EPA letter on WTC dust cleanup contract changes, June 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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records.

(b) In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. Solely for purposes of the Privacy Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.

(c)(1) "Operation of a system of records," as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records. (2) "Record," as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person's name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph. (3) "System of records on individuals," as used in this clause, means a group of any records 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.

We also believe ii will be necessary to include the following language based on the Environmental Protection Agency Acquisition Regulation:

(a) The Contractor recognizes that Contractor employees in performing this contract may have access to data, either provided by EPA or other contractors or first generated during contract performance, of a sensitive nature (such as the names and addresses of residents whose dwellings are subject to cleanup and sampling) which should not be released to the public without EPA approval. Therefore, the Contractor agrees to obtain confidentiality agreements from all of its employees working on requirements under the contract.

(b) Such agreements shall contain provisions which stipulate that each employee agrees that the employee will not disclose, either in whole or in part, to any entity external to EPA, the Department of Justice, or the Contractor, any information or data provided by EPA or other contractors or generated by the Contractor, under this contract, without first obtaining the written permission of EPA. If a contractor, through an employee or otherwise, is subpoenaed to testify or produce documents, which could result in such disclosure, the Contractor must inunediately notify EPA so that the EPA can authorize such disclosure or have the opportunity to take action to prevent such disclosure. Such agreements shall be effective for the life of the contract and for a period of five (5) years after completion of the contract.

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