Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 11025 

whichever occurs first, replace the bushing 

with P/N 85410265–103, in accordance with 

paragraph 2.E. of the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Bombardier Alert Service 

Bulletin 215–A3173, dated April 11, 2012 

(for Model CL–215–6B11 (CL–215T Variant) 

airplanes); or Bombardier Alert Service 

Bulletin 215–A4453, dated April 10, 2012 

(for Model CL–215–6B11 (CL–415 Variant) 

airplanes); and continue with the installation 

of bolt and PLI washer, in accordance with 

paragraph 2.G. of the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Bombardier Alert Service 

Bulletin 215–A3173, dated April 11, 2012 

(for Model CL–215–6B11 (CL–215T Variant) 

airplanes); or Bombardier Alert Service 

Bulletin 215–A4453, dated April 10, 2012 

(for Model CL–215–6B11 (CL–415 Variant) 

airplanes). 

(j) No Further Action Required 

(1) For airplanes on which a general visual 

inspection specified in paragraph (g) of this 

AD is done and it is determined that the 

nacelle strut bushings having P/N 85410265– 

103 are installed in the airplane: No further 

actions are required by this AD, provided the 

actions specified in paragraph (g)(1) of this 

AD have been done. 

(2) For airplanes on which nacelle strut 

bushings having P/N 85410265–103 are 

installed as specified in paragraph (h)(1) or 

(i) of this AD, no further actions are required 

by this AD. 

(k) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, New York Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), ANE–170, FAA, 

has the authority to approve AMOCs for this 

AD, if requested using the procedures found 

in 14 CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 

39.19, send your request to your principal 

inspector or local Flight Standards District 

Office, as appropriate. If sending information 

directly to the ACO, send it to ATTN: 

Program Manager, Continuing Operational 

Safety, FAA, New York ACO, 1600 Stewart 

Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 

telephone 516–228–7300; fax 516–794–5531. 

Before using any approved AMOC, notify 

your appropriate principal inspector, or 

lacking a principal inspector, the manager of 

the local flight standards district office/

certificate holding district office. The AMOC 

approval letter must specifically reference 

this AD. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer, use these actions if they are 

FAA-approved. Corrective actions are 

considered FAA-approved if they were 

approved by the State of Design Authority (or 

its delegated agent, or the DAH with a State 

of Design Authority’s design organization 

approval). For a repair method to be 

approved, the repair approval must 

specifically refer to this AD. You are required 

to ensure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(l) Related Information 

(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information (MCAI) Canadian 

Airworthiness Directive CF–2013–06, dated 

February 27, 2013, for related information. 

This MCAI may be found in the AD docket 

on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating it in Docket No. 

FAA–2014–0120. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Bombardier, Inc., 400 CoˆteVertu Road West, Dorval, Que ́bec H4S 1Y9, 

Canada; telephone 514–855–5000; fax 514– 

855–7401; email thd.crj@

aero.bombardier.com; Internet http://

www.bombardier.com. You may view this 

service information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, WA. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

425–227–1221. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

14, 2014. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04260 Filed 2–26–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Office of the Secretary 

15 CFR Part 4 

[Docket No. 140127076–4076–01] 

RIN 0605–AA33 

Public Information, Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: This rule proposes revisions 

to the Department of Commerce’s 

(Department) regulations under the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and 

Privacy Act. The FOIA regulations are 

being revised to clarify, update and 

streamline the language of several 

procedural provisions, including 

methods for submitting FOIA requests 

and appeals and the time limits for 

filing an administrative appeal, and to 

incorporate certain of the changes 

brought about by the amendments to the 

FOIA under the OPEN Government Act 

of 2007. Additionally, the FOIA 

regulations are being updated to reflect 

developments in the case law. The 

Privacy regulations are being revised to 

clarify, update and streamline several 

procedural provisions, including the 

methods for submitting appeals of 

Privacy Act requests and the time limits 

for filing a Privacy Act appeal. 

Additionally, the Privacy Act 

regulations are being updated to make 

technical changes to the applicable 

exemptions. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

postmarked and electronic comments 

must be submitted on or before March 

31, 2014. Comments received by mail 

will be considered timely if they are 

postmarked on or before that date. The 

electronic Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) will accept comments 

until Midnight Eastern Time at the end 

of that day. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Regulatory Information 

Number (RIN) 0605–AA33, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 482–2552. Include the 

RIN 0605–AA33 in the subject line. 

• Mail: Mark R. Tallarico, Senior 

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room 5099, 

Washington, DC 20230. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number or RIN for this 

rulemaking. All comments received will 

be posted without change to 

regulations.gov, including any personal 

information provided. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see the ‘‘Public 

Participation’’ heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark R. Tallarico, 202–482–8156, or 

Britt E. Carlson, 202–482–8155. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public 

Participation: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by the Department. 

If you want to submit personal 

identifying information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not want it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONAL IDENTIFYING 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also locate 

all the personal identifying information 

you do not want posted online in the 

first paragraph of your comment and 

identify what information you want 

redacted. 

If you want to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment but do not want it to be posted 

online, you must include the phrase 

‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment has 

so much confidential business 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
11026 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

information that it cannot be effectively 

redacted, all or part of the comment may 

not be posted on http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Personal identifying information and 

confidential business information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will be placed in the agency’s public 

docket file, but not posted online. If you 

wish to inspect the agency’s public 

docket file in person by appointment, 

please see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT paragraph. 

Discussion 

This rule proposes revisions to the 

Department’s regulations under the 

FOIA to clarify, update and streamline 

the language of several procedural 

provisions, including the methods for 

submitting FOIA requests and appeals 

and the time limits for responding to a 

request and filing an administrative 

appeal, and to incorporate certain of the 

changes brought about by the 

amendments to the FOIA under the 

OPEN Government Act of 2007, Public 

Law 110–175, 121 Stat. 2524. 

Additionally, the FOIA regulations are 

being updated to reflect developments 

in the case law. 

Specifically this action would amend 

the procedures for filing requests and 

appeals for both the FOIA and the 

Privacy Act, and allow parties to use 

delivery services or file online through 

FOIAonline (http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov). The rule 

will also vest the Office of the Inspector 

General’s (OIG) Counsel, rather than the 

Office of the Assistant General Counsel 

for Administration, with responsibility 

for addressing appeals for the OIG. 

The Department further proposes to 

clarify when the 20-day statutory time 

limit for responding to requests begins 

(i.e., when requests are received by the 

proper DOC component’s FOIA office, 

when requests are modified for 

purposes of reformulating a request so 

that it reasonably describes the requests 

sought). This rule would also clarify 

that certain inactions by a requester, 

such as his or her failure to respond to 

a component’s one-time clarification 

request within 30 calendar days, failure 

to submit an agreement to pay 

anticipated fees in excess of $20 within 

30 calendar days of the component’s fee 

estimate, failure to make an advanced 

payment within 30 calendar days of the 

component’s fee estimate, may result in 

a request being closed. For FOIA 

appeals, the Department proposes to 

clarify that if the deadline for filing an 

administrative appeal falls on a 

Saturday, Sunday or legal public 

holiday, an appeal received by 5 p.m. 

Eastern Time, the next business day will 

be deemed timely. 

To implement the OPEN Government 

Act of 2007, the Department proposes 

to: (1) Allow Department components to 

seek a one-time clarification of a request 

and toll the time period for responding 

to the request until the requester 

clarifies; (2) add a definition of 

‘‘Representative of the news media, or 

news media requester’’ as defined in the 

OPEN Government Act; and (3) place 

limits on the fees charged when 

Department components do not comply 

with the statutory time limits under the 

FOIA. 

This rule would modify the following 

Department FOIA regulations: § 4.1 

(General Provisions), § 4.2 (Public 

reference facilities), § 4.3 (Records 

under the FOIA), § 4.4 (Requirements 

for making requests), § 4.5 

(Responsibility for responding to 

requests), § 4.6 (Time limits and 

expedited processing), § 4.7 (Responses 

to requests), § 4.8 (Classified 

information), § 4.9 (Business 

information), § 4.10 (Appeals from 

initial determinations or untimely 

delays), and § 4.11 (Fees). In addition, 

new provisions implementing such 

changes are found at § 4.6(c) 

(Clarification of request), § 4.7(a) 

(Acknowledgment of requests), 

§§ 4.10(a)(1) and (2) and (b)(1)(2) 

(distinguishing where requesters should 

submit appeals from initial 

determinations or untimely delays), and 

§ 4.11(d)(6) (Limitation on charging 

fees), with subsequent sections 

renumbered accordingly. Current 

§ 4.2(c), § 4.2(d), and § 4.9(h)(1) are to be 

deleted and subsequent sections, if any, 

renumbered accordingly. 

This rule also proposes revisions to 

the Department’s regulations under the 

Privacy Act to clarify, update and 

streamline several procedural 

provisions, including the methods for 

submitting Privacy Act requests and 

appeals and the time limits for filing a 

Privacy Act appeal. In particular, the 

action will amend the Department’s 

Privacy Act regulations regarding 

applicable exceptions to reflect new 

Department wide systems of records 

notices published since the last time the 

regulations were updated, and to make 

requesting your own medical records 

from the Department easier. Many of the 

other changes mirror those made to the 

FOIA regulations in order to maintain 

consistency between the provisions. The 

revisions of the Privacy Act regulations 

in subpart B of part 4 incorporate 

changes to the language of the 

regulations in the following provisions: 

§ 4.25 (Disclosure of requested records 

to individuals); § 4.26 (Special 

considerations: Medical records); § 4.28 

(Agency review of requests for 

correction or amendment); § 4.29 

(Appeal of initial adverse agency 

determination on correction or 

amendment); § 4.33 (General 

exemptions); and § 4.34 (Specific 

exemptions). 

Appendix A to part 4 is being revised 

to: update mailing addresses and 

telephone addresses of Department 

components for receipt and processing 

of requests for records under the FOIA 

and Privacy Act and requests for 

correction and amendment under the 

Privacy Act; include contact 

information for components receiving 

requests for records under the FOIA and 

Privacy Act and requests for correction 

and amendment under the Privacy Act; 

identify components maintaining public 

inspection facilities; and identify 

components maintaining separate 

online Electronic FOIA Libraries. 

Appendix B to part 4 is being revised to 

include an updated list of Department 

officials authorized to deny requests for 

records under the FOIA and Privacy Act 

and requests for correction or 

amendment under the Privacy Act. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), the 

Chief Counsel for Regulation has 

reviewed this rule and certifies that this 

regulation, if implemented, will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Under the FOIA, agencies may recover 

only the direct costs of searching for, 

reviewing, and duplicating the records 

processed for requesters. These fees are 

nominal, and therefore would not 

constitute a significant economic impact 

on a requester. Further, the number of 

‘‘small entities’’ that make FOIA 

requests is relatively small compared to 

the number of individual requesters and 

other requesters who make such 

requests. 

Executive Order 12866 

This regulation has been drafted and 

reviewed in accordance with Executive 

Order 12866, § 1(b), Principles of 

Regulation. The Office of Management 

and Budget has determined that this 

rule is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866, 

§ 3(f), Regulatory Planning and Review. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This regulation does not contain a 

‘‘collection of information’’ as defined 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 11027 

1The United States Patent and Trademark Office 

(USPTO), which is established as an agency of the 

United States within the Department of Commerce, 

operates under its own FOIA regulations at 37 CFR 

part 102, subpart A. Accordingly, requests for 

USPTO records, and any appeals thereof, should be 

sent directly to the USPTO. 

Lists of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 4 

Appeals, Freedom of Information Act, 

Information, Privacy, Privacy Act. 

Dated: February 12, 2014. 

Catrina D. Purvis, 

Chief Privacy Officer, and Director of Open 

Government. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of Commerce 

proposes to amend 15 CFR part 4 as 

follows: 

PART 4—DISCLOSURE OF 

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 5 U.S.C. 552; 5 

U.S.C. 552a; 5 U.S.C. 553; 31 U.S.C. 3717; 44 

U.S.C. 3101; Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 

1950. 

Subpart A—Freedom of Information 

Act 

■ 2. Amend § 4.1 by revising paragraph 

(a) to read as follows: 

§ 4.1 General provisions. 

(a) The information in this part is 

furnished for the guidance of the public 

and in compliance with the 

requirements of the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), as amended (5 

U.S.C. 552). This part sets forth the 

procedures the Department of 

Commerce (Department) and its 

components follow to make publicly 

available materials and indices specified 

in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) and records 

requested under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3). 

Information routinely provided to the 

public as part of a regular Department 

activity (for example, press releases 

issued by the Office of Public Affairs) 

may be provided to the public without 

following this part. In addition, as a 

matter of policy, the Department 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. This policy does 

not create any right enforceable in court. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 4.2 by revising the section 

heading, paragraphs (a) and (b) and 

removing paragraphs (c) and (d) to read 

as follows: 

§ 4.2 Public reading rooms. 

(a) Records that the FOIA requires to 

be made available for public inspection 

and copying are accessible 

electronically through the Department’s 

‘‘Electronic FOIA Library’’ on the 

Department’s Web site, http://

www.doc.gov, which includes links to 

Web sites for those components that 

maintain Electronic FOIA Libraries. 

These records may also be accessible at 

the FOIAonline Web site, http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. Each 

component of the Department is 

responsible for determining which of its 

records are required to be made 

available, as well as identifying 

additional records of interest to the 

public that are appropriate for 

disclosure, and for making those records 

available either in its own Electronic 

Library or in the Department’s central 

Electronic FOIA Library. Components 

that maintain their own Electronic FOIA 

Library are designated as such in 

Appendix A to this part. Each 

component shall maintain and make 

available for public inspection and 

copying a current subject-matter index 

of the records made available 

electronically. Each component shall 

ensure that posted records and indices 

are updated regularly, at least quarterly. 

(b) If the requester does not have 

access to the Internet and wishes to 

obtain information regarding publicly 

available information, he or she may 

contact the component’s FOIA office. 

Appendix A to this part contains the 

contact information for the components’ 

FOIA offices. Some components may 

also maintain physical public reading 

rooms. These components and their 

contact information are listed in 

Appendix A of this part. 

■ 4. Amend § 4.3 by revising paragraphs 

(a) through (c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.3 Records under the FOIA. 

(a) Records under the FOIA include 

all Government records, regardless of 

format, medium or physical 

characteristics, and electronic records 

and information, audiotapes, 

videotapes, Compact Disks, DVDs, and 

photographs. 

(b) In response to a FOIA request, the 

Department has no obligation to create, 

compile, or obtain from outside the 

Department a record to satisfy a request 

(for example, extrapolating information 

from existing agency records, 

reformatting available information, 

preparing new electronic programs or 

databases, or creating data through 

calculations of rations, proportions, 

percentages, trends, frequency 

distributions, correlations, or 

comparisons). In complying with a 

request for records (including data and 

other electronically-stored information), 

whether the Department creates or 

compiles records (as by undertaking 

significant programming work) or 

merely extracts them from an existing 

database is fact dependent. The 

Department shall undertake reasonable 

efforts to search for records stored in 

electronic format (including data and 

other electronically-stored information). 

(c) Department officials may, upon 

request, create and provide new records 

to the public pursuant to statutes that 

authorize the creation and provision of 

new records for a fee, such as the first 

paragraph of 15 U.S.C. 1525, or in 

accordance with authority otherwise 

provided by law. Such creation and 

provision of records is outside the scope 

of the FOIA. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 4.4 by revising paragraphs 

(a) through (c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.4 Requirements for making requests. 

(a) How made and addressed. The 

Department has a decentralized system 

for responding to FOIA requests, with 

each component designating a FOIA 

office to process records from that 

component. All components have the 

capability to receive requests 

electronically either through electronic 

mail (email) or the FOIAonline Web 

site, http://

www.foiaonline.regulations.gov. A 

request for Department records that are 

not customarily made available to the 

public as part of the Department’s 

regular informational services (or 

pursuant to a user fee statute), must be 

in writing and shall be processed under 

the FOIA, regardless of whether the 

FOIA is mentioned in the request. 

Requests must include the requester’s 

full name and a legible return address. 

Requesters may also include other 

contact information, such as an email 

address and a telephone number. For 

the quickest handling, the request (and 

envelope, if the request is mailed or 

hand delivered) should be marked 

‘‘Freedom of Information Act Request.’’ 

Requests may be submitted by U.S. 

mail, delivery service, email, facsimile, 

or online at the FOIAonline Web site, 

http://foiaonline.regulations.gov. 

Requests made by mail, delivery service, 

email, or facsimile should be sent to the 

Department component identified in 

Appendix A to this part that maintains 

those records requested, and should be 

sent to the addresses, email addresses, 

or numbers listed in Appendix A to this 

part or the Department’s Web site, 

http://www.doc.gov.1 If the proper 

component cannot be determined, the 

request should be sent to the central 

facility identified in Appendix A to this 

part. The central facility will forward 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
11028 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

the request to the component(s) it 

believes most likely to have the 

requested records. Requests will be 

considered received for purposes of the 

20-day time limit of § 4.6 as of the date 

it is received by the proper component’s 

FOIA office. 

(b) Requests for records about an 

individual or oneself. For requests for 

records about oneself, § 4.24 of this part 

contains additional requirements. For 

requests for records about another 

individual, either written authorization 

signed by the individual permitting 

disclosure of his or her records to the 

requester or proof that the individual is 

deceased (for example, a copy of a death 

certificate or an obituary) will facilitate 

processing the request. 

(c) Description of records sought. A 

FOIA request must reasonably describe 

the agency records sought, to enable 

Department personnel to locate them 

with a reasonable amount of effort. 

Whenever possible, a request should 

include specific information about each 

record sought, such as the date, title or 

name, author, recipient, and subject 

matter of the record, and the name and 

location of the office where the record 

might be found. In addition, if records 

about a court case are sought, the title 

of the case, the court in which the case 

was filed, and the nature of the case 

should be included. If known, any file 

designations or descriptions of the 

requested records should be included. 

As a general rule, the more specifically 

the request describes the records sought, 

the greater the likelihood that the 

Department will be able to locate those 

records. Before submitting their 

requests, requesters may contact the 

component’s FOIA contact to discuss 

the records they are seeking and to 

receive assistance in describing the 

records (contact information for these 

individuals is contained in Appendix A 

to this part and on the Department’s 

Web site, http://www.doc.gov). If a 

component determines that a request 

does not reasonably describe the records 

sought, it shall inform the requester 

what additional information is needed 

or how the request is otherwise 

insufficient, to enable the requester to 

modify the request to meet the 

requirements of this section. Requesters 

who are attempting to reformulate or 

modify such a request may discuss their 

request with the component’s 

designated FOIA contact. When a 

requester fails to provide sufficient 

detail after having been asked to 

reasonably describe the records sought, 

the component shall notify the requester 

in writing that the request has not been 

properly made, that no further action 

will be taken, and that the FOIA request 

is closed. In cases where a requester has 

modified his or her request, the date of 

receipt for purposes of the 20-day time 

limit of § 4.6 shall be the date of receipt 

of the modified request. 

■ 6. Amend § 4.5 by revising paragraphs 

(a) through (c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.5 Responsibility for responding to 

requests. 

(a) In general. Except as stated in 

paragraph (b) of this section, the proper 

component of the Department to 

respond to a request for records is the 

component that first receives the request 

and has responsive records (or in the 

instance of where no records exist, the 

component that first receives the request 

and is likely to have responsive 

records), or the component to which the 

Departmental FOIA Officer or 

component FOIA Officer assigns lead 

responsibility for responding to the 

request. Where a component’s FOIA 

office determines that a request was 

misdirected within the Department, the 

receiving component’s FOIA office shall 

route the request to the FOIA office of 

the proper component(s). Records 

responsive to a request shall include 

those records within the Department’s 

possession and control as of the date the 

Department begins its search for them. 

(b) Consultations and referrals. When 

a component receives a request for a 

record (or a portion thereof) in its 

possession that originated with another 

Federal agency subject to the FOIA, the 

component shall refer the record to that 

agency for direct response to the 

requester (see § 4.8 for additional 

information about referrals of classified 

information). In instances where a 

record is requested that originated with 

the Department and another Federal 

agency has a significant interest in the 

record (or a portion thereof), the 

component shall consult with that 

Federal agency before responding to a 

requester. When a component receives a 

request for a record (or a portion 

thereof) in its possession that originated 

with another Federal agency that is not 

subject to the FOIA, the component 

shall consult with that Federal agency 

before responding to the requester. 

(c) Notice of referral. Whenever a 

component refers a record to another 

Federal agency for direct response to the 

requester, the component’s FOIA Officer 

shall notify the requester in writing of 

the referral and inform the requester of 

the name of the agency to which the 

record was referred. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. Amend § 4.6 by redesignating 

paragraphs (c) through (f) as (d) through 

(g), revising paragraph (b) and newly 

redesignated paragraphs (d)(1) and (2), 

(e) and (f)(3), and adding new paragraph 

(c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.6 Time limits and expedited 

processing. 

* * * * * 

(b) Initial response and appeal. 

Unless the component and the requester 

have agreed otherwise, or when 

‘‘unusual circumstances’’ exist as 

provided for in paragraph (d) of this 

section, a determination whether to 

comply with a FOIA request shall be 

made by components within 20 working 

days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, 

Sundays, and legal public holidays) of 

the receipt of a request for a record 

under this part by the proper 

component identified in accordance 

with § 4.5(a). In instances involving 

misdirected requests that are re-routed 

pursuant to § 4.5(a), the response time 

shall commence on the date that the 

request is received by the proper 

component, but in any event not later 

than ten working days after the request 

is first received by any designated 

component. An administrative appeal, 

other than an appeal from a request 

made to the Office of the Inspector 

General, shall be decided within 20 

working days of its receipt by the Office 

of the General Counsel. An 

administrative appeal from a request 

made to the Office of the Inspector 

General shall be decided within 20 

working days of its receipt by the Office 

of the Inspector General Office of 

Counsel. The Department’s failure to 

comply with the time limits identified 

in this paragraph constitutes exhaustion 

of the requester’s administrative 

remedies for the purposes of judicial 

action to compel disclosure. 

(c) Clarification of request. 

Components may seek a one-time 

clarification of a request for a record 

(including clarification related to the 

scope of the request) under this part. 

The component shall notify the 

requester in writing of its clarification’s 

intentions. When a component seeks 

clarification of a request, the time for 

responding to a request set forth in 

§ 4.6(b) is tolled until the requester 

responds to the clarification request. 

The tolling period will end when the 

component that sought the clarification 

receives a response from the requester. 

If a component asks for clarification and 

does not receive a written response from 

the requester within 30 calendar days 

from the date of the component’s 

clarification request, the component 

will presume that the requester is no 

longer interested and notify the 

requester that the request will be closed. 

(d) Unusual Circumstances. (1) 

Components may extend the time 


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period for processing a FOIA request 

only in ‘‘unusual circumstances,’’ as 

described in paragraph (d)(2) of this 

section, in which the component shall, 

before expiration of the twenty-day 

period to respond, notify the requester 

of the extension in writing of the 

unusual circumstances involved and of 

the date by which processing of the 

request is expected to be completed. If 

the extension is for more than ten 

working days, the component shall 

provide the requester with an 

opportunity to modify the request or 

agree to an alternative time period for 

processing the original or modified 

request. 

(2) For purposes of this section, 

unusual circumstances include: 

(i) The need to search for and collect 

the requested agency records from field 

facilities or other establishments that are 

separate from the office processing the 

request; 

(ii) The need to search for, collect, 

and appropriately examine a 

voluminous amount of separate and 

distinct records that are the subject of a 

single request; or 

(iii) The need to consult with another 

Federal agency having a substantial 

interest in the determination of the 

FOIA request or among two or more 

components of the Department having 

substantial subject-matter interest in the 

determination of the request. 

* * * * * 

(e) Multi-track processing. (1) A 

component must use two or more 

processing tracks by distinguishing 

between simple and more complex 

requests based on the amount of work 

and/or time needed to process the 

request, including the amount of pages 

involved, and whether the request 

qualifies for expedited processing as 

described in paragraph (f) of this 

section. 

(2) A component using multi-track 

processing may provide requesters in its 

slower track(s) with an opportunity to 

limit the scope of their requests in order 

to qualify for faster processing. A 

component doing so shall contact the 

requester by telephone, email, letter, or 

through the FOIAonline Web site, 

http://foiaonline.regulations.gov, 

whichever is the most efficient in each 

case. 

(f) * * * 

(3) A requester who seeks expedited 

processing must submit a statement, 

certified to be true and correct to the 

best of that person’s knowledge and 

belief, explaining in detail the basis for 

requesting expedited processing. For 

example, a requester within the category 

described in paragraph (f)(1)(iv) of this 

section, if not a full-time member of the 

news media, must establish that he or 

she is a person whose main professional 

activity or occupation is information 

dissemination, though it need not be his 

or her sole occupation. A requester 

within the category described in 

paragraph (f)(1)(iv) of this section must 

also establish a particular urgency to 

inform the public about the Government 

activity involved in the request—one 

that extends beyond the public’s right to 

know about Government activity 

generally. The existence of numerous 

articles published on a given subject can 

be helpful to establishing the 

requirement that there be an ‘‘urgency to 

inform’’ the public on a topic. As a 

matter of administrative discretion, a 

component may waive the formal 

certification requirement. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Amend § 4.7 by redesignating 

paragraphs (a) and (b) as (b) and (c), 

adding new paragraphs (a) and (d), and 

revising newly redesignated paragraphs 

(b) and (c) to read as follows: 

§ 4.7 Responses to requests. 

(a) Acknowledgment of requests. 

Upon receipt of a request, a component 

ordinarily shall send an 

acknowledgement letter to the requester 

which shall provide an assigned request 

number for further reference and, if 

necessary, confirm whether the 

requester is willing to pay fees. 

(b) Grants of requests. If a component 

makes a determination to grant a request 

in whole or in part, it shall notify the 

requester in writing of such 

determination and disclose records to 

the requester promptly upon payment of 

any applicable fees. Records disclosed 

in part shall be marked or annotated to 

show the applicable FOIA exemption(s) 

and the amount of information deleted, 

unless doing so would harm an interest 

protected by an applicable exemption. 

The location of the information deleted 

shall also be indicated on the record, if 

feasible. 

(c) Adverse determinations of 

requests. If a component makes an 

adverse determination regarding a 

request, it shall notify the requester of 

that determination in writing. An 

adverse determination is a denial of a 

request and includes decisions that: the 

requested record is exempt, in whole or 

in part; the request does not reasonably 

describe the records sought; the 

information requested is not a record 

subject to the FOIA; the requested 

record does not exist, cannot be located, 

or has previously been destroyed; or the 

requested record is not readily 

reproducible in the form or format 

sought by the requester. Adverse 

determinations also include denials 

involving fees or fee waiver matters or 

denials of requests for expedited 

processing. 

(d) Content of denial. The denial letter 

shall be signed by an official listed in 

Appendix B to this part (or a designee), 

and shall include: 

(1) The name and title or position of 

the person responsible for the denial; 

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

for the denial, including any FOIA 

exemption(s) applied by the component 

in denying the request; 

(3) An estimate of the volume of any 

records or information withheld, by 

providing the number of pages or some 

other reasonable form of estimation. 

This estimate is not required if the 

volume is otherwise indicated by 

deletions marked on records that are 

disclosed in part, or if providing an 

estimate would harm an interest 

protected by an applicable FOIA 

exemption; and 

(4) A statement that the denial may be 

appealed under § 4.10 of this subpart, 

and a list of the requirements for filing 

an appeal set forth in § 4.10(b). 

■ 9. Amend § 4.8 by revising it to read 

as follows: 

§ 4.8 Classified information. 

In processing a request for 

information classified under Executive 

Order 13526 or any other executive 

order concerning the classification of 

records, the information shall be 

reviewed to determine whether it 

should remain classified. Ordinarily the 

component or other Federal agency that 

classified the information should 

conduct the review, except that if a 

record contains information that has 

been derivatively classified by a 

component because it contains 

information classified by another 

component or agency, the component 

shall refer the responsibility for 

responding to the request to the 

component or agency that classified the 

underlying information. Information 

determined to no longer require 

classification shall not be withheld on 

the basis of FOIA exemption (b)(1) (5 

U.S.C. 552(b)(1)), but should be 

reviewed to assess whether any other 

FOIA exemption should be invoked. 

Appeals involving classified 

information shall be processed in 

accordance with § 4.10(c). 

■ 10. Amend § 4.9 by revising 

paragraphs (c), (h) and (j) to read as 

follows: 

§ 4.9 Business information. 

* * * * * 

(c) Designation of business 

information. A submitter of business 


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information must use good-faith efforts 

to designate, by appropriate markings, 

either at the time of submission or at a 

reasonable time thereafter, any portions 

of its submission that it considers to be 

protected from disclosure under FOIA 

exemption (b)(4) of this section. These 

designations will expire ten years after 

the date of the submission unless the 

submitter requests, and provides 

justification for, a longer period. 

* * * * * 

(h) Exceptions to notice requirements. 

The notice requirements of paragraphs 

(d) and (g) of this section shall not apply 

if: 

(1) The component determines that 

the information is exempt under a FOIA 

exemption, other than exemption (b)(4); 

(2) The information has been lawfully 

published or has been officially made 

available to the public; 

(3) Disclosure of the information is 

required by statute (other than the 

FOIA) or by a regulation issued in 

accordance with Executive Order 12600; 

or 

(4) The designation made by the 

submitter under paragraph (c) of this 

section appears obviously frivolous, 

except that, in such a case, the 

component shall provide the submitter 

written notice of any final decision to 

disclose the information seven working 

days from the date the submitter 

receives the notice. 

* * * * * 

(j) Corresponding notice to requester. 

Whenever a component provides a 

submitter with notice and an 

opportunity to object to disclosure 

under paragraph (d) of this section, the 

component shall notify the requester 

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. Whenever a submitter files a 

lawsuit seeking to prevent the 

disclosure of business information, the 

component shall notify the requester of 

such action and, as a consequence, there 

may be further delay in receiving a 

response. 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Amend § 4.10 by revising 

paragraphs (a) through (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 4.10 Appeals from initial determinations 

or untimely delays. 

(a)(1) If a request for records to a 

component other than the Office of 

Inspector General is initially denied in 

whole or in part, or has not been timely 

determined, or if a requester receives an 

adverse determination regarding any 

other matter listed under this subpart 

(as described in § 4.7(c)), the requester 

may file an appeal. Appeals can be 

submitted in writing or electronically, 

as described in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section. The appeal must be received by 

the Office of the General Counsel during 

normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 

Friday) within 30 calendar days of the 

date of the written denial of the adverse 

determination or, if there has been no 

determination, an appeal may be 

submitted any time after the due date, 

including the last extension under 

§ 4.6(d), of the adverse determination. 

Written or electronic appeals arriving 

after normal business hours will be 

deemed received on the next normal 

business day. If the 30th calendar day 

falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal 

public holiday, an appeal received by 

5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, the next 

business day will be deemed timely. 

Appeals received after the 30-day limit 

will not be considered. 

(2) If a request for records to the 

Office of Inspector General is initially 

denied in whole or in part, or has not 

been timely determined, or if a requester 

receives an adverse determination 

regarding any other matter listed under 

this subpart (as described in § 4.7(c)), 

the requester may file an appeal. 

Appeals can be submitted in writing or 

electronically, as described in paragraph 

(b)(2) of this section. The appeal must 

be received by the Office of Inspector 

General, Office of Counsel, during 

normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 

Friday) within 30 calendar days of the 

date of the written denial of the adverse 

determination or, if there has been no 

determination, an appeal may be 

submitted any time after the due date, 

including the last extension under 

§ 4.6(d), of the adverse determination. 

Written or electronic appeals arriving 

after normal business hours will be 

deemed received on the next normal 

business day. If the 30th calendar day 

falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal 

public holiday, an appeal received by 

5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, the next 

business day will be deemed timely. 

Appeals received after the 30-day limit 

will not be considered. 

(b)(1) Appeals, other than appeals 

from requests made to the Office of 

Inspector General, shall be decided by 

the Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration (AGC-Admin), except 

that appeals for records which were 

initially denied by the AGC-Admin 

shall be decided by the General 

Counsel. Written appeals should be 

addressed to the AGC-Admin, or the 

General Counsel if the records were 

initially denied by the AGC-Admin. The 

address of both is: U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Office of the General 

Counsel, Room 5875, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230. An appeal may also be sent 

via facsimile at 202–482–2552. For a 

written appeal, both the letter and the 

appeal envelope should be clearly 

marked ‘‘Freedom of Information Act 

Appeal.’’ Appeals may also be 

submitted electronically either by email 

to FOIAAppeals@doc.gov or online at 

the FOIAonline Web site, http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov, if requesters 

have a FOIAonline account. In all cases, 

the appeal (written or electronic) must 

include a copy of the original request 

and initial denial, if any. All appeals 

must include a statement of the reasons 

why the records requested should be 

made available and why the adverse 

determination was in error. No 

opportunity for personal appearance, 

oral argument or hearing on appeal is 

provided. Upon receipt of an appeal, 

AGC-Admin, or the General Counsel if 

the records were initially denied by 

AGC-Admin, ordinarily shall send an 

acknowledgement letter to the requester 

which shall confirm receipt of the 

requester’s appeal. 

(2) Appeals of initial and untimely 

determinations by the Office of 

Inspector General shall be decided by 

the Counsel to the Inspector General, 

except that appeals for records which 

were initially denied by the Counsel to 

the Inspector General shall be decided 

by the Deputy Inspector General. 

Written appeals should be addressed to 

the Counsel to the Inspector General, or 

the Deputy Inspector General if the 

records were initially denied by the 

Counsel to the Inspector General. The 

address of both is: U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Office of Counsel, Room 

7898C, 14th and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230. An appeal 

may also be sent via facsimile at 202– 

501–7335. For a written appeal, both the 

letter and the appeal envelope should be 

clearly marked ‘‘Freedom of Information 

Act Appeal.’’ Appeals may also be 

submitted electronically either by email 

to FOIA@oig.doc.gov or online at the 

FOIAonline Web site, http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov, if requesters 

have a FOIAonline account. In all cases, 

the appeal (written or electronic) must 

include a copy of the original request 

and initial denial, if any. All appeals 

must include a statement of the reasons 

why the records requested should be 

made available and why the adverse 

determination was in error. No 


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opportunity for personal appearance, 

oral argument or hearing on appeal is 

provided. Upon receipt of an appeal, the 

Counsel to the Inspector General, or the 

Deputy Inspector General if the records 

were initially denied by the Counsel to 

the Inspector General, ordinarily shall 

send an acknowledgement letter to the 

requester which shall confirm receipt of 

the requester’s appeal. 

(c) Upon receipt of an appeal 

involving records initially denied on the 

basis of FOIA exemption (b)(1), the 

records shall be forwarded to the 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security 

(DAS) for a declassification review. The 

DAS may overrule previous 

classification determinations in whole 

or in part if continued protection in the 

interest of national security is no longer 

required, or no longer required at the 

same level. The DAS shall advise the 

AGC-Admin, the General Counsel, 

Counsel to the Inspector General, or 

Deputy Inspector General, as 

appropriate, of his or her decision. 

■ 12. Amend § 4.11 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (a), (b)(2)-(4), 

(b)(6) and (7), (c)(2), (c)(3)(ii), (c)(4), 

(d)(1) and paragraph (i); 

■ b. Adding subparagraphs (1) and (2) to 

paragraph (e); 

■ c. Redesignating paragraphs (j) and (k) 

as (k) and (l); and 

■ d. Adding a new paragraph (j). 

The changes to read as follows: 

§ 4.11 Fees. 

(a) In general. Components shall 

charge fees for processing requests 

under the FOIA in accordance with 

paragraph (c) of this section, except 

where fees are limited under paragraph 

(d) of this section or when a waiver or 

reduction is granted under paragraph (k) 

of this section. A component shall 

collect all applicable fees before 

processing a request if a component 

determines that advance payment is 

required in accordance with paragraphs 

(i)(2) and (i)(3) of this section. If 

advance payment of fees is not required, 

a component shall collect all applicable 

fees before sending copies of requested 

records to a requester. Requesters must 

pay fees by check or money order made 

payable to the Treasury of the United 

States. 

* * * * * 

(b)(2) Direct costs means those 

expenses a component incurs in 

searching for and duplicating (and, in 

the case of commercial use requests, 

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% of that 

rate to cover benefits) and the cost of 

operating computers and other 

electronic equipment, such as 

photocopiers and scanners. Direct costs 

do not include overhead expenses such 

as the costs of space, heating, or lighting 

of the facility in which the service is 

performed. 

(3) Duplication means the making of 

a copy of a record, or of the information 

contained in it, necessary to respond to 

a FOIA request. Copies may take the 

form of paper, microform, audiovisual 

materials, or electronic records, among 

others. A component shall honor a 

requester’s specified preference of form 

or format of disclosure if the record is 

readily reproducible with reasonable 

efforts in the requested form or format. 

(4) Educational institution means a 

preschool, a public or private 

elementary or secondary school, an 

institution of undergraduate higher 

education, an institution of graduate 

higher education, an institution of 

professional education, or an institution 

of vocational education, that operates a 

program of scholarly research. A 

requester in this fee category must show 

that the request is authorized by, and is 

made under the auspices of, an 

educational institution and that the 

records are not sought for a commercial 

use, but rather are sought to further 

scholarly research. To fall within this 

fee category, a request must serve the 

scholarly research goal of the institution 

rather than an individual research goal. 

Example 1. A request from a professor 

of geology at a university for records 

relating to soil erosion, written on 

letterhead of the Department of Geology, 

would be presumed to be from an 

educational institution. 

Example 2. A request from the same 

professor of geology seeking drug 

information from the Food and Drug 

Administration in furtherance of a 

murder mystery he is writing would not 

be presumed to be an institutional 

request, regardless of whether it was 

written on institutional letterhead. 

Example 3. A student who makes a 

request in furtherance of the completion 

of a course of instruction would be 

presumed to be carrying out an 

individual research goal, rather than a 

scholarly research goal of the 

institution, and would not qualify as 

part of this fee category. 

* * * * * 

(6) Representative of the news media, 

or news media requester, means any 

person or entity organized and operated 

to publish or broadcast news to the 

public that actively 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 are television or radio stations 

broadcasting to the public at-large and 

publishers of periodicals that 

disseminate ‘‘news’’ and make their 

products available through a variety of 

means to the general public including 

news organizations that disseminate 

solely on the Internet. To be in this 

category, a requester must not be 

seeking the requested records for a 

commercial use. A request for records 

that supports the news-dissemination 

function of the requester shall not be 

considered to be for a commercial use. 

A freelance journalist shall be regarded 

as working for a news-media entity if 

the journalist can demonstrate a solid 

basis for expecting publication through 

that entity, whether or not the journalist 

is actually employed by the entity. A 

publication contract would be the 

clearest proof, but components shall 

also look to the past publication record 

of a requester in making this 

determination. A component’s decision 

to grant a requester media status will be 

made on a case-by-case basis based 

upon the requester’s intended use of the 

material. 

(7) Review means the examination of 

a record located in response to a request 

in order to determine whether any 

portion of it is exempt from disclosure. 

Review time includes processing any 

record for disclosure, such as doing all 

that is necessary to prepare the record 

for disclosure, including the process of 

redacting it and marking any applicable 

exemptions. Review costs are 

recoverable even if a record ultimately 

is not disclosed. Review time includes 

time spent obtaining and considering 

any formal objection to disclosure made 

by a business submitter under § 4.9, but 

does not include time spent resolving 

general legal or policy issues regarding 

the application of exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) Uniform fee schedule. 

Service Rate 

(i) Manual search ...................................................................................... Actual salary rate of employee involved, plus 16 percent of salary rate. 


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Service Rate 

(ii) Computerized search .......................................................................... Actual direct cost, including operator time. 

(iii) Review of records ............................................................................... Actual salary rate of employee conducting review, plus 16 percent of 

salary rate. 

(iv) Duplication of records: 

(A) Paper copy reproduction ............................................................. $.16 per page 

(B) Other reproduction (e.g., converting paper into an electronic 

format (e.g., scanning), computer disk or printout, or other electronically-formatted reproduction (e.g., uploading records made 

available to the requester into FOIAonline)). 

Actual direct cost, including operator time. 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(ii) For computer searches of records, 

requesters will be charged the direct 

costs of conducting the search, although 

certain requesters (as provided in 

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

charged no search fee and certain other 

requesters (as provided in paragraph 

(d)(3) of this section) are entitled to the 

cost equivalent of two hours of manual 

search time without charge. These direct 

costs will include the cost of operating 

a central processing unit for that portion 

of operating time that is directly 

attributable to search for responsive 

records, as well as the costs of the 

operator/programmer salary 

apportionable to the search. 

(4) Duplication. Duplication fees shall 

be charged to all requesters, subject to 

the limitations of paragraph (d) of this 

section. A component shall honor a 

requester’s preference for receiving a 

record in a particular form or format 

where it is readily producible by the 

component in the form or format 

requested. For either a photocopy or a 

computer-generated printout of a record 

(no more than one copy of which need 

be supplied), the fee shall be $.16 per 

page. Requesters may reduce costs by 

specifying double-sided duplication, 

except where this is technically not 

feasible. For electronic forms of 

duplication, other than a computergenerated printout, components will 

charge the direct costs of that 

duplication. Such direct costs will 

include the costs of the requested 

electronic medium on which the copy is 

to be made and the actual operator time 

and computer resource usage required 

to produce the copy, to the extent they 

can be determined. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * *. (1) No search fees shall be 

charged for requests from educational 

institutions, non-commercial scientific 

institutions, or representatives of the 

news media. 

* * * * * 

(6) No search fees shall be charged to 

a FOIA requester when a component 

does not comply with the statutory time 

limits at 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6) in which to 

respond to a request, unless unusual or 

exceptional circumstances (as those 

terms are defined by the FOIA) apply to 

the processing of the request. 

(7) No duplication fees shall be 

charged to requesters in the fee category 

of a representative of the news media or 

an educational or noncommercial 

scientific institution when a component 

does not comply with the statutory time 

limits at 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6) in which to 

respond to a request, unless unusual or 

exceptional circumstances (as those 

terms are defined by the FOIA) apply to 

the processing of the request. 

* * * * * 

(e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess 

of $20.00. (1) When a component 

determines or estimates that the fees for 

processing a FOIA request will total 

more than $20.00 or total more than the 

amount the requester indicated a 

willingness to pay, the component shall 

notify the requester of the actual or 

estimated amount of the fees, unless the 

requester has stated in writing a 

willingness to pay fees as high as those 

anticipated. If only a portion of the fee 

can be estimated readily, the component 

shall advise the requester that the 

estimated fee may be only a portion of 

the total fee. A notice under this 

paragraph shall offer the requester an 

opportunity to discuss the matter with 

Departmental personnel in order to 

modify the request in an effort to meet 

the requester’s needs at a lower cost. 

(2) When a requester has been notified 

that the actual or estimated fees will 

amount to more than $20.00, or amount 

to more than the amount the requester 

indicated a willingness to pay, the 

component will do no further work on 

the request until the requester agrees in 

writing to pay the actual or estimated 

total fee. The component will toll the 

processing of the request while it 

notifies the requester of the actual or 

estimated amount of fees and this time 

will be excluded from the twenty (20) 

working day time limit (as specified in 

section 4.6(b)). The requester’s 

agreement to pay fees must be made in 

writing, must designate an exact dollar 

amount the requester is willing to pay, 

and must be received within 30 

calendar days from the date of the 

notification of the fee estimate. If the 

requester fails to submit an agreement to 

pay the anticipated fees within 30 

calendar days from the date of the 

component’s fee notice, the component 

will presume that the requester is no 

longer interested and notify the 

requester that the request will be closed. 

* * * * * 

(i)(1) Advance payments. For requests 

other than those described in 

paragraphs (i)(2) and (3) of this section, 

a component shall not require the 

requester to make an advance payment 

(i.e., a payment made before a 

component begins to process or 

continues work on a request). Payment 

owed for work already completed (i.e., 

a pre-payment before copies of 

responsive records are sent to a 

requester) is not an advance payment. 

(2) When a component determines or 

estimates that the total fee for 

processing a FOIA request will be 

$250.00 or more, the component shall 

notify the requester of the actual or 

estimated fee and require the requester 

to make an advance payment of the 

entire anticipated fee before beginning 

to process the request. A notice under 

this paragraph shall offer the requester 

an opportunity to discuss the matter 

with Departmental personnel in order to 

modify the request in an effort to meet 

the requester’s needs at a lower cost. 

(3) When a requester has previously 

failed to pay a properly charged FOIA 

fee to any component or other Federal 

agency within 30 calendar days of the 

date of billing, the component shall 

notify the requester that he or she is 

required to pay the full amount due, 

plus any applicable interest, and to 

make an advance payment of the full 

amount of any anticipated fee, before 

the component begins to process a new 

request or continues to process a 

pending request from that requester. A 

notice under this paragraph shall offer 

the requester an opportunity to discuss 

the matter with Departmental personnel 

in order to modify the request in an 

effort to meet the requester’s needs at a 

lower cost. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 11033 

(4) When the component requires 

advance payment or payment due under 

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

section, the component will not further 

process the request until the required 

payment is made. The component will 

toll the processing of the request while 

it notifies the requester of the advanced 

payment due and this time will be 

excluded from the twenty (20) working 

day time limit (as specified in section 

4.6(b)). If the requester does not pay the 

advance payment within 30 calendar 

days from the date of the component’s 

fee notice, the component will presume 

that the requester is no longer interested 

and notify the requester that the request 

will be closed. 

(j) Tolling. When necessary for the 

component to clarify issues regarding 

fee assessment with the FOIA requester, 

the time limit for responding to the 

FOIA request is tolled until the 

component resolves such issues with 

the requester. 

* * * * * 

■ 13. Amend § 4.25 by revising 

paragraph (g)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 4.25 Disclosure of requested records to 

individuals. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * (1) Grounds. Access by an 

individual to a record that pertains to 

that individual will be denied only 

upon a determination by the Privacy 

Officer that: 

(i) The record is exempt under § 4.33 

or 4.34, or exempt by determination of 

another agency publishing notice of the 

system of records, as described in 

§ 4.23(f); 

(ii) The record is information 

compiled in reasonable anticipation of a 

civil action or proceeding; 

(iii) The provisions of § 4.26 

pertaining to medical records have been 

invoked; or 

(iv) The individual unreasonably has 

failed to comply with the procedural 

requirements of this part. 

* * * * * 

■ 14. Revise § 4.26 to read as follows: 

§ 4.26 Special procedures: Medical 

records. 

When a request for access involves 

medical or psychological records, the 

records will be reviewed by the 

Department’s medical officer for a 

determination on whether disclosure 

would be harmful to the individual to 

whom they relate. If it is determined 

that disclosure would be harmful, the 

Department may refuse to disclose the 

records directly to the requester but 

shall transmit them to a doctor 

authorized in writing by the individual 

to whom the records relate to receive 

the documents. 

If an individual refuses to provide 

written authorization to release his or 

her medical records to a doctor, barring 

any applicable exemption, the 

Department shall give the individual 

access to his or her records by means of 

a copy, provided without cost to the 

requester, sent registered mail, return 

receipt requested. 

■ 15. Amend § 4.28 by revising 

paragraph (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 4.28 Agency review of requests for 

correction or amendment. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) If the Privacy Officer fails to send 

the acknowledgment within ten working 

days, as provided in paragraph (a)(1)(i) 

of this section, the requester may ask the 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of a 

request to the Office of the Inspector 

General, the Counsel to the Inspector 

General, to take corrective action. No 

failure of a Privacy Officer to send an 

acknowledgment shall confer 

administrative finality for purposes of 

judicial review. 

(2) Promptly after acknowledging 

receipt of a request, or after receiving 

such further information as might have 

been requested, or after arriving at a 

decision within the ten working days, 

the Privacy Officer shall either: 

(i) Make the requested correction or 

amendment and advise the individual 

in writing of such action, providing 

either a copy of the corrected or 

amended record or, in cases in which a 

copy cannot be provided, a statement as 

to the means by which the correction or 

amendment was effected; or 

(ii) Inform the individual in writing 

that his or her request is denied and 

provide the following information: 

(A) The Privacy Officer’s name and 

title or position; 

(B) The date of the denial; 

(C) The reasons for the denial, 

including citation to the appropriate 

sections of the Act and this subpart; and 

(D) The procedures for appeal of the 

denial as set forth in § 4.29, including 

the address of the Assistant General 

Counsel for Administration, or in the 

case of a request to the Office of the 

Inspector General, the address of the 

Counsel to the Inspector General. 

* * * * * 

■ 16. Amend § 4.29 by revising 

paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (e), the 

introductory text to (g),(g)(1), (h), and (i) 

to read as follows: 

§ 4.29 Appeal of initial adverse agency 

determination on correction or amendment. 

(a) If a request for correction or 

amendment is denied initially under 

§ 4.28, the individual may submit a 

written appeal within thirty calendar 

days of the date of the initial denial. The 

appeal must be received by the General 

Counsel, or by the Counsel to the 

Inspector General in the case of an 

appeal of an initial adverse 

determination by the Office of Inspector 

General, during normal business hours 

(8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday) within 30 

calendar days of the date of the initial 

denial. Appeals arriving after normal 

business hours will be deemed received 

on the next normal business day. If the 

30th calendar day falls on a Saturday, 

Sunday, or a legal public holiday, an 

appeal received by 5:00 p.m., Eastern 

Time, the next business day will be 

deemed timely. 

(b)(1) An appeal from a request to a 

component other than the Office of the 

Inspector General should be addressed 

to the Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Room 5875, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230. An appeal should include the 

words ‘‘Privacy Act Appeal’’ at the top 

of the letter and on the face of the 

envelope. An appeal not addressed and 

marked as provided herein will be so 

marked by Department personnel when 

it is so identified, and will be forwarded 

immediately to the Assistant General 

Counsel for Administration. An appeal 

which is not properly addressed by the 

individual will not be deemed to have 

been ‘‘received’’ for purposes of 

measuring the time periods in this 

section until actual receipt by the 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration. In each instance when 

an appeal so forwarded is received, the 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration shall notify the 

individual that his or her appeal was 

improperly addressed and the date on 

which the appeal was received at the 

proper address. 

(2) An appeal of an initial adverse 

determination on correction or 

amendment by the Office of Inspector 

General should be addressed to the 

Counsel to the Inspector General, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Room 7898C, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230. An appeal 

should include the words ‘‘Privacy Act 

Appeal’’ at the top of the letter and on 

the face of the envelope. An appeal not 

addressed and marked as provided 

herein will be so marked by Department 

personnel when it is so identified, and 

will be forwarded immediately to the 


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11034 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

Counsel to the Inspector General. An 

appeal which is not properly addressed 

by the individual will not be deemed to 

have been ‘‘received’’ for purposes of 

measuring the time periods in this 

section until actual receipt by the 

Counsel to the Inspector General. In 

each instance when an appeal so 

forwarded is received, the Counsel to 

the Inspector General shall notify the 

individual that his or her appeal was 

improperly addressed and the date on 

which the appeal was received at the 

proper address. 

(c) The individual’s appeal shall be 

signed by the individual, and shall 

include a statement of the reasons for 

why the initial denial is believed to be 

in error, and the Department’s control 

number assigned to the request. The 

Privacy Act Officer who issued the 

initial denial shall furnish to the 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of an 

initial denial by the Office of the 

Inspector General, to the Counsel to the 

Inspector General, the record(s) the 

individual requests to be corrected or 

amended, and all correspondence 

between the Privacy Officer and the 

requester. Although the foregoing 

normally will comprise the entire record 

on appeal, the Assistant General 

Counsel for Administration, or in the 

case of an initial denial by the Office of 

the Inspector General, the Counsel to 

the Inspector General, may seek any 

additional information necessary to 

ensure that the final determination is 

fair and equitable and, in such 

instances, disclose the additional 

information to the individual to the 

greatest extent possible, and provide an 

opportunity for comment thereon. 

* * * * * 

(e) The Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of an 

initial denial by the Office of the 

Inspector General, the Counsel to the 

Inspector General, shall act upon the 

appeal and issue a final determination 

in writing not later than thirty working 

days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays 

and legal public holidays) from the date 

on which the appeal is received, except 

that the Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of an 

initial denial by the Office of the 

Inspector General, the Counsel to the 

Inspector General, may extend the thirty 

days upon deciding that a fair and 

equitable review cannot be made within 

that period, but only if the individual is 

advised in writing of the reason for the 

extension and the estimated date by 

which a final determination will be 

issued. The estimated date should not 

be later than the sixtieth day after 

receipt of the appeal unless unusual 

circumstances, as described in § 4.25(a), 

are met. 

* * * * * 

(g) If the appeal is denied, the final 

determination shall be transmitted 

promptly to the individual and state the 

reasons for the denial. The notice of 

final determination shall inform the 

individual that: 

(1) The individual has a right under 

the Act to file with the Assistant 

General Counsel for Administration, or 

in the case of an initial denial by the 

Office of the Inspector General, the 

Counsel to the Inspector General, a 

concise statement of reasons for 

disagreeing with the final 

determination. The statement ordinarily 

should not exceed one page and the 

Department reserves the right to reject 

an excessively lengthy statement. It 

should provide the Department control 

number assigned to the request, indicate 

the date of the final determination and 

be signed by the individual. The 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of an 

initial denial by the Office of the 

Inspector General, the Counsel to the 

Inspector General, shall acknowledge 

receipt of such statement and inform the 

individual of the date on which it was 

received; 

* * * * * 

(h) In making the final determination, 

the Assistant General Counsel for 

Administration, or in the case of an 

initial denial by the Office of the 

Inspector General, the Counsel to the 

Inspector General, shall employ the 

criteria set forth in § 4.28(c) and shall 

deny an appeal only on grounds set 

forth in § 4.28(e). 

(i) If an appeal is partially granted and 

partially denied, the Assistant General 

Counsel for Administration, or in the 

case of an initial denial by the Office of 

the Inspector General, the Counsel to 

the Inspector General, shall follow the 

appropriate procedures of this section as 

to the records within the grant and the 

records within the denial. 

■ 17. Amend § 4.33 by revising 

paragraph (b) introductory text and 

(b)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 4.33 General exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(b) The general exemptions 

determined to be necessary and proper 

with respect to systems of records 

maintained by the Department, 

including the parts of each system to be 

exempted, the provisions of the Act 

from which they are exempted, and the 

justification for the exemption, are as 

follows: 

(1) Individuals identified in Export 

Transactions—COMMERCE/BIS–1. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), these 

records are hereby determined to be 

exempt from all provisions of the Act, 

except 5 U.S.C. 552a(b), (c)(1) and (2), 

(e)(4)(A) through (F), (e)(6), (7), (9), (10), 

and (11), and (i). These exemptions are 

necessary to ensure the proper 

functioning of the law enforcement 

activity, to protect confidential sources 

of information, to fulfill promises of 

confidentiality, to maintain the integrity 

of the law enforcement process, to avoid 

premature disclosure of the knowledge 

of criminal activity and the evidentiary 

bases of possible enforcement actions, to 

prevent interference with law 

enforcement proceedings, to avoid 

disclosure of investigative techniques, 

and to avoid endangering law 

enforcement personnel. Section 12(c) of 

the Export Administration Act of 1979, 

as amended, also protects this 

information from disclosure. 

* * * * * 

■ 18. Amend § 4.34 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1), (b) introductory text, 

(b)(2)(i), (b)(3)(i) and (b)(4)(i) to read as 

follows: 

§ 4.34 Specific exemptions. 

(a)(1) Certain systems of records 

under the Act that are maintained by the 

Department may occasionally contain 

material subject to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), 

relating to national defense and foreign 

policy materials. The systems of records 

published in the Federal Register by the 

Department that are within this 

exemption are: 

COMMERCE/BIS–1, COMMERCE/ITA– 

2, COMMERCE/ITA–3, COMMERCE/

NOAA–11, COMMERCE–PAT–TM–4, 

COMMERCE/DEPT–12, COMMERCE/

DEPT–13, and COMMERCE/DEPT–14. 

* * * * * 

(b) The specific exemptions 

determined to be necessary and proper 

with respect to systems of records 

maintained by the Department, 

including the parts of each system to be 

exempted, the provisions of the Act 

from which they are exempted, and the 

justification for the exemption, are as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

(2)(i) Exempt under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(k)(2). The systems of records 

exempt (some only conditionally), the 

sections of the Act from which 

exempted, and the reasons therefor are 

as follows: 

(A) Individuals identified in Export 

Administration compliance proceedings 

or investigations—COMMERCE/BIS–1, 

but only on condition that the general 


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exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(1) is 

held to be invalid; 

* * * * * 

(3)(i) Exempt under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(k)(4). The systems of records 

exempt, the sections of the Act from 

which exempted, and the reasons 

therefor are as follows: 

(A) Special Censuses, Surveys, and 

Other Studies—COMMECE/CENSUS–3; 

(B) Economic Survey Collection— 

COMMERCE/CENSUS–4; 

(C) Decennial Census Program— 

COMMERCE/CENSUS–5; 

(D) Population Census Records for 

1910 & All Subsequent Decennial 

Census—COMMERCE/CENSUS–6; 

(E) Other Agency Surveys & 

Reimbursable—COMMERCE/CENSUS– 

7; 

(F) Statistical Administrative Records 

System—COMMERCE/CENSUS–8; 

(G) Longitudinal Employer-Household 

Dynamics System—COMMERCE/

CENSUS–9; and 

(H) Foreign Trade Statistics— 

COMMERCE/CENSUS–12. 

* * * * * 

(4)(i) Exempt under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(k)(5). The systems of records 

exempt (some only conditionally), the 

sections of the Act from which 

exempted, and the reasons therefor are 

as follows: 

(A) Applications to U.S. Merchant 

Marine Academy (USMMA)— 

COMMERCE/MA–1; 

(B) USMMA Midshipman Medical 

Files—COMMERCE/MA–17; 

(C) USMMA Midshipman Personnel 

Files—COMMERCE/MA–18; 

(D) USMMA Non-Appropriated Fund 

Employees—COMMERCE/MA–19; 

(E) Applicants for the NOAA Corps— 

COMMERCE/NOAA–1; 

(F) Commissioned Officer Official 

Personnel Folders—COMMERCE/

NOAA–3; 

(G) Conflict of Interest Records, 

Appointed Officials—COMMERCE/

DEPT–3 

(H) Investigative and Inspection 

Records—COMMERCE/DEPT–12, but 

only on condition that the general 

exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(3) is 

held to be valid; 

(I) Investigative Records—Persons 

Within the Investigative Jurisdiction of 

the Department—COMMERCE/DEPT– 

13; and 

(J) Litigation, Claims, and 

Administrative Proceeding Records— 

COMMERCE/DEPT–14. 

* * * * * 

■ 19. Revise Appendix A to Part 4 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 4—Freedom of 

Information Public Inspection 

Facilities, and Addresses for Requests 

for Records Under the Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act, and 

Requests for Correction or Amendment 

Under the Privacy Act 

Each address listed below is the respective 

component’s mailing address for receipt and 

processing of requests for records under the 

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, 

for requests for correction or amendment 

under the Privacy Act and, unless otherwise 

noted, its public inspection facility for 

records available to the public under the 

Freedom of Information Act. Requests should 

be addressed to the component the requester 

knows or has reason to believe has 

possession of, control over, or primary 

concern with the records sought. Otherwise, 

requests should be addressed to the 

Departmental FOIA Office identified in 

subparagraph (1), below. The telephone and 

facsimile numbers for each component are 

included after its address, as well as email 

addresses for components that maintain an 

email address for the purposes of receiving 

of FOIA and Privacy Act requests. Records of 

components that are required to be made 

publicly available are available electronically 

either through the Department’s ‘‘Electronic 

FOIA Library’’ on the Department’s Web site, 

http://www.doc.gov, as described in § 4.2(a), 

or the component’s separate online 

Electronic FOIA Library as indicated below. 

Components that maintain a public 

inspection facility are designated as such 

below. These public inspection facilities 

records are open to the public Monday 

through Friday (i.e., excluding Saturdays, 

Sundays, and legal public holidays) between 

9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. local time of the 

facility at issue. The Departmental Freedom 

of Information Act Officer is authorized to 

revise this appendix to reflect changes in the 

information contained in it. Any such 

revisions shall be posted on the Department’s 

‘‘FOIA Home Page’’ link found at the 

Department’s Web site, http://www.doc.gov. 

(1) U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of 

Privacy and Open Government, Departmental 

FOIA Office, 14th and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Mail Stop A300, Washington, DC 

20230; Phone: (202) 482–3258; Fax: (202) 

482–0827; Email: EFoia@doc.gov; 

FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains an online Electronic FOIA Library 

through the Department’s Web site, http://

www.doc.gov. This online Electronic FOIA 

Library serves the Office of the Secretary, all 

other components of the Department not 

identified below, and those components 

identified below that do not have separate 

online Electronic FOIA Libraries. 

(2) Bureau of the Census, Policy 

Coordination Office, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Room 8H027, 4600 Silver Hill 

Road, Suitland, Maryland 20233; Ph.: (301) 

763–6440; Fax: (301) 763–6239 (ATTN.: 

FOIA Office); Email: cemsus.efoia@

census.gov; FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.census.gov. 

(3) Bureau of Economic Analysis/Economic 

and Statistics Administration, Office of the 

Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Mail Stop H4836, 

Washington, DC 20230; Ph.: (202) 482–5997; 

Fax: (202) 482–2889; Email: EFOIAESA@

doc.gov; FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.esa.doc.gov. 

(4) Bureau of Industry and Security, Office 

of Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Mails Stop H6622, Washington, DC 

20230; Ph.: (202) 482–0953; Fax: (202) 482– 

0326; Email: efoiarequest@bis.doc.gov; 

FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.bis.doc.gov. 

(5) Economic Development 

Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room 7325, 

Washington, DC 20230; Ph.: (202) 482–3085; 

Fax: (202) 482–5671; FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

does not maintain a separate online 

Electronic FOIA Library, nor do any of the 

following Regional EDA offices. 

(i) Atlanta Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 401 West 

Peachtree Street NW., Suite 1820, Atlanta, 

Georgia 30308; Ph.: (404) 730–3006. 

(ii) Austin Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 504 Lavaca Street, 

Suite 1100, Austin, Texas 78701; Ph.: (512) 

381–8165. 

(iii) Chicago Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 111 North Canal 

Street, Suite 855, Chicago, Illinois 60606; Ph.: 

(312) 353–8143. 

(iv) Denver Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 410 17th Street, 

Suite 250, Denver, Colorado 80202; Ph.: (303) 

844–4404. 

(v) Philadelphia Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Curtis Center, 

Suite 140 South, 601 Walnut Street, 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106; Ph.: (215) 

597–7896. 

(vi) Seattle Regional Office, EDA, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Jackson Federal 

Building, Room 1890, 915 Second Avenue, 

Seattle, Washington 98174; Ph.: (206) 220– 

7663. 

(6) International Trade Administration, 

Office of Strategic Resources, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room 40003, 

Washington, DC 20230; Ph.: (202) 482–7937; 

Fax: (202) 482–1584; Email: foia@trade.gov; 

FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

does not maintain a separate online 

Electronic FOIA Library. 

(7) Minority Business Development 

Agency, Office of Administration and 

Employee Support Services, U.S. Department 

of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Room 5092, Washington, DC 20230; 

Ph.: (202) 482–2419; Fax: (202) 482–2500; 

Email: FOIA@mbda.gov; FOIAonline: http:// 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
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2The foregoing officials have sole authority under 

§ 4.7(c) to deny requests for records in any respect, 

including, for example, denying requests for 

reduction or waiver of fees. 

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.mbda.gov. 

(8) National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, Management and Organization 

Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, 100 

Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1710, Gaithersburg, 

Maryland 20899–1710; Ph.: (301) 975–4054; 

Fax: (301) 926–8091; Email: foia@nist.gov; 

FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate public inspection 

facility at the Administration Building, 

Gaithersburg, Maryland. Please call (301) 

975–4054 for inspection facility directions 

and hours. This component does not 

maintain a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library. 

(9) National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1315 East-West Highway 

(SSMC3), Room 9719, Silver Spring, 

Maryland 20910; Ph.: (301) 628–5658; Fax: 

(301) 713–1169; Email: foia@noaa.gov; 

FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.noaa.gov. 

(10) National Technical Information 

Service, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5301 

Shawnee Road, Room 227, Alexandria, 

Virginia 22312; Ph.: (703) 605–6710; Fax: 

(703) 605–6764; FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.ntis.gov. 

(11) National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration, Office of the 

Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Mail Stop 4713, Washington, DC 20230; 

Ph.: (202) 482–1816; Fax: (202) 501–8013; 

Email: eFOIA@NTIA.doc.gov; FOIAonline: 

http://foiaonline.regulations.gov. This 

component does not maintain a separate 

online Electronic FOIA Library. 

(12) Office of Inspector General, FOIA and 

Records Management Specialist, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Room 7099C, 

Washington, DC 20230; Ph.: (202) 482–3470; 

Fax: (202) 501–7921; Email: FOIA@

oig.doc.gov; FOIAonline: http://

foiaonline.regulations.gov. This component 

maintains a separate online Electronic FOIA 

Library through its Web site, http://

www.oig.doc.gov. 

■ 20. Revise Appendix B to Part 4 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix B to Part 4—Officials 

Authorized To Deny Requests for 

Records Under the Freedom of 

Information Act, and Requests for 

Records and Requests for Correction or 

Amendment Under the Privacy Act 

The officials of the Department listed 

below and their superiors have authority, 

with respect to the records for which each is 

responsible, to deny requests for records 

under the FOIA,2 and requests for records 

and requests for correction or amendment 

under the PA. In addition, the Departmental 

Freedom of Information Officer and the 

Freedom of Information Officer for the Office 

of the Secretary have the foregoing FOIA and 

PA denial authority for all records of the 

Department. The Departmental Freedom of 

Information Officer is authorized to assign 

that authority, on a case-by-case basis only, 

to any of the officials listed below, if the 

records responsive to a request include 

records for which more than one official 

listed below is responsible. The 

Departmental Freedom of Information Officer 

is authorized to revise this appendix to 

reflect changes in designation of denial 

officials. Any such revisions shall be posted 

on the Department’s ‘‘FOIA Home Page’’ link 

found at the Department’s Web site, http://

www.doc.gov. 

Office of the Secretary 

Office of the Secretary: Executive Secretary; 

Freedom of Information Officer 

Office of Business Liaison: Director 

Office of Public Affairs: Director; Deputy 

Director; Press Secretary; Deputy Press 

Secretary 

Assistant Secretary for Legislative and 

Intergovernmental Affairs; Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for Legislative and 

Intergovernmental Affairs 

Office of Inspector General: Deputy Inspector 

General; FOIA and Records Management 

Specialist; Assistant Inspector General for 

Administration; Counsel to the Inspector 

General 

Office of the General Counsel: Deputy 

General Counsel; Assistant General 

Counsel for Administration 

Office of Executive Support: Director 

Office of Chief Information Officer: Director 

Assistant Secretary for Administration 

Office of Civil Rights: Director 

Office of Budget: Director 

Office of Privacy and Open Government: 

Director 

Departmental Freedom of Information Officer 

Office of Program Evaluation and Risk 

Management: Director 

Office of Financial Management: Director 

Office of Human Resources Management: 

Director; Deputy Director 

Office of Administrative Services: Director 

Office of Security: Director 

Office of Acquisition Management: Director 

Office of Acquisition Services: Director 

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization: Director 

Bureau of Industry and Security 

Under Secretary 

Deputy Under Secretary 

Director, Office of Administration 

Director, Office of Planning, Evaluation and 

Management 

Assistant Secretary for Export Administration 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export 

Administration 

Director, Office of Strategic Industries and 

Economic Security 

Director, Director, Office of Nonproliferation 

Controls and Treaty Compliance 

Director, Office of Exporter Services 

Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export 

Enforcement 

Director, Office of Export Enforcement 

Director, Office of Enforcement Analysis 

Director, Office of Antiboycott Compliance 

Economics and Statistics Administration 

Office of Administration: Director 

Bureau of Economic Analysis: Director 

Bureau of the Census: Freedom of 

Information Act Officer 

Economic Development Administration 

Freedom of Information Officer 

International Trade Administration 

Executive Administration 

Under Secretary for International Trade 

Deputy Under Secretary for International 

Trade 

Chief Counsel for International Trade 

Chief Counsel for Enforcement and 

Compliance 

Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee 

Secretariat 

Director, Office of Public Affairs 

Director, Office of Legislative and 

Intergovernmental Affairs 

Chief Information Officer 

Deputy Chief Information Officer 

Chief Administrative Officer, Office of the 

Chief Information Officer 

Chief Financial and Administration Officer 

Deputy Chief Financial Administrative 

Officer 

Director, Budget Division 

Director, Financial Management and 

Administrative Oversight Division 

Director, Business Operations and Policy 

Compliance Division 

Director, Performance Management and 

Employee Programs Division 

Freedom of Information Act Officer 

Enforcement and Compliance 

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance 

Director, Office of Foreign Trade Zones Staff 

Director, Office of Operations Support 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping 

and Countervailing Duty Operations 

Executive Director, Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Operations 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement I 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement II 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement III 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement IV 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement V 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement VI 

Director, Office of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Enforcement VII 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy & 

Negotiations 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 39 / Thursday, February 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 11037 

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[FR Doc. 2014–03633 Filed 2–26–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–17–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Drug Enforcement Administration 

21 CFR Part 1308 

[Docket No. DEA–389] 

Schedules of Controlled Substances: 

Rescheduling of Hydrocodone 

Combination Products From Schedule 

III to Schedule II 

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement 

Administration, Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Drug Enforcement 

Administration (DEA) proposes to 

reschedule hydrocodone combination 

products from schedule III to schedule 

II of the Controlled Substances Act. This 

proposed action is based on a 

rescheduling recommendation from the 

Assistant Secretary for Health of the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services and an evaluation of all other 

relevant data by the DEA. If finalized, 

this action would impose the regulatory 

controls and administrative, civil, and 

criminal sanctions applicable to 

schedule II controlled substances on 

persons who handle (manufacture, 

distribute, dispense, import, export, 

engage in research, conduct 

instructional activities, or possess) or 

propose to handle hydrocodone 

combination products. 

DATES: Interested persons may file 

written comments on this proposal 

pursuant to 21 CFR 1308.43(g). 

Electronic comments must be 

submitted, and written comments must 

be postmarked, on or before April 28, 

2014. Commenters should be aware that 

the electronic Federal Docket 

Management System will not accept 

comments after midnight Eastern Time 

on the last day of the comment period. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS