The purposes of these regulations are to:

(a) Establish a procedure by which an individual can determine if the Council on Environmental Quality (hereafter known as the Council) maintains a system of records which includes a record pertaining to the individual; and

(b) Establish a procedure by which an individual can gain access to a record pertaining to him or her for the purpose of review, amendment and/or correction.

For the purpose of these regulations:

(a) The term individual means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence;

(b) The term maintain means maintain, collect, use or disseminate;

(c) The term record means any item or collection or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by the Council (including, but not limited to, his or her employment history, payroll information, and financial transactions), and that contains his or her name, or an identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual such as a social security number;

(d) The term system of records means a group of any records under the control of the Council 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; and

(e) The term routine use means with respect to the disclosure of a record, the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which it was collected.

An individual shall submit a written request to the Administrative Officer of the Council to determine if a system of records named by the individual contains a record pertaining to the individual. The individual shall submit a written request to the Administrative Officer of the Council which states the individual's desire to review his or her record. The Administrative Officer of the Council is available to answer questions regarding these regulations and to provide assistance in locating records in the Council's system of records.

An individual making a request to the Administrative Officer of the Council pursuant to § 1516.3 shall present the request at the Council's office, 722 Jackson Place NW., Washington, DC 20006, on any business day between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and should be prepared to identify himself by signature. Requests will also be accepted in writing if mailed to the Council's offices and signed by the requester.

Upon verification of identity, the Council shall disclose to the individual the information contained in the record which pertains to that individual.

(a) The individual may be accompanied for this purpose by a person of his choosing.

(b) Upon request of the individual to whom the record pertains, all information in the accounting of disclosures will be made available.

The individual may submit a request to the Administrative Officer of the Council which states the individual's desire to correct or to amend his or her record. This request must be made in accordance with the procedures of § 1516.4 and shall describe in detail the change which is requested.

Within ten working days of the receipt of a request to correct or to amend a record, the Administrative Officer of the Council will acknowledge in writing such receipt and promptly either:

(a) Make any correction or amendment of any portion thereof which the individual believes is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete; or

(b) Inform the individual of his or her refusal to correct or amend the record in accordance with the request, the reason for the refusal, and the procedure established by the Council for the individual to request a review of that refusal.

An individual may appeal refusal by the Administrative Officer of the Council to correct or to amend his or her record by submitting a request for a review of such refusal to the General Counsel, Council on Environmental Quality, 722 Jackson Place NW., Washington, DC 20006. The General Counsel shall, not later than thirty working days from the date on which the individual requests such a review, complete such review and make a final determination unless, for good cause shown, the General Counsel extends such thirty day period. If, after his or her review, the General Counsel also refuses to correct or to amend the record in accordance with the request, the individual may file with the Council a concise statement setting forth the reasons for his or her disagreement with the General Counsel's decision and may seek judicial relief under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1)(A).

The Council will not disclose a record to any individual other than to the individual to whom the record pertains without receiving the prior written consent of the individual to whom the record pertains, unless the disclosure either has been listed as a “routine use” in the Council's notices of its systems of records or falls within the special conditions of disclosure set forth in section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974.

If an individual requests copies of his or her record, he or she shall be charged ten cents per page, excluding the cost of any search for the record, in advance of receipt of the pages.