51890 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 161 / Friday, August 19, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

representative. To seek permission to 

transit the area, the Captain of the Port 

Baltimore and his designated 

representatives can be contacted at 

telephone number 410–576–2693 or on 

Marine Band Radio, VHF–FM channel 

16 (156.8 MHz). The Coast Guard 

vessels enforcing this section can be 

contacted on Marine Band Radio, VHF– 

FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz). Upon 

being hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard 

vessel, or other Federal, State, or local 

agency vessel, by siren, radio, flashing 

lights, or other means, the operator of a 

vessel shall proceed as directed. If 

permission is granted, all persons and 

vessels must comply with the 

instructions of the Captain of the Port 

Baltimore or his designated 

representative and proceed at the 

minimum speed necessary to maintain a 

safe course while within the zone. 

(4) Enforcement. The U.S. Coast 

Guard may be assisted in the patrol and 

enforcement of the zone by Federal, 

State, and local agencies. 

(d) Enforcement periods. This section 

will be enforced as follows: 

(1) During the air show practice from 

8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on September 1, 

2011. 

(2) Air show practice and modified 

show from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on 

September 2, 2011. 

(3) Twilight performance from 

4:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on September 

2, 2011. 

(4) Air show performances from 

8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on September 3, 2011 

and from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on 

September 4, 2011. 

Dated: August 4, 2011. 

Mark P. O’Malley, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Baltimore. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21185 Filed 8–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Parts 1 and 2 

RIN 2009–AN72 

Release of Information From 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Records 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This document amends the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

regulations governing the submission 

and processing of requests for 

information under the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) in order to 

implement provisions of the OPEN 

Government Act of 2007, and to 

reorganize and clarify existing 

regulations. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective September 19, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Nachmann, Staff Attorney, 

Office of General Counsel (024), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 461–7684. (This is not a 

toll-free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 14, 2010, VA published a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register 

(75 FR 63120). We proposed to amend 

VA’s regulations pertaining to release of 

information under 5 U.S.C. 552 and 

implementation of the FOIA, which are 

codified at 38 CFR 1.550 through 1.562. 

In addition, we proposed to update VA’s 

FOIA regulations to implement FOIA 

amendments in Open Government Act 

of 2007, Public Law 110–175. We also 

proposed to accommodate various 

means of communication with VA, 

streamline existing procedures, 

incorporate changes in the procedural 

requirements of the FOIA and make 

VA’s procedures easier for the public to 

understand, and generally reorganize 

and renumber the applicable provisions. 

VA provided a 60-day comment period, 

which ended on December 13, 2010. 

We received comments from one 

commenter, which generally expressed 

support for the proposed rule. The 

comments included five 

recommendations for modification of 

the proposed-rule provisions. We 

address each of those recommendations 

below. 

First, the commenter suggested that 

VA modify proposed § 1.561(h)(2) to 

direct VA’s FOIA professionals to 

provide requesters with a breakdown of 

the total fee estimate for their FOIA 

request. Proposed § 1.561(h)(2) 

prescribed that under circumstances in 

which the requester owes a fee, the 

FOIA Officer will provide the requester 

with an estimate of the fee. We agree 

with the commenter that, particularly 

under certain circumstances, such as 

where the estimated fee is substantial, a 

breakdown of the fee would provide 

more clarification for the requester. We 

believe that as written, however, 

§ 1.561(h)(2) adequately addresses the 

needs of the public in receiving an 

estimate of the fee owed while allowing 

necessary flexibility. Providing the 

appropriate detail in a particular 

estimate will be addressed through 

training and internal procedural 

guidance for FOIA Officers. The 

procedural guidance will be a subject 

covered by VA’s FOIA Handbook. In our 

view, the level of detail required for any 

estimate provided under this final rule 

will depend upon the complexity of the 

request. Accordingly, we decline to 

prescribe a specific standard for the 

estimates required by § 1.561(h)(2). 

Second, while the commenter 

supported proposed § 1.559(a), which 

would allow for informal resolution of 

a request before an appeal in 

appropriate cases, the commenter 

recommended that VA add language to 

this section that also directs requesters 

to work with VA’s FOIA public liaisons 

to resolve disputes. 

We note that VA referred to the 

availability of FOIA public liaisons in 

proposed § 1.552(b) in order to advise 

requesters that public liaisons would be 

available to assist in the resolution of 

requests and to refer requesters to VA’s 

FOIA internet home page for additional 

information. VA intends to provide 

information regarding public liaisons, as 

necessary, on its FOIA home page. We 

also intend to address the role of VA’s 

public liaison personnel in internal 

guidance. Overall, we are satisfied that 

the proposal for providing notice 

regarding public liaisons, without 

actually requiring requesters to work 

with liaisons, is consistent with the 

FOIA, as amended. 

Third, proposed § 1.559 addressed 

appeals of initial agency determinations 

under the FOIA. The commenter 

suggested adding language to § 1.559(e) 

directing VA to work with the Office of 

Government Information Services 

(OGIS) to resolve disputes between 

FOIA requesters and VA as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation. In a 

related comment, the commenter 

recommended that the Office of the 

General Counsel (OGC) provide notice 

regarding the OGIS mediation program 

in its final appeal determinations. 

The FOIA, as revised, establishes 

OGIS’s authority to provide mediation 

services. The proposed rule concerned 

VA’s administration of the FOIA. VA 

proposed to establish binding rules for 

the public regarding FOIA requests and 

for VA personnel responsible for 

processing such requests. Accordingly, 

the commenter’s suggestion in this 

regard is beyond the scope of this 

rulemaking. 

Regarding the commenter’s 

recommendation that OGC provide 

notice concerning OGIS mediation, we 

note that DOJ provided guidance to 

agencies recommending the inclusion of 

notice of OGIS mediation services in 

final agency decisions. VA follows 

DOJ’s guidance and includes OGIS’s 

recommended language in its final 

agency determinations. Accordingly, we 


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believe that VA fully addresses OGIS’s 

concerns in this regard. 

Finally, the commenter suggested that 

VA include language in its FOIA 

regulations directing agency personnel 

to coordinate collaboratively with OGIS 

in its review of agencies’ policies and 

procedures, as established in 5 U.S.C. 

552(h). However, as described above, 

the proposed rule concerned VA’s 

administration of the FOIA; it addressed 

the agency’s practices and procedures to 

implement the FOIA. VA’s compliance 

with OGIS policies and collaboration 

with OGIS in FOIA matters, therefore, is 

beyond the scope of this rulemaking. 

In summary, we appreciate the 

commenter’s review of VA’s proposed 

rule. VA is committed to providing 

service to FOIA requesters that is in 

keeping with current law and policy 

pertaining to the release of information. 

We believe that as written, VA’s 

proposed rule reflected this 

commitment and addressed the 

commenter’s concerns. 

We proposed to clarify in § 1.559(b) 

that appeals regarding FOIA requests for 

Office of Inspector General (OIG) 

records should be referred to OIG for 

review. However, we neglected to 

propose a corresponding change to VA’s 

delegations of authority in 38 CFR part 

2. Accordingly, consistent with 

§ 1.559(b), we are amending 38 CFR 

2.6(g) to add a new paragraph (3) 

regarding OIG’s authority to decide 

appeals involving OIG records. This is 

not a substantive change. The 

amendment is for the limited purpose of 

providing notice that the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs has delegated authority 

to make decisions regarding these 

appeals to OIG. 

In the proposed rule, we included a 

definition of ‘‘sensitive medical or 

mental health records.’’ We do not use 

the term, however, in the regulatory 

text. Accordingly, we determined that 

the definition was unnecessary and we 

removed it from the final rule. This is 

not a substantive change. The revision 

merely eliminates an unnecessary 

definition from the final rule. 

In addition, as noted above, we 

amended 38 CFR 2.6(g) to reflect a 

delegation of authority to OIG to decide 

appeals involving OIG records; we 

included 38 U.S.C. 552a as authority for 

this delegation of authority. Citation to 

38 U.S.C. 552a was erroneous; 

accordingly, we deleted it from the 

authority section following 38 CFR 

2.6(g). This is not a substantive change; 

it merely eliminates an erroneous 

citation. 

With regard to OIG appeal authority, 

as indicated above, we proposed in 

§ 1.559(b) that FOIA appeals regarding 

requests for OIG records should be 

referred to OIG for review. By using the 

phrase ‘‘should be referred’’ however, 

we may have inadvertently implied that 

the requester has the option of sending 

the appeal to OGC or to OIG; we did not 

intend the language to appear to provide 

that option. For clarification, therefore, 

we changed the language in the final 

rule to ‘‘must be sent’’ to eliminate any 

potential for confusion or 

misunderstanding and to clarify VA’s 

intended procedure. 

We have also made minor, nonsubstantive changes to the proposed 

rule to correct typographical or 

grammatical errors and to make the 

language of the text more consistent. 

Based on the rationale provided in the 

preamble to the proposed rule and in 

this preamble, VA adopts the proposed 

rule as a final rule with the minor 

changes noted above. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that 

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in an 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

year. This final rule would have no such 

effect on State, local, and tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This document contains no provisions 

constituting a collection of information 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501–3521). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

hereby certifies that the final rule will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

as they are defined in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. This 

final rule concerns the procedures for 

requesting information from VA and the 

payment of certain fees for processing 

such requests. The fees prescribed by 

this final rule will generally comprise 

only an insignificant portion of a small 

entity’s expenditures. Therefore, this 

final rule is exempt, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 605(b), from the final regulatory 

flexibility analysis requirements of 

section 604. 

Executive Order 12866 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Planning and Review, directs agencies 

to assess all costs and benefits of 

available regulatory alternatives and, 

when regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). The 

Executive Order classifies a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action,’’ requiring review by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) unless OMB waives such review, 

as any regulatory action that is likely to 

result in a rule that may: (1) Have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more, or adversely affect in 

a material way the economy, a sector of 

the economy, productivity, competition, 

jobs, the environment, public health or 

safety, or State, local, or tribal 

governments or communities; (2) create 

a serious inconsistency or otherwise 

interfere with an action taken or 

planned by another agency; (3) 

materially alter the budgetary impact of 

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 

programs or the rights and obligations of 

recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel 

legal or policy issues arising out of legal 

mandates, the President’s priorities, or 

the principles set forth in the Executive 

Order. 

The economic, interagency, 

budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this regulatory action 

have been examined and it has been 

determined not to be a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

There is no Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance number for the 

program affected by this final rule. 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. John 

R. Gingrich, Chief of Staff, Department 

of Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on August 1, 2011, for 

publication. 

List of Subjects 

38 CFR Part 1 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Archives and records, 

Cemeteries, Claims, Courts, Crime, 

Flags, Freedom of information, 

Government contracts, Government 

employees, Government property, 

Infants and children, Inventions and 

patents, Parking, Penalties, Privacy, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Seals and insignia, 

Security measures, Wages. 


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38 CFR Part 2 

Authority delegations (Government 

agencies). 

Dated: August 11, 2011. 

Robert C. McFetridge, 

Director, Regulation Policy and Management, 

Office of the General Counsel, Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, VA amends 38 CFR parts 1 

and 2 as follows: 

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), and as noted 

in specific sections. 

■ 2. In Part 1, revise the undesignated 

center heading immediately preceding 

§ 1.550 to read as follows: 

Procedures for Disclosure of Records 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

* * * * * 

■ 2a. In Part 1, following the newly 

revised undesignated center heading 

remove the Note and authority citation 

preceding § 1.550. 

■ 3. Revise § 1.550 to read as follows: 

§ 1.550 Purpose. 

(a) Sections 1.550 through 1.562 

contain the rules followed by VA in 

processing requests for records under 

the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 

5 U.S.C. 552, as amended. These 

regulations should be read together with 

the FOIA, which provides the 

underlying legal basis for the 

regulations and other information 

regarding requests for records in the 

custody of a Federal agency. The 

regulations also should be read together 

with VA’s FOIA Reference Guide, 

available on VA’s FOIA home page (see 

§ 1.552(a) for the pertinent Internet 

address) and FOIA fee guidance 

provided by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB), Uniform Freedom of 

Information Act Fee Schedule and 

Guidelines, available at http://www.

whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/

assets/omb/inforeg/foia_fee_schedule_

1987.pdf. 

(b) Requests for records about an 

individual protected by the Privacy Act, 

5 U.S.C. 552a, including one’s own 

records and records that pertain to an 

individual and that may be sensitive, 

will be processed under the FOIA and 

the Privacy Act. In addition to the 

following FOIA regulations, see §§ 1.575 

through 1.584 for regulations applicable 

to Privacy Act records. 

(c) Requests for records relating to a 

claim administered by VA pursuant to 

38 U.S.C. 5701 will be processed under 

the FOIA and 38 U.S.C. 5701. In 

addition to the following FOIA 

regulations, see §§ 1.500 through 1.527 

for regulations implementing 38 U.S.C. 

5701. 

(d) Requests for records relating to 

healthcare quality assurance reviews 

pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 5705 will be 

processed under the FOIA and 38 U.S.C. 

5705. In addition to the following FOIA 

regulations, see 38 CFR 17.500 through 

17.511 for regulations implementing 38 

U.S.C. 5705. 

(e) Requests for records relating to 

treatment for the conditions specified in 

38 U.S.C. 7332, such as drug abuse, 

alcoholism or alcohol abuse, infection 

with the Human Immunodeficiency 

Virus (HIV), or sickle cell anemia, will 

be processed under the FOIA and 38 

U.S.C. 7332. In addition to the following 

FOIA regulations, see §§ 1.460 through 

1.499 of this part for regulations 

implementing 38 U.S.C. 7332. 

Authority: Sections 1.550 to 1.562 issued 

under 72 Stat. 1114; 38 U.S.C. 501, 552, 552a, 

5701, 5705, 7332. 

■ 4. Add § 1.551 to read as follows: 

§ 1.551 Definitions. 

As used in §§ 1.550 through 1.562, the 

following definitions apply: 

Agency means any executive 

department, military department, 

government corporation, government 

controlled corporation, or other 

establishment in the executive branch of 

the Federal government, or independent 

regulatory entity. 

Appeal means a requester’s written 

disagreement with an adverse 

determination under the FOIA. 

Beneficiary means a veteran or other 

individual who has received benefits 

(including medical benefits) or has 

applied for benefits pursuant to title 38, 

United States Code. 

Benefits records means an 

individual’s records, which pertain to 

programs under any of the benefits laws 

administered by the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Business day means the time during 

which typical Federal government 

offices are open for normal business. It 

does not include Saturdays, Sundays, or 

Federal legal public holidays. The term 

‘‘day’’ means business day unless 

otherwise specified. 

Business information means 

confidential or privileged commercial or 

financial information obtained by VA 

from a submitter that may be protected 

from disclosure under Exemption 4 of 

the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). 

Component means each distinct VA 

entity, including Administrations, staff 

offices, services, or facilities. 

Expedited processing means giving a 

FOIA request priority for processing 

ahead of other pending requests because 

VA has determined that the requester 

has shown an exceptional need or 

urgency for the records as provided in 

these regulations. 

Fees. For fees and fee-related 

definitions, see § 1.561. 

FOIA Officer means the individual 

within a VA component whose 

responsibilities include addressing and 

granting or denying requests for records 

under the FOIA. 

Perfected request means a written 

FOIA request that meets the 

requirements set forth in § 1.554 of this 

part and for which there are no 

remaining issues about the payment of 

applicable fees or any other matter that 

requires resolution prior to processing. 

Reading room means space made 

available, as needed, in VA components 

where records are available for review 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). 

Ordinarily, the VA component 

providing a public reading room space 

will be the component that maintains 

the record. 

Record means a document, a portion 

of a document, and information 

contained within a document, and can 

include information derived from a 

document or a database. Such 

documents may be maintained in paper, 

electronic, and other forms, but do not 

include objects, such as tissue slides, 

blood samples, or computer hardware. 

Request means a written demand for 

records under the FOIA as described 

below. The term request includes any 

action emanating from the initial 

demand for records, including an appeal 

related to the initial demand. 

Requester means, generally, any 

individual, partnership, corporation, 

association, or foreign or state or local 

government, which has made a demand 

to access an agency record. 

Submitter means any person or entity 

(including corporations, state, local and 

tribal governments and foreign 

governments) from whom VA obtains 

trade secrets or confidential commercial 

or financial information either directly 

or indirectly. 

VA means the Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

VA Central Office (VACO) means the 

headquarters of the Department of 

Veterans Affairs. The mailing address is 

810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20420. 

Written or in writing means 

communications such as letters, 

photocopies of letters, electronic mail, 

and facsimiles (faxes), and does not 

include any form of oral 

communication. 


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■ 5. Revise §§ 1.552 and 1.553 to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.552 General provisions. 

(a) Additional information. The 

following Internet link will provide 

access to VA’s information that is 

electronically available under the FOIA: 

http://www.foia.va.gov/. 

(b) Public Liaisons. VA has made 

available FOIA Public Liaisons to assist 

in the resolution of disputes between 

the agency and the requester. Contact 

information for VA’s FOIA Public 

Liaisons can be found on VA’s FOIA 

home page. See § 1.552(a) for the 

pertinent Internet address. 

(c) FOIA Annual Report. Under 5 

U.S.C. 552(e), VA is required to prepare 

an annual report regarding its FOIA 

activities. The report includes 

information about FOIA requests and 

appeals. Copies of VA’s annual FOIA 

report may be obtained from VA’s Chief 

FOIA Officer or by visiting VA’s FOIA 

Web site. See § 1.552(a) for the pertinent 

Internet address. 

§ 1.553 Public reading rooms and 

discretionary disclosures. 

(a) VA maintains a public reading 

room electronically at its FOIA home 

page on the Internet, which contains the 

records that the FOIA requires to be 

regularly made available for public 

inspection and copying. See § 1.552(a) 

for the pertinent Internet address. 

Information routinely provided to the 

public (press releases, for example) may 

be provided without following these 

sections. In addition, as a matter of 

policy, VA may make discretionary 

releases of records or information 

exempt from disclosure under the FOIA 

when permitted to do so in accordance 

with current law and governmental 

policy. Each VA component is 

responsible for determining which of its 

records are required to be made 

available and for making its records 

available electronically. 

(b) VA may process, in accordance 

with the FOIA, records that it makes 

publicly available. Information in a 

public reading room record will be 

redacted, for example, if its release 

would be a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of an individual’s personal 

privacy. 

(c) Some VA components may also 

maintain physical public reading rooms. 

Information regarding these components 

and their contact information is 

available on VA’s FOIA home page on 

the Internet. See § 1.552(a) for the 

pertinent Internet address. If the 

requester does not have access to the 

Internet and wishes to obtain 

information regarding publicly available 

information or components that have a 

physical reading room, he or she may 

write VA’s Chief FOIA Officer at the 

following address: Department of 

Veterans Affairs, FOIA Service 

(005R1C), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20420. 

§ 1.553a [Removed] 

■ 6. Remove § 1.553a. 

■ 7. Revise § 1.554 to read as follows: 

§ 1.554 Requirements for making requests. 

(a) Requests by letter and facsimile 

(fax). The FOIA request must be in 

writing. VA accepts facsimiles (faxes) as 

written FOIA requests. If the request 

concerns documents involving a 

personal privacy interest or documents 

protected by another confidentiality 

statute, the request must contain an 

image of the requester’s handwritten 

signature. To make a request for VA 

records, write directly to the FOIA 

Officer for the VA component that 

maintains the records. If requesting 

records from a particular medical 

facility or regional office, for example, 

the request should be sent to the FOIA 

Office at the address listed for that 

component. If requesting records from a 

component within VA’s Central Office, 

the request should be sent to the Central 

Office address of the FOIA Office listed 

for that component. A list of FOIA 

contacts is available on the Internet. A 

legible return address must be included 

with the FOIA request; the requester 

may wish to include other contact 

information as well, such as a telephone 

number and electronic mail (e-mail) 

address. If the requester is not sure 

where to send the request, he or she 

should seek assistance from the FOIA 

Contact for the office believed to 

manage the programs whose records are 

being requested or send the request to 

the Director, FOIA Service (005R1C), 

810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20420, who will refer it 

for action to the FOIA contact at the 

appropriate component. For the 

quickest possible handling, the request 

letter and the envelope of any FOIA 

request should be marked ‘‘Freedom of 

Information Act Request.’’ The requester 

may find it helpful to refer to VA’s FOIA 

home page on the Internet when making 

the request; available reference material 

includes VA’s FOIA Reference Guide 

and the text of the FOIA. See § 1.552(a) 

for the pertinent Internet address. 

(b) Requests by e-mail. VA will accept 

an e-mail request. If the request 

concerns documents protected by 

another confidentiality statute, the 

e-mail transmission must contain an 

image of the requester’s handwritten 

signature, such as an attachment that 

shows the requester’s handwritten 

signature. In order to assure prompt 

processing, e-mail FOIA requests must 

be sent to official VA FOIA mailboxes 

established for the purpose of receiving 

FOIA requests. An e-mail FOIA request 

that is sent to an individual VA 

employee’s mailbox, or to any other 

entity, will not be considered a 

perfected FOIA request. Mailbox 

addresses designated to receive e-mail 

FOIA requests are available on VA’s 

FOIA home page. See § 1.552(a) for the 

pertinent Internet address. 

(c) Making a request for another 

individual’s records. If the requester is 

making a request for records about 

another individual, it will be helpful 

under certain circumstances to provide 

proof that the requester is authorized to 

obtain the records, such as a legally 

sufficient prior written authorization for 

the release of information signed by that 

individual, proof that the individual is 

deceased (e.g., a copy of a death 

certificate), or proof that the requester is 

the authorized representative of the 

individual or the individual’s estate. 

This information will assist in 

determining whether and to what degree 

the records may be released. 

(d) Description of records sought. 

(1) The requester must describe the 

records sought in enough detail to allow 

VA personnel to locate them with a 

reasonable amount of effort. To the 

extent possible, the requester should 

include specific information about each 

record sought, such as the date, title or 

name, author, recipient, and subject 

matter of the document. Generally, the 

more information the requester provides 

about the record sought, the more likely 

VA personnel will be able to locate any 

responsive records. Wide-ranging 

requests that lack specificity, or contain 

descriptions of very general subject 

matters, with no description of specific 

records, may be considered ‘‘not 

reasonably described’’ and thus not 

subject to further processing. 

(2) Requests for voluminous amounts 

of records may be placed in a complex 

track of a multitrack processing system 

pursuant to § 1.556(b); such requests 

also may meet the criteria for ‘‘unusual 

circumstances,’’ which are processed in 

accordance with § 1.556(c) and may 

require more than twenty (20) business 

days to process despite the agency’s 

exercise of due diligence. 

(3) If the FOIA Officer determines that 

the request does not reasonably describe 

the records sought, the FOIA Officer 

will tell the requester why the request 

is insufficient. The FOIA Officer will 

also provide an opportunity to discuss 

the request by documented telephonic 

communication or written 


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correspondence in order to modify it to 

meet the requirements of this section. 

(4) The time limit for VA to process 

the FOIA request will not start until the 

FOIA Officer determines that the 

requester has reasonably described the 

records sought in the FOIA request. If 

the FOIA Officer seeks additional 

clarification regarding the request and 

does not receive the requester’s written 

response within thirty (30) calendar 

days of the date of its communication 

with the requester, he or she will 

conclude that the requester is no longer 

interested in pursuing the request and 

will close VA’s files on the request. 

(e) Agreement to pay fees. The time 

limit for processing the request will be 

tolled while any fee issue is unresolved. 

If the FOIA Officer anticipates that the 

fees for processing the request will 

exceed the amount that the requester 

has stated that he or she is willing to 

pay or will amount to more than $25.00 

or the amount set by OMB fee 

guidelines, whichever is higher, the 

FOIA Officer will notify the requester. 

In such cases, the FOIA Officer may 

require the requester to agree in writing 

to pay the estimated fee. In addition, if 

the estimated fee amount exceeds 

$250.00 or the requester previously has 

failed to pay a FOIA fee in a timely 

manner, the FOIA Officer may require 

the requester to pay the FOIA fee in 

advance, before beginning to process the 

FOIA request. If the FOIA Officer does 

not receive a written response within 

ten (10) business days of the date of the 

FOIA Officer’s communication with the 

requester, the FOIA Officer will 

conclude that the requester is no longer 

interested in pursuing the request and 

will close the request. If the requester 

seeks a fee waiver under § 1.561, he or 

she nonetheless may state a willingness 

to pay a fee up to an identified amount 

in the event that the fee waiver is 

denied; this will allow the component 

to process the requester’s FOIA request 

while considering the fee waiver 

request. If the requester is required to 

pay a fee in advance, and pays the fee, 

and if VA later determines that the 

requester overpaid or is entitled to a full 

or partial fee waiver, a refund will be 

made. (For more information on the 

collection of fees under the FOIA, see 

§ 1.561.) 

(f) The requester must meet all of the 

requirements of this section in order for 

the request to be perfected. 

§ 1.554a [Removed] 

■ 8. Remove § 1.554a. 

■ 9. Revise §§ 1.555 through 1.557 to 

read as follows: 

§ 1.555 Responsibility for responding to 

requests. 

(a) General. Except as stated in 

paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, 

the FOIA Officer of the component that 

first receives a request for records is 

responsible for either processing the 

request or referring it to the designated 

FOIA Officer for the appropriate 

component. Offices that are within the 

component responsible for processing 

the FOIA request shall provide the 

component FOIA Officer all documents 

responsive to the request that are in 

their possession as of the date the search 

for responsive records begins. 

(b) Authority to grant or deny 

requests. Each component shall 

designate a FOIA Officer who is 

responsible for making determinations 

pursuant to the FOIA. 

(c) Consultations and referrals. When 

a component FOIA Officer determines 

that the component maintains 

responsive records that either originated 

with another component or agency, or 

which contain information provided by, 

or of substantial interest to, another 

component or agency, then the FOIA 

Officer shall either: 

(1) Respond to the request, after 

consulting with the component or the 

agency that originated or has a 

substantial interest in the records 

involved; or 

(2) Refer the responsibility for 

responding to the request or portion of 

the request to the component best able 

to determine whether to disclose the 

relevant records, or to the agency that 

created or initially acquired the record 

as long as that agency is subject to the 

FOIA. Ordinarily, the component or 

agency that created or initially acquired 

the record will be presumed to be best 

able to make the disclosure assessment. 

The referring component shall 

document the referral and maintain a 

copy of the records that it refers. 

(d) Classified information. The FOIA 

Officer will refer requests for records 

containing classified information to the 

component or agency that classified the 

information for processing. 

(e) Notice of referral. Whenever a 

FOIA Officer refers all or part of a 

request and responsibility for processing 

the request to another component or 

agency, the FOIA Officer will notify the 

requester in writing of the referral and 

provide the requester the name and 

contact information of the entity to 

which the request has been referred, 

after consulting with the entity to which 

the request is to be referred to ensure 

that the request is being referred to the 

correct entity. If only part of the request 

was referred, the FOIA Officer will 

inform the requester and identify the 

referred part at the time of the referral 

or in the final response. 

§ 1.556 Timing of responses to requests. 

(a) General. Components ordinarily 

shall respond to requests according to 

their order of receipt and within the 

time frames established under the FOIA. 

If a request for expedited processing is 

granted in accordance with paragraph 

(d) of this section, such request will be 

processed prior to requests in either of 

the tracks described in paragraph (b) of 

this section. 

(b) Multitrack processing. (1) VA will 

use two processing tracks in addressing 

a request for records: Simple and 

complex, based upon the amount of 

work and/or time needed to process the 

request, including consideration of the 

number of pages involved. 

(2) The FOIA Officer shall advise the 

requester of the track into which the 

request has been placed and of the 

criteria of the faster track. The FOIA 

Officer will provide requesters in the 

slower track the opportunity to limit the 

scope of their requests in order to 

qualify for processing in the faster track. 

The FOIA Officer may contact the 

requester either by telephone or in 

writing, whichever the FOIA Officer 

determines is most efficient and 

expeditious; telephonic communication 

will be documented. 

(c) Unusual circumstances. (1) FOIA 

Officers may encounter ‘‘unusual 

circumstances,’’ where it is not possible 

to meet the statutory time limits for 

processing the request. In such cases, 

the FOIA Officer will extend the twenty 

(20)-business day time limit for ten (10) 

more business days and notify the 

requester in writing of the unusual 

circumstances and of the date by which 

it expects to complete processing of the 

request. Where the extension is for more 

than ten (10) business days, the FOIA 

Officer will provide the requester with 

an opportunity to either modify the 

request so that it may be processed 

within the time limits or to arrange an 

alternative time period with the FOIA 

Officer for processing the request or a 

modified request. Unusual 

circumstances consist of the following: 

(i) The need to search for and collect 

the requested records from field 

facilities or other components other 

than the office processing the request; 

(ii) The need to search for, collect and 

examine a voluminous amount of 

separate and distinct records that are the 

subject of a single request; or 

(iii) The need for consultation with 

two or more components or another 

agency having a substantial interest in 

the subject matter of a request. 


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(2) Where the FOIA Officer reasonably 

believes that certain requests from the 

same requester, or a group of requesters 

acting in concert, actually constitute the 

same request that would otherwise 

satisfy the unusual circumstances 

specified in this paragraph, and the 

requests involve clearly related matters, 

the FOIA Officer may aggregate those 

requests. Multiple requests involving 

unrelated matters will not be aggregated. 

(d) Expedited processing. (1) Requests 

will be processed out of the order in 

which they were received by the 

component responsible for processing 

the FOIA request and given expedited 

treatment when VA determines that: 

(i) The 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; 

(ii) There is an urgency to inform the 

public concerning actual or alleged 

Federal government activity, if the 

request is made by a person primarily 

engaged in disseminating information; 

(iii) In the discretion of the FOIA 

Officer, the request warrants such 

treatment; or 

(iv) There is widespread and 

exceptional interest in which possible 

questions exist about the government’s 

integrity which affect public confidence. 

(2) A requester who is seeking 

expedited processing must submit a 

statement, certified to be true to the best 

of the requester’s knowledge and belief, 

providing a detailed basis for how there 

is a compelling need. VA may waive the 

requirement for certification of the 

statement of compelling need as a 

matter of administrative discretion. 

(3) Within ten (10) calendar days of its 

receipt of a request for expedited 

processing, the FOIA Officer shall 

determine whether to grant the request 

and will provide the requester written 

notice of the decision. If the FOIA 

Officer grants a request for expedited 

processing, the FOIA Officer shall give 

the request priority and process it as 

soon as practicable. If the FOIA Officer 

denies the request for expedited 

processing, the requester may appeal the 

denial, which appeal shall be addressed 

expeditiously. 

§ 1.557 Responses to requests. 

(a) Acknowledgement of requests. 

When a request for records is received 

by a component designated to receive 

requests, the component’s FOIA Officer 

will assign a request number for future 

reference and send the requester a 

written acknowledgement of receipt. 

(b) Processing of requests. Upon 

receipt of a perfected request by the 

appropriate component, the FOIA 

Officer will make a reasonable effort to 

search for records responsive to the 

request. The FOIA Officer ordinarily 

will include as responsive those records 

in its possession and control as of the 

date the search for responsive records 

began. This includes searching for 

records in electronic form or format, 

unless to do so would interfere 

significantly with the agency’s 

automated information systems. If fees 

for processing the request are due under 

§ 1.561, the FOIA Officer shall inform 

the requester of the amount of the fee as 

provided in § 1.554(e) and § 1.561. 

When a request is granted in part, the 

FOIA Officer shall mark, redact, or 

annotate the records to be released to 

show the amount of information deleted 

and, where technically feasible, indicate 

the exemption at the place of redaction 

unless doing so would harm an interest 

protected by an applicable exemption. 

The FOIA Officer will provide the 

records in the form or format sought by 

the requester, if readily reproducible in 

that form or format. 

(c) Time limits for processing 

requests. Ordinarily, a component will 

have twenty (20) business days from the 

date of VA’s receipt of the request to 

make a determination whether to grant 

the request in its entirety, grant the 

request in part, or deny the request in 

its entirety. If the request must be 

referred to another component, the 

response time will begin on the date 

that the request was received by the 

appropriate component, but in any 

event not later than ten (10) business 

days after the referring office receives 

the FOIA request. 

(d) Adverse determinations of 

requests. Whenever a component makes 

an adverse determination denying the 

request in any respect, the component 

FOIA Officer shall promptly notify the 

requester of the adverse determination 

in writing. Adverse determinations 

include the following: A determination 

to withhold a requested record in whole 

or in part; a determination that the 

requested record does not exist or 

cannot be located; a determination that 

a record is not readily reproducible in 

the form or format sought by the 

requester; a determination that what has 

been sought is not a record subject to 

the FOIA; a determination on any 

disputed fee matter, including the 

denial of a fee waiver; and a denial of 

a request for expedited treatment. The 

adverse determination notice must be 

signed by the component head or the 

component’s FOIA Officer, and will 

include the following: 

(1) The name and title or position of 

the person responsible for the adverse 

determination; 

(2) A brief statement of the reason(s) 

for the denial, including any FOIA 

exemptions applied by the FOIA Officer 

in denying the request; 

(3) The amount of information 

withheld in number of pages or other 

reasonable form of estimation; an 

estimate is not necessary if the volume 

is indicated on redacted pages disclosed 

in part or if providing an estimate 

would harm an interest provided by an 

applicable exemption; and 

(4) Notice that the requester may 

appeal the adverse determination and a 

description of the requirements for an 

appeal under § 1.559 of this part. 

■ 10. Add §§ 1.558 through 1.562 to 

read as follows: 

* * * * * 

Sec. 

1.558 Business information. 

1.559 Appeals. 

1.560 Maintenance and preservation of 

records. 

1.561 Fees. 

1.562 Other rights and services. 

* * * * * 

§ 1.558 Business information. 

(a) General. Business information 

received by VA from a submitter will be 

considered under the FOIA pursuant to 

this section and in accordance with the 

requirements set forth in § 1.557 of this 

part. 

(b) Designation of business 

information. The submitter of business 

information may designate that specific 

records or portions of records submitted 

are business information, at the time of 

submission or within a reasonable time 

thereafter. The submitter must use good 

faith efforts in designating records that 

the submitter claims could be expected 

to cause substantial competitive harm 

and thus warrant protection under 

Exemption 4 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 

552(b)(4). The submitter may mark the 

record submission as confidential or use 

the words ‘‘business information’’ or 

describe the specific records that 

contain business information. Such 

designation will be considered, but will 

not control, the FOIA Officer’s decision 

on disclosing the material. A 

designation will remain in effect for a 

period of not more than 10 years after 

receipt by VA, unless the submitter 

provides acceptable justification for a 

longer period. The submitter may 

designate a shorter period by including 

an expiration date. 

(c) Notices to submitters. (1) The 

FOIA Officer shall promptly notify the 

submitter in writing of a FOIA request 

seeking the submitter’s business 

information whenever the FOIA Officer 

has reason to believe that the 

information may be protected under 


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FOIA Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), 

regarding business information. The 

written notice will provide the 

submitter an opportunity to object to 

disclosure of any specified portion of 

the records within the reasonable time 

period specified in the notice. The 

notice will either describe in detail the 

business information requested (e.g., an 

entire contract identified by a unique 

number) or shall provide copies of the 

requested record(s) or record portions 

containing the business information. 

When notification of a voluminous 

number of submitters is required, the 

FOIA Officer may notify the submitters 

by posting or publishing the notice in a 

place reasonably likely to accomplish 

notification. 

(2) If the FOIA Officer determines to 

release business information over the 

objection(s) of the submitter, the FOIA 

Officer will notify the submitter 

pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section. 

(3) Whenever the FOIA Officer 

notifies the requester of a final decision, 

the FOIA Officer will also notify the 

submitter by separate correspondence. 

This notification may be contained in 

VA’s FOIA decision. 

(4) Exceptions to this notice provision 

are contained in paragraph (f) of this 

section. 

(d) Opportunity to object to 

disclosure. When notification to a 

submitter is made pursuant to paragraph 

(c)(1) of this section, the submitter may 

object to the disclosure of any specified 

portion(s) of the record(s). The 

submitter’s objection(s) must be in 

writing, addressed to the FOIA Officer, 

and must be received by the reasonable 

date specified in the FOIA Officer’s 

notice in order for VA to consider such 

objections. If the submitter has any 

objection to disclosure of the record(s) 

requested, or any specified portion(s) 

thereof, the submitter must identify the 

specific record(s) or portion(s) of 

records for which objection(s) are made. 

The objection will specify in detail all 

grounds for withholding any record(s) 

or portion(s) of the record(s) upon 

which disclosure is opposed under any 

exemption of the FOIA. In particular, if 

the submitter is asserting that the record 

is protected under Exemption 4, 5 

U.S.C. 552(b)(4), it must show why the 

information is a trade secret or 

commercial or financial information 

that is privileged or confidential. The 

submitter must explain in detail how 

and why disclosure of the specified 

records would likely cause substantial 

competitive harm in the case of a 

required submission or state whether 

the records would customarily be 

disclosed by the submitter upon a 

request from the public in the case of a 

voluntary submission. The submitter’s 

objections must be contained within a 

single written response; oral responses 

or subsequent, multiple responses 

generally will not be considered. If the 

submitter does not respond to the notice 

described in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section within the specified time limit, 

the submitter will be considered to have 

no objection to disclosure of the 

information. 

(e) Consideration of objection(s) and 

notice of intent to disclose. The FOIA 

Officer will consider all pertinent 

factors, including but not limited to the 

submitter’s timely objection(s) to 

disclosure and the specific grounds 

provided by the submitter for nondisclosure in deciding whether to 

disclose business information. 

Information provided by the submitter 

after the specified time limit and after 

the component has made its disclosure 

decision generally will not be 

considered. In addition to meeting the 

requirements of § 1.557, when a FOIA 

Officer decides to disclose business 

information over the objection of the 

submitter, the FOIA Officer will provide 

the submitter with written notice, which 

includes: 

(1) A statement of the reason(s) why 

each of the submitter’s disclosure 

objections were not sustained; 

(2) A description of the business 

information to be disclosed; and 

(3) A specified disclosure date of not 

less than ten (10) days from the date of 

the notice (to allow the submitter time 

to take necessary legal action). 

(f) Exceptions to notice requirements. 

The notice requirements set forth in 

paragraphs (c) and (g) of this section 

will not apply if: 

(1) The FOIA Officer determines that 

the information should not be disclosed; 

(2) The information lawfully has been 

published or has been officially made 

available to the public; or 

(3) Disclosure of the information is 

required by statute, other than the FOIA, 

or by a regulation issued in accordance 

with the requirements of Executive 

Order 12600 or any other Executive 

Order. 

(g) Notice to requesters. When VA 

receives a request for records that may 

contain confidential commercial 

information protected by FOIA 

Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), 

regarding business information, the 

requester will be notified that the 

request is being processed under the 

provisions of this regulation and, as a 

consequence, there may be a delay in 

receiving a response. The notice to the 

requester will not include any of the 

specific information contained in the 

records being requested. 

§ 1.559 Appeals. 

(a) Informal resolution prior to 

appeal. Before filing an appeal, the 

requester may wish to communicate 

with the contact person listed in the 

FOIA response or the component’s 

FOIA Officer to see if the issue can be 

resolved informally. Informal resolution 

of the requester’s concerns may be 

appropriate, for example, where 

additional details may be required for a 

search for responsive records. 

Communication with VA at this level 

does not toll the time limit for filing an 

administrative appeal. 

(b) How to file and address a written 

appeal. The requester may appeal an 

adverse determination denying the 

request, in any respect, except for those 

concerning Office of Inspector General 

records, to the VA Office of the General 

Counsel (024), 810 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20420. Any 

appeals concerning Office of Inspector 

General records must be sent to the VA 

Office of Inspector General, Office of 

Counselor (50), 810 Vermont Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20420. The FOIA 

appeal must be in writing. VA accepts 

facsimiles (faxes) as written FOIA 

appeals. If the appeal concerns 

documents protected by another 

confidentiality statute, the appeal must 

contain an image of the requester’s 

handwritten signature, such as an 

attachment that shows the requester’s 

handwritten signature. Information 

regarding where to fax the FOIA appeal 

is available on VA’s FOIA home page on 

the Internet. See § 1.552(a) for the 

pertinent Internet address. A legible 

return address must be included with 

the FOIA appeal; the requester may 

include other contact information as 

well, such as a telephone number and 

electronic mail (e-mail) address. 

(c) How to file an e-mail appeal. VA 

will accept a FOIA appeal by e-mail. If 

the appeal concerns documents 

protected by another confidentiality 

statute, the email transmission must 

contain an image of the requester’s 

handwritten signature, such as an 

attachment that shows the requester’s 

handwritten signature. In order to 

assure prompt processing, e-mail FOIA 

appeals must be sent to official VA 

FOIA mailboxes established for the 

purpose of receiving FOIA appeals; an 

e-mail FOIA appeal that is sent to an 

individual VA employee’s mailbox, or 

to any other entity, will not be 

considered a perfected FOIA appeal. 

Mailbox addresses designated to receive 

e-mail FOIA appeals are available on 

VA’s FOIA home page. See § 1.552(a) for 

the pertinent Internet address. 

(d) Time limits and content of appeal. 

The appeal to the VA OGC (024), or VA 


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Office of Inspector General (50), as 

appropriate, must be postmarked no 

later than sixty (60) calendar days after 

the date of the adverse determination. 

The appeal must clearly identify the 

determination being appealed, 

including any assigned request number. 

Other information should also be 

included, such as the name of the FOIA 

officer, the address of the component, 

the date of the component’s 

determination, if any, and the precise 

subject matter of the appeal. If appealing 

only a portion of the component’s 

determination, the requester must 

specify which part of the determination 

he or she is appealing. Copies of the 

request and VA’s response, if any, 

should be included with the appeal. An 

appeal is not perfected until VA either 

receives the information identified 

above or the appeal is otherwise 

sufficiently defined. Appeals should be 

marked ‘‘Freedom of Information Act 

Appeal.’’ The General Counsel, Deputy 

General Counsel, or Assistant General 

Counsel with jurisdiction over 

information disclosure matters (024) 

will act on behalf of the Secretary on all 

appeals under this section, except those 

pertaining to the Office of Inspector 

General. The designated official in the 

Office of Inspector General will act on 

all appeals pertaining to Office of 

Inspector General records. A 

determination by the General Counsel, 

Deputy General Counsel, or Assistant 

General Counsel, or designated official 

within the Office of Inspector General, 

will be the final VA action. 

(e) Responses to appeals. The Office 

of the General Counsel or the Office of 

Inspector General, as applicable, will 

provide the requester a decision on the 

appeal in writing. The decision will 

include a brief statement of the reasons 

for the decision, including, if 

applicable, any FOIA exemptions 

applied and notice of the right to 

judicial review of the decision. 

(f) Court review. Unless the requester 

has been deemed to have exhausted all 

administrative remedies, he or she must 

first appeal the adverse determination in 

accordance with this section before 

seeking review by a court. 

§ 1.560 Maintenance and preservation of 

records. 

(a) Each component will preserve all 

correspondence pertaining to FOIA 

requests as well as copies of pertinent 

records, until disposition is authorized 

under title 44, U.S.C., or the National 

Archives and Records Administration’s 

General Records Schedule 14. 

(b) The FOIA Officer must maintain 

copies of records that are the subject of 

a pending request, appeal, or lawsuit 

under the FOIA. A copy of all records 

shall be provided promptly to the Office 

of the General Counsel upon request. 

§ 1.561 Fees. 

(a) General. Components will charge 

for processing requests under the FOIA 

in accordance with paragraph (c) of this 

section, except where fees are limited 

under paragraph (e) of this section or 

where a waiver or reduction of fees is 

granted under paragraph (n) of this 

section. The FOIA Officer will collect 

all applicable fees before releasing 

copies of requested records to the 

requester. Requesters must pay fees by 

check or money order made payable to 

the Treasury of the United States. Note 

that fees associated with requests from 

VA beneficiaries, applicants for VA 

benefits, or other individuals, for 

records retrievable by their names or 

individual identifiers processed under 

38 U.S.C. 5701 (records associated with 

claims for benefits) and 5 U.S.C. 552a 

(the Privacy Act), will be assessed fees 

in accordance with the applicable 

regulatory fee provisions relating to VA 

benefits and VA Privacy Act records. 

(b) Definitions. For purposes of 

assessing or determining fees, the 

following definitions apply: 

(1) All other requests means a request 

that does not fit into any of the 

categories in this section. 

(2) Commercial use request means a 

request from or on behalf of one who 

seeks information for a use or purpose 

that furthers his or her commercial, 

trade, or profit interests, to include 

furthering those interests through 

litigation. To the extent possible, the 

FOIA Officer shall determine the use to 

which the requester will put the 

requested records. When the intended 

use of the records is unclear from the 

request or when there is reasonable 

cause to doubt the use to which the 

requester will put the records sought, 

the FOIA Officer will provide the 

requester a reasonable opportunity to 

submit further clarification. 

(3) Direct costs mean expenses that 

VA incurs in responding to a FOIA 

request, including searching for and 

duplicating (and in the case of 

commercial use requesters, reviewing) 

records to respond to a FOIA request. 

Direct costs include, for example, the 

salary of the employee performing the 

work (the basic rate of pay for the 

employee, plus 16 percent of that rate to 

cover benefits costs) and the cost of 

operating duplication machinery. Direct 

costs do not include overhead expenses, 

such as the costs of space or heating and 

lighting of the facility where the records 

are kept. 

(4) Duplication means making a copy 

of a record necessary to respond to a 

FOIA request; copies may take the form 

of paper, microform, audiovisual 

materials or machine readabledocumentation (e.g., magnetic tape or 

disk), among others. The copy provided 

must be in a form that is reasonably 

usable by requesters. 

(5) Educational institution means a 

pre-school, a public or private 

elementary or secondary school, an 

institution of undergraduate or graduate 

higher education, an institution of 

professional education, or an institution 

of vocational education, which operates 

a program or programs of scholarly 

research. To be in this category, the 

FOIA Officer must make a 

determination that the request is 

authorized by and made under the 

auspices of a qualifying institution and 

that the records are sought to further a 

scholarly research goal of the institution 

and not the individual goal of the 

requester or a commercial goal of the 

institution. 

(6) Non-commercial scientific 

institution means an institution that is 

not operated on a ‘‘commercial’’ basis 

(as that term is defined in paragraph 

(b)(2) of this section) and that is 

operated solely for the purpose of 

conducting scientific research, the 

results of which are not intended to 

promote any particular product or 

industry. To be in this category, the 

requester must show that the request is 

authorized by and is made under the 

auspices of a qualifying institution and 

that the records are sought to further 

scientific research and are not sought for 

a commercial use. 

(7) Representative of the news media 

means any person or entity that gathers 

information of potential interest to a 

segment of the public, uses its editorial 

skills to turn the raw materials into a 

distinct work, and distributes that work 

to an audience. The term news means 

information that is about current events 

or that would be of current interest to 

the public. Examples of news media 

entities include television or radio 

stations broadcasting to the public at 

large and publishers of periodicals (but 

only if such entities qualify as 

disseminators of ‘‘news’’) who make 

their products available for purchase or 

subscription or free distribution to the 

general public. These examples are not 

all-inclusive. As methods of news 

delivery evolve (for example, the 

adoption of the electronic dissemination 

of newspapers through 

telecommunications services), such 

alternative media that otherwise meet 

the criteria for news media shall be 

considered to be news-media entities. 


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Freelance journalists may be regarded as 

working for a news-media entity if they 

can demonstrate a solid basis for 

expecting publication through that 

entity, even though not actually 

employed by it. A publication contract 

would be the clearest proof, but the 

requester’s publication history may also 

be considered. To be in this category, 

the requester must not be seeking the 

requested records for a commercial use; 

a records request supporting the 

requester’s news-dissemination function 

shall not be considered to be for a 

commercial use. 

(8) Review means examining a record 

including audiovisual, electronic mail, 

data bases, documents and the like in 

response to a commercial use request to 

determine whether any portion of it is 

exempt from disclosure. Review 

includes the deletion of exempt material 

or other processing necessary to prepare 

the record(s) for disclosure. Review time 

includes time spent contacting any 

submitter and considering or 

responding to any objections to 

disclosure made by a submitter under 

§ 1.558(d) but does not include time 

spent resolving general legal or policy 

issues regarding the application of 

exemptions. Review costs are 

recoverable even if, after review, a 

record is not disclosed. 

(9) Search means the process of 

looking for and retrieving records that 

are responsive to a request, including 

line-by-line or page-by-page 

identification of responsive information 

within records. Search also includes 

reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve 

information from records maintained in 

electronic form or format. The 

component will conduct searches in the 

most efficient and least expensive 

manner reasonably possible. The FOIA 

Officer may charge for time spent 

searching even if he or she does not 

locate any responsive record(s) or if any 

record(s) located is withheld as entirely 

exempt from disclosure. 

(c) Categories of requesters and fees to 

be charged each category. There are four 

categories of FOIA requesters: 

Commercial use requesters, educational 

and non-commercial scientific 

institutional requesters, representatives 

of the news media, and all other 

requesters. Unless a waiver or reduction 

of fees is granted under paragraph (n) of 

this section or is limited in accordance 

with paragraph (e) of this section, 

specific levels of fees will be charged for 

each category as follows: 

(1) Commercial use requesters. 

Subject to the limitations in paragraph 

(e) of this section, commercial use 

requesters will be charged the full direct 

costs of the search, review, and 

duplication of records sought. 

Commercial use requesters are not 

entitled to 2 hours of free search time or 

the first 100 pages of reproduced 

documents free of charge. 

(2) Educational and non-commercial 

scientific institution requesters. Subject 

to the limitations in paragraph (e) of this 

section, educational and noncommercial scientific institution 

requesters will be charged for the cost 

of reproduction only, excluding charges 

for the first 100 pages. 

(3) Representative of the news media. 

Subject to the limitations in paragraph 

(e) of this section, representatives of the 

news media will be charged for the cost 

of reproduction only, excluding charges 

for the first 100 pages. 

(4) All other requesters. Subject to the 

limitations in paragraph (e) of this 

section, a requester who does not fit into 

any of the categories in this section will 

be charged fees to recover the full, 

reasonable direct cost of searching for 

and reproducing records responsive to a 

request, except that the first 2 hours of 

search time and the first 100 pages of 

reproduction will be furnished without 

cost. 

(d) Fees to be charged. The following 

fees will be used when calculating the 

fee owed pursuant to a request or 

appeal. The fees also apply to making 

documents available for public 

inspection and copying under § 1.553 of 

this part. 

(1) Search. (i) Search fees. When a 

FOIA Officer determines that a search 

fee applies, the fee will be based on the 

hourly salary of VA personnel 

performing the search, plus 16 percent 

of the salary. The type and number of 

personnel involved in addressing the 

request or appeal depends on the nature 

and complexity of the request and 

responsive records. Fees are charged in 

quarter hour increments. 

(ii) Computer search. In cases where 

a computer search is required, the 

requester will be charged the direct 

costs of conducting the search, although 

certain requesters (as provided in 

paragraph (e)(1) of this section) will be 

charged no search fee and certain other 

requesters (as provided in paragraph 

(e)(4) of this section) will be entitled to 

the cost of 2 hours of employee search 

time without charge. When a computer 

search is required, VA will combine the 

hourly cost of operating the computer 

with the employee’s salary, plus 16 

percent of the salary. When the cost of 

the search (including the employee 

time, to include the cost of developing 

a search methodology, and the cost of 

the computer to process a request) 

equals the dollar amount of 2 hours of 

the salary of the employee performing 

the search, VA will begin to assess 

charges for a computer search. 

(2) Duplication. When a duplication 

fee applies, the FOIA Officer will charge 

a fee of 15 cents per one-sided page for 

a paper photocopy of a record; no more 

than one copy will be provided. For 

other forms of duplication, including 

electronic copies, the FOIA Officer will 

charge the direct costs of that 

duplication. 

(3) Review. When review fees apply, 

review fees will be charged at the initial 

level of review only, when the 

component responsible for processing 

the request determines whether an 

exemption applies to a record or portion 

of a record. For review at the appeal 

level, no fee will be charged for an 

exemption that has already been applied 

and is determined to still apply. 

However, record or record portions 

withheld under an exemption that is 

subsequently determined not to apply 

may be reviewed again to determine 

whether any other exemption not 

previously considered applies; the costs 

of that review are chargeable. Review 

fees will be charged at the same rates as 

those charged for search under 

paragraph (d)(1) of this section. 

(e) Limitations on charging fees. 

(1) No search fee will be charged for 

requests by educational institutions, 

non-commercial scientific institutions, 

or representatives of the news media. 

(2) No search or review fee will be 

charged for a quarter hour period unless 

more than half of that period is required 

for search or review. 

(3) No search fee (or duplication fee, 

when records are not sought for 

commercial use and the request is made 

by an educational or noncommercial 

scientific institution whose purpose is 

scholarly or scientific research, or a 

representative of the news media) will 

be charged in accordance with this 

section if the agency fails to comply 

with the time limit under § 1.556(a), and 

if no unusual or exceptional 

circumstances apply to the processing of 

the request pursuant to § 1.556(c). 

Duplication and search fees may still be 

charged to commercial use requesters. 

Duplication fees may still be charged for 

‘‘all other’’ requesters. 

(4) Except for requesters seeking 

records for a commercial use, the 

following will be provided without 

charge: 

(i) The first 100 pages of duplication 

(or the cost equivalent). 

(ii) The first 2 hours of search time (or 

the cost equivalent). 

(5) Whenever a total fee calculated 

under paragraph (d) of this section is 

less than $25.00, no fee will be charged. 


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(6) VA may provide free copies of 

records or free services in response to an 

official request from other government 

agencies and Congressional offices and 

when a component head or designee 

determines that doing so will assist in 

providing medical care to a VA patient 

or will otherwise assist in the 

performance of VA’s mission. 

(f) The following table summarizes 

the chargeable fees for each category of 

requester. 

Category Search fees Review fees Duplication fees 

(1) Commercial Use ................................................................... Yes ................................. Yes ................................. Yes. 

(2) Educational Institution ........................................................... No .................................. No .................................. Yes (100 pages free). 

(3) Non-Commercial Scientific Institution ................................... No .................................. No .................................. Yes (100 pages free). 

(4) News Media .......................................................................... No .................................. No .................................. Yes (100 pages free). 

(5) All other ................................................................................. Yes (2 hours free) .......... No .................................. Yes (100 pages free). 

(g) Fee schedule. If it is determined 

that a fee will be charged for processing 

the FOIA request, VA will charge the 

requester to search for, review, and 

duplicate the requested records 

according to his or her fee category (see 

§ 1.561(c)) and the following fee 

schedule. In addition, VA will charge 

the requester for any special handling or 

services performed in connection with 

processing the request and/or appeal. 

The following fees will be used by VA; 

these fees apply to services performed 

in making documents available for 

public inspection and copying under 

§ 1.553 as well. The duplicating fees 

also are applicable to records provided 

in response to requests made under the 

Privacy Act. Fees will not be charged 

under either the FOIA or the Privacy 

Act where the total amount of fees for 

processing the request is $25.00 or less 

or where the requester has met the 

requirements for a statutory fee waiver. 

(1) Search and review (review applies 

to commercial-use requesters only). Fees 

are based on the average hourly salary 

(base salary plus DC locality payment), 

plus 16 percent for benefits, of 

employees in the following three 

categories. Fees will be increased 

annually consistent with 

Congressionally approved pay increases. 

Fees are charged in quarter-hour 

increments. 

(i) Clerical—Based on GS–6, Step 5, 

pay (all employees at GS–7 and below). 

(ii) Professional—Based on GS–11, 

Step 7, pay (all employees at GS–8 

through GS–12). 

(iii) Managerial—Based on GS–14, 

Step 2, pay (all employees at GS–13 and 

above). 

Note to paragraph (g)(1): Fees for the 

current fiscal year are posted on VA’s 

FOIA home page (see § 1.552(a) for the 

pertinent Internet address). 

(2) Schedule of fees: 

Activity Fees 

(i) Duplication of standard size (81⁄2′′ x 11′′; 81⁄2′′ x 14′′; 11′′ x 14′′) 

paper records.

$0.15 per page. 

(ii) Duplication of non-paper items (e.g., x-rays), paper records which 

are not of a standard size (e.g., architectural drawings/construction 

plans or EKG tracings), or other items which do not fall under category (1), in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

Direct cost to VA. 

(iii) Record search by manual (non-automated) methods ....................... Basic hourly salary rate of the employee(s), plus 16 percent. *Note—If 

a component uses a single class of personnel for a search, e.g., all 

clerical or professional, an average rate for the grades of employees 

involved in the search may be used. 

(iv) Record search using automated methods, such as by computer ..... Direct cost to perform search. 

(v) Record review (for Commercial Use Requesters only) ...................... Basic hourly rate of employees performing review to determine whether 

to release records and to prepare them for release, plus 16 percent. 

(vi) Other activities, such as: Attesting under seal or certifying that 

records are true copies; sending records by special methods; forwarding mail; compiling and providing special reports, drawings, 

specifications, statistics, lists, abstracts or other extracted information; generating computer output; providing files under court process 

where the federal government is not a party to, and does not have 

an interest in, the litigation.

Direct cost to VA. 

(h) Notification of fee estimate or 

other fee issues. (1) Threshold for 

charging fees: VA will not charge the 

requester if the fee is $25.00 or less. 

(2) When a FOIA Officer determines 

or estimates that the fees to be charged 

under this section will amount to more 

than $25.00 or the amount set by OMB 

fee guidelines, whichever is higher, the 

FOIA Officer will notify the requester in 

writing of the actual or estimated 

amount of the fees, and ask the 

requester to provide written assurance 

of the payment of all fees or fees up to 

a designated amount, unless he or she 

has indicated a willingness to pay fees 

as high as those anticipated. Any such 

agreement to pay the fees shall be 

memorialized in writing. In addition, 

when the requester does not provide 

sufficient information upon which VA 

can identify a fee category (see 

paragraphs (c)(1) through (4) of this 

section), or an issue otherwise arises 

regarding fee assessment, the FOIA 

Officer may seek clarification from the 

requester. In either case, the timeline for 

responding to the request will be tolled 

and no further work will be done on it 

until the fee issue has been resolved. If 

VA does not receive a written response 

within ten (10) days after contacting the 

requester regarding a fee issue, it will 

assume that the requester no longer 

wishes to pursue the request and will 

close the file on the request. 

(i) Charges for other services. Apart 

from the other provisions of this section, 

when special service, such as certifying 

that records are true copies or sending 

them by other than ordinary mail, is 

requested, and the FOIA Officer chooses 


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to provide such a service as a matter of 

administrative discretion, the direct 

costs of providing the service ordinarily 

will be charged. 

(j) Charging interest. The FOIA Officer 

may charge interest on any unpaid bill 

starting on the 31st day following the 

date of billing the requester. Interest 

charges will be assessed at the rate 

provided in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will 

accrue until payment is received by the 

component. Components will follow the 

provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 

1982 (Pub. L. 97–365, 96 Stat. 1749), as 

amended, and its administrative 

procedures, including the use of 

consumer reporting agencies, collection 

agencies, and offset. 

(k) Aggregating requests. Whenever a 

FOIA Officer reasonably believes that a 

requester or group of requesters acting 

together is attempting to divide a 

request into a series of requests for the 

purpose of avoiding fees, the FOIA 

Officer may aggregate those requests and 

charge accordingly. FOIA Officers may 

presume that multiple requests of this 

type made within a 30-day period have 

been made in order to avoid fees. Where 

requests are separated by a longer 

period, the FOIA Officer will aggregate 

them only where there exists a solid 

basis for determining that aggregation is 

warranted under all the circumstances 

involved. Multiple requests involving 

unrelated matters will not be aggregated. 

(l) Advance payments. (1) For 

requests other than those described in 

paragraphs (l)(2) and (l)(3) of this 

section, a FOIA Officer shall not require 

the requester to make an advance 

payment—in other words, a payment 

made before work is begun or continued 

on a request. Payment owed for work 

already completed (i.e., a prepayment 

before copies are sent to the requester) 

is not an advance payment. 

(2) Where a FOIA Officer determines 

or estimates that a total fee to be charged 

under this section will be more than 

$250.00, the FOIA Officer may require 

the requester to make an advance 

payment of an amount up to the amount 

of the entire anticipated fee before 

beginning to process the request. 

(3) Where the requester previously 

has failed to pay a properly charged 

FOIA fee to any component within 

thirty (30) days of the date of billing, a 

FOIA Officer may require the requester 

to pay the full amount due, plus any 

applicable interest as specified in this 

section, and to make an advance 

payment of the full amount of any 

anticipated fee, before the FOIA Officer 

begins to process a new request or 

continues to process a pending request 

from that requester. 

(4) When the requester has a history 

of prompt payment, the FOIA Officer 

may accept a satisfactory assurance of 

full payment from the requester rather 

than an advance payment. 

(5) In cases in which a FOIA Officer 

requires advance payment or payment is 

due under this section, the timeline for 

responding to the request will be tolled 

and further work will not be done on it 

until the required payment is received. 

(m) Other statutes specifically 

providing for fees. The fee schedule of 

this section does not apply to fees 

charged under any statute that 

specifically requires an agency to set 

and collect fees for particular types of 

records. Where records responsive to 

requests are maintained for distribution 

by agencies operating such statutorilybased fee schedule programs, the FOIA 

Officer will inform requesters of the 

steps for obtaining records from those 

sources so that they may do so most 

economically. 

(n) Requirements for waiver or 

reduction of fees. (1) Waiving or 

reducing fees. Fees for processing the 

request may be waived if the requester 

meets the criteria listed in this section. 

The requester must submit adequate 

justification for a fee waiver; without 

adequate justification, the request will 

be denied. The FOIA Officer may, at his 

or her discretion, communicate with the 

requester to request additional 

information, if necessary, regarding the 

fee waiver request. If such additional 

information is not received within ten 

(10) business days, VA will assume that 

the requester does not agree to pay the 

required fees and the file will be closed 

pending receipt of the requester’s notice 

that he or she will pay the required fee. 

Requests for fee waivers are decided on 

a case-by-case basis; receipt of a fee 

waiver in the past does not establish 

entitlement to a fee waiver each time a 

request is submitted. 

(2) Records responsive to a request 

will be furnished without charge or at 

a charge reduced below that established 

under paragraph (d) of this section 

where a FOIA Officer determines, based 

on all available evidence, that the 

requester has demonstrated that: 

(i) Disclosure of the requested 

information is in the public interest 

because it is likely to contribute 

significantly to public understanding of 

the operations or activities of the 

government, and 

(ii) Disclosure of the information is 

not primarily in the commercial interest 

of the requester. 

(3) To determine whether the fee 

waiver requirement under paragraph 

(n)(2)(i) of this section is met, the FOIA 

Officer will consider the following 

factors: 

(i) The subject of the request: Whether 

the subject of the requested records 

concerns ‘‘the operations or activities of 

the government.’’ The subject of the 

requested records must concern 

identifiable operations or activities of 

the federal government, with a 

connection that is direct and clear, not 

remote or attenuated. 

(ii) The informative value of the 

information to be disclosed: Whether 

the disclosure is ‘‘likely to contribute’’ to 

an understanding of government 

operations or activities. The disclosable 

portions of the requested records must 

be meaningfully informative about 

government operations or activities in 

order to be ‘‘likely to contribute’’ to an 

increased public understanding of those 

operations or activities. The disclosure 

of information that already is in the 

public domain, in either a duplicative or 

a substantially identical form, would 

not be as likely to contribute to such 

understanding where nothing new 

would be added to the public’s 

understanding. 

(iii) The contribution to an 

understanding of the subject by the 

public likely to result from disclosure: 

Whether disclosure of the requested 

information will contribute to ‘‘public 

understanding.’’ The disclosure must 

contribute to the understanding of a 

reasonably broad audience of persons 

interested in the subject, as opposed to 

the individual understanding of the 

requester. The requester’s expertise in 

the subject area and ability and 

intention to effectively convey 

information to the public shall be 

considered. It shall be presumed that a 

representative of the news media will 

satisfy this consideration. 

(iv) The significance of the 

contribution to public understanding: 

Whether the disclosure is likely to 

contribute ‘‘significantly’’ to public 

understanding of government 

operations or activities. The public’s 

understanding of the subject in 

question, as compared to the level of 

public understanding existing prior to 

the disclosure, must be enhanced by the 

disclosure to a significant extent. The 

FOIA Officer will not make value 

judgments about whether information 

that would contribute significantly to 

public understanding of the operations 

or activities of the government is 

important enough to be made public. 

(4) To determine whether the fee 

waiver requirement under paragraph 

(n)(2)(ii) of this section is met, the FOIA 

Officer will consider the following 

factors: 


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(i) The existence and magnitude of a 

commercial interest: Whether the 

requester has a commercial interest that 

would be furthered by the requested 

disclosure. The FOIA Officer shall 

consider any commercial interest of the 

requester (with reference to the 

definition of ‘‘commercial use’’ in 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section), or of 

any person on whose behalf the 

requester may be acting, that would be 

furthered by the requested disclosure. 

Requesters shall be given an 

opportunity in the administrative 

process to provide explanatory 

information regarding this 

consideration. 

(ii) The primary interest in disclosure: 

Whether 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.’’ A fee waiver or 

reduction is justified where the public 

interest standard is satisfied and that 

public interest is greater in magnitude 

than that of any identified commercial 

interest in disclosure. The FOIA Officer 

ordinarily shall presume that where a 

news media requester has satisfied the 

public interest standard, the public 

interest will be the interest primarily 

served by disclosure to that requester. 

Disclosure to data brokers or others who 

merely compile and market government 

information for direct economic return 

will not be presumed to primarily serve 

the public interest. 

(5) Where only some of the records to 

be released satisfy the requirements for 

a waiver of fees, a fee waiver will be 

granted only for those records which so 

qualify. 

(6) Requests for the waiver or 

reduction of fees should address the 

factors listed in paragraph (n)(3) and (4) 

of this section, insofar as they apply to 

each request. FOIA Officers will 

exercise their discretion to consider the 

cost-effectiveness of their investment of 

administrative resources in this 

decision-making process, however, in 

deciding to grant waivers or reductions 

of fees. 

(7) An appeal from an adverse fee 

determination will be processed in 

accordance with § 1.559. 

(8) When considering a request for fee 

waiver, VA may require proof of 

identity. 

§ 1.562 Other rights and services. 

Nothing in this part shall be 

construed to entitle any person, as of 

right, to any service or to the disclosure 

of any record to which such person is 

not entitled under the FOIA. 

Authority: Sections 1.550 to 1.562 issued 

under 72 Stat. 1114; 38 U.S.C. 501. 

PART 2—DELEGATIONS OF 

AUTHORITY 

■ 11. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 302, 552a; 38 U.S.C. 

501, 512, 515, 1729, 1729A, 5711; 44 U.S.C. 

3702, and as noted in specific sections. 

■ 12. Amend § 2.6 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (e)(10). 

■ b. Adding paragraph (g)(3). 

■ c. Revising the authority citation at 

the end of paragraph (g). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 2.6 Secretary’s delegations of authority 

to certain officials (38 U.S.C. 512). 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(10) Except as prescribed in paragraph 

(g)(3) of this section, the General 

Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, and 

the Assistant General Counsel for 

Professional Staff Group IV are 

authorized to make final Departmental 

decisions on appeals under the Freedom 

of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and 

38 U.S.C. 5701, 5705 and 7332. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 512) 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3) The Office of Inspector General is 

authorized to make final decisions on 

appeals submitted pursuant to the 

Freedom of Information Act concerning 

any Office of Inspector General records. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 512) 

[FR Doc. 2011–20774 Filed 8–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2008–0514; FRL–9451–1] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; 

Control of Emissions of Organic 

Materials That Are Not Regulated by 

Volatile Organic Compound 

Reasonably Available Control 

Technology Rules 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is approving, as part of 

Ohio’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

under the Clean Air Act (CAA), a 

revised rule 3745–21–07, ‘‘Control of 

emissions of organic materials from 

stationary sources (i.e., emissions that 

are not regulated by rule 3745–21–09, 

3745–21–12, 3745–21–13, 3745–21–14, 

3745–21–15, 3745–21–16, or 3745–21– 

18 of the Administrative Code).’’ This 

rule has been revised because the prior 

version of 3745–21–07, in Ohio’s SIP, 

has inadequate compliance test methods 

and definitions. On February 8, 2008, 

the previously existing rule 3745–21– 

07, which was part of Ohio’s SIP, was 

rescinded by Ohio EPA. The most 

significant problem with the prior 

version is the definition of 

‘‘photochemically reactive material,’’ 

which is different than the definition of 

‘‘volatile organic compounds’’ (VOC), 

upon which EPA’s reasonably available 

control technology (RACT) regulations 

are based. The revised rule is 

approvable because it satisfies the 

applicable requirements for VOC 

sources under the CAA. EPA proposed 

this rule for approval on April 13, 2011, 

and received no comments. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

September 19, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

EPA–R05–OAR–2008–0514. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site. Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

i.e., Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, is not placed on 

the Internet and will be publicly 

available only in hard copy form. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either electronically through 

http://www.regulations.gov or in hard 

copy at the Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation 

Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is 

open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding 

Federal holidays. We recommend that 

you telephone Steven Rosenthal, 

Environmental Engineer, at (312) 886– 

6052 before visiting the Region 5 office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steven Rosenthal, Environmental 

Engineer, Air Planning and 

Maintenance Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 

Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 

60604, (312) 886–6052. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document whenever 

‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean 

EPA. This supplementary information 

section is arranged as follows: 


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