of its refusal to amend the record and the reasons therefor. The notification will inform the individual that the refusal may be appealed administratively and will advise the individual of the procedures for such appeals.

An individual may appeal an initial determination refusing to amend that individual's record in accordance with this section. An appeal must be taken within 20 days of receipt of notice of TVA's initial refusal to amend the record and is taken by delivering a written notice of appeal to the Privacy Act Reviewing Official, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1401. Such notice shall be signed by the appellant and shall state:

Appeals shall be determined by a reviewing official. Such determination may be based on information provided for the initial determination; any additional information which TVA or the appellant may desire to provide; and any other material the reviewing official deems relevant to the determination. The reviewing official, in his sole discretion, may request TVA or the appellant to provide additional information deemed relevant to the appeal. The appellant will be given an opportunity to respond to any information provided by TVA or independently procured by the reviewing official. If in the sole discretion of the reviewing official a hearing is deemed necessary for resolution of the appeal, the reviewing official may conduct a hearing upon notice to TVA and the appellant, at which both TVA and the appellant shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard on the appeal. The rules governing any hearing will be set forth in the notice of hearing.

The reviewing official shall make final determination on the appeal within 30 days after it is received unless such period is extended for good cause. If the reviewing official finds good cause for an extension, TVA will inform the appellant in writing of the reason for the delay and of the approximate date on which the reviewing official expects to complete his determination of the appeal.

If the reviewing official determines that a record should be amended in whole or in part in accordance with an appellant's request, TVA will inform the appellant in writing of its determination and correct or amend the record. If an accounting of disclosures has been made, TVA will, to the extent of the accounting, inform prior recipients of the record of the fact that the correction was made and of the substance of the correction.

If the reviewing official determines not to amend a record, in whole or in part, in accordance with a request, TVA will advise the individual:

If the reviewing official's final determination of an appeal is a refusal to correct or amend a record, in whole or in part, in accordance with the request, the appellant may file with TVA a concise statement setting forth the reasons for his or her disagreement with the refusal of TVA to amend the records. Such statements normally should not exceed 100 words. A statement of disagreement should be submitted within 30 days of receipt of notice of the reviewing official's decision on the appeal, and should be sent to system manager. In any disclosure containing information about which the individual has filed a statement of disagreement which occurs after the filing of the statement, TVA will clearly note any portion of the record which is disputed and provide copies of the statement with the disclosure. Copies of the statement will also be furnished to persons or other agencies to whom the record has been disclosed to the extent that an accounting of disclosures was made. TVA may attach to the statement of disagreement a brief summary of TVA's reasons for refusing to amend the record. Such summaries will be disclosed to the individual, but are not subject to amendment.

Fees to be charged, if any, to any individual for making copies of his or her record exclude the cost of any search and review of the record. The following fees are applicable:

[Reserved]

The TVA system Nuclear Access Authorization and Fitness for Duty Records is exempt from subsections (d); (e)(4)(H); and (f)(2), (3), and (4) of 5 U.S.C. 522a (section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974) to the extent that disclosure of material would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the Government under an express promise that the identity of the source would be held in confidence, and to the extent that disclosure of testing or examination material would compromise the objectivity or fairness of the testing or examination process. This exemption is pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(5) and (6).

The TVA system OIG Investigative Records is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4), (G), (H), and (I) and (f) of 5 U.S.C. 552a (section 3 of the Privacy Act) and corresponding sections of these rules pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2). The TVA system OIG Investigative Records is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), (e)(5), (e)(8), and (g) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). This system is exempt because application of these provisions might alert investigation subjects to the existence or scope of investigations, lead to suppression, alteration, fabrication, or destruction of evidence, disclose investigative techniques or procedures, reduce the cooperativeness or safety of witnesses, or otherwise impair investigations.

The TVA system TVA Police Records is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4), (G), (H), and (I) and (f) of 5 U.S.C. 552a (section 3 of the Privacy Act) and corresponding sections of these rules pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2). The TVA system Police Records is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), (e)(5), (e)(8), and (g) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). This system is exempt because application of these provisions might alert investigation subjects to the existence or scope of investigations, lead to suppression, alteration, fabrication, or destruction of evidence, disclose investigative techniques or procedures, reduce the cooperativeness or safety of witnesses, or otherwise impair investigations.