PART 9800—FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REGULATIONS Authority: Section 11 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. app.; Section 3 of the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016, Pub. L. 114-317, 130 Stat. 1595; 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a; 31 U.S.C. 9701. Source: 83 FR 49770, Oct. 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted. § 9800.101 General provisions. (a) In general. (b) Centralized system. (c) Authority to grant or deny requests. § 9800.102 Requirements for making FOIA requests. (a) Requests generally. (i) Regular mail addressed to: FOIA Officer, Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, 1717 H Street NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 20006; or (ii) By fax sent to the FOIA Officer at (202) 254-0162; or (iii) By email to [email protected] (2) For the quickest handling, both the request letter and envelope or any fax cover sheet or email subject line should be clearly marked “FOIA Request.” Whether sent by mail, fax, email, or other prescribed electronic method, a FOIA request will not be considered to have been received by CIGIE until it reaches the FOIA office. (3) A requester who is making a request for records about himself or herself, as a parent or guardian of a minor, or as the guardian of someone determined by a court to be incompetent, must comply with the verification of identity provisions set forth in part 9801. (4) Where a request for records pertains to another individual, a requester may receive greater access by submitting either a notarized authorization signed by that individual or a declaration made in compliance with the requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. 1746 by that individual authorizing disclosure of the records to the requester, or by submitting proof that the individual is deceased (e.g., a copy of a death certificate or an obituary). As an exercise of administrative discretion, CIGIE can require a requester to supply additional information if necessary to verify that a particular individual has consented to disclosure. (b) Description of records sought. (c) Preferred format. (d) Requester contact information. § 9800.103 Consultations, referrals, and coordination. (a) In general. (1) Consultation. (2) Referral. (ii) Whenever CIGIE refers any part of the responsibility for responding to a request to another agency, it will document the referral, maintain a copy of the record that it refers, and notify the requester of the referral and inform the requester of the name(s) of the agency to which the record was referred, including that agency's FOIA contact information. (3) Coordination. (b) Timing of responses to received consultations and referrals. (c) Agreements regarding consultations and referrals. (d) Classified information. § 9800.104 Timing of responses to requests. (a) In general. (b) Multitrack processing. (2) CIGIE may provide requesters in its complex track with an opportunity to limit the scope of their requests to qualify for faster processing within the specified limits of the simple track. (c) Unusual circumstances. (d) Aggregating requests. (e) Expedited processing. (i) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited processing could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; (ii) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged Federal Government activity, if made by a person who is primarily engaged in disseminating information; (iii) The loss of substantial due process rights; or (iv) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government's integrity that affect public confidence. (2) A request for expedited processing may be made at any time. (3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct, explaining in detail the basis for making the request for expedited processing. For example, under paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section, a requester who is not a full-time member of the news media must establish that the requester is a person whose primary professional activity or occupation is information dissemination, though it need not be the requester's sole occupation. Such a requester also must establish a particular urgency to inform the public about the government activity involved in the request—one that extends beyond the public's right to know about government activity generally. The existence of numerous articles published on a given subject can be helpful in establishing the requirement that there be an “urgency to inform” the public on the topic. As a matter of administrative discretion, CIGIE may waive the formal certification requirement. (4) CIGIE will notify the requester within 10 calendar days of the receipt of a request for expedited processing of its decision whether to grant or deny expedited processing. If expedited processing is granted, the request will be given priority, placed in the processing track for expedited requests, and will be processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing is denied, any appeal of that decision will be acted on expeditiously. § 9800.105 Responses to requests. (a) In general. (b) Acknowledgments of requests. (c) Grants of requests. (d) Adverse determinations of requests. (e) Content of denial. (1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial; (2) A brief statement of the reasons for the denial, including any FOIA exemption applied by CIGIE in denying the request; (3) An estimate of the volume of any records or information withheld, such as the number of pages or some other reasonable form of estimation, although such an estimate is not required if the volume is otherwise indicated by deletions marked on records that are disclosed in part or if providing an estimate would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption; and (4) A statement that the denial may be appealed under § 9800.107 and a description of the requirements set forth therein. (5) A statement notifying the requester of the assistance available from the FOIA Public Liaison and the dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services. (f) Markings on released documents. (g) Use of record exclusions. (2) Should CIGIE invoke an exclusion, it will maintain an administrative record of the process of invocation and approval of the exclusion by OIP. § 9800.106 Confidential commercial information. (a) Definitions Confidential commercial information (2) Submitter (b) Designation of confidential commercial information. (c) When notice to submitters is required. (i) The requested information has been designated in good faith by the submitter as information considered protected from disclosure under Exemption 4; or (ii) CIGIE has a reason to believe that the requested information may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4, but has not yet determined whether the information is protected from disclosure under that exemption or any other applicable exemption. (2) The notice will either describe the commercial information requested or include a copy of the requested records or portions of records containing the information. In cases involving a voluminous number of submitters, notice may be made by posting or publishing the notice in a place or manner reasonably likely to accomplish it. (d) Exceptions to submitter notice requirements. (1) CIGIE determines that the information is exempt under FOIA; (2) The information has been lawfully published or has been officially made available to the public; (3) Disclosure of the information is required by a statute other than FOIA or by a regulation issued in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12600; or (4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (b) of this section appears obviously frivolous, except that, in such a case, CIGIE will give the submitter written notice of any final decision to disclose the information and must provide that notice within a reasonable number of days prior to a specified disclosure date. (e) Opportunity to object to disclosure. (2) A submitter who fails to respond within the time period specified in the notice shall be considered to have no objection to disclosure of the information. Information received by CIGIE after the date of any disclosure decision shall not be considered by CIGIE. Any information provided by a submitter under this part may itself be subject to disclosure under FOIA. (f) Analysis of objections. (g) Notice of intent to disclose. (1) A statement of the reasons why each of the submitter's disclosure objections was not sustained; (2) A description of the information to be disclosed; and (3) A specified disclosure date, which will be a reasonable time subsequent to the notice. (h) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. (i) Requester notification. § 9800.107 Administrative appeals. (a) Appeals of adverse determinations. (1) Regular mail sent to the address listed in this subsection, above; or (2) By fax sent to the FOIA Officer at (202) 254-0162; or (3) By email to [email protected]. (b) Submission and content. (c) Adjudication of appeals. (2) An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes a matter of FOIA litigation. (3) On receipt of any appeal involving classified information, CIGIE will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with applicable classification rules. (d) Decisions on appeals. (e) Engaging in dispute resolution services provided by the Office of Government Information Services. (f) When appeal is required. § 9800.108 Preservation of records. CIGIE will preserve all correspondence pertaining to the requests that it receives under this part, as well as copies of all requested records, until disposition or destruction is authorized pursuant to title 44 of the United States Code and the relevant approved records retention schedule. Records shall not be disposed of or destroyed while they are the subject of a pending request, appeal, or lawsuit under FOIA. § 9800.109 Fees. (a) In general. (b) Definitions. (1) Commercial use request (2) Direct costs i.e., (3) Duplication (4) Educational institution (5) Noncommercial scientific institution (6) Representative of the news media (7) Review (8) Search (c) Charging fees. (1) Search. (ii) For each quarter hour spent by personnel searching for requested records, including electronic searches that do not require new programming, the fees will be as follows: Professional—$10.00; and clerical/administrative—$4.75. (iii) Requesters will be charged the direct costs associated with conducting any search that requires the creation of a new computer program to locate the requested records. Requesters will be notified of the costs associated with creating such a program and must agree to pay the associated costs before the costs may be incurred. (iv) For requests that require the retrieval of records stored by an agency at a Federal records center operated by National Archives and Records Administration, additional costs will be charged in accordance with the Transactional Billing Rate Schedule established by National Archives and Records Administration. (2) Duplication. (3) Review. i.e., (d) Restrictions on charging fees. (2) If CIGIE fails to comply with FOIA's time limits in which to respond to a request, it may not charge search fees, or, in the instances of requests from requesters described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, may not charge duplication fees, except as described in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section. (i) If CIGIE has determined that unusual circumstances, as defined by FOIA, apply and CIGIE provided timely written notice to the requester in accordance with FOIA, a failure to comply with the time limit will be excused for an additional 10 days. (ii) If CIGIE has determined that unusual circumstances as defined by FOIA apply, and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request, CIGIE may charge search fees, or, in the case of requesters described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, may charge duplication fees if the following steps are taken. CIGIE will have provided timely written notice of unusual circumstances to the requester in accordance with FOIA and CIGIE will have discussed with the requester via written mail, email, or telephone (or made not less than three good-faith attempts to do so) how the requester could effectively limit the scope of the request in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B)(ii). If this exception is satisfied, CIGIE may charge all applicable fees incurred in the processing of the request. (iii) If a court has determined that exceptional circumstances exist, as defined by FOIA, a failure to comply with the time limits will be excused for the length of time provided by the court order. (3) No search or review fees will be charged for a quarter-hour period unless more than half of that period is required for search or review. (4) Except for requesters seeking records for a commercial use, CIGIE will provide without charge: (i) The first 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent for other media); and (ii) The first two hours of search. (5) When, after first deducting the 100 free pages (or its cost equivalent) and the first two hours of search, a total fee calculated under paragraph (c) of this section is $25.00 or less for any request, no fee will be charged. (e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00. (2) In cases in which a requester has been notified that the actual or estimated fees exceed $25.00, the request shall not be considered received and further work will not be completed until the requester commits in writing to pay the actual or estimated total fee, or designates some amount of fees the requester is willing to pay, or in the case of a noncommercial use requester who has not yet been provided with the requester's statutory entitlements, designates that the requester seeks only that which can be provided by the statutory entitlements. The requester must provide the commitment or designation in writing, and must, when applicable, designate an exact dollar amount the requester is willing to pay. CIGIE is not required to accept payments in installments. (3) If the requester has indicated a willingness to pay some designated amount of fees, but CIGIE estimates that the total fee will exceed that amount, CIGIE shall toll the processing of the request when it notifies the requester of the estimated fees in excess of the amount the requester has indicated a willingness to pay. CIGIE will inquire whether the requester wishes to revise the amount of fees the requester is willing to pay or modify the request. Once the requester responds, the time to respond will resume from where it was at the date of the notification. (4) CIGIE will make available their FOIA Public Liaison or other FOIA professional to assist any requester in reformulating a request to meet the requester's needs at a lower cost. (f) Charges for other services. (g) Charging interest. (h) Aggregating requests. (i) Advance payments. i.e., (2) When CIGIE determines or estimates that a total fee to be charged under this section will exceed $250.00, it may require that the requester make an advance payment up to the amount of the entire anticipated fee before beginning to process the request. CIGIE may elect to process the request prior to collecting fees when it receives a satisfactory assurance of full payment from a requester with a history of prompt payment. (3) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a properly charged FOIA fee to CIGIE or another agency within 30 days of the billing date, CIGIE may require that the requester pay the full amount due, plus any applicable interest on that prior request, and CIGIE may require that the requester make an advance payment of the full amount of any anticipated fee before CIGIE begins to process a new request or continues to process a pending request or any pending appeal. Where CIGIE has a reasonable basis to believe that a requester has misrepresented the requester's identity to avoid paying outstanding fees, it may require that the requester provide proof of identity. (4) In cases in which CIGIE requires advance payment, the request shall not be considered received and further work will not be completed until the required payment is received. If the requester does not pay the advance payment within 30 days after the date of CIGIE's fee determination, the request will be closed. (j) Other statutes specifically providing for fees. (k) Requirements for waiver or reduction of fees. (2) CIGIE will furnish records responsive to a request without charge or at a reduced rate when it determines, based on all available information, that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. In deciding whether this standard is satisfied CIGIE will consider the factors described in paragraphs (k)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section. (i) Disclosure of the requested information would shed light on the operations or activities of the government. The subject of the request must concern identifiable operations or activities of the Federal Government with a connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated. (ii) Disclosure of the requested information would be likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of those operations or activities. This factor is satisfied when the following criteria are met: (A) Disclosure of the requested records must be meaningfully informative about government operations or activities. The disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in either the same or a substantially identical form, would not be meaningfully informative if nothing new would be added to the public's understanding. (B) The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area as well as the requester's ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public must be considered. CIGIE will presume that a representative of the news media will satisfy this consideration. (iii) The disclosure must not be primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. To determine whether disclosure of the requested information is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, CIGIE will consider the following criteria: (A) CIGIE must identify whether the requester has any commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. A commercial interest includes any commercial, trade, or profit interest. Requesters must be given an opportunity to provide explanatory information regarding this consideration. (B) If there is an identified commercial interest, CIGIE must determine whether that is the primary interest furthered by the request. A waiver or reduction of fees is justified when the requirements of paragraphs (k)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section are satisfied and any commercial interest is not the primary interest furthered by the request. CIGIE ordinarily will presume that when a news media requester has satisfied the requirements of paragraphs (k)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section, the request is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Disclosure to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government information for direct economic return will not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest. (3) Where only some of the records to be released satisfy the requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver will be granted for those records. (4) Requests for a waiver or reduction of fees should be made when the request is first submitted to CIGIE and should address the criteria referenced above. A requester may submit a fee waiver request at a later time so long as the underlying record request is pending or on administrative appeal. When a requester who has committed to pay fees subsequently asks for a waiver of those fees and that waiver is denied, the requester shall be required to pay any costs incurred up to the date the fee waiver request was received. § 9800.110 Public reading room. CIGIE maintains an electronic public reading room on its website, http://www.ignet.gov, § 9800.111 Other rights and services. Nothing in this part shall be construed to entitle any person, as of right, to any service or to the disclosure of any record to which such person is not entitled under FOIA.