§ 701.10 General provisions.

(a) This part contains the regulations of the Office of Independent Counsel implementing the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. 552. Information customarily furnished to the public in the regular course of the performance of official duties may continue to be furnished to the public without complying with this part, provided that the furnishing of such information would not violate the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and would not be inconsistent with regulations issued pursuant to the Privacy Act. To the extent permitted by other laws, the Office will also consider making available records that it is permitted to withhold under the FOIA if it determines that such disclosure would be in the public interest and would not interfere with the functioning of the Office.

(b) As used in this part, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) Appeal means the appeal by a requester of an adverse determination of his request, as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(A)(ii).

(2) Agency has the meaning given in 5 U.S.C. 551(1) and 5 U.S.C. 552(e).

(3) Request means any request for records made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3).

(4) Requester means any person who makes a request to the Office.

(5) Business information means trade secrets or other commercial or financial information.

(6) Business submitter means any commercial entity that provides business information to the Office and that has a proprietary interest in the information.

(c) The FOIA/PA Officer of the Office of Independent Counsel shall be responsible to Independent Counsel for all matters pertaining to the administration of this part.

(d) The Office of Independent Counsel shall comply with the time limits set forth in the FOIA for responding to and processing requests and appeals, unless there are exceptional circumstances within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(C). The Office shall notify a requester whenever it is unable to respond to or process the request or appeal within the time limits established

(a) How made and addressed. A requester may make a request under this part for a record of the Office of Independent Counsel by writing to the Office at: FOIA/PA Officer, Office of Independent counsel, Suite 701 West, 555 Thirteenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20004. A request should be sent to the Office at its proper address and both the envelope and the request itself should be clearly marked: “Freedom of Information Act Request."

(b) Request must reasonably describe the records sought. A request must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable Office personnel to locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. A request for a specific category of records shall be regarded as fulfilling this requirement if it enables responsive records to be indentified by a technique or process that is not unreasonably burdensome or disruptive of Office operations. Wherever possible, a request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. In additon, if the request seeks records pertaining to pending litigation, the request should indicate the title of the case, the court in which the case was filed, and the nature of the case. If the Office determines that a request does not reasonably describe the records sought, the Office shall either advise the requester what additional information is needed or otherwise state why the request is insufficient. The Office also shall extend to the requester an opportunity to confer with Office personnel with the objective of reformulating the request in a manner that will meet the requirements of this section.

(c) Agreement to pay fees. (1) The filing of a request under this part shall be deemed to constitute an agreement by the requester to pay all applicable fees charged under § 701.18 of this part, up to $25, unless a waiver of fees is sought.

The Office shall confirm this agreement in its letter of acknowledgement to the requester. When filing a request, a requester may specify a willingness to pay a greater amount, if applicable.

(2) If a waiver of fees up to $25 is sought in the requester's request to the Office, the Office will make its determination on the fee waiver (and notify the requester as soon as possible) after receipt of the request. The submission of a request for fee waiver will not delay the Office's responsibility to search for responsive records.

(3) If the fee waiver is denied by the Office, and the fees involved total $25 or less, the Office will send the responsive documents to the requester, along with a bill for fees. The collection of the unpaid bill shall follow the procedures found herein at §701.18 (g)(2) and (h).

§ 701.12 Responses by the Office to requests.

(a) Authority to grant or deny requests. The head of the Office, or his designee, is authorized to grant or deny and request for a record of the Office.

(b) Initial action by the Office. When the Office receives a request for a record in its possession, the Office shall promptly determine whether another agency of the Government is better able to determine whether the record is exempt, to any extent, from mandatory disclosure under the FOIA; and whether the record, if exempt to any extent from mandatory disclosure under the FOIA, should nonetheless be released to the requester as a matter of discretion. If the Office determines that it is the agency best able to determine whether to disclose the record in response to the request, then the Office shall respond to the request. If the Office determines that it is not the agency best able to determine whether to disclose the record in response to the request, the Office shall either:

(1) Respond to the request, after consulting with the other agency best able to determine whether to disclose the record and with any other agency having a substantial interest in the requested record or the information contained therein; or

(2) Refer the responsibility for responding to the request to another

information.

(c) Law-enforcement Whenever a request is made for a record containing information that relates to an investigation of a possible violation of criminal law or to a criminal law-enforcement proceeding and that was generated or originated by another agency, the Office shall refer the responsibility for responding to the request to that other agency; however, such referral shall extend only to the information generated or originated by that other agency.

(d) Classified information. Whenever a request is made for a record containing information that has been classified, or that may be eligible for classification, by another agency under the provisions of Executive Order 12356 or any other Executive Order concerning the classification of records, the Office shall refer the responsibility for responding to the request to the agency that classified the information or should consider the information for classification. Whenever a record contains information that has been derivatively classified by the Office because it contains information classified by another agency, the Office shall refer the responsibility for responding to the request to the agency that classified the underlying information; however, such referral shall extend only to the information classified by the other agency.

(e) Notice of referral. Whenever the Office refers all or any part of the responsibility for responding to a request to another agency, the Office will consult with the other agency to obtain specific approval to notify the requester of the referral and inform the requester of the name and address of the agency to which the request has been referred and the portions of the request so referred.

(f) Agreements regarding consultations and referrals. No provision of this section shall preclude formal or informal

agreements between the Office and another agency to eliminate the need for consultations or referrals of requests or classes of requests.

(g) Separate referrals of portions of a request. Portions of a request may be referred separately to one or more other agencies whenever necessary to process the request in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(h) Date for determining responsive records. In determining records responsive to a request, the Office ordinarily will include only those records within the Office's possession and control as of the date of its receipt of the request.

§ 701.13 Form and content of Office re

sponses.

(a) Form of notice granting a request. After the Office has made a determination to grant a request in whole or in part, the Office shall so notify the requester in writing. The notice shall describe the manner in which the record will be disclosed, whether by providing a copy of the record to the requester or by making a copy of the record available to the requester for inspection at a reasonable time and place. The procedure for such an inspection shall not unreasonably disrupt the operations of the Office. The Office shall inform the requester in the notice of any fees to be charged in accordance with the provisions of § 701.18 of this part.

(b) Form of notice denying a request. The Office, when denying a request in whole or in part, shall so notify the requester in writing. The notice must be signed by the FOIA/PA Officer, or her designee, and shall include:

(1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial;

(2) A brief statement of the reason or reasons for the denial, including the FOIA exemption or exemptions that the Office has relied upon in denying the request and a brief explanation of the manner in which the exemption or exemptions apply to each record withheld; and

(3) A statement that the denial may be appealed under §701.16(a) and a description of the requirements of that subsection.

(c) Record cannot be located or has been destroyed. If a requested record cannot be located from the information

supplied, or is known or believed to have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of, the Office shall so notify the requester in writing.

§ 701.14

Classified information.

In processing a request for information that is classified or classifiable under Executive Order 12356 or any other Executive Order concerning the classification of records, the Office shall review the information to determine whether it warrants classification. Information that does not warrant classification shall not be withheld from a requester on the basis of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1). The Office shall, upon receipt of any appeal involving classified or classifiable information, take appropriate action to ensure compliance with Executive Order 12356 or any other Executive Order concerning the classification of records.

§701.15 Business information.

(a) In general. Business information provided to the Office by a business submitter shall not be disclosed pursuant to a FOIA request except in accordance with this section.

(b) Notice to business submitters. The Office shall provide a business submitter with prompt written notice of a request encompassing its business information whenever required under paragraph (c) of this section, except as is provided in paragraph (g) of this section, and only to the extent permitted by law. Such written notice shall either describe the exact nature of the business information requested or provide copies of the records or portions thereof containing the business information.

(c) When notice is required. For business information submitted to the Office it shall provide a business submitter with notice of a request whenever the business submitter has in good faith designated the information as commercially or financially sensitive. or the Office has reason to believe that disclosure of the information may result in commercial or financial injury to the business submitter. Notice of a request for business information falling within the former category shall be required for a period of not more than ten years after the date of submission

unless the business submitter requests, and provides acceptable justification for, a specific notice period of greater duration. Whenever possible, the submitter's claim

of confidentiality

should be supported by a statement or certification by an officer or authorized representative of the company that the information in question is in fact confidential commercial or financial information and has not been disclosed to the public.

(d) Opportunity to object to disclosure. Through the notice described in paragraph (b) of this section, the Office shall afford a business submitter a reasonable period within which to provide the Office with a detailed statement of any objection to disclosure. Such statement shall specify all grounds for withholding any of the information under any exemption of the FOIA and, in the case of Exemption 4, shall demonstrate why the information is contended to be a trade secret or commecial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. Information provided by a business submitter pursuant to this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA.

(e) Notice of intent to disclose. (1) The Office shall consider carefully a business submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure prior to determining whether to disclose business information. Whenever the Office decides to disclose business information over the objection of a business submitter, the Office shall forward to the business submitter a written notice which shall include:

(1) A statement of the reasons for which the business submitter's disclosure objections were not sustained;

(ii) A description of the business information to be disclosed; and

(iii) A specified disclosure date.

(2) Such notice of intent to disclose shall be forwarded a reasonable number of days, as circumstances permit, prior to the specified date upon which disclosure is intended. A copy of such disclosure notice shall be forwarded to the requester at the same time.

(f) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. Whenever a requester brings suit seeking to compel disclosure of business information covered by paragraph (c) of this section,

the Office shall promptly notify the business submitter.

(g) Exceptions to notice requirements. The notice requirements of this section shall not apply if:

(1) The Office determines that the information should not be disclosed;

(2) The information lawfully has been published or otherwise made available to the public;

(3) Disclosure of the information is required by law (other than 5 U.S.C. 552); or

(4) The Office is a criminal law-enforcement agency that acquired information in the course of a lawful investigation of a possible violation of criminal law.

§ 701.16 Appeals.

(a) Appeals to Independent Counsel. When a request for access to records or for a waiver of fees has been denied in whole or in part, or when the Office fails to respond to a request within the time limits set forth in the FOIA, the requester may appeal the denial of the request to Independent Counsel within 30 days of his receipt of a notice denying his request. An appeal to Independent Counsel shall be made in writing and addressed to the Office of Independent Counsel, Suite 701 West, 555 Thirteenth Street NW., Washington, DC 20004. Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be clearly marked: "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."

(b) Action on appeals by the Office of Independent Counsel. Unless Independent Counsel otherwise directs, his designee shall act on behalf of the Independent Counsel on all appeals under this section, except that a denial of a request by Independent Counsel shall constitute the final action of the Office on that request.

(c) Form of action on appeal. The disposition of an appeal shall be in writing. A decision affirming in whole or in part the denial of a request shall include a brief statement of the reason or reasons for the affirmance, including each FOIA exemption relied upon and its relation to each record withheld, and a statement that judicial review of the denial is available in the United States District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides

or has his principal place of business, the judicial district in which the requested records are located, or the District of Columbia. If the denial of a request is reversed on appeal, the requester shall be so notified and the request shall be processed promptly in accordance with the decision on appeal.

$ 701.17 Preservation of records.

The Office shall preserve all correspondence relating to the requests it receives under this part, and all records processed pursuant to such requests, until such time as the destruction of such correspondence and records is authorized pursuant to title 44 of the United States Code. Under no circumstances shall records be destroyed while they are the subject of a pending request, appeal, or lawsuit under the FOIA.

(a) In general. Fees pursuant to the FOIA shall be assessed according to the schedule contained in paragraph (b) of this section for services rendered by the Office in responding to and processing requests for records under this part. All fees so assessed shall be charged to the requester, except when the charging of fees is limited under paragraph (c) of this section or when a waiver or reduction of fees is granted under paragraph (d) of this section. The Office shall collect all applicable fees before making copies of requested records available to a requester. Requesters shall pay fees by check or money order made payable to the Treasury of the United States.

(b) Charges. In responding to requests under this part, the following fees shall be assessed, unless a waiver or reduction of fees has been granted pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section:

(1) Search. (i) No search fee shall be assessed with respect to requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, and representatives of the news media (as defined in paragraphs (j)(6), (j)(7), and (j)(8) of this section, respectively). Search fees shall be assessed with respect to all other requests, subject to the limitations of paragraph (c) of this section. The Office may assess fees for time spent searching even if it fails to

locate any respective record or when records located are subsequently determined to be entirely exempt from disclosure.

(ii) For each quarter hour spent by clerical personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record, the fee shall be $2.25. When the search and retrieval cannot be performed entirely by clerical personnel-for example, when the identification of records within the scope of the request requires the use of professional personnel-the fee shall be $4.50 for each quarter hour of search time spent by such professional personnel. When the time of managerial personnel is required, the fee shall be $7.50 for each quarter hour of time spent by such managerial personnel.

(iii) For computer searches of records, which may be undertaken through the use of existing programming, requesters shall be charged the actual direct costs of conducting the search, although certain requesters (as defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section) shall be entitled to the cost equivalent of two hours of manual search time without charge. These direct costs shall include the cost of operating a central processing unit for that portion of operating time that is directly attributable to searching for records responsive to a request, as well as the costs of operator/programmer salary apportionable to the search (at no more than $4.50 per quarter hour of time so spent). The Office is not required to alter or develop programming to conduct a search.

(2) Duplication. Duplication fees shall be assessed with respect to all requesters, subject to the limitations of paragraph (c) of this section. For a paper photocopy of a record (no more than one copy of which need be supplied). the fee shall be $0.10 per page. For other methods of duplication, the Office shall charge the actual direct costs of duplicating a record.

(3) Review. Review fees shall be assessed with respect to only those requesters who seek records for a commercial use, as defined in paragraph (j)(5) of this section. For each quarter hour spent by agency personnel in reviewing a requested record for possible disclosure, the fee shall be $4.50, except