PART 2702—REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT Authority: 30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.; Source: 87 FR 5397, Feb. 1, 2022, unless otherwise noted. § 2702.1 Purpose and scope. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (Commission), pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”), 30 U.S.C. 801 et seq., https://www.fmshrc.gov/guides/foia-guide. § 2702.2 Location of offices. The Commission maintains its headquarters office at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 520N, Washington, DC 20004-1710. The locations of other Commission offices may be obtained from the Commission's website ( http://www.fmshrc.gov § 2702.3 Making a request for information. (a) Content of request. (1) Be in writing; (2) Include the words “Freedom of Information Act Request” or “FOIA” on the face of the request; (3) Include, if concerning a case that has come before the Commission or a Commission Administrative Law Judge, the Commission case docket number or, in the alternative, the related MSHA citation or order number(s); (4) Reasonably describe the particular record(s) requested; and (5) Specify the preferred form or format in which the requester wishes to receive the response. The Commission shall accommodate requests as to form or format if the record is readily reproducible in the requested form or format. When requesters do not specify the preferred form or format of the response, the Commission shall respond in the form or format in which the record is most accessible to the Commission. (b) Optional content considerations. (c) Personal records. (d) Submitting a request. (1) The Commission's FOIA Request form located on the Commission's website at https://www.fmshrc.gov/foia/foia-request-form; (2) Email, mail, fax, or hand delivery to the Chief FOIA Officer at [email protected], § 2702.4 Response to request; processing; determinations. (a) Response to request. (b) Processing time Simple track. (2) Complex track. (i) Unusual circumstances that may warrant delay include: (A) The need to search for and collect the requested records from facilities that are separate from the office processing the request; (B) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are requested in a single request; (C) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request, or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest in the request; and (D) The need to consult with the submitter of the records being requested. (ii) With respect to a request for which a written notice has extended the time limit by 10 additional business days, if the Commission determines that it cannot make a response determination within that additional 10 business day period, the requester will be notified and provided an opportunity to limit the scope of the request so that it may be processed within the extended time limit, or an opportunity to arrange an alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified request. See § 2702.10 for fee adjustments applicable to processing time delays. (3) Expedited track. (i) That a failure to obtain the requested records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or (ii) The information is urgently needed by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information in order to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity; or (iii) The records are necessary to assist with meeting an impending deadline set by a Commission Judge or the Commission in a pending case to which the requester is a party. (c) Aggregated requests. (d) Determinations Full grant of request. (2) Partial grant/denial of request. (3) Denial of request. (4) Determination of request to expedite. (5) Determination of fee waiver/reduction request. (e) Dispute resolution. [email protected]. https://archives.gov/ogis. https://www.fmshrc.gov/content/foia-public-liaison. § 2702.5 Right to appeal. (a) Generally. [email protected], (b) Appeal of denial or partial denial of information request. (c) Appeal of denial of request to expedite. (d) Appeal of denial of fee waiver or reduction. (e) Denial of appeal. § 2702.6 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) The Commission 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. (2) The notice must either describe the commercial information requested or include a copy of the requested records or portions of records containing the information. (d) Exceptions to submitter notice requirements. (1) The Commission determines that the information is exempt under the FOIA, and therefore will not be disclosed; (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 the FOIA or by a regulation issued in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12600 of June 23, 1987; or (4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (b) of this section appears obviously frivolous. In such case, the Commission will give the submitter written notice of any final decision to disclose the information within a reasonable number of days prior to a date specified for disclosure. (e) Opportunity to object to disclosure. (2) The response must include a detailed statement that specifies all grounds for withholding the particular information under any exemption of the FOIA. In order to rely on Exemption 4 of the FOIA as a basis for nondisclosure, the submitter must explain why the information constitutes a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is confidential. (3) A submitter who fails to respond within 30 calendar days will be considered to have no objection to disclosure of the information. The Commission is not required to consider any information received after the date of any disclosure decision. Any information provided by a submitter under this part may itself be subject to disclosure under the 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 or copies of the records as the Commission intends to release them; and (3) A specified disclosure date, which must be a reasonable time after the notice. (h) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. (i) Requester notification. (j) Effect of disclosure. § 2702.7 Materials available. (a) Records. (b) FOIA e-reading room. https://www.fmshrc.gov/foia/e-reading-room. (1) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases; (2) Those statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by the agency and are not published in the Federal Register (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; (4) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to any person under this part and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, the Commission has determined have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records; and (5) A general index of records referred to under this paragraph (b). (c) FOIA in-office review. § 2702.8 Categories of requesters and applicable fees. (a) Commercial requesters. (b) Educational or noncommercial scientific institutions requesters. (c) News media requesters. (d) Other requesters. (e) Requesters acting in concert. (f) Clarification of records use. § 2702.9 Fee schedule. (a) Search fee. https://www.fmshrc.gov/guides/foia-guide. (b) Review fee. https://www.fmshrc.gov/guides/foia-guide. (c) Duplicating fee. 1/2 § 2702.10 Waivers and reduction of fees. (a) Automatic fee waiver. (b) Request for fee waiver or reduction. (1) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns “the operations or activities of the Government;” (2) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the disclosure is “likely to contribute” to an understanding of Government operations or activities; (3) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to “public understanding;” (4) The significance of contribution to public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute “significantly” to public understanding of Government operations or activities; (5) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and (6) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of any identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is “primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” (c) Determination. § 2702.11 Payment of fees; advance payments; interest; debt collection. (a) Payment of fees. (b) Advance payment. (c) Delinquent requesters. (d) Interest charges. (e) Debt collection. § 2702.12 Preservation of records. Pursuant to title 44 of the United States Code or the General Records Schedule 4.2 of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Commission preserves all correspondence pertaining to requests received under this part, as well as copies of all requested records for 6 years following final agency action or 3 years after final adjudication by the courts, whichever is later. The Commission will not dispose of or destroy records while they are the subject of a pending request, appeal, or lawsuit under the FOIA.