DHS/USCG/PIA-019 Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Reader Requirements

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) United States Coast Guard (USCG) intends to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would require owners or operators of vessels and facilities that meet certain risk factors to use, as an access control measure, electronic readers that work in combination with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The TWIC itself has already been issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to more than two million workers in the maritime sector and is not covered by this PIA. The proposed rule would require owners or operators whose vessels or facilities meet a certain risk threshold to capture the following information when an individual’s TWIC is scanned using a TWIC reader. Information captured by the TWIC readers includes: (1) the TWIC-holder’s Federal Agency Smart Credential-Number (FASC-N); (2) the date of scan; (3) the time of scan; and (4) only if captured, the name of the individual TWIC-holder. This Coast Guard rulemaking will implement statutory mandates found in the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 and the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, and is designed to improve the security of the nation’s vessels and maritime facilities. This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is necessary because the proposed Coast Guard rule would require third parties (i.e., owners or operators of certain regulated vessels and facilities) to collect limited personally identifiable information (PII) from TWIC readers.

• SORN: DHS/TSA-002 Transportation Security Threat Assessment System, (May 19, 2010, 75 FR 28046).