Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/07/02/E9-15599/freedom-of-information-act
Timestamp: 2019-11-17 15:15:30
Document Index: 64128723

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 16815', 'art 612', 'art 612', '§\u2009612', '§\u2009612', '§\u2009612', '§\u2009612', '§\u2009612', 'art 613', '§\u2009612']

A Rule by the National Science Foundation on 07/02/2009
The final rule will be effective August 3, 2009.
31622-31630 (9 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E9-15599 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E9-15599
This document sets forth revisions of the Foundation's regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The new FOIA provisions implement the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007, or the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Public Law 110-175.
On April 13, 2009 the National Science Foundation (NSF) published a proposed rule at 74 CFR part 16815 requesting public comment on proposed revisions to its existing FOIA regulations at 45 CFR part 612. No comments were received. Accordingly, NSF is revising its FOIA regulations by adopting the revisions as proposed. This revision of Part 612 implements the new provisions of the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007, or the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Public Law 110-175. No changes to the Act's nine exemptions were made. The amendments address a range of procedural issues impacting FOIA administration, including the codification of several provisions of Executive Order 13392, Improving Agency Disclosure of Information. Clarifications or minor procedural changes are found at § 612.3(a), (b), (f) and (g) (Requirements for making requests), § 612.4(a) (Responding to requests), § 612.5 (c)(1) and (2) (Timing of Response to Requests), § 612.6 (a), (b), (c)(1) (Processing requests) and § 612.10(c)(iii) (Fees).
For purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601), the rule will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities; the rule addresses the procedures to be followed when submitting or responding to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. For purposes of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) the rule would not significantly or uniquely affect small governments and would not result in increased expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more. For purposes of Executive Order 12866, the rule is not a significant regulatory action requiring review by the Office of Management and Budget. For the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35) it has been determined that this rulemaking does not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirement on the public.
This part contains the rules that the National Science Foundation follows in processing requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Start Printed Page 316235 U.S.C. 552. Information routinely made available to the public as part of a regular Foundation activity (for example, program announcements and solicitations, summary of awarded proposals, statistical reports on U.S. science, news releases) may be provided to the public without reliance on this Part. As a matter of policy, the Foundation also makes discretionary disclosures of records or information otherwise exempt under the FOIA whenever disclosure would not foreseeably harm an interest protected by a FOIA exemption. This policy, however, does not create any right enforceable in court. When individuals seek records about themselves under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, NSF processes those requests under both NSF's Privacy regulations at part 613, and this part.
(c) (1) If you are making a request for records about yourself and the records are not contained in a Privacy Act system of records, your request will be processed only under the FOIA, since the Privacy Act does not apply. If the records about you are contained in a Privacy Act system of records, NSF will respond with information on how to make a Privacy Act request (see NSF Privacy Act regulations at 45 CFR 613.2).
(1) Fill out web-based order form. http://www.nsf.gov/​publications/​orderpub.jsp
(b) Consultations and referrals. When the Foundation receives a request for a Start Printed Page 31624record in its possession that originated with another agency or in which another agency has a substantial interest, it may decide that the other agency of the Federal Government is better able to determine whether the record should or should not be released under the FOIA.
(d) Expedited processing. (1) (i) If you want to receive expedited processing you must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited processing.
(ii) Requests and appeals will be given expedited treatment whenever it is determined that a requester has demonstrated compelling need by presenting:
(2) For example, a requester who is 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. Such requester also must establish a particular urgency to inform the public about the government activity involved in the request, beyond the public's right to know about government activity generally, and that the information sought has particular value that would be lost if not disseminated quickly.
(c) Denials of requests. (1) Denials of FOIA requests will be made by the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of the Inspector General, or such other office as may be designated by the Director. The response letter will briefly set forth the reasons for the denial, including any FOIA exemption(s) applied by the Foundation or the OIG in denying the request. It will also provide the name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial, will inform the requester of the right to appeal, and will, where appropriate, include an estimate of the volume of any requested materials withheld. An estimate need not be provided when the volume is otherwise indicated through deletions on records disclosed in part, or if providing an estimate would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption.
(i) Operating rules, guidelines, manuals on internal procedure, Start Printed Page 31625schedules and methods utilized by NSF investigators, inspectors, auditors and examiners.
(4) Exemption 4—5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, and privileged or confidential. Information subject to this exemption is that customarily held in confidence by the originator(s), including nonprofit organizations and their employees. Release of such information is likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the originator or submitter, or impair the Foundation's ability to obtain such information in the future. NSF will process information potentially exempted from disclosure by Exemption 4 under section 612.8. Examples of information exempt from disclosure include, but are not limited to:
(v) Evaluations of and comments on specific grant applications, research projects or proposals, or potential contractors and their products, whether made by NSF personnel or by external reviewers acting either individually or in panels, committees or similar groups;
(ii) Records compiled to evaluate or adjudicate the suitability of candidates for employment, and the eligibility of individuals (civilian or contractor Start Printed Page 31626employees) for security clearances, or for access to classified information.
(1) “Business Information” means commercial or financial information obtained by the Foundation from a submitter that may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA and § 612.7(a)(4).
(2) “Submitter” means any person or entity from whom the Foundation obtains business information, directly or indirectly. The term includes corporations; state, local, and tribal governments; and foreign governments.
(g) Notice of intent to disclose. The Foundation will consider a submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure in deciding whether to Start Printed Page 31627disclose business information. Whenever it decides to disclose business information over the objection of a submitter, the Foundation will give the submitter written notice, which will include:
(6) Representative of the news media or news media requester means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. The term “news” means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances where they can qualify as disseminators of “news”) who make their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. For “freelance” journalists to be regarded as working for a news organization, they must demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but the Agency or the OIG, as appropriate, shall also look to the past publication record of a requester in making this Start Printed Page 31628determination. To be in this category, a requester must not be seeking the requested records for a commercial use. However, a request for records supporting the news-dissemination function of the requester shall not be considered to be for a commercial use.
(g) Charging interest. NSF may charge interest on any unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the date of billing the requester. Interest charges will be assessed at the rate provided in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the date of the billing until payment is received by NSF. NSF will follow the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365, 96 Stat. 1749), as amended, and its administrative procedures, including the use of consumer reporting agencies, collection agencies, and offset.Start Printed Page 31629
[FR Doc. E9-15599 Filed 7-1-09; 8:45 am]