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Fiscal Year 2011 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

1. For information concerning this report, you may contact:

Nichole Cadiente

Administrative Counsel

OPIC

1100 New York Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20527

Phone: (202) 336-8400 Email: foia@opic.gov

2. YoumayaccessthisreportonOPIC’swebsite:www.opic.gov

3. You may obtain a paper copy of this report by contacting the official named

above.

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST

1. FOIA requests are received by OPIC at its office located at the address stated

above. A request may be made by, (1) mailing a written request to the official at

the address stated above or (2) sending an email to foia@opic.gov.

2. OPIC makes every effort to respond to FOIA requests within the statutory 20-day

timeframe. Many requests are answered within one or two days. However,

responses to requests for project documents generally require more time. In

addition,OPIC’sresponsemaybedelayedbyaneedtoobtainclarificationfrom

a requester on the scope of the request. OPIC's records are made available to

the public to the greatest extent possible, in keeping with the spirit of the FOIA.

This includes providing reasonably segregable information from records that also

contain information that may be withheld under the FOIA. However, the

soundness and viability of many of OPIC’sprogramsdependinlargemeasure

upon the submission of full and reliable commercial, financial, technical and

business information by applicants for OPIC assistance. Further, the willingness

of those applicants to provide such information depends on OPIC's ability to hold

it in confidence. Consequently, except as provided by law, information provided

to OPIC in confidence will not be disclosed without the submitter's review.

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS

1. Agency-specific acronyms:

OPIC—the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
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2. Definitions of terms used in this Report:

a. Administrative Appeal—a request to a federal agency asking that it

review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the

agency at the initial request level.

b. Average Number—the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group

of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3,

7, and 14, the average number is 8.

c. Backlog—the number of requests or administrative appeals that are

pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the

statutory time period for a response.

d. Component—for agencies that process requests on a decentralized

basis,a“component”isanentity,alsosometimesreferredtoasan

Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that

processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in

their annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each

principal component of the agency.

e. Consultation—the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA

request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because

that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in

receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds

back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then

respond to the FOIA requester.

f. Exemption 3 Statute—a federal statute that exempts information from

disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under

subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

g. FOIA Request—a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal

agencyforaccesstorecordsconcerninganotherperson(i.e.,a“thirdparty”request),orconcerninganorganization,oraparticulartopicof

interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking

recordsconcerningthemselves(i.e.,“first-party”requests)whenthose

requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens.

Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the

benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the

Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an

agencydeterminesthatitmustsearchbeyonditsPrivacyAct“systemsof

records”orwhereaPrivacyActexemptionapplies,andtheagencylooks

to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require

the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included

in this Report.

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for
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processing and direct response to the requestor. It does not, however,

include records for which the agency has received a consultation from

another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of

this Report.)

h. Full Grant—an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response

to a FOIA request.

i. Full Denial—an agency decision not to release any records in response

to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties

under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural

reason, such as when no records could be located.

j. Median Number—the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3,

7, and 14, the median number is 7.

k. Multi-Track Processing—a system in which simple requests requiring

relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more

voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.

Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track.

Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.

i. Expedited Processing—an agency will process a FOIA request

on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements

for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency

regulations.

ii. Simple Request—a FOIA request that an agency using multitrack processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based

on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

iii. Complex Request—a FOIA request that an agency using multitrack processing places in a slower track based on the high

volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial—in response to a FOIA request, an

agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other

portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion

of the request for a procedural reason.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal—a request or

administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all

respects.

n. Perfected Request—a request for records which reasonably describes

such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the

time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.
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o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal—a request

or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all

respects.

p. Range in Number of Days—the lowest and highest number of days to

process requests or administrative appeals.

q. Time Limits—the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to

a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a

perfected FOIA request).

3. Descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations

information

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another

federal law

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are

protected by legal privileges

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement

purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could

reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B)

would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial

adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be

expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would

disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or

prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to

endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial

institutions

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells
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IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

Statute Used Material withheld

41 U.S.C. § 253b(m)(1) Contractor proposals that are in the possession or control of an

executive agency and that have not been set forth or

incorporated by reference into contracts

V. FOIA REQUESTS

A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests

Number of Requests Pending as of Start

of FY 2010

Number of Requests Received in

FY 2011

Number of Requests Processed in

FY 2010

Number of Requests Pending as of End of

Fiscal Year

2 45 47 0

B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests—All Processed Requests

Number

of Full

Grants

Number of

Partial

Grants/Partial

Denials

Number of

Full Denials

Based on

Exemptions

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

No

Records

All Records

Referred to

Another

Component

or Agency

Request

Withdrawn

FeeRelated

Reason

Records not

Reasonably

Described

Improper

FOIA

Request

for Other

Reason

Not

Agency

Record

Duplicate

Request

Other

*See

below

Total

12 19 2 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 47
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B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests—“Other”Reasonsfor“FullDenialsBasedonReasonsOtherthan

Exemptions”from SectionV,B(1)Chart

OPIC was asked to put the two requests on hold, but the requester failed to follow up and OPIC administratively closed the

requests.

B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests—Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

0 14 1 15 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATION OF FOIA REQUESTS

A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals

Number of Appeals Pending as of Start of

Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Received in

Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Processed in

Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Pending as of End of

Fiscal Year

0 2 2 0

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals—All Processed Appeals

Number Affirmed on

Appeal

Number Partially Affirmed & Partially

Reversed/Remanded on Appeal

Number Completely

Reversed/Remanded on Appeal

Number of Appeals Closed for

Other Reasons

Total

0 1 1 0 2
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C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—Reasons Other than Exemptions

No Records Records

Referred at

Initial

Request

Level

Request

Withdrawn

Fee-Related

Reason

Records not

Reasonably

Described

Improper

Request for

Other

Reasons

Not Agency

Record

Duplicate

Request or

Appeal

Request in

Litigation

Appeal

Based

Solely on

Denial of

Request for

Expedited

Processing

Other

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—“Other”Reasonsfrom SectionVI,C(2)Chart

OPIC did not deny any appeals based on reasons other than exemptions.

C. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals

Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days

10.5 10.5 3 18

C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals

Date of Receipt of Oldest Appeal none

Number of Days Pending
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VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

A. Processed Requests—Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

Regular Requests1 Expedited Requests

Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

Lowest Number

of Days

Highest Number

of Days

Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

Lowest Number

of Days

Highest Number

of Days

12 18.82 <1 114 13.5 13.5 <1 21

B. Processed Requests—Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted

Regular Requests1 Expedited Requests

Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

Lowest Number

of Days

Highest Number

of Days

Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

Lowest Number

of Days

Highest Number

of Days

20 23.65 <1 114 0 0 0 0

C. Processed Requests—Response Time in Day Increments

Regular Requests

Less

than 1

Day

1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-100

Days

101-

120

Days

121-

140

Days

141-

160

Days

161-

180

Days

181-

200

Days

201-

300

Days

301-

400

Days

401+

Days

TOTAL

5 26 10 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45

1 OPIC uses a single track system.
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Expedited Requests

Less

than 1

Day

1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-100

Days

101-

120

Days

121-

140

Days

141-

160

Days

161-

180

Days

181-

200

Days

201-

300

Days

301-

400

Days

401+

Days

TOTAL

0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

D. Pending Requests—All Pending Perfected Requests

Regular Requests Expedited Requests

Number Pending Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

Number pending Median Number

of Days

Average Number

of Days

0 0 0 0 0 0

E. Pending Requests—Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

10th Oldest

Request and

Number of

Days Pending

9

th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Oldest

Request and

Number of

Days Pending

none

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

A. Requests for Expedited Processing

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days to

Adjudicate

Average Number of Days to

Adjudicate

Number Adjudicated Within

10 Calendar Days

2 0 8 8 2
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B. Requests for Fee Waiver

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days to

Adjudicate

Average Number of Days to

Adjudicate

Number Adjudicated Within

10 Calendar Days

5 1 6.67 6 5

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

PERSONNEL COSTS

Numberof“Full-Time

FOIAEmployees”

Numberof“Equivalent

Full-Time FOIA

Employees”

TotalNumberof“FullTimeStaff”

(The sum of columns 1

& 2)

Processing Costs

(At initial request and

appeal levels)

Litigation-Related Costs Total Costs

0 1.2 1.2 $98,586 0 $98,586

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Total Amount of Fees Collected Percentage of Total Costs

$1303.88 1.32%

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS

Link toOPIC’sFOIARegulations2

2

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=29480ce7afedfa310f161f256da26243&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title22/22cfrv2_02.tpl#700
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XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS

A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Number of Backlogged Requests at End of Fiscal Year Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year

0 0

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests—Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations

Number of Consultations Received

from Other Agencies that Were

Pending at Your Agency as of Start of

Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations Received

from Other Agencies During the Fiscal

Year

Number of Consultations Received

from Other Agencies that Were

Processed by Your Agency During the

Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations Received

from Other Agencies that Were

Pending at Your Agency as of the End

of the Fiscal Year

0 1 1 0

C. Consultations on FOIA Requests—Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at

Your Agency

Oldest Consultation and Number of Days Pending

None
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D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Reports—Requests Received,

Processed, and Backlogged

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

Number Received During Fiscal Year

from LastYear’sAnnualReport

Number Received During Fiscal Year

from Current Annual Report

Number Processed During Fiscal Year

from LastYear’sAnnualReport

Number Processed During Fiscal Year

from Current Annual Report

44 45 43 47

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

2 0

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report—Appeals

Received, Processed, and Backlogged

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

Number Received During Fiscal Year

from LastYear’sAnnualReport

Number Received During Fiscal Year

from Current Annual Report

Number Processed During Fiscal Year

from LastYear’sAnnualReport

Number Processed During Fiscal Year

from Current Annual Report

4 2 4 2

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous

Annual Report

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

0 0