32 C.F.R. Subpart B—FOIA Definitions and Terms
Title 32 - National Defense
Section (a)(1) of the FOIA requires publication in the Section (a)(2) of the FOIA requires that certain materials routinely be made available for public inspection and copying. The (a)(2) materials are commonly referred to as “reading room” materials and are required to be indexed to facilitate public inspection. (a)(2) materials consist of: (a) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(A) records. Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders made in the adjudication of cases, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551, that may be cited, used, or relied upon as precedents in future adjudications. (b) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(B) records. Statements of policy and interpretations that have been adopted by the agency and are not published in the (c) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(C) records. Administrative staff manuals and instructions, or portions thereof, that establish DON policy or interpretations of policy that affect a member of the public. This provision does not apply to instructions for employees on tactics and techniques to be used in performing their duties, or to instructions relating only to the internal management of the DON activity. Examples of manuals and instructions not normally made available are: (1) Those issued for audit, investigation, and inspection purposes, or those that prescribe operational tactics, standards of performance, or criteria for defense, prosecution, or settlement of cases. (2) Operations and maintenance manuals and technical information concerning munitions, equipment, systems, and foreign intelligence operations. (d) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(D) records. Those (a)(2) records, which because of the nature of the subject matter, have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records. These records are referred to as FOIA-processed (a)(2) records. DON activities shall decide on a case-by-case basis whether records fall into this category based on the following factors: previous experience of the DON activity with similar records; particular circumstances of the records involved, including their nature and the type of information contained in them; and/or the identity and number of requesters and whether there is widespread press, historic, or commercial interest in the records. (1) This provision is intended for situations where public access in a timely manner is important and it is not intended to apply where there may be a limited number of requests over a short period of time from a few requesters. DON activities may remove the records from this access medium when the appropriate officials determine that access is no longer necessary. (2) Should a requester submit a FOIA request for FOIA-processed (a)(2) records and insist that the request be processed under FOIA, DON activities shall process the FOIA request. However, DON activities have no obligation to process a FOIA request for (a)(2)(A), (B) and (C) records because these records are required to be made public and not FOIA-processed under paragraph (a)(3) of the FOIA. (e) However, agency records that are withheld under FOIA from public disclosure, based on one or more of the FOIA exemptions, do not qualify as (a)(2) materials and need not be published in the Agency records which are processed for release under the provisions of the FOIA. A request made by a FOIA requester asking the appellate authority (JAG or OGC) to reverse a decision to: withhold all or part of a requested record; deny a fee category claim by a requester; deny a request for expedited processing due to demonstrated compelling need; deny a request for a waiver or reduction of fees; deny a request to review an initial fee estimate; and confirm that no records were located during the initial search. FOIA requesters may also appeal a non-response to a FOIA request within the statutory time limits. This is where a DON activity makes records available to the public on its own initiative. In such instance, the DON activity has determined in advance that a certain type of records or information is likely to be of such interest to members of the public, and that it can be disclosed without concern for any FOIA exemption sensitivity. Affirmative disclosures can be of mutual benefit to both the DON and the members of the public who are interested in obtaining access to such information. Agency records are either created or obtained by an agency and under agency control at the time of the FOIA request. Agency records are stored as various kinds of media, such as: (a) Products of data compilation (all books, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, inclusive of those in electronic form or format, or other documentary materials), regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law in connection with the transaction of public business and in Department of the Navy possession and control at the time the FOIA request is made. (b) Care should be taken not to exclude records from being considered agency records, unless they fall within one of the following categories: (1) Objects or articles, such as structures, furniture, paintings, three-dimensional models, vehicles, equipment, parts of aircraft, ships, etc., whatever their historical value or value as evidence. (2) Anything that is not a tangible or documentary record, such as an individual's memory or oral communication. (3) Personal records of an individual not subject to agency creation or retention requirements, created and maintained primarily for the convenience of an agency employee, and not distributed to other agency employees for their official use. Personal papers fall into three categories: those created before entering Government service; private materials brought into, created, or received in the office that were not created or received in the course of transacting Government business, and work-related personal papers that are not used in the transaction of Government business. (4) A record must exist and be in the possession and control of the DON at the time of the request to be considered subject to this instruction and the FOIA. There is no obligation to create, compile, or obtain a record to satisfy a FOIA request. (5) Hard copy or electronic records, which are subject to FOIA requests under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3), and which are available to the public through an established distribution system, or through the SECNAV has delegated the OGC and JAG to review administrative appeals of denials of FOIA requests on his behalf and prepare agency paperwork for use by the DOJ in defending a FOIA lawsuit. JAG is further authorized to delegate this authority to a designated Assistant JAG. The authority of OGC is further delegated to the Principal Deputy General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel, and the Associate General Counsel (Management). The decision to release information that could qualify for withholding under a FOIA exemption, but upon review the determination has been made that there is no foreseeable harm to the Government for releasing such information. Discretionary disclosures do not apply to exemptions (b)(1), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C). Records (including e-mail) which are created, stored, and retrieved by electronic means. The FOIA contains three exclusions (c)(1), (c)(2) and (c)(3) which expressly authorize Federal law enforcement agencies for especially sensitive records under certain specified circumstances to treat the records as not subject to the requirements of the FOIA. Revoked Executive Order 12356 on October 14, 1995 and is the basis for claiming that information is currently and properly classified under (b)(1) exemption of the FOIA. It sets forth new requirements for classifying and declassifying documents. It recognizes both the right of the public to be informed about the activities of its government and the need to protect national security information from unauthorized or untimely disclosure. A Federal agency is any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government-controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency. An access statute that pertains to agency records of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, including the Executive Office of the President and independent regulatory agencies. Note to §701.25: Records maintained by State governments, municipal corporations, by the courts, by Congress, or by companies and private citizens do not fall under this Federal statute.
Title 32: National Defense
PART 701—AVAILABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RECORDS AND PUBLICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DOCUMENTS AFFECTING THE PUBLIC
Subpart B—FOIA Definitions and Terms
§ 701.13 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(1) materials.
§ 701.14 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) materials.
§ 701.15 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) materials.
§ 701.16 Administrative appeal.
§ 701.17 Affirmative information disclosure.
§ 701.18 Agency record.
§ 701.19 Appellate authority.
§ 701.20 Discretionary disclosure.
§ 701.21 Electronic record.
§ 701.22 Exclusions.
§ 701.23 Executive Order 12958.
§ 701.24 Federal agency.
§ 701.25 5 U.S.C. 552, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
§ 701.26 FOIA exemptions.
There are nine exemptions that identify certain kinds of records/information that qualify for withholding under FOIA. See subpart D of this part for a detailed explanation of each exemption.
§ 701.27 FOIA fee terms location.
The FOIA fee terms can be found in subpart C of this part.
§ 701.28 FOIA request.
A written request for DON records, made by “any person” including a member of the public (U.S. or foreign citizen/entity), an organization, or a business, but not including a Federal agency or a fugitive from the law that either explicitly or implicitly invokes the FOIA by citing DoD FOIA regulations or the instruction in this part. FOIA requests can be made for any purpose whatsoever, with no showing of relevancy required. Because the purpose for which records are sought has no bearing on the merits of the request, FOIA requesters do not have to explain or justify their requests. Written requests may be received by postal service or other commercial delivery means, by facsimile or electronically.
§ 701.29 Glomar response.
Refusal by the agency to either confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of records responsive to a FOIA request. See exemptions (b)(1), (b)(6), and (b)(7)(C) at subpart D of this part.
§ 701.30 Initial Denial Authority (IDA).
SECNAV has delegated authority to a limited number of officials to act on his behalf to withhold records under their cognizance that are requested under the FOIA for one or more of the nine categories of records exempt from mandatory disclosure; to deny a fee category claim by a requester; to deny a request for expedited processing due to demonstrated compelling need; to deny or grant a request for waiver or reduction of fees when the information sought relates to matters within their respective geographical areas of responsibility or chain of command; fees; to review a fee estimate; and to confirm that no records were located in response to a request. IDAs may also grant access to requests.
§ 701.31 Mosaic or compilation response.
The concept that apparently harmless pieces of information when assembled together could reveal a damaging picture. See exemption (b)(1) at subpart D of this part.
§ 701.32 Perfected request.
A request which meets the minimum requirements of the FOIA to be processed and is received by the DON activity having possession and control over the documents/information.
§ 701.33 Public domain.
Agency records released under the provisions of FOIA and the instruction in this part to a member of the public.
§ 701.34 Public interest.
The interest in obtaining official information that sheds light on a DON activity's performance of its statutory duties because the information falls within the statutory purpose of the FOIA to inform citizens what their government is doing. That statutory purpose, however, is not fostered by disclosure of information about private citizens accumulated in various governmental files that reveals nothing about an agency's or official's own conduct.
§ 701.35 Reading room.
Location where (a)(2) materials are made available for public inspection and copying.
§ 701.36 Release authorities.
Commanding officers and heads of Navy and Marine Corps shore activities or their designees are authorized to grant requests on behalf of SECNAV for agency records under their possession and control for which no FOIA exemption applies. As necessary, they will coordinate releases with other officials who may have an interest in the releasability of the record.
§ 701.37 Reverse FOIA.
When the “submitter” of information, usually a corporation or other business entity, that has supplied the agency with data on its policies, operations and products, seeks to prevent the agency that collected the information from revealing the data to a third party in response to the latter's FOIA request.
§ 701.38 Technical data.
Recorded information, regardless of form or method of the recording, of a scientific or technical nature (including computer software documentation).
§ 701.39 Vaughn index.
Itemized index, correlating each withheld document (or portion) with a specific FOIA exemption(s) and the relevant part of the agency's nondisclosure justification. The index may contain such information as: date of document; originator; subject/title of document; total number of pages reviewed; number of pages of reasonably segregable information released; number of pages denied; exemption(s) claimed; justification for withholding; etc. FOIA requesters are not entitled to a Vaughn index during the administrative process.
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