Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 61217

Food Security Act of 1985, as amended

(FSA). The removal of the regulation

will prevent the implementation of

inconsistent policies.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 650.26

Technical Assistance, wetlands.

§ 650.26 [Removed]

In consideration of the above, 7 CFR

part 650.26 is removed.

Signed at Washington, D.C. on November

6, 1997.

Paul W. Johnson,

Chief, Natural Resources Conservation

Service.

[FR Doc. 97–29996 Filed 11–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 271

[Docket No. R–0983]

Federal Open Market Committee; Rules

Regarding Availability of Information

AGENCY: Federal Open Market

Committee, Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Open Market

Committee (Committee) hereby amends

its Rules Regarding Availability of

Information (Rules) to reflect recent

changes in the Freedom of Information

Act (FOIA) as a result of the Electronic

Freedom of Information Act

Amendments (EFOIA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 17, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elaine M. Boutilier, Senior Counsel,

(202/452–2418), or Stephen L. Siciliano,

Special Assistant to the General Counsel

for Administrative Law, (202/452–

3920), Legal Division, Board of

Governors of the Federal Reserve

System. For the hearing impaired only,

contact Diane Jenkins,

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

(TDD) (202/452–3544), Board of

Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, 20th and Constitution, NW.,

Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Last year,

Congress passed the Electronic Freedom

of Information Act Amendments of

1996, Public Law 104–231, which

amend the Freedom of Information Act,

5 U.S.C. 552. Among other things,

EFOIA requires agencies to promulgate

regulations that provide for expedited

processing of requests for records. In

addition to amendments intended to

implement EFOIA, the Committee has

updated its fee schedule and made other

changes to streamline and clarify the

Rules.

To implement these changes, the

Committee published proposed

amendments to the Rules on August 26,

1997 (62 FR 45178). The Committee

received only one comment, submitted

by an association established by news

editors and reporters to defend First

Amendment rights of the media. This

comment requested two changes to the

Committee’s proposed rule—one

specific change and one general change.

Specifically, the association requested

that the Secretary be given the

discretion to waive the formal

certification requirement for persons

requesting expedited treatment of a

FOIA request. The second, general

suggestion was to incorporate the key

mandates of EFOIA into the regulation,

because ‘‘future FOI officers and

specialists at the Committee [may not]

realize the additional requirements

placed on them by this law if

regulations do not make adherence

necessary.’’ After review of the

comment, the Committee has made the

specific change regarding the

discretionary waiver of formal

certification. With regard to the second

comment, the Committee does not

believe that the Rules need to be

amended to reflect statutory provisions

that are not required to be implemented

by regulation. When a FOIA request is

received, FOMC officers routinely work

with attorneys in the Board’s Legal

Division who are familiar with the law

and the procedural requirements.

Furthermore, incorporating these

changes into the regulation would add

nothing to the public’s understanding of

FOIA and would unnecessarily lengthen

and complicate the regulation at a time

when all agencies are attempting to

simplify and streamline their

regulations. The following is a sectionby-section discussion of the final

amendments.

Section 271.1—Authority and Purpose

This section has been revised to state

the statutory authority for promulgation

of the Rules and the purpose of the

Rules.

Section 271.2—Definitions

The definitions have been

alphabetized and now include the

definitions relating to the fee schedule

that were previously in § 271.8.

Section 271.3—Published Information

No substantive changes have been

made to this section.

Section 271.4—Records Available for

Public Inspection and Copying

This new section describes the types

of Committee records that are available

in the reading room of the Board’s

Freedom of Information (FOI) Office.

Pursuant to EFOIA, it also describes the

Committee records available on the

Board’s website.

Section 271.5—Records Available to the

Public on Request

This is a revision of existing § 271.4,

which describes the types of records

available upon request, and the

procedures for making such a request.

Section 271.6—Processing Request

This is a new section that describes

the Committee’s procedures in

processing requests for information and

appeals of denials of such requests. This

section also contains the procedures for

expedited processing of requests. As

noted above, this section has been

modified to give the Secretary the

discretion to waive the formal

certification requirement for expedited

processing in exceptional situations. It

is expected that, as a routine matter,

certification will be required.

Nevertheless, where time is important

and the certification is in fact a

formality, then the Secretary has the

discretion to waive that formality.

Section 271.7—Exemptions From

Disclosure

This section combines the rules

currently found in §§ 271.5 and 271.6,

regarding deferred release of

information and information that is

exempt from release under FOIA.

Section 271.8—Subpoenas

There are no substantive changes to

this section, except that it is

renumbered from § 271.7 to § 271.8.

Section 271.9—Fee Schedules; Waiver

of Fees

This section is renumbered from

§ 271.8 to § 271.9. The Committee has

moved the definitions that were in this

section to § 271.2, which contains the

other definitions for this part. The fee

schedule provisions have been revised

to clarify that the processing time of a

FOIA request does not begin in cases

where advance payment is required

until payment is received; or, where a

person has requested a waiver of the

fees, until the person agrees to pay the

fees if the waiver request is denied.

Additionally, the standards under

which the Secretary may grant a request

for waiver of fees have been modified to

reflect the development of case law in

this area. The rule provides for

administrative appeal of a denial of a

waiver request.
61218 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.), the Committee certifies that the

amendments will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. These

amendments simplify some of the

procedures regarding release of

information and require disclosure of

information in certain instances in

accordance with law. The requirements

to disclose apply to the Committee,

therefore they should not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 271

Federal Open Market Committee,

Freedom of information.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, the Committee is revising 12

CFR part 271 to read as follows:

PART 271—RULES REGARDING

AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION

Sec.

271.1 Authority and purpose.

271.2 Definitions.

271.3 Published information.

271.4 Records available for public

inspection and copying.

271.5 Records available to the public on

request.

271.6 Processing requests.

271.7 Exemptions from disclosure.

271.8 Subpoenas.

271.9 Fee schedules; waiver of fees.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 12 U.S.C. 263.

§ 271.1 Authority and purpose.

(a) Authority. This part is issued by

the Federal Open Market Committee

(the Committee) pursuant to the

Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.

552, and also pursuant to the

Committee’s authority under section

12A of the Federal Reserve Act, 12

U.S.C. 263, to issue regulations

governing the conduct of its business.

(b) Purpose. This part sets forth the

categories of information made available

to the public and the procedures for

obtaining documents and records.

§ 271.2 Definitions.

(a) Board means the Board of

Governors of the Federal Reserve

System established by the Federal

Reserve Act of 1913 (38 Stat. 251).

(b) Commercial use request refers to a

request from or on behalf of one who

seeks information for a use or purpose

that furthers the commercial, trade, or

profit interests of the requester or the

person on whose behalf the request is

made.

(c) Direct costs mean those

expenditures that the Committee

actually incurs in searching for,

reviewing, and duplicating documents

in response to a request made under

§ 271.5.

(d) Duplication refers to the process of

making a copy of a document in

response to a request for disclosure of

records or for inspection of original

records that contain exempt material or

that otherwise cannot be inspected

directly. Among others, such copies

may take the form of paper, microform,

audiovisual materials, or machinereadable documentation (e.g., magnetic

tape or disk).

(e) Educational institution refers to a

preschool, a public or private

elementary or secondary school, or an

institution of undergraduate higher

education, graduate higher education,

professional education, or an institution

of vocational education that operates a

program of scholarly research.

(f) Federal Reserve Bank means one of

the district Banks authorized by the

Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 222,

including any branch of any such Bank.

(g) Information of the Committee

means all information coming into the

possession of the Committee or of any

member thereof or of any officer,

employee, or agent of the Committee,

the Board, or any Federal Reserve Bank,

in the performance of duties for, or

pursuant to the direction of, the

Committee.

(h) Noncommercial scientific

institution refers to an institution that is

not operated on a ‘‘commercial’’ basis

(as that term is used in this section) and

which is operated solely for the purpose

of conducting scientific research, the

results of which are not intended to

promote any particular product or

industry.

(i) Records of the Committee includes

rules, statements, decisions, minutes,

memoranda, letters, reports, transcripts,

accounts, charts, and other written

material, as well as any materials in

machine readable form that constitute a

part of the Committee’s official files.

(j) Representative of the news media

refers to any person actively gathering

news for an entity that is organized and

operated to publish or broadcast news to

the public.

(1) The term ‘‘news’’ means

information about current events or that

would be of current interest to the

public.

(2) Examples of news media entities

include, but are not limited to,

television or radio stations broadcasting

to the public at large, and publishers of

newspapers and other periodicals (but

only in those instances when they can

qualify as disseminators of ‘‘news’’) who

make their products available for

purchase or subscription by the general

public.

(3) ‘‘Freelance’’ journalists may be

regarded as working for a news

organization if they can demonstrate a

solid basis for expecting publication

through that organization, even though

not actually employed by it.

(k)(1) Review refers to the process of

examining documents, located in

response to a request for access, to

determine whether any portion of a

document is exempt information. It

includes doing all that is necessary to

excise the documents and otherwise to

prepare them for release.

(2) Review does not include time

spent resolving general legal or policy

issues regarding the application of

exemptions.

(l)(1) Search means a reasonable

search, by manual or automated means,

of the Committee’s official files and any

other files containing records of the

Committee as seem reasonably likely in

the particular circumstances to contain

documents of the kind requested. For

purposes of computing fees under

§ 271.9, search time includes all time

spent looking for material that is

responsive to a request, including lineby-line identification of material within

documents. Such activity is distinct

from ‘‘review’’ of material to determine

whether the material is exempt from

disclosure.

(2) Search does not mean or include

research, creation of any document, or

extensive modification of an existing

program or system that would

significantly interfere with the operation

of the Committee’s automated

information system.

§ 271.3 Published information.

(a) Federal Register. The Committee

publishes in the Federal Register, in

addition to this part:

(1) A description of its organization;

(2) Statements of the general course

and method by which its functions are

channeled and determined;

(3) Rules of procedure;

(4) Substantive rules of general

applicability, and statements of general

policy and interpretations of general

applicability formulated and adopted by

the Committee;

(5) Every amendment, revision, or

repeal of the foregoing; and

(6) General notices of proposed

rulemaking.

(b) Annual Report to Congress. Each

annual report made to Congress by the

Board includes a complete record of the

actions taken by the Committee during

the preceding year upon all matters of

policy relating to open market

operations, showing the reasons
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 61219

underlying the actions, and the votes

taken.

(c) Other published information. From

time to time, other information relating

to open market operations of the Federal

Reserve Banks is published in the

Federal Reserve Bulletin, issued

monthly by the Board, in the Board’s

annual report to Congress, and in

announcements and statements released

to the press. Copies of issues of the

Bulletin and of annual reports of the

Board may be obtained from the

Publications Services of the Federal

Reserve Board, 20th Street and

Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20551 (pedestrian

entrance is on C Street, N.W.).

Subscription or other charges may

apply.

§ 271.4 Records available for public

inspection and copying.

(a) Types of records made available.

Unless they were published promptly

and made available for sale or without

charge, certain records shall be made

available for inspection and copying at

the Board’s Freedom of Information

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

(b) Reading room procedures. (1)

Information available under this section

is available for inspection and copying,

from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays,

at the Freedom of Information Office of

the Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, 20th Street and

Constitution Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20551 (the pedestrian

entrance is on C Street, N.W.).

(2) The Committee may determine

that certain classes of publicly available

filings shall be made available for

inspection and copying only at the

Federal Reserve Bank where those

records are maintained.

(c) Electronic records. Information

available under this section that was

created on or after November 1, 1996,

shall also be available on the Board’s

website, found at http://

www.bog.frb.fed.us.

(d) Privacy protection. The Committee

may delete identifying details from any

record to prevent a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy.

§ 271.5 Records available to the public on

request.

(a) Types of records made available.

All records of the Committee that are

not available under §§ 271.3 and 271.4

shall be made available upon request,

pursuant to the procedures in this

section and the exceptions in § 271.7.

(b) Procedures for requesting records.

(1) A request for identifiable records

shall reasonably describe the records in

a way that enables the Committee’s staff

to identify and produce the records with

reasonable effort and without unduly

burdening or significantly interfering

with any of the Committee’s operations.

(2) The request shall be submitted in

writing to the Secretary of the

Committee, Federal Open Market

Committee, 20th & C Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20551; or sent by

facsimile to the Secretary of the

Committee, (202) 452–2921. The request

shall be clearly marked FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION ACT REQUEST.

(c) Contents of request. The request

shall contain the following information:

(1) The name and address of the

requester, and the telephone number at

which the requester can be reached

during normal business hours;

(2) Whether the requested information

is intended for commercial use, and

whether the requester represents an

educational or noncommercial scientific

institution, or news media;

(3) A statement agreeing to pay the

applicable fees, or a statement

identifying any fee limitation desired, or

a request for a waiver or reduction of

fees that satisfies § 271.9(f).

(d) Defective requests. The Committee

need not accept or process a request that

does not reasonably describe the records

requested or that does not otherwise

comply with the requirements of this

section. The Committee may return a

defective request, specifying the

deficiency. The requester may submit a

corrected request, which will be treated

as a new request.

§ 271.6 Processing requests.

(a) Receipt of requests. The date of

receipt for any request, including one

that is addressed incorrectly or that is

referred to the Committee by another

agency or by a Federal Reserve Bank, is

the date the Secretary of the Committee

actually receives the request.

(b) Priority of responses. The

Committee shall normally process

requests in the order they are received.

However, in the Secretary’s discretion,

or upon a court order in a matter to

which the Committee is a party, a

particular request may be processed out

of turn.

(c) Expedited processing. Where a

person requesting expedited access to

records has demonstrated a compelling

need for the records, or where the

Committee has determined to expedite

the response, the Committee shall

process the request as soon as

practicable.

(1) To demonstrate a compelling need

for expedited processing, the requester

shall provide a certified statement, a

sample of which may be obtained from

the Board’s Freedom of Information

Office. The statement, certified to be

true and correct to the best of the

requester’s knowledge and belief, shall

demonstrate that:

(i) The failure to obtain the records on

an expedited basis could reasonably be

expected to pose an imminent threat to

the life or physical safety of an

individual; or

(ii) The requester is a representative of

the news media, as defined in § 271.2,

and there is urgency to inform the

public concerning actual or alleged

Committee activity.

(2) In response to a request for

expedited processing, the Secretary of

the Committee shall notify a requester of

the determination within ten working

days of receipt of the request. In

exceptional situations, the Secretary of

the Committee has the discretion to

waive the formality of certification. If

the Secretary of the Committee denies a

request for expedited processing, the

requester may file an appeal pursuant to

the procedures set forth in paragraph (i)

of this section, and the Committee shall

respond to the appeal within ten

working days after the appeal was

received by the Committee.

(d) Time limits. The time for response

to requests shall be 20 working days,

except:

(1) In the case of expedited treatment

under paragraph (c) of this section;

(2) Where the running of such time is

suspended for payment of fees pursuant

to § 271.9(b)(2);

(3) In unusual circumstances, as

defined in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B). In such

circumstances, the time limit may be

extended for a period of time not to

exceed:

(i) 10 working days as provided by

written notice to the requester, setting

forth the reasons for the extension and

the date on which a determination is

expected to be dispatched; or

(ii) Such alternative time period as

mutually agreed to by the Secretary of

the Committee and the requester when

the Secretary of the Committee notifies

the requester that the request cannot be

processed in the specified time limit.

(e) Response to request. In response to

a request that satisfies § 271.5, an

appropriate search shall be conducted of

records of the Committee in existence

on the date of receipt of the request, and

a review made of any responsive

information located. The Secretary shall

notify the requester of:

(1) The Committee’s determination of

the request;

(2) The reasons for the determination;

(3) The amount of information

withheld;

(4) The right of the requester to appeal

to the Committee any denial or partial
61220 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

denial, as specified in paragraph (i) of

this section; and

(5) In the case of a denial of a request,

the name and title or position of the

person responsible for the denial.

(f) Referral to another agency. To the

extent a request covers documents that

were created by, obtained from, or

classified by another agency, the

Committee may refer the request to that

agency for a response and inform the

requester promptly of the referral.

(g) Providing responsive records. (1)

Copies of requested records shall be sent

to the requester by regular U.S. mail to

the address indicated in the request,

unless the requester elects to take

delivery of the documents at the Board’s

Freedom of Information Office or makes

other acceptable arrangements, or the

Committee deems it appropriate to send

the documents by another means.

(2) The Committee shall provide a

copy of the record in any form or format

requested if the record is readily

reproducible by the Committee in that

form or format, but the Committee need

not provide more than one copy of any

record to a requester.

(h) Appeal of denial of request. Any

person denied access to Committee

records requested under § 271.5 may file

a written appeal with the Committee, as

follows:

(1) The appeal shall prominently

display the phrase FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION ACT APPEAL on the

first page, and shall be addressed to the

Secretary of the Committee, Federal

Open Market Committee, 20th and C

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551; or

sent by facsimile to the Secretary of the

Committee, (202) 452–2921.

(2) An initial request for records may

not be combined in the same letter with

an appeal.

(3) The Committee, or such member of

the Committee as is delegated the

authority, shall make a determination

regarding any appeal within 20 working

days of actual receipt of the appeal by

the Secretary, and the determination

letter shall notify the appealing party of

the right to seek judicial review of such

denial.

§ 271.7 Exemptions from disclosure.

(a) Types of records exempt from

disclosure. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b),

the following records of the Committee

are exempt from disclosure under this

part:

(1) National defense. Any information

that is specifically authorized under

criteria established by an Executive

Order to be kept secret in the interest of

national defense or foreign policy and is

in fact properly classified pursuant to

the Executive Order.

(2) Internal personnel rules and

practices. Any information related

solely to the internal personnel rules

and practices of the Board.

(3) Statutory exemption. Any

information specifically exempted from

disclosure by statute (other than 5

U.S.C. 552b), if the statute:

(i) Requires that the matters be

withheld from the public in such a

manner as to leave no discretion on the

issue; or

(ii) Establishes particular criteria for

withholding or refers to particular types

of matters to be withheld.

(4) Trade secrets; commercial or

financial information. Any matter that is

a trade secret or that constitutes

commercial or financial information

obtained from a person and that is

privileged or confidential.

(5) Inter- or intra-agency

memorandums. Information contained

in inter- or intra-agency memorandums

or letters that would not be available by

law to a party (other than an agency) in

litigation with an agency, including, but

not limited to:

(i) Memorandums;

(ii) Reports;

(iii) Other documents prepared by the

staffs of the Committee, Board or

Federal Reserve Banks; and

(iv) Records of deliberations of the

Committee and of discussions at

meetings of the Committee or its staff.

(6) Personnel and medical files. Any

information contained in personnel and

medical files and similar files the

disclosure of which would constitute a

clearly unwarranted invasion of

personal privacy.

(7) Information compiled for law

enforcement purposes. Any records or

information compiled for law

enforcement purposes, to the extent

permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(7).

(8) Examination, inspection,

operating, or condition reports, and

confidential supervisory information.

Any matter that is contained in or

related to examination, operating, or

condition reports prepared by, on behalf

of, or for the use of an agency

responsible for the regulation or

supervision of financial institutions,

including a state financial institution

supervisory agency.

(b) Segregation of nonexempt

information. The Committee shall

provide any reasonably segregable

portion of a record that is requested

after deleting those portions that are

exempt under this section.

(c) Discretionary release. Except

where disclosure is expressly prohibited

by statute, regulation, or order, the

Committee may authorize the release of

records that are exempt from mandatory

disclosure whenever the Committee or

designated Committee members

determines that such disclosure would

be in the public interest.

(d) Delayed release. Publication in the

Federal Register or availability to the

public of certain information may be

delayed if immediate disclosure would

likely:

(1) Interfere with accomplishing the

objectives of the Committee in the

discharge of its statutory functions;

(2) Interfere with the orderly conduct

of the foreign affairs of the United

States;

(3) Permit speculators or others to

gain unfair profits or other unfair

advantages by speculative trading in

securities or otherwise;

(4) Result in unnecessary or

unwarranted disturbances in the

securities markets;

(5) Interfere with the orderly

execution of the objectives or policies of

other government agencies; or

(6) Impair the ability to negotiate any

contract or otherwise harm the

commercial or financial interest of the

United States, the Committee, the

Board, any Federal Reserve Bank, or any

department or agency of the United

States.

(e) Prohibition against disclosure.

Except as provided in this part, no

officer, employee, or agent of the

Committee or any Federal Reserve Bank

shall disclose or permit the disclosure of

any unpublished information of the

Committee to any person (other than

Committee officers, employees, or

agents properly entitled to such

information for the performance of

official duties).

§ 271.8 Subpoenas.

(a) Advice by person served. If any

person, whether or not an officer or

employee of the Committee, of the

Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, or of a Federal Reserve

Bank, has information of the Committee

that may not be disclosed by reason of

§ 271.7 and in connection therewith is

served with a subpoena, order, or other

process requiring his personal

attendance as a witness or the

production of documents or information

upon any proceeding, he should

promptly inform the Secretary of the

Committee of such service and of all

relevant facts, including the documents

and information requested and any facts

that may be of assistance in determining

whether such documents or information

should be made available; and he

should take action at the appropriate

time to inform the court or tribunal that

issued the process, and the attorney for

the party at whose instance the process
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 61221

was issued, if known, of the substance

of this part.

(b) Appearance by person served.

Except as disclosure of the relevant

information is authorized pursuant to

this part, any person who has

information of the Committee and is

required to respond to a subpoena or

other legal process shall attend at the

time and place therein mentioned and

decline to disclose such information or

give any testimony with respect thereto,

basing his refusal upon this part. If,

notwithstanding, the court or other body

orders the disclosure of such

information, or the giving of such

testimony, the person having such

information of the Committee shall

continue to decline to disclose such

information and shall promptly report

the facts to the Committee for such

action as the Committee may deem

appropriate.

§ 271.9 Fee schedules; waiver of fees.

(a) Fee schedules. The fees applicable

to a request for records pursuant to

§§ 271.4 and 271.5 are set forth in

Appendix A to this section. These fees

cover only the full allowable direct costs

of search, duplication, and review. No

fees will be charged where the average

cost of collecting the fee (calculated at

$5.00) exceeds the amount of the fee.

(b) Payment procedures. The

Secretary may assume that a person

requesting records pursuant to § 271.5

will pay the applicable fees, unless the

request includes a limitation on fees to

be paid or seeks a waiver or reduction

of fees pursuant to paragraph (f) of this

section.

(1) Advance notification of fees. If the

estimated charges are likely to exceed

$100, the Secretary of the Committee

shall notify the requester of the

estimated amount, unless the requester

has indicated a willingness to pay fees

as high as those anticipated. Upon

receipt of such notice, the requester may

confer with the Secretary to reformulate

the request to lower the costs.

(2) Advance payment. The Secretary

may require advance payment of any fee

estimated to exceed $250. The Secretary

may also require full payment in

advance where a requester has

previously failed to pay a fee in a timely

fashion. The time period for responding

to requests under § 271.6(d), and the

processing of the request shall be

suspended until the Secretary receives

the required payment.

(3) Late charges. The Secretary may

assess interest charges when fee

payment is not made within 30 days of

the date on which the billing was sent.

Interest is at the rate prescribed in 31

U.S.C. 3717 and accrues from the date

of the billing.

(c) Categories of uses. The fees

assessed depend upon the intended use

for the records requested. In

determining which category is

appropriate, the Secretary shall look to

the intended use set forth in the request

for records. Where a requester’s

description of the use is insufficient to

make a determination, the Secretary

may seek additional clarification before

categorizing the request.

(1) Commercial use. The fees for

search, duplication, and review apply

when records are requested for

commercial use.

(2) Educational, research, or media

use. The fees for duplication apply

when records are not sought for

commercial use, and the requester is a

representative of the news media or an

educational or noncommercial scientific

institution, whose purpose is scholarly

or scientific research. The first 100

pages of duplication, however, will be

provided free.

(3) All other uses. For all other

requests, the fees for document search

and duplication apply. The first two

hours of search time and the first 100

pages of duplication, however, will be

provided free.

(d) Nonproductive search. Fees for

search and review may be charged even

if no responsive documents are located

or if the request is denied.

(e) Aggregated requests. A requester

may not file multiple requests at the

same time, solely in order to avoid

payment of fees. If the Secretary

reasonably believes that a requester is

separating a request into a series of

requests for the purpose of evading the

assessment of fees, the Secretary may

aggregate any such requests and charge

accordingly. It is considered reasonable

for the Secretary to presume that

multiple requests of this type made

within a 30-day period have been made

to avoid fees.

(f) Waiver or reduction of fees. A

request for a waiver or reduction of the

fees, and the justification for the waiver,

shall be included with the request for

records to which it pertains. If a waiver

is requested and the requester has not

indicated in writing an agreement to pay

the applicable fees if the waiver request

is denied, the time for response to the

request for documents, as set forth in

§ 271.6(d), shall not begin until a

determination has been made on the

request for a waiver or reduction of fees.

(1) Standards for determining waiver

or reduction. The Secretary shall grant

a waiver or reduction of fees where it is

determined both that disclosure of the

information is in the public interest

because it is likely to contribute

significantly to public understanding of

the operation or activities of the

government, and that the disclosure of

information is not primarily in the

commercial interest of the requester. In

making this determination, the

following factors shall be considered:

(i) Whether the subject of the records

concerns the operations or activities of

the government;

(ii) Whether disclosure of the

information is likely to contribute

significantly to public understanding of

government operations or activities;

(iii) Whether the requester has the

intention and ability to disseminate the

information to the public;

(iv) Whether the information is

already in the public domain;

(v) Whether the requester has a

commercial interest that would be

furthered by the disclosure; and, if so,

(vi) Whether the magnitude of the

identified commercial interest of the

requester is sufficiently large, in

comparison with the public interest in

disclosure, that disclosure is primarily

in the commercial interest of the

requester.

(2) Contents of request for waiver. A

request for a waiver or reduction of fees

shall include:

(i) A clear statement of the requester’s

interest in the documents;

(ii) The use proposed for the

documents and whether the requester

will derive income or other benefit for

such use;

(iii) A statement of how the public

will benefit from such use and from the

Committee’s release of the documents;

(iv) A description of the method by

which the information will be

disseminated to the public; and

(v) If specialized use of the

information is contemplated, a

statement of the requester’s

qualifications that are relevant to that

use.

(3) Burden of proof. The burden shall

be on the requester to present evidence

or information in support of a request

for a waiver or reduction of fees.

(4) Determination by Secretary. The

Secretary shall make a determination on

the request for a waiver or reduction of

fees and shall notify the requester

accordingly. A denial may be appealed

to the Committee in accordance with

§ 271.6(h).

(g) Employee requests. In connection

with any request by an employee,

former employee, or applicant for

employment, for records for use in

prosecuting a grievance or complaint of

discrimination against the Committee,

fees shall be waived where the total

charges (including charges for
61222 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 221 / Monday, November 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

information provided under the Privacy

Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) are $50 or

less; but the Secretary may waive fees in

excess of that amount.

(h) Special services The Secretary may

agree to provide, and set fees to recover

the costs of, special services not covered

by the Freedom of Information Act, such

as certifying records or information and

sending records by special methods

such as express mail or overnight

delivery.

Appendix A To § 271.9—Freedom of

Information Fee Schedule

Duplication:

Photocopy, per standard page ........................................................................................................................................................ $.10

Paper copies of microfiche, per frame ........................................................................................................................................... .10

Duplicate microfiche, per microfiche ............................................................................................................................................ .35

Search and review:

Clerical/Technical, hourly rate ....................................................................................................................................................... 20.00

Professional/Supervisory, hourly rate ............................................................................................................................................ 38.00

Manager/Senior Professional, hourly rate ...................................................................................................................................... 65.00

Computer search and production:

Computer operator search, hourly rate .......................................................................................................................................... 32.00

Tapes (cassette), per tape ................................................................................................................................................................ 6.00

Tapes (cartridge), per tape .............................................................................................................................................................. 9.00

Tapes (reel), per tape ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18.00

Diskettes (31⁄2′′), per diskette .......................................................................................................................................................... 4.00

Diskettes (51⁄4′′), per diskette .......................................................................................................................................................... 5.00

Computer Output (PC), per minute ................................................................................................................................................ .10

Computer Output (mainframe) ....................................................................................................................................................... actual cost

By order of the Federal Open Market

Committee, November 7, 1997.

Donald L. Kohn,

Secretary of the Federal Open Market

Committee.

[FR Doc. 97–29965 Filed 11–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–10–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–NM–55–AD; Amendment

39–10205; AD 97–23–16]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing

Model 777–200 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a

new airworthiness directive (AD),

applicable to certain Boeing Model 777–

200 series airplanes, that requires

replacement of certain overhead

electronics units (OEU) of the passenger

address and entertainment

communication systems with modified

OEU’s. This amendment is prompted by

reports of smoke coming from the

overhead panels near the passenger

reading lights, which was caused by

overheating of the transformers located

in the OEU’s. The actions specified by

this AD are intended to prevent

overheating of the transformers, which

potentially could cause a fire in the

transformer assembly and/or electronic

components located in the OEU and

could cause smoke to enter the

passenger cabin.

DATES: Effective December 22, 1997.

The incorporation by reference of

certain publications listed in the

regulations is approved by the Director

of the Federal Register as of December

22, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The service information

referenced in this AD may be obtained

from Boeing Commercial Airplane

Group, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle,

Washington 98124–2207. This

information may be examined at the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),

Transport Airplane Directorate, Rules

Docket, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington; or at the Office of

the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol

Street, NW., suite 700, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Varun Khanna, Aerospace Engineer,

Systems and Equipment Branch, ANM–

130S, FAA, Transport Airplane

Directorate, Seattle Aircraft Certification

Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton,

Washington 98055–4056; telephone

(425) 227–2082; fax (425) 227–1182.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to

include an airworthiness directive (AD)

that is applicable to certain Boeing

Model 777–200 series airplanes was

published in the Federal Register on

April 4, 1997 (62 FR 16115). That action

proposed to require replacement of

certain overhead electronics units (OEU)

of the passenger address and

entertainment communication systems

with modified OEU’s.

Interested persons have been afforded

an opportunity to participate in the

making of this amendment. Due

consideration has been given to the

comments received.

One commenter supports the

proposed rule.

Request To Extend the Compliance

Time

One commenter requests that the

compliance time for accomplishing the

replacement of the OEU’s be extended

from the proposed 6 months to 12

months. The commenter contends that,

even if it used two repair stations, it

would still take an extraordinary effort

and 8 to 9 months (best case) to

accomplish the proposed replacement.

The commenter points out that the 6-

month compliance time also would

result in schedule disruptions, which is

a severe economic hardship on the

airline.

The FAA does not concur with the

commenter’s request to extend the

compliance time for accomplishment of

the subject replacement. In developing

an appropriate compliance time for this

action, the FAA considered not only the

degree of urgency associated with

addressing the subject unsafe condition,

but the availability of required parts and

the practical aspect of accomplishing

the required replacement with an

interval of time that parallels normal

scheduled maintenance for the majority

of affected operators. The manufacturer

has advised that it has shipped

replacement units to all affected

operators and can provide sufficient

units to enable operators to comply

within 6 months, and that it is

supplying the labor for accomplishment

of the replacement. In addition, the FAA

has been informed that certain operators

have accomplished the subject

replacement overnight on their fleet.