22 C.F.R. Subpart C—Procedures for Obtaining Records Under the FOIA
Title 22 - Foreign Relations
(a) Submitting a request. To request records that are not otherwise available to the public, submit a written request to OPIC's FOIA Office either by mail, by hand delivery, by facsimile transmission to (202) 408–0297, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. You must state that you are requested records under the FOIA. Your request is considered received by OPIC upon actual receipt by OPIC's FOIA Office. (b) Format. Although FOIA requests do not need to follow a specific format, you must include the following information: (1) You must reasonably describe the records you seek. This means that you must provide enough detail to enable OPIC personnel, using reasonable efforts, to locate the records. Whenever possible, your request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter. Any request that does not reasonably describe the records sought will not be considered received by OPIC until the request is clarified. If your request does not reasonably describe the records you seek, OPIC will make reasonable efforts to contact you and tell you what additional information you need to provide in order to clarify your request. You then will have an opportunity to modify your request to meet the requirements of this section. Any time you spend clarifying your request (discussing your request with OPIC and preparing a revised request) is excluded from the 20 working-day period (or any extension of this period) that OPIC has to respond to your request. (2) You must state the format (e.g., paper, computer disk, etc.) in which you would like OPIC to provide the requested records. If you do not state a preference, you will receive any released records in the format most convenient to OPIC. (3) You must include your mailing address and telephone number. You may also provide your electronic mail address, which will allow OPIC to contact you quickly to discuss your request and, in some instances, to respond to your request electronically. (4) You must state your willingness to pay fees under this Part or, alternately, your willingness to pay fees up to a specified limit. If you believe that you qualify for a partial or total fee waiver under §706.35(a), you should request a waiver and provide justification as required by §706.35(b). If your request does not contain a statement of your willingness to pay fees or a request for a fee waiver, OPIC will advise you of the requirements of this paragraph. If you fail to respond within ten working days of such notification, OPIC will stop processing your request. (a) General. The FOIA requires OPIC to respond within twenty working days after the date on which OPIC's FOIA Office received the request. (b) Order of processing. Generally, OPIC responds to FOIA requests in the order in which they are received. (c) Extensions. (1) In unusual circumstances, OPIC may require an extension of time in which to respond to your request. OPIC will provide written notice to you whenever such unusual circumstances exist. Unusual circumstances may include, for example: The need to search for and collect requested records from storage facilities located outside of OPIC's premises; the need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are requested in a single request; or the need for consultation with another agency having a substantial interest in the request. If the extension is expected to exceed ten working days, OPIC will offer you the opportunity to: (i) Alter your request so that processing may be accelerated; or (ii) Propose an alternative, feasible time frame for processing the request. (2) When OPIC reasonably believes that multiple requests submitted by a requester, or by a group of requesters acting in concert, constitute a single request that would otherwise involve unusual circumstances, and the requests involve clearly related matters, such requests may be aggregated for purposes of this section. (d) Expedited processing. OPIC will expedite processing of your FOIA request if you provide information indicating that one of the following factors is present: circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or an urgent need to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity, if the request is made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information. You may make a request for expedited processing at the time you submit your FOIA request or at any later time. If you make such a request, you must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of your belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited processing. OPIC will notify you of its determination concerning your request for expedited processing within ten days after the date of your request. You may appeal a denial of a request for expedited processing under the provisions at §706.36. OPIC will grant expedited consideration to any such appeal. (a) OPIC response. You will be notified in writing once OPIC makes a determination concerning your request. OPIC will respond by providing the requested records to you in whole or in part and/or by denying your request in whole or in part, or by notifying you that OPIC will produce or withhold, in whole or in part, the requested records. If you owe fees, OPIC will respond to you after you have paid the fees. (1) Segregable records. If OPIC determines that part(s) of a record are exempt from disclosure under the FOIA, any reasonably segregable part of the record will be provided to you after redaction of the exempt material. OPIC will mark or annotate any such record to show both the amount and the location of the redacted information wherever practicable. If segregation would render the record meaningless, OPIC will withhold the entire record. (2) Denials. A denial is a determination to withhold any requested record in whole or in part, a determination that a requested record cannot be located, or a determination that what you requested is not a record subject to the FOIA. If OPIC denies all or part of your request, you will be provided: (i) The name, title, and signature of the person responsible for the determination; (ii) The statutory basis for non-disclosure; (iii) A statement that the denial may be appealed under §706.36 and a brief description of the requirements of that section; and (iv) If entire records or pages of records are withheld, an estimated volume of the amount of material withheld unless providing such an estimate would harm an interest protected by the FOIA exemption under which the denial is made. (b) Referrals to other government agencies. If you request a record in OPIC's possession that was created or classified by another Federal agency, OPIC will promptly refer your request to that agency for direct response to you unless OPIC can determine by examining the record or by informal consultation with the originating agency that the record may be released in whole or part. OPIC will notify you of any such referral. (a) General policy. You generally will be charged for costs incurred by OPIC in complying with your FOIA request, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section and as required or permitted by law. As explained more fully in paragraph (c) of this section, fees will vary according to your requester status. (1) Search fees are $16 per hour. (2) Review fees are $35 per hour. (3) Duplication costs are $.15 per page for photocopying, and direct costs for all other media (including any operator time involved). (b) Anticipated fees. Your FOIA request must specifically state that you will pay all fees chargeable under this section or, alternatively, that you will pay fees up to a specified limit. If your request makes no reference to anticipated fees and your request is expected to involve fees of more than $25, or OPIC estimates that the fees will exceed the dollar limit specified in your request, OPIC will promptly notify you of the estimated fees. (c) Uniform fee schedule. Fees will be charged according to your requester status. (1) Commercial use requesters. Commercial use requesters will be charged the cost of all time spent searching for and reviewing for release the requested records and for all duplication costs. (2) Educational and non-commercial scientific institution requesters. Educational and non-commercial scientific institution requesters will be charged only the costs of duplication. No fee will be charged for the costs of photocopying the first 100 pages of documents or for the first $15 of other media costs. To be eligible for inclusion in this category, you must show that your request is being made under the auspices of a qualifying educational institution or non-commercial scientific institution and that the records are sought in furtherance of scholarly (if the request is from an educational institution) or scientific (if the request is from a non-commercial scientific institution) research. (3) Representatives of the news media. Representatives of the news media will be charged only the costs of duplication. No fee will be charged for the costs of photocopying the first 100 pages of documents or for the first $15 of other media costs. To be eligible for inclusion in this category, you must be a representative of the news media and your request must not be made for a commercial use. A request for records that supports the news dissemination function of the requester is not considered to be a request that is for a commercial use. (4) All other requesters. All other requesters will be charged for the cost of any search time in excess of two hours, photocopying any documents in excess of 100 pages, and any costs in excess of the first $15 of other media costs. (d) Fees for searches that produce no records. Fees will be charged as provided in this section even if OPIC's search and review does not produce any disclosable records. (e) Special services charges. At its discretion, OPIC may comply with requests for special services such as certification of documents or shipping methods other than regular U.S. mail. You will be charged the direct costs of any such services. OPIC will inform you of the cost of any special service(s) that you request, and you must pay this cost before OPIC will finish processing your FOIA request. If you do not wish to pay the stated cost, you may rescind your request for the special service(s). (f) Advance payments. Where OPIC estimates that fees are likely to exceed $250, you will be required to make an advance payment of the entire fee before OPIC continues to process your request. You will be provided an opportunity to narrow the scope of your request if you do not want to pay the entire amount of the estimated fees. (g) Restrictions on assessing fees. With the exception of commercial use requesters, the FOIA requires agencies to provide the first 100 pages of photocopying and the first two hours of search time to requesters without charge. Moreover, the FOIA prohibits agencies from charging fees to any requester, including commercial use requesters, if the cost of collecting the fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself. OPIC has determined that its cost of collecting a FOIA fee is $15. In implementing these provisions, OPIC will not begin to assess fees until after providing the free search and reproduction described above, except for commercial use requesters. For example, for a request involving four hours of search time and results in 105 pages of documents, OPIC will determine the cost of only 2 hours of search time and only five pages of duplication. (h) Failure to pay fees. (1) OPIC will begin assessing interest charges on the 31st calendar day following the date of billing. Interest will be at the rate prescribed in section 3717 of Title 31 of the United States Code. (2) If you previously failed to pay a FOIA fee to OPIC in a timely fashion, you must pay the full amount owed plus any applicable interest as provided above and make an advance payment of the full amount of the estimated fee before OPIC will process a new FOIA request from you. (3) When OPIC acts under paragraphs (h)(1) or (2) of this section, the administrative time limits for processing FOIA requests (i.e., 20 working days from receipt of initial request and 20 working days from receipt of an appeal plus permissible extensions) will begin only after OPIC has received full payment of all applicable fees and interest. (a) Waiver. In accordance with the FOIA's fee waiver provisions, OPIC will furnish records to you without charge or at a reduced charge if disclosure of the information you request 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 your commercial interest. In determining whether a fee waiver is appropriate, OPIC will consider the following factors: (1) Whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the government; (2) Whether disclosure of the requested information is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations or activities; (3) Whether you have the intention and ability to disseminate the information to the public; (4) Whether the information is already in the public domain; (5) Whether you have a commercial interest that would be furthered by the disclosure; and, if so, (6) Whether the magnitude of your identified commercial interest is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in your commercial interest. (b) Justification. In all cases, you have the burden of presenting sufficient evidence or information to justify the requested fee waiver or reduction. (c) Inspection. You may come to OPIC's offices to inspect any releasable records that you requested without charge to you except for any search, review, and/or duplication fees that are otherwise payable. (d) Other provisions—(1) Aggregating requests. When OPIC reasonably believes that a requester or group of requesters is attempting to break down a request into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, OPIC will aggregate any such requests and charge accordingly. (2) Remittances. All payments under this Part must be in the form of a check or a bank draft denominated in U.S. currency. Checks should be made payable to the order of United States Treasury and mailed to the OPIC FOIA Office. (a) Procedure. If your request for records has been denied in whole or in part, you may file an appeal within twenty working days following the date on which you receive OPIC's denial. Your appeal should be addressed to OPIC's Vice President and General Counsel. Your appeal is considered received by OPIC upon actual receipt by OPIC's Vice President and General Counsel. You should clearly mark your envelope and appeal letter as a “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” Your appeal letter should reasonably describe the information or records requested and any other pertinent facts and statements. (b) Response. OPIC's Vice President and General Counsel or his/her designee will render a written decision within twenty working days after the date of OPIC's receipt of the appeal, unless an extension of up to ten working days is deemed necessary due to unusual circumstances. You will be notified in writing of any extension. If your appeal is denied in whole or in part, the decision will explain OPIC's rationale for upholding the denial. If your appeal is granted in whole or in part, the information or requested records will be made available promptly, provided the requirements of §706.34 regarding payment of fees are satisfied.
Title 22: Foreign Relations
PART 706—FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Subpart C—Procedures for Obtaining Records Under the FOIA
§ 706.31 How do I request copies of or access to OPIC records that are not otherwise available to the public?
§ 706.32 When will I receive a response to my FOIA request?
§ 706.33 How will OPIC respond to my FOIA request?
§ 706.34 What, if any, fees will I be charged?
§ 706.35 When will OPIC reduce or waive fees?
§ 706.36 How may I appeal a partial or total denial of records?
