FDMS.gov Privacy and Security Notice
FDMS.gov is a federal agency website managed by the eRulemaking Program Management Office (PMO), based at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The
Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) is an official United States government computer system that supports the federal regulatory process. Each agency using the system is the
sole owner of its data and the responsibilities for managing internal user access and roles within the system as well as the posting of public comment submissions on,
www.Regulations.gov.
Data posted on Regulations.gov is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Regulations.gov users are instructed to not submit
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Unclassified Information "CUI").
Comments submitted through Regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CUI and any comments received through Regulations.gov will waive any CUI claims for the information submitted.
Some agencies may impose special requirements for submitting CUI or copyrighted works. To view any additional information or instructions for submissions, refer to the specific
Federal Register notice for which there is a question and/or the website of the department or agency.
Regulations.gov offers public data in machine readable format via an Application Programming Interface ("API"), including comment submitter information (e.g., commenter name or address)
if included in a comment submission posted by an agency. Third party organizations may use a read API to build related applications for the web, desktops, and mobile devices.
FDMS.gov Account Access
To access an FDMS.gov account, one needs a user identification (user ID) and password. The eRulemaking PMO does not share information with other government agencies unless required by law.
FDMS.gov does not use web tracking software on the user profile section of the website. FDMS user account data is not available to any third party organizations.
As a condition of receiving access to FDMS.gov, users are required to be aware of federal system security laws, regulations or policies and to abide by these policies.
Security policy emphasizes awareness practices for the purpose of safeguarding federal information resources.
The FDMS.gov user ID and password are to be used solely in connection with the performance of responsibilities as set forth in a user's job description, contract or
agreement(s) with the federal government. Use by anyone other than the registered user is expressly prohibited. An FDMS user agrees to be responsible for the confidentiality of the assigned
information and accountable for all activity with that user's ID. Further, FDMS users agree to not provide this confidential user ID/password to another user nor sign on to FDMS.gov
so that another person may access or operate the workstation in the registered user's absence or on the registered user's behalf. Actions of this type constitute a breach of system security
and will result in immediate termination of the assigned user ID/password from the system. By logging into FDMS.gov, an agency user acknowledges and understands the responsibilities of
using this system and will comply with the
Rules of Behavior on the FDMS.gov login page.
Information Automatically Captured
FDMS.gov collects summary information used for system administration and site security, including the domain name and Internet Protocol addresses from which a user is visiting;
the type of browser and operating system being used to access the site; the pages a user is visiting; the time a user spends at each page; and the time and date of a user's visit.
FDMS.gov may also capture information about a user's computer e.g., screen resolution or software version). The eRulemaking PMO uses this information to create summary statistics,
which are then used for such things as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying any system performance
or problem areas. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.
FDMS.gov does not automatically collect personal information about a user or use persistent tracking technology (also referred to as "persistent cookies") to place software files or
other information on a user's computer. FDMS.gov uses session cookies, i.e., tokens that remain active only until a user closes the browser. No database of information obtained from
these cookies is kept and when a user closes the browser, the cookies are deleted. If a user has privacy settings configured to not accept cookies, a user will not be able to log into the site.
The help information in a user's browser software provides the user with instructions on how to enable cookies if they are disabled.
Retention of Information
System data is maintained according to the principles of the Federal Records Act and the agency records schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration.
If a records schedule states that records will be destroyed at the end of the retention period, agency deletions from FDMS will only occur with the expressed approval of the
agency's record manager. In some cases, information may become an agency record and therefore could be subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Please note that Regulations.gov data API users are required to comply with the Regulations.gov API
Terms of Service; however, the eRulemaking PMO has no control over data retention by third-party users who have stored the data.
Site Security
For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, FDMS employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts
to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be subject
to criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1995 or any other relevant federal law.
All security concerns, inquiries, and issues should be directed to the eRulemaking Information System Security Officer (ISSO) by contacting the FDMS help desk at 1-877-378-5457.
Privacy Act of 1974
The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) protects the personal information retained in the Federal Docket Management System. The Privacy Act regulates how the
government can disclose, share, provide access to, and maintain the personal information that it collects. Not all information collected online is covered by the Privacy Act.
The Act's major provisions require agencies to:
- Publish a Privacy Act Notice in the Federal Register explaining the existence, character and uses of a new or revised System of Records (SOR);
- Keep information accurate, relevant, timely and complete to assure accuracy when interacting with the public; and
- Allow the public to, upon request, access and review their information held in a SOR and request amendment of the information if a member of the public disagrees with it.
For any questions or comments about the information presented here, please contact the eRulemaking Program Management Office via the FDMS help desk at 1-877-378-5457.
